Angel of Darkness: Chapter 4

Six months after she almost murdered the boy, he had gone back to the happy young one that she had seen the night of the fake murder. All of his suspicions were gone. His name had originally been Oba, just like his father, but when he had found that Layla wasn't Layla's real name, he had decided that he wanted another name and Layla had agreed that he should change as much as he could. Now she called him Issa. He called her Layla or Angel. It had taken a long time before he had built up the courage but finally he had asked her which assassin she was: Mask of Death, Hand of Hades, Pluto's breath, or one of the many others. When she's told him that she was the Angel of Darkness, he had freaked out and it had taken another week for him to talk to her. Layla had gotten him enrolled at school under the name Issa and everyone in town believed that he was her cousin. He always helped her out with her story, which she had made him memorize thoroughly. At first he'd complained about going to school, but after a few days he seemed to enjoy it more than anything else and had developed an insatiable thirst for knowledge, whether about math, Layla's life story, or fighting techniques, it didn't matter as long as he learned. Everyone in town loved him just as they had come to love Layla. He was just so happy and innocent all the time. Dalila and Jamila were both ready to adopt him. Issa liked all of them as well and was always happy to see them but the person who he was always closest to was Layla. As he had slowly begun to trust her and then get close to her, she had become his personal goddess. That feeling had only increased after she had decided to teach him how to fight.
Teaching him to fight had been an interesting experience because, in a way, she'd had to relearn everything in order to teach him what she knew by instinct. There was also the fact that he had a different body type than her. He wasn't as nimble or as fast as Layla but she knew that in a few years, if he continued training, he would get quite a bit stronger than her. Layla worried that he wouldn't stop training. He wanted to become an assassin.
"No," she told him every time he asked. "The only reason I'm an assassin is because I need money. I get more than enough for both of us. I won't let you put yourself in danger or force yourself to kill someone. It's not that easy to do."
Issa seemed to understand but was disappointed and would often ask again and again, just to see if the answer changed. As they trained together, Issa's thin arms grew and he lost a lot of the soft fat which had lined his stomach. He slowly became stronger than any of the boys his own age and by the end of the year, Layla predicted that he would be able to defeat any of the people in the village in a fight with the exception of herself. He was a quick learner with a lot of energy but his lack of physical exertion previous to living with her made things that were incredibly easy for Layla really hard for him. It was only after a lot of intensive running, and work-outs that he was able to actually start training. Waiting for her to teach him actual attacks and defenses had probably been the hardest part for him. It didn't matter though because Layla did her best to keep him on his toes.
He had gotten used to her schedule really easily. Morning; wake up at six, small breakfast, school, lunch, more school, shopping, home, fighting lessons, dinner, work-out, bath, sleep. One Tuesday, Layla woke up at her normal time and woke Issa up. He had stopped lashing out at her when she woke him up. Instead, he hopped up and said,
"Good morning," and scampered off to the stream to wash up as Layla started a small fire and made some honey-milk and bread.
Issa came back, dressed in a loose, white cotton shirt and khaki pants and sandals. His hair was it's usual mess on top of his head. He had blatantly refused to cut it since he had left the palace, preferring to grow it out like many of the kids in the village. It now hung past his ears, though it was still too short for him to pull it up.
He hungrily stuffed the bread in his mouth and gulped down the milk.
"Time for school," he said a lot more gleefully than most kids would have.
Layla laughed. Before Issa, she had rarely smiled even with her friends, but with him around, she found herself laughing and teasing like anyone else. Issa had that effect on people. He made them forget their hardships.
