The Assassin

by Trudie Collins

  A few days later a message arrived from Nosmas which brought Sam out of the depression that she was falling into. The warning had arrived too late. By the time he reached the village, Vicky was already dead, having supposedly fallen down some stairs and broken her neck. The bird carrying the message arrived the next morning and Nosmas started asking questions and soon discovered that a stranger had arrived and was the last person to see Vicky alive. He had left the day after her death.

  The news made Sam’s concerns suddenly seem trivial and selfish and she vowed to put her melancholy thoughts out of her mind. Kat was a healthy young child and was surrounded by people who loved her. She should be grateful for all of the things her daughter did have instead of worrying about those she did not.

  Nosmas’s message said he would head straight to Patrick’s island so they were not surprised when a few weeks later Willard announced that a visitor had arrived. It was earlier than any of them expected, but they knew he would make all haste.

  It was not, however, Nosmas who crossed the bridge to the island. Instead Tor and Ria walked into the castle, with Seth and Dal in tow. They had not changed at all since Sam had last seen them. Seth, whose ginger hair and large nose prevented him from being attractive, was holding the hand of his wife, whose curly blonde hair and blue eyes emphasised her beauty. Ria’s body was as athletic as ever and her long blonde hair was tied back in its usual ponytail. Her overall physique, combined with her pretty face and stunning green eyes, made her appealing to many men. Tor, with his tall muscular body and beard, looked more like a ranger than a Prince.

  It was not the happy reunion those in the castle had been expecting. Tor was there to give them some sad news that he preferred to give in person. The sun was just beginning to set, so everyone made their way to one of the reception rooms and waited for Hawk to awaken.

  “Ban is dead,” Tor announced once everyone was present. Zenda had offered to leave them alone, but Tor had insisted that she stay.

  “What happened?” Ellen asked, blinking tears out of her eyes. Ban had travelled with them for a good part of the quest and everyone had grown fond of him.

  “Helen sent one of her personal messengers to me to deliver the tragic news. He went climbing in the nearby mountains and there was a rockslide. He was crushed to death. Those who found his body think he died instantly. The only consolation is that he did not suffer.”

  Dean, Sam, Ellen, Patrick, Hawk and Zenda looked at each other, the same thought going through each of their minds. Was this truly an accident?

  Tor did not notice the look as he had not finished delivering bad news. “Liselle, Torrick and Cub are also dead.” He had been expecting shocked reactions and was concerned to find his friends faces filled with worry.

  “Was that also an alleged accident?” Sam asked, though she already knew what the answer would be.

  “Yes,” Ria confirmed. “King Allias sent word that there was a fire at their cottage and they died before the rescuers could get to them. It was a cold night and it looked like they had left the fire burning when they went to bed, but somehow it got out of control.” She looked around at the faces staring at her and something Sam said suddenly struck her as odd. “What do you mean by ‘alleged’ accident?”

  It was Zenda who answered. “Someone is having all those who helped Vitkin on the quest murdered.”

  “And it looks as though those who helped you are going to suffer the same fate,” Patrick finished, looking straight at Tor.

  Ria, who had been standing up, collapsed into a chair as silence filled the room.

  “Are you sure about this?” Seth asked.

  “I am certain that some who worked with Vitkin are already dead and someone tried to kill me,” Zenda confirmed. “It seems too much of a coincidence that some of the people who travelled with you have also died in accidents.”

  “But who would do such a thing?” Dal asked, “And why?”

  “We have been asking ourselves that exact question. Whoever it is, he managed to get to Vicky before we could warn her. Nosmas is on his way here now.”

  “You said he,” Tor observed. “How do you know it is a he?”

  “It was a hired assassin that made the attempt on my life,” Zenda told him. “We suspect it was the same man who killed Nosmas’s mother, though we may be wrong. We have no idea who hired him and it is that person that we really need to track down. If we neutralize the assassin, he or she will hire another one.”

  It was only then that Hawk worked out the implications of what was being said. “I hope you all realise that, if your suspicions are correct, we are all in danger.”

  “I think that an attempt has already been made on Tor’s life,” Ria told them. “A package arrived for Brodin just before we left to come here. Luckily it was his mother who opened it. She recognised what was inside and would not let him touch it.”

  “What was it?” Dean asked, though everyone in the room, except Zenda, already had their suspicions.

  “My father’s royal chain,” Tor confirmed. “The one that would end the quest. If Brodin had touched it, Cirren and I would both have killed ourselves.”

  “Where is it now?” Ellen asked, concerned that it could still be a danger to the Princes.

  “Mother had it reburied with my father. It is back round his neck where it belongs. She has now taken it upon herself to open everything sent to Brodin or myself from an unknown sender, just to be on the safe side.”

  “So what do we do now?” Hawk asked.

  “We have no choice,” Patrick said. “We have to warn everyone.”

  “I will get some letters written,” Ellen volunteered. “Sam and Dean can find some winged carriers for us.”

