Shadow Assassin

Chapter 21

"Don't hurt him!" I scream at the guards punching Xander's now unconscious body.

"Ah... the bonds of kinship," the one known as Talon comments "Stop. We have to move out now."

"Yes Sir!" The men salute, they pick up Xander and drag him out of the room. Even though I have only known him for a matter of months I feel the pull of being his brother. I have to protect him. He's the only family I have left.

"Surrender your weapons, kids," Talon smirks.

I tighten my grip around Azreal and still stand in the fighting stance, Kiera does too. I look back and see Andy has turned the spear into the baton that I have seen countless times after we trained. He uses this as his weapon as well, its, well, sutler.

"What do you want from us?" Kiera asks fiercely.

"Your service," Talon says still smirking.

"You want us to work for the Shadowed?" I ask curiously.

"Correct. You're a quick learner, Cameron Baxter," Talon looks around the group "I see you are missing one. Whats his name? Brandon."

"He's dead," Andy spits.

"Oh. I see he tried to run, tried being the operative word," He laughs and shrugs "That's the society for you."

"Moving out!" I hear someone yell from the hallway.

"Lets go kids, surrender the weapons."

"We can't. They're a part of us." Henry speaks up.

"You're all kids. You can't have weapons like that in you're normal life," Talon puts his hand out.

"Normal lives? What normal lives?" Kiera yells angrily.

"Exactly. You will go back to them soon."

"We can't. You know that!" Charlotte says. I pause for a second thinking, if they want us to work for the Shadowed what do they expect us to do with normal lives? What would they want us to do? Something good or bad? I bet it is bad, these types of societies are bad news.

"All your sins have already been forgiven by God," Talon speaks as if its actually true, which we know, its not. "After all, you were forced to do this."

"We could have died if we didn't want to do this. We have to live, we are so young anyway," Charlotte squeaks out.

"Emma and Brandon taught us that lesson," Andy comments.

I slowly nod, "We won't fall for such a stupid trick. The Society has already killed everything we love in our lives. All we have left is each other."

"No, you don't. You remember that offer, the offer that my very own father gave your parents to survive," A voice comes from down the hallway. I look to the door way and I see a very familiar person, someone with brunette hair and beautiful blue eyes.

"Maria..." I mumble.

"Correct. You knew I was familiar last time we met, that night in the apartment. I could have killed that nasty woman. I didn't. Mercy. That's what i call it. I don't think Xander would have the concept of it in his tiny brain," She says motioning to Xanders unconscious body.

"He does," I conclude. Xander does have the concept of mercy in his head, even though he was brought up around The Society he knows of love, kindness and selflessness. I would think that he would put his own life above my own, maybe...

"That offer. You remember don't you?"

"I do. When your father came over with you when I was young," I think about that day when my parents were actually thinking about joining the Shadowed. They were thinking about my safety. It makes me think about how much I miss them these days.

"Then I bet you have thought about it, correct?"

"I have," I say as she starts moving towards me.

"What is your answer then?" she asks dragging her finger along the edge of Azreal. I don't move it, at risk of cutting Maria. Do I trust her? What do I do?

"Don't do it Cam, they're going to trick you!" Kiera shouts "If you go with them they will kill us!"

I look to Kiera and shake my head, they won't kill my family would they? As in family I mean Kiera, Andy, Charlotte and Henry. They are all I have left. They have supported me from day 1, day 1... While the Society has just ruined it. By killing my mum and dad, Emma and Brandon. They killed a part of my heart. Will the Shadowed really kill all who I have left?

"We won't..." Maria says smirking "We are all here to be the best of friends!"

"Doubt that," Kiera spits at Maria.

"You've hated me from the first day we've met young Kiera. Tell me, who killed your family? Your brothers, sister, mum and dad?"

Kiera stands almost in shock. So the Society killed her brothers, sister, mum and dad. That's awful. At-least I didn't have any siblings. Maybe they would have been dragged into this mess too. I don't clearly remember her siblings or her parents but I do remember them being so very kind. They wouldn't have been involved with this.

"They were innocent weren't they? Not involved with the Society? Why did they only take you?" Maria says again taking steps closer to her.

"I- I don't know!" Kiera stutters, her eyes focusing on the floor.

"You do. Don't you? They weren't your parents were they? Adopted. That's sad."

Kiera's eyes shoot from the floor, "You have no right to tell everyone about my life!"

I look at her shocked. She's adopted? After the few years we were friends she never told me. She loved her parents, and her siblings. Who are her real parents? Are they somewhere within the Society? If they were they are now dead. The Shadowed must have killed everyone except for us and Xander.

"I have your parents," Maria pauses and looks at Kiera coldly "I did have Emma's too. Sadly, she disappeared and so did they."

"I don't care," Kiera's lips tremble.

"The only family you've got? I didn't think you were going to reject that," She snorts.

"My family is with these people."

I look at her confused and then I realise that she has also been treating this group as a family as its the only thing we've got left. She must have thought 'Might be the last chance I got'. I smile weakly at her, its the first thing she has mentioned about family.

Maria walks back around to face me. I look in her eyes, they look as if she could kill. Which she probably could do.

"So. Cameron Baxter. What do you choose? The sorry sore loser death or living freely."

"I can't choose between life and death. It is Gods choice to decide. Whether we live or die," I say looking down at Azreal "God chose for our parents to die. God chose for Emma and Brandon to die. It all was leading up to this moment."

"I have had enough of this. You've no choice. Don't let your fate be decided for this so called God," Maria looks around at her goons then at me "Take em' boys."

My vision suddenly gets blurred by black spots. I start to lose my consciousness, a few screams echo throughout the room. I recognise Charlotte's; screaming I presume. I fall into blackness completely. I remember my parents... their beautiful smiles. I miss that. I want to remember more but I am sucked into oblivion before I can take the strings of memory. Falling... Falling... Falling...