Chapter 3: Sicarius

The first day I was released I went out into the city to find my brother. I had a feeling that he hadn’t done anything too drastic while I was gone. When I got to the door of our house I simply knocked. A man, a master wizard, opened the oak door. For some reason he looked vaguely familiar.

“Hi,” I said “Is Magia here?”

The wizard’s eyes lit up with concern as he looked from Christian to me. He was about to respond, but hesitated a moment to long. I knew he was going to tell a lie.

“The one you call Magia is not here, nor have I ever heard of his name.” the wizard had a solid statement, but the sweat forming on his brow gave away his thoughts.

“Yes well, you know who I am looking for”

“And how would you know that?” The wizard had not realized his mistake in the prior sentence. He looked nervous as I started to talk.

“Well, the slight hesitation after my first statement helped, also you’re nervous right now. You’re good at hiding it, but I’m really good at reading people’s emotions. Now let me and my friend here inside before I make an even bigger fool out of you.”

The wizard was appalled by my comments. “I’m sorry, but I must ask, who are you two?”

“No apology needed. I’m his sister, my name is Sicarius. And this is my personal palace guard Christian. He used to be an assassin, not that he would ever admit it.”

 

※

 

I found more wizards inside than just the one at the door. There were five, not counting my brother. It turned out that the wizard at the door had been Aklin, a wizard that had come to train my brother before I was captured. Magia told me that Aklin had come back four days after my mission failed, and had been horrified that his quarters were a mess and that he was alone.

“So exactly how long have I been gone?” I asked after we had all had something to eat, “And when did you start training with all these wizards?”

“You’ve been gone about two-hundred days.” He laughed as I ‘accidentally’ tripped one of the wizards with my shadow magic. “I started training with them shortly after you were captured by the palace guards.”

“Wow” I exclaimed “Two-hundred days, and everything I planned worked out perfectly… Well, except for my shadow hanging by the door over there.” I gestured at Christian who was standing uncomfortably by the front door.

“Oh yes, your’s and Toby’s plan to kill the king was genius. Why are you being followed by a palace guard though?”

“His lordship requested that I protect his nieces from the community. But, he wanted to make sure that I didn’t leave before fulfilling my oath, so he placed an ex-assassin on my tail.” We both looked over to him, “His name is Christian.”

“That’s nice.” Magia leaned in close to me, “How are you going to fool him into thinking that you talked with the Assassin Community and got them to stop when it’s really Toby’s freelancers that are causing all this trouble?”

“I’m going to visit the Assassin Community later tonight and get my place back as one of the leaders. Those meetings are entirely private so Christian won’t be able to enter even if he wanted to. After that, I’m going to stop by Toby’s place and have him call off the attacks. If it all works out, I should be home free by tomorrow night. With even better luck, that contract I got a year ago will also be fulfilled and I can move on.” I paused for a moment “What are you planning on doing?”

“I’ll help you with this one last job. Then I’m going to put all my focus into becoming the next Grand Wizard. I’d like to travel to the wizard capitol sometime, and I think it would be good if you came with me.”

I nodded then stood up and walked over to a cupboard in the corner of the kitchen. I could see that the wizards had tried to break into the cupboard to see what was in it, but my fortification spell had held up against their magic and they hadn’t made it in. I mumbled a few quick words under my breath and the doors opened, revealing an assassins blade, the original plans to kill the king, a handmade map of the castle, and a small hair clip. Taking one last look inside, I selected clip that was two connected eighth notes with a ruby on each head.

I pulled the black cloth ribbon out of my long, wavy, blond hair and let it fall over my shoulders. Then I grabbed a silk ribbon off the counter and used it to tie my hair back up into a pony tail. I used my clip to secure one of my bangs off to the side. I grabbed the belt and blade out of the cupboard and tied them around my waist. Afterwards, I closed the cabinet and put the spell back on it, then closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

“May luck be to us both.” I said. Magia smiled and me, then I left, quickly followed by Christian.

 

※

 

I was standing outside a rather normal building when it began to rain again. I started towards the building, then noticed that Christian’s footsteps had stopped sounding behind me. I turned to him. “You coming?”

“I’ll sit this one out. I’d rather not walk into a building filled with assassins, but by all means, you go right on ahead. I’ll just wait outside.”

“Pansy” I muttered and strolled into the building.

Many people never would have noticed that this was the headquarters for the Assassin Community. I wove my way through many different coloured assassins as I headed towards the back room of the building. Behind the door in the back was where the council members met and the assassin registry was kept.

