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    Assassin
    Assassin
    Assassin
    Ebook41 pages35 minutes

    Assassin

    By Edwin C. Mason

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Basima is an assassin. To the Order of the Scorpion, Death is sacred and life is worthless. When money changes hands, people die. Tonight money has changed hands, but tonight the Order of the Scorpion has to deal with with a challenge it's never faced before. Tonight Basima's priorities change forever.

    This is a 9,000-word short story.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherEdwin C. Mason
    Release dateSep 18, 2013
    ISBN9781927857274
    Assassin
    Author

    Edwin C. Mason

    Edwin C. Mason was born in 1964 in a house half full of books and dedicated his early years to similarly filling the other half. Now he dreams of filling other people's houses the same way. He started writing in 1977 after reading "Pirates of Venus" by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and in the intervening years he has made every mistake it's possible for a writer to make. He lives in Toronto with his dreams and delusions.

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      Book preview

      Assassin - Edwin C. Mason

      Assassin

      Edwin C. Mason

      ~

      © 2013 Edwin C. Mason

      all rights reserved

      GND Publishing

      Toronto ON, Canada

      Smashwords Edition

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      ~

      Contents

      Assassin

      Also Available by this Author

      About the Author

      Assassin

      Edwin C. Mason

      Basima waited outside the compound. A cool breeze puffed down the alley, relief from the heat of the day at last. A night bird cawed; a cat scurried under a fence in the distance. The smell of roasting goat wafted over her, and she smiled.

      Zaina squatted beside her, whispering encouragement as she had since they started out. Three hours now of being told that she would do well, and finally she began to doubt it. Zaina kept her hand on Basima’s shoulder. Was she here as insurance? What could be more embarrassing to the Order of the Scorpion than a woman with child? A woman on the run. They would not let her flee, and she could not run to her son’s grave.

      You will be fine. Remember all your training. This will ensure your reinstatement, and leave no marks on your record. Zaina’s face, round and very pretty, hovered near, smiling, showing teeth. She always passed for an entertainer or even a guest. Basima, with her plain face and simple, forthright manner, always concealed herself as a maid. Tonight, those inside partied. Why? She didn’t know. No one shared information with her any more, and often she was glad of that. She no longer knew why this person or that must die, why tonight and not tomorrow, why this wife could be spared but not that one. Enough that she had to do the deed, she no longer wanted more.

      More? Well, she wanted one thing more, but she could never have it. Gone, never to return, her failing and her crime. Her violation of the Order’s Laws of Governance - the only laws that could ever matter to her - had nearly cost everything. For months her life had hung over a chasm, her honour hadn’t existed at all if you asked her accusers. She shrugged. She could take any reprimand.

      Mouth parched, she didn’t dare touch the water bottle at her side. Full, it hung silently, but half full, it would slosh with every step. She could afford that soon, but not yet.

      Are you ready? Zaina asked.

      Yes. Was

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