Chapter 3
The Pub is busy tonight.
Ahazu has been gone for around three weeks and I”ve had several assignments since then. I”ve noticed that I tend to get people who harm children, much like the first person I ever killed. These men and women are despicable beings and I”ll never decline a hit for them.
In the down time between assignments, I”ve taken a liking to spending my nights at the Pub, a bar in town that caters exclusively to supernaturals. I was drawn here after a target one night, and since then, it”s become a staple in my life. Tonight, it”s a bit busier than normal. Several large groups of friends are crowded around random tables and on the dance floor.
On the stage in the back of the open room, is the owner of the Pub. Usually he is wearing jeans and a black t-shirt like all the other bartenders, but tonight, he has on a long brown robe with a rope tied around his waist. The hood of the robe is so big, I can”t really see his face, but his scent lets me know it”s him. He raises his hands as I sit on my usual stool at the end of the bar. Kelsy, the only female that works here, slides me my usual and smiles as she leans against the bar top in front of me.
”What”s going on?”
She laughs out loud, drawing nasty looks our way that we both ignore. ”It”s opening night for the Quests. Oliver sends these bands off on an adventure that usually gets out of hand quickly, but it keeps business up and a few of the other businesses a few towns over get into it as well. He asks all the guilds for a mission and sends them off to complete them. The bands that finish their quest get free drinks for the next month. I know of at least two bands that haven”t paid for their drinks in almost two years. They each have two weeks to collect the quests then a month from the day they get it to complete it.”
She chuckles as she walks away again, serving people further down the bar. The room gets quiet as Oliver lifts his hands higher.
”Welcome Questers.” He says in a deep haunting voice.
I can”t help but laugh and down my drink as fast as possible. No way can I sit through something this fucking lame and survive. I leave the pub, resigned to spend the night alone in the house. As I”m walking through the door, another group is making their way in. One of the guys bumps shoulders with mine and when I pull my hand away, I see the small black card in my hand. Glancing back, I try to see who handed it to me, but the group is already blended into the crowd. Shrugging, I head down the road and read the card.
Henver Jult
$40,000,000
I smile. This is a name I know well. I”ve been keeping track of him since he let my parents” killers go free. He is a judge and a shitty one at that. He can be bought and often is. There have been several horrible men released because their lawyers had the right amount in their pockets. I unstrap my dagger from my leg and use the tip to prick my thumb. I watch as the crimson droplet falls down onto the black card. Before the blood even has a chance to soak into the paper, the card dissolves in my hand and my mind is filled with all the information I could ever need to know about Mr. Jult. His house, any security measures he has in place, which is surprisingly small considering who he is and what he does.
I know his whole schedule in a matter of seconds and I head home as I dissect all the information, planning how to make this hit and when to do it. Once I get home, I head to my office and start planning. Mr. Jult is going to come to his end very soon. From the looks of it, tonight is the best night to hit him at home.
I slip into my room and get dressed. My shorts are traded for black leather pants that cover my legs completely. I slide on a skin tight black long sleeve shirt and my black head dress that covers my entire face, with the exception of my eyes. I don the cloak Ahazu sent me. It”s coated in concealment magic so when I wear the hood up, no one can see me. Latching my dagger hilt to my waist, I tie up my combat boots and walk out of my room. I stop by my office and burn all the papers I wrote about Mr. Jult.
Calmly, I walk out of my back door and into the woods, hiding in the shadows as I put the hood of my cloak on. I move on light feet so I don”t make a sound in the dry leaves of the forest floor. The walk to the judge’s house takes about two hours. By the time I”m slipping into his backyard, my adrenaline is pumping through my veins and I can practically taste the copper of blood in my mouth. I”m ready for his blood, ready to destroy him.
I climb the wall of his brick house, using my magic to keep me on the wall without any hand holds. The balcony attached to his room is lit like a spotlight, highlighting where he is. I”ve never understood why someone would want to keep a light on in their house like that, but it works for me right now, so I can”t judge too hard. The balcony door is ajar and I can”t keep the smile from my lips as I hear the loud snores coming from within the room.
Tonight is breezy and I can imagine he left the door cracked to allow the breeze to naturally cool his room, but the fool doesn”t know how easy he is making it to kill him. If I were a crooked judge who let thousands of criminals run free, I think I”d give a bit more care with security. Then again, maybe he feels secure that no criminal around here would want him dead since he allows them to go free so often. The poor judge should have known that justice is always served.
I ease my way into the room and stare down at the man. His round face jiggles with each of his snores. I can see the sheet he is covered in is tented, but not too far. The poor man wasn”t blessed by his gods in the dick department, that”s for sure. It”s no wonder he doesn”t have a wife or children. I doubt his dick is long enough to even find its way into a woman much less able to deposit his seed deep enough to take.
Yeah, maybe I’m focusing on his dick a bit too much. But seriously, even with how small it is, it”s still the most attractive thing on the man. His body is like a large bowl of rotten pudding oozing out of places that shouldn’t ooze. His arms jiggle as he rolls over in the bed and part of his belly falls off the side of the large mattress. My whole body shutters as I look into his sweaty pale face. The smell in the room is nauseating enough that I just want to get this over with.
I pull Consequence from the sheath on my hip and tiptoe closer to the bed. A rustle outside of the balcony has my head snapping towards the still open door. I know that he has dogs patrolling, and a guard, but I haven”t seen any of them yet. I”m slightly freaking out thinking the guard somehow got behind me and is about to catch me in the middle of the job. However, when I look out the door, I see a massive raven. His black feathers blend into the starless night, but the moonlight glistens off his beak. A gleam in his beady eyes makes me think he is laughing at me. A thought that is solidified by the deep rolling laughter that trickles into my mind through our bond.
