Chương 51: (Discovery) Missions

Things have changed in the last week. I'm not sure I like the differences. Steadying my hand, I take a deep breath and close my eyes just for an instant. I can't afford to be rattled. My aim needs to be perfect. My target is standing at the bar, leaning against his mop. I'm unsure what someone in a tavern has done to incite the ire of whoever is about to pay a handsome sum to have him executed, but I'm sure he's not as innocent as he looks. No one is. The path of traffic around me is perfect.

No one to get in the way when I let loose with the dart. Just another second. One short. Sharp. Puff of air. The dart flies at maximum velocity, nestling itself perfectly behind my target's ear, just in the soft tissue near the base of the skull. Merriment continues. Music plays. People chatter and laugh. All as if I didn't just end someone's life. The only telltale sign that anything happened at all is the way his eyes widen. Almost imperceptibly, if you're not looking for it. But I know, because I was watching.

Because I'm his assassin. Death throes have kicked in, and still, it's not apparent to anyone else. The way his hand spasms around the mop handle and his eyes are desperately seeking out any sign of why this is happening. His eyes are the only part of him he still has any control over. For now. Another minute or two and the muscle spasms keeping him upright will halt and send him crashing to the ground. As if his heart gave out. So sad. I take another spoonful of my stew and glance around the Norriel-based tavern.

We're nowhere near the capital city, and I'm about twelve hours hard ride from my home Enclave. This feels like such an out-of-the way place to need my services. Ever since I had my heart to heart with Aarron eight days ago, I've been sent galloping off on assignments that require my skillset. From Gurrishun, through Perrukai, and now down here in the marshland. It's basically banishment. He didn't even send Xan with me. Maybe I shouldn't have withheld the information about my third element from him.

I sigh and shovel in another mouthful of stew with a bite of bread. The food here is exceptional, not what I'd expect from a largely backwater establishment. There's a thud, followed by a scream.

"Jason?!" Almost take myself by surprise. I forgot he was due to fall over. I'm losing my edge, and I barely glance over at where the people are already rushing to see if Jason can be saved.

"Stand back! I'm a doctor!" one fellow grandstands. He's dressed in pants and a button-up shirt, and his hair even looks relatively neat and combed back. I swivel enough to take in his appearance, as well as the desperate attempts to revive my very-dead target. If he really was one of these so-called newfangled doctors, he'd know he was doing that chest massage thing wrong. At the very least. The girl who screamed is one of the serving maids. She seems a little pale, but isn't panicking.

Glancing around the tavern I'm unsurprised to see that I'm not the only one still sitting and eating their meal. Several others are, in fact. It might seem odd, but what good would it do any of us to leave our food to go cold while we huddle around unable to do anything for a dead man? The logical people are all still eating. My spoon scrapes the bowl as I finish off the last of my food, wiping the bread along just for good measure. It's a food I've become quite fond of. I'll have to remember this place.

I'll have to look into just who this Jason was. That's an expensive poison to use on a simple tavern sweeper. There has to be more to it than that. My bed beckons to me, and I reach out to check that there's nothing dangerous around me. Nothing that poses a threat to me or what I can do. No blood magery nearby that I can tell. Still, I'm not an expert on it. I frown as I push myself up and decide a good night's sleep is on the cards.

I'll have to wake early and scry, see if there's anything else I have to do before I come home. Again. The last two times I checked in, I was sent the scrying for new jobs. This had better be a clear one. I have to check on Minx. After the incidence of her injury when the keep was occupied, I no longer trust Aarron to keep her safe. The Nightshade's security has been compromised. More importantly, Aarron sent me away before I could figure out the key to the wards he enables around the Enclave.

He was very adamant that he needed to know what my elements are in order to set those very wards. I still don't know what to think of that. If he's bluffing, I'll be fine, if he's not… I could really have made a mistake. Sure, perhaps he doesn't want me to know so I can't circumvent them. But it sounds foolhardy to me not to take advantage of a power in your midst that might be able to make life just that much easier for everyone.

