The Discovery of an Assassin

by Brian Keller

  The man pulled a chair away from the table, completely ignoring the corpse on the floor and gestured for the boy to sit. As Cooper stepped over Skaiven’s corpse he wondered for a moment about the surprising lack of blood coming from the body. He knew he should be giving the killer his undivided attention but he just couldn’t ignore when he noticed something that didn’t fit. Once he was seated the man crouched down, placed one elbow on the table and reached for the bundle of gems and jewelry to draw it closer to them.

  In a quiet, measured voice the man said, “I expect you’re wondering why you’re still alive…?” Cooper nodded his affirmation, indeed he had just been wondering exactly that. The man paused for just a moment, then leaned in close and looked fully into Cooper’s eyes, “I have a few questions for you. You will answer them immediately and completely. If I think for one moment that you’re lying to me, or even withholding a scrap of information, you will join Skaiven on the floor. Do you understand me?” Cooper nodded again. He was a little surprised that the man knew Skaiven’s name, but then he supposed he shouldn’t be. The man asked, “You’re not mute, are you?”. Before Cooper could indicate negative with a shake of his head, the man smiled as he remembered he had earlier directed the boy’s silence with the finger to his lips. Cooper saw the man amusedly considering whether he was being impetuous or obedient. The man had a slight smile on his face, an expression that he thought looked very much out of place on this man. The man said, “I expect you to speak now to answer my questions”. Cooper answered, “I will, sir”. If ever there was occasion in his young life for being polite, this was probably it. The smile disappeared as if it had never been there and now there was a look of both approval and assessment in his eyes. “First question: did Skaiven tell you to rob the Duke’s house?”, the man asked. Cooper quickly confirmed it, but at the same time he was shocked to learn the identity of the man he’d just robbed. He didn’t know who the duke was or anything about him, but he knew someone with a title had to be important, and powerful. He knew that he’d been completely out of his depth during the past few weeks, but now he was beginning to understand just how far. “Question two: Do you know what Skaiven planned to do with what you stole?”. Cooper responded immediately, “He said he was going to save the House, or something like that. All our kids are small and young. Some Dreg’s boys have been beating on some of us and they killed Cecil.” Once he’d phrased it that way, adding that to the fact that he’d already killed one of the Dreg’s boys, He felt like he was looking at current events as if he was looking at a map with a couple sections removed. He was starting to see the full picture but was still missing some vital information. The killer snapped his fingers in front of Cooper’s face in a movement so fast he almost didn’t see it. “Am I boring you?”, the man asked in a voice laced with syrupy poison. Cooper blurted, “Not at all, sir! There’s just a lot to think about.”. The slight smile returned to the man’s face, “How right you are.”, he said under his breath. Then he continued, “Third and final question: what will you do now that Skaiven is dead?” That question caught Cooper completely unprepared. He knew the man expected an immediate answer, but there was nothing he could say except, “I don’t know…”.

  Cooper took a breath and set his shoulders, “Sir, I have a question or two of my own, if you wouldn’t mind my asking.”. The killer turned his head slightly to completely face the boy, “Ask.”, he said. Cooper cleared his throat to steady his voice, as he spoke it still wavered, “How did you know to be here tonight?” The man considered the question for just a moment before he replied, “A clumsy, young thief and an incompetent House Father target the home of one of the wealthiest and powerful men in the city and case the place for almost three full weeks before the Harvest Festival and you think no one’s going to take notice? I’ve been watching you for the last fortnight, I was even in the Duke’s house with you tonight for a few minutes. How’s your ankle, by the way?” The boy was stunned. He managed to stammer out, “Er, um, just fine now, sir.”

  The killer seemed to be considering how much more he wanted to say, and he appeared to have made a decision. “I had considered killing you several times during the last week and at least a half dozen times tonight. In fact, I had been authorized to do so, but I was curious. Some of your decisions show almost flashes of brilliance and some of your actions demonstrate either real potential or uncanny luck. I’m interested to see which it is. I suppose you could say that the reason you’re still alive is because of my curious nature.”. He paused momentarily, then continued, “Since you’ve decided to ask me a question, which I have answered, I will ask another. How do you feel about your activities tonight? And more importantly, how did they make you feel?” Cooper had the good sense to not point out that he’d actually just asked two questions, though to be fair, those questions were linked. He started answering before he even formed his answer fully, “You called me clumsy, sir, and I’d have to agree. I know I made mistakes tonight and I know how I can improve. As to how it made me made me feel, well, terrified and excited, both at the same time. I suppose I don’t think I can go back to filching pouches in the Trade Quarter anymore. If I live through the night, that is.”.

