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Ashi
Chapter 1: A Bond Arranged

Chapter 1: A Bond Arranged

The nightclub thrummed with the cacophonous deluge of people partying to the end  of the current year. Beings from all races were here in attendance: human, draconic, abyssal, celestial , fae, beast kin, triton, dryads, duskbound, snakekin, arachne, goblinoids, and the kindred.   

Issac, a maroon skinned demon, looked out across his massive bar at the throng of people. Mixed among the crowd were the majority of his supporters, and with their help, he would cast down his great uncle’s-family and establish his own within the 13. To be a member of the 13 was to hold sway over this cities’ fates. They were the elders of the founding families that kept the city in its day to day business, but most had grown old and needed trimming out.

As he leaned over the balcony, sipping his whiskey, he caught three dark cloaked figures amongst the crowd. He stared in fascination as the three forms slipped through the party goers like sharks through water. Issac turned to his head of security.

            “Have security detain those three. They seem to be up to no good.” His head of security nodded as he gave the order into his communicator. Issac watched as his security team converged on the figures. His smile fell quickly as the figures seemed to  vanish into the crowd. The five security members moved about searching for the three figures. In a blink, the first guard seemed to have been pulled down into the crowd before never reappearing. Horror gripped his heart as one by one the security team seemed to be sucked down into the crowd to never return. When the final guard froze in a silent scream of pain before hands grabbed him around the chest and pulled him down. Issacs heart pounded away in his chest as it dawned on him who they were.“Ashi…..”  He whispered in terror. “They are here for me.” The words no sooner left his lips before he began to run. Death had come for his rebellion and its hand was now closing in right around his throat.

As he ran down the corridors leading to his panic room, bodies of his security and fellow conspirators were strewn everywhere. Throats slashed, some has frost clinging to their flesh, while others seemed to have just dropped dead with no signs of struggle besides the bunched carpet where they kicked as death took them.

He slammed into the wall as he made the turn in the hall. Getting his balance back, he sprinted for his safe room. The sight of all those men dead had him wondering how many Ashi did they send to crush his uprising? It must have been over two dozen, if not more, seeing how easily they over whelmed his trained protection unit.  Finally the hidden door came into sight, safety was within reach.

Issac opened the door and reached for the light switch. Click… but nothing happened, he flipped the switch back and forth several times and then he heard it. His heart froze in his chest as he heard the creak of his chair swiveling back and forth in the dark gently. Issac’s bladder nearly released as five small flaming orbs appeared floating in the air, illuminating the room in an eerie glow that made the shadows dance on the walls. But, where he expected the room to be filled with hooded assassins ready to take his life, he found but a single hooded figure sitting behind his desk, swiveling slowly back and forth.

Issac stared in abstract horror at the intruder,“Who are you!” Issacs spoke into the silence, a tremble in his voice. He tried to peer into the deeper recesses of the figures hood but couldn’t make out any features.

“The 13 know about your Coup, Issac Oshva, and we were sent to handle it,” said the figure in a male voice. It sounded much too young to be some grand assassin.

“Reveal yourself, assassin. Show me the face of the great killer they sent for my head!” Issac puffed as he stood tall in his suit. He stared down the assassin as it stood and pulled the hood back to unveil a young teenage boy with dusky black hair. On the left side of his neck was an unmistakeable tattoo. It was a deaths head with an ash tree’s roots tangled into its eye sockets, the mark of the head of the Ashi family. 

This had to be a joke Issac thought, they sent a maybe fifteen year old to kill me? This is a mistake they will not soon forget.

“They insult me by sending but a boy to take me out? How many assassins did they send into my lair to have me expunged? Twenty? Thirty? And they send a lad barely old enough to shave to take my head?” Issac monologued.

“Three” Spoke the young man as he looked at his target. His stare was cold and withering. But a strange fire burned behind his pale green eyes.

“What?”

“Three. They sent three assassins to remove your coup root and stem,” the robed young man said as two more figures seemed to materialize from shadows, hoods drawn back to reveal two young women. They both were marked with the family sigil, the slightly taller one seeming to be a few years older then the other. It was plain to see that these three were the head mistress’ brats. This made Issac take a step back.

“We cut the entirety of your rebellion down in less then ten minutes with just three of us. You made it easy for us as you all gathered in one place. 157 members were here to celebrate your coming takeover and they were all killed by three of us…a bit pathetic down you think?”

Issac’s face went pale at the thought. There was no way three assassins took down his whole group. Three measly assassins could not have been the cause of his fall. He then turned a darker shade of red with rage.

“You lie. No way some child and his two sisters killed all my men. You’re a liar. Your whore of a mother should have sent better to take me out! I’ll kill you and then take your two sisters here as my pets!” Issac spat as his demonic sword formed in his hand. He would take this brat’s head and send it back as a present to the elders.

