Tanned Hide (8 page)

“
Are you kidding me?” I
said. “HVAC doesn’t pay near enough. I couldn’t make this kind of
money in my lifetime!”

Ethos frowned and lifted one eyebrow.
“You have more than one skill, you know.”

I paused and my ears started ringing.
No. They weren’t suggesting that.

“
You’ve got a reputation
now, Mr. Black,” Pathos said. “A few level ten jobs and you’d have
the money in no time.”

“
I just spent the last ten
months getting out of that business,” I snarled.

“
Oh come now, sweetie,”
Logos said. “No one really leaves the business. It’s just not
possible. You could get right back into it.”

“
Why are you so determined
to get me back in?”

“
It’s a simple trade, Mr.
Black,” Ethos said. “You go back into the business. You take a few
level ten hits. You give us the money and get Philip back.
Meanwhile, we track your movements, tap your calls, and gather
enough evidence against you to ensure you won’t go to the police
about your parents’ deaths. Simple as that.”

I felt the warmth drain from my face.
“You want to exchange Philip for assassin guilt. You want me to
hand you evidence of my crimes.”

“
Absolutely,” Pathos said.
“A bargain if you ask me.”

“
And what’s to keep you
from continuing to use me? Should I expect to come under your pay
and become your personal assassin?”

“
Certainly not,” Ethos
said. “This is assurance, as we said. It’s just tying up loose
ends.”

“
Killing me would tie them
up a whole lot neater.”

“
But there’s no fun in
that, sir puma,” Ethos said. “And as we said, we’d rather not break
families up. That’s happened too much of late, wouldn’t you
agree?”

I glanced over the paper. What could I
do? Was it really worth it to trade one bargaining chip for
another? Could I really do this? I closed my eyes. Images of Mom’s
final moments passed through my head. The promises I made to her
about protecting Philip. That was more important than the promise
to leave the business. I knew I had no choice. I had to do this. I
opened my eyes again.

“
Fine. Deal.”

Ethos grinned. “I knew you’d see
things our way.” She took the invoice from me the three of them
signed it with their codenames.

“
How long do I
have?”

“
Long as you like,” Pathos
said. “Though you might want to get it done before Miss Piper finds
a new family for your dear brother.” She passed the invoice back to
me.

At that point, the limo stopped.
“Well, here’s your stop, Mr. Black,” Logos said. “A pleasure doing
business with you. I’m sure we’ll be in touch. Have a wonderful
day.” She opened the door and I walked out, still holding the
invoice and champagne. She shut the door, and the limo sped away. I
glanced around.

Across the street was Philip’s foster
home. I took a long look at the white shutters and brown picket
fence. The sound of children running and playing danced across the
tarmac. Then I took a deep breath and walked up to the house. Might
as well tell him the news.

Ten

The next day I sauntered into Trecheon’s office. He glanced up
at me with a curious eyebrow. “Any luck with that social
worker?”

I shrugged. “In a weird off-hand way,
kinda.” I handed him the Fawn’s invoice.

Trecheon glanced over it, frowning.
“It’s. . . an invoice. For a bargaining chip.” He shook his head.
“One million dollars? What the hell does that even mean,
Neil?”

I took a deep breath. “That’s the
price the Triple Danger gave me. For Philip.” I gave him a summary
of all that had happened yesterday. “If I pay them one million
dollars and they’ll pin Matron Fawn’s murder on someone rival mob
and clear my name sufficiently for the social worker.”

Trecheon frowned. “Why that much?
They’re a multi-million-dollar corporation. They don’t need your
money.”

“
It’s not about the money,
Trech,” I said, dragging the words out, trying to calm myself.
“It’s about the number. It’s way too high for me to get
legitimately.”

Trecheon frowned and dropped the
paper. “Neil, please don’t tell me what I think you’re going to
tell me.”

“
I don’t have a choice.” I
took a deep breath, preparing myself to say it. I had to say it or
it wouldn’t feel real. “I need to get back into the
business.”

