LII.
A Dark Night
And so Mary began working for the English Assassins once more, all the while, helping Edward in his research on the First Civilization and this Temple of his. She was careful to keep him at arm's length at all times and to be gone before nightfall. She saw Tessa in passing glances but Edward seemed to have the wisdom to keep the two women apart. When she did see Tessa, the women were in mutual, unspoken agreement to not speak to each other. She visited Edward and Jennifer when she could; spending time with Jennifer if Edward was with Tessa, though her heart ached. She didn't want to tell Edward of her feelings, finding it a pointless subject. Being friends was a wiser path for the two of them. Rather than trying to be together, as it would never work, they should just remain happy with what they had.
But problems were arising within the Assassins. Problems that had Edward bidding Mary to stay at his house instead of her own. She lived alone aside from two servants that she had hired. He hated that, worrying for her safety something horrible because lately there was a killer stalking the streets of London. Of course, this had everyone in London worried but Edward and Mary as well as the rest of the Assassins had quickly realized that this killer was focusing on Assassins and their families.
The first victim had been a little girl, just past her tenth birthday, kidnapped from her room in the middle of the night and killed. Throat slit, left on her parent's porch for them to find in the morning. Her father, who was an Assassin, was killed next less than a week later. He had been found in the street, his stomach open.
Then there had been a wife of an Assassin, an expecting wife. His husband had been killed a few days after. That seemed to be how this killer killed. They would target lovers, children, spouses or otherwise dear persons in an Assassin's life and kill them. While the Assassin was grieving, they would then kill the Assassin. This was alarming to everyone and it had Edward, literally, begging Mary to come stay with him.
"Please" He begged, grabbing at her arm as she went to leave one night. It wasn't quite dark yet. She had stayed later than she had planned. "Please, it's near dark. I do not favor the idea of you walking alone. Please, just stay." His voice was desperate in way she had not heard in a long time.
"Edward, I shouldn't" She sighed, knowing it was pointless to argue. He wasn't going to let it go. So she looked at him and sighed. He had to know though, the piece of information that she had withheld fro him because she knew he'd panic. She knew him. "If… If I stay tonight, I must leave by tomorrow" She told him.
"Why?"
"I, and a few other qualified Assassins, are going to begin patrolling for the killer. With any luck, we'll take him down" She told him, already knowing that this was going to lead to an argument. But perhaps if she stayed tonight, made a compromise, he would just not fight about it.
"Qualified?" He snapped and she flinched. "What the bloody hell does that mean?"
"Well, people that don't have families or anything. There only six of us, but it's better than nothing. We have to catch him. He's already killed too many of us. He killed a child, Edward. A child. This killer clearly hates Assassins and will stop at nothing to weaken us" Edward was silent.
"So you're going after the killer... I'm coming too"
"You can't" She went to place her hands on his chest but stopped herself, stepping back. She couldn't do that. Not anymore. She sighed. "You…you have Jenny to look after. Tessa is counting on you too"
"Tessa isn't my wife, Mary"
"But she may be one day" She told him softly. She looked away. This conversation was drifting away from an argument, but it was going down a road that Mary did not want to visit.
"Would you be okay with that? With me marrying Tessa?" His voice was tense. She looked up at him, knowing that a lot of things rode on her answer. Perhaps even their friendship. She had to look away again.
"I won't stop you from being happy, Edward…but…" She let the sentence hang, knowing the fact that she had no words spoke volumes.
"Mary…"
"Don't. Edward, just don't" She turned away from him, walking away. That was the best idea. She couldn't be too close to him. Not right now. Not with her heart so raw yet. It felt like she had stripped the skin off her heart, letting it become a raw, tender thing. If she made one wrong move, she could destroy it and if Edward did one wrong thing, one right thing, she knew there was no way she'd be able to move on. She was trying heal, let her heart scar over and she couldn't let Edward mess that process up. It wasn't fair to her.
But she also knew it wasn't very fair to him either.
The sky was dark with clouds that even blocked out the moon and the stars. Mary Read kept to the back streets, scanning for the assassin of the Assassins. This was the sixth night and the night before last night there had been another murder. This time the brother of a female Assassins. She was being held in the den for now, to be kept safe because there was no doubt that he would be after her now. She was sick with grief and it may kill her, even if the killer's blade never tasted her blood.
She rested in an alley, catching her breath. She was getting used to being up at night and sleeping in the day. It was an odd thing, but she was able to convince everyone she was sick. She was staying at Edward's home as well, letting he help her with her sick ploy. So far, it was still widely believed by those who didn't know of her occupation.
Tessa was suspicious though. Mary had overheard her talking to Edward, wondering if Mary had something ill plotted or if Edward was courting Mary behind her back. Three days ago they had a spat. While Mary tried not to feel happy that the woman had not been back once since, she was. She disliked Tessa who seemed proper and groomed, trying to turn Edward into an upstanding gentleman. He had been shaving for her, since "she disliked the stubble on his cheeks". Mary had to push thoughts of her aside though, she had to stay alert. That woman couldn't distract her right now.
"Have you found anything, Mary?" a voice came from the darkness and soon she could see who it belonged to. A fellow Assassin, an older man, named (of all things) Mark. His dark eyes watched Mary as he waited for her answer.
"No, not tonight." She sighed. "This city is too big, there are too few of us to cover it all"
"I agree. We may need to let anyone help us, dangers or not"
Mary didn't like that idea but she didn't say as much. They were silent for a time, looking about the darkness around them. Then there was the sound of a blade being drawn. Mary heard it, a blade sliding from its holder. Mark heard it too and they both tensed, hidden blades extending. Just at that moment, thunder roared and the sky flashed. Mary felt a body collide with her's and she found herself on the ground. She rolled to her feet and just before the rain began to fall, she saw Mark on the ground, red blood pooling around him.