  “No,” Tor said, waving Ellen back into her seat, which she had vacated in order to find writing equipment. “If someone wishes to kill us all, we need to stay together. We have to find the rest of our group and warn them in person.”

  “That makes sense,” Seth interposed. “Who is first?”

  It was Sam who replied. “Brin.”

  “You need to think this through rationally,” Dean said, taking hold of her hand. “Brin is probably safer than any of the others. From what I have heard about that forest he lives in, it is more secure than Fort Knox.”

  “He is right,” Seth said. “We should make Tor’s brothers the priority, then we have to go to River, Grimmel, Quartilla and Hurst.”

  “But we have no idea where River and Grimmel are and have no way of getting to Hurst. Brin is closest and easiest to get to,” Sam protested.

  “We all understand your desire to warn Brin sweetheart,” Dean said gently, “but you have to do what is best for everyone.”

  “Do what you want,” Sam said as she stood up. “I am leaving in the morning to go to the elves. Come with me or stay here. I really don’t care.” Without another word, she left the room, slamming the door behind her.

  Dean stood up to follow her, but Hawk grabbed his arm. “Leave her alone until she calms down,” he suggested. “You will only make things worse if you try to talk to her now.”

  Dean nodded his agreement and sat down once more. Sam would not be reasonable while she was in this mood and he would just be wasting his breath if he approached her.

  “She does have a point though,” Dal said. “We should start with those we know how to find.”

  “I know,” Tor said in a resigned tone. “I will get messages sent to my brothers, telling them of the threat and requesting that they warn any who accompanied them on the quest. They are more protected than any of the others right now and sending a messenger will be quicker than going ourselves. Then visiting Brin is probably the best idea. I do not want to take Sam along though.”

  Dean laughed ruefully. “You can be the one to tell her that. I am definitely staying out of that conversation.”

  “I will go and talk to her.”

  “You will be wasting your time,” Hawk told him. “I can guarantee she will sit there a
nd patiently listen to everything you have to say, then ignore every word of it.”

  Tor glanced at Dean, who nodded his agreement with Hawk’s assessment. Then his eyes fell on Ellen and he smiled. “Maybe this is the perfect time for the women to get together for some girl talk.”

  “Tor,” she replied in an overly sweet voice. “You know I love you like a brother, but this one is all yours.”

  Patrick chuckled, but soon turned serious. “You have had a long journey and must be tired. May I suggest you get some sleep and reassess what should be done when you are refreshed.”

  It was a sensible suggestion, which they all decided to follow. Rooms had already been prepared for them, so they bid their hosts a good night and retired until the morning.

  As the first rays of light entered her room, Sam was awoken to the sound of giggles. Dean had wisely chosen to sleep in another room instead of risking disturbing her when he went to bed, so she was alone. The sounds were coming from the adjoining room, which was acting as a nursery. Slipping a gown over her night clothes, she made her way across the room, slowly opened the door and peered inside.

  The giggles were coming from her daughter, who was being tickled by Seth. Dal, Ria and Tor were also there. Having awoken while it was still dark, Kat had sought out Hawk, who told her of the new arrivals. The little girl went straight to the guest rooms to wake them up and demand attention. She had then led them all back to her nursery, which she wished to show off.

  “You can say no to her,” Sam said as she entered the room.

  “I tried,” Seth told her, “but your daughter can be very persuasive.”

  “She looks a lot like her father,” Tor observed. While Ria, Seth and Dal had already met Kat, having visited Patrick’s Island earlier in the year, Tor had always been too busy, so this was the first time he had seen her. “You plan on taking her with you I presume.” He knew Sam would go to see Brin no matter what he said so there would be no point in arguing with her.

  Sam nodded. “Brin knows all about her thanks to Nisse, so it is about time he met her.”

  They were interrupted by Patrick poking his head around the door that opened into the corridor. “We have another visitor,” he announced. “Nosmas has just reached the bridge.”

  The wizard received a much larger reception than he had been expecting when he made it to the castle that evening. He had not been warned that Tor, Ria, Seth and Dal were already on the island so seeing them came as a nice surprise. The news they delivered did not. He was shocked to hear of the deaths and became very ill-at-ease when Tor explained what everyone thought they signified.

  “We planned to leave this morning to warn Brin, but decided to postpone for a day when we heard you were on your way. I presume you will be coming with us tomorrow.”

  “No,” Nosmas said, surprising them all. “I will have to meet you there.”

  “Do you have something more important to do?” Patrick asked, half mockingly.

  “I have to save Quartilla,” came the solemn reply.

  Chapter 4

  Everyone rose early the next morning. As they would have Hawk with them, they would fall into their usual routine of travelling at night, but it was safer to cross the bridge from Patrick’s island to the mainland during daylight hours, so they needed to leave as soon as possible.

  Before retiring for the night, Nosmas had been questioned about his insistence that he head to Quartilla’s father’s estate instead of accompanying them to Eshden forest. When Quartilla had left her home, for her own safety, and joined the quest, Nosmas had been named as her guardian and he had taken the role very seriously. In response to the questioning, he simply stated that he still considered himself to be her guardian and protector and was acting accordingly. Nobody could prise anything more out of him, so they had let the matter drop.

