The Guild of Assassins (2 page)

As Kyth and Egey Bashi entered the long gallery leading up to the throne room, they saw Alder’s towering figure up ahead. Kyth’s foster brother was standing beside a niche, waving his hands in the air. As they approached, Kyth realized that Alder wasn’t alone. Their friend, Ellah, deeper in the corner, was shaking a five hundred year-old tapestry depicting a scene of the royal hunt vigorously as if she were trying to tear the precious hanging off the wall. Her face was contorted into a disgusted grimace, her white cloak of an apprentice Keeper hanging off one shoulder to reveal a dark dress underneath.

“What happened?” Kyth asked, running up to them.

“One of Alder’s spiders!” Ellah panted. “It ran loose!”

Kyth looked at Alder’s left shoulder, which usually served as a perch for three live spiders, each larger than a man’s hand. He could see only two, their hairy legs giving off a faint cracking noise as they crawled around in agitation at all the bustle around them. The third spider was missing.

“Why did this thing…” Kyth paused, catching his foster brother’s displeased look. He forced himself to remember that the spiders were a token of Alder’s status as the emissary of the Forestlands at the King’s court, bestowed upon him by Lady Ayalla the Forest Mother herself. It was utterly wrong to call them “things”, or even to think of them as deadly monsters, even if their venom was potent enough to dissolve a man into a pool of goo. After all, the spiders never attacked without command and even showed a kind of fondness for their owner.

“Be careful!” Alder snapped, rushing past Kyth to the wall. Ellah hastily scrambled back. Moving with great care, as if handling a precious ornament, Alder picked the huge spider off the tapestry and placed it back onto his shoulder.

Kyth suppressed a shudder. Ellah let out a breath and stepped away, straightening out her hair and outfit and keeping a clear distance from Alder and his frightening burden. The look of exasperation in her hazel-green eyes spoke without words.

“It’s lucky that we ran into you two,” Kyth said. “Ellah, can you come with me and Magister Egey Bashi to the throne room right now?”

“Why?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Kyth caught a smile of approval on Egey Bashi’s face. Ellah’s gift of truthsense, discovered recently by the Keepers, was an invaluable aid in court intrigue. There was nobody like Ellah to uncover hidden intentions and unspoken threats.

“A Diamond Majat just arrived to see the King,” Kyth told her. “Kara thinks he’s here because of her. She believes Mai is in trouble. We have to find out.”

The four of them exchanged glances.

“Let’s go!” Ellah said and darted forward toward the double doors of the throne room. Kyth, Alder, and Egey Bashi followed.

The guards on duty stood to attention as Kyth and his friends approached. Two servants wearing blue and black royal livery held the doors open for the Prince and his small suite and closed them behind with a muffled thud.

Everyone was already assembled in the large vaulted chamber. King Evan Dorn sat on his throne, the royal colors of his cloak accenting the deep blue of his eyes and the raven-wing shine of his long black hair, barely touched by gray. Kyth couldn’t help but smile when he caught his father’s gaze. The King looked so striking – a handsome, majestic man even in his late forties. Kyth often heard that he looked just like his father, but he always found it difficult to believe.

The Royal Majat Pentade stood around the throne like statues, the only movement about them the glint of the rank gems in the broad metal bands clasped over their left upper arms. The four Rubies surrounded the King in a protective ring. Their Diamond leader, Mai, kept to the shadows at the side, his position against the wall giving him the best view of the entire chamber and into its most distant corners. His black polished staff, whose wooden tips concealed two retractable blades, protruded from the strap at his back, a weapon even more deadly because of its inconspicuous look. Kyth noticed how Ellah’s cheeks lit up with color as Mai glanced her way and, not for the first time, wondered how this sleek youthful man had such a strong effect on women without showing any apparent interest in any of them.

The elderly lords of the Royal Visory sat in a semicircle that made the throne on its elevated platform in front of them seem like a stage. Slanted sunbeams shining through the tall arched windows illuminated their ornate robes and graying hair. As Kyth and his companions made their way in, heads turned to give them respectful nods and mildly curious glances before returning to the action in the center of the chamber.

