This is an early chapter present for you guys:) Enjoy!

Chapter dedicated to SladeRavenFan, because this chapter was pretty much all her idea.

Disclaimer: This belongs to either DC or Dark Austral(who is amazing). I highly suggest you read her stories, Truth in the Dark and Death's New Heir. Not only are they awesome, but this probably won't make a lot of sense if you haven't read those first.

And: Any ideas for what you want to see in Part Two of Angel of Death will be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys:)

The Angel of Death

Nine: Mistakes and Forgiveness

God, what an idiot I am, I thought.

I had begun to trust the dick. I should have known. I should have learned from all of my life experiences that I wasn't worth while to anyone unless money was involved. My parents didn't even care about me.

Why was I foolish enough to think that some guy who I met in the library would want to be my friend? Why was I idiotic enough to think that maybe, just maybe, he liked me for me instead of my parents' money? That was a large portion of my life wasted. And who knows how long this is going to go on.

When I get the nerve, I'll confront my parents about this. The least they could have done was warn me. That way I could have kept clear of him. I could have avoided this whole thing, this whole mess.

The sun was slowly setting, but I wasn't paying attention. I didn't care. I was letting my self-hatred eat at me.

I was reckless. I wasn't paying attention. I wasn't watching out. I didn't care.

When I did finally start paying attention, I was trapped. Well, figuratively at least. But if I wasn't careful, it would be for real.

I looked up, and met the eyes of a pair of men standing in my way on the sidewalk. They smirked at me. In one of the men's hands, I saw the glint of a knife. I was screwed.

I stepped back, and tried to turn around. There were three more behind me. They were the same as the other two. One was carrying a knife, while another was carrying a chain. I didn't want to know what it was for.

I turned and saw an alley to my left. I looked between the two groups of men, and bolted into the alley. I ran as fast as I could, hoping to get away. I was so stupid. Again. And now my idiocy was going to get me killed.

I was almost to the end of the alley way, when I had to stop again. Another group of men were waiting for me at the end. I skidded to a stop, and started backing up. Then I remembered who was behind me and I stopped.

I twirled around and saw the group of men at the other end. I looked over my shoulder and saw the second group getting closer. They were all moving, slowly, towards me, trapping me in the process.

Trying to protect my back, I put it up against the wall. I was terrified. I tried to recall what I had learned in that karate class with Georgie, but it was all drawing a blank. Kick boxing wasn't coming to mind either.

"Leave me alone," I said. I tried to make it sound threatening, but it just came out as a pathetic plead.

"Not gonna happen, sweet cheeks," One of the guys said.

"Yeah, we recognize you. Your parents owe us money," Another said.

"You have got to be kidding me," I whispered.

I assumed they planned to take me for ransom, but I knew it wouldn't work. My parents didn't care enough about me to pay these thugs back for my safety. Good-bye cruel world.

While I was busy with my thoughts, they had finally surrounded me. One grabbed me around the neck, and slammed me against the wall. My head hit the wall last, and stars popped out in front of my eyes.

When the stars cleared, I noticed the man holding the knife to my throat. He was breathing in my face, and I was trying to keep from gagging. Then I thought, hey, if I'm going down, might as well go down swinging. But instead of getting violent, I decided to get snarky.

"Dude, you either need to brush your teeth, or take a breath mint. Hell, chew some bubble gum for all I care. Just get your nasty breath out of my face," I told him, coughing.

That earned me another slam against the wall.

"Don't be a smart ass," He snarled.

"I'm afraid it's too late," I said.

I gasped when I felt the knife cut into my neck. It was a small cut, I knew, but it was the precursor to what was yet to happen.

"That's for being a smart ass. Keep talking, and it will get worse," He threatened. "Yo, get me the chain."

The man with the chain came forward, and the man holding me flipped me around so that my face was against the wall. He grabbed my arms harshly, and started wrapping the chains around my wrists.

"A chain? Really? You'd do better with rope," I couldn't help but say.

