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Sin stared at the rafters, his blanket pulled up to his chin. His fists were clenched tightly underneath his blanket, his nails almost breaking the skin of his palms, and his mind was whirling with so many emotions he couldn't process.
He had never trusted Elena, he was too smart for that, but in the weeks he had been training with her, he had started to respect the vampiress. He had even grown to almost like the intimidating woman.
Now all he felt for her was an intense, roiling loathing. How could he have been so blind? Of course she would want something in return! Nothing in this world was ever given for free, especially not from someone like Elena. Sin berated himself for being so naive.
Of course, there was nothing he could do. He'd have to fight for Elena; he had no way out. He didn't think Elena was the type of person to make empty threats. Elena shouldn't have even known about Light; the small boy had never been anywhere near the Fights, and Sin had definitely never mentioned him to Elena.
He hated feeling this helpless. It felt too close to the way the Dursleys had had complete power over him. Sin vowed that once he had complete control over his magic - once he didn't need Elena anymore - he was going to make the manipulative vampiress wish she had never uttered Light's name.
When he woke up, Sin shoved down his anger and his guilt and the amalgamation of other emotions and ignored them. He couldn't tell his family about this. Logically, they would understand and wouldn't hate him, but he still had the scars from the Dursleys marring his soul, and he couldn't help but fear they would send him away if they knew he had endangered Light.
So as much as he wanted to, he didn't run to Shade. He pushed aside the urge to get on his knees, spill everything, and beg the forgiveness of his family. He placed his emotions behind a careful mask he usually reserved for dealing with Elena and stood, making his way over to where Toxic and Spider sat talking quietly.
Toxic handed Sin a piece of toast slathered in honey, and he nodded his thanks. Spider grinned affectionately at him before continuing the train of conversation.
"So Stickler's main fence was arrested. It's going to take a while for him to find someone new to sell the earrings, which he thinks might be fake anyway, so we can't rely on those."
Toxic narrowed her eyes, and Sin could almost see the wheels spinning in her head. "We'll be fine for food, at least for a while," she said, "But Hero's blanket needs replacing, and Shade wants to buy locks for the doors - preferably ones with codes instead of keys, so that will be expensive - and we need to have spending cash on the side for your entries to the Fights, and I want to buy some antibiotics and general painkillers - Roach is still having bad luck with his hand - and I want to start keeping a small portion for bribes. I don't like leaving every encounter with the coppers to the chance that Hero will be there, and even she can't talk her way out of everything. Oh, and we probably won't be able to find everything Sparky needs for the walkies in the trash, so money for electrical parts wouldn't be amiss either."
Spider was already shaking his head as Sin sank his teeth into the toast, relishing the sweet taste of the honey.
"It's just not realistic. I like that idea, but the money just isn't there. The blanket's no problem - I can snag one next time I go out, or have Shade or someone do it - and the cash for the Fights is no problem, because I always walk out with more than I spend as an entry fee," Spider explained, and Sin knew the older boy wasn't being falsely arrogant; he always did. Spider never entered a Fight he didn't know for certain that he could win, and he had gone undefeated for nearly a year. It made Sin glad that the Fights seemed to be exclusively for those under eighteen; those over could watch (although he hadn't seen anyone over twenty-five at the Fights) but Sin knew that only those who were seventeen and under could participate. He supposed it made sense; no unfair advantages and all that. Also, it guaranteed a cop couldn't fight undercover and blow the whole thing.
Sin wasn't a huge fan of the Fights, given his personal history and the fact that he currently despised Elena with every fibre of his being, but he knew they were one of his families major source of income. The only one, besides theft. They needed the Fights.
"And while the locks are a possibility, if we have good luck with the homes we crack, and the painkillers are possible - we could easily snag them from whatever house we need to - the antibiotics will be a little harder. Shade won't like the idea of using someone else's prescription meds; they might have nasty side effects we won't know about, but also whoever we take them from might really need them. We don't want to put anyone in danger, Toxic. We'll try to save some money for the walkies, I guess… those are pretty important…but with all of that, there's just no way we'll be able to have enough money for proper bribes. Cops won't be swayed by ten or twenty quid, and realistically, that's the most we'll ever have in that department."
Toxic sighed but nodded. "I guess we make the blanket and the walkies the priority, and then hope that Stickler can find a new fence soon."
Spider nodded and Sin crammed the rest of his toast into his mouth as the older boy clapped Toxic on the back before heading away. Toxic sighed and slung an arm around Sin's shoulders. He swallowed his food and leant into her.
