The Heart of Alchemy by James Wisher (i like reading books txt) 📗

and said, “Thank you for allowing us aboard. Let me introduce Grandfather Edge, the leader of the Coiled Serpent assassins guild.”

Beside him, Wolfric stiffened. “You sent Jade to kill me.”

Edge nodded. “I deemed her the most likely to succeed. Jade has a way with men.”

“Had,” Otto said before a shouting match broke out. “Whatever you have to say, say it.”

“Here is my offer,” Edge said. “I will cancel the contract on the two of you and offer my promise that no one will take it up again. I will further guarantee the lives of your families and friends. In exchange you will leave the harbor and never return.”

Wolfric’s scowl was so deep Otto feared his face might break. “What’s to keep us from killing you and the rest of your people? We’ll be just as safe then.”

“No, you won’t,” Edge said. “You think all my assassins are here? Even if you killed all of us in the city, others would take up the contract. My guild has members all over the world. We won’t stop until both of you are dead or all of us are. You got lucky once. You might get lucky twice. But four times? Ten times? How long do you think you can hold out?”

He had a point, but Otto hated giving in to threats. On the other hand, he had enough to worry about without looking over his shoulder every five seconds for assassins.

“We’ll consider your offer,” Otto said.

Wolfric took a step forward but Otto laid a restraining hand on his arm.

Edge seemed satisfied with Otto’s answer. “If your ships have set sail by noon, we will consider that an agreement.”

Without another word, the leader of the assassins guild turned on his heel and climbed back down to the sloop. Otto was a fairly confident person, but he doubted he had the confidence to turn his back on so many enemies without a moment’s hesitation. The old man clearly didn’t fear death. Perhaps dealing it out for a living made you immune.

When the messengers had gone Wolfric said, “Are you really considering accepting his offer? We have the city on the ropes. One more day and we’ll have everything we want.”

Otto shook his head. “No, we won’t. You heard what Edge said and I believe him. Dealing with the assassins here, while satisfying, doesn’t solve the problem. We take his deal and we remove one of Valtan’s most lethal weapons from play. Make no mistake, my friend. The assassins are only a tool. Without them, it will take our real enemy considerable time to find a replacement.”

“I don’t like letting them get away with threatening us.”

“I’m not thrilled about it either, but we need to consider the big picture. Destroying the City of Coins gains us little and costs our merchants a lucrative market. It’s time to cut our losses and go home.”

Wolfric slumped a fraction. “Fine. Give the order. I’ll be in my cabin.”

“Did we win?” Corina asked as they walked toward the helm to talk with the captain.

“More or less. With the assassins out of the picture, we can focus on the journey to the Celestial Empire. Spring will be here before you know it and much work remains to be done.”

Chapter 28

The battle with the undead left Eddred exhausted and he slept until well past sunrise. When he finally woke, he groaned and sat up. His body ached from shoulders to calves. He had been far too lax in his training. That would have to be remedied.

“Good morning, King Eddred.”

He nearly fell out of bed when the soft, feminine voice spoke. In the shadowy corner of the room, the lovely figure of Naja sat in the only chair. She rose and bowed to him. She wore the same billowing black dress and veil which left only her eyes visible.

“Is that one of your assassination techniques?” he asked. “Scaring someone to death?”

“I’ve used it before. But frightening you wasn’t my intention. I am here with bad news.”

Of course she was. How come no one ever brought him good news? “Let’s have it.”

“The guild master has rescinded the contract on Wolfric and Otto. Your gold will be returned to your ship by the end of the day.” She shook her head. “I am sorry, but it was the only way to save the city. We will not accept another contract on either of them or their families. This is the bargain we struck.”

Relief flooded through Eddred. The whole assassination business had always sat badly with him, especially after what happened to the city. Having the matter closed for good took a weight off his mind. True, they still needed to find a way to stop Otto and Wolfric, but now they could focus on finding a more honorable way to go about it.

“Thank you for coming to tell me. We’ll be taking our leave in the next day or so. While I hope to return some time, if that doesn’t come to pass, it was a pleasure to meet you.”

“You are a good man, Eddred of Markane. Whatever happens in the future, I wish you all the best.”

Eddred sighed as she slipped silently out the door. He needed to talk to Lord Valtan. He doubted the Arcane Lord would take the news well.

The voyage back to South Barrier Island seemed to Eddred the longest of his life. The hours ticked by like days and every minute he couldn’t stop thinking about the death and destruction his quest for revenge had caused. Lord Valtan claimed they were trying to save the world, but from Eddred’s perspective, it seemed they were only making things worse.

“Land ho!” the lookout in the crow’s nest called.

From his place by the helm, Eddred could barely make out the narrow strip of green that was the island.

Another six hours passed before they finally tied up to the longest dock. The moment the gangplank hit into the wharf, he hurried down; for some reason Eddred, who normally loved