Page 43 of Oath of Rebellion

Chapter 15

SCARLET SCARFED DOWN a bowl of meat and potatoes. She'd just gotten back from a job in the north but had raced to get back for the wedding. She hadn't made it, but she could still relax with the other Hunters.

Some were using the revelry in the streets to complete jobs undetected, but those who were still at the guild hall were already well into their cups and gambling. Scarlet hurried to eat, keeping a clear head so she could fleece the drunks of their coin in an honest game of chance.

The guild master of the Demerel branch came into the common room with a letter. He looked over the lot of them and pointed a bony finger at Scarlet.

"You. Come." He jerked his thumb and spun on his heels. She sighed, resigning herself to another job. So much for winning more coin tonight. She followed him to his office where he waved to a chair. He tapped on an open letter on his desk.

"The king was pleased that you brought the princess safely home. I'm not surprised you found her first. We lost another Hunter to the forest, even though we warned him that you were the only one who could go in and out of there."

He shook his head in disappointment and sank to his chair, pushing an unopened letter across the desk. "The king included a bonus in the fee along with another request. He insists no one but you read it. I wouldn't put it past him to have enchanted it to make sure no one reads it first."

Scarlet's brows rose as she read the letter, then the guild master leaned forward to demand, "Well? What's he want?"

After she read it twice, it burst into flames. She jumped up and ash fell to the floor.

The guild master peered over his desk to make sure the rug didn't catch fire.

She looked up at him as dread settled like a knot in her stomach. "He has another job but only wants me to do it."

She had to play this off as no big deal. If the guild master or anyone else in the Hunters found out how much the king was offering for this job, they'd jump into action. Everyone loved the princess, but money was king for the Hunters. A Hunter would kill his own mother for the right price.

The guild master eyed her, making the hair on the back of her neck stand. "It's a great honor, but you know what happens when people get repeat business from the king."

She nodded, swallowing hard as her spine tingled. "I need to go prepare. It will take a few days, but I'll check in when I get back," she said.

He nodded, then slumped in his chair and propped his feet up on his desk. "Don't go getting yourself killed. You're the best Hunter I've got. Fisica protect you."

She nodded and opened the door. "And you."

What could this be about? The letter was cryptic.

Five times the normal fee if you meet me in the castle's gazebo tonight at eleven for another job.

She repacked her bags and re-saddled her horse before riding through the noble district. The houses were large with walled gardens and narrow alleys between them.

She rounded the edge of the palace wall and followed it to the small gate house in the back behind the gardens. She checked her father's pocket watch, then snapped it shut. The noise of the revelry in the front courtyard drowned out her footsteps as she left her horse in the alley. He was a swift-footed gelding she'd had specifically trained. He wouldn't wander off and anyone who tried to lead him away would have their hand bitten.

She peered around the gate house. The portcullis was open, but guards stood under the archway. Two cheered and chugged ale, a small crowd of guards egging them on. The one who finished first lifted his mug, and the crowd cheered. Money was exchanged as she slipped unnoticed behind them and into the garden.

Getting in and out of places came easy to her, which is why joining the Hunters had been a simple choice to make.

Her senses sharpened as she hunted for her target. Where would the gazebo be? She stalked on silent feet over the grass, avoiding the pebbled garden paths. Several nobles were on the back terrace, some smoking roots and talking quietly.

She reached out with her senses, somehow feeling where people were in the garden. Someone was in the gazebo, but it wasn't a couple seeking privacy. She moved closer, listening to every sound, watching for every aura.

Her grandmother and mother had hoped she'd be a druid. They'd trained her until she'd reached ten, but her druidic magic had never come in. All she had were a hunter's instincts and aura readings from her father.

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