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The Path of Blood
Chapter One:
Just another Victim of Circumstance
The castle gleamed ethereally in the moonlight, the beauty of the scene made all the more prominent by its glittering reflection on the lake’s surface. The night was calm and peaceful, almost too peaceful to be real. The birds, frogs, and insects were all silent tonight; not a single detail was out of place. Perhaps the animals had left, realizing the turmoil that would soon raise fires over the lord’s estates. A cloaked figure leaning against a broad tree trunk observed the castle, analyzing, studying something unknown.
Twenty windows on the top floor, seventy feet over the ground. Marble stone walls, not a crack out of place. One main entrance over the moat, drawbridge- the whole nine yards. The almighty lord apparently has a lot of unneeded cash. Yet, with all that money, he didn’t take many precautions in security. However, an entrance point may be a concern…to any ordinary assassin.
At this, the cloaked figure smirked and began to run through the trees towards the castle.
“It seems he’s after the lord’s life.”
“But…why?”
“Money, of course. It does make the world go ‘round, you know.”
“But what about the people in the kingdom that are so dependent upon the lord’s generosity?”
“Maybe Black Phoenix doesn’t care. Everyone has his price.”
“Why are you so damn unconcerned!!!? The kingdom’s going to go to hell, and there you are with that calm look on your face!”
“And what do we do? What can we do? The Black Phoenix has never failed before. He gives every victim notice before their hour of death. Every time they futilely try to save their own hides, the phoenix only beats the odds in stride and kills everyone involved. No matter how many obstacles they place in front of him, he always shows up on time and assassinates on time. Those who try to stop him only end up destroyed. Annihilated. Obliterated. We don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell.”
“…What do we do?”
“Set up guards around his majesty’s room. There’s nothing more we can do.”
Black Phoenix was now faced with the dilemma of getting the drawbridge down. But only an idiot would get themselves into that predicament unwillingly. Leaving the body in plain sight, the Black Phoenix walked into the woods and hid from prying eyes. It was only a matter of waiting now. Black Phoenix smirked under the cloak’s hood as the sounds of frantic activity sounded from within the castle.
“What is that out there?!”
“Hurry, lower the drawbridge!!!”
Idiots. The lord isn’t a very intelligent man to have these people…guarding him. If that’s what they want to call what they’re doing. One day, bad people may take advantage of that. Black Phoenix laughed at the ironic thought, a laugh that was filled with sadistic amusement.
The drawbridge fell loudly onto the ground with a resounding thump. Black Phoenix patiently watched as opportunity presented itself. Jumping from the shadows, the already crimson katana hidden within the cloak emerged and decapitated every guard who came out to investigate. One of the guards foolishly tried to run, fright freezing his facial features before he screamed in horror. As the katana came towards his face, he whispered “Demon…” before falling into eternal darkness, his blood staining the grass crimson and joining with that of his comrades’ in a sickening puddle. Black Phoenix stepped over the corpse and walked over the drawbridge, indifferent to the siren’s blaring through the household, each footstep slowly approaching the lord’s room.
“SOLDIER! THIS IS A TIME OF CRISIS! IT IS NOT A TIME FOR YOUR DAMN SLACKING!!! UNDERSTAND, DUMBASS?!!!” The commandeering officer’s already loud voice was required to become even louder over the scream of the alarm.
The delinquent guard of twenty-two stared at the officer with a cool gaze. His fiery red hair stood in messy spikes with some falling haphazardly over his right eye. His left eye glittered with a strange gold color, like liquid amber melting around the black pupil. “Yes. I understand.” A wicked smirk lit up his face. “I understand this is the last time I have to obey your stupid orders and see your pompous face ever again.”
The officer’s face lit up in anger, and he was about to reply to the bold and insubordinate response when the young red-haired man dropped a capsule on the floor and fastened a breathing mask on his mouth and nose. When the capsule broke upon impact the room began to fill with a suffocating silver smoke. There were hopeless screams as the men inside began to choke for air. Some of the men rattled the door locks in a desperate attempt to escape, but their wishes were soon replaced with despair as they realized the doors were jammed shut. The palace guards began to fall to the floor, all except for one-the red-haired man with the glowing gold eye. He murmured, “Mission accomplished, Phoenix.” With that, he kicked down the heavy oak door as if it were nothing and strolled out of the room with his hands in his pockets. He took off the gas mask and whistled softly as he shrugged out of the guard uniform’s jacket, stepping on it when it fell to the ground.
Black Phoenix left a path of blood and corpses along the corridor to the lord’s bedroom. Guards who had stood in the way of the assassination goal were quickly destroyed. Everyone that saw the Black Phoenix had to die; no one could be left alive to tell stories of what they observed during a mission.
Only one more floor and I’ll be there. Then it will all be over.
