Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Zayn forced his hands to stay relaxed on the hilt of the katana.
Not an easy thing to do when faced with a master assassin whose specialty was the sword.
“I suspected when I saw you both on the street that you had nefarious plans.” Ronin spoke without blinking, his entire focus on them. “Then I placed your face, Assassin Ria.”
Ria moved forward. “Master Ronin, we aren’t—”
“I suggest you remain quiet. You are already a traitor and coward to this Guild. You and your accomplice are not welcome here, whatever you have planned.”
Zayn saw her flinch. He gave the katana an experimental swing.
“Ria is not a coward. I actually think the Guild is filled with cowards. She’s fighting for her freedom, and despite what you might think, the Guild can’t own people.
You brainwash babies and make them kill. Not very courageous behavior.”
Ronin’s lips moved. His version of a smile. “That’s where you are wrong, Phoenix. Here in the Devil’s Nebula, slavery is a time-honored business. Besides, Ria isn’t a slave. She never had any freedom. She is a creation of the Guild, pure and simple.”
“I am my own person.” Ria’s words were low and quiet. “I have my own thoughts and desires. I don’t want to kill. I’m not a killer.”
“You are what we made you. Without us, you would have no life.” The master assassin lifted his sword. “Now, I think we’ve talked enough. I cannot allow either of you to leave here.”
Zayn braced for an attack. But it wasn’t Ronin who struck.
In a move faster than he could have anticipated, Ria flung off her robes and threw two slim knives at the assassin.
Ronin bent backward, somehow holding his balance.
Then he was up and springing forward with his sword.
Light glinted off its highly polished surface.
Ria spun out of his path, another knife balanced in her hand.
She now wore only a tight, black fighting suit that molded to her body.
It would offer some protection from a blow… but not much.
Zayn circled the pair, testing the weight of the katana. Ronin swung his sword low, and Ria jumped. She arched over Ronin, jabbing down with her knife.
But he sensed her coming and rolled away.
Both assassins were skilled and well-trained. This was a deadly dance. One that could only end in death.
Zayn tried not to focus on the fact that Ronin was older and far more experienced. He’d damn well trained Ria, he’d know her weaknesses.
Suddenly, Ria charged at the master assassin. When he swung that lethal blade again, she ducked to the side, hit the floor on her knees, and skidded into her opponent. She rammed her knife into the man’s side.
Ronin took one step back, and looked down impassively. He gripped the knife hilt and yanked it out without displaying a reaction. Ria was already moving, rolling backward. But when she leapt to her feet, Ronin tossed the knife with an almost lazy throw.
But an accurate one.
The blade lodged in Ria’s shoulder. She grimaced.
“As you know, I am Cedonian. Our blood burns, doesn’t it, Ria?” Ronin held his sword by his side. “It has acidic properties and if left untreated—” he shrugged “—people have been known to die from allergic reactions to it.”
Shit. Zayn moved now. He charged, aiming the katana to run the assassin through.
But Ronin spun and his own sword met Zayn’s in a clang of metal.
“No marks for finesse,” Ronin said.
The two men strained against each other. “Wasn’t trying…for finesse.” Zayn felt the muscles in his arms burn. He pulled back, darting to the side as he did.
He and Ronin followed each other in a circle.
Then the assassin came again with that deadly sword. Zayn lifted his own weapon. This time the strength behind the blow was huge and the ancient katana snapped under the pressure. Zayn watched in horror as half of his blade skittered across the floor.
Ronin took a step toward him, and another. His pale eyes showed some emotion now. If Zayn had to guess, he’d say it was satisfaction.
Then Ronin’s body jolted. Once, twice, three times.
The assassin lowered his sword and turned slowly. Lodged in his back were three throwing stars, all with razor sharp edges.
“You would attack someone in the back?” Ronin made a choking sound. “The highest dishonor of our Guild.”
Ria stood, another star in her hand. “I am not a member of this Guild anymore. And I would do whatever I have to do to save someone I care about. I don’t expect you to understand that since you don’t care about anyone. All that matters is your precious honor and how to kill creatively.”
Ronin shook his head. “You showed such promise. It is a shame to have to kill you.” He lifted the sword so it was vertical and ran a thumb down the blade.
“I know your weaknesses, Ria. You hate to kill. You might wound me in the back, but I don’t think you truly have what it takes to do what you would need to do to kill me. ”
He sprang.
