Beyond an Assassin - AC syndicate

Chapter 18

Jacob gave Evie a signal that everything went according to plan and it was safe. You spotted her in the crowd, still dancing with Starrick and she nodded quickly before shoving her heeled foot down onto his. That was much less than the bastard deserves but you would get your revenge soon enough. Abberline threw you the bag with Evie's gear in it and you hurried down to the spot where some concerned looking people were surrounding Evie.

"I can assure you that I'm alright." She explained. She must have made quite a scene when she stepped on Starrick. As you and Jacob got closer you discovered that Starrick was nowhere to be found. Evie must have realized the same, because she looked panicked and angry.

"What happened? Where is Starrick?" You asked as you gave her the bag with clothes.

"He took the key while I was distracted. He ran to the vault! Take this, it will show you the location! Go now! I'll catch up!" Evie gave Jacob a map and hushed you away in the direction of the lake in the Queens so called backyard. You didn't care about the people that were watching you at that moment; you had to stop Starrick before he got his hands on the piece of Eden. You ran in front of Jacob, now that he was bothered by his injuries and was the first to jump into the lake. In the middle of it was a small island that you reached in no time. Jacob was right behind you with the map, but as soon you stood safely on land you were blown back into the water by a huge explosion. Your first reaction was to turn to Jacob to see if he was okay.

"I got it." He said through clenched teeth. You reached out to help him up and you were a little surprised when he took your hand and dragged himself up with your help. It wasn't like the Rook leader to accept any help but it seemed like he didn't care when it was from you. It warmed your heart.

When you both got ready to move again you looked around you and saw how all the trees around you were scorched on the side that turned towards the explosion just now. You sure didn't need the map now to figure out where the entrance to the vault was. You ran towards the place of the explosion and saw a huge hole in the ground. Around the hole was the blown up pieces of rock that must have been blocking the entrance. No wonder the blow was so powerful that it could throw you around like a cloth. It must have been a huge amount of dynamite to blow that away. It could mean that Starrick had to seek cover and wasn't far ahead of you.

Jacob was the first to jump down the steep hole and started to glide down to the vault. You waited a moment to make sure you wouldn't land on him and hurt him even more. It was a long way down and if it wasn't for all the training you have had through your life, to expect the unexpected, you would have been terrified. You were tense but not scared. This would be the first time you would be close to one of the pieces of Eden and you had only heard legends about the power they possessed.

Jacob was waiting for you at the bottom. You made sure to bend the knees when you finally hit the bottom and Jacob took your hand to steady you, so you didn't fall. You looked at each other without saying anything. You knew that this was it. The vault was just a stone cave with only one direction to walk from where you landed. The whole place was lightened up in a unnatural light from the end of the tunnel and you didn't know what to make of that, but it couldn't be good.

You hurried down the tunnel and came to the source of the light. A huge empty hall with enormous stone pillars. It was at least three stories tall from floor to ceiling. In the end of the hall stood Starrick with the back towards you. Without speaking you knew that you would both try to sneak in on him from each your side. You ran from pillar to pillar and kept an eye on him. Until you were behind the last pillar on each side of Starrick, Jacob jumped out and ran the last few steps up to him and charged at him with his blade. But even though you had both been silent, it was like Starrick was prepared and turned around in a split-second. He went straight for Jacobs's throat and grabbed him mid-air. First now you saw that Starrick was wearing a golden piece of fabric. It almost looked alive, like there was a golden river over his shoulder. That must be the piece of Eden.