Chapter 5

"Can you hand me the jar of rosehips?" Olwen asked, not looking up from the table. Kaden found the jar quickly, bringing it over to the man. Their hands brushed as the doctor took the herb from him. He wasn't sure, but he thought that the man's hand lingered longer than normal. Pulling away, he turned towards his room. No sense dwelling on that. "Who's Sayra?" the doctor asked quietly.

The assassin spun around, regarding the doctor with suspicion. He'd never mentioned his sister's name in all the time he'd been in the compound. Kaden had never even mentioned that he had a sister since the night he'd been brought to the doctor's home. "How do you know that name?" he said, steel rising in his voice.

Olwen set aside the thing he was working on, regarding Kaden calmly. "You've said it before, in your sleep," the doctor answered quietly. He hesitated for a moment "This note was left for you today." The blonde handed him a small slip of paper. Looking at it, he read the spidery handwriting.

'Sayra sends you and your doctor friend her regards. She bids you to join her soon.' The paper crinkled in his hand. Halycon had sent him the message; there was no doubt about it. The meaning of the message was clear. Kaden was to return to the guild. Now that he'd become close to the doctor, he'd put the other man at risk. Had Sayra actually lived, she'd never want him to return. The thought brought with it a mixed feeling of grief and hopelessness. Inside he raged that the assassins had been able to cage him again. There was no way he was going to let Olwen become a target. He wasn't sure what his face looked like, but Olwen backed away from him.

Kaden threw the note away from himself towards the fire. The cloak that he'd been given was still hung on its peg by the door. It was more out of habit than anything else. He slid his weapon belt over his head and grabbed the cloak. The wind whipped around him as he moved outside. He heard the doctor calling him from the doorway, but he ignored him. Instead of heading towards the main gate, he turned to the side of the complex. Thankfully, there was no snow on the ground. It would have been difficult to climb the wall had it been snow covered. By the time Olwen turned the corner of the barracks, he was over the wall.

Nobody guarded the wall around the guard barracks. The guards patrolled inside their own area. The streets were as familiar to him as ever. He wound his way around the city, taking narrow alleys and avoiding the well-lit patrolled streets. Three times he backtracked and crisscrossed his own trail. He doubted that Olwen would try to follow him, but on the off chance that the doctor did, he didn't want to be found. Kaden wanted to keep the blonde man as far away from the assassins as possible. He'd made sure the assassins would have a hard time getting into the palace complex now. Kaden had trained the guards as well as he could without overstepping his bounds.

There was silence as he walked into the common room. A few of the men stood, drawing weapons. No doubt they remembered the havoc he'd cause when he'd left the guild. Halycon came forward, cutting off any fights before they had a chance to begin. Kaden followed the assassin as he led him into the back of the guild. He knew what the assassin intended as he was led into the practice room. Jariath looked up from where he sat sharpening a knife. "Out," the assassin leader barked. His trainer looked like he was about to say something, but he relented under Halycon's glaze.

The door clicked shut behind the blonde assassin. For several long moments they watched each other. The mirrors along the wall reflected the ice blue gaze at him from all sides. Halycon's gaze spoke volumes. His weapon had rebelled and the assassin was not amused at all. Before he knew it the man was upon him. No matter how well he had been trained, the other assassin was still better. Kaden defended himself as best he could, but all that did was further enrage the other man. His eyes burned like fire as he beat Kaden. The blows rained until he couldn't stand anymore, and even then the older man continued. He didn't resist anymore. For all that he'd done, a beating was the least of what he deserved.

The floor was cool as he lay there. His body ached as never before. For a long time he just lay there, trying to muster the will to move. Blonde hair filled his gaze as he was lifted up. "Olwen," he asked, confused. His vision cleared for a moment, revealing Jariath's concerned face. He felt his ribs shifting as he was moved. A sharp pain filled his senses. The rushing darkness gave him blessed relief.

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A cold cloth pressed against his head woke him. He recognized the room that had been his for his stay at the guild. The cloth moved over his face. Kaden tried to sit up but a hand gently pressed him down into the bed. It hurt to move. Halycon had been careful not to break any of his limbs, but at least one of his ribs had to have been broken. "Don't try to get up," Jariath said softly from the edge of his bed. He helped Kaden sip a liquid that tasted more of herbs than anything else. "I'm sorry about Sayra." The assassin sighed, actually sounding like he meant it. "Halycon was furious when you left. He never expected Sayra to kill herself." The blonde man rose from the bed, turning to leave. "I wish you at least could have escaped." The last words were barely more than a whisper, half heard as he slipped back into unconsciousness.

