Assassin of Curses: (The Coren Hart Chronicles Book 3) by Jessie Eaker (best novels in english TXT) 📕

I decided a talk with Spraggel might be in order. Cabrina was not acting like any of the few Dark Avenyts I had encountered.

I turned to Zofie and checked that she was warm enough. My movement must have disturbed Fumiko, because she opened her eyes and sat up, quickly taking in her surroundings. She yawned.

“Is Zofie all right?” she asked.

I nodded and squatted beside her. “She hasn’t changed. I just keep checking to make sure she isn’t too hot or too cold. I’ve been changing her position about every quarter-hour.”

She nodded and yawned again.

I looked down. “Thank you again for saving us. You really are skilled. You were fantastic back there.”

She looked up at me a moment—her face unreadable. “And you are terrible. We’re going to have to do something about your skills before you get us all killed. As her knight, you’re supposed to be responsible for protecting the princess.”

I looked down. “I know. I thought I had gotten a little better. In time, I will catch up.”

She squinted at me. “Time is something we don’t have.”

I got a little miffed, my voice rising. “And how am I supposed to change that? I practice every day. I’m doing the best I can.”

Fumiko considered me for a moment. “The best you can do is not good enough.”

I frowned in disgust. “Then what am I supposed to do?”

Fumiko looked at me levelly. “We’re going to have to cheat.”

CHAPTER NINE

A Lesson

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We made good progress up the river and arrived in Dunomhir in only five days. To save time, as well as maintain our security, we slept on the boat and only went ashore for supplies. Thankfully we did not see any more of Lilith or Wort, but I was afraid that was only temporary.

It was late afternoon when we stepped off the barge, so we sought out an inn to pass the evening. There had been little to do while traveling other than sit. But it was tiring none the less. Not only did we have to stay alert for any sign of pursuit, but there was also the need to keep a constant eye on both Zofie and Cabrina. Zofie to make sure she was warm, fed, and had her other needs taken care of. And Cabrina to make sure she didn’t fall out of the boat while examining a leaf in the water.

The bargemaster recommended the Thirsty Boar, one of the few inns still open in the town. Dunomhir was smaller than Iron Landing and had done even worse under Wynn’s rule. It had gotten so bad that open rebellion had broken out, which was put down with the full might of the royal army. The evidence was in the several burned-out buildings we passed as we made our way into town.

The inn itself had seen better days, but the proprietor was delighted just to have customers and did his best to make us welcome. We later learned we were his first overnight guests in a week, and only a few locals would buy his admittedly heavily watered ale.

Rooms presented a minor problem. I didn’t trust Fumiko to be alone with Cabrina, and I needed Fumiko’s help with Zofie. Plus, both of us had to keep an eye on the Dark Avenyts.

So we decided to let Spraggel have his own since he snored worse than a storm in high summer. For the others, Fumiko and I thought it best if the rest of us stayed together. Although it meant I slept on the floor again.

After Zofie was bedded down and Cabrina sound asleep, Fumiko came to me as I knelt on the floor arranging my blankets.

“Coren, may I speak with you for a moment.”

I looked up at her, puzzled at her unusual formality. She knelt across from me, her expression one of resignation. The room’s single myst lantern shed a dim light, leaving the room cast in shadows. One fell across Fumiko’s face only partially illuminating it and giving her eyes a strange sparkle.

While I tried not to notice, Fumiko was really an attractive woman. I had seen her draw the eye of many a young man. Rourke himself was proof of that. But she ignored the attention. The fact she rarely smiled spoke to something in her past that had hardened her heart. I couldn’t help but wonder what tragedy had caused it.

She sat back on her heels, back perfectly straight, and put her hands in her lap. “Coren, I have been thinking of how to quickly improve your fighting skills. While they will work against an untrained attacker, they are...” she searched for the right word. “Insufficient to protect against someone of medium skill, and especially against the princess’s cousin.”

I sighed. “I know. Before Risten was possessed, she told me the same thing. I’ve been practicing, but I don’t know what else to do?” I hung my head. “Maybe we should find someone that can better protect her.”

Fumiko took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “There is a way to quickly get the skills you need.”

My eyes went wide. “How?”

She licked her lips, looking very uncomfortable. “There is a technique to speed up your training. It is a closely guarded secret and requires a significant amount of myst to do it. But I was trained in its use. However...” She paused, searching my eyes. “It is forbidden.”

I gave her a puzzled look. “Forbidden? You mean as in not a good idea, or forbidden as in you’ll be hanged?”

She gazed at me levelly. “Both. Not only are there risks with the process, but it is also forbidden by the Council of Sages. They have the power to execute anyone caught using it.”

I leaned forward. “And what is this secret technique? How could it possibly help me?”