Read The Assassin's Tale (Isle of Dreams) for Free Online

over elven?’  Phantasm asked, running a finger experimentally down
the sword’s gleaming blade.  
    Titus fixed
Phantasm with his beady eye, ‘Elf blood are you?’ he asked sharply. 
    Phantasm shook
his head and gave a small smile.
    ‘Good,’ said
Titus.  ‘They always take offense when I recommend goblin … but it’s so much
more durable you see –’
    Mistral
quickly grew bored as Titus went on to compare the many qualities of
goblin-forged swords with the apparently lamentable failings of elven-forged
swords and wandered across the shop to peer into one of the many glass-fronted
cabinets.  Inside was a pair of straight bladed, mid-length swords. 
Slipping the catch on the cabinet, Mistral opened the door and slid her hands
around the hilt of each sword.  She lifted them out and held them up in
the air.  The weight of each sword felt perfectly balanced, the hilts
could have been moulded for her hand.  She spun them experimentally by her
side.  She had only ever used a single short-bladed knife for hunting with
and was surprised at how natural it felt to handle two much longer swords.
    ‘I’ll take
these,’ she said impulsively.
    Titus broke
off from his boring monologue to look up at her in surprise, ‘Elven,’ he
muttered under his breath and shuffled towards her.  ‘Well, I suppose they
are nicely balanced for your height and weight,’ he added slightly
reluctantly.  ‘You’ll be needed this as well –’ reaching into the depths
of the open cabinet he brought out a leather sword belt designed to be worn
across the chest with the swords stored on the wearer’s back.
    ‘Thanks,’ said
Mistral distractedly, still examining her new purchase.  ‘Can I have a
look at the throwing knives in the window too?’
    By the time
the twins managed to drag Mistral from Toothe and Nayle she had purchased the
double swords, a set of throwing knives and belt and a short-bladed
dagger.  She had spent a lot of the money in the pouch Brothertoft had
given her and was in a dither over the butterfly knives when the twins’
patience finally snapped.  They had also purchased single elven-forged
swords and throwing knives but did not share Mistral’s seemingly limitless
preoccupation with the butterfly knives.
    ‘How many
weapons does one girl need?’  Phantom asked huffily while he dragged her
bodily from the shop, still shooting covetous glances at the knives being
placed back into the cabinet in the window.
    ‘Thank
goodness that’s over!  The more elven goods we bought the more I was
convinced he was going to test one of those tacky goblin-forged swords on us!’
 Phantasm exclaimed.  ‘Right, now let’s get new clothes next.’ 
he hauled Mistral past a garish window display of middle-eastern weaponry and
into the shop next door.
    A bell tinkled
overhead when they pushed open the heavy door and stepped into another dimly
lit shop.  Mistral hadn’t seen the sign over the door but could immediately
tell they were in a shop selling nothing that interested her.  Every wall
was covered from floor to ceiling with shelves stacked high with garment upon
garment in only one colour.  Black.
    Mistral turned
in a slow circle, taking in the overpowering gloominess of the shop with
disbelieving eyes when a tinkling giggle made her jump.  Turning quickly
to look at the only piece of furniture in the room, a long granite topped
counter, Mistral couldn’t see at first who had made the noise.  As her
eyes raked the counter for a second time she saw a shadow move and realised
that there was a tiny woman stood behind the counter.  She was dressed
entirely in black and blended almost perfectly into the vast wall of black
material behind her.  Her features were small and sharp, almost
pixie-like.  She had tiny sapphire blue eyes that shone greedily as they
roved over the double image of perfection standing at her counter.
    Phantasm slid
his elbows smoothly onto the counter and smiled politely her over