The outside of the massive club was covered in lights as the year came to a close. The sound of shattering glass disturbed the night air as a demon flapped his massive wings as he stared into the dark room he just broke out of. Issac’s heart was racing a million miles a minute, that kid had nearly killed him with a single stroke on the opening move of the fight. A small pinprick of deep orange light caught Issac’s eye before launching towards him. With the sound of cracking stone, the his body became pinned to the stone wall behind him. A shaft of glowing iron stuck from his chest as he weakly pulled at it.

“I can not die like this!” Issac mewled as his blood sizzled from his lips. The burning on his forehead finally stopped hurting…or was it that there wasn’t any flesh left to feel the hurt? He looked up to see the glow building from inside the dark room of his hidden safe room.

Another bright flash illuminated the street as a dozen of the glowing red rods struck into the Issac’s body, leaving him a glowing charred wreck. The officers that arrived on site did little more than call in a clean up crew as they all knew why this person had been killed. The stark brand of a burning Ash Tree on the corpse’s skull was all that the officers needed to see.

A groan escaped Cain’s lips as the hot water ran through his hair and down his neck. The water dragged away the aches and pains from last night’s mission as much as it pulled the soot from his skin. He watched in silence as the blackened water circled the drain. He found one of his hands drifting to the open wound in his bicep. It was a little deep but he had suffered worse, he really needed to pay more attention when fighting in crowded areas. If that guard hadn’t been such a klutz, it could have been a lot worse.

Shutting the water off, Cain stepped from the shower and grabbed a towel and dried off as he walked back into his room. One of his attendants stood there as she always did with his new cloths waiting.

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“Good morning Cain,” softly spoke the short woman, the bundle of his clean cloths held out in-front of her.

“Good morning, Sylvia, and thank you,” Cain said softly as he took the bundle of clothing from her. “Would you mind tending to this wound?”

“Of course. Also, the Mistress has sent you a summons,” Came the reply with a smile. Sylvia quickly walked to one of the cabinets on the wall and took out supplies to clean and stitch the wound shut. She set to her task as Cain read the summons from his mother.

‘Cain please come to the inner chambers of the sanctuary. We are having visitors of high importance within the hour so please dress nicely.  

 ~Ophelia’

“As always, such a loving message.” Cain sighed as he put the paper down. He winced slightly as the curved needle entered the tender flesh of his wound. He sat there silently as Sylvia closed his arm up, contemplating who these visitors could be. “Sylvia any gossip on who is visiting?”

“Oh you know I do not listen to gossip,” she said with a soft smile. Her eyes caught his knowing glance and she chuckled. “Very well, from the word around the sanctuary, it’s one of the elders of the 13 and his grand child.”

“An elder? I wonder which one it could be,” Cain said as he looked out the window. After another ten minutes, Sylvia was finished and had the arm treated and bandaged.

“You best make your way to the meeting. I will see you later,” Sylvia said as she packed up and made for the door.

“Sylvia!”

“Yes?” she said as she turned back around.

“Thank you,” Cain said with a genuine smile.

“Anytime.” She quickly departed the room. Cain dressed for the meeting in silence as he contemplated why his presence was needed for this meeting. It should be Eris who was going, as she was the eldest of the five of them. He wasn’t the type to be going to formal meetings. Very strange of mother to be ordering him to this sort of thing. He put on one of his nicer button up shirts before heading out to the sanctuary.

As always, the halls of the compound were empty. A few servants were seen moving down the hallways but none of his fellow death dealers were in sight. An uneasy feeling settled deep in Cain’s core about this meeting.

Upon arriving to the inner chamber, Cain could see his mother sitting in her chair at the head of the long war table. Ophelia was a woman of early forties, hard as the cold lands that their family originated from. Slight in build but lithe and deadly as an adder. Her pale skin seemed to glow gently in the candle light while her ice cold blue eyes never missed a thing. A killer through and through. Her face, as always, was drawn into a stern countenance of poised control. Her eyes cut to him as he sat down beside her.

“Good you are early. How did the mission go?” Her voice barely carried through the silent chamber.

“It went well mother…” Cain replied in a low tone, his eyes plastered to the table. “All members were located and dispatched with only one injury being sustained in the fight.”

“How did you allow one of your team to become injured?” Her tone was sharp as the blade that sat across her lap.

“I was the one who was cut. It was nothing serious and just required a few stitches and was tended to by Sylvia.”

“That was not what I asked. How could you allow one of us to be injured?” Her words struck at Cain like a viper. He almost reeled back in pain at the tone. Her eyes bored into him like daggers, making his skin shiver and the scar across his chest burn like it did when it was fresh.

Cain was pulled back to that day all those years ago. It was just after his and his twin sister’s eighth birthday when his mother put a blade in his hand and told him he was to try and survive if he wanted to become an assassin.

            Weakness was not a trait of her bloodline.

Before he could even get a proper grip on his sword, Ophelia lashed out with a swift strike, the blade passing within centimeters of his eye. Back peddling, Cain prepared himself the way his two older sisters Eris and Andromeda had taught him. Her next strike he caught on the flat of the blade pushing it away from him as he struck out towards her in a counter. A smile crept into his face as he nicked her armored shoulder.

