Assassin's Curse (19 page)

Jeda smiled at that.
 
“Thank you again.
 
The girls and I will be leaving now.
 
I’m taking the wagon and Jed.
 
I don’t know how long I’ll be able to use it, but it will get us a good distance away from here and fast.”

“I figured you’d be taking the wagon when you left,” Gelda said.
 
“I asked Anna to pack some food and supplies for you and the girls.
 
One more thing: you may find some healers do not feel as I do.
 
Some believe in the damn prophecy and they’ll try to take the girls away from you and bring them to a proper coven.”

“How will I know who to trust?”

“Stick to the list I gave you; those are the trustworthy healers I know personally.
 
When you can’t find one of them, then keep the girls out of sight.
 
Just remember: at some point, you’ll have to find some proper training for them or they’ll grow up with wild magic and that can be more dangerous than any guild or coven chasing you.”

Mave lay in the infirmary of the assassin guild house contemplating his next move.
 
It had taken him many days to get back to the guild after that old witch had attacked him.
 
Luckily, he had been able to steal a horse in the village and that helped him make it back alive.
 
As it was, he was barely conscious when he arrived.
 
He was still in bad shape, but if he had not been wearing his vest, he would be dead now.
 
He could not decide whether it had been bad luck that he had run into that foul witch or if Jeda was somehow in league with her.
 
It didn’t seem likely that he was, but Mave had passed on all the information he collected to the masters so they could decide what to do next.
 
He was the best equipped to bring Jeda in, but now must somehow join up with the team tracking him.
 
While trying to puzzle out his next move, the guild’s healer came bustling in, interrupting his musings and giving him dire news.
  

“Brother Mave, your injuries are healing, but you’ll be out of commission for at least a week if not two,” the healer said.

Mave lashed out at the poor man.
 
“That is far too long to lie in a bed.
 
What do you think I am?
 
Some tired old woman?
 
The wound is healing, just give me something for this pain,” he demanded.

The healer shook his head.
 
“No, the masters forbid it.
 
You’re lucky to be alive after that blast.
 
Now lie back down and rest.
 
That’s an order, or I will give you something to make you sleep.”

“Tell me what the masters have planned to get the traitor.”

The healer told him that a team of four had been sent out to pick up Jeda’s trail.
 
The team had been given orders to be extremely careful with their questions and the pursuit.
 
There would be no more overt attacks that might give warning or alarm to the traitor or to any witches that might be protecting him.

Mave lay back on the pillow.
 
He felt a sense of pride that the masters considered the boy dangerous enough to send four assassins in place of him, especially now that the damn witches were helping him.
 
Mave had no choice but to rest until his strength returned and, if truth
be
told, his chest ached with a fierceness he’d never known before.
 
Overall, he thought things had not gone as badly as he thought they might.
 
At least he had not been killed outright for his failure, but the masters were not pleased that Jeda had gotten away with the twins.
 
The fact that he lived through that witch’s attack to report anything was a big plus, but he knew his chances of becoming a master had decreased dramatically with this failure.

Damned witches, should kill ‘em all
, Mave thought bitterly,
nothing but a pain in my ass.

He made a mental note to stay away from witches in bad moods.
 
With nothing left to do but rest, he began to plot his next move.
 
No doubt the other team would fail.
 
They were far less experienced then he was and didn’t know Jeda the way he did.
 
He hoped they wouldn’t lose his trail completely.
 
If they did, it might take years to discover it again.
 
That’s how good Jeda was at covering his tracks.

Damn you Jeda; I curse the day I saved your scrawny, little ass.

Mave knew he could beat Jeda in any kind of fight, but first he had to find him.
 
He needed to think like Jeda if he wanted to catch him again.
 
Jeda was always one or two steps ahead of everyone else, so Mave would need to think two steps ahead of him to beat him.
 
The more he thought about it, the more he realized that there was something more about the aggravating, little shit that he couldn’t quite put his finger on.
 
It was like the attitude the old witch had when she beat him soundly, like she knew from the beginning that he didn’t stand a chance of winning.
 
That was the attitude Jeda had, almost like he had some kind of power no one else did and it annoyed Mave to no end.
 

With that thought, he realized something that no one had ever thought of.
 
That’s it.
 
Why didn’t I ever realize that before?
 
No wonder that bastard seemed to have nine lives.

Jeda had powers.
 
They may be latent powers that even he didn’t realize he had, but Mave was positive now that he had them and was using them.
 
It explained everything.
 
Through all the years, when Jeda would break record after record or perform some miraculous feat, all of it clicked into place for Mave.

Damn boy’s a wizard,
he thought,
the gods help us all if he ever comes full into his power.
 
He’ll be unstoppable.
 
With that final thought, Mave began to plan.
 

***

As the wagon ambled along the trail, Jeda thought of what he could do to keep them all out of harm’s way.
 
Gelda’s comment about using his skills had given him some ideas about possibilities.
 
By himself, he could live indefinitely in the countryside, hunting and fishing for food, making shelter out of whatever was available, but it was not the most comfortable of living arrangements.
 
But with the girls, he had to consider their age and the fact he would have to leave them in a blind or screen while he hunted.
 
