Angel of Darkness: Chapter 9

It only occurred to Issa once he was in the maze that a few weapons would be called for. He had his darts, knives and his sword but he knew that wouldn't be enough. Shaking his head, and begging to god the he wouldn't be found, Issa made his way down the small corridor. It was thin, barely wide enough for him to pass through with a few inches on either side. The man who had passed through the night before might have had a little trouble if he had been any larger.The ceiling was low enough to brush against Issa's head. The walls, lit with torches were long and seemed never ending as the shadows swallowed them up. Every so often, side corridors would break off to the side. Issa stayed in the corridor that he had started in, realizing quickly that it was just a service way since many of the perpendicular hallways were a lot wider and better lit. The hallway ended with just a wall and a turn to the right. Issa decided to turn right. This passage was wider and lined with doors. Issa walked into a few. Some were empty except for a few dusty boxes or broken pots. Others had old, moldy beds in them while others had what seemed to be chairs and tables. The maze was in ruins, obviously a lot older than they seemed. In one room, Issa found a dagger. It was gold, like the knives that the Mask of Death had been rumored to use. He picked the knife up, tucking it into his belt with the other one, grateful for the extra protection. He followed that hallway until it ended as well. Then he turned right again and entered another service hallway. It was identical to the other. If Issa didn't know that it was physically impossible to travel forward in a straight line and end up in the same place as before without circling the entire globe, he would have sworn that he was back where he had started. He followed this hallway as far as it went as well and turned right again. This hallway also had many doors but they were different. They had been reinforced with better wood and metal bars running across. After trying a few, Issa found that they all required a key. A key that he didn't have. Quietly, he knocked on each one, hoping that Layla would respond but there was only silence. Issa pulled his map out again and studied it. Then, he meticulously read through everything. Seeing that there was way to much for him to see in one day, Issa put the map away and followed the tunnel until the end. It stopped just where the staircase was. Issa had walked in a square. When he got out of the tunnel, he was surprised to see that the sun was already near the ground. He had spent two hours in the ruins without meaning to. Sighing, Issa ran back to his cave. There he ate while mulling over what he had seen.
Not much, he concluded. He knew that someone was using the maze as a base at night. The doors on the hallway nearest to the entrance he used were reinforced and locked. Issa worked out after eating and made a plan for the next day. He would go to work and tell Lateef that he was taking another day off, then he would go back to his cave and stock up on as many weapons as he could without being obvious. Then he would spend the rest of his day in the maze. Issa stayed up until past midnight memorizing the map of the maze so that he wouldn't have to take it with him. He finally fell asleep and woke up at six the next morning, well rested.
"Lateef, I won't be at work today either. Please tell the king that I'm still working to find the Angel, you know, the one who killed his son. Were any of the notifications urgent?" he asked.
Lateef shook his head.
"No, sir. May I know where you plan on going?"
"Following up on a lead," Issa replied, dodging the question.
Lateef caught on to that and just nodded.
"See you later maybe," Issa said, and left with a small wave.
He jogged back to the cave and changed. He slipped on a pair of brown boots, slipping knives into each one. He also slipped on a knife belt. They were regular silver knives, not black like Layla's had been. When she had disappeared, she'd had most of her weapons on her person except for a few extra darts and poison, and arrows but no bow. Issa had bought a bow of his own and other weapons as well. Now, he equipped himself with everything he owned. Ten knives, his government sword, a bow he had bought, and some of Layla's darts. These he tied around his thigh and bicep. When he was ready, he left the cave and ran to where the maze was. He scouted the area and, seeing no one, entered the maze. This time, he knew exactly where he was going. The first thing he did was examine the passageway with the strong doors again. There were only eight rooms along the whole length. Issa could have forced the locks but not without damaging them and possibly getting caught by the assassin. He satisfied himself by exploring the maze for the rest of the day.
The maze wasn't actually a maze, it was just a series of hallways with doors on each side. Only the first had been reinforced. The rest were just plain, rotting doors with rotting material inside. Some seemed like old bedrooms, others had aging wine in them, a few had become homes for rats. When Issa finally left the maze after exploring everything it was already late afternoon and he was starving. He ate quickly and then changed. He slipped into a black shirt, black pants and black boots. He tied a black scarf around his face and slipped his weapons into the folds of his clothes. He had decided to go to the maze that night and attack the assassin to see what happened. It sounded stupid but he had come up with a plan. This guy, whoever he was, was either very righteous, wanting to kill all assassins or was doing it for the challenge. Issa assumed it was the first one. He was betting his life on the idea that the assassin wouldn't kill anyone who hadn't taken a life. Issa's plan consisted of arming himself to the teeth and then attacking the assassin, claiming to be a guard from the property. In this situation, the assassin would either fight back to get away, fight back to kill, or try to placate him and lie his way out of trouble. Issa hoped that he wouldn't fight to kill. Issa also had enough confidence that if he wasn't caught by surprise, he would at least be able to run away or yell for help, neither of which Layla would ever have considered. She would have had enough confidence in her abilities to win a fight and if she yelled for help as an assassin, she would have gotten locked up. Issa was willing to run far and fast and as a government official he had nothing to fear when it came to calling out for help. The plan was dangerous but Issa needed to see the skills of the assassin and even kill him if he had to to get Layla back. Maybe, if he was lucky, he would be able to see the assassin's face and get an ID on him. If he was just able to get him out of the way, he would be able to save Layla.
