The Reluctant Assassin Boxset

by Thomas K. Carpenter

  "The Deathbird," said Zayn, suddenly understanding.

  "Yes, the Deathbird. It thinks the Bastille is its nest, and that any intruders coming to steal its eggs should be psychically murdered," said Priyanka.

  "That sounds impossible," said Skylar.

  "Nothing is impossible, only highly improbable," said Priyanka. "The only point that the Deathbird must be fooled is at the entry. Otherwise, those that reside within would be at risk if they had a stray impure thought.

  "Instructor Pennywhistle will be able to get us through the door, but your team will get us to the door."

  Priyanka waved her hand, bringing the screens on the wall to life, showing a spell written in a raggedy tome in silver ink.

  "You have an hour to learn this ritual. It takes five to cast and will provide a limited bubble of invisibility for my team. On its own, it would never work, but Halfdan has agreed to provide a distraction so that anyone who might be looking closely would have their attention elsewhere," said Priyanka.

  "And once inside?" asked Keelan.

  Priyanka looked away, a downward curl to her lips. "Some dangers I know and hopefully have a way to bypass. The rest I will have to improvise."

  The way she said it suggested she wasn't happy about the setup, but if the virus was affecting the instructors, then there wasn't much time.

  "You can count on us," said Zayn.

  Priyanka let a hint of a smile ghost to her lips before touching him on the shoulder and disappearing out the door. When she was gone, his teammates looked to him.

  "Let's get started."

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Deathbird, April 2015

  The virus affects everyone differently

  The ritual for limited invisibility wasn't difficult to learn. It required a medium level of enunciation, and coordination from the five mages involved in the spell. The problem would be maintaining the bubble around Priyanka's team while they moved through the streets.

  The whole way to Halfdan's mansion, Zayn bounced his knees, thinking about how they were going to keep the bubble around her team for a whole mile. He caught glances from his teammates, who looked equally concerned.

  "Do ya have to wee or are ya nervous?" asked Instructor O'Keefe, seated across from him in the oversized carriage without seats so all ten of them could fit.

  "Thinking," said Zayn, wishing he had a bottle of water to chug after the portal journey. "If we don't get the bubble right, you won't even make it to the Bastille."

  "It's okay, laddie. What's a lifetime of pain and misery?" she said with a playful wink.

  The other instructors—Pennywhistle, Allgood, Noyade, and Priyanka—seemed amused by her comment.

  When Instructor Allgood caught his initial expression, he offered, "Humor is important at times during a mission. If you're as tight as Aliette is when it's time to split a dinner bill, then things won't go smoothly."

  "It's the only reason we let Carron come along," said Instructor Noyade. "He's a worthless putain when it comes to anything but knocking first year heads and glowering like a bulldog with gas."

  Priyanka, who was lounging on O'Keefe's lap as if it were an elegant chair, added, "Don't be so hard on Captain Dildo. Remember, he can take a punch like a drunken sailor."

  The last line brought a round of laughter from everyone. Instructor Allgood winked at Zayn, which broke loose the tension in his chest. Despite the dire circumstances, in that moment, Zayn felt like he didn't want to be anywhere in the realms other than in that carriage, crammed together with the instructors and his team on a heist that probably wasn't going to work.

  When the carriage lurched to a stop, the door swung open, revealing Halfdan's smiling mustached face.

  "I didn't know you were bringing your whole school," said Halfdan.

  "Only the ones too stupid to say no to me," said Priyanka, chuckling.

  Instructor Allgood, who pushed out the open door, said, "Move it, Halfdan. Maggie's got her boot right up my arse and I need to stretch my legs."

  The bowlegged instructor led them out of the carriage, which was parked inside a small warehouse filled with a variety of strange containers. Out of the corner of his eye, Zayn caught Instructor Pennywhistle leaning against the door as she climbed out as if she were too weak to walk. Priyanka had noticed as well, but she made no sign that it bothered her.

  "I brought you in by the delivery cave," said Halfdan, extending his arms upward as if he were in charge of a circus.

