Read Assassin's Curse for Free Online Page B

had happened, her plans would have to change.   She had to stay alive long enough to get the girls somewhere safe and she sadly realized where that one place would be.   The one place near enough that would afford the safety and guidance the girls needed.   The one place she promised Tommy that she would never send them; the witch’s coven at Constantine.  
    I’m so sorry, Tommy.   I have no choice.
    Miriam moaned in pain, pulling herself up from the bed.   She nearly fell when she reached for the crib where the two girls were sleeping.   She hung her head down for a moment, trying to gather her strength for her last task in this world.  
    “Argh.”
    Her head whipped around at the sound behind her and she readied herself for another attack.   She stood transfixed, ready to attack when she realized the moan came from the fallen assassin.   As she was about to strike, a shaft of moonlight pierced the window and shone down on the assassin’s face.  
    Miriam inhaled sharply.   “Tommy,” she cried, “is that you?”
    Frantic thoughts whirled through her mind as she stumbled over to the downed man.   She fell to his side and cupped his face in her hands.   “Tommy, oh gods, it is you.   What have I done?”
    Jeda groaned again, shifting slightly on the floor.   His movement allowed Miriam the chance to notice the subtle differences in his face and body from that of her beloved Tomas.  
    How can this be ? she thought.   He looks just like him.
    She released his face and struggled to catch her breath.   The floorboards echoed with a hollow thud as the look-alike’s head smacked against the wooden boards.   He groaned with pain as he regained consciousness.  
    “Who are you?” Miriam demanded as soon as she saw him open an eye.  
    Jeda tried to move and was shocked that his body still refused to respond.   The witch’s attack had effectively paralyzed him from the neck down.   All he could do was watch while she looked at him, studying him as if he were a cat’s trophy dragged in from the alley.   He said nothing to her, knowing his life was forfeit.   He would at least die with his honor intact, the silent honor of a guild assassin.
    “I asked you a question,” she demanded, “and I won’t ask again.”
    Jeda lay unmoving, staring at her, stoically waiting for the end.
    “Your life is mine,” Miriam said, shaking her head, still amazed that he had survived her initial attack, “though you won’t remain alive for long unless you start talking.”
    Jeda felt tingling in his fingers and realized the feeling was slowly returning to the rest of his body.   It should not be long before he could move again.   He simply had to play along with the crazy witch and wait for another opportunity to finish what he came here to do.  
    “My name is Jeda.”
    “Jeda,” Miriam said thoughtfully, something in the name sparking an old memory.
    She searched back through the years of her memory, trying desperately to put the pieces of the puzzle together through her pain.   Why did this killer look like Tomas?   Where did he come from?   Who was his family?   After a few moments, she thought there could only be one reason for this strange man, who looked so much like Tommy, and whom she felt she somehow knew, to be laying in front of her.   It gave her an idea for a change to her plans, but she had to be sure before she acted.   She grimaced and clutched her stomach, trying to stem the flow of blood.  
    “Do you know why you were hired to kill me?” she asked.
    Jeda looked at his knife sticking in her and judged from the angle that the wound was fatal and she did not have long to live.   All he need do was wait.
    “We don’t ask for reasons when we accept assignments,” Jeda replied, “just payment.”
    This gave Miriam a moment’s pause.   She looked at Jeda again and saw him for what he was, a cold-blooded killer with no feelings or remorse.   How could she think to use this