Assassin's Mask

by Everly Frost

  Her movements are slow and considered, her face paler than pale.

  She says, “Briar, this is your weapon.”

  Briar remains tall and emotionless. “It is.”

  The Guardian’s voice shakes, her hands folding over and over in front of her, wringing themselves.

  She says, “Then, under the Assassin’s Code, you are charged with killing an assassin for which the penalty is death.”

  I jump away from the railing. “What are you saying? Briar isn’t an assassin. She isn’t bound by the Code.”

  Tears fill the Guardian’s eyes. “You don’t understand… Briar is a Horde assassin. In fact, she was once second in command.”

  I shake my head. “No, that’s not true. Briar is my friend. She is loyal to me. She’s… homeless for goodness sake. Look at her! She’s not an assassin…”

  “Hunter.” Slade reaches for me but I dodge him.

  “No.” I step in front of Briar, pulling her behind me. They’re wrong. She’s too frail to be an assassin. “This is a mistake.”

  The Guardian doesn’t try to move me. Nobody tries to touch me.

  Briar speaks softly as she slides her hand into mine. “I’m sorry I never told you. I left the Horde behind many years ago. I was lucky to find your mother and she gave me a new purpose in life: protecting you. I’ve watched over you since you were a baby. It’s been my honor to serve you.”

  My eyes burn. I can’t look at her or acknowledge what she said because that will make it true. “I just lost William. I can’t lose you, too.”

  She squeezes my hand. “I broke the first rule. That means death.” She turns to the Guardian with a clear declaration. “I would do it again.”

  My fear and grief turn to rage. I scream at the others, “Which one of you will do it? Which one of you will dare lay a hand on her?”

  There is silence. Slade doesn’t move. Neither does Vlad.

  Standing off to the side, Ridley’s worry hits me hard.

  The Guardian turns to them. “Someone must. If Briar’s actions are allowed to go unpunished, then none of you is safe from the others. You are all trained to kill. If there are no consequences for killing each other then you can expect a bloodbath.”

  Her shoulders sag. Tears drip down her cheeks. “I’m begging you. One of you… please…”

  Lutz breaks the silence with a low murmur. “I will do it.”

  He meets my eyes. He told me that he kills with his hands because he never wants it to be easy. Of all the assassins here, I never expected him to take on this burden.

  He speaks directly to me when he says, “I can be the bad guy you need me to be.”

  He’s doing it so I won’t have to hate someone I love. I won’t have to hate Slade, Vlad, Ridley, or even Cain. But I don’t want to hate Lutz either. I cover my mouth with my hand, unable to cry or scream.

  The Guardian whispers, “Sanctioned.”

  Lutz growls at Briar, “You have until tomorrow morning, old lady. Put your affairs in order. Say your goodbyes. I will find you then.”

  He spins on his heel and strides away up the street. He knows I won’t want to look at him again.

  I swing to her. “Briar, please, run. Go somewhere safe. You can go back to the Horde. They will protect you—”

  “No, Milady. The death of an assassin is a matter for all. I would rather die at the hands of one who will regret it.” She takes my face in both her hands, forcing me to listen to her. “Lutz Logan will remember me always. There are those in the Horde who would not kill me so kindly.”

  She presses her forehead to mine, a fierce final gesture. “I have watched you grow up, Hunter. Your mother was so proud of you. Always choosing your own path, paving your own way in this world. I will be with you in spirit. Always. As will William.”

  She releases me, striding away before I can stop her.

  I don’t know where to turn. The foundations of my world have shifted irreversibly and now I have none. I don’t know what I’m standing on or where I fit. With the assassins gathered in front of me? With Slade and my father? Or with the people—my people—mourning William behind me?

  “Hunter?” Tansy’s quiet voice breaks through.

  She holds out her hand to me as she reaches the porch, a gesture I never expected her to make. I place my hand in hers and follow her to William’s side, dropping to my knees beside him. I am unable to move any longer. Every part of my body has frozen like old, rusted joints.