As he finished putting his weapons away, he saw the darts and an interesting idea occurred to him. Carefully, so as not to prick himself, he tied a sleeping dart onto the tip of each of his fingers on his left hand. His plan was that if he was caught, he would at least have enough time to touch the assassin and have him fall asleep. Grinning at his own intelligence, Issa left the cave. Once again, he arrived at the maze entrance not long before the sun disappeared. This time he wore a long shirt and long pants and he had remembered to bring a black cloak to shield himself from the cold. That night he only had to wait until midnight before the man appeared. As quietly as he could, using all the techniques Layla had taught him, Issa crept out from his hiding place to where the man was. He had barely gone three steps before the man spun and attacked Issa. Issa yelled out his first defense.
"Stop your attack. I am a guard for the Great Oba's Government. I tell you to cease."
The assassin froze mid-step and for a second, Issa thought that his strategy had worked. Then, he dove at Issa again. Issa had seen this coming. The assassin, seeing how he was dressed and the time of night that he was out, would immediately distrust him, so Issa pulled out his second defense: his government issued sword. He brought it up just in time to stop the assassin's arm from hitting him across the chest. The assassin had arm guards up and down his forearms which he was using to brace against the sword. He didn't attack again, having seen the sword.
"What are you doing on this property at night?" Issa asked.
"I was just passing through. You know the borders are a little fuzzy in my mind and it's just sand. I wasn't breaking anything," the assassin spat back, angrily and Issa thought he recognized the voice. The moon was at the man's back so his face was shrouded in shadow. Issa pushed the man back with his sword and spun around him so that the moon was in the assassin's face and Issa froze. The assassin's face was very familiar to Issa. It was handsome, about 21 years old, and under his hood, Issa could see some curls of brown hair.
The assassin was Darius.

Angel of Darkness: Chapter 8

The next day at work Issa looked like hell and he knew it. He hadn't slept the night before, being too busy trying to figure out what to do about the base. Putting a large guard around the house would be too troublesome but at the same time only one person guarding would be difficult to cover the whole property and Issa didn't know where the door to get into the maze even was. It could be in the middle of the property or it could right at the edge. It might even be outside the boundaries a mile away, though that would be a little extreme. Issa called Lateef in.
"I hear that there are mazes under the old Adjo property. Could you please get a map of them for me?"
Lateef bowed, though his face was filled with confusion. Issa leaned back, trying to force the issue of Layla out of his head. He still had to come up with a way to protect the King's children. After a week, the king was getting antsy. All Issa had to do was get two or three strong guys with assassin-like training, who would be able to recognize an assassin in no time at all and stop them. If only Layla was there, then he could have asked a real assassin. Issa sat up with a start. He put his papers back into the desk and stood up and walked out of the office, passing Lateef just as he returned with the maps.
"Put them on my desk. I just had an awesome idea," he said and walked off.
He was a bit apprehensive about seeing the three assassins again. They might think that he was going to take him to jail or attack them for revenge so Issa made sure to make his presence widely known as he walked back into the bar and over to where the guys sat.
"Hello, boys," he said. "I have a proposition for you. This is partly for your benefit and partly for mine."
The three guys shifted restlessly in their seats.
"Here is my proposition. How about the three of you become part of the royal son's personal guard and I wipe your records so that even if someone else finds out about you being assassins, you don't have worry."
The three guys looked at him for a very long time. Issa was afraid that they would decline and kill him. After all he had just asked them to join their enemies.
"Would we get paid?" the middle one asked.
"Yes."
"How much?" the one on the left said.
"Well, first you'll have to prove that you're better than the guards that the king currently has. That'll be easy I know that you are. After that, you can demand almost any price that you want."
"So it's just like being an assassin, except we have to babysit a little boy," the guy on the right said. "No thanks."
"Yeah, we'll be right where don't want to be and you broke my kneecap," the one on the left said.
