Chapter 1

Twenty-nine-year-old Assassin Maya Everton sighed from inside her helmet as the desert stretched out before her. Outcroppings dotted the sparse land, with the occasional town or house interspersed between the giant rock formations. The road was just as desolate and abandoned as the surrounding desert, with the occasional minivan, motorcyclist or eighteen-wheeler passing by. All and all, Maya and her older brother, Eric, had the road all to themselves.

And it was a good thing too. The last thing they needed were witnesses that placed them at the site of a soon-to-be ex-factory.

Their mission: liberate a Piece of Eden.

It was a typical mission for Maya and her brother Eric. In fact, it was their Order's, the Brotherhood of the Assassins, sole purpose. The Pieces of Eden were several powerful weapons created by an ancient race, known simple as the Isu, The Ones Who Came Before, or even The First Civilization. Not many knew of these ancient people, as they were all wiped out by a major solar flare, eradicating their cities and race from the face of the earth. The only ones that knew of Those Who Came Before are the Brotherhood of the Assassins and their long-time enemy, the Templar Order, and even then, both orders' knowledge of the First Civilization was superficial at best.

That's where the Pieces of Eden came in.

They were artefacts left behind by Those Who Came Before. There were multiple artefacts in fact, including several Apples of Eden, which were multiple orbs that held different types of power. And those Pieces of Eden that the Assassins and the Templars were fighting over were the ones that they knew about. As far as the two orders were concerned, there could be more Pieces of Eden and Precursor sights/items that have yet to be found.

But the ones that have been found had been fought over for centuries.

And this is where Maya and Eric came in. Their family had been in the Assassin Brotherhood for centuries, starting in London during the early 1600s. When the first settlements had been made in America, it was their ancestors who had established the first American Brotherhood, though they were mainly stationed in Europe during the American Revolution. The siblings' parents were Assassins, their father on the council and their mother one of the best marksmen in the Brotherhood. However, recently, the siblings' mother was cut down during a raid by the Templars on one of the hideouts and their father has been missing for over six months.

It was then they volunteered for field work, to hunt down the Pieces of Eden in North America and to finally cut the country free of the infection that is the Templar Order.

As for their current mission, Eric had intercepted a message from a base in the Nevada desert that clearly stated that a Piece of Eden was being transported to some underground Templar base in Las Vegas. And since a Piece of Eden was mentioned explicitly in the message, the mission went straight to the top of their Priority List. So, they spoke to a relative in the state and asked her if they could stay with her and her son for a while after the two siblings took out the factory, since the Templars would no doubt raise the alarm when the factory goes up in flame and the Piece of Eden goes missing. Of course, their Aunt and cousin didn't know about Maya's and Eric's part in the Assassins, since their mom kept it a secret from her sister.

And neither sibling had the courage to draw their mild manner relatives into this bloody war.

Maya tilted her body and motorcycle into a particularly sharp turn, the sun starting to dip towards the horizon.

Have we really been riding all day? Maya thought to herself, eyeing the sun really quick before returning her gaze to the road. If we can make it to the factory around nightfall, we can easily sneak in. Not the most ideal situation, considering we haven't staked out the place at all, but we've worked with less information before.

From inside her helmet, she narrowed her eyes, the horizon empty. There hadn't been too many cars on the road, since this stretch of the interstate wasn't particularly a favorite travel route as there weren't any gas stations or roadside stops for miles. Most just took a longer, but more populated route. This was good for Maya and Eric, as they didn't want too many people point them out if an investigation was done in regards the multiple dead bodies that would be discovered. It was one of the tenants of the Assassin's Creed.

Remain hidden in plain sight.

Up ahead, Eric slowed down, forcing Maya to do the same. The two pulled over into the dirt, parking their bikes and taking off their helmet. Maya's half-shaven hair was all but matted to her skull, heavy with sweat. But she didn't mind. Eric's hair, considerably longer, was a wet, sweat-soaked mess. He pulled at the ponytail that held his hair out of his face. Maya winced as Eric shook his head, sweat flying out of the strands towards her. But Eric didn't notice her disgusting wince as he brushed his hair back with his fingers and retied it back.

