Once

by Alyson Serena Stone

  “Well, at least, we know he’s here,” Dak said as Caskbrand lowered himself at the head of the table.

  “Yeah, but it still doesn’t solve our problem of getting in and actually taking care of the job,” Ryanon snapped. “Now, that he’s here, there’s bound to be even more security.”

  Dak shrugged. “We’ve been in tighter places before.” He froze. “I want to go back around to the other side and look at something.”

  Ryanon didn’t even have a chance to say a word as Dak disappeared from her side.

  Sighing, she looked back down into the dining room. Everyone had taken their seats and was now staring at Caskbrand with great interest as he spoke. His hands were in constant movement, making it very easy to see just the scale size of what he was talking about. It wasn’t big, but it certainly wasn’t small either. After a few minutes, Caskbrand’s hand came to rest on the box closest to him. Everyone in the room seemed to lean forward.

  “I found a way in.”

  Ryanon nearly fell off the roof as Dak spoke. She hadn’t even heard him slip in behind her. “Shut up and look!” she hissed.

  Caskbrand was unwrapping a package from inside the box. It wasn’t a weapon, like Ryanon had thought, but a vial filled with liquid. She leaned in closer, but it was no good. The only way that they were going to be able to see what Caskbrand had was to get inside the house.

  “Lead the way,” Ryanon snapped. “We don’t kill him though until we find out what is in those vials.”

  “Okay, then, but you know if we get a clean shot, we are going to have to take it,” Dak pointed out.

  “Whatever,” Ryanon muttered as she took after Dak over the side of the roof.

  The place that Dak had found was a hole in the bottom of the building that Ryanon was sure that they could not fit through. Also add in the fact that there were people walking right past it. Even though they were dressed as regular servants, Ryanon was willing to bet that they were actually armed guards.

  “Are you mental?” Ryanon hissed.

  Dak looked over at her. “I don’t see you coming up with any grand plan.”

  “We’d have to kill them all just too even have a fighting chance.”

  “I like our chances. Besides, we’ve gotten ourselves out of messier situations before.”

  Ryanon eyed the guards. They did actually look pretty weak minded and just based on the fact that they only seemed to have their eyes trained on what was right in front of them, she did like their chances. “Let’s do it.”

  Dak pulled out his knife with a dark smile on his face. “I somehow figured you come around to see things my way.”

  Creeping like a cat did on a mouse, they inched down the side of the building, using the shadows as cover. Ryanon could feel the excitement of the hunt race through her body as she crept up on the closest guard. If he had been a trained guard, he would have heard the hiss of her boots, seen the dagger shine in the moonlight, and heard the snow crunch beneath her feet.

  But he wasn’t.

  He was probably too busy looking for vampires and werewolves. Only a fool would forget that tonight was not a full moon. Only a fool would have dared left his back unguarded for even the briefest of times.

  Ryanon raised her knife and plunged it deep into his spine. He didn’t even have time to cry out a warning as he landed on the snow in a pool of his own bright red blood.

  Dak smiled over at her as he gutted his own guard.

  The other four guards in the alley hadn’t even realized what had happened yet. Ryanon prayed to the gods that they didn’t. Even though she was an assassin, she didn’t like drawing any more blood than what was necessary.

  They quickly dashed toward the hole. Up close, it looked even smaller.

  “Hurry,” Dak hissed, looking down in the other guards direction.

  “I’m trying!” Ryanon muttered as she struggled to fit through the hole. It took a few tries, but she finally managed to wiggle her way in.

  The floor beneath her was hard, but her boots absorbed most of the fall. She stood back, staring up at the hole. A few seconds later, Dak landed nimbly next to her.

  “Had those been my guards, they would be finding another job.” Dak wiped the blood off his knife on the wall. “It shouldn’t have been that easy.”

  Ryanon shrugged. “Well, at least, we didn’t have to go on a full rampage.” Her eyes darted around what looked like a cellar of some kind. “Now, how do we get to Craskbrand?”

  “We keep turning left,” Dak replied. “A good solider always makes a map of his location.”

  “How long have you been scouting this place out?”

  “Awhile.”

  “Well, it’s good to know that you do your homework.”

  They started up the steps, their boots ever so slightly squeaking. Ryanon winced. Even though she knew it really wasn’t that loud, it felt like everything was on them. She could feel the shadows gazing down at them, making them feel even smaller than ever before.

  At the top of the stairs, the door was open and a soft light left no place for them to hide. Ryanon peered carefully out into the hallway. There was no one there. She and Dak darted out into the open light and back into the safety of the shadows on the closest left hand corridor. The hallway was narrow, so narrow that Dak struggled to fit his frame through it.

  At the end of the hall, they came upon yet another left and another. Ryanon found herself wondering how many more left hand turns they would have to make.

  Then, she heard them. At the end of the hall, there was a closed door with voices and Craskbrand was talking.

  She turned to Dak and smiled. Things were looking better.

  Chapter Eighteen: What the Crime Lord Knew

  Dak looked over at Ryanon, who was leaning heavily against the door. It really was kind of a stupid move; anyone could open that door at any time. However, Dak did feel that it was also a fully necessary move. It was the only way they were actually going to hear what was going on inside.