"Don't you just love capitalism, Sin?" Toxic grumbled, closing her eyes and leaning back. The dim overhead light made Toxic's forearm burn look worse than usual. "Rewarding the rich with more money and success and punishing the poor with more poverty and misfortune. What an incredible system we've got going."
Sin nodded absentmindedly, not really listening; he was a little on edge. He had his first Fight since Skullfinger in less than twenty-four hours. It was a regular fight, Elena was granting him that small mercy. He wouldn't start her 'special' Fights until he won at least one normal Fight without using magic. That, at least, he agreed with. If he couldn't win a normal Fight, what use would he be in a magical one?
So as Toxic continued her rant on capitalism, which eventually led to a tirade on the government in general. This reminded Sin a little of Uncle Vernon, and he tensed slightly; he knew for certain that Toxic would never hurt him, but it was still an instinct to be ready to run whenever he even thought about Uncle Vernon. It had been nearly a year since he had left the Dursleys, and he was still haunted by them. His lip curled in distaste for his blood relatives.
"...and I almost think total anarchy would be a better alternative to what we've got going on now," Toxic finished, pulling away and running a hand through her ginger hair. Sin raised his eyebrows at her.
"Hey," she said defensively, "We're basically living in anarchy - except worse, because we have to worry about the coppers - and we're doing just fine!"
Sin only raised his eyebrows higher. "Oo-kay then," he said slowly, "Good for you. I'm going to go for a run, maybe pick through some trash or something, see if there's any junk Sparky might be able to use."
Toxic nodded and rubbed her eyes. "Want me to come with you?" She offered, yawning.
Sin shook his head with a wry grin. "No thanks. You look like you could use some sleep," he observed with a forced chuckle. Toxic rolled her eyes but didn't dispute his point. Sin gave the ginger one last squeeze before heading out.
Assassin began to run along the warehouses, relishing the exercise. He'd grown much healthier during his time on the streets, as ironically, he was much better fed now, and he didn't have to deal with the daily beatings that Hero said had probably stunted his growth.
He ran until he couldn't run anymore, which wasn't as long as he had hoped. He ran out of the warehouse district and into the wealthier areas. There was a new family moving in at the end of Churchill Lane, and as Sin passed it, he silently noted down the moving company and the address. There wouldn't be any security systems up yet, and it wasn't often that there was such a lavish house without any alarms or security.
When he circled back around to a street a couple blocks from the warehouse, he stopped. He leant against a spiky black gate and regained his breath before continuing his journey - walking this time.
Sin picked his way through the back-alleys and side streets before arriving at what had recently become one of his least favorite places in the world, after the Dursleys' house, Mrs. Figg's, and the Fights. The abandoned parking lot where he and Elena met.
There was no sign of the vampiress. He supposed, being the morning, she might not be out because it was daylight - he didn't know whether the whole 'sunlight is poisonous to vampires' theory was real or not - or simply because she hadn't known he was coming. She had some strange way of knowing exactly when he was going to come, which she refused to tell him, so they didn't need to plan ahead or have a schedule - which was good, because irregular meetings were harder to pinpoint - but maybe because they'd never met up when it wasn't nighttime she didn't know he would be here.
Regardless, he couldn't say he was sorry about her absence. He hadn't really come here for her instruction, although it wouldn't be amiss. He came here for practice, to see what he could do without her help.
There were several small pieces of brick and asphalt scattered the lot. He focused his attention on one of them, yanking on the feeling at the back of his mind. He could feel the rush of power slam through his body and the brick shattered into dust.
Sin sucked in a breath and stumbled backwards. His head throbbed, as if he had banged it on something. Well, he mused thoughtfully, that had a lot more power behind in that usual. I didn't do anything different. I wonder what… ah.
The dam he had released in his head last night. He had pulled so tightly on the barrier in the back of his mind that it had snapped.
God, was it really only last night that he'd frozen the flames around him?
He guessed that was the cause of the new-found power behind his magic. Biting his lip nervously, he tugged as lightly as he could on the writhing feeling behind his consciousness. The brick shot up into the sky, as if he had fired a gun upwards. He raised his eyebrows and took several steps back; he didn't want the stone to come back down and land on his head.
This turned out to be a smart decision as the piece of brick landed where he had just been standing with a loud crack. The asphalt around the brick had fractured. Sin stared, his eyes wide. How the hell was he supposed to control his magic now?