"Okay, so where are we exactly?" Maya asked her brother as she scanned the horizon. Eric, in response to the question, pulled out a worn-out map of Nevada. When he unfolded it all the way, both siblings leaned over the map and studied it closely, Maya's finger moving along the dotted line towards a red 'X'.

"Looks like we're almost there." Eric muttered to himself as he followed his sister's finger.

"If we push it, we can make the factory in twenty minutes. And if all goes well, we'll be in Jasper at around midnight." Maya stated. There was a tone of cautious hope, as their missions very rarely went well. But hopefully, Lady Luck would be on their side this time around.

"Okay." Eric said. He quickly and carefully folded the map before placing it back into his bag strapped to his motorcycle. The man straddled his bike, as did Maya, and after placing their helmets back on their head their engines roaring along the dead interstate. "Let's ride."

They returned to their tense silent as they grew closer and closer to the factory. Maya mentally prepared herself for the mission, feeling as though she and her brother were dancing with death. It was the same dance that all the other Assassins did. They all knew the risks of being in this long, secret, bloody war.

But now?

Maya had felt a certain weight on her soul. A certain darkness that engulfed her. Normally, she tried to have an optimistic (but realistic) view on any missions that she or her brother would do. Now, however, as the sun set and the factory came into view, a dark spot on the darkening horizon, Maya felt the sense of doom weigh on her heavily.

She followed her brother, slowing down their motorcycles and pulling them off to the side. They removed their helmets and pulled up their cowls up over their head, as well as strapping their hidden blades to their wrist. While the robes and the Hidden Blades were typical equipment of an Assassin, Maya and Eric had added to their outfit a mouth covering that kept their identity a secret. It was a tricky thing, keeping their identity a secret, especially in this day and age of technology as the Templars would monitor suspected Assassin broadcasts and gather the names of those mentioned. So far, the two had been able to keep their real name a secret, simply going by Sister and Brother respectively in any broadcast to the Brotherhood Council and Mentor. But they knew it wouldn't last for long.

After pulling their cowls over their head and placing their blades on their wrists, the two stashed their bikes out of sight, but in a position where they could reach them if and when they needed a quick escape. They then started to make their way towards the factory, using the stretched shadows of the factory buildings to move about.

They were like wraiths: silent, unseen and followed by Death like a loyal hound at their heels.

Maya could feel the proverbial music reach its peak as they entered the factory grounds proper. The dance was reaching its climax. This mission would have two outcomes: either the twins would give Death his fill of blood and soul, or Death would claim the twins instead. And the first three minutes of any mission would decide how it went from there on.

From the moment Maya and Eric stepped foot over the threshold inside the factory, they were attacked. At every room and level, the two were beset by a handful or more Templar foot soldiers. They either rushed them, shouting at the top of their lungs, or attempting to ambushing them.

They were playing a dangerous game, taking an even more dangerous risk.

Taking on an entire enemy fortress by themselves, fighting through the multiple enemies to get to one potential target was nothing new. They had been trained in the art of death, and so, throughout their lives, have danced with death as a result.

She could see her brother in her peripheral, not willing to take her eyes off her opponent for that one moment. For even just one second's distraction could mean doom for the both of them.

Her brother was doing excellent, as always, slicing and dicing through the waves upon waves of enemies that came at him as though a snake, weaving through the ins and outs of its shaded burrow. It was slow, exhaustive work, but eventually they sent their enemies scurrying. No one challenged them as they went deeper and deeper into the fortress. Her eyes scanned the darkness, keeping an eye out for an ambush. The two cloaked figures knew that their dance with Death would catch up with them at some point. They just didn't know when.

They stepped into a hidden room, the darkness keeping everything hidden from view. As she was about to turn around, the door slammed shut, cutting off the little bit of light they had Then, somewhere from above, a light exploded into view, momentarily blinding them. While they worked to clear the spots out of their grey eyes, a voice permeated the room.