  Mrs Willard had risen well before the sun in order to prepare some food to take with them. She packed so much there was barely enough room in the wagon for the group’s personal belongings as Hawk’s coffin took up a large amount of the remaining available space. The coffin was loaded before sunrise as nobody wished to carry it with him inside.

  When Sam explained to her daughter where they were going she became excited and jumped into the front of the wagon, impatiently awaiting the arrival of the others. She grumbled when told that they needed to eat before they could leave and sulked throughout breakfast. Despite numerous urgings, Nosmas decided not to travel with them for the initial leg of his journey, stating that the wagon would slow him down too much.

  It was a surprisingly pleasant, though uneventful, journey. There was still the sense of urgency they had felt while on the quest, but there was no mystery as to where they were going or what they would find when they got there, so the oppressive foreboding that had seemed to fill them the last time they had travelled together was not present. The weather remained fair, Hawk provided a constant supply of fresh meat and they made good progress.

  The only problem was Kat. It was the first time she had been off the island and she was eager to see new things, however they did not have time to stop and sightsee and she soon became bored. While light permitted, she would sit in the wagon and someone would read to her, but her attention soon wandered and she regularly complained that she wanted someone to play with her.

  Hawk did his best to keep her entertained during the night, taking her with him when he went flying ahead on scouting missions and Seth kept her enthralled as much as he could by telling her stories about everything they had done while on the quest. At Sam’s insistence, he never mentioned the more dangerous parts and he ended up having to make things up to fill the gaps, but the young girl did not notice.

  While living on the island, she had gotten into a routine of having two smaller sleeps instead of one long one so that she could spend time with her favourite uncle and this seemed to work well while they travelled. A guard was always posted, so if she awoke while her mother was still sleeping, there was someone on hand to keep an eye on her. Due to having such a young travelling companion, they stopped at inns more regularly than they would have done without her, much to the ladies’ pleasure.

  It was early one morning that the edge of the forest came into view. The sun had arisen, so Hawk was already in his coffin, and Kat, having been awake for most of the night, was sleeping curled up beside it, covered by his cloak. When they reached the first line of trees, everyone dismounted.

  “What are we waiting for?” Dean asked, wondering why they had stopped.

  “It is not polite to enter the elves’ forest without permission,” Tor informed him.

  “Great,” Dean muttered. “How long are we going to have to wait?” He was in no hurry to see Brin again, but did not relish the prospect of waiting around for hours at the edge of the trees.

  Sam smiled at him. “They already know we are here.”

  No sooner had she finished speaking than two elves appeared in front of them. They were dressed in identical brown uniforms, each displaying on their right shoulders the insignia that identified them as members of the Home Guard. They were armed with bows and, though they had them slung across their backs, Sam knew that they could have an arrow loaded and ready to fire quicker than she could draw a knife, had she one to draw.

  “Who are you and why are you here?” one of them asked, pausing in odd places the way all elves seemed to when speaking in the human tongue. It was said in a friendly manner and Tor approached them.

  “Prince Tor of Remeny,” he said formally. “We are here to discuss an urgent matter with Prince Brin.”

  Sam’s heart rate increased for a moment, as it did every time she heard his name. It still seemed odd hearing him called Prince; it would be stranger still hearing him referred to as King once he had been crowned.

  “Please wait here a moment,” the elf who had addressed them requested before disappearing into the trees.

  “Do you all wish to visit the Prince?” the second elf enquired. Dean was ab
out to say it was none of his business, but Tor spoke first, forestalling him.

  “Yes. We know we will not be able to take our wagon via the most direct route and would be most grateful if a guide could be provided to show us the alternate way through the forest.”

  Before the elf had time to reply, movement was heard behind him. “Prince Tor,” a familiar voice called out. “To what do we owe this pleasure?”

  “It is good to see you Nisse,” Tor responded. “How have you been?”

  “I cannot complain.” He greeted each of the visitors warmly and gave Sam an affectionate hug.

  “How is he?” she asked. There was no need to ask who she was talking about.

  “Surviving,” he replied. “I cannot truthfully say he is doing much more than that. The only time he seems really alive is when he is with his sons, but even then part of him seems to be somewhere else. Are you sure this is a good idea? You being here I mean.”

  “It is necessary,” she told him.

  “Where is Katherine” he asked, looking around for the child.

  “Asleep in the back of the wagon.” Nisse moved closer to take a look, but Sam held him back. “It took me ages to get her down, please do not wake her.”

  As requested, Nisse did not go any nearer, but he had already spotted the coffin, so he knew that Hawk travelled with them. “So what do you want to do? Wait here until she awakens or leave her in the wagon? It will take a few days to reach the city going the long way round.” Sam looked towards Dal, who nodded.

  “Leave her. Seth and Dal will take good care of her. Besides, she will have her favourite uncle with her to keep her out of any mischief.”