He was so fucking fast. Zayn was running to grab another weapon off the wall, but he already knew it would be too late. Ronin reached Ria, but didn’t hit with the sword. Instead, he slammed into her with his body.
They both went down hard.
And that deadly sword was held against Ria’s throat.
No. Zayn grabbed blindly and pulled a weapon off the wall. He stared at it, the now-unfamiliar weight of a plasma stunner.
A weapon he hadn’t fired in over two years.
“Now what, Ria?” Ronin’s whisper was a taunt. “Show me your killer instinct.”
“No. I’ll show you my survival instinct instead.” She rammed two blades into Ronin’s sides.
The man’s body jerked, but he barely seemed affected. He pressed the sword down and Zayn saw the bloom of blood on her skin. Just a nick, but the trickle ran down her neck in a river of red.
Zayn lifted the gun. His hand shook. The past was a red haze that merged with the red of Ria’s blood. He blinked, trying to concentrate.
Ria. He had to think of Ria and saving her life.
He pulled the trigger.
The blue plasma ray hit Ronin. The assassin’s body stiffened, then slumped forward. Ria pushed him off, her gaze flying to Zayn.
He felt a rush of calm. She was okay. He strode forward and unloaded another stun into Ronin. The assassin lay on the floor, unmoving.
Dead.
Killed by Zayn’s hand.
His vision cleared. He knew he’d done the right thing. Knew he’d do anything to save her.
“Zayn?” She was there, her hand covering his over the stunner.
“I’m okay. Really.” He looked at her, saw the blood still flowing from the cut on her neck. He cursed and jammed the stunner into the pocket in his robe. Then he lifted the sleeve of his robes and pressed it to her injury. “You feel all right?”
She nodded. “It’s not deep. He was toying with me.” She was quiet for a second. “You killed him.”
“You said you’d do anything to save the people you care about.” He lifted the fabric, saw the blood flow had stopped. He pressed a kiss to the skin of her neck. “I would, too.”
Her lips trembled. “Thank you.”
“You never have to thank me for saving you. Or for being completely besotted by you.”
Her lips tilted. “Besotted, huh?”
He fingered a strand of her hair. “Looks that way. Now, how about I show you how to steal a precious treasure?”
She smiled. “I bet there’s a lot I can learn from you.”
“Damn straight. Come on, Ms. Ex-assassin.”
Ria stood in front of the plain wooden door.
There were no elaborate markings. No huge double doors or carvings. But beyond here were the secret and forbidden areas of the Guild. Off limits to everyone except for the upper echelons.
“This is it?” Zayn pressed a hand to the wood.
She nodded. “No one was allowed in this area but a privileged few. The children are housed here and trained. They aren’t allowed to mix with the adult assassins until they pass their final training at sixteen.
The treasure store is in here as well and—” she turned to look at him “—I suspect, the interrogation rooms and cells.”
She watched his face, and saw a flicker of emotion before he smoothed it away.
“I can handle it.”
“I know. I’ve never been in here.”
“Well, that’s about to change.” He bent over the control panel beside the door. “Pretty high-tech stuff, but nothing outstanding.” He hooked up his Sync. “This unlocking program that Niklas recently perfected can hack any lock.”
“It doesn’t need to be top of the line. No assassin would dare trespass here.”
“Lucky you aren’t an assassin anymore.” The Sync beeped and he unplugged it. “All done.”
He moved to open the door, but she stopped him. “I want to do it.”
He studied her face and nodded. “Go ahead.”
Ria gripped the handle and paused. She’d just helped kill a master assassin, opening a door seemed trivial after that. She knew there was no going back. She wanted her freedom. She wanted to be free of the organization that had stolen her childhood.
She opened the door.
Inside was another long corridor, but this one had a white polished floor and tiled white walls. She expected to hear the chatter of children, but it was silent.
She and Zayn moved forward. There were no doorways but ahead was a staircase. The left side went down, the right went up.
“Which way?” he asked.
She pulled up the blueprints they’d stolen from the Tekton. From here, they needed the map. “Up.” She gripped the smooth white handrail and headed up.
They reached a landing identical to the one they’d left, with a long hall going back to another door. The stairs continued up. With a shrug, she kept going.
Another landing.
Another set of stairs.
Another landing.