"Welcome Assassins!" a voice greeted with false hospitableness. He was silhouetted by the light that shown behind them, keeping his face a mystery.

There was no telling who he was. Just another member in the Templar Order to take down.

However, before they could do anything, solider arrived, appearing on the catwalk above them, their weapons locked, loaded and pointing right at them.

The proverbial music had stopped.

Their dance with Death seemed over.

But Maya and Eric weren't quite done. They still had some tricks up their sleeve.

Right as the soldiers opened fire, raining a hail of bullets on them, the two dived behind a steel wall several feet thick. Even though the wall was thick enough to stop bullets, both recoiled at the loud pinging sound made by the bullets bouncing off the wall. When the hail of bullets seemed to stop, and the mechanical clicking sound of the guns reloading echoed, Maya and Eric took it as their opportunity. Maya gave the signal (a two-fingered salute) before they both raced out from their hiding spot. While the giant lights put them at a serious disadvantage, it also created a couple of small advantages: massive shadows where they could hide as they dodged their way to the platform. They waited in intervals of three seconds, moving like wraiths or like the heralds of Death that they were.

Maya had just ducked behind a stack of crates, bullets singing around her. Eric gazed out towards her from where he was, kneeling behind a couple of crates. She waited there for a moment, her breathing not even heavy. It was her mind that was racing out of control.

It was so obviously a Templar trap, to lure in unwitting Assassins to their doom by way of the Piece of Eden. And Maya was too into envisioning herself holding a relic from before the dawn of time that she had let the possibility of a trap slip past her. In doing so, she had put her brother and the Brotherhood at risk.

This is no time for self-pity, she reminded herself as she tensed in preparation of another, and the final, leap. Focus on the mission. One…. two…. three!

Like the other five times, the hail of bullets seemed to cease and Maya and Eric took their advantage to a whole new level. With a leap that seemed as graceful as a leopard pouncing onto its prey, the two managed to climb the wall to the platform that held the gunmen. From the way the stoic masked men reacted to them, Maya could only imagine that she and her brother looked like demons crawling out of hell to capture their souls.

Despite herself, she smiled.

About halfway up, the soldiers who were only recently stoic in their shooting, were starting to panic. The unknown Templar man screamed (more like squealed), ordering the men to stand their ground.

By the time Maya and Eric had reached the platform, of the estimate thirty-five men that had originally attacked them, there were at least ten that remained. The two Assassins, one at each end of the platform, stood tense. Then, almost as one, they flicked their wrists. The slow snick sound as the blade slid out almost echoed in the quiet factory.

The first brave soldier to make his move resumed the fighting.

The rest of the ten guards either quickly fell to the Hidden Blade of Maya and Eric or leapt over the railing, leaving only the unknown Templar. Now that Maya could see his face in greater detail, she sort of recognized him. The man was a middle-level Templar by the name of Axel Montgomery. He owned several factories that the Templar scientists used in order to test any weapons they had and were planning on using against the Assassins. He was also a Master of Torture, having killed those Assassins who refused to talk and tell them any sort of information and had died as a result. So, Maya felt ready to avenge her brothers and sisters that died at his hand.

He looked as cowardly as the reports described him. A fat blob that had a receding hairline and profusely sweating.

This is the guy who had spread fear throughout the Brotherhood, Maya thought with both shame and disgust. This is the guy known only as the Butcher.

"Pl-please." The blob begged as he fell to his knees. All that bravado was gone, instead it was replaced with cowardice. "I can give you any information! Anything you want about the Templars! If you just let me go!"

Maya felt her hate for this man rise exponentially. "You have tortured and killed no less than fifty Assassins who refused to compromise the Brotherhood. You will not receive any mercy from us."

The man started to quake.

"But," her voice caused him to tense, a light of hope to shine. "You can tell us where the Apple of Eden is."

Fear returned, but the man started to laugh. It was a nervous, throaty chuckle that had Maya curling her fist in anger.

"There is no Apple of Eden to be found here."