I glare at the stupid bird and face Mr. Jult again. Not wanting to stay in this smelly room any longer, I pull the side of my dagger across his throat and watch as his eyes fly open. He flops around on his bed as he stares into my eyes. His hands rush up to the deep slash in his throat, but it”s pointless. He has already lost so much blood that his body is failing. He gurgles and blood bubbles from between his thin cracked lips. I smile when I see his eyes slowly fall to halfway closed and his chest shudders with one last breath. Standing here, I watch as a bit more blood bubbles out of the gash, the white of his spine winking through the pink meat and red tendons. The ragged edges of the wound does nothing to keep the almost black blood inside the now dead monster.
Using the sheet of the bed to clean my dagger, I glance around to make sure nothing is out of place and that there is nothing left that can hint that I was here. Fowlynn caws out, snapping my attention back to my massive familiar. He ruffles his feathers and turns his head toward the yard, then I hear the baying of hounds. These must be the poor mutts Mr. Jult trained as guard dogs.
The supernatural world is filled with all kinds of creatures, and monsters like Mr. Jult just love to use some of them as slaves. I know for a fact that these Hell Hounds were stolen from their pack and forced to serve Mr. Jult as some sort of punishment for not following the Dragon”s orders. I have no fear that they will attack me, just as soon as I let them know that their services are no longer needed. A friend of mine runs a shelter for people running from the powerful and corrupt, so I”ll send these pups to her and she will help them get back to their rightful homes.
Walking out to the balcony, I throw myself over the railing and use my magic to pad my landing so it is soundless. Weaving a spell of bright yellow magic, I freeze the hounds in their tracks and quietly make my way towards them. When they finally see me, they both begin growling and I can feel them straining to shake off my magic and attack me. Fortunately, I anticipated this and wove the spell so that it tightens when the bound has an intent to harm me.
”Oh settle down, Pups. I”m here to rescue you. Mr. Jult will no longer need your services. When I”m long gone, this spell will disappear. If you want to die, you will track me and try to kill me. However, if you want to go back home to your pack, you will go to Shelven over in Hayward. She will help you, but you need to be long gone before the sun comes up or it will be very bad.”
I don”t give them a chance to respond in any way, I don”t wait to see if they listen to my words. If they want the way out, they will take it. If they don”t, then it isn”t my problem. I”ve completed the task I was sent to do, that I may have helped two of the Dragon”s victims was just a bonus.
Fowlynn flutters through the trees and settles himself on my shoulder as I walk back through the woods to the house. He speaks into my mind and I can”t help but smile.
”I spoke to Ahazu. He is doing well. His mates have accepted him and they are living up the mated life over there. There have been a few close calls with some of Dragon”s people, but Gynnie took care of them. He is safe.”
”Thank you Fowlynn. I know you think it”s ridiculous, but I worry about him being so far away. I missed you though, and I”m glad you”re back with me.”
Fowlynn rubs his head against the underside of my chin, his form of a hug. I pull the head dress off and lower the hood of the cloak, just enjoying a stroll through the woods with my Familiar. He prattles on about his flight and spending time with Gynnie. I listen to his deep voice echoing through my mind, telling me there are people in the woods with us. He keeps going, saying something that sounds important, but I’m only half listening as I think back to when he came to me.
Ahazu and I are standing in the cemetery, staring down at our parents” headstones. Ahazu has tears rolling down his face, but all I feel is a rage so deep I don”t think I”ll ever be able to get rid of it. It”s been two weeks and the hole in my heart where Mom and Pa were supposed to be is only growing.
Ahazu falls to his knees, sobs wracking his whole body. I kneel beside him and hold him in my arms, cradling his body to my chest just like Mom used to do. He just got out of the hospital, so this is the first time he”s been here. I feel awful that he has to feel this, that I couldn”t save them all from the pain they have endured.
Like so many other times since the incident happened, my magic swells inside of me, reacting to the rage and pain I try to keep trapped inside. Swirls of yellow magic fly around us as the sky turns dark above us and fat drops of rain splatter against my face. I let the water roll down my face, pretending it”s the tears I won”t let out. Ahazu cries out again, demanding our parents to do the impossible and come back.
Instead of the silence we usually hear, two loud caws answer his call. My head snaps down, eyes peering around the cemetery for anything out of place. Two massive ravens are sitting on our parents” headstones. One has feathers so black they almost appear to be made of smoke. The other, the smaller of the two, looks to be a bit softer than the Black one. Its feathers have a blue tint to them. I imagine that in the light, there would be pretty iridescent rainbows all over its body.
Suddenly, my magic lashes out. Streams of yellow magic flow from my chest and strike the bigger of the two birds. He doesn”t flinch, doesn”t cry out. He just lifts his head, staring at the dark clouds still rolling up ahead. I can feel more things, know things about this Raven that I didn”t before. He is the descendant of Odin”s Raven, Hugin. He is here with his mate, Gynnie, who is a descendant of Munin. The Goddess asked for volunteers for familiars and these two spoke up immediately. He is connected to my magic, bound to me forever and he came to help me. Gynnie is destined for Ahazu.
Both of them came to us, they settled deep into our arms, pushing their heads against our chests as our magic flowed into them. The clouds stayed dark and the rain continued to fall, but for the first time since my parents passed, I didn”t need the rain. I let my own tears fall. Let myself feel the hurt of losing my rocks. I let my new rock comfort me.
I pull myself out of the memory as Fowlynn”s last words sink into my mind. I stop in the middle of the woods and stare at the crazy bird on my shoulder.
”What the fuck do you mean my mates are near?!”