Free Imperial Assassin by Mark Robson

glanced at one another and laughed. As was fitting for a Lady, Femke was riding sidesaddle. Her legs were towards the
armed brigands, which was undoubtedly their intention. They did not want her to use the horse as a shield and try to run away. As she considered her options, Femke decided that with only two of
them in sight she had more than a good chance of taking them by surprise. The third man’s last call was from some way away. She decided to discount him as an immediate threat.
    ‘You’ll r . . . r . . . run me through if I jump down.’
    ‘I’ll run you through if you
don’t
jump down! Get off that horse. Now!’
    The man moved his sword to one side to encourage her. It was just the chance Femke was looking for. She did not hesitate, but pushed away from the saddle to bridge the gap between her and the
big man. Her jump carried her inside the natural arc of his sword and she twisted just slightly as she descended. Femke landed hard, driving her left heel down onto the man’s left foot. As
she compressed her knees on impact her right hand grabbed the handle of the knife in her right boot top, whilst another appeared miraculously in her left hand from her sleeve. The roar of pain had
barely begun to erupt from the big man’s mouth when it cut off. Femke, rising out of her crouch, threw the knife from her right hand straight into the body of the thinner robber. In one
smooth simultaneous action, she opened the bigger man’s belly with a twisting slash of the blade in her left hand.
    The big man dropped his sword in shock. Femke did not wait for a further reaction. The man’s redoubled bellow of pain spooked her horse. It reared and galloped forward, frightening the
packhorse into a gallop as well. Luck and quick reactions favoured her. She was just quick enough to turn and grab a handful of her horse’s mane before it charged forward out of reach. Her
arm wrenched in its socket as the terrified horse dragged her away. She skipped twice, the horse pulling her far faster than she could run. Using her momentum, she kicked hard off the ground on the
second bounce, flipping herself back up and onto the horse’s back.
    Pain lanced through her chest as her partially healed ribs were first stretched by the overextension of her arm and then battered as they connected with the pommel of the saddle. The pain
brought tears to her eyes, but she gritted her teeth and concentrated on staying on the horse’s back. Trees and bushes flashed past in a green blur as her mount stretched out into its full
gallop. The flapping of her dress against the horse’s flank did not help, as it served to perpetuate the poor animal’s fright. It took a few moments before she managed to gain a secure
seat. By the time she had, the main threat of danger from the robbers was behind her.
    The two men in the middle of the road were both badly wounded. Femke did not know if they would live from the injuries she had dealt them, but the knowledge that their partner in crime would get
to them quickly salved her initial pangs of guilt. If they lived, she doubted they would be so quick to attempt robbing Noblewomen in future.
    A short way up the road, she managed to pull alongside and catch her servant’s horse. Then, with both horses and all of her belongings still intact, she continued to her pre-arranged
rendezvous point. When she arrived, her contact was waiting. Femke changed quickly into nondescript clothing, warning her agent of the ambush that had awaited her outside the city. The man’s
expression was grim on hearing the fate of his fellow operative, but he did not ask for more information. He knew that this was not the time for chatting. The man put Lady Alyssa’s travelling
clothes into her bags with all of the rest of her belongings, took her two horses and left. Femke mounted her fresh horse, turned it away from the road and set off across the open countryside to
circle around to the south of the city. There was little