The Assassin

by Trudie Collins

  The Chancellor had brought some maps with him, one of which showed Thauma and the surrounding countries. He spread this out on the table then took what looked like a small metal locket out of his pocket.

  “This,” he explained, “is the tracer for Albian. It contains a piece of his hair. Do not open it or it will stop working. Simply place it in the centre of any map and it will show you where your rogue wizard is.”

  “How accurate is it?” Ellen asked, fascinated.

  “If you had a street map, it would show you the house he is in. Place it on a diagram of the correct house and it will tell you the room.”

  “Impressive,” Patrick commented.

  “Let me demonstrate,” the Chancellor continued as he placed the locket in the middle of the outspread map.

  “It looks like we are returning to Kavern once more,” Tor announced as that part of the map began to glow red.

  Chapter 24

  They crossed the border into Kavern with no problems and made their way directly to the inn Utel worked at. She was delighted to see them and greeted them warmly. She had not changed at all since they had last seen her; she was still as cheerful, and as plump. Utel paused when shaking hands with Ellen; something about her was tickling the back of her mind but would not come to the forefront.

  Ellen, seeing her confusion, smiled at her. “We have met before,” she confirmed.

  “You are the one who died,” Utel exclaimed, her memory returning.

  Ellen nodded. “It is a long story,” she told her.

  “I am free now, if you feel like telling it,” Utel said, indicating towards an empty table.

  “Aren’t you working?” Sam asked.

  “Not exactly,” Utel told her, blushing. “There is someone I want you to meet.” She called to the man behind the bar and he rushed over to join them. “This is John,” she said as she linked her arm in his. “Son of the innkeeper and my husband.”

  “Congratulations,” Ellen said and the sentiment was soon echoed by the others. Utel introduced each of the visitors, neglecting to mention titles in case they were travelling incognito once more, then sent a serving girl to the kitchen to find some food for them all.

  “You are a very brave man,” Tor told John. “Your life is going to be very, what is the word, interesting?”

  John smiled. “That is as good a word as any. She is a brutally honest person, but that is one of the things I love about her.”

  “I hope you will be very happy together,” Tor told him and shook his hand.

  John looked at him closely before removing his hand from Tor’s grip. “You are the Prince she keeps talking about,” he said accusingly.

  “I am,” Tor confirmed, “though I would prefer it if you forget my title.”

  “No problem. You have my sympathies. Utel told me you lost your brother.”

  “I lost a number of them,” Tor said sadly.

  “Tell me, what brings you here?” John enquired.

  “We are looking for someone,” Tor told him, “and we are hoping Utel or her brother may be able to help us. Eat with us and we will explain everything.”

  While Tor and John were talking, Ellen was explaining to Utel all that had happened to her since her ‘death’. When she had finished, Tor took over, telling the happy couple about the assassin and who had hired him.

  “So we know that Albian is in Kavern somewhere, or at least he was a few days ago. All we need is a map of the city to narrow down our search.”

  Utel and John looked at each other before Utel spoke. “That is going to be a problem,” she said. “The old King was insane. For some stupid reason he thought that maps could be used by sorcerers to take over the city so he ordered them all destroyed. He passed a law making it illegal to own a map or any other sort of diagram of the city and that law is yet to be repelled by the new King.”

  “Frack,” Nosmas swore, then apologised to the ladies. “What do we do now?”

  “Get some sleep,” Tor suggested. “It has been a long night and I am sure we will all think better after some rest.”

  “Good idea,” Utel said as she stood up and began piling up the empty plates. “I will organise some rooms for you. In the meantime, if you describe the man you are looking for, I will ask around. By the time you wake up, if anyone has seen him I will have the details.”

  “Tall, thin, no hair on his head, not even eyebrows,” Tor told her. “He has dark brown eyes that seem to sink into his skull and a pale red birthmark down the left side of his face.”

  “He sounds easy to recognise,” John said.

  “I should warn you,” Tor continued, “that he has magical abilities and has been known to change his appearance. The wizards in Thauma are going to block his powers but we have no idea when.”

  “Do not worry,” Utel assured the Prince. “If he is here, we will find out where he is staying. Now go and get some sleep.”

  It was late in the afternoon by the time the first of the visitors made it down to the taproom. Utel spotted Tor and took him a mug of ale.

  “I have some good news and some bad,” she told him as he took a sip of the frothy liquid. “The man you are seeking has indeed been seen in the city, but rumour has it that he has moved on.”

  “Does anyone know where he has gone or why he was here?” Utel shook her head. “Where was he staying?” Tor asked.

  “With Lady Tara.” Utel pulled a face as she said the name. Tor smiled. If he remained silent, Utel was bound to give her opinion of the woman. He was not disappointed. “Horrible woman,” Utel continued. “Always gets her own way. Where bribery does not work, she resorts to blackmail.”

  “I will speak to her,” Tor said, “to see if she knows anything.”

  Utel snorted. “I would not waste my breath if I was you. You will not get past her front door, and even if you did she would not tell you anything. Unless you have something she wants, of course.”

