CHAPTER ONE

"Dirty thief, I'll have your hand for that!" Yet another helpless citizen hounded by guards that I, inevitably, would have to save. I glanced over the edge of the rooftop I was standing on to assess the situation. Off to the side of one of the lesser crowded streets of Damascus, a woman was being pushed in circles by four city guards. Maybe she would throw up and they would leave her alone so I could continue on my way.

After watching for a few minutes, I decided that the woman's stomach was strong enough to stand up to the treatment it was so unfairly getting. So I jumped from the rooftop, aiming for one of the guards pushing the woman. I landed on top of him, my assassin's blade stuck in his throat. I went to pull it out, but to my dismay, it wouldn't budge. Damn.

The other guards were closing in. So I pulled my dagger out, with much difficulty, and tried to defend myself until I could get the dead man off my blade. So I stood there, hunched over, ready to fight to the death. A guard lunged at me, and I countered his attack, but because of the stupid dead man, my attack didn't hit where I wanted it to, and the man was simply stunned instead of killed.

I bet I was a sight for sore eyes, with a dead man dangling from my arm, trying to save a woman and failing almost miserably. The same guard I had stunned was recovering quickly. I needed a plan… My thinking was interrupted as another guard lunged at me. This time my attack hit home. The man went wheeling, grasping his chest.

Then something odd happened. The woman I was saving, or was trying to save, kicked out at the recovering guard and the blow connected with his face. Teeth went flying, and blood splattered the ground. The woman then proceeded to smash his face in with her fists. I was astounded. But I was quickly cured as the last guard slashed with his sword at my chest. I dodged the attack, but not quickly enough. His blade sliced through my clothing and cut a deep gash into my shoulder.

My muscles screamed. Now I was pissed. I planted my foot in the face of the dead man that was going to get me killed. I pulled at my blade to get it loose, but it just wouldn't come out. The last guard came to attack me again, but slipped in a puddle of blood and went sprawling. The woman ripped his helmet off and grabbed a handful of hair. She wrenched his head from side to side, and eventually his neck broke. I admired her strength.

I began to pull in earnest now, because more guards were going to show up soon. The blade wouldn't budge. The woman came over to help, and with one last heave, the blade slipped out of his neck. I kicked him in the ribs for the trouble he had caused me. The woman laughed.

"Thanks for your help," she said.

"It looks to me like you didn't need help. I could have saved myself the trouble." I sheathed my dagger and assessed the damage the guard had done to my shoulder. It didn't look too bad.

"I needed a distraction. You were perfect. And that little jump off the rooftop? That was skillfully done, my friend."

"I am not your friend." I needed to get back to the bureau so that I could bandage my shoulder. The last thing I needed was an infection. I started walking. To my great displeasure, she followed.

"Hey, calm down. I was giving you a compliment. You could have just said thank you." I said nothing, hoping that maybe she would leave me alone and go be annoying somewhere else. Her footsteps were loud behind me, and I sighed.

The people were running around the streets, and I did my best to blend in. The last thing I needed was another fight. I walked at a reasonable speed towards the bureau. I wondered if my shoulder was going to hold up for the climb to get in. I hoped it would.

The woman was relentless. She followed me the entire way. As I got closer to the bureau, I knew that I needed her gone. So I stopped in a dark alley and pulled out my dagger. It was at her throat before she could do anything.

"Why are you following me? Go home." I hoped my voice sounded threatening enough. Her eyes were wide, bright green pools in the darkness. When she didn't answer, I pressed the dagger harder into her throat. Her eyes darted left and right, as if the walls could give her a reason.

"I… I want to help you. You saved me." I thought about this. Ah, to hell with it.

"No one can help me. I must do this alone. Now go, before I kill you." I pulled the dagger from her slender neck and hoped she would leave. But she remained, standing there like a rock.

People were beginning to notice us. I glared at her.

"Where are you going?" she asked. "You need to bandage that wound, or it will get infected."

INFERIOR WOMAN! I KNOW THIS! I screamed in my head. She was beginning to piss me off. I ranted on and on in my mind. I decided to lose her right that minute.

I scaled the nearest wall. My shoulder screamed its protest, but I was too annoyed to care. I reached the top and kept going. I ran towards the bureau, hoping she would not follow. I saw a ladder, and kicked it from the edge of the rooftop. I didn't want her to have any way to follow me. The ladder made a swooping descent, and landed on the head of a man walking down the street. I would have laughed any other day, but I kept running.

I stopped to check behind me, and to my horror, she was there. She had found a way onto the roof and was running after me! I knew my shoulder couldn't take much more climbing, and that pissed me off even more. I could see the bureau!

So I kept running. My shoulder was bleeding profusely now. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, I chanted in my mind. She could just follow the blood trail. I ran to the bureau, ducking behind corners, hoping she would lose sight of me. I reached the bureau and jumped inside. I fell to the ground in exhaustion. My hands were shaking, and my shoulder was throbbing dully.

The bureau leader ran into the room in a panic. His eyes surveyed the room.

"It's just me, Rafiq," I panted. The room was beginning to blur. I closed my eyes.

"Altaïr! What happened?" He ran to my side. He saw the blood that now covered my clothes and began searching for a wound. He soon found it.

"Damn, this is bad. How did this happen?"

"I was… saving… a citizen. Damn blade got stuck… in some guy's neck…" It was hard to talk. My tongue felt swollen and dry.

"Altaïr, please tell me you didn't kill another citizen. It is against the Creed!"

"It was a guard, Rafiq, calm down." Then I heard someone cough. I didn't open my eyes. I knew who it was. She had followed me here. I was going to kill her. The Rafiq looked up at her.

"Who are you?" he demanded. I heard her struggling to scale the wall down into the bureau. I hoped she would fall. But she didn't. I sighed again.

"He saved me from some guards and I want to help him for saving my life." She sounded… scared. How come I couldn't scare her, but the Rafiq could?

"We don't need your help, now go." Silence. "GO!!!"

"Please! I can help him! I treat wounds like this every day."

"Oh yes? Well what makes you think I need your help?"

"N…Nothing. I just…. I want to pay him back for saving me… Is that so bad?"

There was more silence. Please, I begged silently, say no. Just say no.

"I guess you can help him. But you'll leave once you're done."

Damn.