1 Chapter One

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Thana  Marianna welcomed the harsh, bitter wind as she stood hidden in night on top of a rooftop. It howled with such ferocity that she had to physically position herself in such a way so that her small figure would not be blown off the roof onto the hard, unforgiving ground. At least the wind is loud enough to cover up any sounds the victim may make, she thought wryly. But that was unlikely to happen, for most of the time, she killed the victim before he could cry out or beg for mercy.

Glancing down at her silver watch, she smiled wickedly to herself. It was time.

In a few swift movements, Thana maneuvered her way into the large house through a window carelessly left open. Silent as a wraith, she walked down the empty hall, straining her ears for sounds of footsteps. Thankfully, the hall was free of any servants that the owner of the house kept around. Remembering the information that she had gathered over the week, she continued down the hall until she came to the last door on the end. The light seeping through the door showed that the man she was about to kill was still up. It was strange, really. This man was rich enough to have a decent sized house and a few servants, but he didn't bother to hire any guards.

Thana drew her throwing dagger, caressing the hilt as she pressed herself against the door. Taking a quick breath, she opened the door, glanced at the man, and threw her dagger at his head with ease. The man, who was laying on his bed reading a book did not even look up as the dagger struck home. Entering and closing the door behind her, she took in his surprisingly simple room, a stark contrast to the elaborate exterior of the house. She walked up to the dead man, his head now a bloody mess, and snatched his signet ring off of his finger. Well, according to Xander, her master, it actually wasn't his signet ring. For some reason, he had stolen it from some lord, who had in turn hired Xander to have him killed. She was then sent with the promise of a large sum of money from her master. He always paid her, though she could not say the same for most of the other assassins in the Dragon House.

Suddenly, the window in the man's bedroom slid open. Thana crossed her arms as her golden haired partner slipped in. Xander always assigned them partners, though he only required one person to complete the kill. Her partner glanced at the dead body, reaching out to check the man's pulse. One reason Xander assigned partners was to ensure that the target was truly dead, for there had been some mishaps in the past where the assassin decided to fake the death. Satisfied, her partner, Isaac was his name, gave her a curt nod.

Without sparing him a glance, she strode past him, climbed out of the window, and disappeared into the night, not bothering to wait for Isaac to catch up.

"His ring," Xander demanded, holding out his hand. She and Isaac were standing in his office, giving their report on the assassination. Fishing the ring from her pocket, Thana leaned over the desk in between them and gave it to her master. While he examined it, she looked down at the elegant red rug beneath their feet, trying to suppress her yawn. She was tired and hungry; she wished Xander would quit staring at that damn ring and release them. Beside her, she could feel Isaac growing restless, though he didn't dare fidget lest Xander lash out at him.

"Get out," Xander said at last, but not before handing her a bad of coins. Thana bit back a sigh of relief as she quickly bowed to him out of respect and exited the room, Isaac on her heels.

Turning around, she said, addressing the assassin behind her. "Go get me some food and bring it to my room."

He merely nodded and walked toward the cafeteria. The rules were that anyone could order someone to do something as long as they could back themselves up. Physically. If the person didn't obey, you had the right to beat them up until they learned their lesson. After going up a flight of stairs in the comforting dimness that filled the majority of the Dragon House, she passed a few bedrooms until she came upon hers. She strode right in, for there were no locks on any of the assassins' doors.

Sitting down on her bed, she stuffed her money underneath a loose floor board and waited a minute before Isaac came in with her food. Without thanking him, she got up, snatched the tray of chicken and corn out of his arms, and returned to her bed. Isaac just stood there.

"What?" she snapped, wanting to be left alone with her food. He smirked. And stood there. Doing nothing. "Get out."

"What. Do. You. Want." Thana was losing her cool. After smelling her food for poison, she started wolfing it down.

He remained silent. Oh, she understood now. He wanted to challenge her, to make her grovel before his feet. Setting down her tray of half eaten food, she slowly stood and allowed a feral smile to stretch out on her lips, one that sent smart men running. Apparently this baboon was not one of those smart men.