The new Diamond was kneeling in front of the King with a grace that left no doubt of his high Majat ranking. His outlandishly huge eyes studied King Evan with calm indifference as he held out a glittering throwing star in his outstretched palm.

“His token,” Ellah whispered. “He’s here to offer his services to the King.”

Kyth froze, straining not to miss a single word.

“Aghat Mai’s term on the Pentade is not up for another year, Aghat Xandel.” The King’s voice had a ringing timbre that betrayed his exasperation. “His service has been exemplary.”

The new Diamond slightly inclined his head.

“We are all proud of Aghat Mai, Your Majesty,” he said. “This replacement has nothing to do with the quality of his service. However, since I share Aghat Mai’s high rank, I assure you that I am equally qualified to perform the Pentade duties.”

The King let out a sigh. “We are on the verge of war, Aghat. I think you’ll understand my reluctance to let my personal bodyguard be replaced at such a time, even with someone who is equally qualified. Not without a truly compelling reason.”

Kyth’s heart sank. If Mai was being replaced without an obvious reason, it quite likely meant that the Majat Guildmaster had found out about Kara. Which meant that, unless something was done about it, things could quickly get out of hand.

Kyth glanced at Mai, searching for an indication of what was going on, but Mai’s blue-gray eyes remained calm, showing no surprise or alarm, or even awareness that the conversation concerned him at all. Kyth knew the Diamond too well to be fooled. Mai was the kind of person who wouldn’t flinch even if an entire Cha’ori horde was charging down on him. He acted only when there was something he could do, and never looked upset about anything he was powerless to change. In fact, the very calmness in the Diamond’s face finally settled Kyth into absolute certainty that things were about to go terribly wrong.

“I assure you, Your Majesty,” the new Diamond, Xandel, said, “our Guildmaster has reasons of utmost importance for this replacement.”

“What reasons?” Evan asked.

“This letter from our Guildmaster might clarify things, Your Majesty.” Xandel held out a folded piece of parchment. A Ruby of the Pentade handed it to the King, who unrolled it, his eyebrows slowly rising as he ran his eyes through the page.

“I don’t think my gift can help much,” Ellah whispered. “He’s speaking the truth, but he isn’t really saying anything, is he?”

Kyth felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to look into Magister Egey Bashi’s dark eyes.

“Go get Kara and Raishan,” the Keeper whispered. “Meet us in the gallery behind the throne room.”

He pushed between Kyth and Alder and stepped into the aisle leading up to the throne.

All heads turned toward the new disturbance. Egey Bashi kept a measured pace as he walked forward, his white Keeper’s robe with an embroidery of the lock and key on the left shoulder wavering with his steps. He approached and knelt on the floor beside Xandel, the solemn expression on his face suggesting that no force in the world could possibly budge him from his current place.

The new Diamond gave him a dark look. Kyth marveled at the way Egey Bashi pretended to ignore it.

“Magister Egey Bashi,” King Evan said. “What a surprise. How may I be of service to you?”

“I came to seek an audience, Your Majesty,” the Keeper said.

The King threw a restrained glance around. “It may have escaped your attention, Magister, but I am a little busy at the moment.”

Egey Bashi remained kneeling. “I have a matter of utmost urgency to discuss, Your Majesty. In fact, I must ask you to grant me a private audience. I understand that for reasons of security Aghat Mai will accompany you, of course.” His eyes darted to the Pentade leader.

“What, now?” King Evan asked.

“
Now
, Your Majesty.”

Kyth grasped Ellah’s wrist.

“Let’s go,” he whispered.

Trying to move as quietly as possible, they slid through the double doors at the end of the chamber and out into the hall.

Kara and Raishan stood by the window in Mother Keeper’s guest chamber, the tense set of their bodies betraying the restlessness of caged predators. As Kyth, Alder, and Ellah rushed inside, Kara turned toward them so fast that her shape blurred. Her eyes fixed on Kyth with silent question.

Kyth glanced past her to the slight, white-robed woman occupying a tall armchair by the fireplace. Mother Keeper, whose tranquility suggested a wisdom of years that couldn’t possibly be guessed from her smooth, ageless face, returned his gaze with quiet curiosity.