  He wore a long tan jacket that went down to his thighs and a sparkling blue shirt. He led them up spiral stairs cut into rock that opened up into a circular room filled with art objects. Zayn didn't recognize their styles, except for a lifelike statue of a dark-haired maetrie in black armor.

  "That's a nice copy of the Mona Lisa," said Vin, standing in front of the painting, which was in a glass case.

  "Who said it's a copy?" replied Halfdan with a wry smile.

  Zayn wandered to the front of the mansion. The Bastille could be seen across the hilltop, surrounded by crystalline trees that scintillated in the sunlight. Looking at it gave him the shivers.

  Halfdan led them to a ballroom on the third floor with a giant window that looked out over the Bastille. The carpets and furniture that had been in front of the window had been dragged away to the middle. He looked around, before snapping his fingers.

  "Let me grab the salt for the ritual. I forgot it downstairs."

  After Halfdan left, Priyanka put her hand on Zayn's shoulder as he looked out the window.

  "Is your team ready?"

  "Of course." He glanced over his shoulder to make sure none of his teammates were nearby. "Can you trust Halfdan?"

  She studied his face. "Not really, but my options are limited, especially on short notice. I told him I would get his woman an invite to Deathbird."

  "But you never said anything when we visited the Black Council last time," he said.

  She raised an eyebrow. "I already knew what the answer was. But if it's the price of his help, I'll pull some strings after this is over, which assumes more things than I'd like."

  After speaking to him, she moved towards Instructor Pennywhistle, who was standing off by herself, which was quite unusual for the normally extroverted instructor. The pair chatted quietly with Pennywhistle nodding in the affirmative to Priyanka's questions. Eventually Priyanka squeezed her shoulder and moved away towards the other instructors.

  Halfdan appeared a moment later with a canister of salt. Zayn made the circle at a fifteen-foot diameter.

  "Will that be large enough for you to move?" asked Zayn.

  "We could survive on half that," said Priyanka with a subtle glance towards Instructor Pennywhistle, who was sitting on the furniture, looking pale.

  "Are you ready for the distraction?" asked Halfdan.

  Priyanka nodded.

  "Be ready in ten minutes exactly," said Halfdan, tapping on his wrist. "I have it timed down to the second."

  "What is it?" asked Vin.

  "You'll know it when it happens," said Halfdan with a wink.

  After he left, Zayn gathered his team around the salt circle. The instructors took their spots in the middle.

  The worries that had plagued him until that moment fled when they began the ritual. There weren't many opportunities for group spells like this one, but Instructor Allgood had drilled them constantly during their first year for moments like these, so despite the circumstances, they performed as if they'd been doing it for years.

  Group spells were different than individual spells because the faez was external rather than internal. They coaxed threads of the golden stuff into the air, until a shimmering dome covered the circle. This was the scaffolding upon which they weaved their enchantment, and the five instructors faded until they were only faint outlines beneath what had become a shimmering see-through half-bubble. Zayn was standing opposite the window. A hazy Bastille could be seen through the dome. It wouldn't fool anyone up close, but it woul
d work at a distance.

  Once the spell had hardened into place, they broke it free from the salt circle, which had provided the initial anchor.

  "Be ready to move," said Zayn, concentrating on the spell.

  With five of them, the strain was minimal, but it would increase as the dome moved further away. Spells and distance were logarithmic, so by the time they reached the Bastille, it would be a challenge for the team.

  As Zayn wondered when the distraction would hit, a massive blast somewhere behind them shook the mansion, rattling the glass windows. A strange keening filled the air, like a thousand ghosts crying out, emanating from the quivering crystalline forest.

  He almost forgot that he was supposed to be holding the spell in place, until Keelan gave him a hand signal.

  "Ready to move," said Zayn.

  "Moving now," responded Priyanka.

  The dome slid through the air, maneuvered using their collective intention. As the instructors reached the staircase, Zayn relaxed, letting the faez stream from his mind more easily. Then right before the dome tilted down the exit, a peculiar thump sounded from beneath the dome, which at first Zayn thought was a secondary tremor from the explosion. As they lifted the dome, it revealed a fallen woman being tended to by Priyanka with the others crowded around her.

