The Scarlet Assassin

Chapter Five

I curled my lips and turned toward King Orson again. "Are you leaving me with this?" I hissed, motioning to Sorin with my hand. There was a low chuckle from behind me and the sound of footsteps creaking against the floorboards, heavy but nearly silent. I felt his body come up right behind me.

"Be nice to your boss, little assassin," Sorin whispered in my ear. He recovered quicker than I thought from this morning. It used to take him days to get over a shot to his pride.

The king looked up at me as I turned my head and glared at Sorin. "Leave," he said. "I'll see you soon, Scarlett Assassin." I held up my chin, forcing myself to bow to him.

"As always, I look forward to it," I said sourly. Sorin grabbed my shoulder to guide me out, but I hit his hand away and shoved him back. Then, after throwing him a warning glare, I forcibly opened the doors and stepped out. Sorin followed close to my heels.

We made it to the Viper Den in silence. Sorin was waiting for me outside the tavern, looking up as I approached him.

"Where have you been-?" He cut himself off when he caught sight of Sorin following idly behind me. In a fraction of a second, there was a knife in his hand. "Get out of here," he threatened darkly. Sorin only laughed and brushed me aside.

"Oh, you're cute. How old are you, kid, 16?" He turned to me. "This is the best you could do as a spymaster?" Rafe's eyes narrowed.

"Try me, shit head." Yet again amused, Sorin, smiled and stepped forward, sizing Rafe up.

"The kid knows some bad words. So bad and tough, are you? Why don't you put the sharp toy away before someone gets hurt." Before Rafe wrapped his hands around Sorin's throat, I said calmly yet sternly,

"Rafe, back down." He looked to me, eyes narrowing, glancing from me to Sorin.

"What-?"

"I said, 'back down'," I repeated. "He's now under our utmost protection. If anyone touches him, it'll be your head." Sorin beamed smugly.

"You can call me Lieutenant Stryker, kid." Rafe scowled but ignored him.

"He's a part of the king's guard, Vera. He's a scumbag! He's the reason-."

"I know perfectly well who he is and what he does, but right now, he is the only thing blocking us from being dead. So spread to the others that my new second in command is to be untouched, and any objections and concerns can be brought up with me. Any disloyalty will result in immediate expulsion and punishment." For a second, it looked like Rafe would object, but for some reason, he clamped his mouth shut and nodded. Then he ducked into the tavern and disappeared. I sighed and turned to Sorin.

"You know people aren't going to like you around here. Your life here is going to be hell no matter how many warnings I give." He smiled and bent down as if he was talking to a child.

"If you're trying to scare me off, it won't work."

I smiled back. "You think that was trying to scare you? Oh, honey, you don't even know what that word means. Not yet anyway." Sorin's smile dwindled, and he stood up straight.

"You think you can intimidate me, Ms. Drystan?" He challenged, his voice now ice-cold, all humor gone from his face.

"Well, the fact that you're calling me 'Ms. Drystan' now, makes me think I already have, but believe me, this is just the beginning." I turned and opened the doors, walking into the bar area. Sorin scoffed but reluctantly followed me. We passed through the building, ignoring the stares and whispers, and gracefully made it to my office. I collapsed in my chair and poured myself a drink, not even bothering to acknowledge Sorin.