“He came to replace Mai,” Kyth said, failing to find a way to soften the blow. He kept his eyes on Kara, noticing the way her neck went tense for a brief moment and her gaze became distant, fixing on the shadows in the corner of the room.

“Magister Egey Bashi is talking to my father and Mai right now,” Kyth went on. “He said we should get Kara and Raishan and meet them in the gallery by the throne room.”

Mother Keeper rose from her chair.

“Why?” she asked, her deep caressing voice holding concern.

Kyth hesitated. In his hurry to fulfill the Magister’s instructions, he had never bothered to ask what the plan was.

“I don’t know. But I think he hopes to prevent it somehow.”

Kara glanced up. “There’s only one way to prevent it. I must go with Mai and take the blame.”

“
You
?”

“I don’t think you should do that, Aghat,” Raishan said. “If you show up at the Guild, they’ll kill you.”

“But they might spare Mai’s life if he brings me along.”

“They
might
, if the Guildmaster happens to be in a forgiving mood. But I wouldn’t count on that, Aghat. He feels very personally about the whole thing.”

She shook her head. The calm set of her face told him that she had made her decision and no one could possibly sway it.

“If you go,” Kyth said, “you will negate everything Mai fought for when he spared your life.”

Her full lips folded into a grim line. “He put his life on the line for me.”

“It was his choice to make.”

She looked away. “I don’t expect you to understand.”

He sighed. He
did
understand. It was just that letting her give herself up was unthinkable. He couldn’t possibly allow it to happen.

“I don’t mean to sound too dramatic,” Raishan said, “but I’m sure you are aware of the kind of punishment warranted by Aghat Mai’s disobedience? If he is indeed being recalled because the Guildmaster knows what he has done–”

She shrugged. “Whatever our Guildmaster chooses to throw at Mai, he stands a much higher chance if I fight by his side. Two Diamonds would be extremely hard to beat for warriors of any skill.”

“With the abundance of ranked warriors in our Guild…” Raishan stopped, spreading his hands in a wordless gesture.

“I hope it doesn’t come to that, Aghat Raishan. If Mai brings me along, he would at least partially be making up for his mistake. Aghat Oden Lan would likely accept my surrender, and, if he does, he would be more or less obliged to spare Mai’s life. He would be foolish not to.”

“He might surprise you,” Egey Bashi said under his breath.

Kara shook her head. “Mai is one of our best. The Guild simply cannot afford to lose him. I’m sure, if I give myself up and credit Mai with bringing me back, our Guildmaster would grab the chance to erase the whole thing and give Mai full pardon – in exchange, perhaps, for a nominal punishment to keep up appearances.”

“I’m sure you know that, at the very least, there are no guarantees,” Raishan said.

She shrugged.

“You’re playing very dangerous games, Aghat Kara.”

“Mai shouldn’t be the one to pay for my actions.”

Kyth bit his lip. Kara had violated her orders to save Kyth’s life. In the end, he was the one responsible for all this mess.

“If you go back to your Guild,” he said quietly, “I’m going with you.”

Her eyes gleamed as she looked back at him. She was about to speak, but at that moment Mother Keeper stepped between them.

“Forgive the interruption,” she said. “But if Magister Egey Bashi wanted you to meet him in the gallery, shouldn’t we all be on our way?”

“Right.” Kara flung the trailing edge of the cloak over her shoulder and strode out of the chamber. The rest of them followed.

The Gallery

King Evan glanced at the parchment in his hand, marveling at the way the Majat Guildmaster managed to write an entire page of text without putting any information into it beyond what his messenger was able to reveal in a few short words. He lowered the letter and looked at the two men standing motionless in front of him. They looked nearly exact opposites – Magister Egey Bashi, a dark, heavily built man with a scarred face, wearing a pristine white Keeper’s robe, and Mai, a slender youth in dashing black, his skin so smooth that even the young maidens at court envied it. Both men stared at him with blank expressions that warned Evan of the difficult conversation he was facing.

“What’s the urgency, Magister?” he asked.

