I'm so sorry that I had to skip this Saturday, but my bike decided to take a vacation along the lines of breaking down just as I was leaving for the library, but im in the process of saving up for a laptop so things like this won't happen again, but until then, life happens. Here's the next chapter where the bandits get the shit scared out of them. Shahin and Altair are going to have fun. *Evil laugh*.

Chapter 18: Revenge

—Altair's POV—

He couldn't take his eyes off Shahin. There was something…hypnotic about how she flew. She. That was still a shock to him, and the fact that she had wings seemed to be much more easily acceptable then the knowledge that Shahin, the reclusive Master Assassin, was, in fact, a woman in disguise. This was turning out to be a very strange mission.

But, for the moment, he couldn't look away from the person flying through the air with him. Shahin's hood had fallen back when she took off and her hair was now streaming behind her as her black wings seamlessly moved and carried the woman. Her wings looked as if they moved independently from Shahin's body as they folded up regularly and stroked down with so much grace that he felt like he was learning how to fly all over again. Shahin just looked so…elegant and natural in the sky. And Altair knew that if the Master Assassin was anything like she was on the ground as in the air then she could be turn from lazy and relaxing flight to deadly and lethal in a moment.

So the former Master Assassin was glad that Shahin didn't seem to recall her freak out. Altair was relieved that she didn't remember him trying to hold her close and comfort her and then kissing her into shock when she wouldn't listen to him. No one could understand how grateful he was that she didn't remember that part of their chaotic night or he would've gotten more than a slap. Altair very much believed that Shahin could carry out her threat to castrate him if she knew that she had been kissed.

Shahin banked to the left slightly with only slight shifts in her feathers as she scanned the surrounding area in her eagle eyes, trying to pinpoint where they had been ambushed by the bandits. For a moment, Altair wondered what the fact that him knowing her secret would do to their relationship. They were already pretty close for the few days they'd been together as partners, but they were to be together for the next who-knows-how-long while Altair hunted his targets down one by one. Would they remain just partners? Or would they get…closer?The former Master Assassin wasn't sure which he would prefer.

"There!" Shahin shouted over the wind, pointing down below them.

Altair blinked to his eagle eyes (Shahin's name for them was so much better than his own) and squinted down at the ground roughly a hundred feet below them. He saw the arrows and the faint footprints that showed the bandits had recently been there. The former Master Assassin flew until he was practically flying above Shahin as she circled the area. She noticed his approach and looked over her shoulder and watched him with her gold eyes.

"I can't see where they went from here," he announced, raising his voice a little to be heard over the wind. "Can you?"

Shahin frowned as she looked down at the ground, squinting like Altair had done moments ago, before shaking her head and replying, "I can't either. We'll have to get closer." The woman met his eyes and he saw that mischievous look in her eyes before she folded her wings close to her black and dropped like a stone.

Altair thought that maybe he should feel concerned about his partner dropping out of the sky, but he only felt a rush when he realized that Shahin was playing a game with him. His eyes narrowed against the air streaming by as he angled himself downward and flew down. Shahin was facing up towards him with her arms calmly folded across her chest, as if she was simply waiting for him so they could go through the forest and get to training, not falling out of the air with her hair whipping just past her face. She watched as Altair slowly gained on her until she turned over to face the ground and opened her wings.

Altair watched with awe as she pulled out of her plummet and came up skimming the ground with only a foot between her and crashing. He wondered if he was as graceful as the female Assassin as she slowed down and eventually came to a running stop, pushing her braid back over her shoulder. She was already scanning for tracks when he landed and he went to the other side of the area so they covered more ground.

It was only a few minutes later before Altair found horse tracks leading away from the cliff and they were back in the air. They flew closer to the ground so they could follow the trail. Altair was just thinking about how to make the bandits suffer when Shahin cursed, braked hard, and shot up into the air. The former Master Assassin had to turn on to his side to avoid running into his partner and was fairly peeved when he ascended and caught up with her.

"Give me some warning next time!" he growled as they circled widely.

Shahin gave him an apologetic look before pointing at the ground. "I didn't think we would want to warn that patrol down there." Altair blinked and looked down. Sure enough, there was a patrol of three bandits on horseback. If Shahin hadn't pulled back when she did they would've risked literally running into the bandits at the breakneck speed they had been flying at.

