Maria V. Snyder - Study 01.5 - Assassin Study.pdf

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Assassin Study
By Maria V. Snyder
Chapter One
Valek gazed at the mess on Mogkan’s desk and sighed. It would take him days to go through all the
papers, but Commander Ambrose wanted him to fully investigate the extent of Mogkan’s involvement in
General Brazell’s plans to seize control of the Territory of Ixia. Plans that had been thwarted. With
Brazell incarcerated and Mogkan dead, only the tiresome chore of tying up the loose ends remained.
As he scanned the various documents and notes on the desk, Valek was sickened by the details of
horror Mogkan had wrought on the orphans in Brazell’s care. It was a wonder Yelena survived
Mogkan’s magical torture. And it troubled Valek greatly that a rogue Sitian magician could live in Ixia for
fourteen years without his knowledge. The fact that Brazell had sheltered Mogkan was no excuse. Valek
was the chief of security for all of Ixia; it was his responsibility to know these things. Children had been
tormented.
Valek’s thoughts returned to Yelena. An icy finger of loneliness touched the emptiness inside him.
She was in Sitia, where she needed to be to learn about her magical powers, but she had taken his heart
with her.
Cursing himself for being melodramatic, he concentrated on the grim task at hand. An unfamiliar
name—T. Daviian—was written multiple times on various papers. When he found the line T.
Daviian—My Love—paid 6 golds, Valek guessed T. Daviian had been the Sitian assassin who had
poisoned the Commander’s drink with My Love during the trade treaty negotiations. Daviian was the
name of a plateau in Sitia. As far as Valek knew, the plateau was uninhabited.
A knock interrupted his musings. “Come in,” he called.
Ari opened the door and entered.
“How’s Janco?” Valek asked. Ari’s partner had gotten skewered with a sword during the battle to
free the Commander from Mogkan’s magical control.
“Driving the nurses crazy. This morning he pretended to be dead. When the night nurse reached for
him, he grabbed her arm.” Ari shook his head.
“Good to hear he’s feeling better. Do you have a report?”
“Yes, sir. All of General Brazell’s aides have been accounted for. The Commander is conducting
interviews with them.” A glint of appreciation flashed in Ari’s pale blue eyes. “It’s amazing how the
Commander can get a confession from an advisor using silence. I felt compelled to confess all my
boyhood crimes during the deadly quiet.”
“How many advisors were involved with Brazell’s plans?”
“Two so far. We’ve stopped for lunch.”
Valek doubted they would find more. His spies hadn’t picked up on the illicit activity, which usually
meant a small number of people were involved. Either that or his scouts had been compromised. An
 
intensive investigation into his intelligence network would be prudent before he could trust anyone besides
Ari and Janco.
“What’s the status on Brazell’s soldiers?” Valek asked.
“Everyone on the roster is accounted for.”
“Good.” From the uncertain expression on Ari’s face, Valek knew the man was troubled.
“Something else?”
“Yes.” Ari paused as if debating what he should say. “Our initial count of General Brazell’s army had
one extra person, but when we matched names to the list, it worked out.”
“Perhaps a servant or an aide was counted by mistake?”
“That’s what I thought, too. But…”
Valek waited. He, too, knew the value of silence.
Ari flinched as if he suspected his next words would anger Valek. “I’ve heard rumors in the guard
house. There’s been a lot of boasting about who’s going to murder Yelena.”
Which was expected. There was no love for her among Brazell’s people; she had killed his only
child, Reyad, and had played a major part in the General’s arrest. “Go on.”
“The boasts have stopped, but bets are now being made on when Tam will kill her.”
“Who’s Tam?”
“A lieutenant. That’s all I know.”
T. Daviian? Valek wondered. A Sitian assassin? “Is Tam on the roster?”
“No.”
“When did the bets start?”
“This morning. Orders?”
“Get me more information about Tam. Don’t be subtle.”
“Yes, sir.” Ari saluted and hurried from the room.
Valek abandoned his task and dashed to the stables to check if there were any horses missing. All
was quiet. Perhaps Brazell’s guilty advisors would have some information.
He returned to Brazell’s manor house. The sprawling building resembled a minicastle, and Valek
remembered the King of Ixia’s brother used to live there before the Commander’s takeover. The Prince
had been just as corrupt as his brother, and Valek had had the pleasure of assassinating him as well as
the entire royal family.
Valek headed to the dungeons. Unfortunately he was familiar with the location and layout of the
underground cell, but he couldn’t suppress a grin. Even though they had been locked within the foul
darkness, he and Yelena had found a moment of pure joy.
One of the Commander’s aides intercepted him. “The Commander wishes to see you, sir.” When
 
