Page 20 of Rune Assassin

I grinned. “I’ll scream if I need anything.”

“Loudly,” he emphasized before he slipped away.

I took a look at the size of our task and sighed. The area was filled with well over a hundred people and anybody could be the assassin. I shrugged and meandered into the hoity-toity of the strange world in which I found myself. The vampire spectators were easy enough to pick out, what with their umbrellas and identical skin color. I guessed there were werewolves among the crowd but they didn’t let their tale out for this event.

After browsing the selection of suspects for a few minutes, a noise from the front of the house caught my attention. A servant hurried inside and slipped through the crowd to his employer. I followed close behind and overheard the whispered conversation.

“Sir, the workers are out front demanding to see you,” the servant whispered.

Lusio scowled at him. “Tell them I will see them after the trials.”

The servant shook his head. “They won’t wait that long, sir. They’re demanding an audience with you right now.”

A look of fury passed over his brow. “Then get rid of them! Burn their umbrellas if you have to but I want them gone!”

The servant nodded and scurried away. The tone of the conversation, however, had dampened the lively spirit of the audience around him.

Lusio held up his hands and smiled at the crowd. “It’s nothing to worry about, just some labor disputes.”

I slipped past him and over to the front door. Many of the carriages had been parked elsewhere and most of the guests were at the back of the house so I had a clear view of the end of the driveway. A crowd of some two dozen vampires stood a few yards into the property. They all held umbrellas and faced a line of mortal servants. The messenger hurried over to them and spoke with the irate vampires.

One of the immortals stepped forward and shook his head. “We’ve waited long enough!” A murmur of agreement rose from the crowd at his back.

“We will take your umbrellas if you cause any trouble,” the servant warned them. The determination in their faces quickly fled, replaced by fear as they clutched the handles of their shades. The servant stabbed a finger at the road. “Now leave!”

The vampires wore sullen faces as they grudgingly turned and left.

Someone came up beside me and I looked up to find Tegan. He, too, was watching the crowd disperse. “Things are worse between them than I thought,” he mused.

“Did you find anything?” I asked him.

He shook his head. “Not a thing. I assume you had the same results.”

“I did learn something.” He lifted an eyebrow. “Women in high society wear too much perfume.”

A smile slipped onto his lips. “We suffer for this job, don’t we?”

I stoically nodded. “All the time.”

Lusio separated himself from his flattering entourage and stepped onto a box provided by Miles. He raised his hands and the crowd hushed. “Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to welcome you to the annual Lusio Trials. This is its thirtieth year and I have three wonderful tasks lined up for our special contestants. If you would all please take a seat we may start the first one.”

The crowd meandered toward the bleachers. “Mr. Tegan, Miss Kate,” Miles called out as the butler slipped over to us. “Mr. Lusio would like to request you view the trial in his personal booth at the edge of the terrace.”

“We would be delighted,” Tegan agreed.

Miles led us over to the sitting booth I’d noticed earlier. Fidel and Beringer were already seated while Cordelia stood back a ways on the terrace. The three representatives from the Key senate were seated as far away from the others as the arrangement would allow.

Tegan and I took our seats and had a great view overlooking the beach. It was a pity our neighbors glared at us underneath their fake smiles, especially Morrigan.

The last spectator took their cushioned seat and Lusio positioned himself at the top of the stairs that led to the sand. “Please give a great round of applause for the first contestant in the thirtieth trial, Miss Cordelia Blost!”

The crowd politely clapped as Cordelia sauntered down from her spot on the terrace. She strode to the center of the trial between the sets of bubble sticks. The voluptuous woman turned to the crowd on the bleachers and bowed low to them. The men admired the view down her revealing dress and the women scowled at the exhibition.

Lusio raised his hands and the appreciative murmurs of male approval and growls from the females died away. Cordelia turned to face him. “The rules are simple. You cannot in any way damage the staves or the bowls. Each contestant must keep the bubbles from touching you. Should one explode on your person, you will lose a point and possibly your life. ”

A muffled gasp arose from the crowd. Lusio beamed at his own ingenuity.

Cordelia wasn’t amused. “What do you mean?”

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