They walked to school together, and as the entered the town people greeted them. One of the older, grumpier men had decided that, since Issa no longer had a father, he would care for him. The old man would give him free fruits, honey, and bread but would also scold and beat him if he ever got in trouble as any real father would. It took a large part of the responsibility off of Layla because she honesty didn't know how to deal with him other than feeding him and clothing him. As they approached the school, Issa darted off into the crowd calling, "See you later," out to Layla. She smiled after him and though she knew he would be safe, she worried about him a little. She briefly wondered if that was how parents felt but ignored the thought and made her own way to school. Halfway through day, Dalila, Jamila, and Layla all walked off to Mr, Beb's stand which he'd had to expand because of the added people eating there. Now, it wasn't only the three girls but Issa as well and Darius, Omari, and Kosey. The three older boys treated Issa as a younger brother and he treated them accordingly. The boys had become regulars at the stand and had become great friends with the girls. Shy, curly-haired Kosey had already started dating Jamila. He was cute in a boyish way and quiet so Jamila was able to ramble on  and he would never interrupt her. They ended up spending a lot of time together. Omari was just as quiet most of the time but it was not because he was shy but more because he was more willing to let Darius do the talking and just watch. He wasn't as smart as Kosey or Darius but he made up for it with bulging muscles and and terrifying scowl. Even though she didn't seem to notice, it was obvious that that scowl always softened when his eyes met Dalila. But she was too busy gazing after Darius, like many of the girls in town. Even Layla, who had avoided boys in the past because of her life, would have been willing to give Darius a chance. He was more than willing to give her that chance as well. Layla wasn't oblivious to his gazes and innuendos that he always threw her way but she knew what would happen if she allowed herself to get really close to him; she would feel guilty about lying, and would begin to resent him or would break down and tell him everything. Neither of these was a good solution. At the same time, there was something about him that interested Layla. Through his smart, kind nature, there was something else. Something that Layla couldn't figure out and this had become like a puzzle that Layla was determined to solve. As part of her suspicious nature she had learned to read people really well but this something that Darius was hiding completely baffled her.
"Hey boys," she said and sat down next to Issa, wiping apiece of rice off his face.
"Hey, girls," Darius replied and handed the girls some apples.
Kosey slid next  to Jamila and cautiously put his arm around her waist. She kissed him on the cheek. Omari walked over and stood protectively behind Dalila. Darius leaned against the counter of the stand and started give out the latest gossip, which they had taken to discussing.
"Okay, I have some really cool news today."
He paused for dramatic effect.
"They caught the Mask of Death."
"What?" Layla asked, surprise and a tad of anger coating her voice.
She's never met the Mask of Death, but from what she's heard and seen, he was a pretty good assassin.
"Yep, the Mask of Death has been caught. The only problem is that he was caught dead."
He had everyone's attention and he was very good at playing to an audience. He lowered his voice and his expression became grave.
"Guys, in the past month they've caught three other assassins. The others were all small scale, not great, but they were all caught dead."
Layla forced herself not to pale by clenching her jaw.
"Wait a sec. How did they know that it was the Mask of Death? From what I heard no one has seen his face," Jamila said.
"True enough but they followed a note on his chest which led to his lair or whatever and there they found knives. Gold ones, which the Mask of Death is known for. He was dressed like an assassin and had plenty of golden knives already on him."
Layla clenched her jaw even tighter until it hurt. Someone was killing assassins and it was someone who knew not only who they were but their lairs, which were an assassin's most treasured secret. Not to mention, the killer was strong enough to killed hired killers.
"How did he die?" Layla asked, hoping her fear wasn't showing.
"His neck was broken and there was knife sticking out of his chest. The other three were killed in the same way."
Layla felt Issa's hand searching for hers and she took it. Without looking at each other they had both come to the same terrible conclusion.
"So an assassin is killing assassins?" Dalila asked. "Is that a good or a bad thing?"
"Both," Omari said, surprising everyone by speaking.
"It's good that the assassins are dying so they can't kill anyone else but whoever is killing them is someone who is strong enough to kill highly trained assassins such as the Mask of Death. That is probably not good, especially if he decides to turn on us."
Jamila shuddered and Kosey hugged her more tightly. The rest of the meal was finished in fearful silence and then everyone went back to school where Layla tried to ignore Jamila and Dalila's hushed discussions. After that, Layla and Issa shopped together and went home. Issa had been unusually silent since lunch and instead of darting in between the people on the streets, playing with the other children, he just walked by her, holding her hand in his. When they got back to the cave he helped her unpack and then asked,
"Are you going to die?" his face was full of worry. "I'm scared for you."
Layla sighed and knelt down in front of him.
"I don't know."