  Tansy’s arm brushes against mine as we lean into each other. He was a father to both of us and now we’ve lost him.

  She whispers, “I would like to bury him in witch’s fire tonight. Please, will you agree?”

  I ask, “What is witch’s fire?”

  “It’s a pyre but it doesn’t burn like ordinary flames. It is only for the most honorable, the most beloved…” Her voice cracks. She squeezes her eyes closed, tears escaping down her cheeks.

  I whisper, “You don’t need my permission.”

  The assassins gather behind us, quiet and strong. Ridley and Vlad give me the space I need, lending me their quiet presence. The Guardian bends her head, praying quietly.

  Slade meets my eyes for a moment before he lowers his own, but not before I see the fire in them.

  Lady Tirelli will die.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Slade takes charge of the clean up, including dealing with Fallon. He creates another partial Realm, a fake illusion of the Lane to shield us from the outside world while the Legion’s clean-up crew quietly sets to work removing all signs of the battle. The men and women in the crew look tired. They’ve just come from the Realm where many assassins died.

  Vlad brings Tansy her spellbook and she takes a moment to place a spell on Dean to stop his pain and cause him to enter a deep sleep the moment he gets home. She also uses her magic to tend lovingly to William’s body, removing all signs of his wound and cleaning up the space around us. Then, she reveals the Coda and the Vade, telling me she hid them using her magic as soon as Fallon appeared in the room. It was why he hit her and knocked her out.

  She and I remain with William, unable to leave him, while Slade and the others come and go. It’s quiet inside the dojo, even with the wide doors left open. The breeze inside the Lane is no longer freezing cold. Not so warm that a bystander would think the seasons had shifted from winter to spring, but warm enough that our breath doesn’t frost as we wait for the sun to lower.

  At one point, Tansy tells me that to summon the witch’s fire she needs to stay by William’s side until night falls.

  She says, “You have to get ready for tonight. I’ll understand if you can’t stay.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.” I curl my knees to my chest and lean against the nearest wooden support.

  She gives me a nod and that is all.

  Later, Slade brings us food and hot drinks. It’s a simple but thoughtful gesture, this ferocious assassin taking care of me. He hands a mug to Tansy who surprises me when she takes hold of his hand before he can leave.

  His eyes grow wide at the contact—they were never friends—but she doesn’t let go.

  She says, “Vlad told me that Lady Tirelli breached your Realm.”

  He sighs. “She did.”

  She asks, “Does that mean she could attack again?”

  “Unfortunately, yes. We have to assume she can breach any Realm. We aren’t safe like we thought.”

  He meets her steady gaze, his expression weighted with the knowledge that he can’t protect his people.

  Tansy considers Slade for a moment. “Then you should bring your men here.”

  He is surprised. “To Saber Lane?”

  She says, “The protective shield I’ve placed around Saber Lane is not Realm magic and it’s not assassin’s magic. It’s my magic. Lady Tirelli will never breach it. Bring your men here where they will be safe until you can end her tonight.”

  “I… that would be…” Slade clears his throat and gives her a de
ep nod. “I would be grateful. Thank you.”

  Tansy returns to her former brusqueness as she follows up with a pointed finger. “But only for one night. You’d better finish that woman because I’m sending all your people back where they belong tomorrow. I won’t have my home overrun with assassins.”

  “Of course.”

  I say to Slade, “Thank you for the coffee,” but I mean so much more than that. Thank you for being here. Thank you for helping protect my people.

  When he heads back out to the street, Tansy says, “Assassins are unusual creatures.” She flicks me a glance. “They kill and yet they love.”

  Her eyes lower. “I finally figured out what ‘Solnyshka’ means.”

  It’s the name Vlad calls Tansy. I give a quiet, “Hmm?”

  “It means ‘little sun.’” She frowns, perplexed. “I think it might be because of my hair.”

  I hide a smile. “Are you and Vlad…?”

  Her eyes widen. “No. Of course not. He sleeps in the spare room. He’s ferocious, violent, and…” She deflates. “Unexpectedly kind.”

