"Son, if we get that wand," explained thecaptain, "we could use it against Shadow and all of his kind. We've beentrying to kill that man for years, and now we might finally have an opportunityto use his own research against him. Wouldn't that be beautiful?" Hesmiled and slapped Cy on the shoulder. "You know something Cy, I've sent acountless number of assassins after Shadow over the years, and you're the firstto come back alive. You should take pride in that. You're one in perhaps a thousand,and now you'll get another chance to complete your mission."
Cy pulled away from the captain. "You do what youwant, but I'll have no part of it."
Lume narrowed his gaze. "You'll do what I tellyou, or you'll be dead."
He stepped toward Cy and lowered his hand to hissaber. Cy stood his ground.
"You sent me to die once already. I'm not goingback."
The captain brought his sword up in a quick arc, hittingCy squarely under the jaw with the pommel as the blade scraped out of itsscabbard.
The young assassin fell back, and he held his hand tohis face, trying to stop the flow of blood as he stared up at his captain fromthe floor. Two armed guards came through the tent flap, their swords drawn.
"Take him back to his tent," Lume instructedthe men, "and make sure he doesn't go anywhere." He turned back tothe young man on the floor. "He'll be needed shortly-to finish his failedduties."
Two days later, Lume sent a group of men to escort Cyto the party's armory. The captain was there briefing a small group of men onthe coming assassination.
"I will personally accompany you men to make surethat this time we succeed where Cy failed," intoned Lume. He smiled at Cyas the guards untied the younger man's bonds. "Cy will go along, under mypersonal supervision, to provide the necessary details about Shadow's home andhabits." He looked out at the crowd of assembled assassins. "If thisman-" he pointed to Cy-"attempts to escape or in any other way avoidhis duty to this group, he is to be executed. Do I make myself clear?"
Every head in the group nodded assent.
Each of the assassins was given special boots thatmasked the sound of their footsteps and special cloaks that made them moredifficult to see, and each was issued an amulet that made them less susceptibleto the effects of Shadow's magic.
"These won't protect you from the shadows,"explained Lume, "but they will make you less of a target for thearchwizard."
Cy gritted his teeth. This whole mission might not benecessary had he had one of those amulets on the first attempt.
Then Lume gave each of the men a light crossbow with asingle bolt, and a small dagger, and they left for Karsus. The plan was for Cyto lead the other assassins into Shadow's bedchamber where they would overwhelmhim with sheer numbers.
"The archwizard won't try to use anything toodeadly inside the small confines of that room," strategized the captain."He'll more likely try to subdue us as he did Cy, or enspell the wholegroup to make us think he is our ally, and deal with us individually at his leisure. We'renot going to let that happen. As soon as we get in sight, we unload with thecrossbows. The bolts I gave you are magically enhanced to ensure a perfectstrike. You only have one, because if you fail, there won't be an opportunityfor another shot. Keep him distracted, so he can't use his magic, and we shouldall live through this." Lume looked at each of the assassins in turn."Once Shadow is dead, we find his wand, and we get out of there andcelebrate."
The other raiders let out a loud whoop at their captain'sconfidence. Cy kept his mouth shut. It wasn't going to be that easy, and heknew most of these men, himself included, weren't coming back. He just hopedthat one of those who wasn't going back to camp would be Captain Lume.
At the entry to Shadow's opulent home, Lume jabbed theend of his saber into Cy's ribs and said, "Now, be a good lad and show usin."
Cy lead the silent, nearly invisible band of assassinsdown the long hallway into the decadent siting room. In complete silence, theentire troop weaved through the blonde constructs and marched down toward thebedchamber.
Just as before, the door at the end of the hall wasajar and a light was on inside the room. Cy beckoned the other assassins aheadof him and pressed himself against the wall. The raiders complied and movedaround him, taking up positions on either side of the door. Lume came up behindCy, and he nodded to the waiting troops. One of them held his hand out andsilently counted to three with his fingers, then he charged through the door,the others following him in.
From where he was standing, Cy could only see the menleave the hall. With the boots they were wearing, he couldn't even hear themmove. He and Captain Lume waited for the sounds of a scuffle or of magic beingcast, but they never came. After several moments of silence, one of the mencame back into the hall and waved the two men in. Lume pushed Cy by theshoulder, and he moved around the door in front of his captain.
The bedchamber was still in a shambles, but the wallwas once more intact where the ogres had burst into the room. The otherassassins stood around, casting nervous glances back and forth as if somethinginvisible might sneak up on them. Cy moved over toward the wall, stoppingbriefly at the chest of drawers where his enchanted dagger was still resting.
I'd rather die with this in my hand, he thought. Hepicked up the blade.
When he reached the section of wall where the secretdoor had been, he placed his hand where he thought the doorframe might begin.His fingers slipped through the wall. The archwizard hadn't fixed the brokensection, he had simply cast a spell over the opening. It would be a simplematter of stepping through the illusion to get to the stairs beyond.
Cy straightened up and headed out into the hall,motioning to Lume as he did.
The captain glared at Cy and asked, "What's goingon?"
"Shadow has a laboratory in the basement behindthat wall. He's cast an illusion over the opening to make us think the wall issolid, but if I were him, I'd have other defenses in place as well. I thinkwe're better off hiding out here and waiting for him to come out."
Lume nodded and pushed Cy back through the door. Thecaptain arranged the assassins in strategic positions around the room, then hewent back into the hallway, dragging Cy with him.
Hours passed. The assassins waited. Finally, the wallwobbled as the illusion allowed someone to pass through. Shadow was lookingdown at a contraption in his hands and not at all paying attention to his surroundings.The wand was stuck in the belt of his robe, and he didn't appear to have any ofthe bruises or scars that a man who had been brutally beaten by two ogresshould have.
Two steps into the bedroom, the archwizard realized thatsomething was wrong, and he began to cast a spell. The assassins unloaded theircrossbows, and the man screamed, dropping the gadget in his hands and stumblingtoward the bed, his spell lost on his lips.
Cy watched as the wizard fell to his knees, and Lumelet out an excited yelp and bolted into the room, his dagger in hand. Shadowwas holding his hands against his chest and looking at the ground. He wasbleeding quite heavily.
"Well, well, well," intoned Lume. He wasstanding a few feet away from the archwizard with a large smile on his face."If it isn't the mighty archwizard Shadow. Do you have any idea how longI've been trying to kill you?"
The man looked up from his position on the floor, andhe finished mouthing the lasts words of another spell. He glared up at thecaptain as the magical bolts jutting from his body shot back out, sailingacross the room and striking the assassins who had shot them. Every one ofthem fell to the floor, dead with a bolt buried in his forehead. Shadowcontinued to bleed, and he put his hand out to steady himself. His skin turnedquite pale.
"No. Frankly," said the wizard, "youhave a lot of competition when it comes to assassinating me."