She had resolved to never lie to him no matter what because she needed him to trust him and she needed him to understand her life even if it hurt him.
"This guy is pretty good. He kills highly trained assassins with his bare hands. I don't know what he'll be able to do with actual weapons."
"But I thought he had killed the guy with a knife in the chest?"
Layla shook her head.
"A broken neck and a knife in the chest are both almost immediately lethal so why would the murderer do both? It was because he wanted to cover up the fact that he killed with his bare hands so that people would underestimate him."
Issa's eyes grew wide.
"You can't be an assassin anymore. You can find some other job or we can just go hungry. I can work. I don't mind. Please don't die."
Layla sighed and drew him in tight for a hug.
"I won't die, I promise."
Issa's eyes filled with tears and he gripped her tightly.
"Don't go."
Since Issa had begun living with her, Layla had only gone on three raids, which compared to before was very little. Every time, Issa had begged to go with her and she had said no every single time. He had pouted but then let her go. Layla had been planning on going on another raid soon because they were in need of some more money.
"I have to go, or else we won't be able to eat. I trust myself. I know about the killer and how he kills so I can take extra care. Don't worry about me."
Issa shook his head and refused to let go of her.
"Tomorrow I'm going to see an employer who might have a job for me. You will stay here and not worry, okay?"
Issa shook his head again. Layla kissed his forehead and wiped back his hair.
"I love you, so please stop crying. I'll be here tonight and tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that. No matter what I will come back to you."
Issa looked at her and nodded.
"Do you trust me?"
Issa nodded again and let her go. Just like any other afternoon, Layla trained with Issa, teaching him as he quickly gobbled up the knowledge that she was giving him. They ate, worked out, washed and then slept.
The next day proceeded like any other day and at lunch, Darius told of the murder of one more assassin, though not at the same level as the Mask of Death. Issa had gipped Layla's hand again, squeezing it and refusing to let go. That evening, they had done everything as always and Issa sat on his bed, watching Layla carefully as she got dressed and slipped her weapons on. She walked over to Issa again and slid down onto her knees and hugged him.
"You know what to do if I don't come back, right?" she told him.
Every time she went out on a raid she had asked him the same thing but this time, it held a different weight. Layla stood up and slipped out of the cave into the cool desert air. She climbed onto a nearby rock and sat there for a few minutes because she had the feeling that Issa would try to follow her but he didn't come up. Layla jumped off the rock and ran off towards her employer's house. She had told him ahead of time that she was coming, though he had no way of contacting her back. When she arrived, she walked right into the man's living room as if she owned the place. This employer was a very fat, old and ugly man but he was rich. He looked at her and nodded once.
"I do have a job for you, Angel," he said.
"What is it?"
"Government official in Sais. Here is a picture. He should be at this address. Kill him immediately."
Layla nodded her agreement.
"Payment?"
"1,200 yeli."
"Okay, I will be back."
Layla dashed off into the night, memorizing the address and the man's picture at the same time. Sais was a good hour's run away so Layla set a pace and began to jog lightly. She thought back on Issa, hoping that he was sleeping and not just sitting there waiting for her. He would do that.
"I won't die," she whispered to herself, making herself believe those words and sharpened her perception.
She forced her mind to become hyper alert by using all of her five senses to recognize the world around her. She used her nose to smell for any strange smells; her eyes scanned the empty desert with a hawk's watchfulness; if her ears had been like a dogs, they would have been cocked and rotating every few seconds to gather in as much noise as possible; she even used her tongue to taste the air around her, searching for changes in air currents; and every inch of her body tingled as she tried to feel anything that her other senses hid from her. When, Layla arrived at Sais, she was aware of everything around her, even noticing as a small lizard darted across her path. She walked straight to the main hotel in the town and climbed up the side of it to the third floor, fourth window from the right. She was about to slip in though the window, when a small whistling sound, alerted her to something falling from the roof. She threw herself, using the window sill of the third window from the right to catch herself. She realized that whatever had fallen after had been a person. That person had caught himself on the sill of the window that Layla had been hanging on just a second before.
"Hello, Angel of Darkness. It's time you met your death."