Imperial Assassin (12 page)

It was interesting to watch them finish. Where Serrius was smooth and graceful, Reynik looked awkward and stiff, yet competent. The perfect balance and poise of the gladiator contrasted markedly
with the slight wobbles and shakes of the young Legionnaire. However, Femke noted that Reynik looked remarkably composed considering he was just finishing a four-hour training session.

‘I shall see you again this evening, Reynik. Think on the patterns I showed you and don’t be late. I don’t appreciate being kept waiting.’

Reynik thanked him for his time and followed Femke out of the house. She did not talk to him about his training, but led him silently through the streets into the city centre. The street vendors
had lost some of their earlier verve. The voices calling out to passers by still had the volume, but had lost the interest and vitality they had possessed earlier in the day.

‘Hungry?’ Femke asked, as Reynik’s stomach growled audibly.

‘Starved.’

‘What would you like?’

‘Anything hot that’s not too spicy.’

Femke led him to a food vendor and ordered him a large portion of hot meat in gravy, wrapped in unleavened bread. Reynik muttered his thanks and bit into the tasty wrap, leaning forwards to
avoid dripping the hot juices down the front of his clothes.

‘Mmm!’ he mumbled through a mouthful of food. ‘Wonderful.’

They moved away from the food vendor and down one of the side streets. A few minutes later Femke stopped in front of a bare wooden door. Reynik was still licking his fingers, having eaten his
food in short order. He looked at her enquiringly.

‘In you go,’ she said, gesturing for him to precede her.

‘Shouldn’t we knock?’

‘You can if you like, but no one will answer. This is one of my safe houses.’

Reynik grinned and went to open the door. It was locked. He turned and looked questioningly at Femke.

‘It seems you remembered to lock up. So where’s the key?’ he asked.

‘I don’t know. I don’t remember ever having one for this place.’

‘So how do we get in?’

Femke grinned mischievously. ‘Use your initiative,’ she replied. ‘But don’t make any noise. We don’t want to upset the neighbours.’

Reynik nodded. Femke watched with amusement as he gave a furtive look around to see if anyone was watching before he began a quick, but thorough search of the area around the door to see if
there was a key concealed there. Clearly he was aware that this was a test and he didn’t trust her to be telling him the truth. ‘Good,’ she thought. ‘That’s one lesson
I don’t have to teach him.’

His search was fruitless, so he moved on to the windows. After a few moments, he discovered that one of the window catches was loose and began gently rattling it to try to work the catch free.
When this didn’t work, he took his belt knife out and tried to prise the window open. The latch was stubborn. No matter how much leverage Reynik applied, it did not give. After a few minutes
of effort it loosened enough for Reynik to work the tip of the knife through and raise the latch. With a look of triumph, he turned to Femke and gestured for her to enter.

‘Oh, please, after you,’ Femke said sweetly.

‘Very well,’ he replied. With another quick look up and down the street to see that no one was going to see him, he placed his hands on the chest-height windowsill and jumped up,
allowing his body to pivot forwards over his hands until he was draped head first, half inside the house. Resting on his stomach, he eased his hands inside to clear the inside window ledge of
breakables, then he wriggled forwards, legs kicking to help his forward momentum until he started to slide in through the window.

He was past the point of no return when he realised that the distance from the inside window ledge to the ground was such that he would not be able to lower his body totally under control all
the way to the floor. It was too late for thoughts of backing out, so he allowed his bodyweight to pull his legs through the window and he hit the floor, tucking his body into an untidy roll.

As Reynik climbed to his feet, a slow clap sounded from the internal door on the other side of the room. Femke was standing there with a huge grin on her face.

‘Very impressive. Well done,’ she said, voice dripping with sarcasm. ‘At least you didn’t break any of my ornaments.’

‘I thought you said you didn’t have a key!’

‘I don’t.’

‘Then how . . .’

‘There are other ways of opening locked doors, you know. Come on. Shut that window and I’ll teach you how to pick a lock. Given your remarkable display of grace and agility, it might
save you from being caught in a compromising position.’

‘Where have you been? The File Leader is spitting feathers. You were expected back hours ago.’

Reynik looked at Tymm wearily. His fellow Legionnaire had clearly been waiting for him, and kept his voice low to prevent it from travelling to the tent a few yards away. Reynik shrugged his
shoulders. ‘I can’t tell you. I’ve been doing the Emperor’s bidding. That’s all I can say.’

‘Well, I hope for your sake you’ll be allowed to tell Sidis more than that, or you’ll be back on jacks duty for a month. It’s clear he’s got a grudge against you,
so you’d better be ready to answer to him.’

Reynik nodded. It was not what he needed after an exhausting day of training, but he knew this was a confrontation that would not go away. No matter what he said, Sidis would not be happy. The
File Leader seemed set on making his life in the Legion a misery. It was unlikely this new mission would help improve their relationship.

His personality clash with Sidis was not Reynik’s biggest worry. Where his previous special escort assignment had caused some resentment amongst his fellow soldiers, it was likely that a
second special assignment would cause outright animosity. Had they known the deadly nature of his task, some might have been more tolerant, but he knew the nature of the other men. Despite not
knowing what he was doing, secretly, each would harbour thoughts that they should have been selected.

The extreme covert nature of his task meant he could not tell anyone, not even the Commander, what he was doing. This would not make it easy to deal with the Legion hierarchy. All he could hope
was for the orders from the Emperor to come down through the chain of command quickly enough for him not to miss his next appointment with Femke in the morning. The training programme she had
instigated was fascinating. He had learned more in his single session with Serrius about the importance of poise, balance and stance in sword fighting than he had learned in two years of training
to be a Legionnaire.

‘Thanks for the warning, Tymm. It would be best if I go and talk with Sidis now, I think. I’ll be away again in the morning, so I’d better get this over and done
with.’

