Delivery (Pt.2)
You. I couldn’t hold it back. I didn’t even realize why I should. Yet. It was out before I could do anything about it. Before I could even think of why I should not speak my wisdom.
You.
It hadn’t been a conscious choice. Barely a whisper.
“Over there,” I motioned, trying to cover up my mistake, without even yet knowing why I did that; just an increasingly queasy feeling in my stomach telling me I’d just done something wrong. Maybe because one shouldn’t look assassins in the eye. Much better to keep their hands and feet in view…
But of course he’d heard, in that split second before I half-turned away from him, indicating the hatch in the ship’s floor, and, honestly? Trying to hide the expression on my face away that I felt burning there.
Because those coals had suddenly started to catch fire at that.
Shit. What had I done?
To my relief, he moved around me silently, complying without a word, to hand Mirja over to my brothers, quickly taken down below deck. Spices. And… gods, why did he smell like a dessert buffet? My nose just couldn’t not pick up that coccano and cream scent with him moving past this close. Just a whiff of dry Eera wood as well? Damn. How could anyone smell this good after a parcours session like that, running across several districts with a heavy load? He had to be wearing perfume. Right? Especially as a pinch of fresh citrus hit my nostrils shortly afterwards, lingering along the wood scent in the wave of the spiced chocolate cake aroma passing by. There was no need to almost touch me while moving past, either. Or to wave that scent under my nose. Just as there was no need to try and burn his eyes into mine. Jackass.
Wait… was that… Vinla in the undertones? Bastard sibling to vanilla, smelling much like it; but something better classified as ‘poison’ -or acid- if you ask me, as it would burn your taste buds right off. Probably burn your skin, too, if you put it on like that. Yeah, that would fit someone like him much better.
But that relief was short-lived. His curiosity -and likely surprise- was palpable as he went past me. And there was something else as well. Something I did not want to name. Something that was far too dangerous to acknowledge.
Shit. I’d just managed to arouse his interest, hadn‘t I?
Because I shouldn’t have been able to tell who he was.
Just some stranger standing watch on the ship where he was supposed to load her off. Someone who knew one of them was coming with a package, sure, but not…
But I did. And I had.
Selar. It was the very same person who’d offered the deal in the first place. To Mirja. Not me. With a different face. A different persona. We had never met in person before, even though he’d known, when they had met for the second time, that someone else was speaking for her, using her voice, her hands, her eyes. I vividly remembered that stupid test of his, springing that snake on me, as if the hatred I had for snakes -and seemingly their shared dislike for my growling Beast- proved anything. We had never truly met.
And I had known him anyway.
And my reaction had just given me away.
I hadn’t realized, in the spur of the moment, how that would tell him it was me who had done the talking; how he never would have known my face otherwise. Because he had never seen me at all. He’d just seen Mirja. Known someone was talking through her, sure. But never who.
Worse yet: I hadn’t realized how it was even worse than that. Like, a lot.
He was back within seconds, of course, after unceremoniously dropping off his precious cargo into the arms of my waiting brothers.
He should have gone on and left the ship.
Instead, he lingered, leaning on the mast off to my side, while I was gripping my bow tight, an arrow already on the string, studying the horizon for signs of pursuit that, indeed, weren’t there yet. He’d done his job well, it seemed.
He should have left. Why wasn’t he?
I shifted slightly, trying my best to keep both him and the streets in sight. It wasn’t an easy thing to do. Was he trying to unsettle me on purpose? Why?
So, what if he knows I was the one who…?
Oh no.
It hit me like lightning then: Because I’d seen those eyes on a different face.
And people weren’t usually able to recognize someone by their eyes alone, especially on what looked like a different person. Were they?
Shit.
If they can look like anyone, then it’s no wonder they’ll run around shamelessly in broad daylight and haven’t switched him for someone else. No one would have known him for who he truly is.
No one. Would have….
Oh fuck. I’m so screwed.
“So,” he said, loosely crossing his arms, feet lazily crossed in front of him. “It was you.”
Lounging, while every second hell was creeping closer; the sailors frantic in their attempt to get our ship started and as far away as possible from that damn dock before it could fill up with angry mages. Which might just happen at any moment now. And there he was, casually striking up a conversation.
“The one who hired me?” he unnecessarily added, while trying to catch my eyes with his burning gaze just as avidly as I tried to avoid it.
Damn it, something in me growled, wanting to turn and spit in his face just for spite.
