Chapter 26: Why is Everyone Afraid of Seven?

I froze. "What?"

"Yeah, when she gets back, we should probably tell her." One repeated, "Nine won't sell you out. She's thrilled with how you've been treating her recently. She never quite got used to the old you, as she'd only been around for a few years. But you've also mellowed a little bit since then. From the beginning, Four was always terrified of you. It wasn't until probably after you got Six that you started to slow down a little bit. Seven, Eight, and Nine never really knew you at your worst."

"So that's why Four is terrified!" I explained, things clicking into place. "Nine? I told you Nine was about to try to kill herself, right?" 

One nodded. "Yes, that seems about right. Though, in that situation, we all would have, though."

I flinched. "Wait, seriously?"

"Yes, of course. If you reject us completely, our souls will be broken, and none of us want to wander around like soulless creatures. We'd rather be sent to whatever afterlife awaits us."

I groaned. I thought Nine had just been weird, but apparently, no, they're all like that. "And would you say Three, Five, and Seven would try to kill themselves over it or would try to kill me?"

"They would do both; just that they would kill you first." 

"Why?" I asked, bewildered.

"Well, that's because those loved you for you." One said simply.

"But.. you said Seven didn't really know the harsher me? But Three and Five did." 

"You were harsh enough, but Five loved that. Three maybe had it the worst of everyone, but she's a little broken." One said.

"More so than the rest of you?" I cut in.

One nodded. "You'll see. Probably. Seven liked the sternness but didn't know you at your worst."

I just sighed. "Okay. What about Four? When should we tell her?"

"Um... Not yet. Wait till you bed her a couple of times." She said with a wink.

"How did you know I didn't?" 

One gave me a dirty look. 

"Fine. I suppose you'd tell."

"What was her boon, by the way?" she asked, clearly curious about Four's prize from the card game.

I responded, "She wanted to come with me next time I left the castle."

One looked surprised. "Really?"

"Mm-hmm," I confirmed.

"Good choice." One complimented her. "Of everyone, she's the one who tries to avoid you the most. Probably the only one, honestly. You must have made an impression in the last couple of days. I worked on them a little to make sure that Nine and Four were more open to who you are now."

I nodded, "I noticed. Thank you for that. But back to the important thing. Nine coming back from where? Where'd she go?"

"Last night, don't you remember?" One sighed. "You issued some in-house contracts. She was one of the blades sent."

I shot up in the bed. "What!" 

One looked at me from the pillows. "What is it?"

"We need to get her back!" I explained, slightly panicked.

"Ah, don't worry about it," she said. "Nine is scary. She'll be fine." She tugged on my arm, but I resisted, staying seated upright. I ran my one hand through my hair and down my face. Had I really just sent Nine off on a dangerous mission?

"Relax," One said, sitting up to stroke my back, her naked chest pressed against my arm. "Nine is one of the most deadly fighters besides yourself, Three and Seven. She'll be fine. She's killed more men than eaten hot meals."

One could see I wasn't totally convinced. "She'll be fine. She'll be back in a few days. We can have a conversation then."

One gently coaxed me back down to the bed. I ran through the numbers in my head. I felt like I didn't know anything about Two and Eight, but they didn't come up in the rotation for some time, so I let them go.

"All right. Well, luckily, Six filled me in on a lot of the local politics, so I don't have to ask you about everything," I said. "So, tell me what you know about my shadow magic."

And she gave me a brief overview of things I'd mostly figured out. Besides, she gave a name for my reservoir of magical energy known as the "Iz." A name that I probably wouldn't use internally as it made no freaking sense, but it's nice to know what everyone else called it.

I tried to remember all the other things I had been meaning to ask. Still, she was getting quite impatient and started interrupting me anytime I tried to open my mouth with a thorough kiss. Before long, we were messing up the bed again. Honestly, it was okay. I had gotten more information out of her than I expected. And besides, dang, was she tempting.

***

One, and I had a relatively slow breakfast a few hours later. She still insisted on serving me like they all had, but she was willing to sit down and eat with me. We continued our talk about the local protocols of the court, and I learned more about how her contacts were handled and everything.

Apparently, I would have had to assign handles and blades; otherwise, a rotation of handles got to pick their teams. Nine was special, but she was also one of the best blades, and the handle that I'd picked and picked her was actually one of her friends. Likely, Nine had been perfectly happy to go. I was still a little bit sad, but that was fine.

