To Catch An Assassin- Part Three

by Willow

So Emerald now knows Lusiphur, to some degree, and Par's telling him this might not be such a good idea... and he's right... for by the twitching of my thumbs....

Em slept quietly in her inn room, still too drunk to give a damn about anything. And far too drunk to dream. She appreciated this, have dreamt all too much.

The next morning, well, late the next morning, Emerald woke up happily. She really enjoyed a good night's sleep. It was, however, addictive. But a lot more fun than staying out all night when one is already flaming drunk and not likely to find another tavern.She went through her knives and made sure they were all sharp, and by the time she was done with that, it was dark.

"Hmmm," Emerald thought. "What to do tonight...?" She reviewed her options. She could go get drunk again, possibly hurt someone. She could work on getting into Sanctuary, but that was fairly far down on her list. She could, of course, just go annoy the police, which she was good at, but she couldn't think of any really good way to jerk their chains. "I think I'll take door number two." Em had decided to follow the police.


Jace's ears were laid back. He was sick of this bull-shit, but Vido wasn't catching on. So he was stuck listening to that...weirdo. He yawned, then blinked, ears coming straight up,disbelieving what he was hearing.

"...was good, but not enough... they want one alive. I can't wait." Jace blinked again, surprised. "The best part is," the dark heaired lieutenant said, "is that not only do they have an undercover person working for me on this, but also we can stop them before the kill."

"If we can catch them," Jace pointed out.

"Yes, well..."


Fleece was nervous about going out on assignment in Mandratha, after what had happened to Cassy. But a job was a job, and his job was to just do it. So out into the night he went. To his surprise, everything went smoothly. He was just about to leave, when he heard a shout, and a arrow zipped by his head.

Aw crow! he thought, looking down, as he dodged the arrow, barely. If that shot had been one inch to the left.... He darted to one side, and reached for the chain of the ankh. Nothing. "SHIT!" He had to lose them, and quick.

Em saw a sparkle fall to the ground as the assassin escaped. The cops didn't notice it, any more than they noticed her, and as they chased after the male assassin, (hopelessly in her opinion) she sauntered over to see what it was. A simple, and fairly pretty inverted ankh hung from a delicate chain. It looked like it had fallen off, as the chain was intact. Grinning, she scooped it up and looped it around her neck, tucking it underneath her shirt. "Here's to good luck, may some of it find me!" She wandered away to find a good bar.

Fleece lost the cops, without killing any of them. He felt rather proud of himself, if a bit put out. "How did they know where I was gonna be?" he wondered as he climbed cautiously out of his slightly smelly hiding place. "And what the fuck happened to my ankh?" He set about going inconspicuously to the back door into Sanctuary. He wondered if it would be smart to bitch about it or not.


Vido was pissed. The assassin had escaped, the victim was dead, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Em was in a slighty better mood, being just drunk enough to stave off her memories, and thinking impossible thought trains.

Days passed. Uneventful days and nights. Then as the saying goes, two ships passed in the night. Alright, it was more like a collision...

"WHY THE HELL CAN'T YOU WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING?" screamed Em.

"OH LIKE IT WAS MY FAULT?!" Luse growled back. They glared at each other. (Actually, it wasn1t either of their faults, as someone had rudely shoved Em hard enough to send her fragile form flying.)

Finally, Emerald cracked a smile.

"Of all the people, of all the elves in this city, who do I bump into?" She shook her head. "Something up there," she said, jerking her finger at the overcast sky, "has a sick sense of humor." Luse didn't find it funny. Em sweetly explained what had happened, but he still blamed her. He was just in a bad mood altogether. Emerald offered to get him a drink. The day looked brighter.

Later that night, Emerald landed with a thump just outside the door of the tavern. Shortly after that, before she got a chance to stand up, a brawling mass of men tumbled out the door, most of which disenaged and scrambled back inside. She heard the door latch, and laid her ears back.

"They sure know how to make a girl feel unwanted," she said.

"If I continue to keep company with you," Lusiphur said, sighing and dusting himself off, wiping the blood from his face, "there won't be a tavern in town that'll let me in."

"Poo!" said Em with a giggle. "By the time that happens, the first one will have forgotten!"

"Not likely. I don't think that barkeep'll use that hand again."

"Oh come on," she said. "Healers work miracles." She stood up and brushed herself off. As she did, the dim light on the street glinted off the necklace that shone around her neck. First the emerald round, then the simple ankh. Emerald found herself slammed against a wall, her eyes closed in pain. She was edging on too drunk to deal. What....? she thought. Her eyes opened and she saw what was holding her against the wall. Lusiphur, holding a hunk of shirt, and the dangling chain of the ankh. "Let go," she growled at him. Blue-green eyes met icey blue. Neither of them gave.

"You're here for me?" Luse asked

"I have no idea what the fuck...." Em trailed off. Suddenly she did. She giggled. "You think I'm a... how do you know about the.... You're one of...." Still laughing, Emerald dealt Luse a sharp crack across the face. He didn't loosen his grip, she dealt another one with her other hand which he stopped. Then her right hand, the one with the punching glove, came around and smashed into his temple. As tiny visions of Parintachin danced round Lusiphur's eyes, Em tried to pull free. Luse jerked back on her shirt. The slippery cloth slipped out of his fingers, but the chain caught.

Time slowed down.

The chain snapped.

Luse realized what was about to happen, and threw himself backwards away from her.

Em's startled face disappered in a cloud of smoke.

Time resumed its normal corse.

Luse picked himself out of the street again, and looked at the ankh in his hand. What if it was a mistake...? he thought.


Emerald's head swam. MAGIC! HE'S COME FOR HER! NO!

When the smoke dissipated her eyes were wild and unseeing, and her knife and sword were out. Fleece and Talon, who were in the room, were turned and looking at her unbelievingly. Emerald's eyes locked on Talon. Her lips pulled back from her teeth, and an inarticulate snarl came out of them. She rocketed across the room.

"Mendrac !" she shrieked, eyes glazed. "I WILL KILL US BOTH BEFORE YOU CATCH ME AGAIN!!"

Talon had no time to react, and her momentum carried them both to the floor. He kept her hands away from him, but not her knee from a, uh...sensitive area.

"Shit!"

She broke loose and scampered away. Talon looked around. She was gone. In a voice a half-ocatve higher than it should be, he still sounded like he was in control of the world."Who the fuck was that, how did she get in here, and who," he said, his voice returning to its normal level, as he climbed back to his feet, "is Mendrac?"

To be continued.......

Posion Elves is © Drew Hayes. I'm not violating it, I1m just playing with it. Any similarly to persons living or dead is purely a symptom of paranoia or an over inflated ego. Or of coruse, I could be doing it on purpose. You'll never know.

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

To Catch An Assassin- Index

Email Willow at willow_wolf@hotmail.com