Assassin's Curse (36 page)

Keisha eased back from the stairs as Mave handed her the knife to inspect.
 
As she took the knife, Mave pressed the dart into the palm of her hand.
 
She instantly pulled her hand back, but the dart had done its harm.
 
“Oh my,” she said as she began to slump back into the wagon.

“Quickly man,” Mave said, motioning to Mathew.
 
“Help the poor woman.
 
She looks faint from her exertion.”

Mathew sprinted up the wagon stairs and barely felt the pinprick of the dart as he passed Mave’s man.
 
He was falling unconscious before he reached the top stair.
 
Mave’s men followed Mathew up the stairs, picking both him and Keisha up, and carried them farther into the wagon.
 
Mave followed, but not before taking a look around to ensure no one had noticed the exchange.
 
Seeing they were in the clear, Mave shut the wagon door and turned to look at his prize.

“Kill the gypsy and wrap the woman in one of the bags.
 
We will take her to lure the traitor and capture him away from this camp.”
 
He reached into his tunic and pulled out a black, assassin’s head mask.
 
It was designed to cover the entire head, leaving only openings for the eyes and mouth.
 
Though the masks were used for camouflage at night, Mave had a better use for it now.
 

Mave’s mask was unique.
 
It bore the mark of the Constantine Guild, where he originally earned it, and would point like an arrow to where Mave was taking Keisha.
 
Leaving the mask was more of a challenge than a clue, but Jeda would understand and follow him to Constantine.
 
Whether he brought the twins with him or not did not matter.
 
Jeda was always the biggest obstacle to capturing the twins and when Mave sprung his trap they would be unprotected and easy game.

It was easy work to sneak out of the camp with their bundle.
 
Both of Mave’s men had to carry Keisha to their waiting wagon because of her swollen belly, but in short time they were on the road heading to Constantine.
 
Mave sat in the back of the wagon with the unconscious woman, constantly scanning the road for any signs of pursuit.

It won’t be long now until I finally have you in my grasp.
 
You have been a thorn in my side for far too long.
 
The Masters said to bring you to Constantine, but they didn’t say in what condition.

***

Jeda became aware of the twins’ voices well before he could understand the words they were saying.

What are they chattering about?

He took him another moment to piece together the attack and the twins’ voices.
 
In a fit of near-hysteria, he fought his way up from the black unconsciousness trying to hold him down and sat up in the tack room of the stables, ready for action.
 
His first sight was the
girls
kneeling beside him.
 
They stared at him in surprise.

“Poppy,” Kala cried, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Jeda surveyed the room, seeing the prostrate bodies of the assassins, Natasha, Mirabelle, and the girls.
 
With just one of the assassins tied up, he assumed the rest were dead.
 
After quickly assessing their situation, he relaxed enough to smile at the crying girl attached to his neck.
 
“I’m fine, Kala, unless you continue to choke me to death.”

The young girl released her hold and sat back on her knees.

“What happened after the alley?” he asked the group.

“We found another assassin there, but he couldn’t move because he was hurt.
 
We questioned him and he told us where you were,” Kala said lightly.

“Wait,” Jeda interrupted.
 
“A trained assassin just up and told you where the others had taken me?”

“Well, I did have to convince him a little, but Kara is the one who killed him, not me.”

“You cooked his brain first,” Kara shot back at her sister.

Jeda interrupted the two again as they started arguing about who did what to whom.
 
He wouldn’t get anything out of them with them squabbling like this.

“OK.
 
We can discuss all that later.
 
Are there any more assassins in the area and did any of them get away?”

Natasha spoke up next.
 
“These three are the only ones we discovered here.
 
There is one dead in the alley, as the girls said, but there is no sign of any others.”

Jeda looked over at the tied-up assassin.
 
He was awake and staring back with hate-filled eyes.

“Natasha, please take everyone outside for a few moments.
 
I have something to discuss with this one.”

“Poppy, I can make him talk,” Kala volunteered.

Jeda looked at his little girl and realized she was right.
 
If whatever she did to the other worked again, then it would save a lot of time and effort.
 
It would take Jeda far too long to break this man and there was no guarantee that he would succeed before killing him.
 
“All right, you can stay.”

“Jeda, we should all stay,” Natasha said.
 
“If these animals have found you, then we need to understand what kind of danger we face.”

“I’ll wait outside,” Mirabelle piped up.

“You stay put,” Natasha commanded.
 
“You will see firsthand what your selfishness has caused.”

Jeda looked at Mirabelle for a second, wondering what part she had played in all of this, but decided that line of questioning could wait.
 
He gingerly stood up, wincing at the pain he felt in his lower back.

“Your back may hurt for a while,” Natasha said cautiously.
 
“You should try and rest for a bit.”

“Once I know we are safe, then I will rest, but first things first,” Jeda replied walking over to the prone assassin.
 
“Girls, help me sit him up so I can talk to him.”

Once the assassin was upright, Jeda squatted down in front of him.
 
“I know what you are capable of enduring.
 
I know because I was once one of you.”

“You were never a true brother,” the man spat back.
 
“You are nothing but a traitor.”

“OK, I can see how this will play out.
 
