I knew Shay too well.

I knew he would not rest, and that when he had something on his mind there was no way he would

stand back and wait for his turn to speak. And so did also Hope and Achilles, because they waited for me to leave Shay to his thoughts before summoning me straightaway.

"What do you think of the matter?" Asked me Hope as I entered the room. Her eyes were slightly widened, as if she were afraid. But I knew she wasn't.

"We must tread carefully. Shay was out of himself. Something must have happened" said our Mentor with his usual calm.

"He insulted you" I stated, "there is no excuse for that".

"Liam! He was in a high distress. That is not even the point" retorted Hope "The problem is, what to do with the damn artefacts? We all know he is out there, just waiting for us to go to sleep to sneak in and do God knows what with it. And he would be right"

"No he wouldn't" I snapped, "the Manuscript and the Box are relicts. As any other Precursor artefact they must be treasured and studied. We don't know if Shay handled the thing carelessly and it all ended up in a mess. We have no idea about what happened"

"That is hardly the point" said Achilles. "It is not about the Manuscript, it is about his attitude. He is not thinking right now, and he could do something... Extreme".

"Yes, Shay would do that" I confirmed, "It is risky to leave him like this. But we cannot destroy the artefacts, either".

"We need to talk to him"

"We should go straight away" interrupted Hope again, "there is no time to lose. If there is any rational explanation for the tragedy that has happened, he has all the right to know. It must have been terrible for him".

We did not have time to speak further. As Hope had finished this sentence, we heard a muffled clinging noise.

"It is him" she said, standing up all of a sudden. "Let me talk to him"

So we looked at our leader stand up and exit the door. Only when he was in the corridor did we dare to breath.

"This will lead to no good. Let's go and gather the others" said my friend.

I nodded thoughtfully and took the route for the exit on the roof.

No need to say, all the Assassins had practiced countless times the procedure to take in case of an attack. This time, however, when it was made official that we had to take our positions, a gasp run among the youngest adepts.

'It's one of us' they all seemed to ask. But none of them did, because we all obeyed our Mentor without questioning his choices.

I remember it as a nightmare. The chase, the smell of gunpowder, the dreading possibility of killing one of our own brothers. Even after a long time, I could recall the details of that night with painful vivacity.

And then there was Chevalier, blinded by rage and desire of revenge. He fired without mercy on our own heads with his mortars until it appeared clear to him that he was making more damage than good. Then he stopped, but somehow I now wish he hadn't.

When it appeared clear to everybody that Shay, was trapped in a corner with no way to escape, I almost sighed in relief. Almost.

"Stop!" Screamed someone from behind our shoulders.

"That's enough!" I screamed, hoping that my tone had enough authority to bring him back.

Next came Hope. She was soft and somehow persuasive with him. She was always softer with him.

"I cannot!" He blurted out at last. His voice sound broken, and his eyes, I was sure, were already filling again.

"So many people have died because of me! One more hardly matters".

Those words triggered something inside of me. He is killing himself I thought as I leaped forward in a desperate attempt to close the gap between us.

"Shay!" I screamed with all myself, striking panic in my voice. It was then that I saw Chevalier pointing the pistol and firing.

"Nooo!"

I cannot describe the horror I felt when I heard Shay's body hit the ice below. He uttered a weak, pained scream, and then silence.

I stopped breathing. The world around me froze for a moment, and my vision blurred completely.

As if I was watching the scene with a spyglass, I noticed that my hand lowered the flintlock, and that a bent figure was screaming in agonizing pain over the edge of the cliff, right were my friend had fallen. A part of me heard the sough of the wind, and wadded footsteps on the snow. All was white. For miles and miles, the world was covered in candour, with a wooden blanket which eased away our pain. Only the sky looked down at me with ferocity, with its blue, widened eyes. Not even a star shone in the horizon. Only that blasted wind, howling and slapping. And that voice, more like the moaning of a wounded animal. In the end, it was that sound which brought me down onto Earth.

All sounds came back at once. People speaking, screaming, yelling directions at each other. Our Mentor had already given the order of forming a research party. Most of the younger adepts, the ones Shay and I had rescued from the streets, had begun to fret and were running haphazardly to and fro. Some yelled Shay's name among tears, others crouched in a corner and silently cried.

I almost envied them. They were just children. They could afford that luxury.

Around me, the place began to hustle with activity. Yet, I remained still. And so did Hope. She was the figure on the edge of the cliff, howling her pain in a heartbreaking manner. Was it that she could see Shay from here?

I did not dare to approach her. I did not dare to come near the cliff, because I was too afraid to look down and see my friend's body, his eyes wide opened, yelling for help. He had called out, and I... I had not paid enough attention. I had let him escape, and hurt himself.

Images from the past fluttered in front of my eyes.

I had to get away from there.

"Hope..." I prayed after a while. The sound came out distorted and barely audible. I could hear them, now. The ones who had been sent to inspect the area. 'Maybe they will bring him back' I thought, but deep inside I knew there could be no such thing.

"Please ... " I moved a step forward, then another. She kept on crying, but she had become quieter, now.

"You... you could slip" I said with husky voice. She sobbed harder, but did not move.

"Do it for him... and for me. Please". I stretched an arm forward. Silently, she turned. I barely recognised her, with that huge cloak she had thrown on her shoulders, and with her raw-red eyes and tear-stained face. When she got near enough, I pulled her arm and closed her in embrace.

"Don't do this to me, little sister, don't ..." I prayed in her ear. I could feel tears prickle the side of my eyes. They felt boiling hot and too large to be human. I allowed myself to let them stream down silently before taking Hope's hand and making our way towards the Homestead. Seeing her in such a way broke my heart: she was always so strong, so independent... yet, here she was now, mourning the loss of our friend. Deep inside, she was still frail and fearsome when it came to let go of people she cared about. Only, this time she could not hide her feelings, because she, too, had seen it coming.

'I'll swim all the way to New York, but I will find Shay' I promised myself as I closed the Manor's door behind me. And there there was Chevalier that had to be dealt with.

It was going to be a long night.