“Once we’re settled, I’ll see about fetching water and getting some eggs, cheese, and the like from the carts in the market a few streets over,” Henri said. “Maybe a chicken for the pot.” He looked at Rett’s wounded leg and pursed his lips. “Definitely a chicken for soup. Speeds healing.”
Rett chuckled. “I think that’s more for a fever than a gunshot.”
Henri shrugged, nonplussed. “Good for what ails you.”
Ridge sat back with a satisfied grin as the fire began to blaze, lighting the room and immediately driving back the worst of the chill. He wiped his hands on his pants as he stood, and swiped his sleeve across the table as he pulled out a chair. “Change your clothing and sit down,” Ridge ordered, with a look at Rett. Henri came back a few minutes later with cups and poured them all a measure of whiskey as Ridge and Rett changed out of their soaked garments. At some point in readying the room, Henri had managed to procure dry clothes for himself as well.
Too sore and tired to argue, Rett complied and fidgeted with the cards as he thought. “What now?”
Ridge shrugged. “You heal. We track who the winners and losers are with the Witch Lord, and try to figure out his next move.”
“Where’s Lorella?” Rett looked to Henri.
He smiled. “Lady Sally Anne offered her sanctuary, and Lorella decided to take her up on it, for now. Duke Barton’s children have moved on, and she’s afraid—rightly so, in my opinion—that after what happened at Bleakscarp and elsewhere, she’s too visible for her own good. Thought she might be of use at Harrowmont, helping the children learn to handle their abilities.”
Rett thought about how it had been for him and Ridge, struggling to learn to control what they didn’t understand and at the same time, terrified of the consequences of discovery. “I’m sure she’ll be an asset.”
“I suspect that after what we told the king, he’ll be taking a long look at the docks, which should put a crimp in the opium trade—and the smuggled weapons,” Ridge mused.
“We probably didn’t make any friends with the caravan masters, either,” Rett said with a sigh. “Especially the ones who were enslaving and selling the children.”
“I had a talk with Master Hans,” Henri said, clearing his throat. “He refused to go to Harrowmont because he wanted to get back to his brother and friends here in the city. But since he was one of the…feral…urchins and knew others who might also be at risk, he agreed to work with us. After things settle down, he’ll help us relocate any of the children with abilities he can persuade to go to Lady Sally Anne’s.”
“And she’s all right with this?” Rett asked, eyebrows rising.
Henri chuckled. “I believe the good lady is actually enjoying herself—as are the women to whom she provides sanctuary. The urchins may find themselves quite soundly mothered.”
What Rett remembered of his time on the streets before the orphanage was cold, hunger, and danger. He wouldn’t wish that on anyone, let alone a child. When Ridge nudged him gently with an elbow, Rett realized he’d been silent too long. From the look in Ridge’s eyes, his partner guessed where his thoughts had gone.
“They’ll be safe,” Ridge said. “And better than the monks—they won’t have to hide who they are and what they can do. Together, they can figure it out. And they’ve got Lorella to help. It’ll be a good thing.”
Rett nodded, finding his throat too tight to speak.
Ridge looked up at a sudden thought. “What about the ghosts at Bleakscarp? Much as I appreciated the rescue, all that anger could be dangerous if it weren’t being directed at murdering, traitorous scum.”
“When Lorella comes back, she’s offered to intervene—if Lord Sandicott agrees,” Henri said. “We had plenty of time to talk on the carriage ride to Harrowmont.”
“How bad do you think we’ll have it when we report for duty?” Rett asked, taking a slug of his whiskey.
Ridge shrugged. “Burke’ll make us pay—kinda has to, as an example. On the other hand, Kristoph made his feelings pretty clear. So, more than a warning; less than an execution.”
Rett glared at him. “That’s the best you can do?”
