Assassins Below: the Guild Trilogy, #4 by Emma Couette

Author:Emma Couette
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: short story collection, dystopian, young adult, assassins, companion novel
Publisher: Elgin House Press
Published: 2022-10-27T00:00:00+00:00

ONE FATAL MISTAKE

Haven City, 11/2104

. . .

Kuen

. . .

There are many things about death that you can learn to forget, to forgive: the splashes of blood all over your clothes and skin, the screams of your victims, and the echoes of the gunshots hanging in the air. You can even learn to forget how it makes you feel, to become numb to all the pain and suffering, but one thing you can’t chase is the smell.

The sickly scent of iron and other, unpleasant bodily fluids invades my nostrils as I step foot in the room. I gag on the weight of it as it clogs my throat and am quick to pull the collar of my shirt up over my nose to give me some relief.

Guild, how long has this body been here?

Weeks, I imagine, judging from the smell alone.

It doesn’t take me long to find the murder scene, as if the blood spatter on the far wall isn’t enough to go by. The body is slumped on the floor beside the bed, looking as if it slid down the wall after being shot point blank in the head. In fact, I can see the bullet itself embedded in the drywall.

Poor unlucky bastard.

There’s not much left of the body, but I don’t see other wounds or any signs of a struggle in the room. The bed is still perfectly made, the lamp on the nightstand still upright, though covered in a layer of dust.

What happened here?

More importantly, why does Sephtis care?

It’s just another dead body in the hundreds we create each year. Why does it matter, and why did he send me to look into it?

I heave a sigh of frustration and set about scouring the rest of the room and house for clues when I hear a floorboard creak somewhere below me.

I freeze and listen intently for further movement, but the house remains silent, and that is when I realize why I am here.

Sephtis sent someone to kill me.

I grin.

The old man never learns.

I’m not giving up the title of Agent One for anyone or anything, and I’m certainly not going to fall for any of his traps.

I inch my way behind the door of the room, leaving it fully open, and draw my gun. I have a full six shots left, but I intend to walk away from this encounter only one bullet lighter.

The other assassin’s approach up the stairs is almost perfect, but I can still hear the slight sound of their boots touching and leaving the wood of each step, and then the softest of footfalls as they continue down the hall towards me.

One of my biggest advantages in the Guild is my acute hearing. I don’t know if I inherited it from my long-dead mother, or the Master Assassin himself, but it’s saved my life quite a few times, and it drives the other assassins crazy with jealousy.

The footsteps stop as the assassin hesitates in front of the open doorway, and I slow my breathing as I watch him through the crack between the door and the jam.

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