I moved unseen by everyone, quickly and easily getting to the back without being recognized. I opened the door and listened to the squeak that came off the hinges, making it impossible to sneak into the room. I looked through the door, not even trying to hide the fact that I was there, only to see five faces staring at me.

Each member resembled a different group within the community signified by the colour they wore: purple for the infiltration unit, black for the sabotage unit, green for the main assassination unit, blue for the recovery unit, and grey for the freelance unit. Then there was me, red for the records keeping unit. Out of all the units, red was definitely the smallest, with only seven people, while all the others had at least two hundred.

I casually walked into the room and headed to the center area that the tables surrounded in a semicircle.

“Hi, everyone.” I smiled cheerfully.

“The hell you want Sicarius?” The blue one asked, not pleased to see me there.

“Glad you asked Kadin, I came for my spot back on the council.” Everyone glared at me for a short moment, then the purple one spoke up.

“Do you really think that you can just abandon us and come back for your spot on the council whenever you want?” She said angrily.

“Why yes Trish, I believe I can. After all, it’s been five years since you said I wasn’t needed, and you still haven’t found anyone to replace me. I don’t think you’ll let me have my spot back, I know you’ll let me have my spot back.” A few of them growled at my statement, they had always hated my arrogant attitude, but they could never argue with me. We sat for a moment in silence, “I’m basically saying that I have my spot back.”

Kadin smiled “Phrased as a statement and not a question.” He looked deep into my eyes “That’s always been your style hasn’t it, Sicarius. Welcome back to the council.” He tossed me a red and black silk bracelet. It was red with an Ace pattern sewn into it using black thread. I slipped it onto my wrist and began to walk out.

“Just where do you think you’re going, Sicarius!” The green one shouted after me.

“Oh, don’t mind me, Erik. I’m a very busy person that has a lot to do. But I’m going to finally fulfill the assignment I was given a year ago, I’m going to assassinate the king.” I closed the door behind me and paused for a moment.

I turned around and entered the room again. “Just a quick question. Do any of you know an assassin by the name of Christian, he would have left the community, maybe, six years ago.”

Erik looked to me with surprise. “He was one of my best men. If he’s on your tail I’d watch out for him.”

“I’m afraid you have it all wrong.” I smiled, “He’s the one who needs to watch out for me.” Then I turned again and left.

 

※

 

Outside the community building I found Christian waiting in the rain. Without a word, I ran down the street until I came to a little rundown tavern called the Midnight Rose. I entered quickly and was instantly greeted by the warm light of many candles and heat radiating from a fire on one end. The building only had a few people sitting in it, most either nibbling on a biscuit or sipping a small drink. Christian entered quickly behind me and found a place in the far corner of the tavern to observe me. I, however, strolled through the golden light till I got to the counter, which was on the side of the pub farthest from the door.

As I sat down on a stool at the counter a cup of tea was set in front of me. From the fragrance I could tell it was lemon.

“Lemon, my favourite.” The bartender’s flaxen eyes glanced down at me quickly from underneath chocolate coloured hair that mostly covered the upper part of his face.

“You may be surprised to know that I do pay attention to what my friends normally order.” He was slightly preoccupied with some dishes in the sink while he answered, so he didn’t see me make a face at him. He finished up then turned towards me casually “So why are you here, Sicarius? And who’s that man that’s been following you all day?”

I smiled “That’s Christian, he’s the palace guard that was placed on me while I convince the community to stop attacking the princes. He’s actually a green assassin that left the cause a few years back, not that he’ll admit to it, but oh well.” I faced away from Christian as I spoke, making sure that he couldn’t tell what I was saying to the bartender.

“I assume that means you want me to remain discreet and not blow you cover. I’m also assuming that implies that you want me to call off the order you gave me to attack the princess.”

“Why Toby, did you even have to ask.” I teased

 He turned around and prepared a glass of water, then set it down in front of me. “Not really, I just like messing with you.” He retorted.

 I laughed, thinking back to my conversation with the new king.

“What’re you laughing about?” Toby asked, still staying inconspicuous.

“Idiot actually thought the Assassin Community was after the true queen. Never even occurred to him that I might have hired greys to do the job.”

“Not many assassins of the community hire free-lancers to get their dirty work done. I’m pretty sure you’re one of the only ones that does.”

I thought for a moment. “You’re right. But I don’t see why more assassins don’t do it. I mean, it’s a great way to get things done while you are under surveillance.”

“Not many assassins have connections in the freelance side of assassinations.” He replied.

“Good point. I would like those assassins called immediately.” I had returned to my voice that held authority, then I drank the rest of my tea. I turned to Christian and signaled that it was about time we left. He rose and walked across the room unnoticed by those around him. I smiled at his skill, then followed him out the door.