You will resist and be very brave about it, but in the end, you
will
tell me what I want to know.
 
You heard what my girls said.
 
Your brother in the alley talked quickly enough.”

“Do your worst, traitor.
 
Neither you nor any of these loathsome witches will get anything from me.”

Jeda sighed outwardly and motioned for Kala to begin.
 
It took her about 20 seconds before the hardened assassin began to scream hysterically.
 
Sweat and tears streamed down the man’s face as Jeda spoke again.

“OK, let’s try this again.
 
How did you know where to find me?”

The assassin looked wild-eyed at the sweet, little girl kneeling to his right before turning his gaze to Mirabelle.
 
“It was
her
.
 
She was the one who told the witches at the coven where you were hiding.”

Jeda looked disgustedly at Mirabelle cowering in the corner.
 
“It was the reward money, wasn’t it?”

Something finally snapped in Mirabelle’s mind at the accusation and she stared back at him with a look of righteous insanity.
 
“You brought this on yourself,” she screamed.
 
“You and those evil girls you try to hide from everyone.
 
Oh yes, I know they are both girls and they are the ones spoken of in the prophecy.”

Mirabelle turned toward her sister.
 
“And you, I told you I saw them in my vision years ago with the cloud of death hanging over them.
 
You wouldn’t listen to me.
 
Don’t blame me for this death and destruction, I warned you.
 
I could have left with that reward money, gone someplace far from here, someplace cool, someplace where they would appreciate me.”

Jeda turned back to the assassin while Mirabelle continued her insane ranting.
 
“How did the guild find out what the witches knew?”

The assassin quickly answered before Kala touched him again.
 
“Mary was placed in the coven by our head brother to spy on the witches.
 
She had some small skill with the power and was readily accepted into the coven as an assistant.
 
Once she told our head brother what she had overheard about you and the twins, he devised a plan for capturing you.”

“Hmm,” Jeda said reflecting on what the assassin said, “too bad for you that you failed.”

“But we did not fail.
 
Our team was sent to eliminate the witches at the coven so they would not interfere with the other team.”

Jeda felt the familiar warning creep up his back.
 
“Where is this other team now?”

“They went to the gypsy camp to find you and the twins.”

Jeda’s sixth sense screamed at him.
 
“What is your head brother’s name?”

“Brother Mave.”

Jeda jumped up and ran for the door, but Natasha stepped in front of him.
 
With a tremendous effort, Jeda stopped himself from throwing her out of his way.

“Jeda, stop.
 
You could be running headlong into a trap.”

“You don’t understand.
 
This man Mave is a cold-blooded killer.
 
When he finds we are not in the camp, there is no telling what he will do.”

“The camp is well protected and he would be foolish to go against so many.”

“You’re right, he won’t go against the entire camp, but he will only need to target one to get what he wants.”

Natasha paled.
 
“Keisha.”

“Yes, Keisha.
 
He will use her to get to me.
 
We must hurry
now
.”
 
Jeda motioned for the girls to follow him.

Kala hesitated, looking at the assassin.
 
“But Poppy, what about him?”

“Leave him.
 
He won’t bother us any longer.”

As Natasha followed Jeda out the door, Kala placed her hand against the assassin’s head for a moment of intense concentration before standing up.
 
The assassin’s eyes rolled back in his head and he slumped over.
 
Kara watched her sister and looked at her questioningly.

“What?” Kala asked looking at her sister.
 
“I didn’t kill him.”

“Yeah, but you did cook his brain.”

“So?
 
At least he won’t be bothering us like Poppy said.”

Neither Natasha nor Jeda saw what Kala did, only Mirabelle.
 
She quickly scrambled out of the door in pursuit of Natasha, fearfully looking back as the twins followed her out of the stable.

***

Jeda drove the horses and wagon back to camp at breakneck speed.
 
As they came swerving into the camp, they were quickly met by a few of the men, alarmed at the speed of the wagon and the dust it kicked up by stopping so suddenly.
 

“Is something amiss?” one of the men called out to Jeda and Natasha.

“Has anything happened since we left?
 
Any problems?
 
Any visitors?” Jeda asked.

“There’s been no problem that I know of,” the first man answered.
 
“Mathew escorted a group of peddlers to see Keisha earlier, but I haven’t seen any of them for a while.
 
I thought they must have left already.”

“Yeah, I thought they left too, but I haven’t seen Matt around either,” the second man answered, scratching his head.

Jeda jumped down and raced to his own wagon.
 
He heart thundered in his chest, fearful of what he might find.
 
He ran up the steps and nearly ripped the door off its hinges getting it open.
 
Inside his worst nightmares were realized.
 
On the floor was the dead body of Mathew lying in a pool of congealing blood, throat cleanly cut.
 
Above the dead man’s body hung an assassin’s mask, the symbol of the Constantine guild standing out in stark contrast above the empty eye slits.
 

Jeda’s bent over and picked up the small dart lying conspicuously on the floor.
 
He brought it up to his nose and smelled the telltale trace of Darkshade.
 
It was all Jeda needed to see to know what had happened.
 
Mave purposely left both clues to let him know that his wife was still alive and he would find her at the guild house in Constantine.