  The killer gave Cooper’s reply some thought and then nodded to himself as if he’d come to a decision. “You knew I was here before I killed Skaiven.” Cooper opened his mouth to speak and the man held up a hand to prevent his reply. “You don’t need to answer that. It wasn’t a question…You shouldn’t have known it and I’m not sure how you did. This gives me some things to consider. I believe the first time you actually saw me was when Skaiven fell to the floor, otherwise you’d likely have reacted sooner. I’ve decided to follow a hunch and offer you a chance to prove my theory.” The man reached into a pocket on his chest and drew out a coin that looked like it was entirely covered in shiny, black lacquer. When he set the coin down on the table, Cooper saw that on one side there was a green and yellow stripe. The killer covered the coin with his hand while he spoke, “With this token, I am purchasing your life. I am not the only assassin watching the city tonight. This token is also paying you in advance for satisfying three conditions before sunrise. Anything unclear so far?” Cooper couldn’t find his voice, he could only shake his head.

  “The first thing you will do is gather everything that you wish to keep before you leave this house, you will not be coming back. The second service you will perform is that you will return all of these valuables on the table to where you found them, except for these little lovelies.” The killer removed two glittering blue sapphires from the small pile and placed them into the newly-emptied pocket on his chest. “The Duke’s valuables need to be returned before they are missed, do you understand what that means for you?” A sickening feeling of comprehension flooded Cooper’s mind. Again, Cooper could only nod. The man continued, “And third, after you’ve returned the Duke’s belongings, you will go to the Scrivener’s storefront in the Trade Quarter and give this token to the man that will be sitting behind the desk. You will not speak to him, at all, unless he asks you a question, which he is likely to do. You’ll just do what he tells you. Do you know the Scrivener that I mean?” Cooper thought he did, but before he could say anything the man clarified, “It’s the storefront where couriers come and go all day, people from all over the land go there to have documents written and messages delivered. Do you know the place?” Cooper finally found his voice, “I know it, sir.”. The killer nodded, “Skaiven has some interesting items here that may still serve a purpose, so I will remain behind and gather them up. You have your instructions. Do not waste what few hours remain of the night.” The man slid his hand across the table, stopping right in front of Cooper. When he withdrew his hand, leaving the token behind, Cooper could see that the green and yellow he’d seen earlier weren’t stripes, it was a cat’s eye. The man said quietly, “If you pick up that token, then the deal is struck. If you lose it, or it is taken from you before you can present it to the Scribe, I will kill
you myself.” The man stood, turned, stepped over the corpse and started gathering Skaiven’s locks and picks and putting them in a bag. For Cooper, It wasn’t even a decision. He picked up the token.

  Cooper thought about what he had ahead of him and dug around on Skaiven’s ‘desk’ until he found flint and a candle. He wasn’t going back into that secret room without a light. Cooper pondered on what else he thought he’d need or want for the coming tasks. Cooper felt the color drain from his face as he made a realization, he didn’t know which of the rings had been the one the nightstand. Cooper cleared his throat and in a weak voice he spoke, “Sir, I want to do exactly as you require, but there may be a problem.” Cooper was looking at the floor, he didn’t dare look at the man that’d killed Skaiven. He didn’t want to see the blade that would likely pierce his heart in the next moment.

  He heard the man’s voice from across the room, “It must be quite a problem indeed. What is it?”. Cooper explained the situation and the man smiled. It was an actual, genuine smile that went all the way up to the man’s eyes, which were now green. Instead of being angry, the man actually looked a little pleased. He glided over to the table, sifted through the baubles and removed a peculiar ring from the pile. He walked over to the head of Skaiven’s bed and placed the ring on the bedside table, stepped back away and inspected the placement. He leaned forward and reached out, rotating the ring slightly and stepped back with a nod. He turned to face Cooper and said, “That ring, positioned that way. Anything else?” Cooper didn’t look up from the floor as he walked over to the bedside table, glanced at the Duke’s signet ring and the placement, and picked it up. He said, “I think that’s all. Thank you, sir.”, as he tied the ring to his belt.

  He bundled everything back up, secured the ladder to his back and set out to break into the Duke’s house for the second time tonight. He was learning the value of good information. What he knew about his target when he left to break in just a few hours ago had bolstered his confidence but left him with a fear of the unknown. Now having been through the house himself, gaining first-hand knowledge, his fears now were about what he knew, not what he didn’t know. He was more frightened now than he was then.

  He had learned much during his first run through the house. His second time through was simple by comparison. He only paused a moment to listen before coming out of the Duke’s office to enter the foyer, and didn’t even stop before gliding up the staircase. He was out of the secret room in less time than it took him to get in. He positioned the signet ring precisely on the bedside table and crept over to the window. He debated over whether he should wait for the clocks to chime, and decided there was no reason to wait. He could slip down the column again and be gone before the guards ever went outside. The city guards wouldn’t be returning for another thirty-five to forty minutes, so as long as the guards in the house weren’t looking out the windows of the ballroom, Cooper wouldn’t be discovered as he departed. He double checked his straps, tugged on one of them to snug it a bit before he slipped out the window, pulled it shut, slid down the column, and disappeared into the night. It had been less than two hours since he’d picked the killer’s token up from the table. There was still more than an hour before dawn. Enough time to retrieve his bundle of weapons from Batter’s Field.

