iguring that she may as well be comfortable while she waited for him to come upstairs, Kat settled down on the canopied double bed with her boots on. She'd already searched the room, and a medium sized bag of mostly rough uncut jewels was sitting on the desk in the corner of the room, for her to take with her when she left. The sheets were silk. Personally, Kat had never liked silk sheets, they were hot and they made you sweat, and in a country where half the general population didn't wash regularly, more sweat was not exactly what they needed. Sure, water was scarce, but you'd think they could spare a little to bathe every morning.

Further down the hall, a stair creaked, and breathless giggling was heard. Silently, Kat rolled off the bed and moved into the darkest corner of the room. Her target tonight was a foolish young merchant, who had thought fit to attempt to swindle her employer, and dally with her personal maid. It was about time that Tristan Hall learned that her employer was not someone to be treated lightly. He had been warned, but he had not headed the warning, so now he would pay.

He staggered drunkenly through the doorway, slopping some of his ale onto the floor. Kat swiftly shut the door in the face of the pretty young thing he'd been luring up to his bedroom, and locked it.
"What-?"
He swayed on his feet, peering into the gloom. After a while, his eyes adjusted to the dim light enough to make out Kat's shape against the black of night. His eyes widened significantly. She definitely had shape, and the black leather pants and vest which laced up the front did little to conceal it.
"Why, hello there," he slurred. "I didn't see you downstairs."
Kat remained silent, and watched him look her over. He was definitely a lecherous pig, and certainly not intelligent enough to have amassed the wealth he currently had control of. It would be a pleasure to kill him.

Having ascertained that her intended victim did indeed deserve to die this night, Kat removed two silver daggers from the insides of her boots, and bowed to him. Then, moving faster than his drunken eyes could follow, she flipped over his head and slashed his throat from behind. His eyes popped open in astonishment and he raised his hands to his throat, where his life was gushing from him in thick, pulsating waves. He tried to speak, but no sound emerged but a whimper.
"You have attempted to cheat my employer. I warned you last time, and now you will die."
He collapsed to his knees, trying to stop the flow of blood with his hands, but to no avail. Kat leaned forward and carved an ankh on his forehead - the sign of life and regeneration, and also the symbol of her, and her employer. She watched dispassionately as he died, and then cleaned her blades on his silken sheets. Remotely, she realised the girl was calling him from the other side of the door. She'd soon tire of that, and begin suspecting something was wrong, at which point they'd break down the door and discover the body. Kat grunted as she lifted the dead weight of Tristan's body onto the bed, and then folded his arms over his chest. Now... Something for her employer...

Kat pulled the signet ring off his middle finger, and collected the bag of gems. The girl had stopped calling, and Kat knew it was only a matter of time before the door was broken in. She glanced around the room, her sharp eyes looking for any sign of her presence. There was none. Kat left the room the same way she had entered - through the window, and climbed down the drainpipe 3 floors to the street. It was still deserted. Kat brushed off her hands and listened. There was nobody around outside for a couple of streets, but the noise from the party inside was interfering a little. Kat shrugged, and climbed up to the roof of the next building. She made her way across town silently and unseen across the rooftops to her employers house.

The house was well established, with almost an entire block of land around it. Kat's employer was very wealthy. A dealer in antiquities, she dealt only in the finest of goods, and she always got the price she wanted for them. Only the richest families in the country could afford to have dealings with Jade Hayward - unless, of course, they were selling. Despite Jade's ruthless reputation, she always dealt fairly when buying something. When she was selling, however, she got exactly what she wanted - no matter the cost. She had her little peculiarities - what employer didn't? - but all in all she was a fair employer, she paid on time, and she treated all her employees well. Although Kat often said she was loyal until the next pay-day, in truth her loyalties ran deeper than that. It happened when you worked for someone for an extended period of time. Kat had been working for Jade for 5 years now, and she was only 19. Jade had bought Kat from her previous owner for 5 gold pieces - a very high price for a slave, but Jade had recognised the look in her eyes, and that she actually knew how to use the weapons she had been eyeing. Kat had been somewhat disappointed that Jade had forbidden her killing her previous owner. It hadn't mattered though. One of his other slaves had ended up doing it shortly after Kat had left service. Jade's own background was shrouded in secrecy. She was older than Kat by a good many years, and had inherited the business from her father, and wealth from her husband, whom had died the year before Kat had been purchased. From this, Jade had tripled her wealth, and become one of the most influential people in the country. This was even more of an accomplishment in a country ruled by men.

Kat entered the house by a side door, and went to the bathing rooms. There she stripped and emerged herself in the water, rinsing the blood from her body and hair, then wiping the blood from the leather with a dampened cloth. Once she was clean, she dried herself and went up to her room, where she checked and cleaned her assorted weaponry. Once she'd completed that task, she emptied the loot out onto her bed. With a practiced eye, Kat selected the quality jewels, and placed them in a separate velvet bag. The others she put back into the leather bag Tristan had been keeping them in. Amongst the jewels was a small piece of jade, which was carved into the shape of a wolf, howling at the moon. Kat had taken it from Tristan's mantelpiece, and now she examined it closely. The craftsmanship was exquisite, there wasn't a flaw in it anywhere. Kat set it aside as a special present for her employer. Jade had a passion for wolves, and her fondness for jade objects derived from her own name. Then Kat dressed in a second black leather outfit, identical to the first, re-armed herself, and went to present herself to her employer.