Maya didn't allow him to say another word. She blinked and the next thing that she knew was she was watching coldly as blood spewed from his neck and onto the floor. She stepped back to avoid getting blood on her good boots. When the death throes finally quieted and the warehouse became as quiet as a mausoleum, the siblings searched the place from top to bottom to make sure that what the dead man had said was true.

And he was.

It became clearer to Maya and Eric as they continued their search into the warehouse that the transmission sent out was a phony one, used to trap Assassins. They found a multitude of skeletons, all dressed in modern day robes, but all wearing a Hidden Blade. Maya searched the nearest skeleton with as much respect as she could in order to find an ID. About half of them had some type of identification on them, whether it be a driver's license or a letter detailing who they were and why they were here. For those that had the latter, the letters were written in small words, crammed to the point where it was difficult to ascertain where one sentence ended and another began. And they were written in the Assassin code, but Maya had studied and memorized all the code books so it wasn't difficult to read the letters.

She knew about half of the skeletons that were laying on the floor. Some had been instructors in some way or another to her and her brother during their years of training. Maya sat forlornly in the room with the skeletons, thinking about the time all of these people had gone mission, the time when the Council had not sent a search party out for them.

"Requiescat in pace, friends." She muttered. They deserved better. They deserved a burial, a mention in the books of Assassin history, but that was all Maya had time for and could do at the moment.

"SISTER!" Eric's voice cut through her slight mourning. Maya sighed as she stood and dusted off her pants. Time for her and her brother to continue. When they met up outside the room, they started to talk about what their next move was. "What do you think we should do now? There's no sign of the Piece of Eden."

"Which means that Axel Montgomery was telling the truth." Maya was so infuriated by how easily duped she and her brother had been but she found the bright side being that no more Assassins could fall into the trap laid by the Templars. She exhaled through her nose, dispelling all of the darkness that seemed to suddenly cloud her at that moment. "Come on, Brother. We still have a way to go before we reach our final destination."

Together they made their way towards the way they came but Maya stopped mid step when she realized that someone left a light on in an office. Curiosity had her drawn there, almost magnetically, as there could've been something interesting waiting for them, or a treasure chest of information that might give them a peek into what the Templars might have planned in the grand scheme of things. With a glance back, Maya turned way from the set path and made her way to the office. It was a rather small and cramped office, but organized so neatly, there wasn't a single speck of dust anywhere. She was surprised when she opened up a file cabinet and found everything organized by alphabet.

And in the 'A' section, in a folder labeled 'Assassins' (Maya was taken aback slightly at the lack of security), was an ancient vellum page with strange writing. The page was really well preserved, although Maya had some fear that the page would dissolve into dust at the slightest touch. But really drew her attention was pulled to a slight doodle squeezed in the upper left-hand corner.

It was the Assassins symbol, but an ancient version used during the early days of the Brotherhood. Regardless of the date of the symbol, the mission here apparently wasn't a total lost, as the siblings had found and recovered an original page of the Codex!

Which told Maya that the Templars were starting a recovery of the lost pages. That made things difficult since the Codex page was split up over the course of the centuries. There was no telling where they were at the moment. Maya knew for certain that the current Grand Master of the Templar Order had a full copy of the Codex, but it wasn't anything compared to the real thing. The one written in the hand of one of the greatest Assassins: Altair Ibn-La'Ahad.

"Sister?" Eric's voice had startled Maya, almost to the point where she reengaged her Hidden Blade and moved to slice his neck off. But she managed to keep her instincts in tact for that one second to steel herself and save her brother from an initial decapitation. "What did you find?" She showed her brother the original Codex page. "Are you sure it's the real thing? The Templars could've forged it."

"Not this well." Maya declared, shaking her head. "If it is a forgery, then it's a very expensive forgery. But from what I can tell, this is genuine page from the 12th century Codex, although I'll need to run a couple of tests to make sure. But I'm pretty certain this is the genuine article. Anyway, we should get going. I saw a twenty-four-hour truck stop/diner on the map earlier. We should stop there to refuel, shower, eat something and rest up before we finish the rest of the journey. I want to make it to Jasper before noon tomorrow."

