The Beast Within

Chapter 1

11 YEARS LATER

~Emily's Point of View~

I WATCHED OUR target, hidden from sight within the shadow that the castle cast over the courtyard. The air was cooling and a soft breeze brushed against my cheeks, causing them to flush. The sun was slowly descending from the sky, disappearing bit by bit below the horizon. I unsheathed my knife, running my finger along the false end of the blade and bided my time. I preferred hiding here, rather than in the bushes. Less chance of stepping on a fallen branch or for crisp dead leaves to crunch under my boots. The last thing my partner and I needed was the man shouting out an alarm. We would be surrounded by guards. Even with our training and years of experience with weapons, we were no match for those armored freaks. I looked up at the upper balcony of the palace, my eyes catching sight of a figure with shaggy black hair, sky blue eyes and tightly fitted black leather armor that seemed to move with his body. I faked a smile. My partner Eli. The man looked down and spotted my position, giving a nod to go ahead.

I pushed from the shadows, quickly reaching the target. I slit his throat before he could cry out an alert. My hands blackened with the hot sticky liquid. I tried to ignore it, but it sickened me. I had just murdered this man in cold blood. Just like I always do. It was the assassin way, and even though it disturbed me I was forced to do it. Wasn't like I had a choice. Kill or be killed. I allowed the target to slump into my arms, heaving the body up from under the armpits and dragging it over to the bushes, ditching it there and making care not to leave a trail of blood. By the time I hid the body, I noticed Eli had gotten down from the balcony.

"Hey. How did you get down so fast?" I asked, noticing that he appeared to have no fractures or limp so he couldn't have jumped. I began to wipe the blood from my hands using a cloth I pulled from my pocket. I forced my face to remain emotionless, even though I felt like throwing up.

Eli pointed to a long steel pipe that led from the balcony down. "That's how I got down. I'm smarter than I look."

I raised an eyebrow. "You sure about that?" I smirked, my voice teasing. I then stopped myself and shook my head. Don't show emotion. I thought to myself. Eli notices emotion and he will have to report me to the Clan.

I struggled with that law. I had been born in a group of assassins known as the Aiker Clan. We lived by a set of laws known as the Code. In the Code, it stated that emotion was forbidden. It was seen as a sign of weakness. Even when outside of battle.

"Come on," I said. "We better get out of here and get back to the sanctuary of the camp." I used the word sanctuary lightly. Eli just simply nodded. My typical partner. Silent and unnerving. That was why we made a good team.

I headed toward a crumbled section wall that we had used to get into the courtyard.

"We have a long way to go. We should rest here for the night." Eli suddenly said.

I stopped and turned to look at him. I nodded. I had forgotten about that. My mind was swarming with so many other things. "Come on. Lets get a couple rooms at the inn in Kai." I replied. Grant, it really wasn't the best idea to sleep in the city near the palace that you had murdered someone in, but the guards were idiots. It wasn't likely that they would trace the killing back to us.

Eli and I headed to the inn, each of us depositing ten gold for the night. I went to my room right away and plopped down in my bed with a heavy sigh. I made sure to lock the door so that there would be no unwanted guests - Eli especially - coming into my room. I didn't want my partner to see me like this.

I had grew up in the Clan. My mother was an assassin before me. On my seventh birthday, the day I started my training, she had been mysteriously killed on a job. The killer being the leader of the vampire mercenary that had pledged to the king. Protection in exchange for the promise of taking down the assassin clans.