Chapter 30

Standing behind the Fire Lord on the dais, Raiden watched in horror as a stream of fire rocketed toward Azula, just as she was concluding her speech. It came from the balcony straight across the courtyard from them, too fast for him to do anything to stop it.

Luckily, Azula saw it from the corner of her eye, and acted with her characteristic speed. She shot her own fireball right at it, to deflect, then ducked behind her podium, shielding herself from the conflagration. The air above the crowd exploded, as the people shrieked and threw themselves to the ground.

When the smoke cleared, the captain could see that she was fine. His hand found Takeo's arm beside him, and he pushed his friend toward their monarch. "Protect her!" he commanded, then took off up the staircase behind him.

It was only because of his military training that he was able to delegate that way, dispassionately assessing risk and strategizing. In a split second his mind had done the calculation, trusting his proven comrade to keep the Fire Lord safe. Besides, she was capable of protecting herself, he reminded himself, as she had just proven by deflecting that fireball. From the shape and speed of the fire attack, he guessed the assassin was a combustion bender. Takeo was suited to defend against this particular threat because he was a firebender, while as a nonbender, Raiden was no match for that kind of firebending assault. Instead, he was the best person to go after the culprit, since he was an expert marksman.

He sprinted up the steps to the balcony that ran all the way around the courtyard. The shot had come from directly opposite Azula, but the assassin had surely moved as soon as he realized he had missed. This combustion bender should not have been able to get up there, past the guards stationed on the balcony, which made Raiden wonder if he'd already lost some of his men. Raiden reached the top of the stairs, where he had to pick left or right, and hope he was placing himself between this dangerous person and his queen.

He ran around the balcony with an arrow knocked on his bow, pointed down, ready to draw as soon as he had a target. His eyes swept the entire side of the balcony where the fireball had originated, looking for movement. Unfortunately, there were lots of pillars offering convenient cover to a sniper, as well as a solid waist-high rail.

Glancing down at the dais, Raiden saw a dome of fire protecting the Fire Lord and the others who were nearby. They couldn't go into the shrine for cover, not without risking the entire building going up in flames with another attack. They couldn't even get close to the walls, or the assassin might try to crush his target with falling debris. They had to stay out in the open, and depend on their protective dome to shield them. There was chaos in the square, as the audience members ran towards the exits, screaming, praying not to get caught in the crossfire. His guards were doing their best to direct them efficiently.

The second shot came from the corner. Raiden caught only a flash of a big brawny body, half covered in metal, just as he reached the opposite corner. He fired an arrow across the diagonal of the courtyard, but too late. The assassin hid behind a pillar, and the arrow embedded itself in the wooden post. Raiden cursed, and looked down to see if the Fire Lord was all right. The dome of fire seemed intact, even bigger and hotter than it had been a minute ago, as it absorbed and distributed the impact of the fireball.

Raiden turned around and started running again. He had chosen wrongly, running around the square in the same direction as the assassin. If he'd picked right at the top of the stairs instead of left, he could have had a straight shot.

Now, he couldn't stay put because the missed shot had shown his location. He had no choice but to move closer, to get ready for the assassin to attack him as soon as he turned the corner and spotted him on the long corridor. The most important thing to do was to block the way to the staircase down to the dais. He did not relish the idea of facing a combustion bender at range, armed only with a bow and arrow. He would have to hope to shoot while remaining unseen, and this time not to miss. Failing that, his best hope would be to get close enough to fight hand-to-hand, or to hide and sneak up on him.

But before they could meet, the assassin got ready to fire again at the Fire Lord, revealing his position on the right side of the balcony. The bald, tattooed head peeked from behind a pillar, looking down at the queen, but when he took aim, Raiden needed a fraction of a second less. Before another fireball could take shape in front of that ominous tattoo, the captain's arrow struck home.

As soon as his bowstring twanged, Raiden was fairly sure he had hit his target, especially since no combustion attack rocketed toward the Fire Lord in the following seconds. He knocked another arrow and rounded the corner cautiously. No movement. Some other guards joined him just as he approached the spot where the assassin had fallen. They found him with an arrow through his temples. As necessary and justified as this killing had been, the sight of the lifeless eyes affected Raiden with the gravity of what he'd done in defense of the Fire Lord.