Eric nodded, and Maya could see bags underneath his eyes. She assumed she looked worse so that shower would feel the best. Again, the two made their way towards the exit, entering the cool night air. Maya didn't make it a habit of checking her clock after a late-night mission as she could trick herself into keeping going. But she had to know how late it was, since they had to estimate how fast they had to drive. She all but sagged when she saw the clock read twelve-thirty. Normally, Maya would've finished her studies and any planning she needed done and in the bed by ten-thirty.

"You okay there, Maya?" Eric asked as they approached their bikes. He had removed his hood and had placed his shoulder-length hair in a low ponytail. Maya had done the same but her shoulders sagged and she drug her feet through the dirt. She was the epitome of exhaustion.

"Yeah." She whispered. Maya rubbed her face tiredly. "Just tired."

"Hang in there a little longer, sis. We'll be at the diner in no time."

Maya gave her brother a small smile, feeling reenergized by his words, only slightly. She straightened her back and forced her eyes back open as they closed the distance between their motorcycles. If they could make it to the diner, have a couple of hours to themselves and fill up on food, and basically speed, they could make it to Jasper by ten-thirty maybe eleven. Maya carefully rolled the Codex page up and placed it in a special water-proof, vacuum-sealed holder, no bigger than half a foot. After she placed the tube in her duffle bag, she straddled her bike and started it, just as her brother revved his. The two siblings gave each other one look before they sped forward.

The road was still as desolate as before, the stars giving the twins light along with their headlights. It was kind of soothing, with the moon looking down on them. At one point, a car was approaching their rear. Several cars, in fact. Maya glanced behind her, surprised to see what looked like an convoy. There was one car at the head, which Maya guessed was a black and yellow Urbana 500, with what looked like an all-terrain Lamborghini, and a striped sports car. Behind them, Maya could see two darkly colored cars following the three colored cars closely, closing the distance between them. Maya hit the gas, leveling out with her brother.

Using one hand, Maya opened up the comm that was built inside her helmet. "What do think that's about?"

Eric glanced behind him. The light of the vehicles' headlights reflected off the visor for a split second, giving a quick view into the inside of the helmet. For a second, Eric stared back before returning his gaze forward.

"Don't know. I think we should allow them to pass."

Maya nodded. She sped up to where she was in front of Eric. She and Eric hugged the side of the road as much as they could and long enough to allow the cars behind them to pass. They both winced as the cars all but flew past them, the purple and black cars almost shoving them off the road.

Jerks, Maya huffingly thought as she resumed her side-by-side position next to Eric. Again, the two resumed to their silent riding. Several times, both siblings swerved around each other in order to stay awake.

After what seemed like forever, the diner appeared. A thankful sight for Maya, who's bladder was about to burst. That and their motorcycles was almost empty of gas. They pulled into the station, where Eric started to fill both of them, while Maya went to reserve a place in the showers and get some food in the diner. She managed to get thirty minutes in the showers each, which they were both thankful for regardless. Maya felt absolutely changed after the shower, scrubbing the dirt, grime, and sweat of the ride the day before. She sighed contently as she stepped out and started to towel off. After slipping on a new set of clothes, she stepped out, with Eric already waiting at the door.

"Your turn." Maya quipped as she tossed the shampoo. Eric smirked as she easily caught it.

"I can't wait to get a shower." Eric sighed as Maya started to walk away. The woman snorted, turning around, waving the air around her as if she smelled something horrible.

"You need it bro. Whoo!"

"Ha ha ha." Eric laughed sarcastically.

Maya left her brother and made her way towards the diner where she ordered two plates of bacon, pancakes and scrambled eggs. The waitress brought their food out right as Eric appeared, looking clean and refreshed from his shower. Both siblings sat down, said their prayers and started to dig in. They spoke silently about their mission, even though there wasn't really anyone in the diner. Maya figured that the Templars were planning something since they were hunting for the original Codex pages (which were scattered and separated near the end of the Renaissance), but why would they now start to collect them, neither of them knew at that time.