"Sure, sure. I know that but it's also a lot safer. Not that many assassins go straight for the king's son and you'd be protected by the government. Also, the assassin assassin might not come after you if you stop being assassins. It's the same thing essentially but one's funner and the other's safer. You'll have to choose what you want. I'll come back tomorrow at this time expecting an answer. Choose wisely," Issa said and stood up. This time he wasn't attacked as he made his way back to his town. It was about 6 when he reached the palace again and began to work. Lateef had left already but the maps were still on Issa's desk and he carefully examined them, determining that there were only two entrances to the maze. One was right in the view of the main gate so it probably wouldn't be used. The other was on the other side, just out of view of the other gate. During the day, the assassin would probably be seen but at night it was safe. Having learned this, Issa looked out of his window. He had about an hour until the sun went all the way down but it would take him 25 minutes to get to the maze entrance. Issa walked to market with the maps in hand, bought dinner at Mr. Beb's stand, who commented on Issa's bedraggled appearance but let it go when Issa waved it away with a smile. While he ate, he studied the maps, attempting to memorize them as well as he could. When he finished eating, he paid Mr. Beb and left the stall. As soon as he was out of the crowded marketplace, he began to run. The sun was just below the horizon and it gave everything a beautiful golden sheen. Issa didn't notice. He put all of his mind into finding the assassin who had taken Layla from him. He ran a mental inventory of the weapons he had on him. Everyone who worked in the government was expected to wear a sword on their belts to keep order, he also had a knife tucked into his belt, hidden by his shirt and another one attached to his wrist with the mechanism that Layla had invented. He had a few poison darts around his left bicep as well but that wasn't much.
"I just hope I don't get caught," he thought.
He arrived at the house just as the sun disappeared behind the horizon and the world fell into darkness. That night his only plan was to hide and see if he could catch a glimpse of the assassin. If he couldn't he would go in the next day and see if he could find Layla at all in the maze that was down there. He searched for the entrance for a long while before finding a trapdoor mostly covered by sand, hidden behind a small bush. He positioned himself so that no matter from which angle the assassin approached, he would be able to catch sight of him. Sitting as uncomfortably as he could, so that he wouldn't fall asleep, Issa looked out at the night.
One hour, two hours, three hours, four, five, six, seven hours passed without any sign of anything at all. Issa sometimes wondered if he fell asleep for a few seconds since there was no change in everything thing around him except the moon, which was already back on its way down. The desert was cold at night and Issa was still only wearing his thin cotton shirt and shorts. He shivered a little, trying to find some warmth in the cool sand. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw some movement. It was a man, not too tall, and well-built, but Issa's eyes had never been as good as Layla's and that was all he could see. The guy walked over to the trap door and went in. He was obviously very confident in himself because he didn't glance around worriedly nor did he try to keep quiet. This guy trusted himself to be completely aware of everything without looking. Issa was glad that he'd stopped moving as soon as he had seen the man or else he would have been discovered immediately. For the next three hours, Issa waited anxiously for the man to come out again. When he did, Issa moved as silently behind him as he could but realized that the man twitched at every noise or movement out of the corner of his eye. A couple times he almost saw Issa but he ducked just in time. It didn't take long for Issa to figure out that he wasn't going to be able to follow this guy around long before getting caught, especially not during the day. The night was giving him enough cover that he could use Layla's techniques but as soon as the shadows disappeared, he wouldn't be able to use that at all. Chances were this guy would catch him before that. So, Issa allowed himself to fall back. He went back to his cave home and wash. It felt nice to finally get out of his clothes. Then he changed and ate breakfast, right on schedule. Then he went to the office and told Lateef that he had a meeting and if the king called to tell him that it was about his son. Lateef nodded and bowed.
Issa took off to go see the three assassins again. They were sitting in their usual spot at the bar, obviously waiting for him because they stood as soon as they saw him.
"Hey, man," one of them said. "Was that offer for real?"
"Yes, absolutely. If you come with me now I can get you set up immediately."
The three guys looked at each other a little nervously.
"And you promise that we won't get in trouble?"
"Yeah, don't worry about that. They won't ask for your background and as long as I'm the only one who knows about you guys being assassins you're fine. Even if they do find out, I will put my life on the line to protect you."
"Thanks man. I think that in that case we'll take the job," the middle one said.
"Great," Issa grinned. "Come with me and I'll set you up. The king'll give you a couple days to move and get settled in quarters at the palace. Then you will just do whatever you are told."
They nodded and followed Issa out of the bar. The walk back to the palace was long but Issa didn't mind. He had achieved something. Finally his father would get off his back. At least until he thought of something new to bother him with. Finally, Issa could focus all his attention on getting Layla back. He was so close that it wasn't even funny. After four years of getting enough power to actually investigate and then another one just finding dead ends, Issa was ready to get it over with and save Layla, no matter what it took. The three guys mumbled with each other the whole way back but Issa had quickly realized that the sharpness that he had seen in their eyes that first day had been just for show. They were just as harmless as Layla had been. Were there any truly evil assassins? Were there any who did it for any other reason than a job? Issa didn't know but he feared that he would trust every single assassin that he met after that point. That was not a good thing. They finally reached the palace and the guards were about to stop the three assassins from passing through but Issa waved them away. Immediately, with no hesitation, the guards moved away. Issa didn't miss the amazed expressions on the assassin's faces. They walked through the green garden where Issa had grown up and into the large, elaborately decorated palace, through hallways till they reached the throne room. The assassins just stared at everything. Before entering, Issa held up his hands.