  I murmur, “All of the above.”

  When the sun finally sinks below the horizon and the cold creeps back into the air, a glow builds around Tansy. It might have been there all day and I just couldn’t see it. It’s stronger than her aura, like the beginning of a burning ember.

  As the last ray of light descends, she says to me, “This is a time of truth.” She falters, folding her hands in her lap. “William wanted me to tell you… why I am the way I am.”

  I stay very still. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me.”

  She says, “But I need to. I need to tell you that when I first met you, I was angry. But what I couldn’t admit was that I was angry with myself. Seeing you after all that time reminded me of how much I hate myself.”

  I shake my head, keeping my response to a whisper. “Why?”

  “Because it’s my fault that my mother died.”

  I tilt my head. “You were three years old. You can’t be responsible for that.”

  “But I am.” She tucks her skirt beneath her knees as she twists toward me. “It was believed within my mother’s coven and beyond, that I had been born with incredible power. My aunt wanted my power so badly that she killed ten other witches to make herself strong enough to take it. She wasn’t after my mother. She was after me.”

  I consider Tansy carefully. “That was her choice, not yours.”

  She studies her hands. “But it was my power that killed my mother. My aunt was holding me in her arms, sucking my power from me. My mother tried to stop her so my aunt directed my power toward my mother to kill her. That’s when your mother arrived.”

  She raises her compelling, green eyes to mine, speaking softly, “Anna had a choice: the only way to save my mother was to kill me to reverse the spell already cast. She chose to kill my aunt instead, leaving my mother to die. She chose my life.”

  I am quiet while Tansy continues, “So I hate myself. I hate my power. I was damaged after what my aunt did to me, but my true power remains beneath the surface. I can only access it in moments of extreme emotion. Otherwise, I have to read from a book, as you know.”

  She reaches out to me, lifting her hand into the air between us, waiting for me to take it. She blinks away her tears, pressing her lips together, trying to speak. “I don’t want to hate myself anymore.”

  I uncurl from my position and lean forward to take her hand, allowing her to lean on me as she clambers to her feet.

  She holds on tight as the glow around her brightens, faint, flickering flames growing, dimming, and then rising again. I’m not afraid of them. Or of her. She lifts her other hand and William’s body rises off the floor, floating ahead of us as we turn and follow his body down the stairs and out onto the street.

  The others have gathered at a spot outside the bookshop, waiting for us. Slade has brought all of the remaining assassins here. Some are wounded, others are helping the wounded, but they all wait quietly.

  Tansy says, “William was a father to me.”

  She trickles flames through the air. They lap at William’s body, curling around him, covering him completely until the glow is too bright to watch. I turn aside, the light playing at the edge of my vision. Tansy is the only one who doesn’t take her eyes off him. Her eyes glow with the same fiery light.

  When the fire around William recedes, only a single flame remains burning in the air where his body used to be. Finally, it also flickers out.

  The light in her eyes dies. “He will rest in peace.”

  She turns to me as the dark of evening grows around us. “It’s time for you to get ready.”

  Vlad steps out from behind Tansy. “Hunter, I will write in your ledger now.”

  I nod and lead him to the bookshop while Slade, the Guardian, and Ridley follow close behind. The others stay out on the street.

  Inside the shop, I inhale the comforting scent of books. William isn’t gone. He’s here, inside the pages of all the books he touched and the knowledge he left behind.

  Vlad takes up my pen and swiftly fills out my ledger. In the section for the target’s name, he writes:

  The woman known as Lady Tirelli.

  And in the reasons section, he writes:

  For the future.

  But he pauses at the section for offered payment. This is the tricky part. He already offered me a favor—which I don’t intend to ask him for. He is a Master. For him to owe another Master a debt creates a very delicate situation.

  He rumbles in his deep voice, “When my former Master wrote Lady Tirelli’s name in my ledger, he wrote in this part… ‘your life.’” Vlad grips the pen hard. “He meant that he was offering me his allegiance. Many former Masters seek to undermine the new Master in any way they can. At the same time, new Masters often seek to have their former Master killed—in ways that don’t break the Code. That’s why Briar came here.”

