Read Online Assassin's Curse by Debra L Martin, David W Small - Free Book Online Page A

for the masters, Mave began tracking him to the south.   He was confident that Jeda could not get very far even with a four-day head start.   It would be impossible for him to travel very fast with two young infants in tow.    
    ***
    Jeda looked around at the small village and silently cursed Miriam again.  
    Damn, this sucks.   Years of putting up with the shit that bastard Mave heaped on me, years that I took everything he dished out, years that I took it and prevailed, all for nothing.   He thought he could beat me down, but that never happened.   I took everything he dished out and more.   Couple more years and I would have been better at anything he did; I just needed a little more time.   
    That damn witch did this to me.   The masters warned me about her, but I was too cocky.   I felt the wrongness before I ever entered that room.   Damn, what was wrong with me?   Why didn’t I listen to myself?  
    Jeda vaguely remembered Miriam’s instructions, but why she had told him to go south and look for village healers was beyond his comprehension.   The first village he came to had an old crone who took one look at him and the children and literally turned him out.
    “I ain’t in no position to help the likes of you and I ain’t never heard of no witch named Miriam,” the decrepit old healer spat at him.   “Get on your way and leave an old woman to her sleep.”
    The fact that Jeda had awakened the old woman well past the middle of the night probably didn’t help his cause, but he had always thought the village healers to be compassionate to the poor and needy.   Having him show up so late at her doorstep with two babies strapped to his body sure seemed needy enough to him.   Unfortunately, that was not the case with this healer and she slammed the door in his face.   Jeda momentarily thought to break down the door and show the old woman what it meant to be disrespectful to a guild assassin, but that thought lasted only a second when he realized a low profile meant leaving no dead bodies in his wake.   He knew he would be followed, but why make it easy for the guild to pick up his trail?
    He turned from the old crone’s door to survey the tiny village, looking for shelter where the babies and he could sleep for the night.   He spotted an old, ramshackle barn that would afford some cover for them and headed off in that direction.
    That bitch.   How stupid can a witch be?   I don’t know jack shit about taking care of babies, but now, whenever I look at them, I have these feelings.   Soft feelings, like I want to take care of them.   It’s all bullshit, but I can’t help myself.   I have to take care of them, protect them, and make sure they grow up straight and true.   What in hell’s name does that even mean anyway?
    At least you two are still sleeping , he thought, checking the papooses tied to his front and back.   As if on cue, they began to fuss.
    “You must be kidding me,” Jeda mumbled, struggling to get the milk he had purchased at the market out of his traveling bag.    
    “Looks like you have your hands full there.”
    Jeda twirled around to face the speaker, dropping the sack of supplies as two fighting knives fell into his hands from the hidden sheaths under the sleeves of his jacket.
    “Whoa there,” the woman said, stepping back. She held her hands up while still holding her water buckets.   “Don’t mean you no harm.   I was just out getting some fresh water from the well.”
    “What are you doing out in the middle of the night?” Jeda asked the woman, looking around for any others that might be with her.  
    “Name’s Clara and I’m the baker for this village,” the woman explained.   “Folks ‘round here get up early and want bread soon as they’re up.   That means I have to get up even earlier to get it ready for them.”
    “Baker, huh?” Jeda asked, looking at the two empty water buckets the woman held.
    “Yes, I don’t mean no harm to you