  At that moment Patrick and Ellen walked into the room, closely followed by Seth and Dal. “Although she does have an eye for a handsome face,” Utel added.

  The men joined Tor and the ladies took Utel to a separate table to talk about her wedding, which had taken place the previous month. They were soon joined by Sam and Quartilla.

  Tor told Patrick and Seth what Utel had said about Albian.

  “If Lady Tara really does know where he is, there must be a way of getting her to tell us,” Seth pointed out.

  “I do not believe I am going to suggest this, but we can always have someone seduce her,” Tor said.

  “Well we know Patrick cannot do it. He has been out of practice for too long.”

  Patrick snorted. “Out of practice indeed.”

  “Something you wish to say?” Tor asked.

  Patrick, who had been sitting with his feet on the table, lowered them to the ground and leaned towards Tor. “How do you think I keep the smile on Ellen’s face?”

  All three looked across the room to where the ladies were talking together. “You are not serious?” Seth asked, shocked.

  “Of course I am,” Patrick replied and winked at the young man. “Watch this.”

  “What are you going to do?” Tor asked suspiciously.

  Patrick turned around to look at him. “Prove myself, of course.”

  Seth and Tor watched in fascination as he walked up to the ladies, whispered something in Sam’s ear, then took her hand and led her to a spare table in the corner. They could not hear what he was saying, but they noticed he was stroking her arm as he did so. She moved his hand, putting it on the table, but moments later it was back in place. Once again she removed it, though not as quickly. He continued talking to her and, noticing a stray strand of hair which had fallen across her face, he casually took hold of it and tucked it behind her ear. Once he had accomplished this task, his hand returned to her arm once more. This time she did not remove it. He was staring into her eyes as he spoke to her and she kept looking away, only to be drawn back again.
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br />   When Brin walked into the room, the relief on Sam’s face was evident. As he made his way over to the ladies, Sam jumped to her feet and ran up to him. Grabbing him by the hand, she began to pull him away. “We are going up to our room, right now,” she ordered. Brin was taken by surprise, but did not complain.

  Sam stopped as she passed Ellen’s table. “You should keep him on a leash,” she said before dragging Brin away. Ellen stared after them in confusion.

  They passed Tor and Seth on the way out of the room and the Prince called her over. “What did he say to you?” Tor asked.

  “It’s not what he said, but the way he said it,” she replied. “He told me exactly what he was up to so I was on my guard, but that made no difference.”

  “Is he really that good?” Seth asked in disbelief.

  “Let me put it this way. If I was single, I would be seriously considering forgetting that Ellen and I are friends right now.”

  Without another word, she and Brin left. “What was that all about?” they heard Brin ask before the door closed.

  Patrick sauntered over to Seth and Tor and sat down with them once more. “Do you want another demonstration?” he asked. “Ria has just walked in.”

  “That will not be necessary,” Tor said sharply.

  “So it is agreed,” Seth announced. “Patrick will seduce Lady Tara and get us the information we need.”

  “No,” Patrick said, making both Seth and Tor stare at him in surprise. “There is a big difference between being able to do something and wanting to do it.”

  “But..” Seth started to protest, but Tor interrupted him.

  “Then we will find another way,” Tor assured Patrick. Seth threw him a questioning look, but Tor said no more.

  “I am sorry to let you down,” Patrick said as he stood up.

  “Do not worry about it,” Tor told him. Seth and Tor both watched as Patrick joined Seth’s wife and the other ladies.

  “You are going to speak to Ellen,” Seth said.

  Tor nodded his head. “Yes, I am.”

  It was a few hours later when Brin and Sam finally emerged from their room. “Can I have a word?” Brin asked Patrick, who nodded.

  “What did you do to Sam?” Brin demanded once they were far enough away from the others that they would not be overheard.

  “Why? Patrick asked. “You want me to do it again? I get the distinct impression that you reaped the rewards of all of my hard work.”

  “That is not the point,” Brin said. It did not go unnoticed by Patrick that Brin had not denied what he had suggested.

  “I was proving something to Seth and Tor, nothing more,” Patrick said. “Things would not have gone any further had you not arrived when you did. Sam would not have allowed it, and neither would I.”

  “Keep your hands off her,” Brin warned before standing up and leaving Patrick alone.

  While Brin and Sam had been occupied up in their room, Tor had told the others about Lady Tara. Patrick had gone out to do some investigating and had found out that she was due to attend a ball that evening and had managed to wrangle a few invites.

  During Patrick’s absence, Tor had spoken to Ellen and had persuaded her to talk to him. Both understood his reluctance to try to seduce Lady Tara, but neither thought anyone else would have much success. Nosmas would find it morally wrong, Seth would just be plain hopeless, Tor himself had the wrong personality to stand any chance of being successful and there was no way they would be able to convince Brin to do it. That only left Patrick.

  “Surely there is an alternative,” Patrick said to Ellen when she broached the subject with him once she had him alone.

  “Not that we can think of,” she reluctantly admitted. “I am not exactly thrilled with the idea, but I do not see that we really have a choice.”

