Shadow Assassins (The Second Realm Trilogy) by Melissa Vazquez Page A
Authors: Melissa Vazquez
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above her and stretching towards the clouds. The white stone castle shone with bright green banners. Men in armored suits patrolled on horseback while villagers in plain looking garments went along their daily business, trading and doing business in the market place that stood just inside the castle walls.
Men in armor. Giant castle. It was as if Evangeline had been sucked back in time. When Dirk had said there was no modern technology here, he had obviously meant it. These people were still stuck in an age where kings and queens ruled and knights in shining armor were commonplace. Suddenly, her own outfit seemed horribly out of place. She slipped behind a large oak to observe further. There was not one woman wearing a pair of pants or even a shirt. Noble women wore elegant dresses of elaborate silks, while the commoners wore what comparatively looked like scraps. Her outfit, what Kaydee had playfully named faux-military, was an obvious hint that she was not in the correct place.
“You there!”
She jumped as she heard a man’s voice behind her. The voice was in her native tongue and she couldn’t tell if that was due to the foul potion she had downed earlier, or the fact that the man speaking to her actually spoke her language.
“Excuse me, my lady!”
She turned at that. Behind her was an elegant black horse dressed simply with a saddle, despite the decorative bridle. What got her attention away from the stallion was the man atop the horse – he wore no armor like the patrolling men outside did, but he was of noble stature. His outfit was composed of fine silks and bright colors, but there was also a long scabbard at his side. She eyed the sword that was thankfully sheathed, wondering if he had any notion of fighting her.
“Miss, your attention, please?”
He spoke with a slightly European accent, or at least, that’s what came to her mind. His voice was light, non-threatening and surprisingly...friendly. She dared to meet his gaze and was startled to find that his eyes were of a bright, sharp green she had never seen before, just as brilliant as the emerald banners that adorned the castle.
The man stared down at her with a smile, as if he was amused by her silent shock. “You’re not from around here, are you?”
The foreign tongue was confusing. Kaydee thought she had passed out after crossing through the portal. That was probably due to the fact that she had landed on hard ground. When she came to, the first thing she heard was a tangle of foreign languages. She didn’t know if it was one separate language or two, but the foreign words wove around her, the elegant symbols curving and curling with each word spoken.
As her mind rearranged the syllables, it became clear that the potion was starting to kick in. Soon, the words warped and shifted, turning from a lovely foreign sound to something that she could clearly understand.
“And the foreigner? What are we to do with her?”
“We are crossing another trade post. She could fetch a nice profit to the traders at Govoya.”
She sat up abruptly at that, unaware of what she would face when her eyes opened clearly. Instead of the hard dirt ground she had landed on, she was inside of a tent of some sort. Brilliant purple cloth stretched above her head to form a sort of shelter, held up by a framework of wood. She was still lying on dirt ground, but someone had lifted her onto a small pile of cloth. The cloth felt like scraps of scratchy, uncomfortable linen and burlap. As she pushed them aside, she realized a chaotic patchwork blanket of scraps had covered her.
Hesitantly, she peeked out of her tent-like shelter. There were other tents set up around her, gathered around a central campfire. People milled around, clothed in a bizarre series of garments. Some looked like that of noble people she had seen in story books; others looked as they wore beggar rags. There was no distinction on if there was any ranking, if the brilliantly dressed
Men in armor. Giant castle. It was as if Evangeline had been sucked back in time. When Dirk had said there was no modern technology here, he had obviously meant it. These people were still stuck in an age where kings and queens ruled and knights in shining armor were commonplace. Suddenly, her own outfit seemed horribly out of place. She slipped behind a large oak to observe further. There was not one woman wearing a pair of pants or even a shirt. Noble women wore elegant dresses of elaborate silks, while the commoners wore what comparatively looked like scraps. Her outfit, what Kaydee had playfully named faux-military, was an obvious hint that she was not in the correct place.
“You there!”
She jumped as she heard a man’s voice behind her. The voice was in her native tongue and she couldn’t tell if that was due to the foul potion she had downed earlier, or the fact that the man speaking to her actually spoke her language.
“Excuse me, my lady!”
She turned at that. Behind her was an elegant black horse dressed simply with a saddle, despite the decorative bridle. What got her attention away from the stallion was the man atop the horse – he wore no armor like the patrolling men outside did, but he was of noble stature. His outfit was composed of fine silks and bright colors, but there was also a long scabbard at his side. She eyed the sword that was thankfully sheathed, wondering if he had any notion of fighting her.
“Miss, your attention, please?”
He spoke with a slightly European accent, or at least, that’s what came to her mind. His voice was light, non-threatening and surprisingly...friendly. She dared to meet his gaze and was startled to find that his eyes were of a bright, sharp green she had never seen before, just as brilliant as the emerald banners that adorned the castle.
The man stared down at her with a smile, as if he was amused by her silent shock. “You’re not from around here, are you?”
The foreign tongue was confusing. Kaydee thought she had passed out after crossing through the portal. That was probably due to the fact that she had landed on hard ground. When she came to, the first thing she heard was a tangle of foreign languages. She didn’t know if it was one separate language or two, but the foreign words wove around her, the elegant symbols curving and curling with each word spoken.
As her mind rearranged the syllables, it became clear that the potion was starting to kick in. Soon, the words warped and shifted, turning from a lovely foreign sound to something that she could clearly understand.
“And the foreigner? What are we to do with her?”
“We are crossing another trade post. She could fetch a nice profit to the traders at Govoya.”
She sat up abruptly at that, unaware of what she would face when her eyes opened clearly. Instead of the hard dirt ground she had landed on, she was inside of a tent of some sort. Brilliant purple cloth stretched above her head to form a sort of shelter, held up by a framework of wood. She was still lying on dirt ground, but someone had lifted her onto a small pile of cloth. The cloth felt like scraps of scratchy, uncomfortable linen and burlap. As she pushed them aside, she realized a chaotic patchwork blanket of scraps had covered her.
Hesitantly, she peeked out of her tent-like shelter. There were other tents set up around her, gathered around a central campfire. People milled around, clothed in a bizarre series of garments. Some looked like that of noble people she had seen in story books; others looked as they wore beggar rags. There was no distinction on if there was any ranking, if the brilliantly dressed
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