The only one he saw for the next week was Jariath, and only then to pour another tonic down his throat. The room itself reminded him of his sister. Over and over again he watched her die. He wished that he would be allowed to die, but Jariath was working too hard to keep him alive, just like Olwen had. Kaden would have to cooperate with the assassins again, though he didn't want to. He'd tried for the last few months to put his past behind him, to forget about killing.

It took him a full two weeks to recover. He'd been on his feet for about a week, but he'd been weak. Only by pushing himself to exhaustion could he regain what he'd lost during the week in bed. Without a hostage here, Kaden would take the brunt of any punishment Halycon deemed necessary. Not that that bothered him any. He would take a beating any day if it meant more time until he had to go out into the city again. Kaden was in no rush to kill again. The assassins played a dangerous game with him now. There was no reason to keep him alive. Olwen was too well protected to be killed on a whim. Only if he balked outright would they risk trying to harm the doctor. Even then he'd made sure it'd be risky for them to get into the guard compound.

When he could, he resumed training with Jariath. The other assassin's reaction to him hadn't changed any, despite what had happened. Just about every other assassin treated him coldly when he entered the common room. Several of them were probably still holding grudges from when he'd left the guild. Not that it bothered him any. He didn't need to be friends with the other assassins. Kaden despised Halycon and all those like him.

The guild was so different from the guards' barracks. The action here was more subdued, quieter. More than once he missed the clinic and Olwen. He missed the challenge of teaching rather than just practicing again and again the things he'd already mastered. Besides Jariath there was no one here who would talk to him, and even Jariath had to keep his distance.

Barely a week passed before he was summoned into Halycon's office. There was no twirling of the knife now. The look the assassin gave him warned him that disagreeing was not an option. Kaden had to wonder just what kind of job he'd be put up against next. "You know by now that you can't get away from us," the assassin started. "Weapons don't get freedom." The man's smile was cruel. Kaden knew he was nothing more than a tool to the man, something to be used until it no longer worked.

"You were allowed to stay with the doctor only because it severed a purpose." He had hoped that he'd escaped from the guild's eye for a little while, but he realized that that was impossible now. No matter where he went they'd always find him. "Our next target is inside the palace itself." The assassin's smile was all too smug, too pleased with himself. The look he gave told him that it couldn't have been better for the assassins if Halycon had arranged the situation himself. "Now that you've spent some time with the guard, you'll know their schedules. You'll know about weak points that you couldn't correct out of fear of giving yourself away." Ice blue eyes showed mirth at the younger man's weaknesses, his fears. "I want you to use those points." Kaden stiffened, not wanting to betray his friends. "You'll get yourself into the palace and I'll be right there beside you." He was surprised at that. The leader of the guild almost never went out on a job himself. It was even more rare for him to send two men out to kill one man.

"Just who exactly do you intend to kill?" Kaden asked. He didn't like the sound of this one bit. No chance at all to avoid the job.

Halycon's brow rose ever so slightly. "The prince," he said, as if announcing what he would have for breakfast. "We'll slip in past the same guards that you've worked so hard to train." The laugh that filled the room chilled him to the bone. Once more he cursed himself for ever meeting the man. "Tomorrow night to be exact. And if you fail me, I'll leave you there to die. Try and back out and I'll personally pay a visit to your doctor friend. Before he dies, I'll make him curse the day he met you." Halycon's grin showed that he'd enjoy the killing, and that made it seem even worse in his mind. There was killing someone outright, and then there was the slow, excruciating death that the assassin leader would revel in. Kaden shuddered at the thought.

"I won't cause any problems," he said, his voice soft. There wasn't much he could do with Halycon right there behind him. He rose when the assassin dismissed him, Halycon's cold eyes following him out of the room. When the door clicked shut behind him, Kaden was deep in thought. In his room again, he contemplated the situation. There may not be any way he could keep from doing the job, but there might be a way for him to end it all.

