Chapter Seven
Aaliyah
T he black cards with my targets arrive at random over the next week. Three targets, all drug dealers. They’re easy to kill, and a part of me wonders why they’re being targeted. There didn’t seem to be anything special about them based on the information provided to me when I accepted the jobs, but there has to be right? Unless a rival hired the guild to take them out for business reasons. I hope that’s not the case, but three less drug dealers on the street will never be a bad thing in my book.
Drugs are something I’m firmly against. I’ve seen the horror, pain, and death that’s caused when people become addicted to drugs. Sure, they’re only humans since their drugs don’t have any effect on supes. Which is definitely a good thing. Can you imagine a bear shifter or a kraken drugged out of their mind? The chaos and mayhem they could cause? I don’t even want to imagine it, if I’m honest with myself.
Luckily, none of my stalkers have shown their faces since I confronted them at the opera house. I’m not stupid enough to think they’ve given up, and there’s been more than one occasion where I felt like I was being watched, but considering that Archer can travel through the shadows, I’m not surprised. I know it won’t be that easy to get rid of them, but the break has been nice.
I’m unsurprised when I wake up one morning to find another black card sitting on the pillow beside my head.
Alistair Beaufour. $2,000,000 A drop of blood to accept. Rip card in half to decline.
This is the highest hit the guild has sent me thus far. I like these big payouts almost as much as I love working for the guild. They really do know all because the money is transferred into my offshore account before I make it to my car for each hit. So much more efficient than when I was working for myself.
Grabbing the knife from under my pillow, I prick my finger and allow a drop of blood to hit the card before it dissolves.
And before you say anything, yes, I keep a knife under my pillow when I’m sleeping. I’m an assassin, for gods’ sake. While I’m phenomenal at what I do, anything can happen. I need to be prepared at all times in case someone comes after me.
Frowning as I sift through the information about Alistair, I realize why this job pays more than the others. Alistair is practically a ghost. He seems to have no routines and moves from place to place at the drop of a hat.
This definitely makes the job harder, but I’m no amateur. I’ll get the job done just like always.
He’s nearly two hundred and a mage, though he doesn’t look a day over forty. Supernaturals really do have the best genes, don’t we? Him being a mage could cause problems for some assassins, but not for me. There’s very little they can throw at me that I can’t handle.
I do have his last known location, where he was seen the night before. It’s possible that he’s already moved on, but even if he did, maybe he left some clue as to where he intends to go next. There’s only one way to know for sure.
A glance at my bedside clock tells me it’s nearly five o’clock. Broad daylight isn’t my preferred time to check out locations, but in this case, I don’t think I have a choice. Sure, I could wait a few hours until it’s dark, but he could be gone by then.
Jumping out of bed, I take a quick shower. Pulling my wet hair back into a bun, I walk into my room naked and head for my closet. I don’t want to be too conspicuous, so I need to make sure my clothes reflect that.
Shit, I need to see where the location actually is. Flicking through the file in my mind, I find what I’m looking for. It looks like an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. There isn’t much around it, which means I’ll need to use my illusions to make myself invisible. There’s no other way to be inconspicuous in the middle of nowhere.
That means I can wear whatever the hell I want. Excellent.
I pull on a pair of black leggings and a black tank top. As much as I’d love to wear one of my amazing pairs of boots, they don’t allow me to move as silently as I’d like. Not that I can’t cover up the sound with my illusions, but that’s magic being used that doesn’t need to be. Instead, I grab a pair of black sneakers and pull them on.
Yes, I’m an assassin wearing all black. Judge all you want. I don’t care. I like black, and I can move easily in these clothes.
I’m out the door five minutes later, hurrying into my car and heading in the direction of the warehouse. I don’t know what will be waiting for me, but I’ll find out when I get there.
It’s times like this I wish I lived closer to the city so I could get there faster, but I do love my home. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll move closer, but that day isn’t today.
The warehouse might be on the outskirts of town, but it’s not on the outskirts nearest me, so it takes me an hour and a half to get there. I stop about a mile away, parking in front of a cute bookshop. I’ll have to go by foot from here or my car will stand out like a sore thumb.
Glancing around, I take note of the cameras in the area. It won’t do any good to wrap my illusions around me when there are cameras on me. If someone actually watches it and sees someone just disappear out of nowhere, there will be questions that I have no intention of answering.
