Cursed

Chapter 1

Scratch Scratch Scratch

Caliana groaned and pulled her pillow over her ears to tune out the loud noise at the door. Who was being so loud this early on in the morning? She had had another sleepless night and had tossed and turned in her sleep until she had finally fallen into a deep slumber from exhaustion. It must have been only a few hours since she had fallen asleep. Was it morning already?

Scratch Scratch Scratch

The noise came again at the door, more urgent this time. Caliana yanked the pillow away from her face and sat upright. She would kill whoever was disturbing her this early on in the morning.

She was surprised when she was met with darkness in her room. Confused, she looked towards the window across her room and saw that moonlight peeked through her curtains, casting a soft glow across her bedroom floor.

She must have been asleep for only an hour or so if it was still dark outside.

Caliana suddenly felt a bottomless pit in her stomach as she realized what this could mean. She scrambled from her bed and grabbed her dagger from her bedside table, and cautiously made her way to her bedroom door.

The dagger had a sharp blade that was tapered at the end. It had an engraving on the body, which she had never been able to make out because it was in an ancient dialect. Its handle was wrapped in the finest leather that had been dyed a deep red, and its rear encrusted with a blood-red ruby.

It was a beautiful blade, but it was also a constant reminder of what she had endured getting to where she stood today.

It was the blade Hector had thrown at her feet when he brought her to the dark woods as a little girl. She had used it to fend for herself against what resided deep in the forest. Every orphaned child that Hector had recruited to join his team of assassins went through the same initiation processes.

Some made it back, but most did not.

She hadn't understood how she had survived those cold nights in the dark woods with the monsters that lurked within.

Growing up, she had always been a weak and timid child. For a while, she had believed the gods, if there were any, had let her live out of pity.

Many had shared that same sentiment. They had told her that the others that had perished deserved to live over her. For a while, she believed it until she finally lost it.

Her pale green eyes darkened at the thought of what she had done and pushed the memory back deep into her mind. After that day, the relentless bullying had stopped, but the loneliness that followed had become a dear old friend.

She shivered as a light breeze from her window blew into the room. She pulled her nightgown closer around her body and tightened her grip on her dagger. She was nearly at the door when she felt her body flying backwards from the impact of the door being burst open. Her body hit the wall of her bedroom hard, knocking the air out of her lungs causing her to drop her dagger.

She didn't have time to process what had just happened when a large creature ripped through the door frame and roared at her.

Her mouth dropped in shock at what she was seeing. She had never seen something that looked like the thing standing in front of her. She recovered quickly and lunged for her dagger, holding it at arm's length, ready to dive it into the horrid thing.

"You...are not him," the creature snarled at her in a voice that sounded like someone stepping on glass.

Caliana had been training since she was 11 years old and knew how to kill a person in 100 different ways. She was one of the most talented in Hector's group of assassins. She had gained a reputation in the city as the lady of death. She had killed countless bloodsuckers, shifters and other monsters that lurked deep in the shadows of this world, and yet, in front of this creature... this thing, she felt paralyzed.

The creature lunged, its long boney fingers reaching for her. She snapped out of her trance and jumped onto her bed, sending the beast crashing into her wardrobe.

As the creature recovered, she quickly scoped out her room. She knew she would not be able to kill this creature, not with the dagger in her hands. Against a human, her blade was deadly. Against a beast like this, it would be no use. She had to get out of her room and find the others.

The creature was back on its feet, and it lunged for her again. This time she was ready for it. She jumped out of the way and swung her dagger deep into its shoulder. The creature let out a loud wailing cry and dropped to the floor cradling its arm. She jumped over the beast and made it for the door as fast as her legs would carry her.

She ran down the hall, looking through the doors as she passed them for any sign of the others. There was none.

Where was everyone? She reached the top of the stairs when the floor beneath her trembled, causing her to lose her balance. She grabbed the bannister of the stairs for support and whipped her head around to glare at the creature, which she realized was a mistake as soon she did it. The creature was headed for her with full force, its sharp teeth dripping with its saliva, its target, her.

She stumbled down the stairs and seemed to walk into the heart of the action. Around her, she saw her fellow assassins fighting off creatures of various sizes. A dagger flew past her face and made contact with a creature to her left. She whipped her head towards the direction of the blade, relief sparking in her chest as she beheld who had thrown the dagger.

"Where the hell have you been!" Hector yelled as he brought down his sword on a winged creature splitting it in half, its blood splattering over her face. He threw his sword towards her and pulled out another from the harness on his back. "We don't have all day."

She caught the sword in mid-air and didn't need another reminder before she sprung into action.