The next night was blessedly dark. The morning's snow had already melted. Unfortunately, Kaden was still chilled to the bone. Any more layers would have hindered him, but he still wished for the warm cloak he'd left in an alley near the palace. The two assassins waited in an alley near the guard complex. Jadon had actually placed a guard on this wall. While it was a good idea for the guards, it made Kaden's job more difficult. The man walked back and forth along the wall. There was no way both of them would be able to make it over without being spotted.

Finally the man passed them, his back to the assassins. Kaden rushed forward to land a light blow on the man's head. It was enough to knock the man out for several minutes, but no more. That was just what he wanted. Under the pretext of moving the man into yet another alley he slipped a tiny piece of paper into the man's hand. Coming out of the alley, Kaden waved for Halycon to go over the wall. Both men climbed up it at the same time, the stones providing ample hand and foot holds for them.

The inside of the complex was just as dark as the outside. Off in the distance Kaden saw one flicker of movement, then another to the other side. Another guard had been added to the inside of the complex. He noticed with a pang the light in Olwen's window. If he had any say in the night's events, the doctor would be out of danger soon.

He waved for the assassin leader to follow him. They crept past the barracks quietly. Voices inside warned them that not everyone was asleep. They moved slowly though the dark yard. There was no cover for several long moments. Finally, they reached the small, unguarded gate that would bring them out near the palace stables. Kaden eased the door open slowly. It hadn't been used in a long time; most people would use the main gate between the two complexes. For several precarious moments they were vulnerable. After determining that there wasn't a guard on the other side of the gate, he slipped through. Halycon followed him, clicking the gate shut behind him.

The palace stables were immediately in front of them. On the other side of the huge building were the palace and the well-lit courtyard before it. The stable was built almost up against the wall of the complex. The space in between provided the perfect cover for two lean men to slip through. He paused at the end of the corridor. For several moments he watched for movement. There was only one guard, heading away from them. The guards relied too heavily on the light of the courtyard to prevent anyone slipping past them. They stayed next to the wall, low to the ground, and kept their movements slow. It seemed like hours before they were across. Kaden was surprised that the moon had barely moved in the sky when he finally stood up again.

Near the back of the palace there was a tree that reached up into the window in the attic. Olwen had told him in secret that it was how the braver of the young nobles sneaked out of the palace to see the town. The nobles relied too heavily on the guards outside and inside the palace to protect them. They should never have overlooked this entrance.

Kaden moved up the tree first. It held under his weight as he'd hoped it would. From there it was nothing at all to reach the window. Someone had closed the window against the winter air. Slowly, he wrapped his legs around the branch. It was dizzying hanging upside down the branch, but it was the only way he'd be able to pry the window open. Thankfully, the thing wasn't locked. In a matter of minutes he was inside. While Halycon moved over the branch, Kaden waited for the blood that had rushed to his head to resume its proper place in his body.

The attic was cluttered with all kinds of old furniture, spring bedding and the like. On the far side there was a double door that would likely lead to the main stairs and down into the palace. Those stairs would be guarded though. Kaden looked around the room. The servants would likely have some way of moving the bedding directly to the royal bedroom. He found it finally, in the middle of the room. A hatch in the floor opened to reveal a straight drop, almost two stories. A pulley attached to the ceiling was likely used to lower the bedding down. Kaden went down first, using the pulley like he had on his first job for the assassins. He waited at the bottom while Halycon climbed down. It was yet another sign of his good luck that the pulley was well oiled.

They emerged out of a closet in the back of a dark hallway. Kaden was at a loss as to where to head next. He'd gotten them inside the palace, but he'd never actually been to the royal suite before, nor had Halycon provided him with any information regarding where it was. The assassin leader must have kept the information to himself. Kaden followed the other man down the corridor. There were no turns in the path the assassins took. The door they emerged from was hidden behind some kind of curtain; no doubt it was only used by the servants.

It looked as if they were in the prince's bedroom. The room was empty. For a moment, Kaden hoped that his message had been received. Halycon didn't seem the least bit surprised though. He moved through the room, motioning for the other man to stay behind him. Kaden followed the assassin to yet another door. This one had light underneath it. For several long moments they waited there. The only sounds that reached their ears were the crackle of a fire and the pages of a book turning. Halycon opened the door slowly. Kaden wished that the door would creak, alerting the prince to their presence. His luck must have run out however. Halycon grinned as they entered the room. The prince started up out of his chair as they entered. The book he was holding clattered to the floor. "Kaden? Lord Halycon!"