The color on the inside of Trecheon’s
ears faded and he furrowed his brow. “They can’t really expect you
to do that.”

“
That’s exactly what they
expect me to do,” I said. “They told me themselves. If I start up
in the business again to get that money, they can record all of my
hits. My guilt as an assassin becomes their bargaining
chip.”

Trecheon frowned, taking it all in.
“So you’re just trading one bargaining chip for
another.”

“
Essentially, yes,” I said.
“But I’ll get Philip back.”

“
Why would they do
that?”

I shrugged. “They said something about
not wanting to break up families. I think motherhood changed their
perspective more than they want to believe.”

Trecheon stood and glared at me.
“Neil, you spent the last ten months trying to cut your connections
and get out of the business. Don’t make the same mistake again.
Don’t do this to yourself.” He shook his head. “Let me help. I’ll
donate all my profits to you. We’ll get that number for
them.”

I scoffed. “Will we?” I countered.
“Trecheon, we’re just skilled labor. Combined we couldn’t make that
number in our lifetimes.”

“
Maybe we can take out
loans.”

“
Do you really think any
bank is going to loan us that kind of cash? On my income? On
yours?”

Trecheon frowned. He sat back in his
chair.

“
It’s an uncomfortable
truth, Trech.”

“
Don’t call me
Trech.”

I bit my lip. Back to this again. “The
fact of the matter is, killing is my only good skill. I’ll get back
into for a few years, earn the money. And trade bargaining chips.
I’ll finally get Philip back.”

“
You’ll still be just as
much a prisoner,” Trecheon said.

“
But I’ll have Philip.
That’s all that matters.” I sighed. “I can live with them
monitoring us.”

Trecheon pressed his ears back. “When
you came to me with this hit last year, you told me you were on the
verge of going insane. You needed that magic hit in order to keep
yourself from taking the easy way out.”

I waved a hand. “Magic hits aren’t
real.”

“
Neil--”

“
They aren’t,” I snarled.
“They can’t be real. How could it be real when doing that magic hit
means I lost everything?”

Trecheon tapped his desk. “This isn’t
the same thing as before. This isn’t working for yourself and
taking only the hits you feel comfortable doing. This is leading to
pure, cold-blooded killing. No hope. No magic hit. Nothing to hold
on to. How am I going to keep you from insanity?”

“
You won’t,” I said, trying
to ignore the truth in his statement. “But Philip will. Magic hits
aren’t real, but Philip. . . Philip is real.” I took a deep breath.
“I can do this for him.”

Trecheon closed his eyes. He sat in
that pose for almost a minute before opening his eyes again. “This
is against my better judgement, but. . . I’m in too.”

I frowned, splaying my ears. This was
not where I wanted it to go. “What? Why? I dragged you unwillingly
into this profession and you were more than happy to get out. Why
go back in?”

“
Because you need a
partner,” Trecheon said. “And I’ll happily donate my job money to
you if it means you’ll get out of this business and get Philip
faster.”

I paused, stunned. “Trech, I. . . I
don’t know what to say.”

“
Don’t.” He held a hand
out. “Just say you’ll let me help you.”

I pressed my lips together, ears still
splayed. “I don’t deserve your loyalty.”

“
We rarely deserve the
loyalties we’re given, Neil,” he said. “Just let me help
you.”

I glanced at the floor a moment, then
stood. I held my hand out to him. He took it without
hesitation.

“
Thank you,
Trecheon.”

“
It’s what friends are
for.”

I wasn’t sure that that’s what friends
were for. Agreeing to do unpleasant jobs to help them attain
impossible goals. But I wouldn’t turn down his help. It would be an
insult to do so. As I released his hand, I realized I had been
wrong.

He was a noble assassin.

There was no magic hit. Not really.
And that was a disappointment. A hurt that would likely turn me
insane if I didn’t get out of this quickly enough. But there were
magic partnerships, apparently. Friendships. I clung to
that.

