Andrei

The wind howled as alleyways rushed by below, the cold night air stinging his exposed cheeks. In a moment of calm as he leaped over a street, he reached up to pull his collar a little higher over his face, before landing deftly on the rattling tiles opposite.

Balancing on the ridge of the roof, he looked ahead to find the darting silhouettes of his fellow assassins. He could see Kana’s bright beam of light dancing through the darkness, its bright halo passing over a fleeing dark shape now and then.

They’ve found their man. They even got a glimpse of his face when they caught him off guard. He had a calm grin on his face, the orange light of flames turning his otherwise colorless eyes a deep violet. They needed not to wait for Thomas to return with answers; they could uncover everything here and then.

“Andrei!” Bruno called out from ahead, his cloak billowing in the breeze. “Head left! Trust your senses! We’ll drive him that way, you cut him off.”

“Understood!” Andrei shouted back as Bruno took another flying leap into the night, his telekinesis carrying him far above the spirals and towers.

Rubbing the tears from his eyes, willed out by the piercing coldness, he began down the row of buildings, not caring too much that his footsteps were clattering against the loose tiles.

He followed Kana’s distant beam of light, still flailing wildly as she sped after the one who had destroyed their everything.

She was gaining pace, slowly but surely, edging closer to the fleeing figure with every step. Though not much taller than Saya, Kana is one of the most agile assassins in their family who has spent much of her telekinesis training honing her control of her own body. Even with his training as a tracking specialist, Andrei still had to put in all his effort just to keep pace with Kana.

As he leaped over a wide major street, he saw a battalion of policemen and firefighters racing in the direction he had come from.

The city had taken notice.

Andrei bit his lip. Extradition from a venue is usually speedy and undetectable, not a sign of trouble even if you looked for it. But this time things were very different. Even in their previous contract, they had left the venue in a speedy and still somewhat organized manner, but now their cover had been blown wide open. He knew something was bound to happen, another ambush, perhaps another death. But not this.

How many were dead? He did not know. But he knew it was too many. It will take them a long time to recover from such a loss. If they ever recover.

He shook his head, snapping out of his thoughts as he leaped across yet another narrow alley, sliding down the other roof before catapulting himself off the edge.

But as he looked up again to find Nina, the dark rooftops were devoid of light.

Grabbing a weather vane to steady himself, he raised a hand and sent a bright column of light into the distance, sweeping across the darkness for any trace of Bruno or Kana. Yet he found nothing.

Panic gripped him as he cast his clairvoyance into the distance, hoping to find any sign of them. The thought of losing more terrified him.

It didn’t take long for him to find a scuffle at the edge of town. The flashing blades and exploding bursts of mana caught the attention of his clairvoyance immediately.

The panic eased off a little, and with a small sigh of relief, he began making his way toward the place of battle as quickly as he could.

As he came over the last roof in the way, he was met with the sight of a fierce fight.

Bruno and Kana were fighting back to back, fending off dozens of assailants coming from all directions.

Bodies were already scattered about, dismembered and black with blood.

With each focused blast of light, Kana was setting alight anything that stood in the path of the beam of pure energy. Her sweeping attacks kept the assailants at bay, while Bruno swiftly took down any who dared get close, not bothering to be discreet or careful with his killing blows.

Then Andrei noticed the man, head to toe in black, his face covered by a hood. He stood unmoving, enjoying the chaos before him.

Not wasting another moment, Andrei sprang from the roof like a silent owl descending on its prey, his sword in one hand and his dagger in the other.

Time slowed as he sailed through the air, and he watched as the man slowly looked toward him, a terrifying grin across his face.

He felt the mana around him flutter with magic as a powerful spell hit him in the face, burrowing into his skull and piercing his ears. The same magic he had felt not long ago, but this time it was much worse.

At such a close distance, he couldn’t fight against the powerful mind control. He felt his arms going limp as the man drew a dagger, ready to skewer his falling body.

Desperately, he twisted in the air, hoping to avoid the deadly blade. But with mind control beginning to take control, his movements were uncoordinated and messy. He was left flailing helplessly and barely found time to parry the dagger with his sword as he landed painfully on the tiled ground.

He felt a sickening crunch as pain shot up his arm and through his body.

“Argh!” Andrei cried out in pain, grabbing the attention of Kana, who was still fighting close by.

The man drew his dagger back, ready to strike again.

Fighting through the paralyzing pain, Andrei managed to roll away from the attack, the dagger sending off sparks as it hit the stone. But he had no more strength left to fight the mind control.

“Andrei!” Kana shouted, spinning around and running toward him. “Andrei move!”

He saw the man standing over him.

Then the man smiled.

He saw the dagger moving, its razor edge coming down toward him.

I’ll leave it to you, Idris. He thought to himself.

Good luck. Avenge me.

“Andrei!”

He heard Kana shout again.

From the edge of his vision, he saw her diving at the man, her dagger held like a rapier.

He watched as the man turned to face Kana.

A brief flicker of shock flashed across Kana’s face as the man batted aside her dagger with his hand, and brought his own at her exposed throat.

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A muffled cry of terror and a wet thud as blade severed flesh.

Blood splattered.

Andrei could feel it wetting his hand.

The man yanked away his dagger with a swipe of his wrist, flicking away the blood left on the silver metal.

Kana collapsed like a stringless marionette, blood spewing from her mouth with each gurgled breath.

“Kana!” Bruno screamed, sprinting at the man. “I’ll kill you!”