The prince's eyes widened as the assassin leader pulled out a knife. He pulled back for a throw, but Kaden caught the assassin's hand. The eyes that turned on him were cold. They struggled for the blade, but Halycon had the advantage. Instead of trying to throw the knife, he turned it. Kaden didn't resist as the blade plunged into his side. The other assassin tried to pull the blade free, but was fought for every inch. The younger man's grip was unyielding. With one hand he held the assassin in place. The other hand he used to draw his sword. Halycon's eyes widened as Kaden brought the sword down. He ignored the pain in his own side as he concentrated on the motion of his sword. The blade came away dripping. If nothing else, he was content to have traded wound for wound.

The blonde glared at him from where he'd fallen, clutching his side. "You're my weapon!" the man spat, his rage turning his eyes to fire. "I created you with steel and iron. You were forged in blood." The assassin rose to his feet, laughing as Kaden wavered where he stood. His eyes spoke of triumph and superiority. No mere weapon could hurt him, those ice blue eyes said. "Don't think you can escape me now."

Kaden shook his head, moving in between the lord and the prince. Loud footsteps were approaching from the hallway. It would be over soon. They'd both be dead, and then Kaden would be free. His strength gave out as the door burst open. He slumped over, his vision blurry. They were surrounded now. It would be safe to give in to the pain now. "See you in hell," he said with a smile as the floor rushed towards him.

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If this was Hell, he certainly hurt enough. It was dark all around him. A voice called his name softly. Straining to hear it, he tried to move. Stars flashed in his eyes then as the pain asserted itself. Hands pressed him down into something soft and warm. A cool cloth covered his eyes.

"Kaden?" Olwen said softly, his voice worried. "Are you awake now?" Kaden nodded. It was a miracle that he was still alive. He sighed. Once again the doctor had kept him from his freedom, though he couldn't bring himself to be mad. Someone shifted off to one side of the room. No. There were more people there. He couldn't tell how many. Olwen prevented him from moving, but took the cloth off of his eyes. Not that it helped any. His vision was blurry. He felt warm, as if he had a fever. It seemed just as well to keep his eyes closed. That at least kept him from being dizzy.

"These people want to talk to you," the doctor said softly from somewhere near his head. "Though you really should be resting." Kaden could only imagine the glare the doctor would no doubt be leveling, though he doubted it would be very effective. "Do you think you are up to that?"

Kaden's voice came out a croak. His throat was dryand painful. The scent of herbs drifted nearer as the doctor held a cup of water to his lips, helping him to drink. He tried again. "Yes," he answered simply, trying to move as little as possible.

A voice cleared near the foot of the bed. "You saved the prince's life," Jadon said softly. "Your note got to me just in time, but it's still unclear why you were in the prince's rooms in the first place." Someone else moved up to the foot of the bed. The prince spoke up from somewhere near the guard captain. "Olwen told me you got a note from someone named Sayra. Did she put you and Lord Halycon up to this?"

Kaden stiffened. Anyone who knew his sister would have laughed in the boy's face at such a suggestion. "No," he said, the bitterness and anger in his voice causing the doctor to tense. "It would be hard for a dead girl to do such a thing." Kaden laughed. No, Sayra at least was free of the mess Halycon created. "Why don't you ask Halycon about it?" He wondered if the assassin was in the room somewhere, watching the doctor with his cruel blue eyes waiting for his chance to take his revenge on the weapon that had turned against him.

"Lord Halycon is dead," Olwen said, sounding both confused and sad. He petted Kaden's hair, perhaps unconsciously. Whether or not he realized he was doing it, the action soothed the assassin. Or maybe it was the news that he was finally free. He couldn't keep the small smile off his face. "He lunged for the prince when you'd fallen. Alric stopped him before he got past you." Kaden nodded, feeling tired.

"Perhaps you should explain," Jadon said cautiously, "how you came to know Lord Halycon."

Kaden sighed. They didn't seem to realize it yet. "He was the head of an assassin guild," he said softly. "I was one of those assassins." The gasps of those around him confirmed his fears. No one would trust him now that they knew. He'd confessed to something that would only gain him a trip to the executioner's block, if he lasted that long in the state he was.

