Excerpt Thursday: GHOST IN THE STONE

It’s Excerpt Thursday! This week’s excerpt is from GHOST IN THE STONE.

###

And then Caina ran past a pillar and saw the assassin.

He knelt before the railing, a short black bow resting in his hands, the ends coming to sharp curves. It was a Kagari horse bow, capable of flinging an arrow with enough force to punch through steel plate. The assassin drew back the string, the bow creaking…

Caina lunged forward and cut the bowstring. The string snapped, one end drawing a line of blood across the assassin’s jaw. She reversed her dagger, hoping to land a stunning blow on the assassin. With luck, she could take him captive and discover who had hired the Kindred to kill Lord Corbould.

But the assassin whirled, throwing aside his bow and yanking a dagger from his belt. Caina jerked back, the tip of the dagger brushing against the front of her dress. Another half-inch and he would have opened her belly. He came at her, dagger flashing, and Caina backed away. She considered screaming – any Guards seeing the fight would see a man attacking a woman and come to her aid. But the assassin had already killed the nearest Imperial Guard, and Caina doubted she could scream loudly enough for anyone to hear her over the cheering crowd.

So she let her left heel pin the hem of her skirt. The cloth jerked against her legs, and she lost her balance and fell. The assassin grinned, leaving himself open as he raised his dagger to plunge into her chest.

But as she fell, Caina snatched a throwing knife from her sleeve and flung it. The blade buried itself in the assassin’s left thigh. The man stumbled to one knee with a cry of pain, and Caina rolled to the side as the point of his dagger scraped against the floor. Her boot came up and slammed against the handle of the throwing knife in his leg, and the Kindred assassin snarled in pain. Caina snatched her dagger and scrambled back to her feet, dodging a hasty slash from the assassin.

They faced each other, the cheers still ringing out from the floor of the Basilica.

“Who hired you?” said Caina. “Tell me and I’ll let you live.”

The Kindred assassin sneered. “Put down that dagger and run, or you’ll wish that I had killed you.”

“No,” said Caina.

The Kindred took a step forward. “You aren’t strong enough to kill me.”

Caina shrugged. “I only need wait until you bleed out from that knife in your leg. Or until the poison on the blade takes effect.”

The assassin glanced at the knife.

It only distracted him for a half a second, but it was long enough. Caina sprang forward, her dagger flashing. Her blade opened the assassin’s arm from wrist to elbow, and the man growled in pain, dagger falling from his hands. He lunged at her, hands reaching for her throat, and Caina slammed her dagger between his ribs. The assassin went rigid, teeth peeling back from his lips in a snarl.

“Damn it,” muttered Caina.

She had wanted to take the assassin alive.

-JM