But a strong blast of mind-controlling magic sent him to his knees.

The man took a step back. “I’ll see you again soon,” he said.

“You bastard…” Bruno squeezed out between clenched teeth. “It was you…”

“Amusing,” the man mumbled with a small chuckle as he deftly vaulted up a building, looking down at them with hateful eyes. “Tell Julius he need not search for me,” he continued. “The next time we meet, none will be spared.”

Then he disappeared into the night, leaving nothing behind.

*****

Idris

“Will you come with us?” Thomas asked.

“Me? For what? What good will a banished mage do?” Aurora replied.

“Don’t you want to meet Julius?”

Aurora sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Perhaps when this is all over…”

Thomas nodded. “Thank you for talking with us. We must hurry back now.”

“Good luck.”

Saya watched the old mage with dreary eyes, a strange mix of emotions on her face.

She could tell his intentions were real, but she wasn’t sure what to make of their past.

Julius had much to hide, and none of it seemed to paint him in a good light.

“Idris…” Saya whispered. “What will you do once we get back?”

“I don’t know…”

“I couldn’t read him with my telepathy, but I don’t think he was lying.”

She paused for a moment, fiddling with the hilt of her dagger.

“I don’t know who to trust… We’ve been living in a house of lies…”

Rose has a rich history and a colorful past, almost as old as the Kingdoms themselves. Stories and records of successful contracts filled the pages of their history books, ones which they’ve all read growing up.

Idris wasn’t ready to take the word of a stranger, one who may very well be behind the attacks. He would need to hear it from Julius himself.

“I won’t believe anything until I hear it from Julius,” Idris replied.

Saya stared at him for a moment, before dropping her glare to the ground. “Me too… but I can’t get the doubt out of my head…”

“Saya…”

“This seems less and less like a one-off attack by a rival clan. This began a long time ago… before you and I were even born…” She continued. “What am I to make of this?”

Idris didn’t know what to say.

“I hope Andrei and the others are all right…” Saya whispered. “The contract should be today…”

They aren’t usually separated by such distance and for so long. Even on assignments, they’ve always worked as a cohesive group.

“Come on, let’s go,” Thomas ushered them.

Otto and Sheila were already out the door, ready for the long return journey. The sun was beginning to swing towards the western sky, and they had to make as much progress as possible. Thomas had hoped to make the return journey before nightfall, as trekking down the hills would be easier than up, but it’s beginning to seem unlikely.

Before closing the door, Idris took one last look at the lonely mage, sitting alone in his battered armchair.

“Yes? Young one?” Aurora asked.

“Who are you…” Idris muttered, unsure of what else to say. “What do you have to do with Rose?”

There was a moment of curiosity and solemn in the old mage’s eyes.

“I made you what you are…” He said.

“I don’t believe you.”

“Julius can answer everything for you… There’s far too much for me to tell…”

Idris stood still, wanting to say something more.

“Go now. I’m sure you have important business to return to.”

Without a word, Idris closed the door behind him.

They had the answers they sought, but more questions than they came for.

Still, they’ve gotten the one piece of information they needed.

Borealis.

That’s the one they’ve been seeking.

But first, they had to return to their family, present Julius with their findings, and ask for more answers. Idris just hoped that they would make it in time.

They were nearing the town of Eliston by dusk, and Thomas convinced Sheila to continue through the night. By the time the skies had turned completely dark, they were already loading supplies onto Otto’s carriage for the journey back to Kingston.

No one spoke much during the journey, all deep in thought with questions of their own.

Thomas didn’t know why Aurora was insistent that they were much alike. Perhaps they were all fighting for lost love.

Idris fell asleep quickly as the wagon sped down the trade routes, Saya snuggled close to him. The cold night air and gently swaying wagon brought an uneasy night’s sleep, one also complicated by all sorts of strange but unrecallable dreams.

“Thomas,” Otto mumbled as the two sat at the front of the wagon, the lanterns dimly illuminating the dark path. “What are your plans?”

“I’ll need to talk with Julius first, then find Borealis, and kill him.”

Otto chuckled. “I have no objections.”

“What will you ask Julius?” Thomas asked. “I’m not quite sure what I’m going to say to him yet.”

“Me neither…” Otto paused for a moment. “You know… Maybe you should say something to Kana too…”

“Kana?”

“You know she’s always been fond of you. Ever since you were apprentices… She was always a step behind Lily…”

Thomas sighed. “Yeah… I know… But after everything… I can’t just accept her affection.”

“But at least acknowledge it,” said Otto, smiling. “I’m sure Lily would be happy for her best friend.”

“Maybe…”

“You know… all of this is making me regret leaving the family so soon,” Otto mused, looking up at the empty night sky.

“You’re still part of the family.”

“In spirit, perhaps, but not physically…” Otto sighed. “This isn’t just about us, Thomas… It’s about the whole world…”

Thomas looked at him quizzically. “How so?”

“I’ve been traveling the world for many years, Thomas… I can tell when things are strange,” he thought for a moment, snapping the reins again to usher his horses on. “Couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but something felt off.”

“Might your intuition have been wrong?”

Otto shrugged. “I don’t know…”

“I don’t care about the world, Otto. I only care about my family…”

“Me too.”

“I’ll fight for my family, die for my family. I can’t care less what happens to the rest of the world.”

Otto looked Thomas up and down. “Perhaps you and Aurora are quite alike…” he commented.

“I’d rather not be.”

“Fight, Thomas. I’ll fight alongside you. We’ll win.”

“We better.”