Angel of Darkness: Prologue

        The assassin was called The Angel of Darkness.
        Most people thought it was because of her terrifying ability to materialize out of the night and kill her victims without leaving a trace, but Khalid knew the nickname had originated before any of the killings actually occurred. When The Angel had been a small child living in Hellas, her dark hair and eyes had set her apart from the blond, blue-eyed people of that country. Her older brother had called her The Angel of Darkness after watching a play where a character by that name had looked like her. From the age of five her bother had called her “my little Angel of Darkness.” When she had decided to become an assassin, she had introduced herself to her employers by that name and it had caught on. Little did people know how much the name fit her in reality.
The Angel’s appearance was often described by the few who knew her identity as an Kemetian princess; And well, she acted like a princess sometimes, carrying herself with a strength and dignity that exuded her superiority over others. Kemetains were known for their straight black hair, curved eyebrows, and olive-toned skin and she was the perfect example of that particular stereotype. During her night job as an assassin, she only ever wore black clothes; knee-high leather boots with soft, flexible soles that didn't make a sound as she made her way across the marble floors of Khalid's home; linen pants covered by leather chaps and a tight black jacket that hung open to reveal an equally dark cotton shirt underneath. The clothes hugged her body, showing off her rock-hard stomach and thin waist. Her muscles were sinewy and smooth, coiled like snakes. As she stepped into the soft light of the torch that hung on the wall over their heads Khalid saw that she was as heavily armed as ever. Once, she had told him about every single one of her weapons. It didn't bother her to tell him because she knew that even if he did think to betray her, this knowledge would give him no advantage as she knew how to use all of the weapons exceptionally well. She was a walking arsenal. Hanging loosely around her waist, her leather belt held ten knives and a sword that were each as black as obsidian and as sharp as ice. Another leather strip, holding fifteen throwing darts, was tied around her left thigh. The Angel had told Khalid that half of the darts had a poison that would kill on contact and the other half of them were just sleeping darts. She was immune to both poisons. On her back, there was a black quiver filled with black arrows and a mahogany bow.  From what she had told him, Khalid also remembered the weapons that couldn’t be seen. Under her jacket, she had a knife attached to her right forearm with a clever release mechanism of her own design that deposited the knife in her had with a twist of her wrist. Another knife was hidden in her left boot and the black feathers that lined the bottom of her quiver were actually more throwing darts. There were probably some other weapons that she had decided not to tell him about but he knew better than to ask. He didn't know why she trusted him so much but he wasn't going to mess it up because she was quite useful to him.
“Welcome, Angel of Darkness, do you require anything before I give you your orders?”
“What must I do?” she asked.
Her voice was soft and sweet. Khalid was grateful that she spoke such flawless Hellenian. Khalid often got tired of having to deal with all of the Kemetic speakers.
“I need you to kill Oba Ahmose’s son.”
If the assassin was surprised, she didn’t show it. Khalid had made a deal with Oba, who was the king of Kemet, but the King, believing he was safe in his palace, had decided to neglect his payments. Khalid would show him how much of a mistake that was.
“And payment?” the assassin asked.
“It shall be granted to you upon your return. 1,500 yeli as promised.”
The assassin nodded. Khalid knew that she would not be worried about him breaking his word. If he did, she would kill him.
“Anything else?” the assassin asked.
Khalid looked at The Angel's face and shook his head, knowing that after that night, he would never see her again.