The Viper and the Urchin
Release
Date: July 27th 2015
Summary from Goodreads
Being
Damsport's most elegant assassin is hard work. There's tailoring to consider,
devilish poisons to concoct, secret identities to maintain... But most
importantly, Longinus has to keep his fear of blood hidden or his reputation
will be ruined. So, when a scrawny urchin girl threatens to expose his phobia
unless he teaches her swordsmanship, he has no choice but to comply.
It
doesn't take long for Rory to realise that her new trainer has more
eccentricities than she has fleas. But she'll put up with anything, no matter
how frustrating, to become a swordswoman like her childhood hero.
What
she's not prepared for is a copycat assassin who seeks to replace Longinus, and
who hires Rory's old partner in crime to do away with her, as well. Rory and
Longinus must set their differences aside and try to work together if they're
to stop the copycat. But darker forces than they realise are at play, and with
time running out, the unlikely duo find themselves the last line of defence
against a powerful enemy who seeks to bring Damsport to its knees.
Buy Links
Excerpt
Longinus
sat at a corner table in the Hand and Tankard, surveying the room. He had
swapped the black silks he wore as the Viper for simple leathers, the better to
blend in with the crowd. He found it best to tone down his natural elegance
when mixing with common folk. That said, he was unable to compromise on the cut
of his clothes, and he had had his leathers tailored to within an inch of their
lives. A shame that he was sitting down, really; they showed off his figure so
exquisitely he should have stood at the bar, the better to be admired.
He
listened to the talk around him, waiting for the gossip on the Viper’s
exploits. He had spent the last few days locked away writing pamphlets about
his most recent kill, and he had left them at the docks first thing that
morning for a lucky few to find and read. He liked to think that his prose did
more than inform the wider public of the Viper’s actions — it elevated their
minds, too.
Which
was why he was growing rapidly annoyed with the direction the conversations
were taking: the weather, the upcoming Revels, and speculation as to whether
the Old Girl, the Marchioness of Damsport, was going to pass the torch to her
daughter. All of it without interest. It was incredible what mundane banalities
the small-minded could find interesting.
Unfortunately,
he had to rely on them to spread his reputation about town. His notoriety was
improving, but it was nowhere near what it ought to be. The guards always tried
to hush his activities, so he had to help things along by distributing his
pamphlets. Notoriety helped him get commissions, but most importantly, one
could only be an artist if one was spoken of. There was nothing worse for an
assassin than obscurity.
At last,
a woman he knew by sight on account of her starched white apron arrived.
Mistress White Apron sat down and regarded the others around her table with the
kind of smugness particular to a woman about to unveil a fresh piece of gossip.
“Have
you heard the latest on the Smallport killing?”
At last!
Longinus smiled. Mistress White Apron could always be counted on. Maybe he
should find out where she lived and distribute his pamphlets directly to her
door.
“Yeah, I
hear it were that Viper character again,” said a sailor.
“Everyone
knows that,” said the woman with contempt. “He leaves a card behind. But have
you heard the particulars? Hmm?” She looked at the faces of her audience, so
puffed up with self-satisfaction she almost seemed to be expanding. Longinus
beamed. The saintly woman was about to unveil his new poison.
Mistress
White Apron leaned forward. “I have it on good authority that he skinned his
victim. Slipped the skin right off, like you do with a rabbit.”
Longinus
almost fell off his stool. Skinned? Skinned? Had that idiot even read his
pamphlet?
What is
the point of me writing them if these simpletons blithely ignore them?
“Oh
really? I heard it were poison,” said another woman.
“Not
this time,” said Mistress White Apron. “I heard it from my cousin’s sister-in-law’s
nephew. He works with the guards.” She lowered her voice. “I hear the Viper
even drinks the blood of his victims, like a vampire.”
Longinus
felt himself go green at the thought.
Ridiculous,
this is ridiculous…
But
there was nothing ridiculous about the image that was now firmly imprinted in
his mind.
“You’re
making it up,” said the sailor, obviously disgusted.
“I am
not,” sniffed Mistress White Apron. “Just because you can’t handle —”
“If I
might interrupt,” said a small pinched man at a table next to them. “I saw the
body myself and…”
Longinus
couldn’t listen to any more. The butchery of his art was almost as unbearable
as the thought of the Viper drinking blood. He fumbled into his purse and
produced two coins, which he threw on the counter before hurrying out.
The
propensity of the common man’s mind to turn to the violent and bloody really
was intolerable.
About the Author
Celine Jeanjean is French, grew up in the UK and now lives in Hong Kong. That makes her a tad confused about where she is from. During her time in Asia she’s watched the sun rise over Angkor Wat, lost her shoes in Vietnam, and fallen off a bamboo raft in China. Celine writes stories that feature quirky characters and misfits, and her books are a mixture of steampunk, fantasy and humour.
Author Links
Giveaway
Book Tour Organized by