Gajin

Chapter Six

I left the window open; a cool breeze flowing through the curtains, the kind of cool that would send an involuntary shiver down your spine. Although it was brisk, I welcomed the fresh air. This small window in my attic was my escape from the reality of our poor lifestyle.

I was grateful for the attic, cozy as it was with three pieces of furniture: a bed, desk, and a drawer, it also gave me a sanctum of sorts, where I could rest and recuperate.

After my meet with Katsuma, I had to sneak home and avoid the snores of my family. I left the lamp lit beside my bed and turned to slide into the sheets.

Suddenly, the window's curtains flew open as a gust of wind rushed through, blowing out the flame and enveloping the room in darkness.

"Great." I muttered to myself, rising from the bed to relight my wick.

Just as I came to my feet, a shadow blotted out my only source of light; the moon in the window.

A confused panic set over me. I fumbled to light the lamp and was stunned at the sight before me.

A man, maybe seven feet in height, covered in a light gray cloak that pulled over his head stood before me, blocking out the moonlight.

My voice caught in my throat. The night angel. He was here to kill me after I got a glimpse of his face. He took advantage of my pause.

"You are wondering who I am. My name is Anton Divaglio. You are wondering how I got up to your floor; I climbed. However, because you know too much, I have to kill you before you scream."

"Wait!" I exclaimed, throwing up my arms in an effort to ward him off. "Why me? I'm just a merchant's daughter...I haven't done anything!"

I had to stall him. Let my mind think. Come up with a better plan than scream, preferably. If I shrieked now, my parents wouldn't come up in time to save me and he'd kill them too. If I reasoned with him, it would only delay my death. If I offered up my body, he'd kill me anyway.

His expression was hidden, but I felt like he was grinning.

"At least tell me why you're going to kill me." I realized how subtly he was growing closer to me. Before, he was at the window, now he stood only a meter away, his huge frame shadowing me.

"Well, you see— "

This was his tactic all along, of course I didn't suspect it. Because suddenly, mid-sentence, my lamp went out. The room fell to darkness.

A grip like iron clamped over my mouth; my final-resort of a scream cut off. A flash of silver arched out of the darkness and flew at me. I flailed and kicked away from the inevitable death. My back hit the wall and the glint of steel clattered to the floor.

The hand left my mouth and I heard heavy shuffling of feet. It came from directly in front of me. There was a spark that lit the room. Two pieces of metal met in the air in front of me.

Then the figure in front of me grunted. A heavy body slammed into me. The hand that had left my mouth now closed around my throat.

"Help!" I spat with the small amount of air I had.

The body against me abruptly disappeared and so did the hand. Then the room flared with light.

I blinked, eyes adjusting. I took a shuddering breath, rubbing my neck where it had been constricted. The man before was nowhere to be found.

That was when my parents stormed into the room.

"Are you okay?!" My father flew up the ladder, relaxing at the sight of me, unharmed.

"There was. . ." I couldn't bring myself to telling him what had happened, "Oh, nothing." I finished, feeling inadequate. He furrowed his brow, abruptly annoyed that I bothered him.

"What are you doing at this time of night anyway?"

"Nothing, dad, my lamp fell and woke me up, I thought it would start a fire, so I cried out."

"Okay, Alba, get some rest, we'll clean it up in the morning." He reassured me without questioning my response. He gave me a small smile and clambered back down the ladder.

I settled myself back into bed, still stricken by the attack. My father wouldn't have believed the truth, so there was no way I would risk his life by telling him. Despite the rate of my heartbeat, a peace came over me. I soon fell into a slumber, but not before consciously realizing one thing.

The window was closed and trapped in the panes was a torn strip of dark gray fabric.