112 Noble Ladies? (2)

Novum was not sure what he could do given the distance between them was just enough for the archer to release the arrow without him taking his head. He drew his sword back to throw it as a last resort when suddenly the man's head jerked back and the arrow flew into the sky as the man fell backwards with aa different arrow sticking out of his eye. Novum quickly tracked the arrow back and realized that Theren had come along after them.

Novum saw that the girls were okay and calmed down so he started searching the archer that was dead at his feet. He took everything off of him and found a folded up list in his pocket. As he read it, it was a list of his allies in and around the city as well as a lot of the people from Three Mines. They were split into several groups with a different price above each group. The members of the Lyons family were worth a thousand gold pieces each. He did not see a mark on the paper but he knew someone that could point him in the right direction.

Shannon was braced for the impact but after a few seconds she realized that it was not coming. She turned and saw Novum searching a man. She also noticed that the man was not killed by a sword but an arrow to his face. "Sorry for grabbing you my Lady."

"Shannon sweetie, you were willing to put your life on the lone for mine. How could I be upset with that. Great eyes, spotting him like that."

"Oh, thank you." She looked up and saw the anger on Novum's face and she knew that this man was more than a street thug. "This is not going to go well for these guys."

"What makes you say that?" Shannon did not say anything she simply pointed towards the enraged Novum who was dragging the archer across the alley with him. "Oh, glad he is not looking at me that way."

Theren walked down the street and met up with Novum as he was half way across the road. "Who was he?"

"Assassin." He handed the list to him. "These are all targets with the coin that they are worth."

"Hey, why am I not on it?"

Some of the rage drained out of his face. "The list is probably a little old and they were not aware of you or Shannon."

"That makes sense. I would be a little offended if Shannon was on the list and I was not. I mean seriously, how messed up would that be." Joe had seen how mad Alan could get in his last life when Shannon was even looked at the wrong way and he did not want all of them to die. He was trying to get the rage off of his face.

Novum knew what Theren was doing and he appreciated it. He drug the man over to the group. "Ladies I am glad that you are okay. Which one of them is the mouthpiece of the group?"

Lady Lyons pointed to the man in the back of the group. His upper half was still thawed out so he could see and hear everything around him. He could also see the remnants of Novum's anger on his face. Novum grabbed the dead man by the scruff of his neck and picked him up. "Is he a part of your group? And please do not lie. If I think you are lying...let's just say that it will not be good for you."

"I have seen him a few times in the bar where we drink but he is not apart of my group. Honestly I haven't even seen him talk to anyone since he arrived here. A few words to get a drink or a meal is about the only thing."

Novum could see that he was not the least bit interested in lying. "Thank you for your honesty." About that time a group of guards came running up and with a wave of her hand the ice that was covering the men faded into nothing. The guards gathered them up and led them all away. "Now that they are taken care of ladies let me introduce you to an old friend of mine. Theren Greenleaf these are the beautiful ladies of the Lyons family. Ladies this is Theren, an old friend of mine."

Theren put on a show and gave them a deep bow. "Ladies it is a privilege to be standing the in the presence of such beauty."

Lady Lyons gave him a playful laugh. "This one has broken a lot of hearts in his life I am sure. Thank you for your timely assistance."

Novum passed Lady Lyons the note that he found on the assassin. "This the the reason for the archer."

She looked it over. "So, the Earl has started targeting your allies. Arrogant fool. I will make sure that my family knows. I am not worried about any of them other than my daughter-in-law. A beautiful and intelligent girl but can not fight to save her life. I will make sure to put a few extra guards on her."

"Thank you. I would feel a lot better if that were the case. I would feel horrible for something to happen because of me."

Shannon looked over the list and realized that she was not on it, the same as Theren. "Hey, why am I not on there?"

"You too? I am guessing that his list is old and that you and Theren were not on this list but would be on the next list that gets sent out. I would have for you to feel left out."

"I just need to know that I am important enough to target."

"Seriously, we are getting married in no time and that is what you are worried about."

"Oh, speaking of that. I have picked the place that is going to be doing the deserts for the wedding. They cake can come from your people but they are providing a huge amount of small cakes and deserts to be served like snacks. Oh, and coffee."

"Okay. If you need more funds just let me know and I will get it taken care of. Well, since that is taken care of I am going to go and talk to a few people about the note and see if I can find out anything about who is handing them out."

Shannon closed the distance and kissed his cheek. "Pick me up a small sword and light armor as well."

"I will take you to pick them out but I can't pick them for you. That will take a lot of time and practice to find the perfect combination for you and what for? You are a mage."

"I am going to try and convince Aureus and Lady Lyons to teach me something new and I will need that stuff."

Lady Lyons raised an eyebrow at her. "If that is your intention then do not get anything yet. Once of the hardest parts of becoming a spell sword is finding the right thing for you. Some can wear metal chain and be fine while a few others can only wear leather without having any trouble. And you weapon will need to be compatible with you and your magic. I have an entire set of stuff necessary for training."

"Does that mean that you are willing to train me?"

"Of course. I would be happy to teach you. And Aureus could use someone to train with to push her to improve. Other than a few people that is no one in this town that is a good match for her."

"Even Novum?"

"I am not match for Novum. He is to strong and to fast. And his armor makes it even harder. Even without that stuff his fighting style and combat knowledge makes him fight like an old soldier that has looked death in the eye and walked away. His pressure is enough to discourage most people from looking to him for trouble."

"Thank you for that but I am not sure that I am that good. But anyways, I can send you back and forth whenever you would like or I am sure that Aureus would let you stay in one of the rooms in her house until it is closer to the wedding if you want to start training now."

"It can wait until after the wedding and the issue with the Earl is dealt with. That stuff is important."

"It is, but that is also the best reason to train. At least work with them enough to figure out the armor and sword that you are interested in so that I can get you a set custom made to handle your magic. That will take a while to get made."

Lady Lyons nodded along. "He is right Shannon. That stuff will take a while, especially high quality stuff that can handle magic without melting. Or in my case freezing and shattering."

"Then Aureus I will have to trouble you for the next few days. We can plan wedding stuff around the training."

"Sounds like a plan. Get some clothes for training and everyday wear while you are at the seamstress as well as you dress and I will see you at dinner tonight. I have to talk to a few people and I will be taking Theren with me."

She pulled him into a deep kiss. "You need to quit being so bossy. See you this evening."

Novum jerked his head and Theren followed behind him and the girls finished the trip to the seamstress.