The Cloak of Shadows

Chapter 7: Just Dinner?

"I just barely walked in and you're already trying to kill me; I don't know why I bother with you anymore." She paused, looking over at me. "Why are you crying?" When I didn't give an immediate answer, she shrugged. "Whatever, I don't really care. Get ready, we are going to go eat again in twenty minutes. You don't have to dress fancy this time."

I wiped my tears away and forced my face to look calm. "Of course, Ma'am. I'll be ready in ten." I stood up, and inclined my head to her, waiting for her to leave.

She pursed her lips, but said nothing and walked out. Slamming the door behind her.

After she left I sighed and sat on my bed trying to clear my head. About ten minutes after she came in, I got up and tried the door, finding it locked. It's a test, she must want to see how I get out. After I realized that, I sat back down, waiting for her to come get me, not falling for her trap.

After a little while, I started to think that perhaps it wasn't a test, and that I was just paranoid, but just as I thought that Azalea stalked in, a glare on her face. "Didn't I say we were meeting in twenty minutes? Why didn't you come out? It's been twenty-five!" She demands, the impatience clear on her face.

"It's kinda hard to leave when you lock the door is behind you," I replied coldly, my own patience growing small. "Or did you expect me to find my own way out?"

Her glare faded away. "Oh, I guess it's a habit." The menacing face quickly returned. "Well you found a way out before, didn't you? Why didn't you just do that again?"

"You didn't really expect me to fall for your trap, did you? You'll have to try harder than that." I chuckled, standing up to leave after a minute of her not replying. "Didn't you say we were going somewhere?"

Her face turned purple in rage, but she held it in nodding to me. "Yes, we were, this way please."

* * *

Azalea sat glowering in the front of the van, the assassin hooded in the back. She looked back at him, seeing his alert posture, no doubt listening to everything said. She couldn't believe she had been bested by a 15-year-old! Azalea looked back at him again, not being able to help feeling sorry for him, a boy that was taken at the young age of 5 by the Guild. Then she steeled her resolve, reminding herself that he Damien was still dangerous. She knew the Guild, and how they trained their trainees.

Their training was brutal and she knew that members of the Guild are willing to do anything to get out of something. Azalea checked the mirror, watching Damien through it, he appeared to not be worried, like he was fine with this and not wanting to get free.

But she knew better, to test him Azalea slightly pulled out the knife on her belt, deliberately making it whisper against the scabbard side. Damien tensed and reached for his own daggers, at the same time manipulating his face to push the blindfold off of his eyes.

Azalea quickly changed her facial expression to annoyed. "Please put his blindfold back on, and make sure it's tighter this time." She added, staring at the guard sitting next to Damien. Azalea looked back at the assassin, seeing him looking at her partially withdrawn knife, with a raised eyebrow.

She put the blade away, and turned back around, watching the road, not caring what he thinks. I hope he passes this test, if not... well... he might be too dangerous for us to handle.

Azalea had checked the news for any information about the poor waiter that Damien had killed, trying to see exactly how he had done it, but had found nothing worth of her time. Just talking about his very short and boring life, nothing about the state that his body was found in.

She remembered the last test she gave to Damien, the hidden glee in his eyes as she told him what to do, but also the disgust and shock. It had been that disgust and shock that led her to test him one last time.

* * *

When they finally removed the blindfold I sighed in relief. They had tightened it so much after I managed to take off before that I thought it might squish my eyes into my skull. The first thing I did was reach for my daggers, making sure they were still there. Then I took note of where Azalea was, along with her knife.

"Have you resorted to killing me when I don't have the sense of sight? I didn't know I scared you that much, Azalea." I mocked her.

She glared at me reaching towards her knife, but after seeing my face light up when she did so she stopped. Instead, she just kept walking, trying her best to act like she didn't care.

"Honestly, what have you come to these days?" I glanced at Azalea waiting for a reaction. Seeing nothing, I continued. "Is that what you did with Xander? Killed him in his sleep? Is that what you do to all of your enemies too powerful for you to fight?"

She stopped, turning to me. "If you are trying to get me to fight you, it's not going to work. Besides, how could you not know that I killed Xander in the middle of the day? Wasn't he the leader of your Guild or whatever you call it? You ought to at least know how he was killed." Azalea turned back around, continuing to walk to the restaurant we were eating at that day.

I walked with her, ignoring her disgust at me being so close to her. "No, they only told me that he was dead and then they gave me my mission. Speaking of which..." I grabbed my daggers, bringing them to her throat. I spun behind her looking at anyone who came near.

I felt her body tense and a faint gasp escaped from her lips when the cold metal of my blades brushed against her neck. "Not so easy to kill me when I can see your every move." I gloated, savoring this moment of success.

Suddenly I heard a voice behind me. "But you can't see mine." I felt a jab in my back and I crumpled to the floor, my knives only slightly cutting Azalea.

She turned around rubbing her neck, kicking me as I struggled to get up. "Watch your back next time. Honestly, I thought you were good at this." She tried to mock me, not really sounding convincing. She turned away, talking to the person with their foot on my back. "Take his daggers and bring him along."

Someone grabbed my arm, pulling me up and taking my weapons away before I could use them. I looked back at the person gripping my arm. A young woman with long brown hair pushed me forward and grinned at my bewildered face.

"That's right, you got bested by a girl." She snickered, forcing me forward again, and jabbing her fingers right into my pressure point, laughing as she did so.

I glared at her, stood, and kept walking. It wasn't that much longer until we reached the restaurant. When we got there, Azalea sat on the opposite end of the table from me, failing to hide how shaken up she was by my attack. Jacob and the young woman sat on either side of me, much to my annoyance.

Imagine trying to enjoy a meal with them next to you. The young girl constantly talking about how easy it was to defeat me and Jacob glaring at me and getting ready to knock me out every time I reached for a roll.

After we were done, we got up and it seemed like there wasn't going to be a challenge or a test. I frowned, thinking I blew my chance. We all got back into the van and Azalea didn't even blindfold me. After a little while of driving, I reached towards my daggers, trying to get them back from Azalea.

She spun around, slapping me before I even got close. She moved them to the other side of her, out of my reach.

Instead, I reached for her knife and this time I managed to get ahold of it. I slowly pulled it out of the wooden scabbard. It scraped against the side and Azalea grabbed my hand, twisting it until the knife fell from my hand. She picked up the knife, keeping it with her.

"That's why I hate scabbards," I muttered, leaning back in my seat. "Sheaths are better."

She turned around, clearly mad. "Shut up, will you? It seems that you are perfectly fine talking when you can see so I'm putting this back on." She said angrily, holding up the blindfold. She gave it to Jacob, who was sitting next to me, and he shoved it on my head, tightening it to the point of pain.

Once it was on, Jacob sat back again. "You know, that really would've worked better if it was a gag... I can speak without sight. That's how it works."

I hear her growl and a soft chuckle next to me before feeling a sharp blow to the head, knocking me unconscious.