The Keeper cleared his throat. “Forgive me, Your Majesty. I wanted to prevent you from taking any irreversible steps. I hoped if you and Aghat Mai could discuss the situation…”

The King glanced at the parchment again. Beneath the irritation he often felt when talking to the Keeper, he was inwardly grateful for the interruption. Letting Mai go was the last thing he wanted to do. On top of the Diamond’s superior skills and his unique ability to resist the Kaddim’s mind control magic, he had developed a special bond with his bodyguard. Mai was one of the very few people he could trust with his life. He could think of no other man he would rather have by his side.

“What’s this all about, Aghat Mai?” he asked.

Mai held a pause. His gaze, clear like a smoothly polished mirror, warned against any attempts to pry.

“I understand your concern about letting me go, Your Majesty. But Aghat Xandel is quite competent. He’ll do a fine job on the Pentade.”

Evan leaned closer, trying in vain to catch some feeling in Mai’s blue-gray eyes. “You know bloody well this is not about competence, Aghat. I choose my men carefully, especially my personal bodyguards. In these uncertain times, I want
you
on the Pentade, and that’s that. If I were to let you go, I’d want assurance that you’d be coming back.”

The pause was longer this time. “I’m afraid, Your Majesty, that won’t be possible.”

“Even if I pay triple to hire you by name?”

“I can’t really speak for the Guildmaster but I strongly believe it wouldn’t work. Not in this case.”

“Why not?”

A shadow ran through Mai’s eyes, a wave that rippled the mirror surface of his clear gaze.

“I’m being relieved of duty,” he said.

Evan stared. “You’re too young to be relieved of duty, Aghat. You’re – what, twenty-four?”

“Twenty-five, last week.”

Evan gave him an appraising glance. The man looked no older than nineteen. His slender body, sculpted of lean, wiry muscle, emanated force that seemed to make the air around him tingle. A touch of arrogance in his gaze spelled quiet challenge, enclosing him like invisible armor. He was one of the Guild’s best, a spearhead of the deadly force that made the Majat a supreme power throughout the lands. There was
no way
someone like Mai could be relieved of duty in his prime years and be unavailable for further assignments.

“I know for a fact that Diamonds serve on assignments well into their forties, Aghat. The previous Pentade leader – Aghat Seldon – was forty-seven when he retired. You’re too damn valuable to your Guild to be relieved of duty at your age.”

Mai smiled. “Normally you would be right, Your Majesty. But this is a special case.”

“Enlighten me, Aghat.”

Mai kept his silence.

“If you don’t tell me,” Evan said, “I’ll ask others. Perhaps Aghat Raishan, or Kara, could offer more information?”

Alarm glinted in Mai’s eyes.

“Not Kara,” he said.

“Why not?”

“She can’t get involved in this, Your Majesty.”

Evan raised his eyebrows, but before he could speak further the doors at the back of the gallery opposite to the throne room burst open, admitting Kyth with a large group in his wake. Evan saw Raishan and Mother Keeper stride beside him, followed by Alder, Ellah, and finally Kara, wrapped head to toe in a blue-and-black royal cloak. She threw off her hood as she walked, her violet eyes gleaming as she approached with a purposeful stride.

The airy gallery suddenly felt as crowded as an outer audience hall on a busy morning.

Kara stepped past the King and halted in front of Mai. Their gazes locked.

“He’s here because of me, isn’t he?” she said.

Mai’s eyes narrowed as they flicked to Raishan and Egey Bashi. Then he turned back to Kara, his face once again acquiring an expression of serenity.

“He’s here on Guild business,” he said.

She continued to hold his gaze. “Are you being recalled?”

Mai folded his arms on his chest in a slow, deliberate gesture.

“I fail to see how this is any of your business.”

“You are not thinking of going, are you?” She leaned closer, the air around them so charged it caused Evan to take an inadvertent step back.

Mai glanced at Raishan and Egey Bashi again, but the two men responded with calm stares.

“Like I said,” Mai continued, “none of your business. No offense, Aghat Kara.”

Kara nodded with the grim expression of one whose worst fears had been confirmed. “I’m coming with you.”

“No, you’re not.”

