The excitement might have been done for most of the Menagerie that night, but for Melissa, it had only just begun. About an hour and a half after the Menagerie had finished their dinner, she strode through the streets of Milten with one mission on her mind and a de in her hand.
Orange-red evening sunlight spilled over the rooftops and cast long shadows over the streets behind her as she strode toward a three-story mansion near the center of the city. Towering hedge walls rose up around it, blocking out the garden that Melissa knew to be present behind it.
A ck iron gate at the front of the house was locked shut; behind it, a stone pathway wound through neatly trimmed grass to lead up to an imposing wooden door iid with silver whorls that ran along its surface.
Melissa’s sabatons clicked against the ground as she approached the mansion. It wasn’t just any mansion. It was her father’s — or at least, it had been. One of the Montibeau Estates. Not theirrgest, but the one in which he had met his end.
Now, she wasn’t even sure if the mansion even still held its name. She’d been away from home for several days. More than enough time for the Kererus Coalition to do irreparable damage to her people or wrest control of the building. Melissa’s heart ached. She was relieved their estate still stood, but walls meant nothing if her family had fallen.
It had been so tempting to return earlier. To strike out the moment after Ifrit had forged her the seemingly impossible armor she now wore. That would have been stupid. He’d given her a tool, but even the most deadly tool could do nothing when it wasn’t wielded by apetent hand.
The area where the Falling de assassin had stabbed her tingled. Melissa was all too aware of how close she’de to death. A poison as potent as the one she’d been inflicted with should have been her end, but it hadn’t. They’d failed to kill her.
She didn’t n to make the same mistake.
For thest few days, she had practiced tirelessly. Pushed the armor and herself to their limits. By no means was she the greatest warrior to have ever lived. She didn’t even have abat ss — but there was only so long she could wait. Melissa had a decent understanding of how to utilize the gift Ifrit had given her. The time for waiting was over.Melissa came to a stop before the locked iron gate. There was no guard out. If she hadn’t already known that the Kererus Coalition had taken action against her family, then that would have given it away. There had always been a guard at the gate. She remembered his name well. Tobble. He’d yed with her through much of her childhood. Tobble hadn’t exactly been the mostpetent warrior, but they’d never expected anyone to attack them so tantly.
Her hand tightened around the hilt of her sword as she pulled it free of its sheathe and drew in a deep breath. But, before she could call out, the door to the Montibeau Estate cracked open and a middle-aged woman dressed in a dark shawl hustled out, her eyes wide with fear.
“Melissa!” the maid eximed, her voice a whisperden with terror and excitement alike. “You live?”
“Alina?” Melissa blinked in surprise. “What are you — wait, you can recognize me through my helmet?”
“It doesn’t cover that much of your face, you daft girl. What are you doing here?” Alina asked as she rushed over to sp the bars of the gate. “You must leave. I am delighted that you live, but your father—”
“I know what happened to father,” Melissa said, her voice going taut. “And I have returned to avenge him.”
“You cannot,” Alina hissed. “Please, Melissa. You can take revenge if you live, but—”
“I’m afraid it’s toote for that.” A voice rolled across the street like a waft of sewer air from a building on the street behind them. Melissa spun, raising her sword, and stared up in its direction.
A gray-clothed assassin sat at the top of another mansion, his legs dangling over the edge. He rolled a dagger across his knuckles before flicking it to the ground several feet front of Melissa. The instant it struck, a swirl of shadow rose up from it and the assassin took form.
Two more assassins emerged from the streets behind him. Even though Melissa couldn’t see the others, she knew all too well that there were at least seven more lurking somewhere in the darkness.
Alina let out a terrified whimper. “Run, Melissa!”
“It’s toote for that,” Melissa replied. She set her stance, keeping her back to the gate. It was far from as safe as a t wall, but it was the best she had. “Where are the bastards that hired you, assassin? Too cowardly to try their own hand against me?”
“The identity of our employer is of no concern to you,” the man said with a raspyugh. “I suspected you would return here. Noble brats are always the same. So convinced that they’ll im revenge for some slight or another. They never do. I’d ask when you’ll learn that there’s a difference between political power and true strength, but you never will. Your life ends tonight.”
“Did the Kererus Coalition also hire you to p your lips for ten minutes?” Melissa asked. “Or were you going to put steel where your words are?”
The assassin let out a bark ofughter. His twopatriots drew up alongside him, and Melissa caught a glimpse of another one on the roof across from her. The assassins weren’t even trying to properly hide their presence.
Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
“As a matter of fact, they did,” the assassin said. “There is one that wishes to see your death with his own eyes. And I have a few questions for you of my own. What happened to thest group of assassins that came for you?”
“I killed them,” Melissa replied, baring her teeth at the assassin. Thest thing she wanted to do was bring the Menagerie into this. They’d already helped her enough. She couldn’t let the assassin’s suspicion fall on them.
“Liar,” the assassin used. “You aren’t anywhere near strong enough. Who helped you, girl?”
“Come closer and I’ll tell you,” Melissa said, pointing her sword at the assassin. “Or are you scared? The others were too. They cried like dogs before I ran them through. Pissed themselves too.”
“Taunts will do nothing. You die tonight. I would choose your final words more carefully. The Montibeau house has truly fallen if its final heir can do nothing better than scream taunts like a tavern whore.”
“I bet you could show a tavern whore a thing or two about their craft. They probably go to you for advice on it,” Melissa replied, her eyes darting around in search of the other assassins. The armor was powerful, but it wouldn’t win her the fight entirely on its own. She had to figure out where as many of the assassins were as possible. Every surprise attack she couldn’t dodge was a chunk of wasted energy.
