Silver lay on her stomach, kicking her feet back and forth in the air as she watched the pair of shoppers on the street below. A knight with green hair walked side-by-side with a blonde woman. They talked and laughed together, and Silver could just imagine the cringe-worthy flirting that was likely taking place.
She sighed and pulled a stick of kivagoat meat from her pouch. Munching on the snack was the only thing keeping this from becoming one of the worst jobs she’d ever been on. It hadn’t been particularly difficult, but she hadn’t expected as much when the job had pitted her against a meager level 12 adventurer.
Silver had almost been insulted when the job reached her through the usual dead drops and shady dealings. Why would anyone bother killing a level 12? Just wait long enough and they usually got themselves killed, especially in the adventuring profession. Why bother hiring her, a level 28 assassin, to take on someone so pitifully low?
The answer was that they wanted no trace brought back to them and, for that, they needed a professional. In fact, Silver was quite sure that the contact she’d been dealing with was just a middleman. Even she didn’t know who had arranged the murder. All that mattered was that it was arranged, and she would be paid handsomely for a night so easy, it bordered on boring.
The knight and his companion entered a shop. From her height, the assassin could barely see through the window, but she wasn’t worried. They didn’t know she was there, didn’t know the danger that lurked. She could wait. They would return.
She sighed. This backwater town was so boring…a tiny speck of civilization in a sea of forest. Silver longed to be back in a city, any city, as long as it had more than the few thousand people that called this place home. Where was the nightlife? Where was the intrigue? Where were the nobles trying to stab one another in the back?
But, boring towns with high-paying clients were still good sources of money, so she’d do it. Not that she needed the funds. In her line of work, there was always a job to be had, always someone in need of a visit from the Graveyard Gambler, god of fate and death. No, Silver was quite wealthy, but she liked the shimmer of gold. Gold coated in blood just had a shine to it that she couldn’t resist. She’d put up with a tiny town in order to line her pockets further.
The giggling pair finally exited the little shop. They were coming this way. Silver rolled to her feet and crouched at the edge of the roof. With deft fingers, she pulled the mysterious bottle from her belt and uncorked it. The red liquid shimmered with an oily sheen as she poured it onto the first of her blades. She didn’t know what it was, but the client had insisted that she use it. If they wanted to pay for the mystery poison, then who was she to argue? It wasn’t her money, after all.
The liquid steamed and hissed as it dripped onto the first blade. Half the contents went to the first blade, half to the second. Once the liquid was no longer steaming, it would be ready.
She eyed the pair as they stopped beneath a streetlamp. She wouldn’t have long before the poison evaporated. Silently leaping from one roof to the next, she readied herself for the jump. One leap, two swipes, one escape. That’s all it would take.
Just as she tensed her muscles, though, a cry of alarm reached her ears, forcing her to duck back. Had she been seen? She checked her active abilities.
Active Abilities:
Shadow’s Embrace
Mirror Image
The World Engine responded to her query, providing the simple confirmation that she was still invisible to most of the world. But then, why the scream? If not a reaction to her, then what?
Peering back over the edge, Silver watched four shadow constructs materialize in the street, surrounding her target. The green-haired man pulled his glaive from his back, stepping between the woman and the monsters.
Anger filled her. Had that lying, cheating, backstabbing middleman hired multiple assassins for the same job?! When Silver saw him next, she would have to let him know exactly how she felt about that. It would be painful, and it would end in the man’s blood pooling on the ground around him.
Silver readied herself to jump, to finish the job before her competition beat her to her payday. Yet, just as she poised herself to jump, a whispered breath brushed against the back of her neck. She spun around, slicing with readied blades. No one would sneak up on her like that! She wouldn’t…
But, there was no one there. Had it just been a trick of the wind? Or was the Gambler trying to tell her something?
She swiftly went through her mental checklist once more. Spells up? Check. Daggers poisoned? Check. Hood up, scarf up? Check. Escape route secured? Check…
What was it, then?
A civilian screamed, followed by the screech of what sounded like a screaming cat. Silver peered over the edge again, spotting a red-haired ranger raced in bow drawn. A black cat raced ahead of him before throwing itself at the woman.
Of course…that was what was wrong. The dossier had mentioned that cat. Her instincts had noticed that something was not quite right, and here it was. Never rush into an assassination. Leave nothing to chance. That was how she’d been taught. She’d almost forgotten that.
She murmured a quiet prayer to the Gambler for warning her and crouched on the edge of the roof once more. She’d send her target to his table, but she would do it right.
Fire swirled in a tornado of fury as her target and the cat called forth a truly impressive display of mana for their level. Emphasis on ‘for their level.’ Level 12 was hardly the apex of anything, and the spell would not impress anyone who was a higher level than her.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Silver’s competition literally melted away. The shadow constructs were defeated by spell and blade, and she grinned under her scarf. The opposition had failed to heed the Gambler’s warnings. She would not be so foolish.
The adventurers gathered back around, discussing the fight and patting themselves on the back for a job well done. This was the time. Everything was in order, and every character was accounted for.
Silver threw herself from the roof, relying on gravity to empower her strikes as she swiped her blades towards those lovely blond curls. The cat howled a warning, but it was too late! Silver’s blades cut deep through the witch’s back. The target collapsed to the ground, already beginning to bleed into the cobblestones.
One look was all Silver needed to know she would bleed out and die, even without the poison she’d been instructed to use. That was just icing on the cake. With her task done, she fled, racing to the left down an alleyway.
A burning heat slammed into her right shoulder, sending her stumbling forward. She glanced back. That archer…he managed to get off a shot. Her eyes met his for the briefest moment before she turned and raced into the darkness.