With a deep breath he tried again. He focused on the brick, and instead of pulling at the magic, he simply let is pour out from the back of his mind. He let the feeling envelop him. The feeling was… euphoric. It was what he guessed powerful drugs would feel like. It was as if he were floating, and the power… he felt like he could do anything.
So he concentrated on the brick again and just willed it to rise. It wasn't toiling; he just willed it to happen. And it did. The broken shard of brick rose into the air effortlessly. Assassin grinned.
The feeling of his magic was intoxicating. He commanded the brick to spin around him, and it followed his silent orders. He dropped it, and the magic began to sink slowly back into his subconscious. Hurriedly, not wanting to lose the fantastic feeling, he willed the ground in front of him to freeze. The exhilarating feeling returned, and the asphalt before him began to sparkle with frost. It started to spread, thin tendrils of ice creeping out from where he stood. He started to shiver, and remembered vividly how he had collapsed after using his magic last night. Reluctantly he stopped, the magic draining into the back recesses of his mind.
The feeling of euphoria was gone, and in its place a pounding headache. Sin blinked several times and realized that there were spots in his vision. He crouched down in the center of the web of ice, his face in his hands.
Several minutes later, when he felt he had sufficiently recovered, he stood once again. His eyebrows furrowed slightly; the sun was shining hot, and the ice hadn't begun to melt. The ice from last night had melt almost completely before he'd even left the courtyard, but today it was all completely frozen.
He was tempted to see what else he could do - if he could freeze things, could he warm them up? Set them on fire? Could he draw moisture from the air and turn it into water? - but he resolved not to do anymore magic for a while unless Elena was watching him. He didn't want to pass out again from over-exertion. He almost found himself looking forward to his session with Elena that night; he couldn't wait to feel his magic fill him up again.
So instead of attempting to melt the ice himself, he returned to the warehouse. He almost ran right into Stickler, whose dark forehead was creased.
"Oh - sorry, mate," Sin said with an apologetic smile. Stickler nodded distractedly, a walkie in his hand.
The older boy crossed him before turning back and replying, "Oh, um - Spider said to tell you that there's no training tonight or tomorrow, he and Wheels are taking Roach down to Gladstone Court tonight, and then tomorrow I'm meeting with a new fence and will need back-up."
Sin nodded his thanks, privately glad; he didn't want to have to think of an excuse as to why he'd have to ditch.
Early the next morning, when he was sure nobody else was awake, he rose from his bed. Swapping out his baggy, patched-up pajamas for a pair of loose sweatpants and a thin shirt, he crept out of the building. As the moon glinted off of his glasses he made his way back to the Fights. When he approached Jerome, he realised he didn't have any money.
"Oh - um - I don't have -"
Jerome just sneered greasily at him before saying, his voice oily, "No charge for you. I don't know what kind of deal you and Elena have going on, but getting into bed with her is a mistake. It's too bad you're in too deep now."
Sin refused to falter under the young man's leer, and so he simply hid his discomfort behind a mask of confidence and stared back unyielding. Jerome flinched back slightly, not used to such emotionless eyes from anyone but Elena, and especially not from a boy who wasn't even eleven. After a few moments of eye contact, Sin passed him and entered the Fights.
The large courtyard wasn't quite as packed as it had been last time he'd been here, but it was still pretty full. The crowd was currently 'oohing' and 'ahhing', so Sin assumed there was currently a Fight going on. He shoved his way through the throng, approaching where Elena sat on the wall. Her gaze seem fixed on the pit that he couldn't quite see through the crowd of people, but as soon as Sin got between the horde of people and Elena, her eyes snapped down to meet his. It was now a reflex to have his calm mask up when dealing with Elena, as she always made him feel uneasy, and he hated it when people could tell he was ill-at-ease. It made him feel helpless.
"Good," she said, just loud enough for him to hear over the roar of the crowd. "You're here." She patted the wall next to her, and he refrained from recoiling in disgust.
"Won't people be suspicious, if they see me sitting next to you?" He asked her, delaying his response.
Elena chuckled lowly. "So? Let them. We have nothing to lose from the others knowing we have an arrangement, Assassin." Her eyes glinted with a soft challenge.
Sin swallowed. "You don't," he replied shortly. Sin was surprised to see a gleam of disappointment in Elena's gaze, but it was gone as quickly as it came.
"Alright," she sighed, "I see. But you're up next. It's your first time working for me, so I'll go easy on you and not put you up against someone who's undefeated." She grinned wickedly, and Sin managed to stop his fists from clenching. He didn't bother to reply other than a simple nod. He and Elena turned their attention to the Fight as the crowd began to count.
