some kind of white assassin?"
My hands paused with the screwdriver. White assassin. Sounded nice. "Sure. I'll be the White Assassin. Named Red."
Neil leaned back in his chair, chuckling. "Think anyone will take you?"
"After adding that whole mess to my portfolio, yeah, I think they will."
"Trech."
I sighed and glared at him. "For the last freakin' time, don't call me Trech."
But Neil didn't say anything. He just stood and held a hand out to me. "Promise me we'll get through this together. As friends."
I looked at his hand. Carter's words echoed in my ears. I took Neil's hand. "Of course. Deal."
Neil smiled. "Deal." He sat back on his chair. "So, still want me to get rid of Laurel's money?"
"I better see a hefty chunk of it, after all that."
"You'll get your paystub in the mail." Neil grinned.
And just like that, we were back as friends again. Back as fellow men at arms. Fellow assassins.
Fellow murderers.
Still waiting for that magic hit.
About the Author
R. A. Meenan was born in London during the golden age of science fiction, but somehow time traveled to the Modern Era (some say a mad man with a blue box was involved). She was dropped on the doorstep of a house owned by anthropomorphic cats and though they were disappointed she didn't have furry ears and a tail, they took her in to teach her the ways of elemental magic. After setting fire to her furry cat friends' tails one too many times (final score – fire: 2612, cat's tails: 0) they called an exterminator and sent her out on her way.
Now an adult (physically, not mentally), she ride-hops intergalactic military spacecraft, combing the outer reaches of space and time, writing science fiction and urban fantasy stories based on her experiences. She's also hoping to find the perfect cup of coffee and a better way to grow dinosaurs. Humans kind of look at her funny, but she's managed to make herself an honorary ambassador for furry and anthropomorphic aliens and space dragons.
She carefully feeds and brushes her wonderful husband Joe and the pair have four furry children (which are really cats, but don't tell them that). She also spends her spare time teaching essay-writing haters, molding them into people resembling Actual Students and Lovers of English.
She may not win the hearts of stiff military men or students who want good grades for no effort, but she certainly captures the spirit and imagination of time travelers, magic users, nerds, Students-In-Training, and fantasy lovers. Welcome to her nonsensical world. We hope you like it here.
You can email R. A. Meenan at
[email protected] or
[email protected]. Check out more of her works at www.zyearth.com. Sign up for her newsletter! You can also follow her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/zyearthchronicles or on Twitter at @r_a_meenan.
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Glossary
Faunos: Anthropomorphic creatures, usually based off of Earth animals, either real or legendary. Scientists on Earth and Zyearth believe that faunos probably evolved from feral animals with the help of Draso, the creator god, though nonbelievers have different opinions on the matter. All faunos have similar DNA and genetic structures and many species can interbreed, though hybrids are extremely rare. All faunos, regardless of the Earth animal they evolved from, give live birth, though not all infant faunos suckle milk.
Zyfaunos: Zyfaunos are a specially defined subspecies of faunos. All zyfaunos have similar characteristics – plantigrade or near plantigrade legs, human stance structure in the spine, humanlike eyes and sometimes lips, generally short snouts, and have humanlike, five fingered hands. Zyfaunos range in height between about 4'5" to 7' tall. All zyfaunos can interbreed regardless of the individual's species. Unlike most faunos, zyfaunos are not always "traditionally" colored, and often have unnatural colors in their fur, such as red, blue, green, purple, and others. Zyfaunos are the most human of all faunos and even share some human DNA. Though relationships are rare, humans and zyfaunos can produce children. Zyfaunos are named as such because the DNA strain originated from the planet Zyearth and Zyearth has the most pure forms of this species.
Quilar: Quilar are perhaps the most unusual of all zyfaunos, as it is unclear what Earth animal they evolved from. They have several key characteristics – catlike ears and snout, including wet noses, slightly humanlike lips, though usually black or dark pink, humanlike feet and hands, tails, and quills of various lengths on their head in place of hair. They range in height from about 5'4" to 6' for shorthair quilar and 6' to 7' for longhair quilar. Quilar quills are hard, though not usually sharp like a porcupine or hedgehog. Instead of fingernails, quilar have tiny retractable claws on each hand. These claws are not very sharp and are mainly used for scratching. Quilar also do not have any "traditional" colors. Their fur and quills tend to have very vibrant colors, such as blue, green, purple, and others. Some quilar are two toned and have a mixed of different colors, but this is a rare anomaly. Longhaired quilar and shorthaired quilar have differing characteristics.
