You Better Kill Me First

True Power

Turning the hand around, Aisha came face to face with a human man. He looked to be relatively young. He had pale skin and silver eyes that seemed to pierce out from blond hair and through Aisha as he glared at her. His expression turned to one of terror when he saw Aisha's marks brightly glowing through her dark clothing.

"Hey, can I help you?" she said with deadly playfulness. The man stayed silent. Aisha gritted her teeth and tightened the grip. She honestly could care less about the man. She hadn't adopted her people's pacifist ways. He winced and she tilted her head waiting for him to talk. 

"Speak," she growled.

The man opened his mouth and then closed it as he seemed to examine her face. 

"Your that Lycan man's mate," he finally said.

It was now Aisha's turn to be speechless. How could he possibly know that, especially for a human? He seemed to take pleasure in stumping Aisha, although her shock didn't last. She whipped her arm back and threw the construct against one of the brick chimneys on the roof. The man gasped for breath as the wind was knocked out of him. She walked over closer to him. 

"What are you talking about?", she said

He looked up and said, " The wolf-man, you're his soul-mate, aren't you?"

"What business is it to you?" she retorted.

This time the man sneered and mused with a sick joking tone, " Do you count as a widower if you haven't actually met your mate?"

Aisha's eyes widened and she could feel her power rising within her body. Was he insinuating what she thought he was? 

Her thoughts were broken as the man spit at her. In a split second, she moved her head as it sailed over her shoulder. He looked at her with defiance as if he had completely forgotten who was holding the cards. She smiled sweetly, catching him off guard. 

In one swift motion, Aisha lashed out with her right hand and grabbed the side of his face. His pupils shrunk as Aisha breached his mind. Normally, it would take more than a few seconds to breach someone's mind. However, humans were especially susceptible when they were weakened or caught off guard.

Aisha began to probe into the man's mind. She didn't feel like playing 20 questions. She'd get the information herself. She had come across humans before during her time in the forest when she was young. A tear would appear and a human would unknowingly walk or drive through it. Normally, the guardians would handle it. However, she had once or twice snuck up behind an unsuspecting human and slipped into their mind. She usually was entertained by what she found. 

This current situation though wasn't specifically for entertainment. During her time with her powers, she had become very strong. Moving through the man's mind was as easy as moving a hot knife through butter. Aisha slid through his mind and searched for any clues to what this man's purpose was. She could see flashes of people and place she couldn't recognize.

  All of sudden, she stopped. As if she was flipping through a photo album, she backtracked through his memory to get one that had caught her attention. Got it. The viewer seemed to be staring down off of a ledge. She focused intently on the memory and it sharpened. Aisha gasped. It was her. 

The memory was from a few months ago. It was the day she had accidentally rolled up her sleeve when it had gotten a tad too hot. A Lycan guard whom she had completely not seen caught a glimpse of her mark. The rest was history. 

This viewpoint seemed to show her running across rooftops, evading her pursuers. Aisha shook her head. If this stranger wasn't a full idiot, he could see that she had the right sleeve of her jacket, where a guard had ripped it attempting to catch her. That whole situation had been a close call. Her soul mark was on full display. She shuddered and delved deeper. Why had he made that comment about her being a widower? Was Cain in danger?

Her question was answered with another memory. In this memory, her current captive was being handed an envelope and a briefcase. The briefcase was opened first and Aisha's eyes widened at the obscene amount of money it held. Next, the envelope was opened up and a single piece of paper was pulled out. Inside of it was a photo of Cain Santos and what seemed to be a breakdown of who he was. It offered an explanation of his heritage, possible abilities, and weaknesses. 

Aisha gasped at the last lines of the letter.

Your target is being pursued by 3 others, choose to work with them or alone. The target must be dispatched by August 5th, 2130. 

Today. August 5th was today. Aisha pulled out of her target's mind. She looked at the fully comatose man. An assassin for Cain and he wasn't alone. As if on queue, she felt a small warmth on her arm. Cain was awake. She pushed the sensation out of her mind and refocused on the half-unconscious man. This time she reached back into his mind without even touching him. She erased all memory of their encounter, along with the entire assassination order from his mind. 

She let the man out of her grasp and he crumpled to the floor. Aisha leaned over and place two fingers on his temple. Aisha placed a subliminal bug in his consciousness ensuring that the next action he would take would be to leave this realm immediately. She immediately hid herself using her invisibility and sat perched on the roof edge facing her target. 

It took about 10 min for the man to stir. He shook his head, obviously still in a fog. He looked around for a minute or so and then he pulled out the device he had been looking at earlier. He tapped some buttons and then seemingly scanned the area around him. Aisha heard the device chirp and it flashed as a small beam of light burst forth and pinpointed a tear a few feet away.  He walked over to it and proceeded to pull it open, just enough for him to slip through. Gone.

Aisha hopped up off her perch and headed for the fire escape. Climbing down, she reached her window which she hadn't locked. Slipping through, she peeled off her hoodie, jeans, and sneakers. She made a beeline for the bathroom and closed the door.

 Flipping the light on, she stared in the mirror at herself as if trying to commit her face to memory. Beautiful black hair. Green eyes. Light markings across her torso, arms, and legs. She looked down at her arm and traced the pulsing soul mark. Backing away from the mirror, she slid down the wall and placed her head in her hands.

She couldn't let him be killed. Cain was one of the most well-loved people in Etheria. His death would cause chaos and turmoil. It would be an opportunity for an enemy to come in and take advantage of the ensuing chaos. 

He was Cain though. Aisha had heard stories from her neighbors and others about his battlefield prowess. He was a werewolf after all. He could handle it. He had handled the first human "invasion" if you could even call it that. 

She knew the humans weren't stupid. There obviously some information slips that had reached their world. It was obvious they knew that silver was a very useful tool for werewolves. The Fae and Elven were highly susceptible to poisons of any type and the Orcs were strong but not always the smartest. 

She'd done pretty well hiding. Aisha had moved into the city when she was only 18, with the guardian's help of course. It was times like this she wished she had known her parents. Even a member of her former tribe would've been welcome. Anyone who could help her figure it all out. Aisha knew what she had to do but she also knew the consequences. Her powers were very distinguishable in general from any of the other races. If she interfered, she would be found out.

She left the bathroom and made her way to the couch. Laying there, she contemplated the choices she'd have to make. Sleep began to claim her and she began to drift off. It was a terrible time to sleep, she knew that, but her encounter with the human and the added stress was taking a toll. If she did have to use her true power, maybe her soul mate was a worthy reason?