Meera stood and waited, even as the screeching, howling monkeys rushed towards her. They were in the part of the forest where the trees were more spread out. So, the monkeys mostly ran after her, though some still jumped about above.

Armed with her new skills and experience of outrunning these things and leading them straight into a trap, she felt more confident than ever. She readied her chakram, and at the first sign of the monkeys, she let it fly.

The sharp ring flew straight into the horde, where she had intended it to go. She raised an eyebrow. Is this because of my increased Dexterity?

The chakram lopped off the head of the first monkey, cut through the next one and finally stopped when it embedded itself in the third's chest. The notification bells went off in her head. A slow smile creased on her lips as some monkeys stopped to see their downed friends. They screeched and hollered even louder and dashed for her.

They're a bunch of idiots.

She raised her hand, and her chakram flew back, cutting down three more monkeys. That was half their numbers down already. By the time her weapon reached her, so did the other primates. She ducked as a monkey flew overhead, trying to tackle her.

A part of her said to stand and fight, but she knew she couldn't take them. Not as she was now. So, she turned and ran. It was like second nature to run through the trees. She tested her new Agility, and to her surprise, none of the monkeys even came close to catching her. Before, they would be hot on her heels, but now she was always two steps ahead.

She led them to where the hunters were waiting to finish them. Silas had set a trap for them, and they ran straight into the stakes. Three died instantly. A singular ding went off.

That was where Meera messed up.

She stopped to see Cossus finish off the rest. Something slammed into her back, driving her to the ground. She grunted as she fell on her hands and knees. A monkey jumped on her back and brought his fists to bear on her back.

She cried out, having felt the full brunt of the Monkey Fist. She felt like her back was broken, or at least something was. Her health took a dive. She tried to turn around, but the monkey was too heavy and was jumping on her. Then just as his dance had started on her back, it ended. The simian fell dead beside her.

The chittering and squealing stopped, and all was quiet. Then a shuffling of feet, Silas was kneeling beside her.

"Meera, are you okay?" He asked, concerned.

"Golden," Meera groaned. She was anything but golden. Her health had taken a significant hit. Almost a third of it was gone.

"Stay still," Silas instructed. "Let me check for broken bones."

She didn't need to be told twice. Meera groaned as Silas pressed on her back. It hurt but not too bad.

"No broken bones," the Assassin declared. "There might be some bruises, though. But nothing to worry about."

Meera peeled herself off the ground. "I hate being bait."

"It's your own fault for stopping to gawk," Cossus said, cleaning his short sword. "You knew you had to keep running until you cleared us."

Meera gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. "You know what, I'm done being bait."

Cossus laughed. "You have no skills helpful in a fight."

"I can help. If you must know, I killed six of these things." She gave the one who attacked her a solid kick.

That gave him pause. They exchanged glances.

"Still doesn't make you fighter-worthy," Cossus said stubbornly.

Meera gritted her teeth and walked off to cool herself. She needed to collect the tails of her kills anyways, and it would give her some time away from Cossus.

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She had walked a few steps when she realized Silas was with her. He didn't say anything, and neither did she. It was completely fine with her. Then she stopped as realization set on her.

"You're here to see if I actually killed six monkeys, aren't you?"

Silas shook his head with a smile. "No, just making sure you're okay. You took a nasty hit back there."

You can say that again. Her back screamed bloody murder, but she powered through the pain. It didn't take them long to reach the monkey corpses. She took off her chakram and was ready to go to work on the monkey's tail, but her back was not complying at all. As soon as she bent down to lift the tail, a jolt went through her.

"Here, this should help." Silas offered her a small glass bottle.

Meera eyed it warily. "What is it?"

"A minor health potion. It won't completely heal your back, but it should take away the bulk of the pain."

She took the potion and brought it to her lips.

"Drink it one go. It tastes nasty."

She gave him a nod and emptied the bottle. It took everything she had not to gag. The thing tasted worse than any medicine she had ever had.