"Let's go," he said, already walking out of my room towards the arena. The female assassin silently followed, eager to tear him to pieces in front of a crowd. If anything, she was a bit offended that he thought he had a chance at besting her. What was wrong with him? She was second to no one save Xander. Her skills outmatched his. By a lot.

They walked through a few halls and down a set of stairs before coming upon he arena. All of the assassins in the House were already gathered there; Isaac had probably informed them of his challenge to her before delivering her food. But why wait to challenge her after bringing up her food. Isaac had plenty of opportunities to challenge her before she demanded her food. Interesting.

The arena wasn't actually an arena. It was just a bare area in the house, free of carpet and furniture, all hardwood floors, making it easier to clean up blood. On the walls were a large selection of swords, daggers, almost any weapon you could think of.

Isaac, much to her amusement, grabbed a long sword, a signal that they were fighting to the death. She shook her head incredulously. If he had refused weapons, then they would fight till one was knocked unconscious. She grinned madly at him as she selected a gleaming sword. Well, she guessed he had a death wish. Thana wouldn't disappoint him.

The assassins gathered around the two, forming a circle. None of them cheered anyone on; they never did. These brutes were boring as hell. Isaac swung his sword around a few times and assumed an fighting position. Thana didn't even bother. "Begin," boomed a voice. She recognized it as Xander's. Erin, a wiry young assassin, was supposed to make that call, and Xander never attended these challenges. Slowly, she put the clues together. Xander had ordered Isaac to challenge her. That had to be it.

Isaac gave a little war cry, interrupting her thoughts. He then lunged at her, sword raised high above his head. She stepped aside at the last second and kicked his leg, enough to make him stumble but not fall. If Xander had ordered Isaac to challenge her, he must be bored out of his mind and in need of entertainment. Oh, she would give him a show. A bloody, brutal one.

It wasn't until she sidestepped him a second time and ran her sword along his back until she realized the crowd seemed different. Slightly bigger. While Isaac was cursing in pain, she turned around to see a new face in the crowd. Narrowing her eyes at him, she glanced at Xander to see if he too saw the new face. Xander eyed the new fellow and shrugged nonchalantly. Huh. So he was aware. For all she knew, he could have invited him.

Looking back at her bleeding opponent, she growled at him, a low sound from deep within her throat. His eyes widened. She stalked up to him, her defenses down. He immediately took advantage of her and jabbed at her, but of course, his little pea brain did not register the fact that a highly trained assassin would never leave her guard down for no reason. It is a trap, you fool! She wanted to screech at him. She sliced him again, this time lightly over his chest. Not deep enough to kill; she had only done that to bring him pain. Now she was really offended. This guy was an awful fighter despite the fact that he had been here for two years. Why would Xander allow him to join if he was this bad? Now that she thought about it, she had never trained with him before. Of course she didn't, because she only trained with assassins with higher skill.

While she was delivering cuts here and there to Isaac, A thought popped up in her head. What if this was just a test from Xander. What if he was just trying to infuriate her to  see if she would question him? She would never do that; Xander was her master, the only person she allowed herself to bow to.

Frustrated, she took her weapon and ran it through Isaac's chest while he was still trying to get past her defenses. He let out a gasp and dropped to her knees. After twisting it until he screeched in pain and then pulling it out, she approached the stranger in the crowd, not even waiting until Isaac had drawn his last breath.

"Hey handsome," she said, cutting through the crowd to reach him. It was true, he was quite handsome, although he looked to be ten years older than her own 17 years. He smiled seductively at her and wrapped and arm around her waist.

"And what might your name be, my lovely lady?" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Xander coming towards her with a look on his face that said if you interrogate my guest, I will gut you here and let your organs spill out in the floor. So, she stayed silent until Xander appeared.

"This is Thana," he informed the man. Xander looked at her. "This is the employer of your next mission, Lord Roland."

She frowned. She guessed she would have to wait until Xander told her what had happened with that Isaac situation. Actually, he probably wouldn't even bother to tell her.

"And who will I be killing?" Thana asked, moving out of Roland's grip.

Xander and Roland shared a look before she got her answer. An answer that sent pleasant shivers down her spine. "It appears that the world has tired of Prince Cahir and demands that you get rid of him."

Finally. A kill worth her time.