***

Jade was standing by the window in a long deep green dress, made of velvet. Winter was approaching, and the evenings were getting cool, so velvet was bearable. She had been standing there for a long time. She had watched the sunset from the comfortable chair when it had set, and then she had watched the stars come out. And then, after a considerable amount of time and 3 glasses of brandy, she had watched Kat walking up the path to the house, so lost in thought she hadn't sensed her watching. Or perhaps she had, but knew who it was and wasn't worried. Either way it didn't matter. Jade was feeling her age this evening. She was 28, and with the life expectancy for women currently at the level of about 60, she was beginning to feel old. Of course, the reason so many women were dying was because of child-birth; and Jade was certainly not going to partake in that bit of foolishness. Perhaps if Darryl had still been alive they would have tried one last time, but he was gone now, and Jade had other children in her life - ones that she hadn't had to wake up every 2 hours to feed, and she was perfectly happy with the arrangement, thank you very much. Then Jade smiled. Why was she worrying, her very own grandmother had lived to be 80 - a remarkable accomplishment by anyone's standards - and Jade was determined to out do her. She had a good many years ahead of her yet.

It was then that Jade became aware that someone had entered the room behind her. She knew that it was Kat - enough time had passed since Jade had seen her coming up the path for Kat to have bathed and changed, and nobody else in the house could move as silently as that girl. Kat always bathed before she did anything else after a job. When Jade had questioned her on it once, she had replied that the smell of the blood became nauseating after a while, and it was better for the leather to get it off before it dried. When she asked why she didn't wash at the scene, Kat replied that it was better to get away without pursuit, and that black didn't show blood.
"Hello, Kat," said Jade quietly, without turning around.
"Mistress," Kat replied, not moving forward until Jade turned around.
When Jade turned to face her, Kat moved forward, knelt in front of her, took her hands and kissed both palms in the traditional way of her culture to show respect. Jade pulled her to her feet and kissed both cheeks.
"Is it done?"
"Yes, Mistress," Kat replied, handing Jade the ring.
Jade examined it, then tossed it negligently into a small jar, where it rattled against half a dozen others. Then Kat handed Jade the bag of low quality stones.
"These are from his room. They're the bad ones."
Jade placed them on her desk without looking at them. Kat handed her the velvet bag.
"These are the good ones."
Jade opened the bag, and tipped the jewels onto her palm. They were good quality stones, and none of them appeared to be flawed. Jade trusted Kat's judgement on such things. She placed them on her desk.
"And this I brought for you, as a gift," said Kat, placing the small jade wolf in Jade's hands.
Jade stifled her small cry of pleasure, and moved close to the lamp to examine it. It was small, only 4 inches high, but the detail was amazing. She set the wolf carefully on her desk.
"Come and sit with me. I will brush your hair, and you will tell me about tonight."
Kat nodded obediently, and sat at Jade's feet. She told the story of the evening's work as Jade untangled her long black hair with a fine bone comb. Once the tangles were gone, Jade braided it, and tied the end with a piece of leather. By that point, Kat had finished her story, and had fallen silent. Jade realised she was probably tired, and sent her to her bed. Kat left as silently as she'd arrived.

Jade poured herself another glass of brandy, and sat in her chair for a while. She'd have to buy Kat a gift now. Something she'd appreciate. A knew knife maybe, or some bracers. She'd seen a lovely pair of bracers down town the other week. They'd been made of a new metal they called Titanium, were silver in colour, engraved, enchanted, and looked like jewellery. She could wear them to a ball. Yes, she'd buy them for Kat next time she was in town. That decided, Jade sipped her brandy for a few minutes more, before she got up and went through the darkened doorway to her library. She tapped the wall twice, and a soft glow lit the room. A small magick, that had cost her 2 gold to have installed in the library. She was considering getting Marc, her resident mage, to cast the spell in every room of the house. It would probably end up being cheaper than purchasing oil and paraffin. Jade moved along the shelves with practiced ease, until she located the section she wanted. She pulled a thick book from the shelf, and took it to the library desk. She seated herself and began to read.

***

Jade summoned Kat to her office around 10:00 the next morning. She was sitting at her desk, with a large book in front of her, opened to a particular page.
"Good Morning, Mistress."
"Not formal today, dear. Come and look at this page."
Kat moved over, and saw on the page a picture of the jade wolf she had appropriated from Tristan's bedroom the previous night.
"The story tells as such. Once there were three brothers, who loved the same woman. She decreed that she would marry the one who carved her the best jade wolf. So each brother carved a wolf for his beloved from jade. The first brother carved his from imperial jade, which is the emerald-green one that you found. The second brother carved his from white jade. The third brother carved his from a purplish pink jade. When they presented the wolves to the girl, however, she could not decide which she liked best, and declared that she would hide the wolves, and whichever brother found his wolf first, she would wed. She did this, but upon return to her village, she was slain by invaders. The brothers were so distraught by this, that they flung themselves into battle. They defeated the invaders, but perished all upon the battle field."
Jade paused for breath, and Kat stared at her wide-eyed.
"It's a pretty story, but I doubt it has much basis on truth, aside from the wolves. But here's the thing. I want the wolves. Are you up for an expedition?"
Jade's eyes were sparkling merrily, and she looked just the same as she had when Kat had first seen her, 5 years ago. Before Kat could speak, Jade continued.
"I wouldn't take a lot of people. Marc, for his magick. You, for protection and companionship. And me, for money," she added in a bemused tone. "I am asking you, Kat, as a friend, not your employer. I don't want you to feel forced to come. If you come, I want it to be of your own free will."
"Where are we going?"
"Why, to the ends of the earth and beyond! Will you come?"
"I will."

***