Rico and I ran almost soundlessly through the deserted village streets, Ignoring the few pubs that were open. Anyone who had been out had already run home after having heard about some kind of commotion around the tower. Rico and I managed to get Back to Lord Whyte's house. Rico's room had a window, so we both snuck in through there.

“Don't stay in here tonight.” I said. “If Almond checks the windows, he'll see you. My room doesn't have windows.”

Rico nodded and opened the door, allowing me to leave first. I walked past him and down the hall to the room given to me. I opened the door and walked in, dropping myself on the bed.

“How do you know him?”

“Him?”

“Almond.”

I focused for a few moments on taking off my boots, which became a suddenly difficult task. “It's a long story.” I said.

“I'll listen. I like your stories anyway.”

I shook my head. “I'll give you the short version: I killed his lover.” I got my boots off and threw them to the floor. I grabbed the one feather pillow off the bed and threw it at Rico. “Floor.” I snapped. Rico shrugged and curled up in the corner, wrapping his black cloak around him.

“Do most people come after you like that?”

I stopped and looked at Rico. “How do you know Almond anyway?!”

Rico became silent, and looked at the wall for a few moments. “He's after my sister as well.” He said finally.

“He works for Kos?”

“No, He doesn't. He works for... Someone else.”

I shrugged. “Whatever. I don't need to know. So long as I get paid.” I threw my cloak over the end of the bed and pulled the harsh woolen covers over me. I reached over and pinched the candle glittering on a nearby table, letting darkness cover the room. Several long moments passed, and I heard Rico breathing softly, lost in sleep.

The short version: I killed his lover.

I almost laughed. If only it had been simply that. No one hunted me down for something like that. But of course, Almond wasn't a normal person to begin with. He used to be a greater assassin than I. He, and his lover, Cara, used to care for me. My own mother had lost her mind by the time I was old enough to remember her, and my father I assumed was dead. I had grown up on the streets in the capital, Rawlins. How I hated that city now. The streets I used to slink around, trying to steal enough food for myself, for my mother. Until she died, of course. Then it was just me. It was easier after that, but I was getting bigger, and the bigger the child, the harder it was for that child to steal. I got caught, and was almost brought to the castle. But I escaped, and ran into the forest hoping that I would be able to live there alone, and survive on my own. But the winter came, and I almost froze.

Almost. I didn't. I woke up, and Cara was leaning over me, trying to get me to drink something. Almond was near by. He looked at me, and after a moment said. “Well, when you get better, I guess you'll have to learn to pull your own weight.

And then I was theirs, and they did, what any parent would have done for their child, taught me a trade. Cara, a master thief, taught me how to sneak and slink around, and steal whatever I wanted wihout getting caught. Almond, the great assassin, told me stories about his great feats. His amazing stories of killing greedy, terrible people, and getting paid for it were the stories that I lived to hear each night.

When I got older, when I was a known assassin, when I had become Stiri, I had been given a strange assignment. Simply to guard a box. I never met the one who hired me, but the orders were simple. Sit around the box each and every night. If anyone came in before sunrise, kill them without question.

It wasn't my fault that Cara had been hired to steal that box.

I attacked, Cara died, and I ran. Almond had known about my job, and when Cara was discovered dead, he put two and two together. But I was well gone by then.

I finally dozed off, replaying how I ran away. How I could have done it better, or how I could have approached Almond, and told him. Told him the truth. I couldn't see her face, I didn't know it was her. I didn't know. I dreamed of blood.

***

Sometime in the morning, I was woken up. I don't remember it well, and I'm sure it was morning because I remember only these things: I was awoken, I told the one trying to wake me to go shove a sword in an unsavory place, and then I was asleep.

Then I was awoken again. I sat up and reached around to try to light the lantern, but as my hand reached out a flight illuminated the room from before me. Rico was standing, leaning against the wall, a small lick of flame resting in his hand.

“It's evening.” He said. “Are we going to do something about my sister today?”

I stared blankly at him for a few moments, then reached under my bed and took a bottle of wine that I had had the first night I had slept here. It was half full, so I drank the remains, and threw the bottle down.

“You can't drink now!” Rico shouted, “I need you to help me! If we wait any longer, Kathryn will-”

“All the stories you've heard about me, and you've never heard about my ability to drink enough to out drink the kings men, and then sneak around and kill them in their drunken stupor?”

Rico stopped, looking as though he wanted to say many things at once. Finally, he settled on sighing, flicking a hand at me in dismissal of my comment. “So long as you can still help me, I don't care.”

“Almond around?”

“No. I told Lord Whyte that he might be a problem. He had a few guards out looking for him, but I haven't heard anything back yet.”

“That's fine. We'll just have to work quickly, and get around that guard as fast as possible.”

“How do we do that?”

I grinned and picked up the bottles with the firepowder in them. “How do you get rid of corpses? You burn them, of course. Or set them out to sea... Or bury them but really I don't think we can bury him, and the sea is far away. So, we'll burn him.”

“I told you, no fire can get to him.”

“Not 'no fire'. A lick of flame, no larger than a candle wick.”

“That's not enough to burn a corpse.”

“That's all I need.”