I could only hope that I could live up
to that friendship, and that perhaps some of Trecheon’s noble
loyalty and kindness might rub off on me. And Philip.

About the Author

R. A. Meenan was born in London during the golden
age of science fiction, but somehow time traveled to the Modern Era
(some say a mad man with a blue box was involved). She was dropped
on the doorstep of a house owned by anthropomorphic cats and though
they were disappointed she didn't have furry ears and a tail, they
took her in to teach her the ways of elemental magic. After setting
fire to her furry cat friends' tails one too many times (final
score – fire: 2612, cat's tails: 0) they called an exterminator and
sent her out on her way.

Now an adult (physically, not
mentally), she ride-hops intergalactic military spacecraft, combing
the outer reaches of space and time, writing science fiction and
urban fantasy stories based on her experiences. She's also hoping
to find the perfect cup of coffee and a better way to grow
dinosaurs. Humans kind of look at her funny, but she's managed to
make herself an honorary ambassador for furry and anthropomorphic
aliens and space dragons.

She carefully feeds and brushes her
wonderful husband Joe and the pair have four furry children (which
are really cats, but don't tell them that). She also spends her
spare time teaching essay-writing haters, molding them into people
resembling Actual Students and Lovers of English.

She may not win the hearts of stiff
military men or students who want good grades for no effort, but
she certainly captures the spirit and imagination of time
travelers, magic users, nerds, Students-In-Training, and fantasy
lovers. Welcome to her nonsensical world. We hope you like it
here.

You can email R. A. Meenan
at
[email protected]
or
[email protected]
. Check out
more of her works at
www.zyearth.com
. Sign up for her
newsletter! You can also follow her on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/zyearthchronicles
or on Twitter at
@r_a_meenan
.

If you enjoyed this book, consider
reviewing it at the retailer where you purchased it!

Glossary

Faunos:
Anthropomorphic creatures, usually based off of
Earth animals, either real or legendary. Scientists on Earth and
Zyearth believe that faunos probably evolved from feral animals
with the help of Draso, the creator god, though nonbelievers have
different opinions on the matter. All faunos have similar DNA and
genetic structures and many species can interbreed, though hybrids
are extremely rare. All faunos, regardless of the Earth animal they
evolved from, give live birth, though not all infant faunos suckle
milk.

Zyfaunos:
Zyfaunos are a specially defined subspecies of
faunos. All zyfaunos have similar characteristics – plantigrade or
near plantigrade legs, human stance structure in the spine,
humanlike eyes and sometimes lips, generally short snouts, and have
humanlike, five fingered hands. Zyfaunos range in height between
about 4'5” to 7' tall. All zyfaunos can interbreed regardless of
the individual's species. Unlike most faunos, zyfaunos are not
always “traditionally” colored, and often have unnatural colors in
their fur, such as red, blue, green, purple, and others. Zyfaunos
are the most human of all faunos and even share some human DNA.
Though relationships are rare, humans and zyfaunos can produce
children. Zyfaunos are named as such because the DNA strain
originated from the planet Zyearth and Zyearth has the most pure
forms of this species.

Quilar:
Quilar are perhaps the most unusual of all
zyfaunos, as it is unclear what Earth animal they evolved from.
They have several key characteristics – catlike ears and snout,
including wet noses, slightly humanlike lips, though usually black
or dark pink, humanlike feet and hands, tails, and quills of
various lengths on their head in place of hair. They range in
height from about 5'4” to 6' for shorthair quilar and 6' to 7' for
longhair quilar. Quilar quills are hard, though not usually sharp
like a porcupine or hedgehog. Instead of fingernails, quilar have
tiny retractable claws on each hand. These claws are not very sharp
and are mainly used for scratching. Quilar also do not have any
“traditional” colors. Their fur and quills tend to have very
vibrant colors, such as blue, green, purple, and others. Some
quilar are two toned and have a mixed of different colors, but this
is a rare anomaly. Longhaired quilar and shorthaired quilar have
differing characteristics.