The Cloak of Shadows

Chapter 6: That Escalated Quickly

 I stared after him, wondering what dirt he could possibly have on me. I considered going after him, but I decided against it, on account of the fact that he probably wouldn't tell me anyways. Instead, I decided to go to Azalea's office, in order to see if Zane told the truth. Making my way down the main room, I realized I had no idea where her office actually was. Luckily, Azalea was walking out of the gigantic room at that moment, so I ran up to her, working up the nerve to say something.

Before I could utter a sound, the woman shot a piercing look my way. "How did you get out again?" There was hostility in her voice, but, for the most part, she just appeared tired.

"The door was left unlocked." I said, quickly moving on. "May I ask you something, Ma'am?" I asked, trying to sound as polite as possible.

Azalea sighed, though not at all breaking her stride. "What is it?"

"For your test... What was the point?" I asked, lacking a better way to phrase it.

"To test your loyalty."

"And what does that mean exactly, Ma'am?" I lengthened my pace, struggling to keep up.

She shrugged, still focused on a point up ahead. "We had to make sure you were trustworthy."

"Answer my question, woman. Stop being so vague. Did you want me to kill that man or not?" I growled, my patience stretching thin.

Stopping sharply, Azalea gave me a relentless glare. "Who've you been talking to?"

"Z-" I stopped, remembering what Zane told me. "No one." I said hurriedly.

She folded her arms, unbelieving. "You're trying to tell me you figured it out on your own? Ha! No, if you want the answer to that one, maybe take the time to question what you know." Azalea moved to leave.

I grabbed her arm, forcing her to stop. "Figured what out?" I asked her, a smirk on my face.

"Didn't you hear me, you idiotic, thick-headed fool? Maybe I was wrong to suspect any sort of logical, problem-solving thinking on your part; you appear to be just as blank as I should have expected. No, it's more fun to just leave you in the dark." This was said as a relaxed comment, the woman unphased by my grasp on her wrist.

My jaw clenched, and my hand reached for my daggers. I stopped realizing they were on the floor in my room. Instead, I tightened my grip, my nails clawing deep into her skin. "How dare you talk to me that way. If I had my way, you would be suffering, as I slowly cut you up, bit by bit, not severing anything important even as you begged for mercy." I snarled before releasing her.

Azalea didn't bat an eye at my words, but a flicker of a smile danced on her lips. "Don't worry, the feeling is mutual." Whirling around, she elegantly stalked away, having had enough of my sass.

I growled and walked back to my room. My temper did not improve when, upon arrival at my room, I found Jack sitting on my bed. He looked up at me and I sighed, waiting for the moment when no more human contact was necessary. "What do you want?" I asked him grumpily, spying my daggers laying on the floor next to him. It was then that I noticed the purple lines bubbling on Jack's cheekbones and running half-hidden down his neck. His features read mostly as calm and collected, but a malicious, cold glint within his gaze and the snarl crawling up his split lips said otherwise.

"What do you think?"

My eyes widened as I took it all in. "What did they do to you?" I demanded, hate searing in my eyes. I closed the door behind me as I walked fully in, taking a step towards the sharp blades on the ground.

"The punishment one would expect for aiding a known murderer..." He glanced at the weapons I currently inched towards, lifting an eyebrow.

I stopped, my eyes narrowing. "They should be fine with murderers, what with their boss being one and all." I glared at him, challenging him to stop me from getting my weapons back.