"Get the Governor up! Form a wall!"

  The remaining guards scrambled over the debris. They hauled Barov to his feet and locked their shields together to create a steel barrier between him and the intruder.

  To the side, near the shattered remains of the banquet table, Lil Sinbad pushed a heavy piece of timber off his legs.

  "Ouch..."

  Kenta crawled over to Kelise and helped her stand. "Are you okay? Is that... is that an assassin?"

  Lil Sinbad wiped a smudge of gravy and dust from his cheek. He glared at the cloaked figure. "Looks like his target is the Governor. He ignored everyone else."

  Inmate 39 stood amidst the ruin. He flicked a jagged dagger across his knuckles with hypnotic speed.

  Click-clack. Click-clack.

  He glared at the wall of guards with bored eyes.

  "Governor's dogs. Get out of my way. You aren't my target tonight, but I will kill you if you persist."

  "We will not yield!" the captain of the guard shouted. "Stand fast!"

  "Have it your way."

  ZOOM!

  Inmate 39 vanished. He moved faster than a blink.

  SHING!

  He appeared behind the first guard. A thin red line opened on the guard's throat. Blood sprayed the air.

  SQUELCH.

  He pivoted and drove the dagger into the second guard's heart through the gap in his armor.

  "Too slow."

  He grabbed the third guard’s hand.

  SNAP!

  He severed the man's index finger with a casual flick of his blade. The guard screamed and fell back.

  Inmate 39 caught the severed finger in mid-air. He placed it between his lips and let it dangle there like a cigarette.

  "Mmph."

  In a matter of seconds, three men were down. Blood slicked the expensive tiles. The remaining guards stepped back because fear seized their limbs.

  Barov clenched his fists until his nails dug into his palms. 'He’s a madman. He kills without hesitation.'

  Inmate 39 spat the finger onto the floor. "Boring. Is this the best you have, Governor? Your guards are weak. Maybe I should go find one of those Priests to entertain me after I clean up here."

  Suddenly, Barov’s eyes widened. He looked at a point directly behind the assassin.

  "Hiyaaah!"

  Lil Sinbad was in the air. He held a broken stick like a club and slashed down at the man’s head.

  "You ruined my meal, you bastard!"

  CRACK!

  The stick struck Inmate 39’s skull. The wood shattered into splinters.

  Inmate 39 didn't even flinch. He didn't stumble. He simply stopped twirling his dagger.

  "Sinbad! No!" Kenta shouted. "Don't be reckless!"

  Inmate 39 scratched his head. "I feel an itch. Is there a bug?"

  He flipped the dagger into a backhand grip. He swung his arm around with ferocious speed. The blade aimed directly for Lil Sinbad’s temple.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Sinbad froze. He couldn't dodge.

  WHAM!

  A hand shot out from the side. It grabbed Inmate 39’s wrist and stopped the blade inches from the boy’s skull.

  It was Jory. The mustached guard had shaken off his concussion. His arm glowed with blue geometric patterns as his Imprint flared to life.

  "You fight children now?" Jory yelled.

  He twisted the assassin’s arm and drove a heavy fist into Inmate 39’s ribs.

  BANG!

  Inmate 39 flew sideways and crashed into the stone wall. He left a spiderweb of cracks in the plaster.

  Lil Sinbad breathed heavily. "Thanks, mustache. I thought I was a goner."

  Kenta and Kelise rushed to his side. "Are you crazy? He killed three guys in a second!"

  Jory stepped in front of them. He held a naginata spear.

  "Kids, stay out of this." Jory looked at Barov. "Governor! Take them and run! Go out the back! I will hold him off!"

  "Oh?"

  Inmate 39 pulled himself out of the wall. He rolled his neck.

  "You'll do what now?" Inmate 39 grinned. "That was a decent punch. Looks like there is another prey who wants to be gutted by my dagger."

  He assumed a combat stance. "I hope you are challenging enough to loosen my limbs. I've been locked up for so damn long. My joints are stiff."

  Jory pointed his spear tip at the killer. "You should have stayed in prison. You only came out here to die."

  "We'll see about that."

  CLANG!

  They dashed toward each other. Sparks showered the room as dagger met spear.

  "Looks like you're not all talk, soldier boy!" Inmate 39 laughed as he parried a thrust. "You're a cut above the rest of the trash who tasted my blade."

  He gestured to the corpses with his foot.

  "Don't worry," Jory grunted as he kicked the assassin back. "You'll be joining them soon!"

