by Shana Vernon
The Assassin's Revenge
The Hybrid Chronicles Book Two
Shana Vernon
The Assassin’s Revenge
By Shana Vernon
All rights reserved
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and events contained in this publication are figments of the author’s imaginations and in no way reflect real or true events. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in any database or retrieval system without the written permission of the author.
Edited By Casey Luxford at The Humble Quill
Cover Design by Christian Bentulan at Covers By Christian
Created with Vellum
Contents
Shana Vernon’s Supernatural Squad
Dedication
About the Author
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Books by Shana Vernon
Shana Vernon’s Supernatural Squad
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Dedication
To my husband and sons, who give me their unending love and support.
About the Author
Shana Vernon is a full-time writer and mother of triplet boys. She grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, and moved to Israel in 2012. She completed an undergraduate degree in Social Sciences from Bar Ilan University.
Shana fell in love with reading as a child by escaping into the fantasy lands of Hogwarts and Narnia.
When she isn’t writing or taking care of her kiddos, Shana spends her time reading, exercising, experimenting with cooking, or traveling around the world.
Chapter 1
“I know who you are, Lenna Turgenov,” said a voice from behind me.
I whipped around in the entryway to the compound, my hand rising to clutch the base of my throat as I came face to face with the Master of healing and gifts. I could feel my pulse quickening.
Master Locke’s honey-blonde hair was tightly wrapped in a bun on the top of her head, a determined expression on her face. I glanced down to see that I was covered in blood and bits of assassin, and grimaced as she strode up to me. I was unable to avoid comparing her pristine appearance against my own filthy look.
Ash from Papa’s burned corpse clung to my shoes, turning my stomach, and in that moment, I wished I could have washed my body for a hours. Over and over. Though, it wouldn’t erase the image of his melting skin that was imprinted in my mind.
I failed him.
I’d entered the Guild with one mission, to find Papa and rescue him. I’d been too late. Halfway through the rescue, he’d been killed by Anders, Hailey’s father, moments before we were free. I’d made a grave error thinking I’d already killed him, and not paying attention to his prone form lying on the floor. It was a mistake I would carry with me for the rest of my life.
“I’m assuming from your lack of response that I am correct. You are the daughter of Alexei Turgenov,” she stated, her voice carrying its usual formal tone.
The back of my eyes burned, threatening to release another stream of tears at hearing Papa’s name. I swallowed the bitter taste in my mouth and dropped my hand from my neck. I couldn’t think of anything to say, so I nodded and remained silent.
She examined my body, taking in the disheveled mess of my hair, down past my blood-soaked jumpsuit, all the way to my scorched shoes.
“Did Alexei tell you who you are to me?” She asked, her voice shakier than her usual assertive tone.
“Yes, Aunt. He did,” I said, barely able to get out the words.
“I knew it,” she breathed before removing the remaining distance between us and throwing her arms around me. Master Locke had been my instructor at the Guild for the past few months, sagely assisting me with the improvement of my abilities.
My muscles immediately stiffened at the uncharacteristic display of affection. Then, I leaned into her embrace and allowed her warmth to wrap around my body, breathing in her jasmine scent.
She hugged me tighter and then released me, leaning back to meet my gaze. “Do you know where Eleanor is?” She asked, her face shining with hope.
Papa had used his last breath to tell me the name of my mother. The woman he’d told me died in childbirth. I was shocked to discover that not only had she not died giving birth to me, but I’d been working with her sister unknowingly.
I shook my head. “I didn’t even know her name until about five minutes ago.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?” She observed me again and continued her inquisition, “What happened to you? Why do you look like you’ve been through a battle?”
My shoulders slumped slightly, and I leaned against the crumbling stone wall.
Should I trust her?
Papa would kill me for even considering trusting anyone, but nothing had happened when Ryder and Sofia found out. This was my aunt though. Family.
What do I really know about family besides Papa?
I took a deep breath and made up my mind to trust her.
I can always kill her if she betrays me.
“Killian Abbott had my father locked up in the bunker of that house back there.” I gestured with my hand in the direction of the decrepit building that was likely still ablaze, trying not to think about Papa’s body which was likely ash by now.
My stomach turned, bile creeping up my throat.
Her hands flew to her mouth as she inhaled sharply.
