Sin: Path of Poison

Chapter 10 Part 2

"You were stabbed?.. and is that an arrow wound?" He no longer felt embarrassed by my lack of decorum as his mind focused on the missing spaces of flesh. I smiled slightly, wondering how he'd feel if he could see the other arrow wounds, the knife wounds, and all the internal wounds that still needed to heal from the glass snakes.

"Mm." I replied, cleaning the tools with a simple white piece of cloth and returning the medicine bottles. I opened the top of yet another medicine bottle and dumped a small medicine ball in my hand. I popped it unceremoniously in my mouth before returning the bottle to the shelf.

"What was that?" He asked curiously.

"Something to help with the internal wounds." I said, not going into specifics.

"Who did this to you?" He pressed.

"A few people." I replied.

"Why were they trying to kill you?" He still couldn't wrap his head around what kind of person I was to suffer this hardship.

"One wanted to marry me, the other wanted me to agree to marrying that person even though I didn't want to. There was another person that also wanted to marry me, he sent his guards after me when I refused to marry anyone." I vaguely explained in a casual voice.

"So, you really were running from an arranged marriage?" He sounded incredulous.

"Mm." I agreed. I sat down on the cot near him, examining his eyes for a moment. The sudden change in proximity and scrutiny caught him off guard once again. Beads of sweat formed on his palms, he tried rubbing them on his leg.

"The other day, after you tripped, when I got close to you. What happened? You were unresponsive." I mentioned. Still sitting near him.

"The wind changed, I remember smelling your scent, it was stronger than normal. My thoughts flashed back to when I was younger. My father brought back several boys, in their teens, he had high expectations for them in the future. He thought each of them would become generals and rise up the ranks quickly." Lei smiled, I was unable to read him.

"One of them happened to catch me as I tripped, I almost fell to the ground in front of all of them. He helped me stand upright, the motion was so graceful only my father noticed the mishap. During that moment I remember thinking the boy wasn't a boy at all, it happened so fast, but I couldn't have been mistaken. I never mentioned it to my father." Lei paused to look at me. "Her eyes were like yours, everything I remember about her is like you." Lei laughed lightly, looking at me with a faint smile.

"Father was mad, afraid I'd make a fool of myself in front of everyone and bring shame to our family name. He yelled for me to get out, I had to leave before I could talk with her. Several months later I heard that the boy was gone, it was assumed he'd died in a small skirmish, but my father refused to believe it. They never found his body and I never got to see him again, her again. I don't know why that memory flashed back, maybe the two of you have a connection somehow or perhaps I'm overthinking it." Lei explained. He looked sad? I didn't say a word to him that day, why would he feel sad for me?

I laughed quietly, Lei realized our connection before I did. I posed as a boy to join the army in order to learn the overall feel of the camp. It was research. I wanted to understand the workings of a camp, how to set up Demon's Peak. I'd caught Lei reflexively, he was young then, maybe twelve. Six years younger than myself. His expression at the time was innocent. No sign of fear, suspicion, or distrust, he fell easily into my arms and looked into my eyes unafraid. General Bai never introduced him to any of us, Lei left as quickly as he arrived.

Nearly ten years later a contract arrived at Demon's Peak. The request was vague, simply asking for our top assassin to complete a task at an unknown time in the future. There were no details of who was making the request, nor who would pay or even how much the contract was worth. If the contract was accepted we were to light the fireworks that came with the contract within a day's time. If the request was denied then no action was required. I laughed as I read it, intercepting the message before it was announced, nobody else in the guild was even aware of the vague offer. Shadow stepping to the top of the mountain, I lit the fireworks and immediately left.

After spending the rest of the night at a hideout, I changed into a short red robe with a transparent black outer layer that came down barely lower than the underlying dress. With my makeup and black boots in place, hair held up high with red gemmed hairpins, I set out to General Bai's mansion and arrived just after dusk. I could sense him within his study, a room I hadn't set foot in for nearly a decade. Shadow stepping past the guards, I opened the door and closed it without any notice. Fully confident in his security, General Bai didn't even look up from his documents. I walked closer, snuffing out the candles before he saw me.

"Who's there?" General Bai's voice bellowed angrily. I ignored his question, instead I walked to one of the chairs near his desk and sat down.

"How do you plan on contacting me when you need the contract fulfilled?" I asked.

"How do you know about the contract?" He asked, his voice wavered slightly.

"I accepted it, why wouldn't I know about it?" I answered. Sweat appeared on his hands and the back of his neck.

"There's no way you'd know it came from me, the messenger hasn't even returned yet." His hand went out to grab a dagger he kept under the desk. I laughed softly.

"I recognized your handwriting, there's no need to use the dagger, it won't work anyways." I added. His hand froze in place. He swallowed, the sound seemed loud in the silence that surrounded us.

"Who are you?" He asked again.

"How do you plan on contacting me when the contract is ready to fulfill?" I repeated.

"I have an eagle, it's good at finding people. Let it meet you, I'll send it to you when the time is right." He tried calming himself, straightening his robes and hair in the dark, regaining control. I smiled, so long as he remained upright and proper he wouldn't lose face.

"Agreed." I said simply. "Draft up the contract, include who you want me to kill and how much you're offering. I'll come back tomorrow night, leave the contract in the room with the eagle, I'll sign and introduce myself to your bird. No need for you to be there."

"We'll draft the contract now, after you've signed I'll show you to the eagle and you'll disappear until you're needed. I don't want to see you again until you're called upon." He declared. His hand clenched as his teeth ground slightly. He couldn't become more rigid without turning into a corpse.

"Are you sure you won't regret knowing who I am?" I asked. His body shook as he tried to control his fear and anger.

"Who are you?" He repeated. Leaning forward, I placed a stick of flint on the table in front of him. He jumped slightly as he heard the scratchy noise of the flint settling. Shadow stepping to the door, I opened it and left it open, then shadow stepped behind him. I stood silently in the corner as he lit the small brazier on his desk. He was proficient in this task, lighting it nearly as fast as I could shadow step aside. Slamming the flint on the desk, he stood looking in front of him at the empty room.

"Write the contract." I used tender whisper. He jumped in response, staring at the blackness of the night through the door before quickly sitting to draft the contract. Just as he finished and signed, I smiled, able to read the contract from where I stood.

"Your handwriting never changes." I said out loud. He jumped up from his chair and spun around to see me for the first time.

"You!" His hand came out, his finger pointed, shaking angrily at me. A look of confusion washed over him as he took in my outfit. "You're... you're a woman?" He nearly yelled.

"I am whatever I need to be. I'll introduce myself to the eagle." I walked forward slowly, he quickly moved aside, away from me. I reached forward and signed the contract. "I'll leave the contract with you." I spared a smile as I walked past him.

"Your name." The question sounded more like a statement as he shook with fury.

"Sin." I replied. He nodded, his fists were clenched tight and his face was red with anger.

"I regret! I regret very much knowing who you are!" He yelled at me. I laughed lightly.

"You think you know me? General Bai, if you truly knew me, you'd be too ashamed to even say this much." I smirked at him. None of the guards noticed as I shadow stepped to the eagle. I left afterwards, wondering if General Bai would be able to sleep before the contract was fulfilled. I smiled to myself as I shoved my memories aside and came back to the present time.