  ...

  "This way! Quickly!"

  Barov herded the children through the service door. They rushed past bewildered servants who cowered in the pantry.

  "Hide! Barricade the doors!" Barov shouted at them.

  They burst into the backyard. Four more guards rushed over from the perimeter patrol.

  "Governor! We heard fighting!"

  "Assassin inside!" Barov ordered. "Go help Jory! He is fighting him alone!"

  "Yes, sir!"

  The guards held their spears and prepared to run inside.

  Barov pointed to the rear garden gate. "The exit is there! Run!"

  Lil Sinbad didn't have to be told twice. He bolted ahead of Kenta and Kelise.

  "I'm out of here!"

  He sprinted for the open archway. He reached the threshold.

  BONK!

  "Gah!"

  Sinbad slammed face-first into empty air. It was as if he had hit a pane of solid glass. He bounced back and landed hard on his rear.

  "Sinbad!" Kelise checked him. "What happened? Did you trip?"

  "No!" Sinbad rubbed his flattened nose. "There's... there's a wall!"

  He reached out. His hand pressed against an invisible barrier.

  "An invisible wall!"

  Barov ran over. He pressed his hand against the air. It was solid. He looked down at the ground. Faint, glowing markings were etched into the dirt, spreading out in a wide arc that encompassed the estate.

  "A formation trap," Barov cursed. "They set this up beforehand. We are trapped inside. No outside help can enter, and we cannot leave."

  "Governor! Look out!"

  A guard screamed a warning.

  Barov threw himself to the ground. Three razor-sharp threads sliced the air where his neck had been a second ago. They cut through a stone planter box as if it were butter.

  "Another one?" Barov scrambled back.

  "Enemy attack!"

  The two guards who had stayed with Barov circled him. They looked around frantically. "Where is it coming from?"

  WHIRRRR!

  Another thread attack descended from above. This one was a net, wide enough to catch Sinbad’s crew.

  "Guards!" Barov yelled.

  The guards reacted. They channeled Grace into their spear tips.

  "Sever!"

  SLASH!

  They cut the threads apart before they could slice the children. The steel wires snapped with the sound of breaking violin strings.

  Lil Sinbad, Kenta, and Kelise huddled together in fear.

  Tap.

  A slender foot landed gently on the garden path some distance away.

  Barov looked up.

  A woman stood there. She wore dark stockings and a short, pleated skirt that looked more suited for a doll than an assassin. In her hand, she held a strange device; a handle connected to several spinning steel balls that rotated and spooled thin steel webs.

  On her neck, the number 47 was branded into her pale skin.

  Inmate 47 glared at her targets with a bored expression.

  "This would have been so much easier if you didn't fight back," she sighed. "I went easy on you because of the orders. 'Capture, don't kill.' Boring."

  She flicked her wrist. The steel balls spun faster.

  "But if the Governor doesn't come willingly, I might have to get my hands bloody. And I hate the sight of blood. It ruins my manicure."

  She tilted her head at a crooked, unnatural angle and smiled sweetly. "Just kidding. I love it."

  "Kidding about which part?" Lil Sinbad shouted. He stood up, trembling but defiant. "Hey, lady! What do you and that other ugly man want with the Governor?"

  Inmate 47’s smile vanished. Her eyes locked onto Lil Sinbad.

  "I hate little brats."

  She walked closer. The steel balls hummed.

  "Do you want to know how I got that number on my neck, boy?"

  She didn't wait for an answer.

  "I used to be an artist. My medium was flesh. I started with corpses, stitching arms to legs, heads to chests. It was beautiful, but... static. Dead things don't scream. They don't twitch."

  She licked her lips. A shudder of pleasure ran through her body.

  "So I moved on to live subjects. The way the skin pulls taut against the thread... the way the muscles spasm when the needle enters... it gave me such an orgasmic thrill. I created masterpieces that breathed and begged."

  Her face twisted into a mask of hate.

  "But then... a brat like you stumbled into my lab. He ran away. He screamed. He brought the guards. I strung him up like a marionette before they caught me, but my work was ruined."

  She raised her weapon. The Crimson Marionette spun with lethal intent.

  "If you talk back to me again, boy, I will stitch your mouth to your anus and roll you down the hill like a hoop."

  Sinbad gulped. He gripped Kelise’s hand. This woman was worse than the man inside. She was a nightmare given form.

  "Now," Inmate 47 looked at Barov. "Be a good doll and hold still."