Longhair Quilar: Longhair quilar have slightly longer, coarser fur and shorter quills on the head. These quilar also have slightly more catlike feet and a long, bent, rigid tail. Their ears are also slightly different, as they are bent slightly backwards and cannot perk up the same way a normal cat's ears can. Longhaired quilar are rarer than shorthaired quilar and are almost exclusively limited to the Athánatos population.
Shorthair Quilar: Shorthair quilar have very short, very soft fur and generally longer, thicker quills on their heads. Quilar are the most humanlike of all faunos. Human-faunos relationships usually involve a quilar.
Focus Jewels: Focus jewels are found on many different planets throughout the universe. The term refers to any jewel that can be bound to a user's skin, soul, or lifeforce that grants supernatural powers. Sometimes focus jewel power only grants simple powers, such as long life, but others exhibit more extravagant powers, such as elemental power, cloaking (the ability to hide a user from view) or healing.
Lexi Gems: Lexi Gems are focus jewels bound to the user's soul and grants users several powers. Average Gem users are granted long life (up to four hundred Zyearth years), basic shielding, which is used mainly for cooking and preventing injury from heat and sharp objects, and slow aging. Advanced users develop "Gem Specialties." There are a variety of specialties that users develop. The most common specialty is healing, followed by elemental fabricators and manipulators, and a select few specialize in cloaking. Users are usually granted only one specialty, though a rare few have two. In the case of a duel specialist, both specialties are significantly weaker than those in a single specialist.
Lexi Gems are usually about the size of a user's fist. Gems often take on the colors of their users in one of several forms, but they lose their color when their user dies.
Ei-Ei Jewels: Ei-Ei Jewels, like Lexi Gems, are focus jewels and are the source of magic and power for a member of the Athánatos tribe. Ei-Ei jewels are small and they are fused to the skin of the user just around the edge of their eyes. Ei-Ei jewels also come in pairs. Each eye has one set of the pairs. There are three jewels, but all of them work together to properly function.
The first jewel, the Mind Jewel, is yellow, representing the sophia flower, a symbol of wisdom. This jewel set keeps the user's mind fresh and free of deterioration. They even protect against mind aging issues like Alzheimer's and dementia.
The second set, the Body Jewel, is red, representing the purity of blood and flesh. This jewel set keeps the body from deterioration. Athánatos tribe members are immortal because of this jewel, but they are not invincible.
The final set, the Soul Jewel, is the color of the users eyes, representing the user's soul. This jewel set keeps the soul pinned to the body. Together the three sets make the user immortal.
Defender: The Defenders are a military group run by a small country called Zedric on the continent of Yel
ar on the plant Zyearth. The Defenders were originally created as a small private military designed to protect those who need protecting, but after a large scale war broke up the continent into smaller countries, the Defenders attached themselves to a new and neutral country. They still help defend the defenseless, though they also run international and intergalactic missions designed to protect their assets as well as the defenseless. Since the country is small, the army is small, and they generally try to avoid war or fighting as much as possible.
Guardian: Guardians are an essential part of the Defender army. Guardians are high ranking, highly trained individuals that perform tasks that average Defenders aren't trained for. There are two important types of Guardians.
Master Guardian: The role of Master Guardian is usually held by two people at the same time, often a former Golden Guardian pair. Master Guardians have a duel task – he or she is both the head of the Defender army and the leader of the country of Zedric. Master Guardians are chosen by the lawmakers, called the Assembly, a group of thirty zyfaunos that have been voted into office by the general population. The Assembly can vote anyone in, but they typically vote for high ranking army personnel, such as the Golden Guardians. Master Guardians must be smart, strong, courageous, and influential. Master