Soul of A Shadow
Chapter 1
The Fire Still Burns
Amy Sorel smeared what remained of her flesh with charcoal, dimming the pale skin with black. Along with her black overshirt and trousers, the camouflage made her indistinguishable from the night around her. The moon disappeared for a second, which was her only indication that Taki was beside her.
"You go around the back and get the target." She said, eyes fixed upon the decaying stone mansion. They were crouched in the woods adjacent to the building; the sentries on the night watch passed over them repeatedly.
"And what will you do?"
"Enjoy the night."
Taki slipped away. Amy watched a dark figure slink along the grounds. It paused as a watchman turned and stared. She held her breath, marveling at the ninja's ability to stay completely still. Talents that still escape me.
The man returned to his watch, sneaking a bottle from under his shirt. Taki leapt up and slid her lithe body through an open window – on the second floor.
Amy took a deep, fortifying breath. It was her turn now. The mansion had two stories with pale stone construction. A gate covered the front area which guards watched. It had taken a long, winding road to get up to her current perch. Behind the house was a single wooden balcony. From here she could see the curtains drawn against the cool night air. The target.
She ran, flipped over the fence and landed silently on all fours. Amy moved like a panther through the twenty yards, using her arms to keep her steps balanced and silent. From the corner of her eye she saw the man take another cursory glance around the area. She rolled, and managed to dart behind the southeast corner before he saw her.
Amy listened, and willed her heartbeat to slow.
No movement.
She shook off the distraction and turned to the wall. She could have used her padded grapple to climb to the balcony, but didn't want to risk the testing the poor construction with her weight. She wedged her fingers between the gaps between stone blocks, and started to climb. This was the most difficult skill she had learned in four years of training with Taki – climbing walls. She had to support her body with her feet while she climbed slowly with her hands, while pressing herself tightly against it to keep her balance. Sweat poured from her forehead as she finally reached the curtained window.
Inside she heard a shout. Sounds of running men resounded throughout the house. Sounds like Taki's getting her fun done. Inside the bedroom was the target, blissfully unaware of the death occurring outside his door. She cut a pane of glass from the window and slipped inside.
The bedroom of Ambassador Ricardo Valesquez was a magnificent work of art. A mahogany four poster sat in the far middle, with teak trim and silver engravings. A lovely bed to die in. Amy slipped slid her rapier from its sheath, the oiled scabbard making the draw silent and smooth. She looked down at the face of the pampered man and felt a tinge of jealously strike her.
Not all of us can die peacefully in our sleep.
A man, rugged looking and bleeding burst through the door, sending it skidding across the room. Fear radiated from his shaking frame as he shouted, "Sir! There are-"
Reflexively, Amy drew a throwing star from the holster on her arm. With a flick of her wrist the dart impaled itself into the man's throat, changing his shout into a sickeningly wet howl.
The Ambassador leapt to his feet, casting his sheets aside as he reached for a sword. Amy leapt across the room, bringing her sword down in an arc. However, the man was a seasoned veteran, and threw himself backwards. The blade disappeared into the bedsheets.
"I would ask who you are, assassin, but I think I already know. Tell me who hired you, and I won't have to cut you down another few inches."
A man, he thought she was a short man. Amy raised her rapier and charged. In two blows he knocked the weapon from her hands and sent her flying into a bookcase. Hardbacks rained down on her as she struggled to her feet. In the deluge her facemask became dislodged.
"A child? They would dare send a girl for a man like me?" Valesquez spat, shaking his head angrily. He raised his sword and charged across the room.
Watching him carefully, Amy ducked and threw herself to her side, sweeping her left foot out and catching his shins. As he fell she straightened, drawing a dagger from her boot and driving it into his sword hand. The steel blade easily punctured flesh and bone, Amy didn't stop until the blade was buried up to the hilt.
Valesquez screamed in agony as he tried to free his pinned hand from the floorboard. They were quickly silenced as Amy retrieved her rapier and drew it across his throat.
Amy sighed, and wiped her blade on his bedclothes. It was a messy job, but the target was dead, and that is what the client wanted. And as Taki intoned, the client was always right. A familiar tingle of guilt swept through her, but she fought it away. There was still work to be done.
She replaced her facemask and stepped through the wrecked doorway. She had to step over the bodies of dead guards that lay strewn about the corridor. Farther ahead, she saw Taki finishing off the last of them. He was valiant, fighting hard even though his comrades lay in pieces. Taki reciprocated that determination, and weaved under his guard and sliced open his chest.
"Enjoy that as much as I did watching?" Amy said.
"Not really, somebody heard something climbing outside, I had to clean up after you again." Taki returned Rekki-Maru to its sheath with a flourish. "Sloppy, like that cut on your arm."
The pain came dully, and she hadn't noticed it until Taki mentioned it. The cut was shallow but bled profusely, and exposed a white patch of skin. "You try taking on a Spanish ambassador and not getting cut. Can we just leave before these," she pointed at the bodies, "begin to stink?"
"One more person first."
A whimper echoed down the corridor. It was hurriedly stifled, but Amy immediately recognized the sound. Sobbing. She had done a lot of it in the last four years.
"No, the job was for Valesquez. Why-"
"It was for all the Valesquezes, including," Taki strode down the corridor, her steps silent. Amy heard another whimper before she swung the closet door open, and a misshapen lump fell out. The boy had the soft features of his father, hair as black as Amy's clothes. He looked to be about seven or nine, and tears burned down his face.
Amy gazed into the boy's face. He looked up and their eyes met. Pain and fear lit his eyes aflame; she wondered what her own revealed. Sympathy? Self-Disgust? Or were they emotionless, like a killer's, like a murderer's.
"Amy." She snapped back to Taki, who hadn't looked at the boy at all. "You wanted to go on this job. If you can't do it, I will. The client is always right."
Has four years changed me into this? Amy traced Taki's steps to the boy, and knelt down by him. She placed and hand on either side of his head, and forced him to look at her. For a moment, he relaxed, the familiar gesture probably calming him. She smiled, further comforting him, until the sobs stopped, but the tears flowed.
Then she twisted. And he lay still.
End of Chapter 1
Author's Note: Finally, after thousands of revisions, the sequel to ASOAS is out. Review me please, if you hate it or love it I don't care. If you want to berate me for taking so long, do so.
Thank you,
MPmagi