Zayn shook his head. “I feel like I’m in the fun park on Souk. It has this maze with mirrors and halls, everything looks the same. I have no idea why they call it a fun park.”
Ria stared at the map, trying to make sense of it compared with what she saw around her. Nothing seemed to match. She turned slowly looking hard at the white walls. “It’s the disorientation tech. It’s making everything look the same.”
He frowned. “Shit.”
“We need to focus on any discrepancies, anything that stands out. If we can break through the hallucination, we should be able to see the real path.”
Both of them turned. She searched the walls. White. White. And more white.
“It all looks the same to me.” He ran his hands over the wall.
“Let’s keep moving upward and keep looking.”
But the stairs looked exactly as they had before. Ria felt a choking sensation welling up inside. They might be trapped in here when the assassins returned.
“Look.” Zayn pointed.
She eyed the spot on the wall and saw nothing. “What?”
“There’s a mark there. It’s small. Looks like a black smudge.”
She peered hard, felt like her vision was wavering. For a second she thought she saw something sparkle, but then it was just white wall again. Closing her eyes, she dragged in a deep breath, then opened them again. “I don’t see anything, I don’t think. Nothing seems real. It’s like a bad dream.”
“I know all about bad dreams, believe me.” He moved up behind her. His big body was warm, his arms surrounded her. “This isn’t bad at all. Not when we’re together.” He nuzzled the back of her neck.
Her eyes fluttered shut. By the dagger, he was a distraction. “What are you doing, Phoenix?”
“This is real, Ria. This thing between us. I’ve felt nothing for two years, but you’ve brought everything back to life.”
She leaned into him. She’d always imagined living life alone but now she dared to think about sharing her life with this man. To imagine the adventures they could take each other on.
She opened her eyes and the wall in front of her shimmered. And vanished.
She gasped. “Zayn. Do you see?”
“Jesus. Yeah, I do.”
They weren’t in a hall and there was no staircase. They were in a massive room set up like a museum or art gallery. Pieces of art sat on pedestals or hung on the walls, all of them illuminated by warm lights.
Ria took a step toward the nearest pedestal. “Incredible.” It held a long, sinuous statue of a woman. It looked like the priestess art of the Isis Colony.
“Hell, yeah. Dathan would wet his pants in here.” Zayn circled a gleaming silver appliance. “An old Earth laptop. This is worth about ten million e-creds on the open market.”
“I never realized they had such a collection.”
“Ria.”
Something in his voice made her turn. He was pointing at the end of the room.
There was a small table made of stone, almost like an altar. It sat on a small dais and in the center of it sat a weapon.
An ancient Terran gun.
She moved to it. Zayn was beside her in an instant. The engravings on the side of it were quite beautiful for a gun that had assassinated an American President. A piece of history vital to the Guild.
“The Lincoln Derringer.” She reached out and lifted the gun from its holder.
“Here.” He held a black bag open. She set the piece of history inside like it was a fragile newborn baby.
“We did it.” She felt dazed. This was the thing she was sure would grant her freedom. Something that had once caused destruction would now do some good.
“We sure as hell did.” Zayn yanked her up on her toes and planted a kiss on her lips.
With a laugh, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him back with every ounce of emotion in her.
Then a clicking sound echoed through the room. They broke apart.
Another clicking sound.
Ria realized the other pieces of art were retracting, one by one, into their pedestals. The paintings on the wall slid back into the paneling.
“Uh oh.”
Zayn frowned. “We should go. Now.”
They raced to the door. Ria moved to open it, but it was locked shut. She yanked and yanked. Zayn gripped the handle as well and pulled.
Locked tight.
Now another sound reached them. Footsteps. Quiet, even steps.
They spun.
A figure emerged from the shadows. It was covered all in black. Even the head. The figure stopped on the other side of the room just watching them.
More footsteps.
Like a regular beat of a ticking clock. Footsteps in perfect precision.
Three more figures, dressed exactly like the first, emerged and stood behind the first.
“Guards?” Zayn said.
She had a sinking feeling. “No. But I think I know what they are. I thought they were just a myth.” One whispered about in the halls of the Guild. “They’re syndroids. All programmed with the memories of past assassins. No emotions, no weaknesses, fast reflexes, and inexhaustible stamina.”
“Fuck,” he muttered.
Her chest locked. “The ultimate killers.”