  The shock of seeing Instructor Pennywhistle lying prone on the floor disrupted his concentration. Not only was she unconscious, but she was completely bald and covered in strange ridges that suggested inhuman origins. As soon as he lost focus, the dome disintegrated into wisps of smoke.

  Priyanka stood slowly, a scowl hanging on her lips. As soon as she gazed across the hills to the Bastille, everyone knew the plan was ruined.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Deathbird, April 2015

  Into the heist

  "Is she okay?" asked Skylar, crouched on her heels looking at the unconscious Instructor Pennywhistle, whose head was lying in O'Keefe's lap. The Scottish instructor was gently stroking Pennywhistle's ridged forehead.

  Priyanka didn't look like she was going to answer, but then she glanced at Pennywhistle, shaking her head. "I don't know."

  "Is this going to happen to us?" asked Skylar.

  "Probably," said Priyanka. "Though it will likely be different for you than her as she's only half human."

  "Is there another way into the Bastille?" asked Keelan.

  "There's always another way," said Priyanka, though it was clear from her crossed arms that it wouldn't be pleasant.

  "Then what are we waiting for?" asked Vin, nodding feverishly. "Let us help."

  Priyanka glanced at him with watery eyes. "It was going to be difficult enough going through the front. But now I worry that it would be a death sentence to try the other way."

  "But we'll lose our magic if we don't," said Portia. "And everyone else in the Hundred Halls."

  "You might lose your magic, but you would be alive." Priyanka nodded towards the Bastille. "There you will only be served pain and misery, then eventually death."

  Zayn checked the faces of his teammates before speaking. They each gave him nods of approval. "Bring us with you. The nine of us can do this. We're more than up for this. If we don't do it, as you said, our world will descend into chaos."

  She pursed her lips, considering their offer for a long minute before exhaling. "If you come with us, I will expect absolute obedience. If I tell you to jump, you jump. If I tell you to chop off your arm to save the group, you better be sawing before I'm finished speaking. There can be no dissent. Not in there, not the way we're going."

  "I don't understand, what's so bad about this other way?" asked Zayn.

  "The Black Council has relied on the Deathbird to vet anyone coming into or out of the Bastille for centuries. Because of its abilities and the threats of the Pact, they're not worried about intruders through the front. But a sealed building cannot function—they need water and air and a way to get rid of waste—so there's an entrance at the back of the fortress. And if for some reason, we can find a way past the crystalline trees without turning ourselves to shreds, the Black Council devised cunning traps to guard those ways."

  "That sounds amazing," said Vin, bringing everyone's head around. He shrugged in response. "Sorry. I can't help it."

  Priyanka let a corner of her lips curl with a smile. "But none of that matters if we can't get past the crystalline forest. The trees are perfectly reflective of all energies. Throw a rock at one, and the pieces that break from it return to the thrower in total, turning them into a pin cushion. Hit one with a force bolt and you'd be turned to pulp. They're often called mirror trees for this phenomenon, though I'd call them a pain in the ass. Which means we'd have to get past them without disturbing a single tree. Hit one, and it could cause a chain reaction, killing all of us."

  "I can get us past," said Instructor Allgood, leaning on his staff. "Or at least I can get you through, assuming I have Aliette's help."

  "What are you thinking?" asked Priyanka, forehead hunched.

  He tapped on the wood floor with his staff. "We'll go below. I can dig us a tunnel. The roots are still a danger, but I can take a few hits. Aliette can provide air to me through her link. Soil is just like water, right?"

  Aliette was sitting cross-legged by Pennywhistle, eyes puffy and sore. "It would be my pleasure."

  "That will take forever," said Portia.

  "No more than five or six hours," said Allgood.

  Priyanka tapped on her chin. "Are you sure you can maintain a pace like that? You've dug a few tunnels in your time, but never this long, and with such short notice."