A boy who looked a little younger than Toxic was on top of a girl about Sin's age. Her face was pressed into the dirt and he held her arms back in a very uncomfortable position. The boy's cheekbone was bruised purple and he was putting most of his weight on one knee, but otherwise the girl looked far more worse for wear. Her stringy blonde hair was matted with blood and three of her fingers bent the wrong way. Her nose was gushing blood. Sin scanned the pit and noticed that a small rope ladder had been added to one side of the pit, presumably to aid in getting Fighters in and out.
"- THREE, TWO, ONE!" The crowd shouted, and the boy staggered to a stand, raising his arms to the sky in triumph. After a few moments the girl rolled onto her back, cradling her hand. One of Elena's various goons dropped into the pit to help the girl out.
"And the first win of the night goes to return fighter Steelfist!" Elena called out over the fray, somehow managing to remain elegant while bellowing out over the roar of the audience. "And now we have the return of the presumed one-hit-wonder, you may recognize him… Assassin!"
Sin managed to keep the mix of disgust and fear off of his face as he forced his way through the crowd and dropped smartly into the fighting pit. There was a low hush as the crowd quietened to whispers.
"Steelfist, with two consecutive wins to his name, versus Assassin, who toppled the long reign of Skullfinger!" Elena added, giving the other boy, Steelfist, time to take a few gulps of water from a bottle handed to him by the same lackey that had helped the girl out of the pit. The same lackey, who looked just over Shade's age, tied something tightly around Steelfist's knee that seemed to help the boy get over his slight limp. "Let the Fight begin!"
Sin almost felt bad for the other boy; he doubted he hadn't gotten the same amount of training that he had. Not many people had access to mentors like Spider, and even then, Sin had the added advantage of magic.
The other boy didn't wait for Sin to make the first move; he launched his foot into the young wizard's ribs. Sin grabbed the foot and yanked it sharply, sending Steelfist onto his ass. Without waiting for retaliation Sin buried his toe between the other boy's ribs, careful not to shatter his ribs. A strangled cry escaped Steelfist's mouth and he kicked up into Sin's legs, who easily dodged. Steelfist rolled to the side and began to scramble to his feet just as Sin planted his foot into the small of the other boy's back, sending him crashing into the dirt. The crowd began to chant down and as Steelfist struggled Sin felt another worm of pity before squashing it and dropping to the ground, digging his elbows in between the other boy's ribs.
"And it's a win for Assassin!" Elena yelled as the counting stopped. "In no time at all, he put Steelfist to shame! Will anyone dare to put Assassin to the real test?"
There was a pause as Steelfist managed to crawl out of the pit, before a girl a few years older than Sin leapt into the pit. She smiled at him crookedly, venom in her eyes.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a surprise!" Elena commented, a dangerous grin on her face. "It seems Skullfinger has come back to reclaim her throne!" Sin's mask almost faltered as he realised why she had seemed so familiar, and why he hadn't recognized her immediately. She had grown out her hair and dyed it an outrageous pink. Skullfinger opened her mouth and wasn't quite drowned out by the roar of the excited crowd as she spoke.
"I don't know what sly trick you pulled last time, kid," she murmured, her eyes fixed on Sin's, "But I assure you, it won't work again." Sin didn't bother replying, but he swore to himself he would defeat her again, and this time, he wouldn't even need his magic.
"Let the Fight begin!" Elena cried.
Skullfinger immediately brought her right arm around in a haymaker, and as Sin ducked to avoid it she kicked out and caught him in the chest, sending him sprawling. He didn't wait until she approached again before rolling to his knees however, and he lashed out at her legs with his own. She managed to jump over them but landed right into an uppercut into her stomach as he stood. She reeled back slightly and coughed, and Sin didn't wait for her to regain her upright posture before launching a series of blows to her ribs. Hunched over as she was she was unable to block and slammed into the wall behind her.
Sin gulped in a breath, not expecting to be fighting more than once tonight. He certainly hadn't expected to be pitted against someone with so personal a vendetta as Skullfinger.
He aimed a left hook to her throat but she deflected it awkwardly, having regained her strength, and brought a knee up between his legs. Sin had been expecting it, however, and leant to one side, so that her knee had only bruised the inside of his right thigh. Taking advantage of him being slightly off-balanced, she brought the knee that was under his leg father up so that he was forced to jump away to recover.
Skullfinger ducked under a punch of his and thrust a fist of her own into Sin's stomach. He stumbled backwards, and his back hit something lumpy on the wall behind him. The rope ladder.