The final floor of the castle was reserved for the lord and the lord only. Hopefully, there would be no guards on that level; Black Phoenix wanted to get this over with. At the end of the corridor, there was a single double door entrance with grand and intricate carvings. The lord’s bedroom. Black Phoenix walked slowly towards the doors, each step bringing the lord closer to his death.
The door moved surprisingly easily to Black Phoenix’s touch. There were no locks, no barricades. The manner of it was almost as if the lord was expecting an honored guest instead of a stealthy and infamous assassin. Within the richly decorated room, there was a middle-aged man probably in his forties with a quietly defined face, the grace of nobility evident, and the tired eyes of a ruler. He was kneeling on the floor, his grey eyes landing on the shadowed figure near his door. Black Phoenix stared back, though it was impossible to tell where the sharp eyes landed within the confines of the black hood. The silence became deafening, but it was a calm, understanding silence. The man before Black Phoenix seemed almost resigned, accepting of his fate.
Black Phoenix pulled the crimson-stained katana from the cloak and pointed it to the lord without breaking the stare. With agonizing slowness, the katana shifted slowly toward the lord’s heart, seeming to move on its own with no help from its owner. Black Phoenix was now standing directly in front of the lord, still gazing into his eyes. With Black Phoenix towering over him, the lord adjusted his gaze to look upwards. He could now see the eyes of the mysterious stranger, an undulating, writhing blue-grey that was hypnotizing in its intensity. The wind blew through the window peacefully, and the lord shut his soft grey eyes as if the wind answered a question in his mind.
Opening his eyes again, he captured the gaze of the assassin before him once more. “Black Phoenix.” He murmured the name, his voice holding a pleasant nuance to it that showed his charisma as a ruler.
“You came here tonight to take my life, yes?”
Black Phoenix nodded slightly, so as not to break the powerful gaze.
The lord smiled slowly in a casual way as if talking to an old friend, wisdom gleaming in his sharp eyes. “Those who have fought with you only had their lives ended in an abrupt manner. The legend of you and your gang spreads through the land. Some say you are a demon, some say you are immortal. Some say you are a god.”
Black Phoenix’s eyes glittered with a sarcastic mirth. “I am no such thing. I am a mere mortal, walking this pitiless earth as any foolish human does.” The voice was smooth and clear, but toneless in a way that it was impossible to distinguish between a male or female. The scarf around Black Phoenix’s mouth was covered by a black scarf, only making determining Black Phoenix’s gender more difficult.
The lord laughed. “At last, a being with some humor.” Whether he was aware of the irony of his statement, whether he realized that he was laughing with a mysterious stranger who intended to kill him, was beyond anyone’s understanding. “May I see the face of my new young friend?”
The shock registering in Black Phoenix’s eyes made the lord laugh once again. “Please,” he said with a smile, “I apologize for my blatant request. I merely wish to see if you are truly a human as you say. My final, most humble wish. I promise to take your secret to the grave with my word of honor.” The cloak figure faltered, but only slightly. A contemplative look rested in the stormy blue-grey eyes. A slender hand appeared out of the cloak and pulled the hood down. The scarf was soon unraveled as well and before the lord stood the face of a strikingly beautiful young woman.
The lord’s eyes widened in surprise before he whispered, “Such a young face... I never imagined that you would have such a young face…Thank you for entrusting me with your secret.”
Black Phoenix looked into his eyes once more before thrusting the sword through his heart, ending his life quickly and surely. The eyes staring into hers slowly dimmed before being frozen into a look of eternal peace. Black Phoenix passed a hand over his eyes, shutting them forever. She abruptly turned away and walked out the door, pulling her cloak over her head once more and sheathing her katana. There was no hurry, no adrenaline rushing through her veins, and no guards in the halls. No one to stop her. She felt nothing, no accomplishment at another successful mission, no remorse.
Has my soul really died?
She voiced the question aloud after thinking it, but of course, the forest did not offer an answer. Suddenly she felt a presence beside her in the trees.
“Did things go well, leader?” The red-haired man from before moved towards her, making his location known. He had changed his clothes from earlier, now wearing red and gold robes with a silver dragon breathing bleeding crimson flames on his back. The clothes gave him the effect of a living flame, and the dragon seemed burned onto his back instead of merely a design on the robe. As if it belonged there. His golden eye glowed incandescently in the moonlight.
“The lord is dead, Chaos. We did not fail.” If Chaos noticed how clipped and vague her response was, he did not show it. Without a word, they both began to run towards the temporary headquarters where the rest of the gang waited for their return.
She felt nothing. The wind whipping her dark raven-colored hair around her face helped dispel her thoughts. But those grey eyes…She couldn’t forget those serene, grey eyes. No sense of accomplishment came from that kill. He had just been another victim of circumstance.
Has my soul really died?
And nothing gave her an answer.
