Supreme Mother looks at me without emotion.
"The plan is simple, Dere. You infiltrate the party, you find the prince...."
She trails off for effect, then looks me dead in the eyes.
"And then you kill him."
I tighten my fingers around the hilt of my dagger. I knew it was coming. The girls around the compound had been talking about a possible assassination attempt for days. I just didn't know that I'd be the final pick to slit the young official's throat.
My superior picks up a china teapot from the tray next to her. The tray I brought in. She carefully pours the light green liquid into a delicate pink teacup that looks as if it could be part of a children's set. But even a child's teacup would be an easy weapon in her hands.
She takes a sip, her dark blue eyes watching me intently. She continues.
"I picked you because you look the most... innocent of my girls."
I resist rolling my eyes, even though the comment is true. I don't have tattoos snaking up my arms, or any piercings. My hair is untouched with dye or highlights and I have no visible scars or bruises. I am merely me. Little Dere Ell. The girl with the most innocent of looks, but the coldest of blades (or gun, whichever you prefer).
"Fifi is waiting to fit you for your outfit," Supreme Mother adds. "Go to her immediately when we're done."
My shoulders tense. Clearly, there is more Supreme Mother has to say.
My mouth is dry, but I crisply say, "Yes ma'am," in my slight British accent.
She takes another sip of the green tea. Her long dark hair streaked with grey is wrapped up in a tight bun, not one single hair out of place.
"You might be wondering how you will get a weapon past security."
She traces her finger atop the teacup she holds gingerly in her hand. I nod my head slightly in agreement.
She picks up a remote from the bedside table on her left and turns on a screen mounted directly on the opposite wall. It lights up immediately, and after a split second of waiting, a picture appears of two high-heeled shoes side-by-side.
"These are your weapons."
I say nothing.
She presses another button on the remote and the image becomes clearer. Literally.
"They are heels made of glass," Supreme Mother says, a very slight hint of pride in her voice.
"Since no weapons are allowed, you will instead wear these. They are designed to shatter into razor-sharp fragments when hit on the side at a specific point. You will smash one of the slippers, and then use a shard as a knife."
The picture of the heels on the screen separates into glass pieces, one long shard from the left shoe shimmering in the shape of a blade. I do not try to hide the look of awe creeping into my steel blue eyes.
"They are specially engineered to hold your weight without breaking, so you needn't worry about that." The picture shifts to show a silhouette that strangely looks like me wearing the glass slippers. "We've also given you two shoes, in case you lose one."
Supreme Mother looks at me stiffly with an eyebrow raised.
"Think you can handle it?"
I turn to look at her.
"Of course."
She leans back on her pillows, seemingly content with my answer.
"Good. Now go see Fifi."
YOU ARE READING
Midnight Murder
AdventureDere Ell is a young woman of little consequence, trained to stay in the shadows and not interfere with Supreme Mother's way of doing things. However, when she is assigned to assassinate a young man of royal blood, she discovers that she can no longe...