An idea formed in Sin's mind as he thought back to how he had won that sparring match against Spider. He had used his surroundings.
He dodged a hit to the face and shoved Skullfinger's shoulder roughly. She pivoted slightly so that she was almost perpendicular to Sin. He gripped her shoulders, twisting her so that her back was to him. Shocked at the elementary move she made no defense while Sin grabbed rope ladder from behind him. She began to turn just as he fit the end of the rope around her neck and jumped up so that he was hanging from it as it wrapped around the front of her throat.
Skullfinger grasped at it before collapsing to her knees, and Sin heard the audience begin to count down. He could see her neck begin to turn purple and released the rope. She dropped to the ground, breathing erratically, as the crowd finished their count.
"A third win for Assassin! The young man seems to be building quite the reputation!" Elena called out, and as Sin met her gaze, he didn't even shrink from the hungry look in her eyes. He stared back, throwing as much hate into his gaze as he could. The vampiress blinked, and had it been anyone else, Sin would have thought nothing of it, but coming from Elena it was almost an exclamation of surprise. That gave him pause; why would she be surprised he hated her? She had outright threatened to murder one of his own, with not a hint of subtlety veiling her threat. She should be lucky his magic hadn't exploded and shattered her to bits. In fact, Sin mused, if he hadn't gotten lessons on controlling his magic from her, that probably would have been exactly what would have happened.
Skullfinger was still gasping air but managed to stagger upright, shooting Sin one last look of pure vitriol before pulling herself out of the pit with the help of someone presumably working for Elena. She didn't touch the rope ladder.
"Can he lose at all? Will he stay to fight another match, so that we may find out?" When no one moved to jump in the pit and challenge him, Elena prompted, "This next match will be the last of the night, so anyone hoping to fight tonight should see if they can defeat Assassin, the ten-year-old who won the last three matches." There was a ripple of shock throughout the crowded courtyard as the realised the age of the boy who had just come away from a fight with Skullfinger virtually unscathed. Sin realised as she spoke how clever she had been to add that in. Not only was she pushing at the egos of possible fighters, basically calling them cowards for not wanting to challenge a ten-year-old, while simultaneously getting the more stupid of the bunch to continue underestimating him. It was a well-thought-out maneuver, but Sin only glared at her. If someone challenged him now he wasn't sure he would be able to come out on top; he was exhausted.
When nobody jumped into the pit, Sin was momentarily relieved, before remembering how he had come to joining a Fight the first time. His stomach dropped as Elena opened her mouth.
"It seems no one is willing to test our new reigning champion. Curious." She let her gaze wash over the crowd and it hushed, seemingly hanging on her every word. "However. The sun is almost up; we won't be picking a new contestant the old-fashioned way tonight." There was a wave of quiet disappointment, but nobody disputed Elena's decision. Sin highly doubted any of them had guessed she wasn't human, but even to muggles she radiated an aura of danger. Even subconsciously people had guessed she was not one to mess with. "It's been a pleasure, ladies and gentlemen. I hope to see you again tomorrow night."
And with that, Elena hopped off of her perch on the wall. The crowd began to mill out of the courtyard, and Sin grabbed the rope ladder and climbed from the pit. As he pulled himself to his feet, Elena stepped in front of him, her expression one of quiet amusement.
"My my my, Assassin. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you'd lost your recent spurt of affection for me."
Sin stared at her with disgust. "Would you," he replied flatly.
Elena raised a delicate eyebrow, her amused expression otherwise not moving. "Mhm. Care to inform me as to why? Surely you did not expect our little sessions to come for free?"
Sin's forehead creased. "You're not serious?" He scoffed. "You threatened one of my own. And I do not take kindly to threats of any kind, especially not those against my family."
Elena blinked again, before regarding Sin with an odd mix of disdain and pity. "Dear Mordred, you have a lot to learn. Especially if you end up in Sly- well. We'll see."
She turned and approached the entrance of the courtyard with her panther's gait before turning to look at him.
"Tomorrow night, meet at the same place we do for your little lessons. Try to be a little earlier than you were today. I'm going introduce you to our world. More specifically… my side of our world." She grinned at him, and he was reminded vividly of a wolf.
This was a relatively long chapter, I hope that's not a problem. I was going to add a lot more, actually, but I decided to split it into two parts as I wanted something up tonight. Please don't forget to review! Tell me what you loved, what you hated, whether you like the longer chapters or not, who your favorite character is, your predictions, your hopes for Sin's future... I love hearing from you guys!