The fire had already warmed up the new rooms and cast a cozy glow. A kettle began to boil on the hearth, and next to it, a cauldron with onions and dried beans would become a warm soup in a few hours. They were mostly undamaged, King Kristoph was alive and grateful, and Burke didn’t seem inclined to make them overly miserable. They’d beat back the Witch Lord, and while Rett felt sure they hadn’t seen the last of Yefim Makary, they’d have breathing room to regroup.
Hard experience had taught him to appreciate whatever good moments life tossed his way since storms would surely follow.
“Yeah, I think that for now, I’ll take it. Not too shabby, compared to the alternatives.” Ridge grinned. “Let’s have a little more of that whiskey, and enjoy what we’ve got while we can.”
Watch for Ridge, Rett, and Henri to return in Sellsword’s Oath, Book 2 in the Assassins of Landria series.
Afterword
Assassin’s Honor is epic fantasy without the epic length, offering a lighter experience for readers who like a rousing medieval adventure but want something a little shorter, with fewer point of view characters and interweaving plot threads, something more like a movie than a TV mini-series. My goal was to give you all of the excitement and action of a ‘big fat fantasy’ with less of the wrist strain. If you know a friend who gave up reading thick tomes because life keeps them too busy, this is for them—please spread the word!
I think of this series as Butch and Sundance if they were medieval assassins, a buddy-flick with some funny moments to counter the darker threads, an adventure that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Rett and Ridge will be back for more in Sellsword’s Oath.
About the Author
Gail Z. Martin is the author of Vengeance, the sequel to Scourge in her Darkhurst epic fantasy series, and Assassin’s Honor in the new Assassins of Landria series. Tangled Web is the newest novel in the urban fantasy series that includes both Deadly Curiosities and Vendetta and two collections, Trifles and Folly and Trifles and Folly 2, set in Charleston, SC. Shadow and Flame is the fourth book in the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga and The Shadowed Path and The Dark Road are in the Jonmarc Vahanian Adventures series. Co-authored with Larry N. Martin are Iron and Blood, the first novel in the Jake Desmet Adventures series and the Storm and Fury collection; and the Spells, Salt, & Steel: New Templars series (Mark Wojcik, monster hunter). Under her urban fantasy MM paranormal romance pen name of Morgan Brice, Witchbane and Badlands are the newest releases.
She is also the author of Ice Forged, Reign of Ash, and War of Shadows in The Ascendant Kingdoms Saga, The Chronicles of The Necromancer series (The Summoner, The Blood King, Dark Haven, Dark Lady’s Chosen) and The Fallen Kings Cycle (The Sworn, The Dread).
Gail’s work has appeared in over 35 US/UK anthologies. Newest anthologies include: The Weird Wild West, Alien Artifacts, Cinched: Imagination Unbound, Gaslight and Grimm, Baker Street Irregulars, Journeys, Hath no Fury, and Afterpunk: Steampunk Tales of the Afterlife.
Find out more at www.GailZMartin.com, at DisquietingVisions.com, on Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/GailZMartin, and free excerpts on Wattpad http://wattpad.com/GailZMartin. Join Gail’s newsletter and get free excerpts at http://eepurl.com/dd5XLj
Also by Gail Z. Martin
Deadly Curiosities
Deadly Curiosities
Vendetta
Tangled Web
Trifles and Folly
Trifles and Folly 2
Darkhurst
Scourge
Vengeance
Ascendant Kingdoms
Ice Forged
Reign of Ash
War of Shadows
Shadow and Flame
Chronicles of the Necromancer / Fallen Kings Cycle
The Summoner
The Blood King
Dark Haven
Dark Lady’s Chosen
The Dread
The Shadowed Path
The Dark Road
Other books by Gail Z. Martin and Larry N. Martin
Jake Desmet Adventures
Iron & Blood
Storm & Fury
Spells, Salt, & Steel: New Templars
Spells, Salt, & Steel
Open Season
Deep Trouble
Close Encounters
Assassin's Honor (Assassins of Landria Book 1) Page 24