The capital never sleeps in the red-light district, the ugly and violent side of this city. The whorehouses open up, their patrons walking in to have some casual fun or to drown in ecstasy while their moans fill the air. Workers call out to potential customers, eyeing their wallets for a good payday.

  But the district holds a sinister secret. Behind every alleyway and building. The dreads of society make their deals. They exchange contraband or deal in names they want dead. The council doesn’t do anything to drive the criminals out, nor do they want to.

  Despite their well-known illegal activities, crime is a source of business that makes a good amount of coin. It is also a good way to keep the other criminals in check. If they get too unruly, the Empire’s army will send their soldiers in to clean it out. They can either work with us and keep their operations or be forcibly removed. The only thing they need to do is pay the Empire in taxes and be a well-oiled machine if anyone wishes to continue operations in the area. No one wants to change the status quo, civilian or criminal.

  I hope this plan works. If Hacket is right about their aid, then we’ll be in the green. But if they are not willing to help, we are back to the drawing board. In the end, I never want to work with criminals, but I doubt I have a choice in the matter when my home is threatened. Compromises are necessary if we are to win this war.

  ‘You’re sure this is a good idea?’ Henson says to me, staring blankly at the “Naked Beauties” sign.

  ‘We need every man and woman who is capable of fighting in a war. It just so happens they are scum.’

  Huson rolls his eyes. ‘This is stupid and you know it. For all we know, we might have a bounty on our heads. Who says we can trust them?’

  I gesture to Huson to follow me into the brothel. ‘I have a feeling they are more trusting than the council, perhaps even smarter.’

  The building is dimly lit under crimson candlelight. Some doors are closed with sounds of moans and soft groans emanate from there. While some barely clothed men and women casually wait by their rooms as they suggestively look at Huson and I, Huson seems to be flustered at the half-naked men who eye him as soon as he enters the facility.

  A guard walks up to us, suspicious that we haven’t entered a room already. ‘State your business, or get out!’ He sternly says to us.

  I hand him a piece of paper with an army seal on it. He reads it before he escorts us to the second floor of the building.

  I don’t trust this place or the people here. The closer we get to meeting this mysterious figure Hacket put down in the list of contacts, the more uneasy the mission becomes. For a place that promotes itself as a house of lust, it reeks of death.

  We enter a room to see a woman relaxing on her couch, smoking a cigarette with two heavily armed guards standing at either side of her. Her skin is pale and fine, her hair pitch black, and her nails coated with ash. She looks old and sickly, her skin sunken into her cheeks. She is in charge of the Assassins Guild of this island. Death Adders, that is what everyone calls them. If I have to guess her age, she must well be over 120.

  No one knows her name or how old she truly is. Though everyone calls her by her title, The Silencer. There are stories of her fighting the dodads in Ishtu and even taking some contracts to kill some political leaders in Ocinia and Rafica. Whether they are true or not is up for debate, but I will not be shocked if they are involved in one way or the other.

  Though she may not be the only name Hacket has given me who can deliver these sorts of unsavoury services. If I have her join my cause, everything will be okay. And I doubt she will appreciate the idea of me hiring her only for me to hire her competition soon after. To keep myself alive, it is best to stick to one group of killers.

  She looks at me with a hateful gaze. ‘What brought you here, General?’ She says in a raspy voice, like every word she spoke could be her last.

  ‘I was told to come to you, to make a deal of some sort.’ I reply, doing my best not to be intimidated by her guards as they rest their hands on their weapons.

  The black-haired woman glances at Huson. She speaks a language I recognise as Thesian. They exchange words, and it seems Huson is uncomfortable talking to her. I can barely understand or even know what they are saying, but I can tell that whatever she says. I can safely assume it is a threat of some kind.

  She clicks her fingers, ‘tell me, General, why do you need my services?’

  ‘I need you to kill the leader of the Dogs, their rebellious king. It is paramount that he dies for this Empire to succeed.’ I say to her, I don’t want to waste her time, nor do I want to share pleasantries.

  She raises a brow. ‘You want us to kill a rebel of the Empire? I thought this was a civil war?’

  ‘A slip of the tongue.’ I recompose myself. That is too close, and I shouldn’t make that mistake again so casually. ‘Either way, he is a threat I want gone.’

  ‘I see, he is also an unusual target. We typically don’t take on contracts to kill people during war time or when they lead armies. A lot could go wrong and they often do. Why should I help you?’

  ‘You’ll be paid in full.’ I respond as soon as she finishes her sentence. ‘I can imagine the price for his head will be… costly. But I can assure you that you’ll be paid handsomely if you get the job done.’

  She looks at her guards and nods to the one to her left. She turns back to me, letting out an audible groan. ‘We won’t take your contract, General. This is your war to deal with, not ours, now can you kindly…’

  ‘No.’ I interrupt.

  She looks at me with a burning gaze, her guards gripping their weapons, ready to strike. Huson rests his hand on his sword as well.

  ‘Careful how you approach this, General. No one will know if you disappear from my premises if you decide to make the wrong move.’