"This tastes like death." She slammed the bottle back in his hand.

Silas snorted. "But it works."

He was right. She could feel her pain going away and her health filling up again. It was strange that she had a visual meter of her health. Back home, it was more of a feel-it-as-you-go type of thing. Over here, she could see how close she was to death.

"Yes, it works. Thank you," Meera said.

"You're welcome, and you don't have to be bait anymore."

Her eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

He nodded. "This proves that you've begun on a path to be a capable warrior."

"No, not a warrior. Warriors face people head-on, no? I don't want to do that. I would much rather do what you guys do. Hide and kill. You know, like an assassin."

His face fell. "No, Meera, trust me, you do not want to be an assassin."

"Why not?"

"Because you just don't."

There it was again. The way he shirked away as soon as someone remotely even mentioned the word assassin.

"You are one."

"Not by choice."

"But I'm making that choice. I want to be an assassin. I need all the skills I can get to save my brother, so tell me how."

"No." He turned away from her.

She went around to block his path. "Why not?"

"Because they made me do unspeakable things!" He roared. Meera was taken aback. "My father sold me to them to settle his debts. They took my childhood and my youth. I still haven't left them. I escaped. I live in constant fear that they'll find me at any moment, and when they do… it'll be the end of me and Cossus."

She didn't know what to say. Silas was on the verge of breaking down, even though the anger in his eyes would shame the sun. All of a sudden, it made sense. The interrogation, why he had to know the truth from her. The way they scouted out places to rest. Why they were out here in this forest. It was so that Silas' guild would not find them.

"I-I'm sorry," was all Meera could say.

He heaved a sigh and gave her a sad smile. "You couldn't have known, but now you do. My guild…or as they like to call themselves, The Scythes of Thanades. The common folk just call us Scythes."

Meera gulped. “Who is Thanades?”

"No one but the topmost members know who he is, where he rests his head, or even if he is a he. He commands, and we follow. He has eyes everywhere, which is why we're cautious."

"How do you know I'm not one of them?" She asked.

"My True Touch, remember. In the guild, I was…I was mostly an interrogator. My job was to get the truth out of the poor sod who ended up on a contract. But after observing you for the past three days, I know you're not one of them."

Meera frowned. "How so?"

"It's in the way you walk. The first thing we're taught is to walk unseen, silent among the populace. You walk like a—I'm sorry channeling my brother here, but you walk like a warthog drunk on mead."

"Hey!"

"Apologies, once more."

"But can you not teach me to be you? Walk unseen, silent, and all that. I will need all the help I can get to save my brother from this prophecy business. I also know I'm not cut out for a full-frontal fight. I just won't be able to take the pain."

Silas contemplated that while rubbing his chin. Meera was about to beg some more. When a third voice said, "Just do it, or you want her to beg some more."

Cossus was leaning against a tree trunk, arms folded. When did he get there? Is he an assassin too?

"Cossus, you know—"

"I know all the reasons you're about to list, and honestly, I don't care, but if this girl truly is the Champion's sister, then we ought to help her. It might very well be the difference between our survival and death."

Silas frowned. "Since when have you started believing in the prophecy?"

"Ever since the Champion showed up."

Meera hated that they called her brother the Champion when they hadn't even met him. But if these two lone hunters in a forest at the edge of this world believed it, then she could only imagine the kind of planning happening in the big cities. Neel was indeed in trouble. If only the mirror had started with this, she could have brought a gun or guns. Her dad's hunting rifle would have come in handy.

Silas was still considering whether to train her or not. Then another thought occurred to her, even if he did train her, how much would she be able to pick up? It wasn't like she was going to earn any skills.

"Fine," Silas said. "I'll train you, but we're not doing any killings."

"No people," Cossus added. "Monkeys are fair game."

"Yay!" Meera jumped with joy. The only problem was the skills, but she was sure they could figure something out.