  He swallows. “This is what I’m offering you, Hunter.”

  He writes: Peace.

  I acknowledge his offer. “Thank you, Vlad.”

  He says, “When I failed to kill Lady Tirelli, it wasn’t because she was stronger or faster than me. It was because she blindsided me. She isn’t what you expect. Don’t be fooled by her appearance. You need to strike, and strike hard.”

  He steps back from the ledger.

  The Guardian presses her ring to the page and her sanction glows golden across it.

  Lady Tirelli is now my target.

  Before I go upstairs to get ready, Slade sends a message to Cain about what happened on Saber Lane but reassures him that our plan for the evening still holds. Cain sends a swift response in the form of a sleek, armored vehicle to transport us safely to the event.

  I block out my surroundings while I dress, ignoring every reminder of William—his scribbled notes on the kitchen table, his partly open bedroom door—focusing on showering, dressing, finding my heels… but I hit a wall when it comes to doing my hair and makeup. Such stupid things to struggle with. I grip the bathroom sink, frozen, until a tentative knock on the door jolts me upright.

  Tansy is pale when I open it, but she reaches for my hairbrush, pulling it through my hair. “When my grandmother died, I felt like it was wrong to care about the way I looked, like it was vanity. But William helped me see that caring for myself is important. It’s not selfish.”

  She sprays my hair and then painstakingly curls the ends until it’s tamed and silky, cascading down my back. “You don’t normally need makeup but tonight, you need a face.”

  She sets to work and when she’s done, the woman staring back at me in the mirror is both vulnerable and untouchable—dark lashes, full lips, and fierce emerald eyes.

  Tansy has certainly worked some magic on me.

  When I tap-tap my way to the bottom of the stairs in my heels, I find both Vlad and Slade waiting. Cain is already at the gala, but nobody else is coming with us. After a lot of objections, we fina
lly convince Ridley that he needs to stay here where it’s safe. I look him in the eye and tell him that I won’t lose him, too. He hugs me and lets me go.

  Slade and Vlad are both dressed in black tie attire, their suits tailored to perfection. Their clothing is made out of protective material with numerous hidden pockets. My dress, on the other hand, was made for taking off, not protecting me. I carry a single, short blade tucked down my front beneath the scaffolding provided by my push-up bra.

  My dress is black with a fitted V-neck bodice that is beaded provocatively across the bust and flares at the waist. The folds of material stop above my knees and are lined with deep purple material that is visible from the front. It allows for full movement of my arms and legs and it’s the perfect color for my task tonight.

  Slade takes my hand as we walk up the street toward the waiting vehicle.

  He leans in to me, his voice a soothing whisper. “I know you need to do this. But you just lost William. Remember you’re not alone.”

  I haven’t cried since the witch’s fire. If I give in to grief, I’ll stop functioning.

  For the second time in a month, I tell myself: I am a machine.

  I say, “I promise I’ll deal with the pain. But I’ll do it tomorrow. Tonight I have only one focus.”

  He gives me a nod but his own expression is open to me. He’s worried. He knows what it’s like to lose himself to pain. It’s written all over his face that he doesn’t want to lose me to it, too.

  I push the last of my emotions away and let my Valkyrie power rise. Tonight I need the killer, not the human.

  Tonight I will wear the assassin’s mask.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  It takes less than ten minutes to drive to the grand hotel on St. James Avenue where the ball is being held. The front entrance is lit up with golden lights. A valet opens the car door for us. The foyer is decorated with soft blue lights and the vast ballroom with glittering chandeliers.

  Slade stays at my elbow, a protective presence. Vlad also sticks with me for now, but he will soon break off to find a strategic position to keep watch. Our plan is to meet with Cain, drawing as much attention as we can, and then separate to different corners of the room. That way, Lady Tirelli will be forced to choose her target.