Page 44 of A Sword of Shadow and Deceit

Laundering bedsheets and cleaning up blood from fights that both Theos and Kalix get into regularly can wait until tomorrow. I need a fucking break.

I’d love nothing more than to sit on the ledge of the fountain in the center of the grassy courtyard at the south side of the campus, tilt my face up to the morning sunrays, and luxuriate in the quiet. For weeks, I’ve been locked in this hell. Surrounded by Mortal Gods and worshiping mortals. For weeks, I’ve been waiting for the notice that my client has finally revealed the target they expect me to get rid of. For weeks, I’ve felt nothing but frustration and disappointment.

I’m starting to wonder if the client will ever reveal their target or if Ophelia will call the whole thing off and order me back to headquarters. As far as Regis knows, and thus relays via bird messenger, neither have happened. Waiting is the hardest part of the job. So many new recruits often assume being part of the Underworld is constant action and danger when the opposite is true. More than half of being an assassin is simply sitting and waiting for the right moment. It’s excruciatingly boring.

That’s not my concern now, though. I can handle the boredom. What I struggle with is the constant anxiety. It’s practically unheard of for a client to go quiet for this long unless they’re dead.

I hope whoever they are, they’re still very well alive and kicking. That four million denza won’t pay itself if they’ve up and croaked on me and that money is the key to everything. Which is why I now find myself here, wrist deep in dirt, looking for—

“Found you!” Relief pours through my veins as I seek what I knew was here all along. Not only had my other little familiars alerted me to this precious species, but I’d definitely had the buzzing inkling that I’d find something helpful in this courtyard.

A spider’s burrow. Not just any spider, though. A rare one. Euoplos dignitas.

Ever since I’d become aware of my instinctive call over the creatures, they had become more than just my familiars, but an unerring fascination. The Euoplos dignitas is a spider I’ve only ever read about in the dusty old books Ophelia collected back at the Guild hall and, if I’m lucky, it’ll be helpful to my current predicament in controlling the thousands of smaller spiders within the Academy. Trying to keep track of so many is overwhelming and I can’t count the number of times I’ve woken to a handful crawling over me in my sleep. Just as I am curious about them, they, too, seem to be mesmerized by me.

I slide my fingers beneath the arachnid’s fuzzy little striped legs and carefully extract him from his burrow, mentally apologizing for interrupting what I’m sure for him was a very good nap. Pressing some of my Divine power into my fingertips, I inhale sharply as the spider reacts immediately. His little legs spasm and his head twitters. The baby fangs beyond his mouth stick out and for a moment, I worry I’ve angered him, but after a moment he settles.

Though I can sense the direction of a spider’s thoughts, I can’t exactly read them considering they speak no human language and therefore don’t think in such black-and-white terms. Instead, I can only garner a sense of their emotions as they pass through them. Euoplos dignitas are rare, but it’s even rarer for a spider—or any other creature—to be able to handle Divine energy being poured into them without dying.

The little creature in my hand sits firmly in the middle at just under two inches long. It’s warm from its time underground and though I’m particularly regretful to pull it from its serenity—I wouldn’t like it either if someone ripped me out of my bed with no warning—I need it. Lifting the creature and nudging them with a finger to turn and face me, I lift my head and peer around, ensuring there’s no one nearby before I send another wave of Divinity into the spider’s mind.

Once we connect, a wave of nausea overwhelms me. The world tilts and I shut my eyes immediately, cutting off my own sight as the spider’s vision enters my mind. The Divinity swelling up within me disperses and the brimstone embedded in the back of my neck, right beneath my blood contract mark, heats up, not quite enough to hurt, but it’s definitely uncomfortable. I exhale slowly as I get used to the feeling of a new mind connected to my own.

It’s exhausting to control so many familiars, to keep track of them, and to give them my orders. My new friend, however, twitches its legs against my palm. With him, it’ll be easier. Just as I’m about to send my thoughts and intentions to the spider, a sudden and familiar voice penetrates the quiet serenity of the courtyard.