Along with the combustion bender, the bodies of four guards were discovered. Raiden didn't know how such a bulky man could be stealthy, especially with that clanging metal arm, but apparently he had snuck up on three of the guards from behind, surprising them with cords around their necks. The fourth he had killed with a targeted blast to his face. That one had at least gotten off a shot, it seemed, as the assassin had a cut on his upper arm, and an arrow lay on the balcony floor. The fate of this guard chilled Raiden the most. If he had missed his second shot, he might have perished that way himself.

It wasn't clear how the sniper had gotten into the building. His path through the guards implied that he had entered through a second-floor window, or climbed down from the roof, but there was no sign of forced entry. No one recalled him coming into the courtyard with other members of the audience, or going up any of the staircases from the interior of the building, and with his forehead tattoo and prosthetic arm, he would have been memorable. Raiden supposed it didn't matter, except that it was evidence of a wider conspiracy. Finding the weak point in the Fire Shrine's defenses would have been important when considering security measures for future events, but none would ever happen.

In the hours and days that followed, the palace launched an intensive investigation. The assassin was a mercenary, a combustion bender with a forehead tattoo, a metal arm, and a bald head. He was identified easily enough, but there was no way to know who had hired him. The captain and his lieutenants made inquiries in all of the places similar hired swords and their clients were known to congregate, but the man was known as a loner who rarely spoke. Nobody knew who he had associated with, or at least, nobody was talking.

"Of course they're not talking. Mercenaries have a code," Naoki grumbled as they left another seedy bar.

"I know, but if we don't uncover this conspiracy, they might try again." Raiden agreed, chagrined.

When he gave the Fire Lord an update on the investigation the day after the incident, she made a point of congratulating him for his heroism.

"I hope you know you'll be getting a commendation, Captain."

"Thank you, my lord. What about the four lost guards? And Lieutenant Takeo?" His own honor concerned him far less than that of his guards, especially the ones who had lost their lives.

"The valorous four will be awarded the army's highest medal posthumously," she assured him. "The lieutenant will receive the Ribbon of the Rising Sun. I thought the Golden Arrow a more appropriate award for your own exploit. There will be a ceremony. Invite your family."

"Thank you, my lord." He bowed. "I'm looking forward to it." He felt gratified to hear about the medals and ceremony, more for Takeo's sake than his own. He hoped such a prestigious award would satisfy his friend's ambitious parents. "I know your speech was overshadowed by the assassination attempt, but you should know you did very well with it."

"The composition or delivery?" Azula asked, preening a little.

"Both. It was inspiring." Before her coronation, Azula had gained a reputation for the creative threats she had used to motivate her troops. This speech had been entirely different: offering people a positive vision of how things could be, educating them with true history. It was the difference between intimidation and true leadership. And he knew exactly how bold a move it was from previous policy, and how hard it had been for her to arrive at her conclusions. She should be lauded in the press for her bold stance, but if she wasn't, then he was glad to fill in some of that gap.

The Fire Lord positively glowed at being praised, which, impossibly, made her even prettier. "It will be in the newspapers all over the world, don't you think? The text of the speech, perhaps a description of the delivery as well, not only the attack?" she asked eagerly.

"Well, the attack will probably overshadow it in most papers, unfortunately," he answered honestly, then backtracked a bit when he saw her frown. "But at the same time, the attack is exactly what makes the speech noteworthy. Everyone will want to know what you could possibly have said that was so controversial it provoked an assassination attempt. The text of the speech would answer that question, so it will be reported in any in-depth articles on the incident. You announced your intention to change the country's policy and culture drastically, and that is why you were targeted by these extremists."

She brightened again. "Szeto would approve?"

"Definitely," he grinned.

Author's Note: Please leave me a review! And if you'd like to read the next 33 chapters early, let me know! I'm looking for a beta reader.