Bleeding Blade ✓

2: Rough Diamonds

✧✦✧

There had been many instances in Jaena's life when emotions were so overwhelming and thoughts so meaningless and fleeting, that expressing them was almost impossible, but she had never known the true meaning of speechlessness. She stared at Maiaqie with eyes as round as the clock several floors above.

"The client is willing to pay a lot of money for this," Maiaqie said, enunciating carefully, as if she wasn't sure if Jaena could understand her. She pushed a bag forward with the end of her blade, and something jingled inside. Jaena hadn't seen the bag before. She'd been distracted by all the weapons. The weapons that killed doubts.

"Down payment," Maiaqie clarified.

"What—" Jaena blinked and shook her head. Down payment for the death of a Shuka? "Is that what happened to the other one? Was that the Guild?"

"No. I don't know who killed Asel."

Jaena's gaze lowered to the bag. Her palms felt clammy, but she still moved forward to grab it from the table, slowly, and untied the string. It fell apart listlessly in her hand, allowing the candlelight to reveal its contents. There were at least twenty gold coins inside. This was a down payment? She met Maiaqie's eyes again. "So this would be our first? Why? What about our policy?"

"Rules can be broken," Maiaqie replied, shrugging. "For the right price."

"How much?"

"A hundred. On top of that." She nodded at the bag.

Jaena felt lightheaded. She could buy a house with that. Maiaqie would take a cut, of course—that was the price one paid for the safety and assurance of having a steady income—but that still left Jaena with enough to buy . . . anything she'd ever wanted. Anything. She wished staring at instruments of death could calm her nerves the way it did Maiaqie. This wasn't enough information. She needed more. She would face Maiaqie's wrath if she had to.

"Tell me everything I need to know," she said.

Maiaqie waved her forward and folded her arms on the table as she sat down. "I wish I could. There isn't much to tell. I know you value information, and normally, I would chastise you for asking, but this time, I must concede."

Jaena breathed out in relief.

"Unfortunately, the client remains anonymous."

"It wouldn't be the first time," Jaena said.

"It wouldn't," Maiaqie agreed. "And they have every right. However, knowing who hired us could help us understand why our target is a member of the Shukanos. I don't need to know what we're risking our name for, but I would prefer it. This is dangerous—not just for you. For all of the Guild."

"Which Shuka do they want us to kill?"

"Rube Saian."

"The twenty-third?"

She nodded.

Jaena leaned back and frowned at the bag in her hands. The reward made sense; the target did not. The Shukanos ruled over the city and all other cities, towns, and villages in the county of Rudla, and they had been for several centuries now. No organization, political or otherwise, was more powerful. If someone was willing to lay down this much to end the life of a Rudlan Shuka, why not someone higher up in the hierarchy? Rube Saian had been at the very bottom before Betar Asel was taken out of commission several days ago. She had very little influence.