First Chapters: Assassin, Not by Carlie Simonsen

Assassin, Not is a tale of choices and sacrifice, set in a fantasy kingdom. Blade is a young man, born of a long line of assassins. Placed in training at a young age, he has no choice but to take on the trade of his father, and his grandfather before him… or does he?

When Blade is assigned an assassination he does not really want to complete, he believes he has no choice. Deciding if he finds something else to be, before his dagger falls, he prepares to take down the youngest Lord Forester in the city. When a second assassin appears, and options unfold, Blade must step lightly and with speed. With a disgruntled patron on his heels, the only question is can he move quickly enough to stay one step ahead of his own.

Assassin, Not is a fantasy tale set in a land of magic and intrigue. It is currently available from Smashwords and Amazon Kindle, and will soon be available from , Nook, the iTunes bookstore, and Kobobooks.

First Chapter: Assassin, Not

The Target by the Fountain

The dark-clad figure smoothed his hair with the licked palm of his hand. It was a nervous gesture. He didn’t need to do it. It just made him feel better.

He hefted the weight of the dagger in his right hand and eyed his target moving across the street.

‘Now,’ he thought, ‘wouldn’t it be just sweet if the messenger isn’t in place?’

It wasn’t a question, just a thought reflecting his nervousness as he drew back the blade. He waited as someone walked in front of the yellow-haired youth who was destined to wear the knife.

It wouldn’t take a moment. The youth moved restlessly in front of the fountain. He was waiting for someone, just as he had waited for her every afternoon of the last month.

She was late. The watching figure had made sure of that. He had been well paid to do so. This was meant to be a warning; the girl was off-limits.

The watcher waited a moment longer, waited until another innocent had walked past, then flung the blade across the square. It was a good throw; his aim had been true.

The knife flew cleanly through the air and embedded itself into the blonde youth’s leg. The watcher was pleased; the throw had been a difficult one.

‘Hurt, not harm,’ his employer had said, ‘I don’t want him damaged too badly. His family are friends I can’t afford to lose.’

Which was precisely why the message a street urchin had dropped in front of the youth was magicked to disappear in a burst of flame as soon as it had been read.

The watcher waited until the youth had grasped the scrolled parchment and pulled it open. He saw the sweat beading down the youth’s face as what was written on the parchment sank home.

He waited until he saw the parchment flare and heard the youth’s startled cry of alarm, then he slipped quietly down the alley he had been hiding in.

He regretted the loss of the knife, but knew very little could be traced from it by magic. He hadn’t owned it long enough for his aura to have worn onto hilt or blade, so no-one would be able to find him that way.

He began to whistle as he turned out of the alley into Peddler’s Road. All in all, it had been a very good day.

END CHAPTER

If you would like to read more, Assassin, Not is currently available from Smashwords and Amazon Kindle, and will soon be available from , Nook, the iTunes bookstore, and Kobobooks.