Love Birds

Chapter Twenty Five

-Athena's POV-

I woke up really early in the morning; around the time when the sun had just rose and there was barely enough light to keep the sky bright. The boys of the house were sleeping heavily. Hell, Grayson's snoring was the thing that woke me up.

Slipping on a tank top and some sweatpants, I marched into the kitchen. I grabbed a pan after deciding on making pancakes. Maybe some breakfast would encourage the family to trust me a bit more. Who doesn't love a girl who could cook? It actually made me a bit angry how much people loved to expect that women are alive to cook for men.

The soft sizzle of the pancake on the pan made me fall into a hypnotic stage. I stared straight ahead, closing my eyes to focus on the sound of the pancake sizzling on the pan.

**********

"AHHHHH!!!" The man's scream echoed throughout the walls of the ancient castle. His face scrunched up really tightly as his abdomen contracted, trying to ignore the stab wound. Ra's stood behind me, Talia behind him. I picked up the branding iron that Grandmaster used on the cattle. It burned a bright orange. Another shrill scream escaped him as I pressed the iron to his cut flesh.

"Now, tell us, where are the bombs you stole from me?" Ra's said calmly and smoothly. The man groaned, but still refused to talk. "Fine, you leave me no choice but to let my Nightingale here out of her cage." Ra's lifted a hand and I immediately launched forward. I dug my nails into the man's face and tore until blood coated my fingers. He still kept his cool. I pulled out a pistol and loaded one gold bullet. I aimed the barrel of the gun at the man's lap.

"You're about to become sterile, I suggest you start talking," I punched his gut with the gun and put it back on the target.

"Okay! Okay! I took them! But you can't them back. They're gone," he wheezed out, closing his eyes. A sweaty curl of hair flopped down onto his forehead. Talia smiled a little bit. I stood up straighter, emotionless.

"Where might they be, Mr. Morki?" Ra's stepped forward looking into the bloodshot eyes of the poor man. Except, I didn't feel bad for him. He had taken the bombs, he deserved to be punished.

"I sold them. They're gone," he gasped, "the guy who took them said he had a big plan and I was just a pawn."

I sighed and turned away angrily. Ra's rested a hand on my shoulder to calm me down. His ancient hand had a weird shut-down feeling for me, like I was his little robot and he could easily pull my plug. I took a deep breath and refocused my brain. Talia had left during my tiny meltdown.

"Who was the big bad king who took them?" Ra's gracefully glided right in front of the man before I could even blink. He stared Morki down, a serious smile on his face.

"I don't know, I swear! He had his other guys deliver the bomb to him I never met him," when I took a dangerous step closer, the man continued, "he said he wanted what you had. H-he wanted to destroy it! That's it!"

"You think he'll detonate the bombs just because they were yours?" I asked, turning to my ringmaster.

"Tell that madman, whoever is, that he deserves to be where he is the next time you see him," Ra's said.

"Where will he be?" Morki looked up with his bloodshot eyes.

"In hell, right where you're going. Nightingale." With a flick of Ra's head, I pulled out my gun and shot the guy they between his eyes. He fell limp immediately as we left the room.

After some of the assassins carried the body out of the main chamber, I followed Ra's to the Lazarus pit for his yearly bath. The neon green glow of the pool made me want to cover my eyes, but I didn't. Grandmaster took off his cape and removed his shirt. I had never assisted him before during the rejuvenation treatment. Talia had left though, so I followed him into the cave like area.