CHAPTER TWENTY
Nikolais' POV
'The nerve of my damned mother,' I thought bitterly to myself, my blood still boiling dangerously beneath my skin. She sure hadn't changed since I was younger. I really wished she hadn't acted so mercilessly in front of Mary. Now, thanks to her, Mary wants to get to know me more. I guess I should be happier about it considering that has been my intent with her, but still.
We sat quietly at the top of a roof, scanning the area below where I had told Mary to be ready. The "templars" below paced the bank exterior quietly, disguised as standard guards. One of the Pieces of Eden was hidden away in the sanctuary below the bank. Our goal was to obtain it and bring it back to Headquarters. I was certainly grateful the guards weren't dressed in their usual attire, for if they were, Mary would not have come along so easily. Thankfully, she didn't think too much about what she was doing or why. She simply acted. I whistled to her from on top, letting her know that the plan was to commence now.
'Sorry, mademoiselle. However, I need you to serve your duties to me.' Mary's POV The second the whistle was made, I slipped into a group of walking civilians. I used them to get close to the entrance before leaping into a nearby haystack. The second I was inside of it, I whistled as well; drawing the guard closest to me in. As soon as he was within reach, I shoved my blade into his heart and pulled his body in the hay. Within the haystack, I was able to shoot a poison dart into the neck of the other guard at the entrance. Thanks to the improvements Nikolais had made to my blade and bracer on the ship, I was able to conduct smoother assassinations and stealthy escapes. The second that guard dropped to the ground, I leapt out of the hay and subtly waved at Nikolais on the roof of the building across from me. With a nod from him, he performed a small leap of faith and caught up to me. He grinned devilishly at me.
"Great job, Mary. You certainly are a true Assassin if ever I saw one."
I chortled and shook my head before walking into the bank. Once inside, we searched the area for sight of the sanctuary's entrance. Using my special vision, I was able to detect the entrance near the back corner of the bank; just behind a swarm of guards.
"What should we do, Nikolais?"
He chuckled softly.
"We do what every assassin does. We force our way inside."
Before I had a chance to think it through, Nikolais was already running over towards the entrance. He climbed up the wall of the bank to the very top and scaled over so that he hovered above them. He grinned before dropping onto a couple of them, landing a double assassination. I shook my head at his recklessness before pulling out my scimitars, running over to join him in the battle.
It was only a matter of minutes before all of the guards were dead. We walked into the sanctuary and stopped at the door.
"This is it. The Piece of Eden should be in here."
I nodded at Nikolais and the two of us pushed the door open and walked down the long staircase. Once we got to the bottom of it, we made our way down the narrow path and came upon a bright glowing staff. The staff obviously held an ominously bright and powerful glow.
"That's it there, Mary. That's the Piece of Eden. We did it."
I smiled in relief and with his help, lifted the staff from its holding. The second we removed it from its position, the ground trembled beneath our feet. I looked up at Nikolais curiously, concerned.
"What's happening, Nikolais?"
"I figured as much. This must've been set by the Templars. We need to hurry out of here. I'll carry the staff. Let's go!"
I nodded and relinquished my hold on the staff. Together, we raced as quickly as we could out of the sanctuary and out of the bank. Within a matter of minutes of being out of the bank, the building tumbled upon itself, forcing an immense amount of dust into the air.
"Keep going, or we'll get caught!"
I nodded again at him and raced as far from the crashed building as I could. We made our way into a horse-drawn carriage and hurried back towards his home. The second we got in there, Nikolais bursted out laughing hysterically.
"That was brilliant! Best time of my life. Thanks for being in it, Mary!"
I shook my head and snorted.
"Good God, Nikolais…"
At least one part of our journey was complete.
Edward's POV Adé had been right about Europe. From what I gathered while travelling over the seas, ships from England and Spain were battling often. France seemed to get involved in it too. Was this becoming a war of the world?
I had finally arrived to a remote city in Europe up North. I'd have to make my way around every city just to see the conditions between Assassins and Templars. I still hated that I couldn't act upon any of it, even to help the Assassins. At least it didn't take as long to get there as I thought it would've.
'Jenny, are you doing okay?' I missed her already. Would she be okay with just Adé and Anne there? Mary should've been there with them.
'Mary, where did you go? You said you'd always be there…' I paused in my thinking and shook my head vigorously.
'I'm an arse...she left because of me. I was the one who told her I'd always be there for her...she knew I'd do this...I walked into this without thinking. How stupid can I be? It's no wonder why Caroline left me. Now Mary's gone too.'
I angrily wiped my tears away as I walked through the city discreetly. I needed to make things right, and soon. Mary and Jenny both deserved better than me.
'I'll find you Mary. We can make things right between us.'
Nikolais' POV
As usual, my mother ignored us as we returned to get Oliver. I rolled my eyes at her as we left, not saying a word to her. Maybe this'll keep Mary on my side, since my mother is the reason why I am the way I am. Just as we were heading towards the horse carriage to go eat, an eagle flew over to me and landed just on my shoulder. I looked to my right and noticed a note tied to its ankle.
'Checking on me, Boss?'
I pulled the note off of the bird, letting it fly off. I opened the letter and read the note before tucking it into my pocket.
"Who was that from?"
I looked over at Mary and grinned.
"Just my Mentor. He was congratulating us for our work at the bank. I need to go deliver the Staff of Eden before I eat today. Go ahead and find somewhere to eat. I'll meet up with you."
"But I want to come with you. I should at least meet your Mentor."
I shook my head firmly.
"Mentor is too busy plotting or drinking. Believe me, it won't take long if I go alone. You and Oliver go find somewhere to eat or something to do for a bit. It should only take a couple of hours at most."
Mary sighed and nodded her head.
"Fine…"
She walked over to a different carriage nearby and disappeared. Mary was being rather cumbersome. Why couldn't she just do as she was told without questions? The damned woman.
'She's gone. At least now, I can make the delivery, get paid for my efforts, and see her again.'
I grinned as I set out to see my Mentor.
Mary's POV Nikolais was still keeping me in the dark about many things. You'd think that with being together for a few months would make him trust me a bit more. For God's sake, I just helped him retrieve the Staff of Eden! The least he could do was tell me more about himself or about his mentor.
I took the carriage to le Promenade des Anglais, a form of road travelling along the beach by the French Riviera. People cluttered the streets, as well as guards. I wanted to know more about this new place that Oliver and I would be living in, but how would I learn everything there is to know without being excluded from parts by Nikolais?
I stopped the carriage and walked out with Oliver. The two of us approached a smaller, older man.
"Excusez moi, monsieur. Bonjour. Que vous pouvez me dire sur Nice?"
The man looked at me kindly before replying.
"I speak English, madame. Nice is one of the biggest ports in France. It's where we often trade, import, and export many items with outside alliances. It is also the center of le Carnaval, especially this time of year. Nice is also pretty old compared to many of the newer, developing parts of France. It just happens to be a place that the King and Queen themselves often like to visit as it is pretty calm. Why do you ask?"
"No particular reason, I was just curious about it is all. Merci-thank you, sir. You take care."
I sighed as I walked away from him. The things he told me I had already heard about from Nikolais. Was there anyone else nearby that could tell me more about the waging war between Assassins and Templars?