The next morning doesn't dawn before I wake. It's still dark and I can only see the hints of the colors that begin to crest the horizon. I set the portable scrying bowl out and insert some of the datura solution I brought with me. Nothing like boosting the signal when I'm this far away from home. The surface of the water is blessedly silent, remarkably clear. Even from the solution as I drop it in, there's only this faint ripple that forms from the perfect center out toward the edges and then fades away.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. There's no information forthcoming. No glimpses of deathly futures. No messages for anyone else to receive. And nothing for me. Which could mean one of two things: they're not getting through to me, or they have nothing for me. Given my previous history with scrying, though, I'd say it's more the latter. And I find that thought oddly satisfying. A relief, even.

Packing the rest of my stuff together, I grab Jax and we head out before the sun is fully risen. It's peaceful out here. Even with the frogs and the bugs, and the crickets, and the stagnant water, the marshlands can have a certain charm. Okay, I admit part of that charm is that it's almost winter and the bugs are hibernating so I don't have to worry about being eaten alive. Still though, it's this sense of lulling that overcomes me as we make our way through. Lulling. I sit up on Jax, immediately alert.

Being lulled is often deliberate. And not because of anything I might do. I reach out with my earth senses, and water. The air here is a little thick with traffic. From the bugs to the misty air, there is interference on all fronts, so for now I try to stick to the initial two elements. The ground beneath me thrums with purpose, but I can't read what that purpose is exactly. It sings out to me, tugging at me like a song I should know from somewhere.

But it's not an urgent sound, just something that wants me to remember. It's the water that brings me the message I need. Keep going. Faster. Make it back. I'm not one to ignore portents, especially not after meeting Minx's vessel. And so I don't ignore it this time, either. It's time to get back, and I kick Jax into high gear.

It's not until the ground footing starts changing that we slow down. I'm in such a trancelike state that I don't even notice as we pass through into Korrien. It's not something you can miss on one of the main roads, but on this back-alley track, it's easy enough. By the time we begin winding through the forest, it's late afternoon and it'll be full-on dark before we make it to the Enclave, but Jax knows we're almost there too. There's an eagerness to his steps that he just can't hide.

He knows there's food up ahead. Thoughts flash through my mind. Brief interludes seen through water, heard through air, felt through the earth. Glimpses of Minx moving up and about, a view here and there of the waterfall. I need to spend more time with the elements in order to understand what it's trying to tell me. The only thing I'm certain of is the sense of urgency. We make it back to the Enclave where Larshell begrudgingly lets me inside after I've stabled my horse.

She has a full-blown dislike for me, and I'm still trying to figure out how I get around that so we can both do our jobs. As I round a corner, I almost bump into Xan. Strange. I didn't even sense them on the other side of the wall. But the elements are being rowdy today so that might have something to do with that. Maybe. Paranoia has been creeping up lately, even around the people I think I can trust. Perhaps it's a sense of something I've yet to determine. Well, obviously it's that.

But I doubt the elements allow me precognition. Either way, I'm slightly out of breath in greeting them.

"Hey."

"When did you get back?" Xan seems genuinely surprised to see me, and lets that paranoia fly out the window.

"Just now." It's the first time I've realized how much more I relax once I'm "home." My body feels like it isn't solid in these walls. Just a thought and I can listen through the stone, hear through the water outside and in, and feel through the air. Such a rush. It'd be so easy to get lost. I force myself to focus again.

"Haven't seen you in a while." Xan nods, and turns about, falling into step beside me.

"You've been gone a week." There's this slightly accusatory tone in their voice, but I feel like it isn't directed at me, but instead at the circumstances that drove us apart. And that's when I realize how much time we usually spend together. And how I miss it when we're not. Perhaps that's something to examine later on. When I have time.

"Very astute observation of how time moves. I commend you" is what I say instead of contemplating just how much I don't want to know why I constantly think of Xan lately.

"Well, at least you're in good health," Xan quips, a smile on their face.

"Wouldn't want you to go losing an edge on your sarcasm now, would we?" I scowl appropriately.

"Keep it up." Xan chuckles in their soft and diffusing way.

"You got back just in time."

"Minx?" I ask, suddenly feeling like all the puzzle pieces are coming together. The visions of Minx, of Xan, of whatever plant that was. We change directions almost unconsciously.

"Yep. Lennick just headed over there. If you want to join them?" Then Xan takes a really good look at me.

"Unless you want to wash up first."