She lifted her chin. “Is there anything you can do to stop me?”

Mai’s eyes flared. His hand darted to his back, flicking his double-bladed staff out of its sheath. Almost simultaneously, Kara drew her two narrow swords with a long silken sound.

Before anyone else could react, Raishan darted forward, throwing himself between Mai and Kara. In the ensuing silence, the three Diamonds glared at each other.

“Stand down, both of you,” Raishan said. “You’re not planning to fight each other, are you? Not in the presence of the King and the royal heir, I hope.”

Mai held still for a moment. Then he slowly sheathed his weapon. His eyes slid over Kara, who stepped back and withdrew her swords. For a brief moment Mai’s gaze softened before resuming its tranquil, impenetrable expression.

“You’ll have to kill me to stop me, Aghat Mai,” Kara said.

“This has nothing to do with you.”

She held his gaze. “Prove it. Show me the Guildmaster’s letter.”

He slowly relaxed his arms. A distant smile creased his lips. “My correspondence with the Guildmaster is private, Aghat. It doesn’t concern you.”

“Look me in the eye,” she said distinctly, “and
swear
that this letter doesn’t concern me.”

“It doesn’t concern you.”

“You’re lying.”

“You’re out of line, Aghat. I’m your senior and my correspondence with the Guildmaster is none of your business.”

She smiled. “I’m no longer a member of the Guild. Your seniority means nothing to me, Aghat Mai.”

Again, his gaze wavered before returning to tranquility as he looked at her.

“You may think that all Guild business revolves around you, Aghat,” he said. “But I assure you, you’re wrong.”

“He knows I’m alive, doesn’t he?” she asked quietly.

There was a pause.

“Like I said. You’ll have to kill me to stop me from coming with you, Aghat Mai.” She turned and strode out of the gallery. After a moment Kyth turned and ran after her.

“Would somebody care to tell me what all that was about?” Evan asked as their footsteps died away in the hollow stone passage.

Raishan and Mai exchanged a glance, but kept their silence.

“
I’ll
tell you, Your Majesty,” Egey Bashi said.

Mai shot him a warning glance, but the Keeper ignored it.

“Do you remember, Your Majesty, how keen the Kaddim Brotherhood was to capture Prince Kythar, to ensure that his power to resist their mind control magic did not threaten their plans?”

“Yes.” Evan felt puzzled. The explanation wasn’t going the way he expected.

“That time, Kara was able to acquire resistance to the Kaddim. With her fighting skill, this made her a serious obstacle to the Brotherhood’s plans. As long as she remained by Prince Kythar’s side, her protection made the Prince invincible to any Kaddim attack. So, they devised a plan to remove Kara once and for all.”

“A plan, Magister?” Evan still had no idea where this was going.

“Yes, Your Majesty. A very devious and complex one, too. One of the Kaddim Brothers, Nimos, who was somehow able to gain very detailed knowledge about the way the Majat Guild operates, forced Kara to disobey her orders and abandon an assignment. She did it to save Prince Kythar’s life. The way it was presented to the Majat made it look as if she disobeyed her orders because of her love for the Prince. As a result, the Majat Guildmaster had no choice but to send a killer after her – Aghat Mai, who had been specially trained for the task.”

Evan listened, captivated. He noticed Mai’s narrowed eyes, betraying emotion so uncharacteristic for his normally calm and composed bodyguard. Clearly the Keeper’s words were true – and for some reason they were affecting Mai much more than anything else he had ever observed. His skin prickled. The Majat Guild’s affairs had always been too complex for an outsider. How could the Kaddim figure them out?

“With the help of another Guild member,” Egey Bashi went on, “Aghat Mai was successful in overtaking Kara and defeating her in battle, but he chose to disobey his orders and spare her life. He made it seem as if she were dead, but the blow he struck her with wasn’t fatal, and he was able to revive her later on. This was a violation of his assignment and the Majat Code. I believe that he is now summoned back to the Guild to pay for his disobedience. Aren’t you, Aghat Mai?”

A long, charged glance passed between the two men.

“Is this true, Aghat Mai?” Evan asked.