Valek hesitated, the aide said, “Now.”
Impatient with the delay in his investigation, Valek rushed to the Commander’s office. Ambrose had
commandeered Brazell’s workplace. He had stripped the opulent decorations from the room, but kept
the broad ebony desk and high-back leather chair.
“Valek.” The Commander gestured him closer. “Why didn’t you tell me you’ve assigned an
assassin?”
“For what?”
Ambrose’s powerful gaze bored into Valek. Most people would be reduced to a quivering mess by
the Commander’s ire. Valek remained unaffected.
“Yelena. The order for her execution is gone,” the Commander said.
Fear coiled around Valek’s throat. “I didn’t assign anyone. When did you last see the order?”
“You were supposed to assign—”
“When!”
Ambrose said nothing. Valek drew in a deep breath. “I apologize, sir.”
“The order was on my desk this morning. It wasn’t there when I returned from lunch. If one of your
assassins didn’t accept the order, then who did?”
“Permission to find out, sir?”
The Commander contemplated. Valek willed his body to keep still.
“She’s safe in Sitia, Valek. The order only applies if she’s found in Ixia.”
Unless it was a Sitian assassin after her. He lacked proof but, he vowed, not for long.
“Permission granted. You’re dismissed.”
With time running out, Valek searched for Ari; he found him in the soldier’s barracks. Ari’s strong
hands were wrapped around a guard’s neck. The trapped man’s face turned purple.
“Report,” Valek ordered.
“Just having a nice chat with my friend. Seems Tam had been recruited from Sitia by Mogkan and,
out of a misguided sense of duty, is now after Yelena,” Ari said. “My friend was on the verge of divulging
when Tam left. Right?” He relaxed his grip.
“About…two…hours…ago,” the man said, gasping for air.
Yelena was in danger. A second of mind-numbing panic and worry gripped Valek, but he
suppressed all emotion. He needed to think and plan.
Tam was on foot with a two-hour head start, traveling due south. The assassin was still in Ixia. On
horseback, Valek could arrive at the border before Tam and set up an ambush, or he could follow Tam
into Sitia and find out more about the assassin’s intentions.
 
