Disclaimer: The kingdom of Valdemar. Owner: Mercedes Lackey. Current storyline: mine. –Ish.

Sorry for this so very late update. Imagination is not cooperating. :-(

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Fun was over. It was time to return to serious business once again. The job she did on Lord Javeranondin a week ago had been very satisfactory, and her employer at that time had been chuckling as he handed over her pay.

"Jolly fun, that was," the lord had said. "Jave won't be boasting about his head for drinks for a long time yet! Poor fool. I wonder if Lady Lilian is receiving any visitors today? I have half a mind to visit her."

Kalin had ignored the question, remembering that Lady Lilian was the same lady who had been offended in the square by Lord Javeranondin's antics. She pocketed her pay and left quietly, leaving the lord still chuckling in mirth.

Now, she had a different commission. One that was much more serious, though not an assassination. It involved a merchant, rich with ill-gotten wealth. She was to obtain proof of a recent transaction which could tie him to a rather delicate business involving smuggled goods. And perhaps, to deliver a warning.

Kalin was a little curious as to how her current employer had found out about the merchant's indiscretions, but kept her questions and suspicions to herself. Her set of sources confirmed that the merchant was indeed involved in various shady dealings, slavery in particular. Had her employer wanted Kalin to kill the man, she would have had no qualms about assassinating him.

Squeezing silently through a small window, left open no doubt because the servants thought that nobody could possibly fit through the tiny window situated so high off the streets, Kalin stealthily made her way to the merchants' office. Before her assignment tonight, Kalin had familiarized herself with the staffs' routines, and noted when all of them would be sleeping. The merchant himself rarely stayed up late. She had been here before, posing as a servant, and had familiarized herself with the layout of the building.

The door to her left would lead into the merchants' bedroom, where he was no doubt sleeping, and to one next to it, directly in front of her was the room she was aiming for. The moment she touched the doorknob, she froze. Instinct telling her something wasn't right. The door was ajar, and she could hear faint sounds of paper rustling. As she peered warily into the room, she noted with surprise that the merchant was seated behind his table, mumbling softly under his breath. He should have been sleeping by now. The room was in disarray, and he seemed more than a little anxious, running his hand uncharacteristically through his thinning hair every so often.

"What's the matter, Sal?" A soft voice, coming from the other side of the door surprised Kalin that she almost gasped. Damn, she hadn't realized that there was another person in the room with the merchant! "Misplaced the rocks? You know that our mutual acquaintance would be most displeased should he find something amiss."

The merchant, Sal, cast nervous looks to the speaker, and cleared his throat timidly. "I…one of the servants must have filched it, milord. They were to clean this room…"

"That is not an excuse, Sal," the voice softly purred. "You must know that you ought to be more careful with valuable stones such as those entrusted to your care." Kalin felt the hairs on her nape raise. There was something more than mockery in that tone, some thing dangerous, and it seemed that she was not the only one to realize, for the merchant's stutter became more pronounced. "B…bu…I d…don't…can't find them! P…please! I'll…I'll get them tomorrow—"

Kalin heard a chuckle, and found nothing amusing in it. "You know the punishment for failure, don't you, Sal? You have been most…disappointing."

All the while, Kalin could see the merchants' face turn ashen, and beads of perspiration gathered at his forehead.

"It's quite a pity, Sal, for up till now, we have been most…impressed with your devotion to our cause. But your mistakes of late—" the speaker made a sound of displeasure. "After due consideration, we have decided to, shall we say, release you from employment."

The merchant went as pale as sheets as blood drained from his face. "P…please, no—" he croaked.

Snick. There wasn't any warning. The merchant was cut off in mid-sentence, with a dart sticking out his right eye. He slumped backwards onto his chair, the look of utter shock and abject terror frozen on his face.

It took all of Kalin's training to keep herself quiet, whoever had just killed Sal was still inside the room, and she didn't want to bring any attention to the fact that she was outside. After a few silent breaths, she saw a quick shadow glide over to the dead merchant. "Tsk, Sal. Too bad you became… expandable. You really should have been more careful" That was said with a smirk, then Kalin heard a dull thud and a silent splash, and a sharp smell emerged from the room. A quick flare of light temporarily revealed the sharp features of the man, then it dropped onto the merchant's cluttered table. It immediately burst into flames. "Pleasure doing business with you. It's been an—enlightening experience."

Kalin shrank back into the shadows as the fire grew bigger and bigger. The man strode out of the door, his profile again temporarily silhouetted by the flames behind him, and the fire drew Kalin's attention to the glint on the man's finger. A large gold ring, shaped as the head of a beast, it's jaws gaping open, with a red ruby between its teeth. That was all Kalin managed to see, before the figure disappeared down the hallway. A crash in the study reminded Kalin of the fire, and a quick look into the room told her that nothing would be left by the fire within a few moments. Whatever that smell had been, it must have been some liquid that burned quickly. Nothing was left. Time for her to go. She wouldn't be able to complete this assignment. Someone else seemed to have beat her to it.

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Darn… storytelling is thirsty work! I really gotta pay tribute to those who manage to produce new stories on very regular basis. And wonderful ones too!

Oooohh… begging for reviews. Be kind. Please.