The Scarlet Assassin

Chapter Thirty-Four

Why must every damn thing go to hell? For once, once, could luck be on my fucking side?

But I could cuss the gods (who were probably throwing a fucking party right now) later. Right now, Sophie and I just had to stay alive.

When Sophie dropped, I immediately hid behind the prongs and into the darkness, out of the guard's sight. My hands were throbbing, the burn from the rope aching, and my fatigued arms sat limp at my side. With a small groan, I lifted my jacket off my shoulder. Underneath, blood was slowly gathering, soaking through my shirt.

"Damn it." I ripped the stitches from the bullet wound. Heaving a shuddering sigh, I looked around the prong, listening carefully to the conversation below.

"What do you think you're doing?" One of the guards barked. I heard Sophie shift in the snow and sighed knowing she was okay. Carefully, I got to my knees, pulling out two knives from my thighs.

"Oh, is this not the entrance?" She asked, laughing sweetly. "My mistake, officers. I'll just-"

"Wait, I recognize her," the other said, leaning closer to get a better look. His eyes widened. "It's the p-"

The blades I had in my hands landed into the back of both of the officer's heads fractions of a second between each other. They collapsed. Sophie stood there in momentary shock but scoffed a second later and bristled to the dead (or quickly dying) guards.

"I could've handled it," she said, grabbing one of the guards under his arm and dragging him toward the treeline.

"Well, then, next time we're in this situation, you can be the one to kill them." Sophie grunted as she gave the last pull and sent the first guard tumbling down the slope and into the bushes.

She straightened herself and fixed her hair. "Thank you." I watched as Sophie moved to the next one and heaved him, like the last one, into the bushes. She checked her watch.

"A minute." Hurriedly, she made her way to the rope, now tying a loop around her waist. "You better not drop me this time." I tied two pieces of cloth I'd ripped from my shirt and tied them around my hands so, one, my hands wouldn't slip and, two, to ease the burning sensations in both my palms.

I grasped the rope. "I wouldn't dream of it."

"Great," Sophie mumbled sarcastically.

This time, I pulled her up with ease, and when she got to the top, Sophie was able to reach up to the spikes and haul herself up the rest of the way. I quickly pulled the rest of the rope up and unlaced it from the metal prong.

    And not 20 seconds later, like clockwork, two guards rounded the corner. Sophie and I got onto the other side of the spikes, flattening our backs to them. The slow sensation of blood soaking my sleeve continued.

When the guard's voices faded, I whispered softly, "When you jump, try to land on your back. Keep your arms and legs bent and tucked in, and put your chin to your chest so you don't hit your head. It's not going to feel good, but the snow is loose enough that it should cushion your fall at least a little." Sophie nodded and glanced down. Surprisingly, she didn't need more than a second before throwing herself off the edge and effortlessly landing exactly as I'd instructed. I followed her and when my back struck the earth, my bones rattled in response.

Beside me, Sophie groaned but rolled to her side, pulling herself to her feet. "You okay?" She asked, reaching for her pack. I nodded weakly and got to my knees.

"Yeah. You?"

"Better when we get out of this cold." I agreed. My body could barely hold still in the cold. Sophie shivered, teeth chattering. I pushed to my feet.