  Chapter 5

  By the time Cooper was standing in front of the Scrivener’s shop it was still dark outside. It would be another half hour or so before the sky in the east would start to turn gray. There were already lights burning inside the shop. The glass of all the windows was so rippled that you couldn’t see through them but it was still apparent if it was light or dark on the other side. Cooper walked up and tried the door and it opened easily. That was fortunate since he didn’t want to stand out in the vacant street so close to The Dregs. He also didn’t think it would be wise to introduce himself by breaking in. As he entered the shop he was surprised to see there were already several people working. He looked around the shop hoping to identify the man he was supposed to hand his token over to. His token? No, the Killer’s token. He looked around and spotted a large desk. There were several tables covered with rolls of paper, inkpots and quills everywhere, but only one real desk. It had drawers and everything. There was just one problem. There was no one seated at it.

  He started to sit in one of the chairs to wait and see who would sit at the desk when an old man asked, “Are you here to have a message delivered?” The stooped old man was dressed in brown robes, he had a grizzled, curly beard that hung halfway to his belly. There was as much grey in his hair as there was white. He wasn’t bald, but his hair was thinning on top and it hung almost as far down his back as his beard did on his front. He had a clear but gravelly voice and his blue eyes seemed to be filled with amusement to discover this young lad in the shop. Cooper thought it would be impossible to guess this man’s age but he was certainly older than Skaiven had been.

  He realized the man was expecting an answer from him. “No, sir. I am looking for the man that sits at that desk.”. The man looked at the desk Cooper indicated and asked, “And may I inquire why are you looking for him?”. “Because I was told to give him something.”, Cooper told the man. “And what were you told to give to that man? Hmm?”, asked the old man. Cooper thought a moment before he replied, “No disrespect, sir. But I feel certain that this matter should remain between myself and that man”. The old man’s bushy, white eyebrows went high on his head as he exclaimed, “Well! This sounds serious!”, he chuckled a little and he continued, “Well then, I suppose we must go and find him! Come with me, young man.”. Cooper followed the man for a few steps and stopped, the old man had stepped around the desk and taken a seat at it. He slid the chair forward as he took full possession of the space. His eyes had a playful twinkle, “I had thought everyone around knew who I was. It’s a little refreshing to find that isn’t quite true.”. Cooper dropped his eyes to the floor as he spoke in a meek voice, “I really didn’t know, sir. And I was speaking the truth when I said that I meant no disrespect.”

  “I understand that, young man. And I appreciate that. Before we converse any further, why don’t you sit here and show me what you have for me.”, the old scribe pointed to the chair beside him, rather than the one across from him. Cooper obediently shuffled over and sat in the chair. He wondered how long it would be before he encountered a situation where he didn’t feel hopelessly out of his depth. Cooper palmed the token and placed his hand on the old man’s desk and slid it over in front of him. Cooper withdrew his hand to reveal the token. The old man’s demeanor changed, his voice changed, and the twinkle left his eye. “I don’t need to ask how you came to have that token.”, the man stated in a low, flat voice. “I see a few tokens every month, with all nature of designs and pictures. I haven’t seen this token in a few years. How many are dead?” A month ago that question would’ve chilled Cooper to the bone, but at this moment it seemed to be a perfectly reasonable thing to ask. “Just one, as far as I know.”, was his reply. The old man’s next question came quickly, “Was the person important to you?”. Under the circumstances, Cooper thought this was the most unusual question anyone had ever asked him. The implications were almost unfathomable for him. For someone to ask that question meant that they actually cared about his well-being and state of mind. The boy had no experience with that since before his mother’s death years ago. Even taking the question at face value left him without an answer. Was Skaiven important to him? He knew that he should be. That grungy bastard should have been one of the most important people in his short life, but he just couldn’t sort out how he felt about Skaiven being dead, actually witnessing his murder. He felt a jumble of feelings about it but nothing very strong and no feelings really stood out above another. Cooper looked straight at the old man and said, “This might not answer your question, sir, but I think I’m just happy to be alive.”. The old man thought for a moment and said, “Actually, I think that’s a fine answer. Likely one of the better answers I’ve heard,
in fact.”

  The old man deftly palmed the token, stood and directed the boy to follow him. He walked through the office to a door in the back. The old man voiced an observation that he’d been mulling around in his head since he’d first started talking with this boy, “You are quite well-spoken for a boy growing up on the street. Who educated you?”. Cooper knew he spoke differently than most, but when he was on the street, he adopted that way of speaking. Now that he was here, in what Cooper assumed was “polite company” as his mother had occasionally spoken about, Cooper was speaking the way his mother taught him. He relayed this to the old man, who merely nodded in response and seemed thoughtful for a moment.