I was answered with a smack against the back of the head. The stars came back. I squinted my eyes, trying to make them go away. I was starting to develop a headache.

Suddenly, there was a crash behind me. I cowered for a minute against the wall, before turning around when I felt the breath of the man behind me disappear. I turned around, and saw Reaper.

The look in his eyes frightened me, but only for a second, for I knew he was protecting me. He moved so fast, I could barely keep up. He would kick one man, then punch another. I gasped when I heard bones snap, but that was the only sound I made.

When I became aware of my limbs again, I started trying to get the chain from around my wrists. When I got my hands free, I took the chain in my hand. Reaper was handeling himself well, and I didn't want to get in the middle. Then I had an idea.

"Reaper," I said.

He turned to me for a fraction, and I tossed him the chain. He caught it, and wrapped it around one of the guys' necks. With a snap, I heard his neck break. I closed my eyes, looking away. I couldn't watch this.

Not that it bugged me. I was glad the jerks were getting what was coming to them. It was because all the moving and spinning was making me sick to my stomach. I probably had a concussion. Why was it so hard for me to avoid getting hurt?

I fell to the ground and held my head in my hands. For just a minute, I let tears run down my face. I had been so close to dying.

There was the sound of shoes scuffling away down the alley, and I looked up to see the alley empty except for me, Reaper, and a body or two. I let out a choked gasp, glad that it was over. Reaper turned to me and rushed to my side.

"They cut you," He told me, tipping my head up to look at my neck. I had forgotten about that.

I didn't say anything. I was in shock, I realized. I just looked up at Reaper, surprised that he was here, just to save me. For some reason, it was hard for me to believe.

"Can't stay out of trouble, can you?" He joked.

"You saved me," I said.

"Yeah. I did," He smiled at me. "You're a friend, Erin. I wouldn't let them hurt you."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because. I like you, I see promise in you. You can help me, if you're willing," He answered.

I realized that he had saved me, finally. He had saved me, even though I had shouted at him earlier. Even though I was mad at him and said I didn't want to see him again, he still came to save me. I felt relief. Maybe he really was a friend.

"Anything," I told him.

"But, I want you to do this because you want to, not just to pay me back for saving your life," He said.

I nodded. "What's the matter?" I asked.

He helped me stand up, and let me lean on him when I lost my balance.

"Erin, I . . . I'm going blind," He told me at last, after helping me down the alley for a minute or two.

"Blind?" I gasped.

"Yes. It's a long story, but my eyes are failing me. I'm going to need someone to help me, to be my eyes, to take over when I'm done," He told me.

"What do you need me to do?" I breathed. I was willing to do anything for him.

"I have a job. It's important, and it requires all my time, focus. I need an apprentice, to help me, and to take over when I must retire."

"And you want that to be me?" I whispered.

"Yes. But my job, it's not for the faint of heart," He told me.

"What is it?"

"It's two things, actually," He responded. I waited for him to continue. "One, is theft. The other . . . is assassination."

I froze. Assassination? He killed people? What was wrong with him? How could he kill people? How could it be his job? Why did he do it? More importantly, why did he want me to help him?

But, then, I realized that, for some reason, it didn't bother me that that was what he did, who he was. "I'll do it," I told him.

"You don't have to decide right away," He told me.

"But if I did decide yes, you would train me to be an assassin?"

"Yes."

"Then I accept."

"Please, Erin, think about it. What I am asking of you, it's not something you can decide right away," He said.

"Then, I guess I'll think about it," I told him. I said I would think about it, but I already knew what my answer was going to be.

"Okay," He said. "And now, we need to get you patched up."

We continued on, probably to where he was staying. He said something about stitching me up, but I wasn't paying to much attention. I put my hand to my neck, to try to stop the bleeding while we walked.

He had just asked me to be his apprentice. An apprentice to an assassin. I would kill people. I would steal things. Why wasn't I freaking out? In fact, why was I feeling a little excited?