  His gaze fell onto Pennywhistle. "Imagine a whole city like this."

  She turned to Halfdan, who had returned from the distraction. "Where can they start that's closer than here? To make his job a little easier."

  Halfdan massaged his mustache as he thought, then moved to the window and tapped on the glass towards an outbuilding along the edge of the forest.

  "There are chemicals in that building used to keep the crystalline forest from infringing on the city. You can use it for your tunnel entrance," he said.

  "Good. Take them there right now as if you were showing them the forest, then bring back an illusionary double," said Priyanka.

  He pointed towards the horizon, which was dark with clouds. "And it looks like we might get a storm, which will aid you in your escape, assuming you are successful."

  "We need a bit of luck if we're going to make this work," said Priyanka.

  Halfdan bowed deeply. "Always a pleasure to be working a job with you, madam."

  "Madam me again and I'll take you dragon hunting again," she said with a smirk.

  The immediate whites of his eyes revealed a story that Zayn wanted to hear. Halfdan, Allgood, and Noyade left in the carriage, while Priyanka paced in front of the window, glancing frequently to Pennywhistle, whose breathing had become labored.

  "The virus is hitting her hard," said O'Keefe with a shake of her head. "I don't know what to bloody do about it. None of my spells are working."

  "Her ability to change appearance is probably the culprit. Whenever she does it, the cells in her body are refreshed," said Priyanka. "Which is why the virus is hurting her. To it, she's like a baby."

  "Oh, Merlin," said Skylar, her voice cracking. "Does that mean kids and babies that have magic are going to die first?"

  "We don't know," said Priyanka. "It might. But it might be that Marilyn's physiology is more susceptible."

  "Either way we need to get that Word," said Vin.

  "What should we do while we wait?" asked Keelan, putting his fist into his other hand. "I don't want to just stand here for five hours. I need to do something."

  The rest of his team nodded in agreement.

  "Is there something you can show us? Some spells or tricks so we're more ready?" asked Zayn.

  "It could be anything," said Priyanka. "But something is better than nothing. I'd worry about wearing you out, but we'll hav
e to risk it. I hope you all have a good memory."

  She gathered them on the opposite side of the ballroom.

  "I will show you some spells and some techniques to leverage your imbuements, but what will best help you is to understand the mindset necessary to get past any obstacle."

  She paused, letting them know the seriousness of what she was about to say.

  "Everything has a flaw. Everything. There are no impregnable fortresses, no perfect protections. There is no immovable object. What can be made, can be unmade.

  "If you find yourself away from the group, stuck in something diabolical, figure out the flaw. It might be something as simple as a hinge, or a gap in a spellweave. Anything. Don't let your mind rest until you've figured it out, no matter the distractions, or pain.

  "Having said that, in the Bastille, be careful that the flaw that you think you have found is not actually a trick. The Black Council is made up of the realms' best thieves and assassins. They know every trick and technique. They will have designed their protections to appear to have flaws, which are actually traps. Be wary."

  "That's crazy-making," said Skylar. "We're supposed to look for the flaw, but not if it's too obvious."

  "You asked to be involved," said Priyanka.

  "I'm not backing out," said Skylar. "I'm just...processing, that's all."

  Priyanka moved from her lecture into a series of exercises with simple spells used in unexpected ways. The one Zayn liked the best was casting a force bolt at point-blank range while using an imbuement to lock the arm into place, thus creating a jackhammer-like impact. They took turns demolishing Halfdan's expensive furniture to practice.

  The five hours went by quickly. When night fell on the city, magelights bloomed in exquisite lanterns hung from hooks on the wall. And though this was the first time their patron had been their teacher, like everything about her—movement, thought, speech—her methods were ruthlessly efficient. Zayn felt like he learned more in that time than he had in months of class time with the other instructors.

  They were in the middle of a demonstration from Priyanka on using ropes, pulleys made from modified and spell-enhanced simple objects, and their speed enchantments to create machines that could move large objects. She had slid the massive hearth on the fireplace a few inches from its moorings in the wall by the time Halfdan appeared.