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MADAM QUILLA PEERED into the crystal ball and colors began to swirl around inside it. “I see you with a fairy,” she said with a frown. “Her wings are melted and she’s covered in scars. You made a deal with her, but I can’t see what it was.”
Eden could neither confirm, nor deny the gypsy’s claim, but gestured for her to continue. Xiara Evora looked intrigued when the succubus snuck a glance at her.
“You’re bound by someone against your will,” the fortune teller went on, frowning at whatever she was seeing. “You hate the people you’re bonded to and you want to be free from them. This is all somehow tied together, but the fairy won’t be able to help you. Even if the holy being heals her injuries, she can’t solve your problem.”
Despair flooded through Eden at that knowledge. “So, there’s nothing I can do?” she asked.
“My prediction about your future still stands,” Madam Quilla replied. “Your tall, dark and handsome stranger is the key. You need to trust him and he’ll help you break your bonds with the people who are controlling you.”
“I can’t see how,” the succubus said doubtfully. “He doesn’t have the skills I need.”
“He knows people who do have the skills,” the seer said. “Tell him the truth about who and what you are. He needs to know what you’re capable of before he’ll realize you’re the one he’s been searching for.”
None of this made any sense to Eden, yet she found herself trusting the Night Cursed gypsy. “Will this work?” she asked, hardly daring to hope Bas could actually help her break free from the Immortal Triumvirate. “Can I be free from my bonds?”
Quilla looked into the crystal ball again and became transfixed by the images that only she could see. “You can break your bond with those you hate, but new bonds will need to take their place. This is the choice you need to make; remain as you are, living a life you despise, or risk everything in the hope that your life will improve. Both come with great risks. The danger of death if you choose to change your life is still high.”
Eden looked into the crystal ball, but it didn’t show her anything except her reflection. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to convince the tall, dark and handsome stranger to trust me when I can’t talk to him about any of this.” She made a frustrated motion with her hand to encompass the deal she’d made.
“I’ll speak to the healer,” Xiara said. “If she heals the fairy, you’ll be free to talk to this man.”
“Why are you two helping me?” the assassin asked. “I thought you would hate my kind.”
“It isn’t your fault our kind were drained and have been imprisoned in the Night Cursed District,” Ms. Evora said. “We all know who is responsible for that.”
“I hate them,” Eden said, knowing they were talking about the Immortal Triumvirate. “I wish there was a way they could be defeated.”
Madam Quilla smiled slyly as the colors swirled around in the crystal ball again. “You never know, Eden,” she said. “You just might get your wish.”
The seer and the huntress shared a chuckle that made the fine hairs on the back of Eden’s neck stand up. “Do you know what I do for a living?” the succubus asked.
“I know what you are,” the fortune teller replied serenely. “You’re an executioner, just like my bestie.”
Ms. Evora tipped her head in acknowledgement. “Welcome to the club,” she said with a smirk. “I’ve heard there’s a secret Assassin Guild. I guess the rumors are true.”
“We didn’t ask to be turned into murderers,” Eden said to the pair.
“Neither did I,” the Guardian of Nox said with a sigh. “But this is our fate. For now, anyway.”
At that cryptic remark, she took the sign out of the window and opened the door. Eden took that as her cue to leave and stood up. She nodded her thanks at the seer, then exited from the boutique. She didn’t linger to attempt to eavesdrop on the pair. Madam Quilla was far more talented than the assassin had realized. Not only could she see into the future, she could also read minds to some extent.
A letter fluttered to a stop in front of Eden’s face as she strode away from the boutique. It was yet another order to take down dissident. Her next victim was in the Fae District. He was a wizard, which meant he would live in the poorer areas. A carriage stopped for her and she asked the skeleton to take her to the suburbs near the river that divided the Fae and Vampire Districts.
When she reached her destination, the succubus climbed out. Most of the houses near the river had been abandoned. The witches and wizards had banded together for safety from the bloodsuckers who hunted them relentlessly. They stayed in groups and they were rarely alone. This was going to make it harder for her to take down her mark.
Eden walked to the address she’d been given and sensed half a dozen people inside. Their magic was weak and pitiful after being drained by the Energy Tax each year. They’d been given a reprieve a few months ago on Halloween, but they couldn’t regain the magic that had been taken from them.
Her target was surrounded and Eden couldn’t draw him away without rousing immediate suspicion. The witches and wizards would know he was under a spell as soon as he became dazed. Their senses were on high alert and they were ready for an attack that could come at any time.
She moved closer to the house and waited for her opportunity to strike. The magic users all sounded elderly, which explained why none of them were working, or were at the guildhall. They no longer had much use and remained huddled in their homes as they waited to die. Eden grimaced at that dour future. At least humans only lived for a short time in comparison to fae beings. Their misery would be over in another decade or two. She was looking at hundreds or possibly thousands of years of slavery if she didn’t break her ties to her hated overlords.
“Guild Master Onvier is up to something,” she heard her target say and started paying attention to their conversation.
“So you keep saying,” a witch said crankily. “How do you even know what’s going on in the Magic Guild? We were all forced to retire and we aren’t allowed to visit the guildhall anymore.”
“I’m in contact with people who still work there,” he retorted. “They say Onvier has been having secret meetings with the most powerful members of the Magic Guild. No one knows what goes on in his office, but we all know it’s got to be bad.”
“He can’t be worse than the Immortal Triumvirate,” another witch said with a snort. “At least Onvier can’t drain more of our magic from us. The Triumvirate have already taken care of that.”
They grumbled about their predicament for a while, then the target excused himself to go to the bathroom. Eden circled around to the far side of the house. She sent her succubus magic out to ensnare the old man when he was finished. He was too weak to resist her and she lured him outside to his death. She carried his remains to an abandoned house a few blocks away to destroy the evidence, then headed home.
Eden took a shower to wash away any traces of ash that might be clinging to her, then she settled down on her favorite chair to read. She hoped the holy person would be able to heal Padavion soon. She was eager to speak to Bas about the future the seer had foretold for them both.