He still threw her a small glare. "Give me a warning next time." The woman only chuckled as they flew on towards the camp where several fires were visible with Altair muttering about how women needed to be more cautious of those around them. When Shahin casually flicked his face with the edge of her wings, Altair wasn't sure if she did it on purpose because she had heard him or if it was an accident. He still scowled at her. She still chuckled. Infuriating woman, he thought.

They circled the bandit's camp and it was Shahin who came and flew above Altair this time, careful to keep her wings in sync with his. Altair was very aware of the woman's body only inches from his back and sensitive wings, but was able to keep his flying and face even. "I have an idea," she said simply, and, when he looked over his shoulder, he could see the female Master Assassin's golden eyes practically glowing with mischief and humor.

His lips unconsciously curled into a smile as he saw the gears turning in that devious mind. "And what would that be?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Shahin's mouth was slowly smoothing out into a smile as she leaned down closer and told him her plan very clearly. He forgot the fact that she was so close when he caught on to her plan and outright laughed when she finished. The woman was grinning evilly and Altair memorized the look of that rare grin as he told her, "That will work perfectly."

She laughed merrily at the thought of the coming chaos, which was also memorized, before saying, "The patrols first," and flew off in the opposite direction than her male companion, letting loose a perfectly mimicked hawk scream.

—Bandit Leader's POV—

"They're demons!"

"No! They were angels!"

"How could any Assassin have wings?! It's unholy! It's blasphemy!"

"Are you an idiot? There's no other thing they could have been besides angels!"

"ENOUGH!" the Bandit Leader bellowed, bringing the heated argument to a screeching halt, finally. He sighed and rubbed his temples to try and fend off the headache that had come from the past three hours of arguing. He distantly heard the distant sound of a hawk's cry and an eagle's answering screech as he glared at his men around the fire. He pointed a dagger at each one of them in turn. "It doesn't matter if they're angels or demons; we're going to find them."

An older man to his right snorted before taking a swig of his wine. "And how do you expect to find them? It's not like they leave tracks for us to follow."

The Leader turned his flinty eyes to glare at the old man, who didn't see it because he was taking another drink of his wine. Stupid drunk, he thought acidly before he answered. "We'll search the area."

The old man gave him a look that said "Are you stupid?" and waved his arms around in a dramatic gesture. "They can fly! They don't have to follow any roads and they can move a lot faster than horses! They could be anywhere!"

A younger man, a recent addition to his ranks spoke, cutting off his leader. "Won't they come back for their horses?" he asked stupidly, waving at where they horses were practically hogtied to a post. They had been nothing but trouble ever since their owners had flown off, kicking and biting anyone who came near and had nearly escaped once they had been picketed since they had both chewed their way through their tethers. He himself had gotten a kick where a man should never get kicked and had taken a wad of horse spit in the face by the black one. The Leader was seriously tempted to turn them loose if they caused any more trouble.

He was about to start shouting at the younger man when someone shouted his name behind him. He stood and spun angrily at the runner, who took a wary step back when he saw his leader's obvious anger, but gave his message nonetheless. "Sir, none of the patrols have come in yet."

"And you interrupted a meeting for that?!" he demanded loudly, taking his anger out on the messenger. "Have more respect or I'll have it branded into you! Is that clear?!" The man shakily nodded as all the color drained from his face. The Bandit leader felt some of his anger disappear as he saw the man cowering in obvious fear before he snapped, "Get out of my sight before I decide to brand you anyway!" He turned away from the satisfying image of the messenger fleeing as fast as he could and glared at the men around the fire. "We will turn over every single stone in this desert until we find those Assassins. Am I clear?"

The old man snorted before sarcastically answering, "Yes sir! Where would you like us to start looking first? How about in your dreams?"

The Bandit Leader unsheathed his dagger and was about to walk up to the old man, who apparently had a death wish, when something fell quickly in front of his eyes and thumped into the sand in front of him. He turned his eyes downward, ready to yell at whoever was throwing around equipment again, when his eyes widened at what was at his feet. He distantly heard the sound of a hawk' scream as he looked at the frozen horrified face of the messenger he had just sent off and the blood staining the front of his ratty tunic.