"You guys wait here a sec. I have to talk to the king first to introduce you. I'll call you in when I'm ready."
The assassins nodded, silently. Issa, a little worried that they'd forget how to speak, pushed the heavy doors open and entered the room. The king sat on his throne, speaking to a few advisors and cabinet members. When he saw Issa, he stopped speaking and sent his people away.
"I trust that you have the people I need," he said, in a tone that implied, "If you don't you're dead."
"Yes, sir, I do. They are just outside. Though they are not of the best backgrounds, they are quite a bit more qualified than our current guards. Their price may be a bit high but, for your son, I believe that it's worth it," Issa said with a bow.
"Yes, okay, let's meet them already," the king said, impatiently.
"Come on in," Issa called out and the three assassins walked through the door.
Their expressions of amazement had turned into fear and little anxiety. They were on edge, all of their instincts telling them to run, but Issa ignored this and brought them forward.
"These are the men, sire. They will follow your orders and protect your son. I can guarantee that they are very good."
"I believe you, son," the king said and Issa flinched.
The king had only used it as a condescending way of addressing him but Issa still felt the repulsion of hearing the word inside of him.
"Is there anything they will need?"
"Just payment sir, a place to live, and two days to move their belongings. The rest they carry themselves."
"Will they need weapons?"
Issa looked at the men curiously. As assassins they should have weapons but Issa remembered the night he had been attacked. None of them had used weapons. The man in the middle cleared his throat.
"No, we won't need weapons. We can use our own, sir."
The king nodded.
"How does a payment of 1,200 yeli a month each, sound to you?" he asked.
Their heads shot up.
"That would be fine sir. Thank you for your generosity," they said.
The king nodded.
"You will begin in two days time. In the mean time I will have a maid bring you to your new quarters and set you up. Go now."
The three assassins bowed reverently and turned to leave. Issa bowed as well and followed them out.
"The king is a really nice person," one of the assassins said.
Issa had to force himself not to cringe. The king was not a kind person at all. He was brutal, harsh, and cared about nothing. Except, Issa realized, he wasn't. His father had only treated Issa like that. Seeing him as a boss and not as a father, he was a decent man. Issa couldn't erase everything that the king had done to him but he could see how others could see him as a just and even kind man. Though Issa disagreed with a lot of what he did, he had to admit that Oba Ahmose was a good king. He nodded in response to the assassin's comment. A maid walked forward, bowed, and told the assassins that she was to take them to their quarters. The assassins thanked her and followed her away, leaving Issa on his own.
"One problem solved," he said, sighing.
The next problem was the problem of Layla. She was probably in that maze beneath the caves.
"No. There's no probably. Chances are she isn't. I reached that conclusion through shaky evidence and many rumors. I don't know at all if Layla's there but that maze is being used for something strange and I will figure it out," Issa told himself, in an attempt not to get his hopes up. He decided that he would go to the maze and check it out during the day when the assassin wasn't there. He went to his office and spoke to Lateef.
"Hey. I don't think I'll be here the rest of the day. Take messages from everyone and leave them on my desk. I'll get to them tomorrow," he said.
"Sir, may I ask something?" Lateef asked.
"Uh, yeah, what's up?"
"What have you been doing sir? You have been missing a lot of work and sleep as well by the looks of it. I don't mean to intrude sir but you seem to be worried about something and if I can help --"
"Thank you, Lateef," Issa interrupted, "I'm fine. There have just been so many things on my mind. I'm hoping that things will settle down a little after this. Anyway, just get the messages and stuff. See you tomorrow."
Lateef's concerned eyes didn't leave him and Issa couldn't blame him. Issa was losing control of everything but he just needed to find Layla and everything would be fine. He walked to market got food for lunch, though it was very late and then made his way back to the old property. There, he spoke with the owners.
"No, we do not know of a system of mazes below this house. Why? Is there one?" the old lady asked. She was exquisitely dressed in light robes and a gold band around her head.
"No, no. We've just been consolidating data down at the palace and have found that many of the houses similar to yours have a maze system but if you don't know about it, this house probably doesn't have it. Thank you for your time ma'am. And, as always, remember that we're here to help so feel free to report any suspicious activities here or in town and we will help."
The old lady nodded and thanked him. Issa was disappointed. The visit had taught him nothing new. The next part of the visit would be the interesting one. He walked over to the trapdoor and lifted it. There was a torch on the wall, which lit up a stairwell down below the sand. Taking a deep breath, Issa started down the staircase.