Excerpt 3

"Are you sure Jared will be comfortable having you here in his home, considering the last time the two of you met you were commissioned to kill Kira and you threatened all sorts of bodily harm on him for spoiling your plans?" Rain asked the assassin once they were safely in the castle, through one of many smaller entrances. This one had a lobby with a koi pond full of spotted orange, black, and white carp - along with a few small turtles poking their noses out of the water every once in a while to take a breath - a hotel-style bellhop in a royal blue uniform who took the guest's single suitcase without asking any questions, and walls paneled in some sort of creamy light-colored wood. On the way they had been busy chatting about less critical things, because along with Amber and Lynne - though of course recent revelations made their company feel strange now - this particular member of the Assassin's Guild of Centralia was one of the few people Rain felt friendly towards.



Rupert Djones, whose surname was pronounced with a silent "d" at the beginning, gave her an indulgent smile and adjusted his monocle with a white-gloved hand, even as they followed the bellhop towards the room William had set aside for him. "That is ancient history, darling, and it was purely business. No ire or bad blood should remain. Besides I don't believe it altogether necessary that the dear boy or his lovely wife to know of my presence here, as the invitation from his second-in-command was enough to grant me access through the magical gate. I plan only to stay so long as it takes to eliminate my target."



Rain tucked her wings as tightly as possible to make them fit in the narrow spiral staircase they climbed up as they continued their conversation. "Who is your target, anyway?"



"Walls have ears, darling Rain. And so do servants of all kinds. But this is a job for the Guild, not for William." After the first ten steps he started breathing a little heavily and leaning on his gold-topped cane.



"Oh, so someone doesn't have a license." Rain put a hand on his back to nudge him forward so she wouldn't have to slow down. She hated slowing down. "Didn't figure assassins were allowed to join if they had asthma."


Djones did his best to pick up the pace but his struggles were obvious. "It's not...not...never...mind..."



"Whatever. Just don't be a slowpoke."



The bellhop deposited Djones' suitcase in front of the first room on the left at the top of the stairs, opened the door with a flourish, and then headed into the catacombs of that wing of the castle. Djones tipped his bowler hat at the retreating figure and moved the suitcase to the foot of the bed. It was a small room, but comfortable, in shades of dark cerulean blue and a nearly iridescent turquoise green. The suite included a bathroom with a tub of gleaming brass and fresh white towels hanging from the rack. The overhead pendant light shone with warm, creamy radiance when Djones flicked the switch on the wall, and the slender, ivory-shaded lamp on the bedside table was embossed with leaves and curlicues. The bed itself was a generous queen size with two plump pillows and a fluffy comforter. "Quite tolerable indeed, upon my word," Djones commented.

Rain sat on the bed without asking permission, earning a raised eyebrow from Djones that she did not appear to notice. "William said you can call room service whenever you like. He has a dinner with the Seasons and their consorts to enjoy. Even I'm not invited, though I heard a rumor that Hamnet Shakespeare is being dragged in and given a seat of honor because Jared was secretly a huge theater and literature geek along with his other nerd qualities all this time. William will come talk to you at nine o'clock. He generally goes to bed at eleven. You could set your watch by that guy."

"Well, good thing I brought one of my favorite books to read again," Djones said, propping his cane against a bedpost and kneeling to unpack his suitcase. "Have you ever had the happy fortune of reading The Vesuvius Club by Mark Gatiss? The hero is a rakish assassin and spy, you see, and I consider him somewhat of a role model even if he is fictional and prone to copulate with anyone willing."

"No..." Rain unfolded her wings part of the way, not enough to smack into Djones but enough so they were glorious limbs rather than constrained bundles of feathers, partially because it was more comfortable that way and partially because when they had met before Djones had shown a fondness for touching them. "Speaking of that, though, how about it?"


Djones stroked the nearest inky feathers without consciously intending to. "I don't believe I follow you, dear lady."


"I haven't had sex in over a week. And it's been a stressful few days."


"My condolences. I hear that, er, self-stimulation can be most gratifying, even if not so much as activities with someone else." Djones dabbed at his brow with a silk pocket square. "It is a bit warm in here, don't you think?"

"You could take off your jacket and gloves at least," Rain said, wrapping her nearer wing around Djones' shoulders and bringing him closer.



"That might be a good idea; we are in June after all. Quite literally. But I need you to know that while I find you attractive, I've never actually -"



"Had sex? That's all right, we can go slow."



"I was going to say kissed anyone. Which is the only thing I've been curious about, really. Sexual intercourse in full always seemed rather distasteful."



Enlightenment entered Rain's eyes. "Oooooh, you're ace, aren't you?"

"Again, you use a term with which I am unfamiliar."

"Asexual. Not interested in sex. It doesn't necessarily mean sex is disgusting to you, just that you don't really have a sex drive. Some asexuals do have sex but to make their partner happy, or purely to reproduce, or because of boredom or some reason other than arousal. I never understood it myself but people don't understand me either and I figure it's fine all round."