Life in Stone — Tim Pratt

Mr. Zealand is an elite assassin facing his most difficult assignment ever: to kill an immortal sorcerer. His client? The sorcerer himself, who can't remember where he put his soul for safekeeping.

This story was first published in Lenox Avenue in 2004, and was subsequently reprinted in a volume of The Year's Best Fantasy.

Fans of Pratt's Marla Mason series of urban fantasy novels may remember Mr. Zealand from the novel Poison Sleep. This is the story that introduced him.