It soon fell as he caught the look in her eyes as she returned the glancing blow with a slice that split him from left hip to right shoulder. Cain screamed and then gagged as Ophelia slammed her elbow into his stomach, knocking the air from his lungs and sending him to the floor.

Cain laid there weeping and clutching his split chest, the wound wasn’t terribly deep, but it burned and bleed all the same. Ophelia pressed the attack, the blade of her sword arcing down to take her son's head. The sound of metal on metal reverberated through the training halls as Eris and Andromeda both stood with their swords crossed in-front of Cain, catching their mother’s blade.

Eris was his eldest sister, six years his senior and always the calm collected one of their bunch, ironically. Andromeda was four years older than Cain and was the hot-tempered daredevil that could not be tamed. Eris stepped forward pushing their mother back as Andromeda struck like lightening for her midsection forcing her to back track more.

The two sisters stood over their bleeding brother like the gate keepers of the underworld. Their faces determined to keep his life safe. As Eris and Andromeda stood sentinel against their mother, Cain felt two pairs of smaller hands pull him down onto his back and begin pressing a large towel to his wound.

Dazed from the pain, Cain almost didn’t realize who was tending his wound. Persephone, his twin was diligently trying to stop the bleeding and she barked orders at Nox, their two year younger baby sister. Nox dug through a medical bag as her older sister had instructed. The memory snapped away as Cain heard Ophelia tap the table with her nails.

“I made a misstep… I am sorry mother. It won’t happen again.”

“It better not,” was her only reply.

Several minutes of silence stretched on before the doors to the chamber opened and three figures were silhouetted in the entrance. Cain and his mother both stood to greet the new arrivals. The three figures approached the table and exchanged greetings with the Ashi members.

“Good morning to both of you,” came the deep voice of a deep crimson male demon. His horns curled back and was close to his neatly cropped white hair. “I am Asrno, the elder of the Brimstone family. And this is my son, Nibran, and my grand daughter, Elouise.” Cain’s eyes went to each member in turn and gave them a small bow of respect. Even though the Ashi are among the more important families of the 13 they are still considered less than the more “honest” families, even though it is the Ashi that kept them honest. Cain noticed that Elouise was eying him fairly hard.

            “This is my son Cain. He is the one who was assigned to deal with the rogue element in your family,” Ophelia said with a soft smile. “As he is the only son of the Ashi blood line he is the one to marry the sweet Elouise.”

Cain slowly turned towards his mother as his jaw opened.

“Marry?” he asked in a stunned voice. Before his mother could respond Elouise was at his side. Her dark-orchid colored skin was crisscrossed with deep crimsons markings that swirled and twisted in intricate patterns. She stood a good six foot eight inches tall not including her curled amethyst-colored horns that sat atop her head like a crown. She stood a good head and shoulders taller than Cain but seemed all the more pleased to be beside him.

Cain’s eyes took all of her in. She was lean but well built, her arms showed off well toned corded muscle. Her dress clung to her like water, showing off the form of a truly powerful goddess of war. She held her head high like all demons did, such a prideful race. Cain felt his mouth go dry as their eyes met, and he seemed to get lost in the deep violet of her eyes.

“Hello,” she said with a gleaming smile. Her dainty hand reached out to him for a shake and he obliged her. Her grip was firm but not hand crushing as she smiled down at him blushing.

“Umm hi,” was all that Cain could say. He stared at the beautiful demoness in front of him, but in all honesty, she terrified him to his core. “Mother may I be excused please?” She glared at him.

“Not until after arrangements have been made for her staying here,” she said with authority. He gave a swift nod before they all took seats. After an hour of him trying to dodge Elouise’s wandering hand on the table, all the arrangements were settled, and Elouise said her goodbyes to her grandfather and father. When she turned around to look for Cain, he was gone. Elouise made a sour face and seemed a tad hurt.

“He probably went to the forge. He is always spending time there. Something about how it helps him connect with his magic,” said Ophelia with an under current of distaste. She led the way as anger sparked in Elouise’s eyes. 

The sound of clanging hammers on metal echoed all around as Cain brought his forging hammer down. Sweat rolled down his body as his thoughts raced through his mind. His mother decided to wed him off to a demoness for some reason. Cain’s mind whirled to try and figure out what his mother had planned for his future. Would she send him away? Or would she make him give up his position as an assassin?

Cain knew he couldn’t become the leader of the family, but he would gladly be the body guard to his sisters. He would give his life for them without hesitation. His mind flashed back to that day as he felt the sweat run down the groove in his chest.

His mind snapped back to focus as a pair of hands grabbed him around the shoulders. Before Cain could turn his head, he was flying through the air and out the door of the workshop. Rolling several feet after hitting the ground, Cain finally righted himself to see a figure coming out of the smoke.

“I will not be ignored!” roared Elouise, tears in her eyes, before she pitched the steaming eighty pound anvil towards Cain.

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