The room was quiet for long moments. No doubt they were trying to decide what to do with him. You didn't nurse an assassin back to health; no assassin deserved that kind of treatment. "Halycon called you his weapon," the prince said softly. He continued when Kaden nodded. "Why is that?"

"Because that's what he made me," Kaden's voice was hard as he spoke. "A weapon with no other use than to kill. Just a tool to be used until it broke." He didn't feel the hate anymore. It didn't matter. The reasons for his actions didn't excuse what he'd become.

"How?" Olwen said, his voice barely more than a hurt whisper. "How could you go along with him? How could you have gone back to him? Couldn't you have stayed away?" For a moment it sounded as if the doctor had meant to say 'with me', but he didn't.

Kaden shrugged, though the movement caused him pain. "There was no other choice." It was that simple. He wasn't excusing his behavior. "He would have killed you, one way or another. I didn't want to be the cause of another death, not after killing Sayra." He forced the words out around the lump they still brought to his throat. Kaden would never be able to forget his sister's dying face for as long as he lived. "It would have happened sooner or later had I not ended it." He smiled, despite the tears that threatened to spill. He'd never have to be used again. The weapon had been broken.

"You killed Sayra?" Jadon asked, obviously confused. "And what do you mean he would have killed Olwen?" The guard captain seemed to be growing frustrated.

"Sayra was my only sister," Kaden began quietly. "Our parents died when I was fourteen." The others in the room didn't interrupt as he spoke. He told them all he could remember of his life since his parents died. Kaden explained that his parents had only barely managed to get by when they'd taken ill. The church hadn't wanted to take them in for fear that the disease would spread. He explained how he'd tried for nearly a year to provide for himself and Sayra. Someone started to speak up when he told how he'd come to be at the assassin guild, how Halycon had threatened Sayra. His voice was even as he told how he'd been trained. It was as if he spoke about someone else's life. Only when he spoke about Sayra's death did his voice break. He pushed forward, telling how he'd ended up at the riverside and fallen in. All the while Olwen stroked his hair, an unspoken show of sympathy. "I figured the only way to end it all would be to trap Halycon in a situation he couldn't get out of."

"And kill yourself," the doctor said softly, his voice a mixture of feelings that Kaden couldn't decipher. He shrugged. A fit of coughing overcame him. The liquid that Olwen had him drink was not water. It helped him to slide back into the darkness. The darkness was his freedom and his own personal hell of memories.

He awoke again much later. The room he was in didn't look anything like the guard's ward. He didn't recognize it either. Kaden tried to sit up, but a weight on his chest kept him from moving. The doctor was slumped over him, asleep. Olwen woke as Kaden tried to shift a little, trying to become more comfortable. He smiled at the blonde who blinked at him sleepily. Stretching, the other man sat up.

"That can't have been very comfortable," Kaden said, teasingly. The doctor shrugged, blushing slightly. "Where are we?" he asked, looking around.

"The prince's bedroom," the doctor answered, laughing at the assassin's expression. "No one wanted to risk moving you down to the ward. It was actually the prince's idea to use the room, so don't worry about it too much."

Kaden shook his head. It was really too much to believe. "What happens now?" he asked, expecting the doctor to tell him he was to be jailed or executed. It was what he deserved, really.

"You've been pardoned," the doctor said, surprising him. "Not even the king would argue against not only the prince and I, but also the captain of the guard and his second." Olwen puffed himself up as if proud of the decision.

The assassin snorted. "And what gives your opinion in the matter so much weight?" he teased with a smile.

The blonde blinked at him, confused. "Didn't I tell you?" he said softly. "The prince is my cousin."

"You're the king's nephew?" Kaden started, sitting up. He winced as he did so. That hurt. A lot.

"So you got me pardoned," he said softly, lying down. "There has to be more to the agreement than that. How can you be sure I won't just go back to the guild?"

Olwen stuck his tongue out at the assassin. "For one thing, what you've told us made it clear you hated the place with a passion," the doctor said. He seemed hesitant for a moment. "There is another part to it, though." Kaden waited. He wanted to know what kind of price came with his freedom. "You're to continue to help the guard as you had before. The king wants you to work with Jadon to fix the holes in the palace security. If one assassin can get through, another can." Kaden nodded, he had wanted to do so before. He didn't see any reason not to do so now. There would be more expected of him than that, he was sure. Jadon wasn't likely to let his knowledge of the guild go.

