Chapter 14

Anna trotted up to the assassin and fell into step beside him. He hadn't even waited for her to leave the tent before he started walking.

"Are we walking to London?" She asked. Until now they had traveled using a demonic steed. She wondered why he would choose to walk. When he didn't answer she looked up at him expectantly.

"London?" His cold tone wasn't encouraging.

"The city. London is the name I have always known it by." Anna answered. Though she knew it as London, most likely it had a different name right now. Artemis grunted. If he was this talkative the entire time it was going to be a long walk. Anna looked away from him and wondered what to say. They walked in silence for some time.

Anna sighed. "What I wouldn't give for a cup of coffee." She had developed a taste for the strong drink while overseas and sorely missed it. She had been thinking out loud and was surprised when he spoke.

His cold eyes settled on her momentarily. "Coffee?"

"Yes, I hated it the first time I tried it, but now I love it!" Anna laughed. Her family would be shocked that she liked such an uncouth drink. After all, ladies drank tea, not coffee. He just looked at her.

"Do you like it?" She asked.

"I have never heard of it." The assassin said. Anna blinked. "You've never even heard of it?" Did that mean that there was no coffee here? Maybe he knew it by a different name. "It's brewed using ground beans." She explained.

The assassin's dark brows snapped together. "A drink made from ground beans?" That didn't sound appetizing.

Anna nodded. "The beans are ground and then hot water is poured over them. Coffee is bitter, so it is popular to add cream and sometimes sugar. I like both in mine, but with cream and sugar being in short supply I learned to drink it black." She wrinkled her nose. Black coffee took some getting used to.

"Why were you required to drink it?" He scowled, but Anna got the sense that he was more curious than irritated. She grinned up at him. "It's not a requirement, but when you work as many hours as I do coffee helps you to stay awake." There were times that she had worked for nearly twenty four hours before getting a chance to sleep.

The assassin was familiar with working long hours, although he never used stimulants. Despite himself, he was curious. "Why did you work for so long?"

Pleased to have him talking, Anna gladly answered. "I worked as a nurse at the army hospital. There were a lot of injured soldiers. I remember one time we had nearly one hundred soldiers come in at once." Anna fell silent.

"What happened?" He prompted. Anna started and looked up at him. Was he actually interested? He stared back at her out of those cold dead eyes, waiting.

"While I was in France the trench nearest the hospital took a direct hit. It was mustard gas and most of the boys didn't make it out. Those that did …" Anna broke off, a look of horror entering her eyes. Unfortunately, the assassin was now truly curious.

"What is mustard gas?" He wanted to know. She met his eyes. "It's a type of poison gas."

"How does it work?" Artemis was familiar with many types of poison, but had never heard of mustard gas.

"A canister is filled with the poison and then fired into the enemy lines. Once the canister hits the ground the gas is released. The gas itself causes irritation to the eyes and skin, which we can treat, but if you breathe it in there isn't much that can be done. What follows is a hideously slow and painful death." Memories of blistered, screaming soldiers rushed forth. It was a horrible way to die. She didn't want to talk about it anymore.

Artemis noted the horror in her eyes. He knew what she had seen would haunt her. Unlike him, Anna was a gentle soul. Every death would remain with her. Scar her. "Why would you want to join the hospital?"

A wry smile flitted across her face. "I didn't know what I was getting into."

"You regret it." He stated.

"No!" Anna exclaimed. "Do you know what it's like when you are the last thing someone sees before they die? There were times when all I could do was hold their hands and offer them the meager comfort of knowing that they weren't alone. No one should die alone." She finished softly. Artemis was well aware what it was like. Though for his victims there had been no comfort or hope.

Anna felt the assassin's eyes on her. What was he thinking? It was so hard to tell. "You think I am foolish?" she guessed.

Artemis considered the question. "Not foolish, naïve."

Naïve? "I have held down screaming soldiers as they had gangrenous limbs sawed off. I have seen more people die than I can count and you think I am naïve?" Anna demanded. She was insulted.

Artemis met her indignant stare. "Jarlaxle sold you to a wererat and yet you wonder if you should trust him."

