A Rookie's Flight |Assassin's Creed Fanfiction|

Chapter 19

   Archer had lead us to one of the many Assassin Bureaus that were spread around London. To my surprise there were a large number of people wearing bright green quilted jackets. I'd seen several people wearing the same kinds of clothes on the way, but not as many as stood here.

   Raven directed me to an empty room. There was a round table in the center, which flew to the right hand wall when I entered. The light seemed to seep from the walls, casting an eerie glow around the room. There were no chairs, no chests, no beds. Just the one table.

   Raven flew off my shoulder and landed lightly on the table. He turned his head to me as I slammed the door shut. "What's got you all worked up?"

   "Nothing," I said.

   He tipped his head and bounced to the edge of the table. "Are you sure?"

   I didn't respond. He most likely knew exactly what I was going to say if I said anything. No. I'm not sure about anything anymore. 

   "I thought as much." Raven started cleaning his feathers and otherwise ignoring me.

   "Raven?"

   Raven didn't respond. His feathers were already glossy, I didn't know why he was continuing to clean them.

   I glared at him as he still ignored me. The table next to him started on fire. Raven squawked and flapped out of the way, looking more satisfied than I thought a bird could look. "That's what I wanted!"

   I continued to glare at him while the table burned merrily. "Why did you want me to do that?"

   Raven landed on the ground and looked up at me. "You can control your power. You only need to know what you can do. Now you know you can control water and fire, you can move fast, and you're much stronger than you should be. Not to mention better hearing, eyesight, and the ability to vanish in darkness."

   "Water?"

   "Yes. You were dry much faster than you should have been aboard the Jackdaw."

   I frowned. How much can I do? It was entirely possible that I would never know the extent of my power. Archer had told me about the Shadow Assassin and I couldn't help but wonder if that was me.

   "Blackbird!" Archer opened the door, glanced at the burning table and gave me a small smile. "Destroying furniture? If you're not too busy we've got food. Also, you should know that Shay challenged you."

   I grinned. "Did he now?"

   Raven flew up and landed on my shoulder. "I'm hungry. Where's the food?"

   After dinner had finished, Shay told me to meet him on the roof. I challenged him to meet me on the roof in ten seconds. A challenge that made him laugh and turn it down.

   I sat on the edge of the roof waiting rather impatiently. Archer had insisted that all of the experienced assassins, anyone not wearing a green jacket, should watch. He didn't say it, but I knew that he had also suggested this because he wanted more than his suspicions that I was the Shadow Assassin.

   Connor and Archer were already up. Raven was perched on top of one of the poles. Shay was just coming over the edge of the roof.

   I looked down at the street and saw a large group of assassins, most of whom were wearing white or gray, were standing in the shadows, climbing up behind Shay in groups of two or three. There were a couple of assassins wearing black and only one who was wearing dark green.

   I watched as they crowded onto the roof. Most of them had gray hair and more than a few had beards. The green assassin appeared to be the only one who wasn't old. She couldn't have been older than Edward. She walked over to me and smiled. "You must be Rook."

   I nodded and looked back out over the city. I was in a listening mood more than a talking mood.

   "Mind if I sit down?" she asked.

   "Go ahead. I'm just waiting right now," I sighed.

   She sat down. "I'm Shadiya. Archer told me you might be the Shadow Assassin."

   "Oh." I couldn't think of anything interesting to say, so I went with the first thing I'd noticed. "You're the youngest person here next to Archer, Shay, Connor, and I."

   Shadiya laughed. "I'm older than everyone here. Not combined of course, but definitely older."

   "You're an elf?"

   "Hmm... not exactly. You aren't an elf either, but you're probably going to live just as long as me."

   "And how do you know that?" I asked suspiciously.

   "What I know and how I know it are for me to know and not tell."

   "Blackbird!" Archer called. "Come here!"

   I leaped to my feet and shot over to him. "Hi. Whatdoyouwant?"

   Archer smirked at me. "Hello to you too. Everyone's ready when you are."

   "I'm always ready."

   Archer nodded and gestured to the center of the crowd. I started pushing through them. After they realized what I was doing a path cleared for me straight to where Shay stood waiting. He grinned and drew his sword as the crowd closed our circle.

   I drew both of my swords and stepped into the stance Edward had tried to teach me before discovering I already used it. "Archer! We're waiting on you now!" I called, not taking my eyes off of Shay's sword.

   "Three... GO!" Archer shouted. I could hear him laughing as I leaped forward at a very surprised and confused Shay.

   Shay dove to the side as my swords came down. He took a swing at my legs and I stepped just out of reach. I started spinning my swords, waiting patiently for Shay to get up again. I spun them faster the longer he took. By the time he'd stood up again my swords were nothing more than a blur of steel. A deadly, protective wall.

   Shay didn't try to break my shield. He stayed out of my reach, dodging any time one of my swords flashed out of their pattern. He was quite good.

   He bounded forward, ducking under my swords and jabbed at my hand. I grinned, jerking my arm out of the way and hitting him in the back with the flat of my blade. His momentum carried him forward and he fell to the ground.

   I sheathed my swords and held out a hand to him. "Get up you klutz."

   He grabbed my hand and I pulled him up. "Thanks Rookie," he gave me a crooked smile. "Remind me to not challenge you again."

   "I'll think about it."

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Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! It's been a while since I updated this one. (maybe not as long as I think)

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