"Do you think she'll care or notice?" Xan shrugs.

"The question is do you care if they care or notice that you're a bit on the ripe side?" I'd scowl if I wasn't fighting a laugh so hard. Even when I'm on edge, Xan can remind me to breathe.

"Neither. I just want to figure stuff out sooner rather than later." When we make it to the room, I've forgotten how tiny Minx is when she's not acting larger than life. Her body seems so frail against those white sheets, and her hair fans out in a way that seems alien to her otherwise regimented styling. Sure, it's always reminded me of a pixie, but in one of those organized-chaos ways. Lennick looks up and a smile crosses his face as we enter.

"I was hoping you'd make it back shortly. Made sure you were done with those specific missions. You didn't have to go on them to start with." He murmurs the last and I only think I've caught what he says.

"What was that?" He raises an eyebrow.

"Never mind for now. If you're that bad at listening." That one stung. We both know I'm great at listening. When I want to. And I do want to know what he meant by my not having to go on those missions. Although I suspect he'll simply reinforce what I've already surmised. Aarron wanted me out of the Enclave for some reason. I just have to figure out what.

"But while you're here, make yourself useful. I need a healing salve and about three detoxification patches. I've been running low since Aarron sent you off galivanting around the entire country just to take out a few surreptitious targets with pickier clients than usual." Lennick seems super annoyed right now, and I'm not sure why. I push my sensing abilities out and confirm that he's irritated, but I could tell that without engaging any of my extra abilities.

But those same senses allow me to realize no one is eavesdropping anywhere close to us. Instead of pushing further, I begin to help, noticing that Minx is definitely squirming in the bed now. She's flushed with a pink tinge to her skin and a pallor that makes the corpses I create look healthy and thriving. It's an odd mixture, to be sure.

"Are you sure she's about to wake up?" I ask dubiously. Lennick nods.

"Any moment now." I stop short of asking if he knows how I'd go about that with monitoring her air intake. Last time I tried to manipulate the air inside someone, they ended up exploding from the inside out. Sure enough, within the next couple of minutes her eyes begin to flutter slowly. At first it's like she's simply dreaming there, just beneath her sleep. Eyes moving as they play out the scenario in front of her. But, shortly thereafter, her body twitches slightly as movement begins to happen.

Her face was slack, and is now tightening, and the pallor beneath her skin starts to return to its former porcelain glory. Finally, her eyes flutter open and she looks up at me, a smile splitting her lips.

"Oh good, Taria. I thought he sent you away." The words are so soft, spoken from a croaky and underhydrated throat.

"I just got back from a few assignments in a row" is all I say. Just in case Aarron is somehow listening in. Which reminds me that he sent me away just after telling me about the wards that keep the Enclave safe, and didn't let me see if I could get a grip on just how that was done. Even trying right now, I can't seem to sense anything different about the walls' make up. Nothing here sets off an elemental alarm. Was he actually trying to pull one over on me?

"Assignments?" She frowns, and then coughs. Lennick brings her a cup of water, while I notice Xan is simply leaning up against the door jamb, their arms crossed, expression blank.

"You know, work." I mimic firing off a blow dart, and she visibly pales.

"I want you to know that I know it wasn't you." I blink at her this time, unsure what she's referring to. Because I know that it wasn't me that hurt her. And I also know it's not me who's responsible for waking her up properly. So what is she getting at?

"That's great. But I'm a little lost." Minx glances this way and that, as if she's trying to find any potential listeners.

"I know you didn't do this, and that you wouldn't have left if you'd had the choice."

"Of course!" I say, even if I don't feel it. Considering the walls in here probably have ears, I can't say I think that's too careful, either.

"Now we just need to get you better so you can tell us who did do this to you." She blinks up at me and laughs. Full on and full frontal. It's a rich sound that echoes slightly off the walls.

"Are you okay?" I ask, leaning forward to check her temperature.

"Of course I am." She smiles at me. It's so shiny, it's blinding. Then she beckons me to move forward, so I'm listening right at her mouth.

"It's just funny you and Xalin are hiding it." And that's when I know I have to figure out a way to get her alone so I can talk to the vessel. No problem. Not in an Enclave locked down by the Assassin Prefect.