That did not sit well with him, for they were too young and the possibility that they would become prey was all too real in the forestlands they were travelling through.

It appeared that a small city might be the best place for them.
 
It would be relatively easy for him to find a nursemaid to care for the girls while he went out to earn a living.
 
His small hoard of money wouldn’t last much longer and they would need supplies soon.
 
Thoughts swirled in his mind.
 
He could even look for legitimate work first and, if that failed, then his
skills
would definitely come in handy.
 
Every city had its underbelly of crime and deceit where Jeda would fit in naturally.

I haven’t been an assassin all these years for nothing.
 
If all other avenues fail, I can hire myself out as a bodyguard.
 

The notion of being a bodyguard made him laugh, considering all the ones he had circumvented or dispatched over the years.
 
Looking at the girls bouncing along beside him, he realized that he needed a plan to keep them safe.
 
If the guild had taught him anything, it was always plan at least three moves ahead, and have contingency plans to fall back on.
 
He had no illusions that either the guild or the witches would ever stop looking for them, so he would have to hide in a way that neither would take notice of.
 
He needed some kind of disguise so they could hide in plain sight.
 
He was very good at that and a satisfied grin spread across his face.

So
a place to hide, rest
, and recoup was the first order of business.
 
He had taken a secondary trail off the main road to throw off the pursuit that would be following.
 
Riding through the night, they finally ended up in the small, peaceful village of Mount View.
 
Looking around the countryside, Jeda could tell why the village was so aptly named.
 
The sky was grey, but the morning twilight allowed for a magnificent view of the surrounding mountains and valleys.
 
As he drove the wagon into the village center, the smell of freshly baked bread reminded him of poor Clara.
 
There could be no doubt that she was dead now.
 
It didn’t take a genius to figure out that if Mave had showed up with her wagon, he killed her.
 
Clara loved that old mule and would never have parted with him for any amount of money.
 
Jeda could only hope that she hadn’t been tortured.
 
Mave was legendary with his sadistic kills, so he doubted Clara’s death was fast or easy.
 
She had died as a result of his actions and he felt personally responsible.
 
He did not ponder long on her death, but made a mental note that it was a death he would avenge.
 
Mave would pay for what he had done.

Mount View was situated along one of the smaller secondary trade routes and was not as heavily populated as the cities along the main road.
 
The village did have a small inn and the smell of the fresh-baked bread was wafting from it.
 
The village was out of the way and seemed like a good place to stop to get some supplies and maybe a little rest.
 
Jeda parked the wagon and made his way inside to see about accommodations.
 
One of the morning serving girls greeted him as he carried the girls inside.

“Good morning, sir,” she called out.
 
“Will you be breaking your fast with us this morning?”

“That and more if you have it,” Jeda answered, trying to smile in his friendliest manner.
   

The serving girl blushed.
 
“Oh, I’m sorry sir; we’re just a poor inn that serves food and has a few beds for weary travelers.”

“What?” Jeda asked
,
his brow furrowed at the girl’s response.

“I’m sorry sir, but if you’re looking for female company, then you’ll have to go look to the big city.
 
We’ve no whores here.”

Jeda waved his free hand.
 
“No, no, no.
 
I meant I was looking for food and a place to rest.”

“Oh, in that case, I can help you.
 
My name is Jane and I’m in charge of serving the breakfast here.”

Jeda had wanted to keep a low but friendly profile as he travelled.
 
The guild would eventually track him to this place and the less the locals remembered of him the better.
 
This poor girl here seemed more than a bit daft, having completely misunderstood his friendliness.
 
So much for being friendly.
 
I’ve got to practice this act.
 

“The room first, if you please, Jane,” Jeda said.
 
“Then maybe some food for my girls and myself.
 
Do you have a groomsman who can take care of my mule and wagon while we rest?”
 

She motioned for Jeda to follow her.
 
“Yes, sir.
 
We can take care of all that.”

Jane led Jeda to a small room on the second floor of the inn and helped him settle the girls on the lone bed inside.
 
The babies were bundled in the papoose and thankfully sleeping so Jane did not notice their gold-flecked eyes or
that
they were twins.

Thank the gods for small favors
, Jeda thought as the Jane left to fetch the food and to give the orders to take care of the wagon and mule.

***

Jane hurried down the stairs and into the kitchen.
 
She stopped briefly and told the cook they had newly arrived guests, a man and his two young children, and they would require food in their room.
 
Once she passed on that information, she scurried out to find old Ben in the barn out back behind the inn.
 
Ben was just rising to begin his morning chores and Jane gave him his orders.

“Yep, I’ll take care of it young lady,” Old Ben said.

“Thank you.
 
I’d best be going now, I have another errand to run.”
 
She turned on her heel and headed off down the main street.
 
She stopped in front of the small hut bedecked with herbs and flowers of every conceivable variety.
 
There was no mistaking this house; it was the village healer and Jane’s last errand before returning to the inn and the newly arrived guests.
 
She knocked and waited until she heard rustling inside.
 
After a few moments, the door opened a crack and a pleasant-faced, bleary-eyed woman looked out.