‘Listen, Reynik, I don’t know what you’re doing, but if you need help, you can count on me.’

‘That’s good to know. I’m sorry I can’t tell you any more right now, Tymm. Maybe one day . . .’ He gripped Tymm’s upper arm, and looked into his eyes, trying
with all his heart to express gratitude for his friend’s understanding in that look. Tymm patted him back.

‘I’ll try to keep the wolves from your back here, Reynik, but if you’re going to be accepted into the pack, you’re going to have to run with them. With Nelek and Sidis
already alienated, it is only going to get harder for you to fit into the ranks with the more time you spend away.’

Reynik nodded again. With a sigh of resolve, he walked past the tent that housed his file, and continued up the path in search of the File Leaders’ tents.

As he expected, Sidis was not impressed.

‘Secret!’ he exploded. ‘What do you mean, secret?’

Reynik winced. The ears of any spy within half a mile would be burning after that outburst. No doubt they would be flocking to find out what Sidis was talking about.

‘Begging your pardon, File Leader, but there may be spies . . .’

‘There are no spies here!’ he hissed, lowering his voice despite his statement. Sidis’ eyes were burning with fury. ‘So you’re intent on playing the Emperor’s
“golden boy”, are you? Well it cuts no ice with me, Reynik. If you think you’re going to get special treatment in this Legion because you’re in the Emperor’s eye, then
you’re sadly mistaken. Until I receive orders from the Commander, then you’re to drill with the others. I’ll not take orders from a young upstart like you, and I’ll not
allow any insubordination either. You
will
parade with the others in the morning, or I’ll have your guts to bait the rat traps with.’

Reynik met the File Leader’s venomous stare with resolve. ‘No,’ he said simply. ‘I won’t.’ For a moment, Reynik thought that the File Leader’s eyes
would pop out of his head. If the situation had not been so lamentable, it would have been comic. He had not wanted it to come to this, but he now had no choice. ‘I must ask you to come with
me to see the Commander, File Leader. My orders are directly from the Emperor. He wants me in the city at first light tomorrow. The night is already passing and I need to be in a fit state to
function tomorrow. This must be resolved now.’

‘Oh, we’ll go to see the Commander,’ he spluttered, ‘but it is you who will accompany me, you cheeky young whoreson.’

Reynik ignored the insult. It was not worth responding to. Instead, he stepped aside and allowed the File Leader to lead the way to the Commander’s tent. It was late to be disturbing the
Commander, but Sidis was so incensed he was clearly oblivious to protocol. Reynik remained outside while the File Leader conversed with the Commander, but he could hear every word.

‘Yes, Sidis, I am aware of the orders pertaining to Legionnaire Reynik. I received them late this evening. However, unlike you, it seems, I have some regard for the rest periods of others.
I had intended to inform you of the authorisation for his absence in the morning, but as you’re here, you can take it as read that, until further notice, Legionnaire Reynik is released to
come and go as required in order to fulfil his duties to the Emperor. Now go and get some sleep, File Leader.’

Reynik winced at the Commander’s tone. He would not have liked to face that acid dismissal. If there had ever been any hope for reconciliation with Sidis, it was now gone. The File Leader
would not forget this moment. He would be sure to lay the blame for it squarely on Reynik’s head.

Sidis did not even look at Reynik as he stomped away. ‘You heard what the Commander said,’ he hissed in a venomous snarl as he disappeared into the night. ‘Go!’

Reynik went to his bed with a heavy heart. When he crept into the tent, most of the men were already asleep. Tymm raised himself up on one elbow, giving Reynik an enquiring look, but Reynik
raised a finger to his lips and shook his head. He did not want to risk waking any of the others. It was heartening to know that he still had a friend nearby, but he knew this latest mission would
turn the majority against him.

Lying in his bunk, he wondered what on earth he had done. All he had ever wanted was a place in the Legions and a chance to emulate his forebears. His lifelong dream was to have a fulfilling
career as a soldier. He so wanted to make his father proud. Now, somehow, he had become embroiled in events that were dragging him away from his hard-earned place in the most prestigious of
Legions. If he were not careful, it would soon become impossible for him to return. What would his family think if the authorities captured him and accused him of being an assassin? Or if he turned
up dead in a river, killed by the Guild? Would the Emperor ever tell them the truth? He doubted it. He was in up to his neck – that much was sure.

It was not a good night. His sleep was shallow and fitful, with broken dreams of chasing and being chased, killing and being killed. Throughout the dreams was the sense of a sea of watching,
accusing faces.

He awoke before dawn and rose. He felt stiff and more tired than he had when he had gone to bed. Dressing silently, he left for the Palace. The Imperial Palace guards admitted him without
question when he supplied the password Femke had told him. He made his way quickly to Femke’s quarters. She answered immediately at his discreet tap on her door and indicated for him to
change back into a set of clothes she had laid out on the bed for him. They fit perfectly.

‘Where are the clothes I wore yesterday?’ he asked once he was dressed.

‘The Palace Staff are cleaning them for you. You worked up a bit of a sweat with Serrius yesterday, so I thought you’d appreciate a clean set for today. I got these from stores, but
you’re to be measured for fitted clothing at the eighth bell.’

Femke noted the dark rings under Reynik’s eyes and wondered for a moment if she should suggest he be detached from the Legion altogether while he was involved in this mission. It would
shorten his days if he did not have to walk to and from the camp every day. She knew how dedicated a soldier he was and she had no wish to make this any more difficult for him than it had to be.
Some fatigue was inevitable for a few days until his body settled into the new routine. She decided not to say anything for the time being, but to monitor his health to be sure it did not degrade.
He would have to be at the peak of fitness for his coming mission.