Anna huffed. He had a point. "That's not fair. The ONLY people I know here are you and him. What else should I do? I want to go home, but I can't. I don't know how. The only thing that seems to have any connection with this place and my home is that journal. If you know how I can get home then tell me and I will leave."

A cold smile played on the assassin's lips. "If I told you how to get home would you believe me?"

"Of course." Anna answered without hesitation.

"Then you would be a fool." He turned his hard gaze back to the road.

Anna bit her lip. "You're scary; do you know that?" He looked pleased. Anna wondered if they were actually related. "Are you an assassin?" she blurted.

Artemis' head whipped around to stare at her. "You have to ask?" What did she think he was?

She looked away and brushed some imaginary lint off her sleeve. "The Artemis Entreri my grandpa told me about was an assassin. I just wondered."

"What else did he tell you?" The assassin growled. She picked at a loose thread. She was going to unravel her sleeve at this rate.

"Um …" She hesitated; maybe she shouldn't have said anything. "He said that you were a killer among killers; a man that all others feared. He said that you were one of the most dangerous men that ever lived." She said in a rush.

A humorless laugh met her words. She risked a glance at him. She wouldn't have thought it possible, but he looked even more dangerous when he smiled. Anna decided to keep quiet. Why had she thought it would help to talk to him?

She was trying to figure out how to move the conversation to a safer topic when the Thames river came into view. Old London Bridge lay to their right a considerable ways down the river. "How are we going to get across?" As far as she knew there was only one bridge that crossed the Thames. To Anna's surprise, he answered, "The boy". She followed his line of sight. The boy from the tavern was tugging a small boat out of the water. Spotting Anna and the assassin he stopped and waved.

"Well met." Artemis called. "We require passage across the river." The boy jogged over to them, but pulled up short at the assassin's request.

"You don't want to be going there." The boy said, pointing to London. Artemis pulled out a coin and flipped it in his hand. It flashed as it caught the light. The boy stared at the coin. It was more than he would earn in a month. He hesitated. "It ain't safe. There's a sickness killing everyone."

Artemis rolled the coin between his fingers. "We only require a ride to the other side of the river."

The boy watched the coin. His pa would kill him if he went anywhere near the city, but he wasn't going into the city and his pa didn't have to know. He nodded slowly and deftly caught the coin the assassin tossed to him. Pocketing the coin he motioned for them to follow him.

As Anna gingerly took a seat in the boat she wondered when the boy had last bathed. The smell coming from him suggested that it had not been for some time. Actually, it was possible that the boy had never bathed. It wasn't uncommon for people from this time to go their entire life without a bath. She tried not to breathe too deeply.

"What news have you about this sickness?" Artemis asked as the boy picked up the oars and dragged them through the water. The boy looked up, his eyes wide. He was trying not to stare at the deadly weapons strapped to the man's side. "Some say that God is punishing the wicked. What with how fast they're dying and all."

"Is that what you believe? It's God's doing?" The assassin asked. The boy grinned, revealing a mouthful of blackened rotting teeth. "Naw. I think the wererats brought it."

"We're here. This is as far as I go." The boy said as the boat neared the shore. Artemis jumped to the shore and waited for Anna.

He made it look so easy. Anna pressed her lips together and slowly stood. The boy grinned as she flailed and nearly fell into the river. Artemis cast his eyes skyward and shook his head. "A little help?" She yelped as the boat slanted sharply to one side. The assassin sighed and grabbed Anna's arm. With a quick jerk she stumbled onto the shoreline and fell heavily against him. Rough hands righted her, the irritated scowl back in place. The boy laughed from the boat. "If you don't want her I'll take her." He called cheerfully.

Anna gaped. Why did everyone treat her like she was a piece of property? "You don't want this one. Take my word for it." The assassin snorted. "She's more trouble than she looks." The boy waved one final time before he put the oars back into the water and pulled away from them.

She was wearing the most mulish expression he had ever seen. With a shrug the assassin moved towards the road that ran beside the river. Anna ground her teeth and seethed as she trudged after him. More trouble than she looks? There was NO way they were related! He was the rudest man!

"I'm not waiting for you." The assassin called over his shoulder when he reached the road.

