Free The Assassin's Tale (Isle of Dreams) by Kirsten Jones

low voice.
    ‘Drow?’
    He nodded,
‘Dark elves.  Nasty pieces of work, vengeful and merciless.’
    ‘He’s got the
right skills for the job then,’ muttered Mistral.
    ‘Never mind
him right now, did you read the parchment?’  Phantom asked his brother in
an urgent whisper while they followed the other apprentices up the stone
staircase in the Entrance Hall to the second floor.
    Phantasm
nodded, ‘Nothing unusual; we commit to a year’s training, we do not have the
right to leave but the Ri reserve the right to eject any apprentice displaying
undesirable behaviour –’
    ‘I’d love to
know what sort of behaviour can be classed as “undesirable” from someone
training to be an assassin,’ interjected Mistral in an amused tone.
    ‘I agree, the
parchment didn’t specify what this “behaviour” would have to consist of. 
I assume you’d have to be a really big troublemaker to actually be thrown out
of the Valley –’
    They reached
the second floor and glimpsed a long wooden corridor with lots of doors leading
off it before going on to climb another set of stairs up to the third floor.
    ‘The dorms,’
whispered Phantasm grimly, catching Mistral’s curious glance at the rows of
doors.  ‘Your charmless cell awaits your inspection after Registration.’
    Mistral nodded
and smiled privately at the twins’ obvious liking for luxury.  She didn’t
care what her room was like.  She’d been more than happy sleeping on a
forest floor wrapped in a wolf skin so a room with a bed in it was perfectly
acceptable to her.  
    They reached
the third floor.  The sound of Grendel’s laborious breathing after the
climb up two flights of stairs filled the tense silence.  Mistral wrinkled
her nose at the strong smell of his body odour and hoped that the entry test
wouldn’t involve her being close to him. 
    Leo Sphinx
stood waiting for them outside a heavy wooden door bound with thick bands of
iron.  Once all the apprentices had gathered he opened the door and stood
back, gesturing for them to enter.  Mistral followed the twins through the
doorway into the strangest room she had ever seen.  The room was roughly
the same shape and size as the Main Hall but the entire floor was thickly
padded with some kind of soft matting.  There were no windows and the only
source of light came from rows of torches blazing brightly on the bare stone
walls.  At one end of the room a large circular target was positioned,
obviously for archery practise.  A huge mirror hung at the opposite end,
so large that it filled the wall completely.  Mistral stared at it in
amazement.  She had never seen a mirror so big.  It reflected her
amazed expression back at her mockingly and she quickly composed her features
into something that made her look less ridiculous.
    Golden gazed
haughtily into the vast looking glass, checking her flawless reflection before
giving a satisfied toss of her hair.  Phantom caught Mistral’s eye and
suppressed a grin.
    Leo Sphinx
strode to the centre of the Training Room followed by the same three
heavily-built Training Lieutenants that had accompanied him in The Cloak and
Dagger the previous evening.  Whilst he stood conversing quietly with them
Mistral and the other apprentices lined up against the long wall facing the
open door and waited apprehensively for him to finish his conversation. 
Mistral cast an appraising glance along the line of apprentices.  Now that
she had seen the Training Room she had a pretty good idea what Leo Sphinx had
in mind and was gauging her chances against the others.
    Cain and the
half-drow she didn’t know were both slightly built, as were the twins and
Golden.  Mistral didn’t think they would cause her too much of a
problem.  Grendel was obviously an insurmountable opponent whilst Brutus
and Xerxes had elf blood and were taller and more muscular, which would pose
more of a problem.  Saul was taller than her too.  Mistral hoped she
didn’t have to face him.  She