The siblings ate their breakfast slowly, not wanting to rush anything. Maya kept her eyes on the door, as if anticipating the fact that a Templar army was going to burst into the diner and shoot up the place. But nothing happened. It was around five-thirty when the two left, full, happy and more than a little exhausted. But Jasper was only an hour away, and since it was a Saturday, Maya doubted the fact that there would be very many people out.

However, it did beg the question of how they were going to get in to their Aunt's house. As far as Maya or Eric were concerned, their aunt was working and their cousin had a social life, like most teens, so he wouldn't be home. Of course, their younger cousin wasn't exactly the social butterfly like most teens. So, it would be a fifty-fifty chance that the two would get there and no one would be there.

Of course, as the town was less than twenty-five minutes away, Maya received a call. She answered the call, putting both hands back on the handlebars as there was a really tight turn coming up.

"Hello?"

"Maya! What's up? I was just calling to check where you and Eric were." It was her cousin. Maya smiled from inside her helmet. She hadn't seen her cousin or aunt in years as the Assassins came first and their mother wanted to keep her sister out of the conflict.

"Not much, cousin. Eric and I are about fifteen miles outside of Jasper." Maya informed him. "Is Auntie working today? What about you?"

"Mom's got the day off. I'm thinking about heading over to a friend's house to hang out. But if you want, we can wait here until you and Eric can get here."

"If you have to be somewhere, then you can head out. I mean, we've be pushing it all night, so as soon as we get to the house, we're going to crash for a while."

"Oh okay. I guess I'll see you at supper then?"

"You bet." Maya sighed tiredly to herself. "Okay. See ya soon."

Almost as soon as the call was canceled, Eric opened up a com. "Who was that?"

"It was Jack. He was calling to see where we were." Maya answered as she leveled out with Eric. There was silence for about a few minutes before Eric spoke again.

"We're being followed."

Maya nodded in agreement. She had noticed the two cars following them for the past three minutes. Of course, there was no way of knowing who they were or if they were the same cars that were chasing the other vehicles several miles back. Maya glanced down at her mirrors, noting that they were indeed the same two cars. Either that or there was a gang in the vicinity that required matching cars, right down to the paint color and decal. There was another one though, a bright red mustang or Ferrari (Maya couldn't really tell), leading the duo.

"What do you wanna do?"

"Don't know if they're hostiles or friendly. I say we keep on this course. If they do anything, then we'll work that out later."

"Copy that."

The two didn't dare speed up, just keeping up the pace. Eventually, the three cars behind them got bored, speeding up past them. The sun had been on the rise, leaving the sky with strips of pink and orange. Maya sighed as she returned her attention to the road, where on the horizon, the town of Jasper was coming into view. From what their mom had told them from her correspondence with their aunt, Jasper was a calm and sleepy little town that had nothing happening. And the only exciting thing that apparently happened in at last five years was a cat got stuck in the sewers. So, it there was a very rare chance that the Templars would be here or find them. As long as they laid low.

Which would be rather easy considering the town.

Maya and Eric turned as one into the driveway after another ten minutes of driving through the suburbs. Nothing had changed, of course so the two of them sighed as they activated their kickstands and initiated the alarm system. Maya and Eric slung their bags over their shoulder and tiredly made their way towards the house. Eric was the one who knocked on the door, however he only got two knocks in before the door swung open and their Aunt greeted them with a smiling face.

"Maya! Eric! I thought I recognized those motorcycles!" June Darby exclaimed as she crushed the two in a hug.

"Aunt June, how are you?" Maya asked with as much energy as she could muster up. Eric, on the other hand, looked like he was about to fall flat on his face. June noticed that both siblings looked tired to the bone, so she immediately directed them to the guest bed room where to beds were already made up.

"Get some sleep you two. When you get up, I'll fix you something to eat." June said, leaving them both to collapse tiredly on their bed.

"Do you think we'll get the rest we need and deserve?" Eric asked Maya, who was well on her way to dreamland.

"Mmmmm, with our luck…. probably not."

And with that thought, the twins fell off into sleep.