Sasha

by Richard Young

than adequate. The danger was exhilarating. But it couldn't last. Nothing lasts.

  It was two years to the day since I had started my apprenticeship that I was finally permitted to take a solo job. Before this, every kill I made was accompanied by Jaim. This time, I'd be doing it myself. Nobody to make the kill for me if I screwed up the shot or lost my nerve. Nobody to pull my ass out of the fire if I didn't get away fast enough. Alone.

  I loved it.

  My target was a man who worked as a smith. He made many of the coins that circulated around the city. Trouble was, a lot of the coins he made were forged. Instead of an arget, he'd just plate a ferit in silver and mark it with his imprint. It looked official, but the metal inside was worth less than copper.

  Well, a few merchants had been using his phony coins without knowing it. The coins were tested, and found to be frauds. Once the knowledge got around, nobody would take this smith's coins any more, and the merchants were out a lot of money.

  And now this smith was going to die.

  I crouched on the rooftop, watching the crowds. This was the third day I'd been up there, waiting for my opportunity. It was a comfortable location, and I was able to sit for hours, watching the front of the smithy. By this point, I knew his schedule. He'd leave the smithy around sunset and make his way to the nearest pub, which was only a few buildings away. There he'd eat and drink until evening, and then head back to his smithy, where he lived on the top floor. I wasn't told the man's name. In my mind, I named him Smith.

  My plan was to catch Smith when he left the pub. It was almost time. I nestled in my hiding spot. I would be nearly invisible here, even without my camouflaged outfit.

  Smith came out of the pub with a group of friends. I hesitated for a long moment as they laughed their way along the street. It was the best chance I was going to get that evening. I wasn't looking forward to waiting another day. Decision made, I drew the bow back and took the shot.

  I waited just long enough for the arrow to pierce his back before I took off across the rooftops. Elation filled me. I had just completed my first solo job. The shot had been perfect, taking Smith through the heart and one lung. Now I could start taking my own jobs.

  Caught up in my thoughts, I wasn't careful. My foot slipped on the roof, and before I knew it, I landed hard on the street - right in front of Smith's friends.

  Panic. I was trained in methods of escape, and killing from a distance. I wasn't trained in hand to hand combat, especially not against three men. I tried to stand, but pain flooded my knee and I collapsed back to the ground. Both my right knee and my right shoulder flared with pain. Wonderful. So I couldn't run, and I couldn't even draw my bow. My first solo job was going to kill me.

  The men took in the scene quickly. From my outfit and my bow, they knew I was the one who fired the shot. They left Smith in the street and pulled their weapons. I only had one option.

  I vanished.

  Amidst the gasps of the men, I slowly and painfully dragged myself up to my feet and limped away, the magic covering my exit. Once I was safely out of sight, I dropped the invisibility and continued without it.

  Jaim would be expecting me to report back, so I headed directly for the small building that functioned as both out living quarters and training area. That's where I found Jaim, sitting in his old chair, his bow by his side. He never went anywhere without it.

  "Well?" he said quietly, without looking up.

  "Success," I said. "The smith is dead."

  "That's not what I'm talking about."

  I froze. "What?"

  "I was there, Sasha. To make sure you didn't get into trouble on your first job. And what do you do?" He looked up at me. "You get in about the worst trouble I can think of. How long?"

  "What?"

  "How long have you been able to do that?"

  I looked down at the floor.

  "As long as I've known you?" he said.

  I nodded. I don't know why I felt so ashamed, like I had betrayed his trust by not telling him this one thing.

  "Do you know how dangerous you are? With your training, if you stretched this power too far and it snapped your mind, do you have any idea what you would do?"

  I stood there, saying nothing.

  Abruptly, Jaim switched topics. "You okay?" he said. "You took a pretty good fall."

  I rolled my shoulder and winced. "I'll be all right," I said. "Nothing's broken."

  "Good. Get some rest, then."

  As I limped towards my room, I heard his voice again. "I won't tell anyone, Sasha. But I won't be here in the morning, either. You have more than enough training, and you have the contacts you need within the Guild. You're on your own now. Good luck."

  That was the last time I saw him.

  It was a few days before I felt up to taking another job. I visited my contact, a small, nervous man by the name of Vini. Almost before I could ask, he thrust a paper at me and sent me out the door.

  The task was simple: I was given the man's name, where he lived, and his schedule. It appeared someone had done the hard work for me. Briefly, I wondered if it was another assassin who had failed. I put the thought out of my mind. I had a job to do.

  The instructions were precise enough that they even gave the address of an abandoned building that I could use to shoot from. Abandoned buildings were easier since I didn't have to worry about the people inside hearing me clatter around on the roof. The very evening after I received the assignment, I was at the door.

  Something was wrong, I could tell that much right away. But foolish, na?ve, and trusting person that I was, I pushed the door open anyway.

  Fifteen crossbows stared me in the face. I had been set up.

  I reacted instantly, throwing myself across the floor and drawing on my power to become invisible. The crossbows followed me. A man came forward from the circle and offered me his hand. I growled at him and stood unaided.

  "Who are you?" I demanded.

  "I am Prell," he said. "I am a Qui."

  "A key?" I sneered.

  He smiled. "Your education has been lacking my dear," he said. "But we'll fix that at the Asylum. For now, all you need to know is that your powers are useless as long as I have them blocked."

  My powers. He knew. But that meant... it couldn't be."Who told you?" I hissed.

  He ignored the question. "Just a little test before we can go. Hold her," he directed the men. I struggled as they grabbed my arms, but it was pointless. A moment later, I felt something touching my mind. I thrashed, my efforts redoubled. More men had to come and hold my feet.

  "Get out of my head!" I shouted.

  A minute later, the contact cut off, and Prell nodded to his men. "She's the one he told us about," he said.

  The men dragged me toward the door. "Who?" I shouted back at Prell. "Give me his name!"

  He paused for a moment, finger to his chin as if in thought. "I believe his name," he said as I reached the door, "was Jaim."

  It seems as though I am doomed to feel nothing but the sting of betrayal.