A Dance In the Shadows

By F.E. Wollenbecker

Quick-witted and nimble, Rheyo has grown through the ranks of the Crimson Blade, earning a reputation for speed and dispatch as the youngest hunter in the Assassins’ Guild. Raised by The Master herself, Rheyo’s skill is unmatched, even by those with far more experience. With too many missions under his belt, yet years away from viable retirement, Rheyo is looking for a way out – and a way onward. When the chance comes his way to buy back his contract, he takes the deal even though it will mean facing the one person he never thought he would meet…

His Father.

• Language: English
• Publisher: F.E. Wollenbecker
• Release date: Mar 13, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386767701

F.E. Wollenbecker

Frank Wollenbecker Jr. was born and raised on the East side Toledo Ohio. He fell in love with fantasy stories by watching movies in the sword and sorcery genre. His two greatest influences are. Robert Jordan and Robert E. Howard.

Book preview

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to everybody who liked my first book.

All of you gave me the courage to try again.

TABLE OF CONTENT

DEDICATION

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 1

Rheyo crouched on his heels in silence while he watched the sun come up. He had been there all day and night. That was no easy task for a nine-year-old boy.

It’s over.

His master, an aging woman who had more gray hairs than black and a foul temper that seemed to sour more each time a strand lost its color, turned to him.

What’s over? she asked.

The night’s training.

She jumped to her feet, Nothing’s over. It’s time to run.

Let me get some blood running through my legs.

Now, or it’s another day and night on your knees, she shouted over her shoulder, already yards ahead.

Rheyo sat in the closet watching the window. He had been there half the night. He gave a silent word of thanks for the training his master had given him. She had always told him, ‘An assassin will die in the one situation they never trained for,’ Kneeling for days on end had served him well over the last five years since becoming a full assassin at fifteen. He had killed his third noble the previous year. This had earned him the rank of hunter. Hunter's were the highest paid rank among the solders because they killed other assassins.

His patience was rewarded when he saw the bedroom door open. Claudia Stonehaven trudged into the room. Rheyo heard a sob escape her. She knelt beside her husbands bed. She looked like a grieving widow.

Rheyo choked back a sob of his own.

Claudia took s shuddering breath. You can come out. You won't wake him. He sleeps like the dead.

Rheyo got to his feet, removed the dart from his blowgun and palmed it.

What's in the dart?

Stone-snake venom.

Do you use it often?

Only when I think the recipient might have something to confess before they die.

Claudia looked up at him, her cheeks were still wet though her red eyes had stopped crying. I asked the Lilly to let me die in his place. They told me if I killed myself, They'd kill him just for spite.

But if I kill you?

Then I simply failed.

With no further adieu, Rheyo stuck the needle in Claudia's back. Stonesnake venom was far from painless,

Claudia's scream was more than enough to make Devin Stonehaven sit bolt upright, What’s going on?

Rheyo laid her limp, paralyzed body on the floor You have five minutes to live and three before you’re no longer able to talk. I’m going to leave you two alone to say what you need to.

She nodded.

He left the soon-to-be widowed man with his soon-to-be deceased wife. Devin Stonehaven was in no danger and he thought Claudia had the right to be honest with her husband before she passed into the void. Nobody was ever more honest than just before they took their last breath.

The commotion roused the entire house and a runner was sent to fetch Devin’s son Marcus while Rheyo started boiling a kettle. Healing and tea were the two things at which all poisoners excelled. He has a special blend designed to calm the nerves then to cause drowsiness within an hour of consumption. He kept a tin on hand for this very occasion. This blend also acted as an intoxicant that loosened the tongue in concentrated form.

Marcus burst through the kitchen door. He was a younger, less weathered version of his father. Both men were tall, dark of hair and eyes with broad shoulders and square jaws. Where is my father? Is he safe? he gasped.

Rheyo scooped some of the dried leaves into two cups.He’s safe. That's what you paid me for. But He's also grieving. His wife just died, She was of the black Lilly.

Marcus punched his hand. I knew it. Where is he? I need to see him, Marcus demanded again.

Rheyo pointed at a chair. No, you don’t. Have a seat.

Marcus put his face nose to nose with Rheyo's My father needs me.

Rheyo quieted his voice, That’s right. He needs his son and he needs a shoulder to cry on. Do you know what he doesn’t need? He does not need to hear ‘I told you so. Her guild was happy to let him die of natural causes and collecting a quarter of her inheritance until they got wind of her feelings for him. We have a rule about falling in love. We have to kill our darlings. That is why she was ordered to kill your father."

Marcus swallowed hard, I understand.

Go to him and do something about your breath.

The kettle was boiling as the father and son entered the kitchen. The old man locked eyes with Rheyo, She recounted the exact moment she fell in love with me. Was she lying?

In my experience, I have found that almost no one is willing to let their last words be anything but the whole truth.

I’m old. Why didn’t you let Claudia kill me?

I’m not paid to make moral decisions. I leave that to those who hire me.

Rheyo had his things gathered and was on his way to collect his horse mere minutes after leaving the kitchen. It was an assassin’s duty to appear cold and unconcerned, but the night gave him the cover to let his tears fall freely. With his horse saddled and bags packed, he rode hard into the darkness.

After a week of uneventful travel, Rheyo made it to Kage Village. Home not-so sweet home. In a village of assassins, the only shopkeepers who were those who were lucky enough to live to see old age. One trader who looked old enough to make a mountain seem young called out, Oi, Rheyo! Who was it?

The wife.

Cute?

Beautiful.

The old man shook his head, It’s always the pretty ones.

Always.

Master wants to see you.

She can bloody wait.

Just because she raised you, don’t mean she won’t skin you.

She wouldn’t dare. I make that old biddy too much money.

A woman's voice spoke from just out of Rheyo's line of sight. Old biddy?

Rheyo knew from the sharp