  Dak kept his eyes trained on the hall behind him. Judging by the performance outside, he was betting that he could take them all on by himself. So far, there had been nothing, not even a servant bringing food to the meeting.

  Ryanon slowly moved back from the door. “They’re talking about rum,” she muttered so softly that Dak could hardly hear her. “I think we might have missed the good stuff.”

  Dak shook his head. “I don’t see how it’s possible. If it was anything big, they would still be talking about it.”

  Ryanon shrugged. “It doesn’t sound like anything big now.”

  If Dak didn’t know any better, he would had ventured to say that Ryanon was kind of disappointed by the information. He really didn’t blame her. Had Craskbrand been giving the plague vials to his father, it would have changed everything. However, Dak had been prepared for this. There was something pulling in his gut that told him that this was not going to be that easy.

  “Well, there’s no point in standing out waiting for them to open the door then,” Dak muttered. “We probably should get going to Craskbrand’s quarters. I still need him to get the focus off of you.”

  Ryanon gave the door one final look before following Dak down the hall. “I guess you’re right.”

  Now that they were trying to get into position, the house seemed a lot louder. Dak actually found himself wincing at the sounds of their soft breathing.

  The crime lord's quarters were located deep inside the house and were just as grand as any of the royal family's quarters. Not only did he have a private bedroom, but a private bath, study, parlour, and library. The furniture of each room was made of great wealth and seemed to be from lands that Dak knew he would never see. Some of the objects he had never seen before. Everything about it just screamed how wealthy and well connected this man actually was.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ryanon running her eyes over the contents of a small desk. "See anything of interest?" he asked, slowly going over to her
.

  She held up what looked like a small ledger. "Look at this."

  Dak leaned closer, studying Craskbrand's messy handwriting. There was a seal in the corner-a seal that he would know anywhere. "Is this really an order form from my father?"

  Ryanon nodded as she tucked the ledger into her pocket. "I just can't believe he would have left something like this out in the open." She stared at the other items. "There's nothing else here, but I just cannot believe our luck. It's almost like it was too easy."

  Dak winced at those words. Whenever something went easy in their line of work, it meant that it was a trap.

  "Someone's coming!"

  Ryanon grabbed him so quickly that he didn't even time to react. They crammed themselves into a small closest just as the door opened. She pressed harder against him.

  "Now, I'm sure I just left it up here. You may go back down," Craskbrand was saying.

  Dak held his breath as the footsteps from outside the door disappeared. The only sounds they could hear were from Craskbrand walking across the room, cursing softly under his breath.

  He knows...He knows...

  Dak slowly reached for his dagger. They were going to have to kill Craskbrand before he could alert the others and the others were probably close by now. This was supposed to be a bloodless kill. How could he have been so stupid as to go through with his plans for tonight?

  Outside, Craskbrand stopped moving. He was listening. Dak willed himself to remain still. Ryanon never seemed to have any trouble with staying still, but it was still a skill that Dak was still learning to master.

  Craskbrand's breathing grew heavier. Dak mentally cursed. This night just kept getting better and better.

  "I know you're here and I know what you want," Craskbrand wheezed. "Why don't you come out and face me? I'll have you know that I'm armed!" He paused. Dak mentally sighed. The crime lord was just guessing that there was someone here.

  More noise echoed from outside. Drawers were being thrown open and it almost sounded like sheets or curtains were being tossed aside. All Craskbrand had to do was open the closet and he would find them. If he was actually armed, it would not take much to kill them.

  Ryanon's eyes drifted up to Dak's. There wasn't an ounce of fear in them. She truly believed that they were going to get out of this without any trouble. She was just mental.

  Craskbrand shifted around a few more things outside the door. Any minute now he was going to open the door and find them. There had to be a way out. Surely, even Craskbrand, didn't know what all of his guards looked like; what Ryanon and Dak were wearing did kind of look like the guards' uniforms. Maybe if Craskbrand didn't look too closely, they could pull it off.

  Dak grabbed Ryanon and pressed his lips against hers. He winced as she drove a foot into his shin.

  "Just go with it," Dak muttered as he started kissing her again.

  Ryanon kissed him back, even going as far to bit his lip. To anyone watching, it would have looked like an affectionate move, but Dak could feel the blood starting to run down his chin.

  A few seconds later, the door opened and they found themselves looking down Craskbrand's sword. "What the devil are you doing in here?"

  Ryanon giggled, while Dak put his arm around her shoulders. "My apologizes, sire, we thought no one would be around and, well, you know how it is." He gave Ryanon a smile, tickling under her arm.

  Ryanon let out a very convincing giggle as she batted her eyelashes at Crashbrand. Aliss's training must had been paying off. "I really do hope you forgive us."

  Craskbrand looked them over, pausing for a brief time on Dak. Dak prayed he didn't say anything or make the connection. "Very well. I will be speaking to your master about this and you are going to lose your positions. It's just all poor taste, if you must ask me."

  Dak bowed his head. "Of course, sire." Still holding Ryanon's hand they slipped around the crime lord, who didn't even turn around to watch them leave. He was too busy peering into the closet and making his way slowly back to the desk, muttering under his breath.

