Assassin's Heart

Chapter 2

It was the night following the one with her encounter with Shade, and Eliya found herself crouched silently behind a bushy shrub up against a huge mansion that towered into the night sky. Another detail Shade had left out of Daniel Hawthorn's papers; how extremely rich he was. Of course, this hadn't been too much of an obstacle for Eliya. The black, wrought iron fence that surrounded the mansion grounds had originally looked like a menacing obstacle with its long spikes protruding into the night sky, but Eliya had easily managed to scale it. Now, her only obstacle between her and her prey was the fact that Daniel Hawthorn's sleeping chambers were on the third floor. Fortunately for her, it seemed Mother Nature was on her side. Thick green vines sprawled across the whole west side of the building, climbing all the way to the roof. Eliya grinned beneath the black hood that cast a dark shadow over her face, before leaping nimbly from behind the bush to grab the lowest trailing arm of the plant.

She swung herself up the vines with unmatched skill, only a shadow to a normal person's eye that was visible one second and gone the next. In only a couple of minutes, Eliya found herself jumping nimbly up onto the window sill of the third floor. She crouched there for a moment, the picture of a savage animal hunched down for attack, before leaping silently down from the sill. Her boots made no noise on the hardwood floor that was scattered with plush carpets. The room itself was very lavish with many overly-plump armchairs and velvet curtains that swept the floors. In the center of the room was a large, king sized bed where she could faintly made out the form of a body lying under the silken white sheets. She stalked silently to the bedside, staring down on the sleeping face of Daniel Hawthorn. The man in his peaceful oblivion did not wake to his own vulnerability. Eliya towered silently above him, a darkly cloaked figure like a nightmare at the edge of a dream, waiting in the shadows to destroy the bliss of a fond memory, twisting it into something dark and unforgivable. The scraping of metal against metal sounded through the room as she pulled her short dagger from its sheath. Daniel Hawthorn's time was up. Just as Eliya was about to slit the man's pale throat, she heard the creak of a door. She whipped around, making sure to keep her hood from falling off and revealing her face. There, outlined in the doorframe, was another darkly cloaked figure. The figure was dressed entirely in black just as she was, also with a billowing cloak and hood masking their face. No lights had turned on and Eliya had not heard the creak of anyone mounting the stairs. This was not somebody from the household. No; this was another skilfully trained assassin, and not one she recognized. Before she could make a move, the figure was behind her pressing a knife against her throat.

"Who the hell are you?! This is my target! Who does Shade think he is, sending one of his amateurs to do my business!" the figure hissed in her ear. The voice was low with a slight accent; male then. His hold on her was strong and he moved with feline silence, which could only mean he was from Heath's House. Eliya's blood started boiling with anger. Even though she was the one in the vulnerable position, she whispered

"Oh, I think you will find that there is an amateur in this room, but it isn't me..." With those words, she threw her head backwards and slammed the cloaked figure in the forehead. His grip loosened for only a second, just enough time for her to escape his grasp. Daniel Hawthorn moaned in his sleep and rolled over, but did not wake to the slight commotion in the room. The two hooded figures now stood facing each other. He was a good bit taller than her, but Eliya felt no fear, only red hot anger. Just like a member of Heath's House to try and steal her prize.

"If you value your honour and your life, I suggest you leave." the man whispered, his low voice taking on a flippant tone.

"A snake does not accept pity from a rat" Eliya spat. "I will leave, but only once I have completed my task and you are nothing but a cooling carcass on the floor!" She struggled to keep her voice low. If Daniel woke up, her job would get a whole lot messier. Within the shadow of the man's hood she could make out a smirk.

"Fine then. We'll play your way..." the man sneered. Slowly, his hand reached out to a glass vase sitting on a wooden table beside him. Eliya realized a second too late what his move was. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the vase crashing to the floor where it shattered with a smash .In response to this, candle light flickered to life in the hallway and a female voice could be heard outside the door.

"Daniel? Daniel, is everything all right?" Uncontrollable animosity raged through Eliya's entire being. He was playing dirty, and now it was too late as the woman was right outside the door. Eliya sprinted for the window sill, expecting the assassin to follow her, but instead he lunged for the bed. There was the flash of a dagger as he slit Daniel Hawthorn's throat before rushing after her. Eliya heard the woman scream as she threw herself out the window, the wind tearing at her black cloak. She landed with a single roll across the grass before she was on her feet, her hood still hiding her face. She then set off in a sprint towards the black fence across the gardens. She could hear pounding footsteps behind her, no doubt the treacherous little rat that stole her target also trying to escape. Then, the shouts of guards filled the air and more pounding of feet. Without a second glance, Eliya flung her light frame at the fence and pulled her body over the top, dropping silently to the ground on the other side. Casting a sideways glance, she could see the other assassin having a harder time scaling the fence, his feet slipping on the black metal. Without waiting to see if he would make it over, she ran down the street into the night. After a few seconds she could hear the beating footsteps of the male assassin behind her. When they had made it a block away and she could no longer hear the shouts of the guards, Eliya turned on her heel and grabbed the arm of her pursuer, hauled him into a dark side alley, and spun around to face him with a snarl

"You filthy son of a bith!" she thundered. "He was my bloody target and you had no right to steal it from me!" The man ripped off his hood to reveal a sharp jaw line and sea green eyes, his brown hair tied into a bun behind his head, most likely around the age of 20.

"I refuse to address any coward who won't show his face!" he snapped viciously. Eliya hesitated, wondering how much more vulnerable it would make her seem if she showed she was a woman, but went against her better judgment. If he tried to make a move, she would kill him. In one smooth motion, she reached up and ripped her hood from her face, revealing her wild blue eyes and blonde french braid. Shock rippled across the young man's face, before he quickly covered it up with a solemn expression.

"I had as much right to that man's life as you did" he exclaimed, pulling a handful of pages from under his cloak, identical to the ones about Daniel Hawthorn she had been given by Shade.

"What the hell is going on?! A client has never requested assistance from both Heath and Shade at the same time. Either you're a filthy liar, which wouldn't shock me, or Heath is pulling our strings" Eliya ground out between her teeth.

"Heath is not behind this!" the man spat. "He's far more honest then Shade, or you for that matter!" Eliya glared daggers at him.

"Well if that's all you can give me, I'm going to Shade for some real answers." She spun around, her cloak sweeping behind her. "Thanks for stealing my target. Let's not do it again for your wellbeing, or else Heath will find your rotting carcass in a drain" she stated casually, stalking into the night.