3. Arson
Chapter 3
Arson
“ G onna miss you, you crazy bastard,” Knox says before plunging his knife into my shoulder.
I stifle a grunt, giving him a nod as he withdraws his blade before the guild master takes his place. Final boss.
Vic’s face is as stoic as ever, if a little more weathered than when he took me in all those years ago. “You’re sure about this? If you leave, you won’t ever be able to come back.”
Wiping blood from my split lip, I look him dead in the eye. “I’m sure.”
A flash of sadness crosses my mentor’s eyes before he slips on his work mask, emotionally distancing himself from what has to be done. A trick I’ve never been able to master, despite growing up in an assassin’s guild. I’m great at the killing part. Discretion? Not so much.
You hang one face on the fridge in the common room, and instead of everyone telling you how impressed they are of how perfectly you skinned a man, they call you a sociopath. Complete bullshit. Other kids put their homework up on the fridge, why shouldn’t I get to show off work I’m proud of?
“Then I hope you find whatever it is you’re looking for, son.” Blade already in hand, Vic angles my face and gouges an X into my left cheek. A symbol that’ll ensure no assassin’s guild will ever hire me again. But it’s fine; I’m done killing people for rich pricks with more money than sense.
I’d rather eviscerate people that deserve it for free.
Once he’s finished, he hands me my bag, and I hiss in a sharp breath as it rubs against the wounds on my back, but keep my head held high. It’s the only way to leave this life behind; blood in, blood out. Every member gets a strike in and, unfortunately, the guild’s thriving.
“Try not to get yourself killed, old man.”
A wry smile curves my adoptive father’s lips. “Don’t think this lets you off the hook. I still expect great things from you, Arson. Remember, someone’s always watching; make sure it’s you.”
Then the bastard kicks me in the chest, shoving me over the edge of the cliff beside the guild hall. My shadows wrap around me instinctively, and for a few precious seconds, I’m weightless. Tendrils of cool shadow are balms to the hundreds of cuts across my body, soothing the worst of them. But all too soon, I’m stepping out of the shadow world into a dark forest instead of the city I was aiming for.
“Stupid fucking wards,” I grumble, hitching my backpack strap higher on my shoulder and taking my first step as a free man.
It’s a blessing these infernal woods are deserted, because I can’t promise I won’t slit the throat of the first person I stumble across just to put me in a better mood. Two hours of swatting bugs and sweat dripping into the cuts on my back, I’m wondering if freedom is really all it’s cracked up to be. My entire life has been reduced to a single backpack, and the hope that when I meet my brother for the first time, he doesn’t slam the door in my face.
Not like that would do anything to keep me out, but that’s beside the point.
“This is insane. What kind of mage do they have living in this place to keep up such a huge barrier? Isn’t it kind of counterproductive? What if someone was mortally wounded and needed to shadow walk to sanctuary’s doorstep? Nobody ever worries about a demon’s needs.”
When I finally spot a road visible through the trees, some of my irritation melts away. It’ll be far quicker following it into town, and I’ve got to be getting close by now. Ready for a shower and someplace to crash for a few hours, I step onto the road, glancing up at a flash of headlights. Reflexively, I wrap my shadows around me, taking a step back into the shadow world to avoid impact before remembering the city’s barrier is blocking my abilities.
The screech of brakes is the last thing I hear before pain explodes across my entire body and everything goes black.