  Dak paused just outside the door. "Oh and one thing, sire."

  Craskbrand looked up. "Yes?"

  "We were actually paid pretty good money to here tonight and it would be such a shame if we didn't hold out our end of the deal," Dak said, his voice light. "I mean, how would you like it if someone didn't make you whole?"

  Craskbrand started to reach for his sword again. "What do you mean?"

  "I mean, there is a price on your head and we've come to collect it." Dak rushed across the room toward Craskbrand and had the Crime Lord gagged before he could even cry out. Ryanon slipped beside Dak and wrestled Craskbrand's sword away.

  The crime lord looked at them with wide eyes and Dak could actually feel him shaking beneath him. "It's nothing personal," Dak went on as he pulled out his dagger. "It's just we were asked to come here tonight and we like keeping our customers happy."

  Craskbrand started shaking his head, while making gasping noises at the same time. Dak rolled his eyes. Of all the things Craskbrand could do, he was actually begging for his life.

  “Hurry up and kill him before the others come,” Ryanon snapped.

  Dak looked down at the crime lord. He really couldn’t stand it whenever people begged for their stupid lives. It just showed how weak they actually were. “Say goodnight,” Dak muttered as he drew his knife across the Crime Lord’s throat.

  Blood gushed out as Craskbrand struggled to hold onto his life. The gagging and crawling toward the door was a bit much in Dak’s book, but he couldn’t see himself actually ending it. No, Craskbrand had already done so much harm to this nation and Dak was not about to let him have the easy way out.

  Ryanon grabbed Dak’s arm and started pulling him toward the window. “We have to get out of here before he alerts his guards!”

  “Just give me a second!” Dak reached himself his tunic and pulled out a sharp looking knife. “I had this prepared for this. I managed to get some of Lord Lowis Goldspire’s blood from his room at the pub. This should do the trick.”

  Ryanon frowned at the knife. “Are you sure about that?”

  Dak shrugged. “I don’t see you coming up with any other ideas.”

  He placed the knife in the desk just as the Crime Lord let out a rather loud gaggling sound. Surely, he was going to die sometime soon. Most people bled out within seconds of having their throats opened.

  Ryanon roughly grabbed Dak. “Come on!”

  There was now movement right outside the door. How could they have been gotten up here so quickly?

  Dak gave the dying crime lord on final look before allowing Ryanon to sweep him out of the room.

  Outside it was snowing once again. The snow drifted down on the two assassins, chilling them to the bone, but at least it covered up their tracks as they made their way through Skalavik’s dark and unforgiving streets.

  Early the next morning, Dak found himself sitting at the large table in the guild’s run down study. All of the other assassins were sitting there, looking at Dak and Ryanon. By now, he was sure that they all knew about the Trelian mission and the illness, but it just made him a little uneasy having so many people in the picture.

  “Did you get it?” Karlen asked her voice a little bit too eager and happy for this early in the morning.

  Ryanon nodded. “Yes, but Dak nearly messed the entire thing up. We lingered way too long and almost were caught by Caskbrand’s guards!”

  Dak narrowed his eyes. “I really don’t remember that being a problem seeing as we actually got the job done and you’re not sitting rotting in a cell.”

  Ryanon rolled her eyes. “Yes, we did get the job done, but we still don’t know anything.”

  Dak slammed the ledger down on the table. “Well, here you go! Let’s look at it, so you’ll shut up!”

  The other assassins exchanged looks, but didn’t interfere. They all knew it was better to let Dak and Ryanon fight it out than to get between them.

  D
ak slowly opened the ledger. “I know it doesn’t look like much, but it is signed in my father’s hand. Plus, that's his seal." He pointed to the top edge of the ledger. "He tried to use his left hand instead of his right, but anyone who knows him well should be able to see who close the letter formation is to each other.” He looked over at Ryanon, who was pretending not to listen, even though she was actually hanging on to every word. She just wanted to get a reaction out of him and he was not about to give her one.

  Karlen looked at the ledger. “I don’t understand. What it is?”

  “It’s been written like a common order form, but there are clues hidden in it. Craskband was trying to make sure that his men knew just who they were actually working for. He almost destroyed his chambers trying to make sure that this did not get away from him.” Dak tapped the ledger. “It’s all the things needed to spread the plague, which is what Ryanon and I believe they are doing.”

  Ryanon frowned at the mention of her name. Dak would have thought that she would have wanted credit for coming up with the idea, but he supposed he was wrong.

  Kieran eyed the ledger, then Dak. “How would they be able to do such a thing?”

  “The ball.”

  “Then, why aren’t more people sick?” Kieran pressed. “Shouldn’t there just be more than a few streets getting sick?”

  “If they got everyone sick, then it wouldn’t like a freak accident,” Ryanon snapped. “The king and Craskbrand didn’t want it to come back on them, so they are attempting to make it look as random as possible.”

  Dak nodded. “She’s right. This is one of the best ways to get away with murder.” He pointed to another line on the ledger. “And this is the antidote. Whenever the king gives the people the antidote, he’ll look like a hero and everyone will once again be on his side.”