Chaos erupted.

Men screamed and scrambled away from the body, never taking their eyes off the corpse. There was a scream to his right and when he spun he saw that the old man was gone. Just no footprints showing that he had run away. There was another horrified scream to his left and when he looked the young man was gone. Moments later their bodies dropped from the sky and landed not too far away from the first one, blood still gushing from their wounds.

"It's the demons!" a man yelled in fear as he cowered on the ground, watching the sky.

The Bandit Leader looked up as well, but the pitch black night sky revealed nothing. If you can't see them, listen for them, he thought desperately as he turned to the still yelling and praying men. "Silence!" he roared, and silence fell. There was only the sound of the fire crackling, causing some of the men to jump in alarm, as everyone turned their eyes up to the sky. No one breathed as they waited for the slightest noise. The Bandit Leader held his dagger at the ready.

There was a streak of movement out of the corner of his eye, a scream, and then a rush of air. By the time he spun the man who had been there wasn't there anymore. Another scream followed behind that and another man was gone, joining the growing pile of bodies around the fire. Men broke and ran, yelling and screaming who knows what. The Bandit Leader ran for the fire, hoping that the light would protect him from these demons. He turned quickly this way and that as screams seemed to echo from everywhere. His heart banged painfully against his chest until he just wanted to rip open his skin and let the obviously fearful heart out. It only got worse when the screams and falling bodies stopped.

The Bandit Leader gasped for air that seemed to be so much harder to take it. He spun around, eyes never leaving the sky, looking wildly for the demons he was sure were there as sweat poured off of him. The deafening silence finally got to him and he yelled, spittle flying from his mouth, "Where are you?! Come face me! I'm not afraid!"

He began to laugh hysterically until a soft feminine voice whispered right in his ear. "Are you sure?"

He screamed and spun around, slashing his dagger through empty air as something black disappeared into the air. He landed on his rear and began to scramble backwards, scanning the sky with eyes that would surely fall out if they got any wider. He froze when his eyes landed on the still white figure standing between two tents. Glowing blue eyes watched him, just watched him like a predator. His eyes flew to his right, searching for a possible escape, but only saw a second white figure, this one with glowing orange eyes.

Tears began to stream down his face as he scrambled back until his back met a log. "Please don't kill me," he whimpered. The two white figures slowly came forward, those horrible eyes unblinking as their wings ruffled and began to change colors rapidly. "Please… Don't."

The thinner of the two simply said, "You should not have attacked us."

The bigger suddenly had a blade in its left hand and the Bandit Leader realized with horror that the blade had come fromhis own arm. "That was your mistake," the bigger demon said in a dead voice. "Enjoy Hell."

"Demons. Demons. Don't… Please don't…" the Bandit Leader begged quietly as he watched the two demons come closer. No. No. This can't be happening. This can't… he thought in hollow shock.

There was a sudden pain in his chest, and then, his world mercifully ended.

—Shahin's POV—

I cocked my head to the side as I looked down at the body of the bandit leader.

Altair voiced my question. "What happened?" he asked incredulously as he looked down at the untouched body.

I sheathed my hidden blade and crouched down, reached out to see if the man had a pulse. He didn't. I looked over the bandit's wide terrified face and the blood that was leaking from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. "His heart burst," I murmured, stunned. There was a moment of silence before I looked up at the surprised, yet impressed face of my male companion. "Are we really that scary?"

He shrugged and scratched the back of his head, "I don't know."

I snorted and pushed myself up from my crouch and stretch my arms up to the sky. Looking around, I nodded at the sight of all the bodies littering the camp. "I think this was a pretty productive night."

There was a second of silence before Altair broke out in laughter and turned to look at him, worrying for his sanity. He gasped out an explanation when he saw me confused. "We just…scared the life… literally…out of someone…and you can…say that…with a straight face?"

I couldn't help but grin and chuckle lightly and spread my hands out in a helpless gesture. I heard a horse neigh behind me and turned at the familiar sound. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped when I saw how restrained our very pissed off horses were. "I'm not sure if I should be angry that they did that to our horses or proud that they had to go that far."

Altair went off into more laughter as my horse yelled horse insults at us.