I did ask how her slots would be filled by the remaining Numbered. One just grinned, and I figured she would be having a lot more slots than normal with Nine gone. And apparently, Nine wasn't the only one of my Numbered away from the castle. Almost half my numbered were out of the castle, off on various jobs.

Two and Three were working together to collect some information. Seven and Eight were off on a bodyguard assignment for one of our high-profile clients. Neither of them was a particularly dangerous mission, and they were very competent, One assured me. It might have been a little calus, but I hadn't met them yet and didn't know them. So I wasn't too concerned. They were people I was responsible for, but I could do nothing for them. Not yet. And I did not put them in any such situation.

One did seem a little anxious that there were only four of the Numbered around me at the moment. Evidently, that was unusual. Typically, they liked to keep at least five. But in the castle, it wasn't too big of a deal. Whenever I traveled, I always brought at least two of them, and One was always one of those.

After breakfast, we went down to the training hall. I felt a little bit antsy after being cooped up in a carriage for so long. One, and I decided that it would be good for me to train and see how much I actually remembered. 

We went through a simple weight routine. I instinctively knew how to move all the weights, even if I didn't know their names, and One quickly filled them in for me. They slotted right into place with no real issues. And now, if I had to talk to someone about training, I would feel more comfortable.

My strength was odd. I was quite strong, but not muscly. I could press several hundred pounds off my chest, at least twice my body weight, but I didn't look big. But I was also incredibly flexible and had strength in odd positions. One explained that it had a lot to do with fighting. You got pretty high mobility from sparring and fighting constantly, and she described mobility as flexibility plus strength, which seemed to make sense given the close-quarters combat style we had.

After a little bit, One and I squared off in a training ring, each carrying a pair of wooden daggers dipped in paint and a white overcoat that would be washed afterward. She was a skilled opponent, better than the idiot who challenged me that first day, but not better than me. One was at a disadvantage in reach, speed, and strength. She did have a better strategy and could read my feints perfectly, but it just couldn't overcome my quicker reactions, higher endurance, and general physical superiority.

I couldn't help but revel in it as I tossed her around the ring. I tried not to go too hard, but she seemed to be enjoying it as well. She completely let loose, going all out, not even trying to just touch me with her daggers but actually ramming them into me. It was fun. After a few minutes, I tossed mine to the side and worked on unarmed combat against her daggers.

It was all about catching her wrists, slipping to the side, and tangling up the knives. It was very awkward and difficult, especially when I had nothing to block with. Still, for the most part, I managed it, only taking a few wounds while tossing her around and pinning her several times. 

I felt a little bad and would have felt much worse if One's brilliant smile hadn't shown through the entire time. The craziness in her eyes as she fought convinced me that perhaps she didn't need someone holding on to her leash; otherwise, One would be a terror.

She panted when we eventually called a stop. "Normally, Nine would be here to help me, and then it would be a fair fight."

I raised my eyes. I knew Nine was quite nimble and good with her blade. "Oh, is it always two numbered against me?" 

One shook her head, still recovering her breath. "No. Three and Seven go against you alone. Two and Five also try against you alone. That's more of an even fight."

"Wait, you're saying Three and Seven are better than me?"

She nodded, held up her hand as she heaved a breath, and stood upright but mostly recovered. "Yeah. With the right weapons, Three and Seven are nigh on unbeatable, but their talents aid them in that. I'm sure you'd beat one of them if you got them by surprise. But if Seven is in her full armor with her longsword or lance... Yeah, ever. You should better pick a better opportunity to fight or catch her by surprise."

I nodded. Interesting to know that I wasn't the absolute pinnacle of combat that it felt like. "So, don't go against Seven in a straight-up fight. Three?"

"Well, Three is complicated. She doesn't do too much training, honestly. It's more raw with her." I looked at her quizzically, and she shrugged. "It's hard to describe. I'm sure you'll see soon enough. 

"It's not something I should be prepared for?"

She cocked her head, thinking. "No, I don't think you need to."

"All right, fair enough." 

I felt good after the training session. But we both were a bit sweaty, so we cleaned up quickly. Just some wet towels to wipe down our bodies before we returned to our regular clothes, and I headed off to my office.

I had expected a response from the letter I sent last night to be there, but there wasn't. There were several new documents to go through.

So, while sitting on my knee, One helped me review all the reports, pointing out what each was for and what I should expect to happen. The lesson continued until lunch as slowly, I learned how to run a Court of Assassins.