Just yesterday morning I had faced off against one of these cursed silver-eyes, a vortex of quicksilver spinning in place where eyes should have been and endured their mind searching. Successfully fending them off by spewing nonsense until someone took them away. Without revealing anything.
And I was avoiding the gaze of this one? Who the hell was he to make me shrink back?
“Yup,” I handed back as casually as I could, trying to remain focused on possible enemies. There was no point in denying it, after my initial blunder. With an assassin almost at my back? Fuck. I was amazed again, like every single time, how relaxed my voice and body could sound, with my insides feeling like this.
“What of it? Trying to renegotiate the deal?” Fat luck with her already delivered. You’re the one still waiting on the reward. I sent the tiniest, curious look his way. Killing me now won’t do you any good, asshole. At least I hoped the deal was more important to him than someone knowing his eyes. I mean, after all, being able to recognize his eyes didn’t help much at all, when he came for you, unheard and unseen, invisible like a ghost at night, anyway, did it?
Yeah. That’s how we’re gonna play this. Just keep cool. This is not a big deal. None at all.
“Mmh. Sassy.” He muttered, so low even my ears almost didn’t pick up on it, with a smile playing around his lips.
I couldn’t see it, but I damn well felt it. Despite all that cloth wrapped around his head in some kind of turban and veil.
But then I felt something else as well.
Fuck. I’d been too distracted. I turned around, jumping into action much like the snake had done, and fired an arrow at what had caught my reflexes’ attention. Incoming.
Not the best moment for this, jerk. The bird fell from the sky like a dead stone, already dead, my arrow stuck right through its tiny body. Damn spies.
So much not the time for this. I stared at the dead bird, with the feeling of another set of eyes burning a hole in my back.
It felt like a mistake.
Both of it, really, but I’m talking about that spy-bird here.
Mirja was already safely below decks, after all. They might not have noticed without my shot. But the body was down now, and it was way too late, anyway. And really, who was I kidding? The mages couldn’t be far behind now. Also, who said they couldn’t see the shining auras of now two mages -according to my brother, who should damn well know- through a bit of wood anyway? Or at the very least judge what was going on by the continued presence of that darn assassin out in open sight very much on deck… That silver-eye yesterday had been interested in the ‘guest’, anyway – despite our stuffing everyone, including and especially Feréll, below decks in just such an attempt to avoid such suspicion, or rather recognition. So much for wood disguising a mage. They could see it.
My mind was running in circles, and that jerk next to me still studying my features like some feast laid out for him. Really not the time for this, you—
I could feel him straightening out of his lazy posturing, almost as if he’d noticed my racing thoughts and wanted to give them another poke.
He casually sauntered over to a spot next to me as if he were strolling down a shopping mile, to take a casual look over the railing – down at the street, like I had. Funny how he could raise that impression with barely a few steps. The strolling, I mean.
Capable as well, I see.” That comment wasn’t quite as hushed as the first one. And included a hidden purr somewhere, while he curiously eyed the dead bird.
“Good shot,” he nodded at me, turning halfway round to ‘appreciate me’ again, no doubt. His studying me was quite obvious, no two ways about it. Almost, but not quite a stare, with one relaxed hand still on the railing, casually leaning. He really had the casual leaning down to a T, hadn’t he? And that smolder that was almost an invitation.
For what, though, I did not want to guess. Gods, what an asshole.
Our ship was finally moving away from the mooring, at least, catching wind at last, suddenly jumping with a whip of full sails, one of them snapping around in a movement so sudden we both found each other hastily ducking under the swing that might have knocked us both out.
He’d still not gone, I realized belatedly.
While the ship was now moving rapidly away from the mooring. What, did he mean to stay on the ship!? My head whipped around a bit faster than it should have.
Of course my gaze got stuck on his. Wonderful.
Fuck you. Why are you even looking at me like that?
Loud clanging pushed me out of the fucking trance that suction in his eyes had seemed to want to put me in. Oh, shriveled Imperial nethers.
The big bells had stopped during the time he’d been onboard. This? This was something else. Something of a higher pitch.
And getting closer. Shit. It couldn’t be anything else but the mages, could it? I hastily eyed the street. There was some commotion at the other end, where there had only been quiet before. Shit. Too soon. That was too fucking soon. We hadn’t even fully left the dock yet.
His head turned around to follow my gaze. His posture slowly straightened from relaxed to something different. Not quite alarmed yet, but… some kind of ready posture.
“Seems that’s my call already,” he said, stretching slightly, much like said jaguar before a jump. Or maybe just to yawn. “It’s been a pleasure to finally meet you.”