Climbing out of my car, I stroll toward the bookstore, taking note of their lack of cameras. I swing the door open, doing a quick scan for cameras inside. There’s only one, and it seems to be focused on the door. That makes things slightly more difficult, but nothing I can’t work with.
I duck behind the shelves closest to the door, moving deeper into the store until I find a quiet corner. I call on my illusion magic, wrapping it around myself and making myself invisible to the world before picking my way back to the door.
I could easily open it myself, but how would that look on camera? A door just magically opening on its own? I think not.
Instead, I wait for a woman to open it and step out behind her. The door catches on my hip, causing it to bounce off me. Frowning, I hurry to get out of the way. I don’t think anyone will think anything of it. Or at least, I hope not. That’s a problem for later.
Not wanting to take any longer than necessary, I take off at a run toward the warehouse. As much as I hate it, this is the exact reason I work out regularly. You never know when you’re going to have to make a run for it. Or, in this case, make a run toward it.
I’m not the fastest runner in the world, but a mile isn’t too far, so I make it there in a little over eight minutes.
I slow down to a walk a few hundred feet from the warehouse, not only to cool off my muscles but to get a lay of the land. Even from this distance, I can see the magic barrier surrounding the building. It wouldn’t be visible to the human eye or even most supes, but since I’m technically a demigod, it’s something easy for me to pick up on.
I don’t see any other magic traps or anything, so I move forward cautiously. I pause outside the barrier, knowing not to touch it. I might be invisible to others, but the magic in this barrier would pick up on me passing through with no problem.
Taking a deep breath, I reach inside of myself and find the other well of magic inside me. This is the magic passed to me by my mother and the magic I hate the most. Unfortunately, it’s the only way I can make it past the barrier.
Pulling on the magic, a tingle runs through my body. Once it stops, my body is nothing more than smoke. I drift through the barrier before immediately dropping the magic.
Ugh. I hate that so much.
Shaking out my body, I try to rid myself of the feeling that surrounds me when I’m in my smoke form. I don’t know how to explain it except that the magic calls to me, trying to convince me to stay in that form. I learned early on that if I stay in the form too long, I lose my sense of self. It’s a miracle I came back from it the first time.
Now, I spend as little time as possible in smoke form, only using it when necessary.
Moving toward the door, my head is on a swivel as I look for any further magic I might need to bypass. I’m surprised to find no other security measures. It seems Alistair is arrogant enough to think his magic barrier is enough to keep out any unwanted visitors.
Based on the magic used to make the barrier, I can see why he’d be cocky about it. He’s powerful—possibly one of the most powerful mages I’ve come into contact with—and it’s likely it keeps out most people. Just not me.
The door is solid steel, and as much as I’d love to just swing it open, I have no idea what’s waiting for me on the other side.
Damn it. I’m going to have to turn into smoke again.
It’s easier this time, happening instantaneously, which I’m grateful for, but the moment I sneak through the crack beneath the door, I release the magic. I sigh in relief when I find myself back in my body.
Looking around, I see I’ve come into a short hallway. There are two doorways, one on each side, and with a quick glance into each, I find they’re both empty.
Continuing down the hallway, I step out into what must be the main part of the warehouse. It’s filled with tables, at least thirty of them. There are two people at each of the tables, counting pills and slipping them into bags.
Moving closer, I see the silhouette of a dragon on the front of the bag. I don’t recognize the symbol or the bright red pills inside the bag, but a chill runs through my spine.
I might not have the sight or anything like that, but my gut tells me these drugs are bad—worse than the ones already on the street.
What are those pills? What is this place? Why do they set off every alarm bell in my system?
Shaking my head, I force myself to take a step back. This isn’t why I’m here.
I might not like it, but I don’t have time to worry about the drugs they’re packing up—at least not right now. After I’ve dealt with Alistair, maybe I can find out more and shut this shit down, but he’s my objective.
I move around the perimeter of the room until I find a rolling door separating the room from what I’m guessing is the rest of the warehouse. If Alistair is still here, that’s where I’ll find him.
Not bothering to complain about it this time, I slip into my smoke form and move through the cracks around the door. I don’t know what’s waiting for me on the other side, but I know I’m ready for anything this mage has to throw at me.