"Valiant of him, no?" A voice asked and she turned to see a man in a thick cloak before her. He was dressed all in dark blue, so better to blend into the night. Mary tensed, looking at his blood-soaked sword. "But, pointless because you will die too tonight" He pointed his dripping sword at her.
"You're the one killing the Assassins?" She asked. The rain began to fall harder, bigger drops. A true storm was brewing and was willing to sweep her and this strange man away. The man laughed, at her questions or at the storm she wasn't sure.
"Of course. And you are Mary Read. I know your name, of course. I've been watching you a while. You love to visit that Edward Kenway. I know he's one of you as well and I'm going to go there to his house after this and slit his whore daughter's throat"
"You leave her out of this!" She hissed at him. How did he know so much about them? How did she know her name? Edward's? It wasn't like they announced publicly that they were Assassins or anything. Unless… "You were an Assassin."
"Once upon a time yes. It's amazing the things I can still access with a little bit of acting and a costume"
"You bastard…" She growled and she drew her own sword, forsaking her hidden blades. She wanted to kill this man with a sword, tear him apart. He was sick. "Why are you doing this?"
"Because you Assassins are a blight on this Earth! I'll kill all of you! Every single, blasted one!" Then he charged, swinging his sword with expert skill. She dodged and parried but he was good. He managed to mark her three times and she only managed on mark. Her mark was on his cheek though and that gave her confidence that she could beat him.
And so they fought, blow after blow, stroke after stroke. They fought hard, they fought bitterly. The rain poured on them, the flashes of light from the sky making it hard to see. She simply tried to keep up, to keep from getting killed. She soon realized that the man was not trying to kill her, not yet at least. He was exhausting her, making small marks that hurt and stung, tiring her out so she would be easier to kill. Blood dripped off her as his marks got deeper and more painful. He wasn't unmarked. She had gotten his shoulder good and his one arm but that was it. Blood dripped off him, but it was nothing compared to what was dripping off her. She was stained with it, gasping for breath and while he was panting, his eyes glittered with an approaching victory.
She stumbled back and he slashed, catching her arm, from her shoulder down to her elbow. She stumbled further, landing hard on the ground. She pushed herself up, squinting through the blood and rain that obscured her vision.
"To your feet, Assassin" The man swiped his sword through the air. "Meet your death on your knees at least"
To be truthful, Mary knew she was going to meet her death here. She wouldn't do it on her knees though. She would die on her feet and she was going to take this bastard down with her. She was going to kill him so that way he couldn't hurt Jenny or Edward. They deserved to be happy. Edward had gone through so much recently, she wanted him happy. More than anything, more than for her own happiness, she wished for his. And she was going to kill this man before she died, to ensure he would be happy, that he could start a life with Tessa and keep his life with Jenny.
She spat blood onto the pavement and it was quickly washed away by the rain. She pushed herself onto her feet but her whole body trembled, being pushed past its limits. She had to survive just a little longer, just a little more. Soon she could lay down and rest. Soon, but not yet. She attacked the man this time, fighting as hard as she could. She marked him four more times in rapid succession. She dodged and attacked, swinging her sword but she was still losing, she was still terribly wounded.
It all came down to when he hit her, just with his fist, sending her to the ground. She kicked him away and spun to her feet but found herself on her knees just a moment later. She couldn't do this anymore. She had no idea how long they had been fighting but it had gotten to her at long last. She watched as the man got to his feet and slowly walked towards her. He was limping slightly and she could have done…something. She didn't have her gun on her though and even if she did, with this rain, the powder would have been wet. Her body trembled and she felt herself swaying slightly, dizzy from blood loss.
"I'll give you a moment" The man said, though he was still a few feet away. She dropped her sword, letting it clatter onto the cobblestone. This was it. She was going to die. She felt the man's cold metal sword trace against her chin, lifting it up so he'd have access to her neck. At least he was going to do it quick, no making her suffer longer than she needed to.
"Back off you bastard!" There was a clash of steel and she opened her eyes to see Edward there, driving the man away from Mary. He was forced to retreat to defend himself. "Mary! Get out of here! Run!" Edward yelled to her, but he had to concentrate on the fight. The man was no slouch at sword fighting and he was giving Edward a good fight. The sky flashed and thunder rumbled, the rain still pouring down on them. She watched as the man punched Edward with his free hand and Edward stumbled back, completely open to attack. He lifted his sword…
Mary had never moved so fast. She made it to her feet as Edward stumbled back. She threw herself between them and realized the moment she did, that she had left her sword on the ground. But wait! Her hidden blades! She raised her wrist and as his sword came down, she blocked it with her wrist blade, though it sent her stumbling back, since she was already unsteady on her feet. Edward caught her and while the man was unsteady as well, from Mary blocking his attack, Edward impaled him through the chest. The man shuddered and fell back, life already leaving his eyes.
Mary's hands dropped and she stumbled back against Edward, going limp herself. Her body had been pushed far past its limits and she could no longer maintain her footing, her legs too weak to carry her anymore. She felt Edward catch her, his sword clattering to the ground.
"Mary?" She thought she heard him say. "Mary!"
But she had no will to reply and for Mary, everything went black.
A/N: So much hate for Tessa! It's okay, I'm not much her fan either. So anyway, I'm putting the finishing touches on the next chapter so perhaps you'll be seeing that shortly after this one here. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed and favorited. This story has the best fans in the world.