There was a pain in the back of my throat, and I worked to swallow again, shoving the anguish that had crept back to the forefront of my mind, pushing it further and further inside until I was numb once more.
“Killian had been torturing him for information for the last few months. That was why I joined the Guild to begin with - I have been looking for him.”
She looked past me into in the distance, as if expecting Papa to suddenly make an appearance.
“It was all for nothing though. He died before I could rescue him,” I said, my tone void of emotion.
Her shoulders drooped and her eyes softened. “I’m so sorry, Lenna.” She pulled me into another hug. “What information did Killian want from him?”
I shrugged. “No idea, he never told me.”
No need to blindly trust her - she’s basically a stranger.
She glanced around at the empty hallways and gestured for me to follow her. “Let’s go get you cleaned up and we can talk someplace more discreet.”
I analyzed her features as we stood there, silently. Her lightly freckled skin was wrinkled at the corners of her eyes,
as if she had spent a good deal of her time smiling or laughing. It seemed as if she was waiting for something.
She blinked, bringing my attention to her icy eyes, so similar to my blue one. My mis-matched eyes; one brown and one blue, was the most obvious feature that connected me so clearly to Papa, so it was strange to compare it with someone else. Since coming to the Guild, I’d been covering the brown eye with a blue contact lens that had taken me a very long time to match to my exact blue shade.
Evelyn and I even had the same shaped face. I didn’t know how I hadn’t noticed the similarities until reading that report in her office and seeing the photo. She led me up three flights of stairs, passing by the stained floor that displayed all that was left of Sanders. So focused on observing my aunt and not paying attention to where I was going, I tripped on a lump in the carpet and looked up at her sheepishly before straightening myself, glad I hadn’t fallen to the floor.
She unlocked the door and waved me inside, locking it behind us. The apartment was utilitarian and cold, with no personal items that I could see. The art on the wall was abstract and there were no knickknacks on any of the surfaces.
After slipping her phone out from her pocket, she opened it and began waving it around the apartment, moving from room to room.
Alright, it’s official. My aunt is crazy with a capital C.
I cleared my throat. “Uh, what are you doing?”
She kept her focus on the screen until she finished and then turned to me. “I was scanning for surveillance equipment.”
“On your phone?”
She smiled. “Everything’s an app these days.”
She disappeared into the bathroom and reemerged with a towel and a soft white robe. “Why don’t you go take a shower and we’ll talk when you’re clean.”
I exited the bathroom wrapped in the fluffy robe and plopped down on one of the dining room chairs. “So, you’re my aunt.”
She grinned and took the seat opposite mine. “It certainly seems that way, yes.”
“What should I call you?”
She crossed her legs under the table. “In private you may call me Evelyn, but I think for appearances it is best to keep with Master Locke in public.”
I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. At least she hadn’t requested that I call her aunt. I most certainly not ready for that. It was weird that I’d spent the last few months unknowingly getting to know my aunt but knew nothing about my actual mother.
“Can you tell me about her?” I asked quietly.
“Eleanor?”
I nodded.
She smoothed out a crease in her outfit and sighed. “Eleanor was a lot better with these things.” She gestured between us. “Emotional moments. I was never big on feelings.” She paused, lost in thought.
“Eleanor is or was my identical twin sister, so her looks were the same as mine, but that’s where our similarities ended. She easily commanded any room she walked into with fierce determination. People gravitated toward her energy. I always joked that her healing abilities did more than heal physical pain, she also healed emotional pain.” Her voice cracked before leaping to her feet and busying herself with tea.
Evelyn brought over a jug of steaming water with fresh tea leaves and deposited them in front of me. She took notice of my hesitation. “Don’t worry, it’s plain Jasmine tea.”
I poured us both a mug and handed her one, which she promptly wrapped her fingers around and smiled gratefully.
“Eleanor was trained for more than typical assassination missions. She was the Guild’s best spy and would be sent out for months at a time, infiltrating third world countries and taking out corrupt leaders.” She stared at tea leaves swirling around in her mug, her voice lowering, “I’m honestly not sure if she is even alive.”
“Did you know that she was pregnant?” I asked, wondering how it was possible for my mother to have hidden a pregnancy from the Guild. It wasn’t like hiding a puppy. I’d seen pregnant people before and she would have grown too big to conceal the bump underneath a sweater.
