The Art of Deception

By Stephanie Burgis

Niko Hrabanic was once a famous swordsman. But after a scandal-laden departure from his last job at a royal court, he's now hiding out in a rural inn, making himself useful to his attractive landlady in all sorts of ways that don't actually involve paying rent...

...until a summons from the mysterious and dangerous White Library shakes up his life all over again. His landlady, it turns out, has secrets of her own. Now Hrabanic and Julia will have to confront both of their pasts - and if they're going to have any hope of survival, they'll need both Hrabanic's sword arm and Julia's magical training.

It's time for them to become experts at the art of deception.

*Shortlisted for the 2016 WSFA Small Press Short Fiction Award*

The Art of Deception is a 12,400 word novelette full of swordfighting, banter, and a twisty plot. It was originally published in the 2015 anthology Insert Title Here, ed. Tehani Wessely (FableCroft Press).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stephanie Burgis
• Release date: Aug 10, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370389223

Stephanie Burgis

Stephanie Burgis grew up in East Lansing, Michigan, but now she lives in Wales with her husband (fellow writer and ebook cover designer Patrick Samphire), their two sons, and their very vocal tabby cat, Pebbles (who basically owns Steph's Instagram account). She writes wildly romantic historical fantasy for adults (most recently, Scales and Sensibility, Good Neighbors, and the Harwood Spellbook series) and fun, funny MG fantasy adventures for kids (most recently, The Raven Heir and the Dragon with a Chocolate Heart trilogy).

Book preview

The Art of Deception

The Art of Deception

Stephanie Burgis

Five Fathoms Press

For my brother David, who asked for a story full of swordfighting, banter, and a twisty plot. Here

it

is

!

Contents

The Art of Deception

Acknowledgments

Snowspelled

Masks and Shadows

About the Author

The Art of Deception

There are three moves every true swordsman should know. First, the Shagomir Defense, as taught by every minor proponent of the art; second, the whistling attack, suitable for advanced students only; and third, the Hrabanic Deception, a lethally difficult move which turns a seeming defense into the neatest of stabs, clean into your opponent’s chest, piercing the heart in an instant. The Hrabanic Deception is always fatal.

Considering that Niko Hrabanic had invented the move, he should have been more prepared when it was used against him. But he had never been as gifted in the art of verbal swordplay as he was with the blade; and at any rate, he was attacked at an inopportune moment.

What do you mean, ‘useless’? It’s hard to carry off any semblance of dignity while naked, but Hrabanic did his best, pulling the sheet up to his chest and directing an outraged glare at his bed partner, who also happened to be his landlady.

She sat up in bed, disregarding the sheet, and crossed her arms. Her dark hair tumbled invitingly across her shoulders; her jutting elbows emphatically refuted the invitation. "Useless: lacking in use, ineffectual, unable to accomplish that

which

—

"

All right, all right! We all know you were raised in a library. Hrabanic set his teeth. I’ve never heard you complain before.

I never had to leave anyone else in charge of you before.

"I will pay my rent. Soon! All I need is a few more students,

and

then

—

"

You’ve been saying that for the past nine months.

"Don’t I make myself useful in other ways?" He dropped his sheet.

She snorted. "Well, you aren’t going to be doing that with the friend who’s taking over

for

me

."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "You think not? If you find me so useless, then

perhaps

—

"

It’s my friend Miriam. The one with the husband who won five wrestling championships.

Oh. He pulled the sheet back up. "Well. There’s still the matter of everything else I do around here. I stop fights from breaking out at the bar every night, I take care of all the heavy lifting

for

you

—

"

I’m fairly certain Miriam’s husband can deal with those matters himself.

I also have a reputation, in case you’ve forgotten.

"You

did

,

once

."

Hrabanic let out a growl. "That’s low, Julia. Even

for

you

."

She shrugged. "You used to be the most famous swordsman in Plötz, yes. But you’ve been hiding out in a rundown tavern in a little backwater town nobody’s ever heard of, ever since the Archduke

fired

you

."

"I was not fired.

I

was

—

"

You were fired, Julia said. So you ran away to lick your wounds, and like the soft-hearted fool I am, I took you in. But now Miriam and her husband are doing me the kindest of favours by taking over while I’m gone, and I can’t leave them with a tenant who’s useless to them, just because he’s afraid to go back out into the wider world.

"Why do you have to leave at all? You still haven’t explained

that

part

."

Julia’s eyes, for the first time, slid away. That doesn’t matter.

Ha. Hrabanic pushed himself up to a sitting position. "You’re the one running away, aren’t you? Maybe the tavern’s not doing as well as you say. Maybe you’re afraid of how you feel about me.

Maybe

—

"

I have to go home for a while,

Julia

said

.

To the White Library? He blinked. "What are you meant to do

Reviews for The Art of Deception

[Maria E. Schneider · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

For a novella, it took too long to get going, but it was okay once it did. The formatting is off so the last two words of every sentence are on their own line. There are more unfinished sentences ending in -- than in any other book I've ever read. That made it kind of tedious. The deceptions are layered upon deceptions, which was confusing for a while. And then, after all that trouble, they walked away. So three stars for entertaining.