In Enemy Territory - Shannon West Page 0,3

Court here on Tygeria. It was thought at first he’d died of natural causes, but I’ve just learned the autopsy revealed a poison not found on this planet, and one of his newly hired household staff members—who was from the planet where that poison originates—has gone missing. The investigators believe that he was a paid killer from a new group who call themselves the Assassins’ Order. They’ve been killing advisors, diplomats, judges—we even suspect them in the death of the Balotan King a half cycle ago.”

“But Justice Callozz was an old man, wasn’t he? And retired? How could he be considered a threat?”

“It seems to be a new phase of the assassinations. Last month the target was the mate of one of the advisors to Lycanus. By hitting these more vulnerable targets, perhaps they think they can demoralize and frighten us.”

“Is that their goal?”

“We’re not sure of their goals. They don’t advertise or brag about their murders, so it took us a while to identify the pattern, and it’s hard to get any information on the assassins themselves. Only two have been caught, both of whom committed suicide in their cells.”

“Are they affiliated with ARes?”

“No, we don’t think so, though anything is possible. We just don’t know enough about them yet to make an assessment. They’re getting bolder though. This is the first murder on Tygerian soil, and I want to make sure it’s the last.”

“Go to your meeting, and we can talk later this evening.”

He nodded and went to the door, turning to smile at Blake. “Am I forgiven then for speaking harshly to you? I really am sorry.”

“You’re forgiven, darling.”

“For the next few days, until we get a handle on this thing, be sure to go out only with your bodyguards. Remind Nicarr too.”

“All right, if you think it’s important.” He glanced up into Mikos’s eyes. “Are you worried about our safety, Mikos?”

“No, omak. Not really. It’s only an overabundance of caution, that’s all.” He held up his crossed fingers for Blake to see. “For luck, like you taught us, though I don’t think you’ll need it. We’ve informed your bodyguards, so just follow your normal routine and be aware of your surroundings. If a person you don’t know or aren’t familiar with comes up to you, consider them a threat until proven otherwise. That shouldn’t happen, of course. Father and I will get to the bottom of this, but be careful. I have to go now, so we’ll talk more tonight.”

Blake nodded and Mikos left the room, but Blake still felt uneasy. He glanced over at the baby in his crib, sound asleep and tucked away. He wished he had it in his power to keep all his children as safe as Rakkur was now. Not to mention Davos himself. It occurred to him to wonder if Mikos’s crossed fingers had really been for luck, or for the little white lie he’d just told Blake about his safety to make him feel better. His children had learned both uses of crossing your fingers—for luck and to hide an untruth. Neither of those were much of a comfort to Blake in the least.

Chapter Two

Meanwhile...on the faraway planet of Laltana…

Colonel Kylon Bonnett was idling at his desk, flipping through the latest dispatches from Tygeria and trying to stay cool by sitting in front of an old-fashioned air-blowing device. He missed the lovely cool, damp weather on Tygeria, and all this bright sunlight on Laltana was beginning to get on his nerves. The device in front of him did little except stir the overheated air around a bit; in fact, this planet was as hot as fried hell—the lowest level of hell, that is, where the cowards and heretics were burned over the fiery pit.

That’s what the priests said anyway, though, like his Lycan omak, Kylon had never put much stock in anything the priests had to offer, though his omak really meant Tygerian priests. Kylon didn’t admire the Lycan religion either, with its murky moral teachings and vast pantheon of violent moon gods and goddesses.

His other father Taz wasn’t overly religious himself, though he did attend temple services, as befitted a high-ranking member of the Tygerian Senate. When Kylon had been a child, his father made him accompany him to temple on occasion, and this was the only reason Kylon knew anything at all about the complicated Tygerian religion.

Taz always said, a bit self-righteously, that he felt it was his duty to expose Kylon to some religious education, since