"And they want me to help them root out the other assassins," he said softly. He smiled as Olwen winced. "I don't mind." There was no one in the guild he'd miss, except perhaps Jariath. "Not right now though." Kaden was too tired to go traipsing through the city. He'd have to move soon enough. The prince wasn't likely to give up his bed forever.

"Not right now," Olwen agreed. He yawned again, obviously tired. The doctor looked like he hadn't been getting much sleep lately.

"You should get some sleep," Kaden suggested. There was no reason for the other man to lose sleep on his account. The doctor nodded. He rose from the stool he'd been sitting on. For a moment it seemed like the blonde was going to leave the room. He had to suppress the urge to ask the man not to go. Kaden didn't want to be left alone at the moment. Maybe the doctor sensed that, or maybe he hadn't been intending to leave at all. Instead of leaving, the blonde curled up on a couch at the corner of his vision.

"Rest," the doctor ordered before falling asleep himself. For a few moments the assassin sat watching the other man sleep and was, for once in what felt like a long while, content. It wasn't long before he fell asleep.

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"There's someone here to see you," Olwen said softly from the doorway, sounding a bit nervous. Kaden had been moved back into the doctor's ward, or more precisely, had moved himself there. Olwen had protested at every step. There was just no reason for him to be in the palace, despite the prince's assurance that it was alright. The looks he'd gotten when he walked through the palace had been amusing to say the least. He must have made quite a site- bandages wrapped around his side, weapons belt on his chest, and Olwen trailing behind him. He felt much more comfortable in his own bed though.

Setting the book he'd been reading aside, he wondered who would come to see him. Jadon had been turned away at least twice due to Olwen protesting that Kaden wasn't fit to root out any assassins at the moment. Olwen placed himself between him and the man who walked into the room. It was someone Kaden had never expected to see again. "Jariath," he smiled at the other man. "It's good to see you." Olwen relaxed a little when Jariath smiled back, though it didn't look like he trusted the other man. He knew what Jariath was.

Olwen sat down on the bed next to him while Jariath took a chair nearby, looking serious. "I'm sorry you were hurt," the man began. Kaden shook his head. He was about to claim that it was nothing, but the assassin stopped him. "You managed something no one else in the guild could have," the man said slowly. "You brought Lord Halycon down." Kaden's surprise must have shown on his face. "Yes, I knew he was a lord, and what he wanted you for." The blonde assassin paused. "He'd been after the prince for a long time, but never had a way to kill him without implicating himself. Likely, he intended to have you blamed for the murder and step in as the hero." Jariath shrugged. "In any event, it's over now. The guild is finished. Those that had wanted to get out are now free to do so. Any that remain should know that the guards will be on them soon." Kaden shrugged. There'd always been those in the guild who wouldn't want to give up.

"What about you?" he asked, curious.

The blonde assassin shrugged. "Some would probably say that I've turned traitor coming here," the man said with a smile as if he didn't really believe it. "I've wanted to get out for a long while now. I thought I'd offer my assistance to the guard, since it seemed to work so well for you." There was mischief in the man's eyes. "By the time you're up and about, most of the scum will have gotten away."

Kaden shrugged. "I'm sure Jadon would appreciate the help," he said, smiling. No doubt the guard captain would have a fit. Not one, but two assassins walking around the palace complex would be more than he could handle.

"I should let you rest," the assassin said, rising. Olwen moved aside to let the man out of the room. Kaden heard the door closing, probably Jariath leaving. He'd started to turn back to his book when the other man returned.

"Are you happy it's all over?" the blonde asked, sitting next to him.

Kaden shrugged. "From one cage to another," he said, thoughtful. He knew he could no more leave the guards than he could have left the assassins. Or at least not until after he'd finished training the guards. Looking at the other man, he realized he wouldn't leave even after that.

"Is it really that bad?" Olwen asked, leaning closer. The blonde blushed, his face only inches away.

Kaden smiled, leaning in until their lips met. "Not really," he whispered. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, staying in this gilded cage.

The End