Blasted man! Anna clambered up the bank, cursing him the whole way. Catching up she held out a hand for him to wait as she tried to catch her breath. The assassin barely spared her a glance before he grabbed her arm and dragged her along with him. Anna yanked her arm free. "I can walk."

"Then keep up." He growled.

Her eyes bored a hole in his back as she trailed after him. Stupid, rude, annoying man! Anna amused herself by imagining him begging for forgiveness once he realized how ungentlemanly he had treated her. The men of Anna's acquaintance had always treated her with the utmost of respect.

She looked like a wet angry kitten. Artemis hid a smile. At least her anger kept her moving, although she was starting to lag behind. A wicked glint entered his eyes. "Fair skin, such as yours, fetches a good price in Calimport." He remarked.

"What?" Anna screeched, trotting to catch up with him. She chewed her lip and started picking at her sleeve again. "You wouldn't really sell me, would you?" When he didn't answer she turned around and walked backwards to see his expression. "Well?"

"That depends on whether you have any clothing left on by the time we reach the city." He looked pointedly at her frayed sleeve.

"You're evil." She huffed and looked at her sleeve. The entire edge was frayed. When had she done that? A bark of laughter made her jump. Her eyes shot to his face and she froze. She knew that expression. It was the same expression her grandpa had when he was tormenting her. Her grandpa loved to torment her. Could he be teasing her? It didn't make any sense, yet the expression was identical to her grandpa's. She had thought Artemis couldn't stand her. Was she wrong?

His hand on her collar drew her up short. "What?" She asked. He was looking intently at something. She followed his line of sight and gagged. He pulled her back as a wagon slowly rumbled past them. Bloated, bleeding bodies were stacked like cords of wood in the bed. One of the bodies hung precariously over the edge. The wagon bounced over a deep rut in the road and a frail arm fell over the edge. It was covered in dark blotches. Unable to stop herself Anna looked at the face. It wasn't a child, but a tiny slender woman with elegantly pointed ears. An elf. Unlike Jarlaxle, this elf was fair with golden hair. Anna glanced at the other bodies. Once the wagon had passed them she turned to Artemis. "Did you see any humans in there?"

"No." His cold dead eyes followed the wagon's slow progress.

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His companions gone, Jarlaxle recalled the tent and sat down on a nearby rock to wait. He smiled and tapped his lips. Artemis had looked like he wanted to kill him. He laughed out loud and pulled out the journal.

He hadn't been entirely truthful when he had read the last entry. There was one more that he hadn't mentioned. Opening the journal he turned to the final entry.

Entry 9

Your young guest is the key and the answer. Guard her well. All is not as it seems. Warn Bregan D'aerthe. If they are to survive they must have no dealings with the other races. The danger is great, my younger self. To avert this crisis you must act quickly. Use the key.

Jarlaxle closed the journal. Anna was the key and the answer? He tapped his pointed chin with a slender finger. What did it mean? He pulled out the puzzle box and the golden bracelet. He had thought the puzzle box merely a pretty trinket. He looked closely at the bracelet. A small latch on the inside caught his attention. He narrowed his eyes and lifted the latch. The bracelet separated into several connected pieces. Fascinated, he gently stretched out the pieces. His eyes widened. It resembled a skeletal hand. Turning it over he realized that it was designed to fit over the hand. He slipped it over his fingers and settled it comfortably against his skin. It looked like he had placed a slender gold skeleton over his hand. On the palm was a circular plate. He looked back at the puzzle box. There was a circular indentation in the top. He placed his hand on the puzzle box and fitted the golden disk into the indentation.

Author's Note: My proofreader is back! I'm so happy! :)

general zargon:Okay, you just made me face-palm myself. I kept looking at that word and thinking that it didn't look right...*sigh*, on a positive note...my proofreader is back and my story just became a better place! Thanks for taking the time to let me know what you enjoyed and what you didn't. It really helps to have an outside opinion!

Surreptitious Chi X: I'm so glad you are enjoying this! I have a lot planned for my trio, just wait and see. ;)

Amanita Virosa-Amaranthus:Hmmm...the shade's blood. My mind hadn't gone in that direction but that's a very interesting idea...thanks for reviewing! :)