Mai shifted from foot to foot.

“With all due respect, Your Majesty, I fail to see the reason for this conversation.” He slid a cold glance over the Keeper. “I am being recalled by orders from our Guildmaster. The Majat Guild has sent my replacement for the Pentade to fulfill our obligations to the crown. That’s the end of it. The rest doesn’t concern you. Or the Magister, for that matter.”

“It concerns us all very closely, Aghat Mai,” Egey Bashi said. “For a very simple reason. You and Kara are the only two Diamonds who can resist the Kaddim’s mind control powers. We are at war, and both of you are critical to our chances of winning it. If one, or both of you, go back to your Guild to be killed, in order to uphold the Majat Code, it would be a bloody waste; one that we can’t afford at the moment.”

“Kara’s not going.”

“Like she said, you can’t do much to stop her, Aghat. Can you?”

Mai’s eyes darted to Raishan with an expression that, for a fleeting moment, seemed like a plea.

Raishan shook his head. “I won’t take sides in this one, Aghat Mai. I’d hate to see either of you die, and I can’t possibly overlook the fact that with Kara’s help you do stand more of a chance.”

“Against the entire Guild?”

“I was hoping it wouldn’t come to that.”

Mai smiled. “That’s because you haven’t read the Guildmaster’s letter.”

“I see.”

“Can’t you refuse to go?” Evan asked.

Mai’s smile faded. “If I do, I’ll renounce everything I am. Given that it’s only my life that’s at stake here, I’d rather not.”

“So, you’d rather go there and face certain death?”

“I’ll take my chances.”

“From what I heard just now,” Evan said, “there won’t be much of a chance.”

Mai’s gaze became distant.

“I don’t think our Guildmaster fully understands what he’s up against. The Kaddim Brotherhood is set to destroy everyone, and recent events suggest the Majat Guild is not immune to its powers. I must make sure Aghat Oden Lan is aware of this, whatever he chooses to do to me afterward.”

Evan stared at him in disbelief. “How can you think like this, Aghat Mai, when they’re effectively ordering you to return and be executed?”

“My life’s not important, Your Majesty. Not when the integrity of our Guild is at stake.”

He looked calm as he said it, as if there was nothing out of the ordinary in his assertion. Looking into his impassive face, Evan could see no room for further argument.

“If that is the case,” he said, “I tend to agree with Aghat Raishan. With Kara’s help you do stand more of a fighting chance.”

“If she gets involved in this,” Mai said quietly, “there will be no return.”

“It seems to me she’s already involved.”

Mai shook his head. “Her situation is unprecedented. No one’s ever survived in her circumstances. My guess is, as long as she remains free, the Majat Guild has no idea what to do with her. But if she follows me back to the Guild…” His gaze darkened, but before Evan could catch the emotion that passed within, there was a barely perceptible glint, as if invisible shutters inside his eyes slid into place, hiding Mai’s feelings behind an expression of calm tranquility.

“I violated my orders,” Mai went on, “so that she could live. If she goes with me and dies protecting me, all this would be for nothing. You’ll lose a prize fighter who can help you against the Kaddim. If no one else here sees it this way, maybe you would, Magister?” He turned to the Keeper.

Egey Bashi shook his head. “I’d hate to lose either one of you. If you really must go, Aghat Mai, then I’m the one who should be going with you to explain the situation to your Guildmaster.”

Mai smiled. “I heard you tried, when he gave the order to kill Kara.”

“True,” the Keeper said grimly. “He feels quite personally about her, doesn’t he?”

“Yes, he does.” Mai exchanged a glance with Raishan.

“But we have to do
something
,” Egey Bashi insisted.

“In this particular case, Magister, the best thing you could do is let me go, and make sure Kara stays behind. I’ve sent a messenger raven to the Guildmaster to explain the situation in advance of my arrival. There’s a chance he will listen. And if not, you’ll at least have Kara to fight on your side.”

“Do you really think you have a chance, Aghat?” Egey Bashi asked.

Mai averted his gaze.

“I didn’t think so. From my personal experience, Aghat Oden Lan can be quite stubborn, especially when he feels personally about something.”