Chapter Two
Valek made his decision. He informed Ari of his plans and hurried to the stables. According to the stable
master, Onyx was the fastest horse in the barn. Valek spurred the aptly named all-black horse into a
gallop when they exited the manor house’s grounds, heading south to the Snake Forest.
The thrumming vibrations from Onyx’s hooves echoed in Valek’s chest. He worried over being too
late and missing the assassin. Any delay would put Yelena in lethal danger.
Snake Forest was a thin strip of green that undulated from east to west between the northern
Territory of Ixia and the southern lands of Sitia. The official border was located about one hundred feet
past the Snake Forest’s southern edge.
Valek knew the border’s location presented myriad problems for both countries’ border patrols, but
he had used the cover of the forest to his advantage many times. And today would be no different.
He arrived at Military District 5’s (MD–5) patrol station in the heart of the forest two hours before
sunset. Just enough time for him to get into position.
“Sir?” The station’s captain stood at attention.
“A person of interest is going to attempt to cross the border tonight,” Valek said.
“Should we increase our patrols?”
“Yes, but not in section twelve. And I want your guards to be visible, but not be obvious about being
visible.”
“Sir?”
“I want your soldiers to herd the person toward the unguarded section so I can mark him and follow
him into Sitia. Understand?”
“Yes, sir!”
By sunset, the beefed-up patrol made subtle noises along the edge of Snake Forest, and Valek,
wearing a camouflaged jumpsuit over a Sitian disguise, waited in section twelve. His current location was
based on logic. If he planned to cross the border without being detected, this tight deer path would make
a perfect route.
Crouched on a tree branch, he smiled at a memory. When Yelena had played the role of a fugitive in
this forest, she had glued Cheketo leaves on her uniform shirt to cover the bright red color. Her
homemade camouflage worked, and she had been able to elude capture during the day-long exercise.
Then, she had been aware that soldiers searched for her; a lone assassin would have the element of
surprise. If Valek couldn’t mark Tam, he would find Yelena and track her until she was no longer in
danger. He huffed in amusement. She had the unique ability to attract danger even when in benign
situations. Perhaps he should amend his plan and just watch her until he neutralized the assassin.
Darkness settled over the forest. Calls of an owl and the hum of insects punctured the silence. A
furtive rustling in the underbrush drew his attention. He studied the area and soon spotted a figure. The
person clung to the shadows and, at Valek’s distance, it was impossible to see his face in the gloom. A
skilled opponent.
 
The assassin ghosted under Valek’s tree. Valek waited for a few heartbeats before easing to the
ground and following the assassin. Part of him was pleased that he had guessed right, but another part
worried over the ease with which he found Tam. Occupational hazard, he supposed. Without the habit of
analyzing every situation from all angles, he wouldn’t be alive.
By daybreak, the assassin had crossed the border. Valek stopped for a moment to wash the
camouflage paint from his face and to hide his jumpsuit. He darkened his pale skin to match the tanner
Sitian hues, and smoothed his white cotton tunic and sand-colored pants. Pulling his shoulder-length
black hair back, Valek tied it. The heat would increase each day until it reached unbearable levels. Sitia
wasn’t the best place to be during the hot season.
The assassin headed toward a small village in Sitia’s Moon Clan lands. Surrounded by farms, the
village contained one inn and a single tavern, which Tam entered. Valek circled the building. Only one
exit. He waited a few minutes before going inside.
Animated conversation filled the tavern. A joyous mood rippled through the crowded room and it
wasn’t long before Valek heard snatches of the stories.
“Fourth Magician, Irys Jewelrose…”
“Ten children!”
“Kidnapped from us. Taken north…”
“Fourteen years!”
“Rescued from right under the Commander’s nose…”
“Soldiers chased them across the border…”
“Fourth Magician saved their lives!”
“Returning them home…”
Already exaggerated, the stories failed to mention the Ixians’ help or that a rogue Sitian magician had
started the trouble in the first place, but the gossip did reveal Irys and Yelena’s next stop—Fulgor, the
Moon Clan’s capital.
Traveling with a large party, Yelena’s progress would be slower than that of a single person. They
had left yesterday morning, and it would take them two days to reach Fulgor, where they would probably
stay and search for families who had lost a child.
It appeared the assassin was in no hurry to catch up. Tam remained at the bar until nightfall, talking
with a few locals and drinking ale. Valek paid his bill, and waited outside to avoid suspicion. When Tam
left and checked into the inn, he seemed relaxed and showed no signs of being aware of Valek’s
presence.
Valek managed to get the room next to Tam’s. He would have liked to do a little investigating, but
couldn’t leave Tam alone. During the long hours of the evening, Valek wished he had brought Ari with
him.
Eventually he dozed in a chair by the wall he shared with Tam. Each slight noise roused him from
sleep. In the middle of the night, Valek woke on his feet. He crouched with his sword in hand without any
memory of moving. All was quiet. He sheathed his weapon.
 

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