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Brittiany A. Koren, Martin H. Greenberg, Tanya Huff, Jim C. Hines, Jean Rabe, S. Andrew Swann, Cat Collins, Sarah A. Hoyt, John Helfers, Tim Waggoner, Bradley H. Sinor, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Ed Gorman, John Marco

Places To Be, People To Kill

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

For Jim and Ed:

With sincere thanks,

– B.A.K.

ASSASSINS: AN INTRODUCTION by Brittiany A. Koren

AH, THE ASSASSINS! Characters so well loved for their deviousness and slyness. So what do assassins do when they finally get that well-deserved vacation? In this anthology we will explore the places they visit, and go deep into the depths of their minds. What makes them the elite killers that they are? Are they misguided? Is it fear for their own or someone else’s life-kill or be killed? Or is it an occupation passed down from one generation to the next?

We’ll show you the events that lead assassins to be who they are: being in the wrong place at the wrong time; greed; love; or the chosen path of the honored sentinel or spy. We’ll show you that assassins are human just like you and me. They walk among us, never knowing, but always suspecting, that someone might turn on them.

Assassins come in all shapes and sizes, and one never can tell who the next great assassin might be. Some are witty and coy like Tanya Huff’s Vree, the sister in the Vree and Bannon team. And some are surprising, like the character in “The Hundredth Kill” by John Marco. We are fascinated by these people who live on the edge and in the dark. Life is too precious to be trifled with, and the assassin takes life very seriously-as in Jean Rabe’s “Hang Ten.” It is a duty in some cases, as in Tim Waggoner’s “All in the Execution,” and we also see it with Ed Gorman’s Aarak in “Drusilla.” Some assassins kill for acceptance-“Breia’s Diamond” by Cat Collins-or for love-Bradley Sinor’s “Money’s Worth.”

Others, however, try to start over, to leave that dark life behind as Jim C. Hines shows us in “Bloodlines,” but can they ever get away? Does their past life ever stop haunting them? Even in the afterlife, their services may be requested, as is the case in S. Andrew Swann’s “Fealty” or in a somewhat different fashion in John Helfers’ “Deadhand.”

And yet some not quite in the typical assassin mode, taking lives for reasons not their own, as in “Substitutions” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, are unlikely candidates for the role, doing what they must. Some may not even realize they could be a killer, as in Sarah A. Hoyt’s “While Horse and Hero Fell.”

Whatever their reasons, we continue to be entertained by their stealth abilities and put on the edge of our seat with the suspense of each new adventure. We hope you enjoy reading the tales from these authors about the cursed, the not so lucky, the hopeful, and the bred assassin. They’ve made me laugh, cry, and kept me up at night, afraid that I might be the next victim. But most of all, these authors have given life to incredible assassins and taken them to far away places where you’ll want to be-and to people to kill.

EXACTLY by Tanya Huff

Tanya Huff lives and writes in rural Ontario with her partner, Fiona Patton, an unintentional Chihuahua, and six and a half cats. Her latest book from DAW is Smoke and Ashes, the third and last Tony Foster novel, and her next book will be a new installment in the Valorseries. When she isn’t writing, she’s weighing the pros and cons of raising trout in her flooded crawlspace.

***

“ASSASSINS,” COMMANDER NEEGAN declared in the rough whisper that was all an enemy arrow had left of his voice, “do not take leave.”

“But it won’t exactly be leave,” Marshal Chela reminded him.

“They will be away from the army but not on target.” A dark brow rose. “I fail to see the difference, Marshal.”

“They won’t exactly be on target. There’s the difference, Commander. Governor Delat is convinced she’s got an Ilagian sorcerer pretending to be a carpet seller. She thinks he’s the vanguard of an Astoblite invasion since Prince Aveon welcomes both Ilagians and sorcerors to his court.”

“Why would Prince Aveon invade the South Reaches?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he’s looking for vacation property. The point is, Governor Delat has demanded we do something about her problem-which may or may not be the result of an overactive imagination. Vree and Bannon will go to the South Reaches as if they were common soldiers on leave, and they’ll use their unique skills to determine whether or not this Ilagian carpet seller is a sorcerer working for Prince Aveon. If he turns out to be what Delat fears,” the marshal continued, “they’ll send a message back with one of her couriers, and I’ll send them new orders. If not, they can come back to barracks having spent a pleasant few days in a nice little resort town on the emperor’s coin. You have to admit, they deserve a bit of a break.”

Neegan’s expression suggested he had to admit nothing of the sort.

“You know Shonna took leave in the South Reaches when she won all that money betting on that fight Oneball had with Keenin last year.”

“I know, Bannon.”

“She said it was the best five days of her life. Full body rubs with scent oils. All the food she could eat. All the wine she could drink. And the sex! She said South Reaches whores were more flexible than even you, sister-mine.”

Vree rolled her eyes and shot her younger brother a look it was just as well he didn’t see. “We’re on target.”

“Not exactly.” He threw an arm across her shoulders. “And that means there’s no reason we can’t enjoy ourselves while we’re finding out. Look at it, Vree.” His voice brought her to the halt his arm hadn’t-she’d walked right out of his careless embrace when he’d stopped. “The South Reaches. Isn’t it pretty?”

They were standing on the Shore Road, on top of a hill looking down at the town.

“Pretty?” Vree repeated wondering if Bannon had gotten a little too much sun.

He grinned. “In a ‘hey, look at all the colors’ sort of way.”

All the colors was no exaggeration. Even the expensive packed earth houses of the wealthy that fronted the white sand beaches stretching out on both sides of the small harbor were an astounding variety of pastel shades. The town itself had moved past astounding to unbelievable. Red, blue, yellow, orange, turquoise, and every shade of pink imaginable covered the wooden walls, the colors crammed close together and jostling for attention.

“There’s a pair of Astoblite ships in the harbor. Maybe they’ve already invaded.”

Vree frowned at the two vessels tied side by side at the north pier. “In those? They’re probably small traders delivering exotic wines and…” Her frown deepened. Born in barracks and having spent her entire twenty years in the army, she was ill equipped to come up with another exotic example.