“Kiera!”

My eyes shoot open and for some reason, I stare down at the spider in my palm as if it’ll somehow have a clue what to do next. Of course, it doesn’t. So, as the padding footsteps of Niall get closer and closer, I decide to quickly put the little creature back into its burrow and turn around to face the incoming trouble.

I spot Niall coming towards me at a fast clip. His brows are drawn down and his lips are pinched as he hurries. “Good morning, Niall,” I say, forcing a pleasant note into my voice.

“You can’t be here,” he says instead of a greeting.

My eyes widen. “What?”

He grabs ahold of my arm and proceeds to try and pull me away from the fountain’s ledge. I don’t move. “You can’t be here,” he repeats, lowering his voice to a hushed whisper, despite the fact that there’s no one around us. “This isn’t a Terra courtyard.”

Carefully, I put my free hand on his and retract my arm from his grip. “There’s no one else here,” I say. “It’s just a courtyard. Why does it matter if I’m here or not?” Even as the words of assurance come out of my mouth, my eyes dart up and around to, once again, make sure I’m right in assuming that we’re alone here.

I hadn’t known this was a Mortal God only area, but it doesn’t surprise me that there are places like that on Academy grounds. As far as the Gods and their offspring are concerned, mortals are lesser beings who have no right to their things.

Niall’s eyes practically bulge. “Please, Kiera,” he begs. “We must go!”

If I were just here, then I’d very much take him at his word and leave, but the problem now stands: I can’t leave. I have to finish the contract I’ve made with my new familiar. If I don’t do it immediately, the creature may decide that these grounds are too noisy for his taste and disappear. If it leaves the grounds, then the trouble I went to in order to find the damn thing will all be for naught and I’ll still be stuck with the problem of managing the amount of spiders in the Academy as my eyes and ears. Only certain spiders of size and nature are able to take on the role of a King Arachnid. This is one of those few.

“It’s just an empty courtyard,” I tell Niall. “I don’t know why you’re so concerned. If you’re that worried, you should go.”

Yes, I think. Go. Please. Then I can finish what I came here to do and be on my way.

“No, you don’t understand.” Niall’s face is upturned. His eyes are big and round as he stares at me. He’s practically in tears. His whole body trembles as he blinks rapidly and once again tugs on the sleeve of my shirt. “One of the First Tiers frequents this courtyard and I’ve heard she had a relationship with one of your—I mean with one of the Darkhavens. There’re already bad rumors about her. If she sees you here alone, without one of them—”

Just the mention of the Darkhavens makes my upper lip curl back in distaste. This damn job wouldn’t be nearly so fucking bad if it weren’t for those three. “I don’t need their protection,” I snap, cutting him off. Irritation causes me to be sharper than I intend.

“W-what are you saying?” Niall’s horrified expression burns into me as guilt blossoms. “I-if she catches you here and no one is around, then sh-she’ll … sh-she’ll—”

I sigh and crack my neck to the side, cupping one hand around my throat as I do so. Inside, I’m anxious to get a move on. The longer he lingers, the longer it’ll take for me to completely finish the contract with the Euoplos dignitas. “I know you dedicate your life to serving,” I say, “but I’m just here for the money.” For some reason, Niall’s innocence makes me feel worse for saying it, but it’s technically not a lie and it’d be far more dangerous for him if he knew the truth. “You worry about you and I’ll worry about me. I appreciate it, but you don’t need to look out for me.”

“No.” Niall shakes his head as if he can’t believe what he’s hearing. The flop of dull brown hair at the top of his forehead sways back and forth with the movement. “No. No. No. Please, Kiera.” His begging is sad. How frightened must he be of Mortal Gods and Gods to be worrying himself stupid over someone like me? I don’t understand it. He’s been kind enough to eat with me and talk with me and ensure I’m not a complete outcast, but we’re not friends. If he stays and we’re caught, he’ll be in trouble too. Regardless, this is getting neither of us anywhere.

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