Poison Dance (Midnight Thief #0.5)(16)
“I appreciate it. Though I do want some goods from you today.”
“Certainly.” Alvie turned to his wagons. “What’ll it be?”
“Lizard skin venom. Three vials.” Perhaps Alvie’s surprise showed, because James continued, “I understand you were bringing some for her.”
Alvie swung back toward the assassin, regarding him now with interest. “I do have a few vials, but it’s expensive.”
James palmed something from his belt pouch. “I trust this will be enough.”
There was just the slightest hesitation, a possessive last clench of the assassin’s fist before he opened his hand to reveal an exquisite gold chain. The craftsmanship was undeniable in the delicacy of the leaf-shaped links. James looked away as Alvie inspected it.
“This will be more than enough,” Alvie said. “And I can supply you with more, should you run out. Do you have much need for venoms?”
And suddenly there was a glint in James’s eye. “I do.”
Epilogue
IT happened quickly. The magistrates barely investigated the deaths because they involved the city’s lowlifes, violent criminals whose deaths were not widely mourned. But there were many. One night, eleven bodies were left by the river. Their faces were purple, their extremities gray. Poison.
When Lord Hamel heard the news, he flew into a rage. But then Hamel disappeared too. His bodyguards were discovered a few days later, throats cleanly slit. Hamel’s body, when it finally turned up, showed signs of a more lingering death, as drawn out as his bodyguards’ had been quick. A silver hairpin was carefully wedged under each of the nobleman’s fingernails.
Though Hamel was the only wallhugger to be harmed, other nobles also seemed out of sorts. More astute servants noted that these noblemen’s enemies were no longer terrorized by thugs. Whoever had been doing their dirty work was no longer in their employ.
After a few weeks, the violence died down, and the city returned to normal. Better than normal, in fact. Crime in the city plummeted. Red Shields were no longer called on as often to enforce the law. And as the Palace officials each tried to take the credit for this turn of fortune, they were unaware of the rumors circling in the taverns that a new leader had taken over the Assassins Guild, who had defeated his rivals so soundly that none remained. Those whispers circulated in the city, unnoticed by the Palace, for a very long time.
Note from Livia
THANK you for taking the time to read Poison Dance! I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, I hope you will:
1. Write an online review. They really help get the word out about the book!
2. Check out Midnight Thief. James was originally conceived as a key character in my young adult novel Midnight Thief. You can read the first chapter on the next page.
3. Join my mailing list. I keep a low volume mailing list to let people know about new releases and special sales. You can sign up at http://liviablackburne.com.
For more Poison Dance related tidbits, I’ve posted some deleted scenes (including James getting his revenge on Hamel and Gerred) and behind-the-scenes blog posts at http://liviablackburne.com. Or, if you’re reading the paperback version, just go to the end of the book.
Midnight Thief Excerpt
GROWING up on Forge’s streets has taught Kyra how to stretch a coin. And when that’s not enough, her uncanny ability to scale walls and bypass guards helps her take what she needs.
But when the leader of the Assassins Guild offers Kyra a lucrative job, she hesitates. She knows how to get by on her own, and she’s not sure she wants to play by his rules. But he’s persistent—and darkly attractive—and Kyra can’t quite resist his pull.
Tristam of Brancel is a young Palace knight on a mission. After his best friend is brutally murdered by Demon Riders, a clan of vicious warriors who ride bloodthirsty wildcats, Tristam vows to take them down. But as his investigation deepens, he finds his efforts thwarted by a talented thief, one who sneaks past Palace defenses with uncanny ease.
When a fateful raid throws Kyra and Tristam together, the two enemies realize that their best chance at survival—and vengeance—might be to join forces. And as their loyalties are tested to the breaking point, they learn a startling secret about Kyra’s past that threatens to reshape both their lives.
In her arresting debut novel, Livia Blackburne creates a captivating world where intrigue prowls around every corner—and danger is a way of life.
*
Chapter 1
This job could kill her.
Kyra peered off the ledge, squinting at the cobblestone four stories below. A false step in the darkness would be deadly, and even if she survived the fall, Red Shields would finish her off. She stared a few moments more before forcing her gaze back up. The time for second thoughts was past. Now she just needed to keep moving.
The jump ahead was two body lengths long, so Kyra backed away from the ledge. Ten steps, then she drew a breath and sprinted forward. She pushed off just before the drop, clearing a gap of three strides before softening her body for the landing. There was a slap of soft leather on stone as she hit the next ledge. The impact sent a wave of vibrations through the balls of her feet, and Kyra touched a hand to the wall for balance.