He nodded at me again, in some strangely respectful way, while his eyes were still stuck on my face in a way that was anything but, and his hands went to the folds at his waist, doing something I couldn’t see.
They came up again empty, though. Curious.
The ship had finally moved away from the quay.
Too far for a good chance to make the jump by now. And I’d already jumped up a three-story tower at some point, just so you know what distance we’re talking. How far could this guy jump? If that was even what he meant to do. Maybe he’d just go for a swim.
But the high-pitched clanging was much louder now, and something broke around the corner of the street. Both corners, in a rapid run that was so fast my eyes couldn’t quite catch it. It looked more like two streaks of color than people – or maybe animals. Whatever that was, I was quite sure I didn’t want to meet it. Hopefully, we’d be too far for them to get to us once they reached the quay. Which would be in seconds, at that rate.
Maybe they can’t swim, some crazy-hopeful thought brought up by sheer adrenaline rushed through my head. But of course, I shouldn’t bank on that. I took up the next arrow, while the assassin finally left my side and moved down the railing towards the stern of the ship that was doing its best to say goodbye to the harbor with one last wave of its blank ass like a jerk caught moonlighting by the watch.
I might not be able to fully fixate who- or whatever was moving rapidly down the street towards the docks, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t stick an arrow in it.
It just wouldn’t be quite as well-aimed as usual. But then, any arrow in any place of your body will be a hindrance. Potentially even deadly. Speed was the call here, not accuracy, hitting some specific part. The Beast roared its head, pushed by the moment, and I sent out arrows as fast as I could. Hopefully, they couldn’t make use of arrows in some magical way… could they? I wouldn’t be getting those back. But if arrows counted as personal items...
No time to think about that.
My unsafe little ‘friend’ had finally reached the prow, still incoherently strolling down the ship, while my arrows actually felled one of the two whatevers. Huh. Didn’t think it would go down that fast. Speed, but not much endurance, it seemed. It crumpled into an unruly heap, several feathered sticks sprouting out of that mess.
One down.
Fucking more to go… The corners of the street had filled with bodies left and right, a mass of people that looked much like some angrily hissing beast. If you discounted the fact that my eyes could see clearly far enough to make out people in brightly colored robes, and my ears picked up quite distinct clamoring and shouting, of course; even if I didn’t know their language, and thus never understood a word of what they were saying. It wouldn’t have needed the people who pointed at our ship to tell me we had a problem coming in real soon. Because we might be almost out of arrow range now – but how far could they sling spells?
I saw at least two people who had stopped their confused and stupid running to come to a standstill, flinging up their hands, and I could think of a few things that might end in.
“Selar,” I shouted over to the idiot who had flung himself up on the highest point at the stern by now, seemingly preparing to jump into waters that might well crawl with sharks and things no one really wanted to know about, to face an angry crowd of crazy mages coming closer –by himself!?– who must have noticed by now that their sacrifice was missing, and just who was responsible for that.
“You sure you don’t wanna stay on the ship?”
I probably shouldn’t have offered, but faced with that? He had delivered what he’d promised. He deserved a secure drop-off at the next isle around here somewhere at least –if we could make it this far– didn’t he?
He turned around, dragging the shawl that covered his face down for just a moment, to show me a wild grin underneath –quite likely mad, that guy– white teeth flashing like stars in his chiseled night-time face that didn’t belong in the midday sun it was currently under. And beautiful enough it most certainly did not belong on an assassin of all possible people either. Ugh. No wonder he ran around behaving like this, perfecting his casual leaning and strolling. By all the good spirits and mad gods. He’s one of those people. Those jerks who knew they were beautiful little sunshines and thought that would always get them a free pass.
“Oh, I’m good.” he shouted back. “See you around!” He waved, pushing the shawl back up, and jumped from the ship. Lunatic.
Stop worrying about him and get back to business! I summoned myself back to my own work. No time to get distracted by the antics of a madman. I had a job to do here.
Namely, putting some more arrows in whatever got close enough, as long as I had any, in the hopes we could somehow escape from all this madness. Hoping all the while that my little brother would somehow be able to fend off the spells coming for us, because I could do fuck all about that. There was a reason we’d brought our own little mage, despite the potential risk of these asshole Southerners noticing yet another one they might want to kidnap, this close to their grasp.
Don’t worry, dearie. I won’t let them get you.
I’d rather kill him myself before they could turn him into one of their monsters.