  ‘Then let me rephrase my offer. The Dogs are our mutual enemy; they won’t stop till they butcher every last Cinari from the face of this island. They cannot be dealt with whores or gold, nor can they be reasoned with. But I can see reason. You can’t put your faith in beasts when they intend to mount your head on a stick.’ I pull out a letter about everything I know about Marak and pass it to one of her guards. ‘You’ll be paid, granted if you succeed.’

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  The woman leans forward. ‘And if we fail or decline?’

  ‘I’ll find a different guild that’ll take the job. You are not the only person I have the name of who offers death as a service.’ I snap back, establishing my authority. ‘If you are as good as people say you are, prove it. Kill Marak, and report back to me.’

  ‘Darling, what makes you think we will work for you? From where I sit, you are just a desperate man trying to remove a problem caused by your Empire.’

  Really? My Empire? She thinks it is just my problem? ‘I am a man of action. Sometimes we have to take measures that are frowned upon by the ignorant and the fool.’

  ‘Ignorant?’

  ‘Call it desperate all you want. But from where I sit, I like to use every resource I have at my disposal. It is also in your interests to kill the King of the Dogs.’

  ‘Why would it be in my interests?’

  ‘If he wins? In a business sense, you will lose everything. Your employees will be slaughtered to the last, your prostitutes will work for free, and you won’t get a single cut. Information about the Dog occupation of the South is sparse, but we know enough to confirm that they will do everything to tear your operations apart and whatever foothold you may have on this island. Marak and his kind will not work with you, they do not care what you offer to them. Which comes back to me, I am not ideal but I am a familiar sort of customer. Why work with a devil you don’t know compared to the devil you do?’

  The woman looks at the guard on her left, and they nod to her. She then turns to face me with a smirk. ‘Killing a leader isn’t going to be easy. How about another offer? If we fail, and that is a big if. You keep us employed, with a daily salary and access to supplies.’

  ‘Why would I do that?’ I question her. While I doubt they will fail me and my task, their services could help me take on the Dog threat.

  Though I doubt a guild of assassins will make good foot soldiers. Nor will I be giving them any easy postings. I need to make them know and understand that failure to kill Marak should be a form of punishment, not a luxury.

  However, it doesn’t answer the question of why they are offering to stay employed. This could mean that they are using this opportunity to train up their group of thugs and murderers. I can ask them, but I think it will be best if I don’t know. The deeper I am into assassins' business, the more I am in debt to them.

  ‘We are trained killers, we are better equipped than any soldier in your service. Our expertise and craftsmanship of death is what made us legendary and feared all around the world.’

  ‘But not good soldiers.’

  She laughs. ‘Not by your standards, but we are good at what we do. So, if we fail to kill this Marak. You will hire us as soldiers to fight alongside you in this war.’

  I pause for a moment, making it seem I am considering her proposal. ‘Okay, I can accept that deal. But on one condition.’

  She smiles. ‘Outline it for me, General.’

  ‘Your people will be posted to defend the Lance Mountain Range.’

  Her smile fades to a bitter snarl. ‘That is one hell of a posting. You know you are telling me and my assassins to defend an indefensible region?’

  ‘Further motivation to not fail your task. You call yourselves the best, you say you can kill him. First, you hesitate, and now you agree with the contract but with a strange caveat. Sounds like you are more desperate than I.’

  The woman faintly waves her hand dismissively. It seems I got under her skin, but she won’t admit it. ‘My line of work requires me to leave every door open. I don’t want to send my agents out without knowing what I am dealing with.’

  ‘Then you should know I expect the best from you.’

  She reaches across her table and grabs a long needle. ‘You see this? This is doused in the venom of a bluefin pufferfish. Once injected into the bloodstream, the victim will hallucinate their loved ones and share whatever secret they have, meanwhile their bodies will struggle to hold themselves together before tearing themselves apart. General, you make it sound like we are incompetent when, in actuality, we have everything under our disposal to kill even the largest dodad or qwell. All you need to do is point to whoever needs to die.’

  ‘I laid out what I desire from this contract. I want someone dead; they should be dead. No excuses, none! If you can also get information about their military plans, I will provide a hefty bonus. But remember, my posting to defend a mountain range will be suitable for those who failed me. You’ll get your supplies and resources, and you will stay employed. But I won’t make it easy. That is my promise to you, and an expectation that you follow the reputation you made for yourselves. Now, what do you say? Call it a deal?’ I reach my hand out to finalise our agreement.

  She looks at her guard again, they nod to her, and she shakes my hand. ‘It will be done, General. As soon as he enters the north, he’ll be as good as dead.’

  ‘That is all I ask of you. Get ready and get it done. You’ll be provided false maps of the area of operation and whatever logistical resource you require. Just speak to Huson or I if you have any queries.’ I reply to her before I walk out of the building.

  Once we are out of earshot, Huson smiles at me as he finally gets to relax, as the tension finally dissipates. ‘You are a new kind of crazy.’

  ‘This war is making everyone crazy. I just embraced the madness.’ I awkwardly joke before patting his back. Still shaken by the ordeal.

  This time, we have a reliable ally. If they manage to kill Marak, the war is essentially over, and thousands of lives will be spared. But if they fail, the backdoor to the capital will be under guard. The meeting went as well as I thought, far better than I thought. Let’s just hope they can hold their end of the bargain.