Chapter 1
Raker lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. He downed the last of the whiskey bottle's contents in one large gulp. Despite his position, he didn't spill a drop. Years of practice made him an expert in drunkenness and he had become nearly perfect in the craft since Jonrell's death. So caught up in war, few had noticed his recent mastering of the art.
Speaking of the art. Raker pressed the glass to his lips. He guzzled air and cursed.
Where's that kid when you need him? Oh yeah, off with Kroke and Krytien on some assignment for Kaz.
"Hey!" he called out. "You wanna throw me a bottle?" His voice echoed in the stone room. He and Drake, like most of the other officers, stayed in rooms away from the main barracks. Since returning to Lyrosene for the winter, an old place in the back of the armory had become their home.
"I know you're there. You gonna answer me or just skulk in the shadows?"
A lithe figure emerged from the far corner of the room, stepping into the pale moonlight from a high window. He drew back the black cloak concealing his face and figure. He looked young, barely a man.
I hate kids.
In his right hand, the kid held a knife. "How long have you known I was here?"
"I heard you come through the window." Raker allowed himself a grin as he watched the young man's eyes betray his surprise.
"I expected you to be asleep at this hour."
Raker spat and a glob of tobacco landed between the young man's feet. "I don't sleep much these days. I just drink."
The kid looked at the mess near his feet then up again, disgusted. "So, I noticed."
"You gonna hand me that bottle I asked for?"
After a moment the kid grinned. "Why not?" He walked over to a nearby table, picked up a full bottle, and threw it across the room.
Raker fumbled the toss, but the bottle thankfully landed in his lap. He popped the cork and took a drink. "Much obliged." He took another swallow and put the cork back in. "I gotta say I'm flattered that I'm the one to get taken out. I thought you'd have gone after someone else. Kaz perhaps?"
The kid grinned wider. "Don't worry, you're not alone. Our entire guild was hired to take out everyone in the Hell Patrol. A few others as well."
Raker whistled. "That's gotta be a pretty big payday. I'm guessing the queen too?"
The kid nodded.
Raker heaved a sigh and turned his eyes toward his mace a few paces away. "Well I hate to tell you, but that knife ain't gonna do much for you."
The assassin widened his stance. "You really think I'm gonna let you get that thing? Not that it matters. You're probably too drunk to wield it."
Raker smiled a mouth full of stained teeth. "Aye, you're right. I've never been quick on my feet. But that's the problem with you kids. You get distracted and focus on the wrong things."
Raker raised the arm he had moved beneath his sheets. It came up holding a rope that he yanked across his body. A missile sailed across the space and impaled the kid through the chest. The impact threw the assassin across the room, pinning his body against a wooden post.
Raker took another drink as he watched the light go out of the kid's eyes. Then he cursed, realizing the thing worked. He kept telling Drake that firing a ballista with a rope wasn't important, but the boy had pushed the issue.
