Chapter Two
Aaliyah
F inally making it home, I pull into the garage and head inside. I’m immediately greeted by my German shepherd, Kira. She jumps on me, licking my face as if I’d been gone for days instead of hours.
Laughing, I rub her head and allow her a few more seconds of kisses. “Okay, Kira. Down.”
She instantly hops down, trailing behind me as I head for the kitchen.
I know what you’re thinking. Why would an assassin have a dog? Obviously, I have to travel for my job, but Kira always comes with me. I’ve trained her well, and she’s almost as deadly as I am. Who needs an alarm system when I have her?
Running my hands through my hair with my top set of arms, I stretch out the other two sets. That’s right. I have six arms—not that many people are aware of that fact.
I was born to a spider deity and a vengeance djinn—giving me powers from both and making me a demigod. And before you ask, I only have six arms because I’m only half god. It sucks, I know, but what can you do? I don’t make the rules.
Rashid is my father, the spider deity and trickster god. He belongs to some ancient religion from the region now known as Turkey that has long since been forgotten, but he’s been roaming the Earth this entire time. While he’s a trickster god, don’t go thinking of him as someone who goes around playing mischievous tricks on others. No, his trickster side tends to be a lot bloodier than that. The poison I carry in my body—that I can call to the surface at any time—and my powers of illusion come from him.
My mother is Nadia, the vengeance djinn. As one would expect, she spends her time exacting vengeance. What that really means is killing people who she feels wronged her in some way. She’s kind of a bitch like that, but at least she passed along her ability to shift into smoke and to grant wishes—which hasn’t always worked in my favor. But that’s a story for another time.
As a demigod, I’m practically immortal, so I’ve been alive for a very long time. With that being said, I haven’t seen my parents since I was a hundred years old. I should mention that I’m well over three thousand years old now. Seems like a long time to go without seeing your parents, right? Well, I promise you, I’m not missing out on a damn thing.
The only reason Rashid and Nadia—I was told to never call them anything but by their first name from the time I was old enough to speak—had me was in order to have an assassin at their beck and call. My training began as soon as I could walk. The two of them felt no love toward me. Not that I knew what love was until I was on my own. I didn’t know anything but death before they were done with me and kicked me out.
Once I’d destroyed all of their enemies and paved the way for the chaos they had planned, they had no need for me. I was sent into the world with no idea how to be a part of it.
I can make my skin produce any type of poison that you can think of, and some you’ve probably never heard of because they’re extinct now. Those are the hardest for forensics to trace because they’ve been gone for so long. Even if they recognize that something is off with the bloodwork, they’ll never figure out exactly what it is or where it came from. Which makes me the best kind of assassin because I’m completely untraceable.
It’s the only way I survived after my parents sent me on my way. I didn’t have any other skills. Killing was all I knew, so I continued to do it, but this time for money. Now, I only do it if it’s someone who really deserves it. For as long as I’ve lived, I’ve collected more money than I know what to do with. I might not kill for money anymore, but I’m always willing to kill scum to make this a better world. The money is just an added bonus.
That’s not to say that it was easy learning how to adjust and behave like a human. It’s been crazy moving through the ages alongside the humans. The last hundred years or so have seen so many advances in their technology.
Kira barks at me, and I pull myself from the past to smile down at her. “Do you need something, girl?”
She trots ahead of me and butts her head against the cabinet that holds her food, and I guffaw as I shake my head. “You’ve already had your dinner. Don’t be a butthead. If you’re a good girl, then maybe Mommy will let you have a bite of whatever she makes for herself.”
And before you start, yes, I’m one of those people. My dog is my child, and I don’t give a shit what anyone says about it.
Opening the fridge, nothing looks good to me. A glance at the wall shows it’s barely ten. Damn, I should’ve stayed out a little longer and hit up a drive-thru on the way home. If I head back into the city, it’ll be after eleven by the time I make it to my favorite dive bar, but they have the best damn food.
Decision made, I start toward the door before realizing there’s no way I can go to Danny’s in this dress. The amount of shit I’d get from everyone there is so not worth it. Turning to the stairs, I head to my room instead with Kira hot on my heels.
“Sorry, baby,” I tell her as I dig through my closet until I find a pair of jeans and a crop top that’ll work. “Mommy is heading back out for a bit. I’ll make sure to bring you back a snack, though. You’ll love it, I promise.”
Kira barks, baring her teeth at me, and I just laugh. I change outfits, petting her head before pulling on my kick-ass boots. “You’ll be just fine, Kira. Why don’t you go out back and see if there are any squirrels or foxes for you to chase away? I know how much you love that.”
She gives another bark before charging back down the stairs. I know people say dogs can’t understand us, but I find this to be proof that they can. Or at least my dog can.
I follow her down the stairs at a much slower pace. She’s already made it out the back door by the time I make it back to the kitchen. I hear her barking, telling me she’s caught the scent of some intruder or another.
Before anyone starts worrying, she won’t do anything more than bark at them and give chase. She really is more of a lover than a fighter when it comes to other animals. Humans and supernaturals, on the other hand? They better watch out.
With a shake of my head, I make my way back to my car. Danny’s is just what I need to end my night. A quick drink and some amazing tasting, greasy ass food. What more can a girl ask for?