She bit her cheek to distract from the pain in her shoulder. She needed to get away before the guards ultimately swarmed the area. Public assassinations were easy. Escaping from public assassinations? That was harder.
Pain surged as she scaled the building. The arrow was buried in her shoulder, sending waves of pain through her every time she moved, but she had no choice. Reaching around, she snapped off the shaft of the arrow and tossed it aside. She’d have to deal with the rest later. For now, she just needed to…
More heat graced her cheek as she turned towards a brilliant light that had erupted in the market square. It towered above the rooftops in an inferno of mana. Was this the target? Had she lived enough to cast the spell?!
What to do? If she showed up to the middleman without completing the deed, she wouldn’t be paid…but, if she turned back to make sure, she might be caught…
What a decision indeed. Times like these, it was always best to let the dice decide. The Gambler would steer her true, even if he had a funny way of showing it sometimes.
Pulling out a set of bone dice, she determined the rolling rules. Evens, she’d leave. Odds, she’d go back. Silver rolled the bones, watching it roll along the flat section of roof. It tumbled and tumbled before rolling to a stop on…
Silver watched with rapt interest as the die wavered between an eighteen and a one. Anything but a one, she prayed. The lowest number would be a bad omen among bad omens. Anything but a one.
She held her breath, not daring to do anything that might bias the roll in any way. The Gambler would be upset if she did. Another breath sent a shiver down her spine as the die finally landed.
The single line stared up at her. She’d rolled a one.
Silver’s blood went cold as she gathered the dice with a trembling hand. The Gambler had given her a one. It was his influence that had tipped the scales, Silver was absolutely sure of it.
She inhaled, then exhaled, gathering her nerves. She’d rolled the bones, she would abide by their wisdom.
Creeping along the rooftops, she returned to her original point of attack. It was stupid, but no other place would have a better view of her target’s final fate.
Below, her target had vanished, along with her friends. At the center of the firestorm, Silver spied a man with noble attire fighting…someone new.
The newcomer had dark hair and wore a dark and tattered black coat. His skin danced with magic as he swiped at the lord with obsidian claws. There was more than fury in his orange eyes, there was hatred. This man was not human, not by any metric. He radiated evil magic that made Silver’s skin crawl.
Where he’d come from, she didn’t know, but she knew enough to be afraid. She counted her blessings that he was not her problem, at the moment. She needed to find the target and make certain she was dead.
Silver continued over the rooftops, following a trail of blood left on the stones below. That trail led her straight to where the green-haired knight and the ranger had carried her. She rested on a bench, the knight holding her hand while his companion stood watch.
But, she wasn’t bleeding enough. Blood wasn’t pooling beneath her! How had they healed her?! Silver’s attack had struck true, the wound had been deep. The supplied poison should have sealed her fate and sent her right to the Gambler’s table!
And yet…there she was. The target’s chest rose and fell. It was shallow, but the very notion of her still breathing made Silver’s eye twitch in frustration. She needed to end this. If the two adventurers were collateral damage, then so be it. She would not return to her employer with nothing to show for it.
As Silver readied her weapons, the ranger raised his head, looking up at the rooftops. She couldn’t strike from there…not if he knew she was coming. Descending carefully, she crept through the shadows between buildings.
Once again, she readied herself. Once again, the ranger turned his head straight towards her.
How?
How did he know?! Was the arrowhead buried in her shoulder enchanted? Or was his eyesight keen enough to see through her spells? How did he know where she was?!
A cold whisper brushed against her neck, causing her to whip around once more. Nothing was there.
Silver was going mad, she was sure of it. Between the idiot ranger who kept finding her and the paranoia that something was watching, this night could not get worse.
Then there was the omen…
She’d rolled a one…
No…focus, Silver, she thought to herself. Focus was all she needed. Work the problem. Finish the job.
If the ranger could see her, then she’d just have to take him down first. Her target wasn’t going anywhere. She’d eliminate the ranger, then the knight, then the witch. Simple.
She twirled her daggers. Three. Two. One. She threw herself into the light, aiming to pierce the ranger’s heart in one swift strike.
Another breath, this one colder than the grave, gripped her spine. She froze with fear. The ranger looked right at her, though her spells prevented anyone else from seeing.
Then, a horrifying screech echoed through the city. The ranger turned his head towards it.
“Terrowin, did you hear that?” he asked. Had he really not seen her? He’d looked right at her, and yet he was behaving as if he saw nothing. What was going on?
The knight nodded. “Do you think Erik’s okay? You saw what Malzy became.”
“A demon, I’ve no doubt.”
“We’ve been travelling with a demon this whole time,” the knight murmured. “Why didn’t they tell us?”
“Everyone has reasons for their secrets,” the ranger finished. “I’m sure you can relate.” The knight didn’t respond.
Meanwhile, the cold grip still had Silver in its clutches. Her heart raced and she struggled to keep her breathing quiet. If the ranger really hadn’t seen her yet, then she needed to keep it that way.
Then, the voice spoke, whispering in her ear as she remained frozen in panic.
“Leave these ones alone,” it seethed in a voice that was neither male, nor female, only angry.
It was the Gambler. Silver had angered the god of fate and death! That was the only explanation. The one hadn’t been telling her to return to the target…it had been telling her to run. It was a bad omen! She should have listened more closely!
The gold reward meant nothing to her anymore. She needed to leave. She needed to run far, far away from this job before the Gambler was angered any further.
As soon as the grip faded, Silver ran. She ran and she did not stop, muttering apologies all the while. She would not bother these ones again, she promised. With any luck, she’d never cross their path again. Maybe then, the Gambler would forgive her for her arrogance.