One of the other assassins snorted. The lead one turned to re in his direction, then looked back to Melissa and shed a dagger. “Laugh while you can. You’ll be begging soon enough. I’ll find out exactly who it was that helped you before our employer lets us put you down.”
Melissa fought to keep her heart steady. Her hands were slick with sweat and her heart mmed in her chest. She was terrified, but she refused to let anyone see the extent of it.
Footfalls echoed through the orange-hued street. Melissa nced over the assassin’s shoulder as a tall man stepped out from an alleyway, nked by two more assassins, these ones d in dark robes. The man had arge forehead and a head of thinning gray hair. He sported a faint potbelly and walked with his hands crossed behind his back.
Melissa recognized him instantly. The man was a member of the Kererus Coalition. She’d never met him in person, but she’d seen sketches of his face in her father’s office. He’d had her memorize the features of every one of their enemies.
“Ah. I see the Falling des were correct,” the man purred, his thin lips pulling up in a smile. “Hello, Melissa. I don’t believe we’ve met.”
“I know you,” Melissa spat. “Alcard. You were the one that killed my father?”
“Oh no. It wasn’t me,” Alcard said with augh so smug that Melissa was tempted to sprint across the street and nt her fist straight in his mouth. Alcard extended a hand to the assassins. “That would have been these fine gentlemen. Well, thest set of them. The first seems to have gone missing. I’ve heard they’re very eager to find out why. I hope you enjoy that. I won’t be able to stick around and watch the whole thing, I’m afraid. I’m a busy man, now. Your family needed someone to take over things. They’ve been running around like a headless chicken after you deserted them in their time of need.”
Melissa ground her teeth. “I’m going to kill you, and then I’m going to hunt down the rest of the Kererus Coalition and make them pay as well.”
“I’m sure you’d love to,” Alcard said with a patronizing smile. “I’ve been looking forward to this, especially after you managed to slip the Falling des thest time. I’ll make sure they put you down properly this time. On with it, gentlemen.”
“Hold on.” The lead Falling de pointed his dagger in the direction of the two ck-cloaked figures that had apanied Alcard. “We secured the area to ensure there were no witnesses. Who is that? Why did you bring people here?”
“Oh, these two?” Alcard let out a low chuckle. “They’re just here for my personal safety. Don’t worry. They’re bound to a guild contract. They’re no Falling des, but theye from a prominent assassin’s guild in the city. Fear not. They won’t be interfering in today’s events.”
“That isn’t what we agreed on,” the spokesman for the Falling des said. “How do you know they aren’tpromised?”
“Oh, they’re quite reliable. I researched them extensively. They’ve even got a recentlypleted mission that was in the upper pay brackets.” Alcard crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Go on. Introduce yourselves. Do an assassin greeting… or something.”
<em>What an idiot. Assassins aren’t weird animals. They don’t have special greetings. </em>
Neither of the cloaked figures spoke. Melissa could have sworn their gazes were trying to bore holes into her head.
“Your dogs are mute,” the Falling de said. “I don’t like this.”
“I ordered you to speak!” Alcard snarled.
“Shut up,” one of the ck-cloaked figures said. “Leena, is that—”
“It definitely is. What the fuck is with our luck?” the other assassin replied in a distinctively female tone. “This is bad. What if <em>he </em>is here?”
“What are you talking about?” Alcard demanded. “Answer the Falling de, you buffoons!”
All the Falling des in Melissa’s sight readied their weapons.
Both of the assassins nking Alcard vanished in a flicker of shadow. Melissa flinched as they both reformed at her sides, but neither of them made any move to attack.
“Where is he?” Leena, the female assassin, asked. There was a note of panic in her voice.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. If you want answers, you’re going to have to pry them from my corpse.”
“Fuck that,” the other assassin said. “I’m quitting.”
“What?” the thin man eximed. “You wretched thieves! I paid you—”
“You can take your money and stuff it where the sun don’t shine,” Leena said.
“Well, you could if we didn’t already spend it all on hookers,” the other assassin said. “Hell of a night. You <em>can</em>fuck yourself, though. There’s no way this job is worth it.”
Alcard’s eye twitched. He looked like he was a few seconds from starting to blow steam out of his ears. The assassins at Melissa’s sides exchanged a nce.
“I’ll take my chances against the des if you keep the terrifying bastard that made your outfit froming after us again,” the male assassin said to Melissa.
<em>Godspit. What’s going on? Are they talking about Ifrit? Do they know he made this armor?</em>
“I… uh, sure?”
“Kill them!” Alcard screamed. “All of them!”
“It’s going to cost you extra now,” the lead Falling de said idly, tossing his dagger from one hand to the other. “This is your fault, idiot.”
“I don’t care! Just kill them!”
“You heard him,” the Falling de said. He pointed his dagger at Melissa. “She’s mine. Deal with the turncoats.”
Shadows leapt through the ruddy evening light as assassins leapt into motion. A dagger shed through the air toward Melissa’s neck with such speed that she couldn’t even track it, but her armor certainly could. A powerful gust of wind erupted from it, sending the dagger spinning over her shoulder harmlessly. The assassin sprinted toward her and she met his charge with a cry of defiance.
The sh of metal filled the street and the fight started in true. Nobody noticed the body of a Falling de slumping in an alleyway, their hands mutely grasping at their throat as thick, congealed blood bubbled from between their lips.