The Guild of Assassins Read Online Free Page A

was a pause.
    “Like I said. You’ll have to kill me to stop me from coming with you, Aghat Mai.” She turned and strode out of the gallery. After a moment Kyth turned and ran after her.
    “Would somebody care to tell me what all that was about?” Evan asked as their footsteps died away in the hollow stone passage.
    Raishan and Mai exchanged a glance, but kept their silence.
    “ I’ll tell you, Your Majesty,” Egey Bashi said.
    Mai shot him a warning glance, but the Keeper ignored it.
    “Do you remember, Your Majesty, how keen the Kaddim Brotherhood was to capture Prince Kythar, to ensure that his power to resist their mind control magic did not threaten their plans?”
    “Yes.” Evan felt puzzled. The explanation wasn’t going the way he expected.
    “That time, Kara was able to acquire resistance to the Kaddim. With her fighting skill, this made her a serious obstacle to the Brotherhood’s plans. As long as she remained by Prince Kythar’s side, her protection made the Prince invincible to any Kaddim attack. So, they devised a plan to remove Kara once and for all.”
    “A plan, Magister?” Evan still had no idea where this was going.
    “Yes, Your Majesty. A very devious and complex one, too. One of the Kaddim Brothers, Nimos, who was somehow able to gain very detailed knowledge about the way the Majat Guild operates, forced Kara to disobey her orders and abandon an assignment. She did it to save Prince Kythar’s life. The way it was presented to the Majat made it look as if she disobeyed her orders because of her love for the Prince. As a result, the Majat Guildmaster had no choice but to send a killer after her – Aghat Mai, who had been specially trained for the task.”
    Evan listened, captivated. He noticed Mai’s narrowed eyes, betraying emotion so uncharacteristic for his normally calm and composed bodyguard. Clearly the Keeper’s words were true – and for some reason they were affecting Mai much more than anything else he had ever observed. His skin prickled. The Majat Guild’s affairs had always been too complex for an outsider. How could the Kaddim figure them out?
    “With the help of another Guild member,” Egey Bashi went on, “Aghat Mai was successful in overtaking Kara and defeating her in battle, but he chose to disobey his orders and spare her life. He made it seem as if she were dead, but the blow he struck her with wasn’t fatal, and he was able to revive her later on. This was a violation of his assignment and the Majat Code. I believe that he is now summoned back to the Guild to pay for his disobedience. Aren’t you, Aghat Mai?”
    A long, charged glance passed between the two men.
    “Is this true, Aghat Mai?” Evan asked.
    Mai shifted from foot to foot.
    “With all due respect, Your Majesty, I fail to see the reason for this conversation.” He slid a cold glance over the Keeper. “I am being recalled by orders from our Guildmaster. The Majat Guild has sent my replacement for the Pentade to fulfill our obligations to the crown. That’s the end of it. The rest doesn’t concern you. Or the Magister, for that matter.”
    “It concerns us all very closely, Aghat Mai,” Egey Bashi said. “For a very simple reason. You and Kara are the only two Diamonds who can resist the Kaddim’s mind control powers. We are at war, and both of you are critical to our chances of winning it. If one, or both of you, go back to your Guild to be killed, in order to uphold the Majat Code, it would be a bloody waste; one that we can’t afford at the moment.”
    “Kara’s not going.”
    “Like she said, you can’t do much to stop her, Aghat. Can you?”
    Mai’s eyes darted to Raishan with an expression that, for a fleeting moment, seemed like a plea.
    Raishan shook his head. “I won’t take sides in this one, Aghat Mai. I’d hate to see either of you die, and I can’t possibly overlook the fact that with Kara’s help you do stand more of a chance.”
    “Against the entire