  “I will make a deal with you. I will do this on one condition.”

  “What is that?” Ellen asked suspiciously.

  “You have to come with me and wear the dress I bought you.”

  “That is two conditions,” she argued.

  “Those are my terms. Take them or leave them.”

  “I suppose I can make that sacrifice,” she said, her disheartenment obviously fake. She had been dying for an excuse to wear the dress and he knew it.

  “Do you need any help getting it on?” he asked hopefully.

  “No I do not,” she told him. “Now get out. If I let you stay in this room while I get changed we are never going to make it to the ball.”

  Patrick had only managed to get hold of four invitations, so only two others could accompany him and Ellen. Initially Tor thought about going but, as no weapons would be allowed inside the house where the ball was being held, it was decided that Hawk should accompany Ria as they were the two best able to defend themselves, should the need arise.

  Ria wore a long satin dress with a slit reaching halfway up one leg. It was not particularly tight fitting so she was able to strap a knife to the inside of her thigh without it being seen.

  Hawk looked very dashing dressed head to foot in black. He insisted on wearing his cape with the red lining and, surprisingly, it perfected the look.

  Patrick, as usual, looked amazing, but it was Ellen who took everyone’s breath away. The dress clung in all of the right places, lifting her bosom and flattening her stomach. It flowed as she walked, revealing quite a lot of her shapely legs.

  “You chose well,” Tor whispered to Patrick, though whether he was talking about the dress or the woman was not clear. “Are you sure you are going to be able to concentrate on your mission?”

  “Of course,” Patrick replied, without taking his eyes off Ellen.

  They hired a coach to take them to the ball and discussed tactics on the way. Ria, Hawk and Ellen would mingle, speaking to other guests in case any had any useful information, while Patrick would devote his attentions to Lady Tara. Utel would not be attending the ball, but her brother, the Bard, would and he had promised to point out the Lady in question. Once she had told him all he wanted to know, Patrick would signal to Ellen, who would play the part of the aggrieved wife and drag him away.

  “It is not too late to change your mind,” Ria told Ellen. “It is not going to be easy watching Patrick flirt with another woman.”

  “I will be fine,” she assured her. “I have watched him do it often enough in the past. The only difference is that this time he will be spending the night with me and not her.”

  “I still feel insulted that nobody thought I could do it,” Hawk said, feigning irritation.

  Ria stroked his cheek affectionately. “You are a very sweet man, but you are a little too pale for most women’s tastes and you have a habit of revealing your teeth too much when you smile. One look at those fangs and Lady Tara will be screaming for help.”

  “I know how to keep my fangs under control,” he replied in such a grumpy manner that Ria could not help laughing.

  The evening went well. Ellen and Patrick split up as soon as they arrived, the latter seeking out the Bard, who introduced him to his quarry. Lady Tara was hooked the moment she set eyes on Patrick and dragged him onto the dance floor, where he held her tight enough that she could feel his caresses through the thin fabric of her dress, but not too close it would seem inappropriate.

  “From what I remember seeing at Selene and Tallon’s wedding,” Ria said to Hawk, “you are a pretty good dancer.”

  “Let me show you,” he said, taking her hand and leading her forward. They started to move around the floor in time with the music and he pulled her close to whisper in her ear. “Place your feet on top of mine.”

  Frowning, she did as instructed, and he lifted them both gently into the air so they were floating just above the floor. “It is so much easier to dance when you do not have to support your own weight,” he told her and she laughed lightly at his comment.

  Ellen was watching Patrick closely and was not happy. He was stroking Lady Tara’s back as they danced and she could see the
woman shiver with excitement. She had told Ria that she would be fine, but she was far from it. Forcing herself to turn around, she almost walked into a middle aged man who had been walking towards her.

  “I am Lord Aster,” he introduced himself once Ellen had finished apologising. “Would you care to dance?” Eager to have something to take her mind off what Patrick was doing, she accepted the offer and soon forgot all of her worries. Her partner, though not very good on his feet, was very charming and kept her entertained with amusing anecdotes as they moved around the dance floor.

  The music stopped and when the orchestra started a new song, the man took her hand once more before she could move out of his reach. At one point they danced close to Patrick and Lady Tara and Ellen could not help smiling at the look of disapproval on Patrick’s face when he caught sight of them.

  As the evening wore on, Ellen and Ria swapped partners. When Ria announced that she needed to get a drink, Lord Aster escorted her to where refreshments were being served. They chatted while they drank about various topics until the subject of children came up.

  “Can a woman love someone else’s child as if it was their own?” Lord Aster suddenly asked her.

  “I am sure they can,” Ria replied. “Why do you ask?”

  Lord Aster sighed. “You do not want to hear about my troubles,” he said. “I am sorry to have bothered you.” He was about to walk away when Ria grabbed him by the arm.

  “I do not mind, honestly.” He had been enjoyable company and she could see he just needed a friendly ear. Refilling their glasses, she led him outside onto the veranda where the music was not so loud.

  Neither of them noticed that they were being watched by two women. “So are the rumours true?” Lady Grey asked.