Another 1 year, 3 months, and 1 week later
She lurked in the shadows slowly stalking her prey with intense focus. The man who moved through the city had made a lot of powerful people mad and were more than happy to pay her price to ensure the job was done correctly.
She remained perched on the roof from her vantage point feeling no need to stalk her prey with the crowd. That was only done by people who did not respect their own profession. Who had some faint hope of possible integrating back into the society that scorned and hated them. Not like her though. She knew who she was, and she embraced it, Making her far better than the rest of her so-called colleagues.
They were all simple people, unaware of their own worthlessness. All of them wouldn’t even be worth a nugget of copper which was just how worthless they were. And should any of them get in her way she would dispatch them with ruthless efficacy.
The target, her prey, moved further into the commercial district and she quickly followed. Her shadow, her only true companion moving with her and seemingly also cloaking her in darkness despite the bright sunny day outside.
The target soon stopped outside of a restaurant. The owner, she assumed, was happily gesturing for him to come in, likely to eat. Another useless activity the masses indulged in which she only partook because it was the only way to stay alive.
The prey walked in, happily talking with the owner and she moved till she found the closest alley that was near the restaurant and dropped down. Easily blending into the lurking underbelly of the city that would never see the light or warmth of the sun. Moving through the alleys till she got to the restaurant her target was partaking in which would inevitable be his last meal.
She knew of this restaurant actually, it was one of the grievances one of her clients spilled on and on about before hiring her to do this job. Apparently he was the landlord of this place and was going to close the restaurant.
But the man she was hired to kill stepped in and helped organize a strike with his various other clients and forced the landlord to back off as public opinion was greatly against him.
He had apparently done a lot of similar things to her client along with a few other landlords and nobles too. Getting in the way of their profits and angering the wrong people was always a death sentence and really her prey had no one to blame but himself for his inevitable demise.
Adjusting her mask that covered her face that held the print of a lower half of a skeleton and making sure her black hood covered her head she moved and entered through the back of the restaurant as only a fool of an assassin would enter any place from the front.
With ease befitting her skill and small stature she snuck past the cooks, to focus on their meaningless meager jobs to realize how easily she could have killed all of them without a trace.
She then entered the dining room proper. Her eyes easily picked out her target and in order to avoid suspicion, she quickly moved to the quietest corner of the restaurant with the most shadows and kept her back to the corner so she could observe all while barring no risk of getting snuck up on. No doubt if anyone actually saw her where she sat they would realize how terrifying and powerful she truly was.
She kept her position, waiting as patiently as a spider until she saw her prey move and head towards the restrooms in the back. This was finally her chance!
She slid out from her corner with feline grace and easily stalked him into the back. As he opened the bathroom door she quickly pounced. Stabbing one of her knives perfectly aimed into his lungs to avoid him making too much noise. Pushing him into the bathroom with her as she quickly shut the door behind before facing her target who had stumbled to the other side of the room looking at her with fear.
“Who are you?” He seemed to painfully wheeze out.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
She did not answer for she had no name and her blades did all the talking for her. Knife after knife she plunged into his body. Her clients wanted her to make him an example.
Each biting edge piercing his body with tactical ease, every edge spurting out a bit more blood from his body. Every edge spelling his inevitable doom.
Soon his body lay on the bathroom ground. Many of her disposable knives sticking out of him like a pin cushion. She took no trophies as there was no point.
She stepped out of the bathroom and made sure the occupied sign lay visible. That would give her enough time to flee the scene before the body was discovered. Not that there was much point even if they did. You could not reverse what she had done. Just like you could not reverse fate itself.
She made her way back to her den, she would report her successful kill in due time though no doubt the news would travel fast. She would visit the noble tonight to accept her payment. And if he tried to skimp on her she would then just collect a different kind of payment by taking their lives.
As she entered her lair, the place that gave her shelter but she would never call home, a slight shift in the shadows in the corner nabbed her attention and without hesitation she pulled out one of her many hidden daggers and flung it to the movement only for it to be easily parried out of the air and a man stepped out with an almost slimy grin on his face.
“Nice to see you too Beverly. How have you been?” The man spoke as he came more into view with his pale skin and black hair slicked back.
A sickening twist in her stomach churned at hearing that name “I do not know who that is. My name is Night Demon. And you should remember me as such”
The man, whose name was Iris, rolled his eyes “It’s Night Demon now? What happened to The Elusive Shadow?”
“People kept thinking I was part of the Queens Entourage. I could not bare the idea of being mixed with those who might bring my name down”
Iris sighed and sat down “Listen Beverly”
“My name is Night Demon!” She yelled in a tone that accidentally came off as whiny rather than intimidating. She quickly cleared her throat and spoke again “I mean. My name is Night Demon”
“Right, Night Demon. Listen, this isn’t a pleasure call”
“I would have said no if it was.”
“Please let me finish”
“... Sorry”
“I am here on important business. I had just gotten a contract and was told to find a person to help carry it out. Normally I wouldn’t consider you given your rather eccentric personality but I don’t think anyone else would be more qualified then you.”
She frowned at the comment of her being eccentric when she viewed herself more as a realist and let Iris continue.
“A man came by and gave us the contract. When I read it, I realized it would be a rather great opportunity for you, especially for who gave us the contract.” He smiled his slimy smile at her
“It’s your Uncle Night Demon. Your uncle wants an assassin. And you will be meeting with him in two days.”
She felt her stomach twist into several knots at that mention and she began to tremble “No. That can’t be right. My uncle would never order an assassination on anybody!”
Iris raised his hands in self defense “Hey, I am just the messenger here. It is you who will now have to meet him and find out why. I thought it would be good for you. Nothing like a good family reunion right?”
“You’re a sick bastard, you know that! I absolutely refuse to be part of whatever twisted game you are planning!”
His smile stretched across his face “This isn’t a request. This is an order. You will meet with your uncle and you will carry out whatever assassination your uncle demands. He paid good money and we are obliged to offer a good service”
She quickly shook her head trying to keep her panic from bubbling upwards “I won’t do it!”
Iris grin spread even more as his eyes turned into black coals and horns began to grow out of his head “As I said Night Demon” His tone became mocking as he spoke those words
“This isn’t a request, it’s an order from the top. Have a good day” And with that he melded into the shadows and disappeared leaving her alone.
Her hand tightened into a fist as she cursed the day she signed that damned contract