Shaedes of Gray: A Shaede Assassin Novel

Careful not to interrupt Xander’s beauty sleep, I slipped through the open doors to check the balcony. Dawn had not yet approached. A lightening in the eastern horizon marked its coming, but I doubted it was visible to anyone other than a Shaede. I smelled the dew beginning to form on the leaves and grass below the terrace, and I drew in a deep breath to hold the heady fragrance of encroaching morning in my lungs. My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I fished it out.

“Where are you?” Tyler shouted before I could even say hello.

“Where are you?” I asked.

“Not funny, Darian,” he said. “I’ve been sitting in your apartment for hours, waiting for you to show up. Is everything okay? Are you hurt? Why didn’t you make a wish?”

“Calm down,” I hissed into the phone. “I’m fine.”

“Where . . . are . . . you?” The controlled ferocity of his tone made my skin prickle.

“Xander’s.”

There was a pregnant pause on the other end of the line. I hoped Ty was counting to ten instead of heading out the door.

“Why?” He let the single word hang.

I rolled my eyes. “Side job. Security detail.”

“Security detail!” Ty exploded. “Security for who?”

“I’m Xander’s personal bodyguard for a while.” I cringed at the words, visualizing the incredulous look that was no doubt on Ty’s face.

“I’m coming over,” Tyler said.

“No.”

Tyler just couldn’t get it through his thick skull. I didn’t need him charging to my rescue. I had my pride to consider. Sure, he’d plucked me up off the street after the Lyhtan attack. And he had shown up at just the right second with my sword when I’d needed it. Time after time, Tyler had proved his loyalty, his concern, his protectiveness. It wasn’t that I didn’t appreciate it. I did. My overinflated ego didn’t.

“You can’t always be my knight in shining armor,” I said. “Ty, I’m obligated to do this. I can handle it.”

“Since when are you obligated to be Xander’s anything?” he said with a dead calm that was more frightening than anything he could have shouted. “You were hired for one thing only, and that one thing doesn’t include following Xander around and acting as his personal live target! Do you have any idea what might happen if you get into anything dicey? You could die, Darian!”

The sky continued to lighten, and I sensed a presence somewhere above me. It could have been another Shaede, but for some reason, my instinct told me differently. I couldn’t focus on my surroundings while bickering on the phone, and Xander was just inside the door, vulnerable to attack. If something were to happen to him while I was assuaging Ty’s ego, I’d never live it down. In fact, I didn’t think I’d live, period.

“Tyler,” I sighed. How could I convince him I was okay when my senses screamed that danger was close? “As soon as I’m done here, I’ll be home. Stay at my apartment and wait for me if you want. There’s nothing for you to worry about. Nothing dicey here.” Liar. “I appreciate your concern, and if I get into trouble, you’ll be the first person I’ll call. Promise. Wishes will rain down on your ears.” The hairs rose on the back of my neck as the pressure in the air intensified. “But right now, I’ve got to go.” I flipped the phone closed and slid it back into my pocket.

With steps as light as thistledown landing on the ground, I treaded back into the room. Xander was still asleep. I reached to my back, slid the katana from the scabbard, barely making a sound as it came free. And just as silently and quickly, I returned to the terrace.

The sky was illuminated in varying shades of gray. Before I’d discovered just how dangerous this hour could be, it had been my favorite time. A stillness hung in the air that wasn’t present at any other moment, save twilight. What I used to consider a peaceful time had become fraught with unseen dangers. A Lyhtan waited somewhere close; I could smell it.

I didn’t want to fight on the terrace. There wasn’t much room. But I didn’t feel like I should venture too far from Xander either. If it was an ambush, he’d be left unprotected while I fought from somewhere below—or above. The smell grew stronger, and I crinkled my nose in distaste. As the air around me became heavy, I looked up and froze in shock at what dangled several feet above my head. Hanging upside down, like a mutated fruit bat, the Lyhtan clung with its feet to the terrace above me. My enemy swung its elongated body, releasing its hold on the iron railing, and dropped. God, I hoped it was one of the Lyhtans that had attacked me. Gripping the handle of the katana until it felt like it was a natural part of my hand, the blade an extension of my arm, I waited.

“The Enphigmale will see to the end of your kind,” myriad voices said as the Lyhtan straightened to its full height. “Tell your king that.”

“Come a little closer and tell him yourself,” I whispered. “You’ll only have to get through me to do it. Or are you afraid to face me in the gray hour, Lyhtan?”

A sharp and mournful shriek rent the peaceful morning. Poised and ready to fight, the Lyhtan dangled a jagged blade, rusty and neglected, unworthy of battle, from its hand.

I glanced at the sky, hoping I had enough time to kill my enemy before the sun crested the horizon. Bad timing, but I couldn’t help but wonder where the hell I’d put the bottled shadows Raif had given me. Too late now.

“What’s your name?” I asked the creature, which wiped at a trail of saliva running steadily down its chin.

“Why do you need it?” the Lyhtan said in its many voices.

“So I can engrave it into the blade of my sword after I kill you.” It was big talk, but I needed something to hike up my confidence level. Memories of lying in bed, covered in welts and raw, seeping wounds didn’t help bolster my courage. I had to win; I had to kill this thing before it could get to Xander. My pride demanded it.

“All you need to know, Shaede, is that I am Death.”

The Lyhtan lunged at me, teeth bared and sword at the ready. I parried the thrust and swung the katana wide toward the creature’s head, missing by mere inches. Its cackling laughter only served to increase my determination, and I swung again, using all my weight as I came around, this time swiping at its knees. It jumped, easily avoiding the blade, threw its head back, and howled into the ever-brightening sky.

I’d never faced an opponent this way. An assassin doesn’t go into battle or fight one-on-one. An assassin relies on her stealth and cunning and takes her victim’s life before he is ever aware danger is present. My heart pounded against my rib cage, and though I tried to control my breathing, the air came into my aching lungs in heavy drafts. I needed a clear and level head. I needed to keep it together. I needed to focus.

It came after me and covered the space between us in one long stride. Swinging with wild abandon, it aimed for my waist and then my throat, slicing through the air with the jagged and rusty blade. The Lyhtan growled in frustration and swiped a clawed hand at my face. I pulled back just before its talonlike nails could dig into my flesh.

With preternatural speed and precision, it attacked. As fast as me, if not a little faster, its blade rang out against mine over and over as I parried each thrust or cut. The serrated metal made a clean break difficult. More than once I became hung up on the rusty barbs and had to move too close for my comfort in order to free the katana. I gave silent thanks to Raif and my training as I fought, glad to have the stamina required to stand against this much stronger foe. It hissed and uttered unintelligible words as it struck over and over again, hungry for blood and intent on my death.

I sensed a movement from inside the room, and my eyes darted to the side. The Lyhtan followed suit and looked toward the open window. The sky reflected off the glass, almost blue with hints of muted orange washing over it like watercolor. I used the opportunity and took a quick step forward, bringing the blade down with all I was worth. It sliced into the Lyhtan’s chest and the creature screamed and thrashed, clutching at the wound. I pulled back and swung full circle, the blade singing as it cleaved the air, cutting across the creature’s throat and severing its squealing head.

The vile thing rolled and came to a stop at my feet while the Lyhtan’s body convulsed in a macabre display before falling over the railing. I heard it land with a thump, followed by utter silence. My sword hung limp at my side, covered with the rusty orange blood of my enemy. I turned toward the east and watched as an explosion of light was born out of the gray morning, coloring the sky with a brilliance that caused me to shield my eyes. The Lyhtan’s head, which rested still at my feet, shimmered like it had been covered with a thin layer of early-winter