She shook her head. “As far as I know it has always been forbidden to have children, so I’m sure members went to great lengths to hide any accidental pregnancies.” She took a sip of her tea. “Alexei was Eleanor’s handler when she went on long term missions and her longest mission lasted almost an entire year about twenty-three years ago. I think she said she was in Honduras for that mission.”
I breathed in the subtle scent of Jasmine wafting from my cup. “Did you know they were together?”
“I knew they were close, but they were both committed assassins and wouldn’t let feelings interfere with their work. I actually have a picture of them from back then, I can give it to you if you’d like.”
I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly, feeling a blush crawl across my cheeks. “I know. I saw it when I was snooping one day. Sorry.”
Her brows furrowed. “I’m assuming it was the day I asked you to lock up?”
“Yes. I still have the key for you. I can get it from my room later.”
She waved her hand. “Don’t bother. Use it whenever you’d like. Did you find anything of interest while you were looking through my belongings?”
I took a gulp of tea and cursed internally when I scalded my tongue on the burning liquid. I was about to send my warm, rose-colored healing energy to the injury when I stopped.
Papa went through much worse pain before his end. Maybe it’s time I dealt with pain in a different light. My entire life was spent relying on my abilities for things that weren't necessary. Healing small cuts and bruises from training, never feeling the burn of sore muscles for more than a few moments.
I suddenly felt as if I cheated by leaning on my gifts as much as I had. Where would I be if I didn't have them? Would I not be able to handle even insignificant discomforts without them?
I ignored the part of my brain which commanded I heal myself and focused my attention back to Evelyn. “Just your notes on Papa and myself.”
“Ah, yes. I had an inkling you had pre-existing gifts, and I figured you entered the Guild in an effort to avoid discovery.” She finished the rest of her tea and placed the empty mug on the table.
How did she do that? My tongue was still throbbing from the sip I’d taken.
She looked at me pointedly, the atmosphere turning cold along with her expression. “Why are you still here? If Alexei is no longer with us, what reason would you have for remaining at the Guild? I have no doubt he taught you to disappear if necessary.” She sounded almost accusatory and my brow furrowed in response.
“He did, and I have multiple different identities and safe houses set up in case I need a quick escape.” Heat flushed through my body and my fingers curled into fists. “But I have no intention of going anywhere. There are people who need to pay for what they did to Papa.”
Evelyn sat back in her chair, a curious look on her face. “So you are here for revenge?”
I bobbed my head once. “I’m going to find out exactly who was involved in his capture and torture and make them regret ever going near him.”
Her eyes widened momentarily.
Reign in the bloodthirst, Lenna.
“Is that going to be a problem between us?” A part of me, and I wasn’t sure how big or small that part was, hoped she’d say no.
She sighed. “I have no problem with you seeking revenge on people for killing an innocent, but I do believe in the Guild’s mission. We do important work here and I don’t want you to threaten that.”
I crossed my fingers behind my back. “I will weed out the corrupt and leave the do-gooders for you.”
She seemed to accept my promise at face value and got up to clear away the tea. “I’ll try to help how I can, but if you plan on assassinating Killian, be sure you are ready first. You will only get one chance and if you think you saw the extent of his abilities when you fought him before, you are wrong. He became head of this compound for a reason.”
“You’ve kn
own him far longer than almost anyone else here, you know his strengths and weaknesses.” I met her gaze. “That’s how you can help me. You can train me how to best use my gifts against him!”
She busied herself with the dishes. “Killian’s death would not negatively impact the Guild’s goals, so I think I can agree to that,” she said slowly. “Do you have any gifts you didn’t display in training?”
“I can turn myself invisible and I can heal any wound as long as I get to it in time.” I choked as the last words left my mouth, Papa’s last moments still fresh in my mind. I left out the shapeshifting, wanting to keep something to myself.
No reason she needs to know all of my abilities.
“So you did inherit his invisibility. I wondered about that.”
“I did, but I think he could maintain it for longer stretches of time. I can only last about thirty minutes if I am at full power.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “That is still quite an accomplishment. I remember him practicing day after day trying to lengthen his invisibility. Did you know he was only able to hold it for a few moments at a time when he first manifested?”
“I didn’t, but it likely never came up since I was born able to hold it for that long.”
Evelyn pursed her lips. “I wish there were other elevated humans born to Guild members so we could do a study to understand why you are stronger in certain aspects.”