The 10th Letter

She walked around the market place of Able-Kabal, blending into the crowd as she looked for her target from under a hood that hid her eyes from the world. Her faded grey knee length tunic helped with blending into normal crowds, but in crowds where even one knew her garb, well- let's just say they quickly ceased to exist. She wore a pair of black pants and black leather boots that came up to the middle of her thighs. The soft flat leather of her boots provided the perfect shoe surface to make any step become completely silent when coupled with years of vigorous training. Attached to a black sash was a hand and a half sword she favored in close combat. In her wrist sheaths were her favorite daggers ready to be pulled out silently and hid in the folds of her shirt for a quick unsuspecting kill, the way she preferred to do such things. Under her shirt she wore smooth pads to give her a more masculine appearance and hide what made her a woman. There was only one person in the world who knew she was a woman, and the secret would stay with Adon, her teacher, master, and adoptive father, who led The Brotherhood.

Today, the market place was crowded, bustling with people looking at the monthly crop of objects brought from across the sea and harvested from the deserts. There was food, clothing, and other commodities every person needed to enjoy life and live. She paused to look at some jewels and a set of golden ornament knives, pretending that was what she and come for, but kept on walking through the market, with quick long strides that covered the ground with ease.

She stopped next to the mud brick wall of a house and hid in its shadows; leaning against the wall and watching the world carry on around her. Two men stood on either side of her, puffing large cigars quietly. The smoke drifted into her eyes and burned them, causing them to water. She whipped the tears from her eyes and slowly slipped away. Well away from the fuming cigars she resumed her search for her target. She walked out of the market and up a quiet road that led to ward the castle of King Havan, the lord of Able- Kabal.

Quiet houses lined up in quaint little rows with small alleys in-between each house block made looking for suspicious people quite easy. She turned into an ally and instantly felt heavy eyes on her. She lifted her head slowly and looked at the group of three men. She examined the first two closely, but neither were her target. It appeared that they may have been related to her target, but their clean unscarred face, clearly told her they would not produce what she was looking for. She cast her eyes on the third man and cocked a smile. This was he who she had been searching for.

The sun beating down on her was immensely irritating, making her sweat. During any normal day of work, she wouldn't have been out hunting in the hot day light, but Adon had insisted that such a mission was to be done promptly and in the light if that was the time of day. On any normal day she would have waited until the target was alone before striking, but today, with the sun beating on her back, her annoyance was high.

She walked foreword toward her target, letting her punch daggers slide into her hands and hide in the cloth. She stood face to face with her target, and with her punch daggers in place, let the man see her face. Her eyes were the same color as the sky on a clear day. Her features were sharp and her hair was of the purest white, which she kept at shoulder length.

"Go to your god," she hissed before ending his life with a simple powerful thrust into his neck, twisting the dagger with amazing speed and severing artery. The man dropped like a rock in water, hitting the ground with a thud. She turned and jumped at the other men who were trying to make an escape for the street. Their cries of panic cut short when a knife entered the second mans back. Third turned to look at her the way she had expected, just in time to help the throwing knives meet his throat. The man grabbed the knife and pulled it out of his throat, with his last bit of strength as he fell to the ground blood flowing from the fresh wound.

She looked at her work with disgust. Three dead bodies. She retrieved her knives from the carcasses, wiping the blood from them carefully. She made sure that they were completely dead before kicking the desert sand over the bodies to absorb the blood and give the appearance of a clean kill. She knelt down next to her original target and found the stack of letters she had been ordered to retrieve. She counted each letter to make sure they were all there. 9 letters she counted in all. 9 letters out of 10. She quickly searched the other bodies for the letter, but it could not be found. She hissed in frustration before standing and determining the fastest way to the "House" was on the roof tops. She jumped silently into the air and landed on top of the roof. She examined the world from above, determining the best direction to run. She took a deep breath and took off across the flat mud brick roofs, jumping over roads when the roofs ended at streets blocks. The people below her walked on, carrying on with their normal everyday lives as if people running over roofs and flying over streets was normal.

Reaching the stone arch way that marked the headquarters house and training grounds, she approached. The assassins recognized her and greeted her.

"Welcome Lesser Brother." said the taller of the two assassins

"I need no welcome," she hissed, spitting defiantly at the feet of the taller of the assassins. She heard a feral growl and turned slowly and growled back at the other assassin bearing her teeth defensively.

"I should kill you for such an insult," hissed the taller assassin.

"But you won’t, for I have finished a task for Father." said she with a deep hiss as she waved the letters in their faces. They glared at her and stepped back slowly. She smiled devilishly at them before walking through the arch.

The house was a large fortress of stone that had been standing in the desert from the last big war for almost 100 years. The walls were built around a large courtyard were the new recruits trained before becoming assassins of The Brotherhood. It was complete with one of the largest stables in Able- Kabal, only bested in size by that of the Lord Havan’s, and was equipped to hold 120 horses and ponies with 10 tack rooms and a room that held a monthly supply of food for the 40 horses that actually live in the stable. Every assassin of The Brotherhood live within the walls of the fortress, only leaving with permission to enjoy the world for a few hours or for the most of them, to carry out a mission. The courtyard was quiet to the untrained ear, but to those who lived in the walls of this home knew that in the shadows, trainees of 15 or younger trained vigorously, hoping to avoid death by their mentors hands if they showed to much emotion.

There were many young recruits every year, but she knew from experience that only one or two would make it. Only one or two would live. The odds of those one or two joining The Brotherhood were even slimmer, so for this reason there were only 31 men in The Brotherhood, not counting Adon. All who entered The Brotherhood became part of the family. An all-male family in which no woman could ever enter. She was an exception though no one, but Adon, knew.

She walked through the courtyard, watching the shadows cautiously, as eyes fell on her, analyzing her. She climbed the stone steps, whistling loudly to excite the horses in their stalls, before pushing open the huge wooden door that led to the biggest part of the "home".

She was greeted by the sight of the Lower Library. It was a large room. Book shelves stuffed with magic books, books on technique, and books that contained the secrets of The Brotherhood, towered in the room. Most of the books had been stolen for safe keeping from other libraries so that none would know their ways, but a small other few had been there since the creation of The Brotherhood to help all those who chose to enter its embrace.

Xyde, a tall assassin with light red hair and brown eyes, sat at a sturdy table drinking a small glass of ancient red wine and reading a book he probably snatched from another library. His hood was pulled low so none of his features were distinguishable, but if she wasn't mistaken she saw enjoyment on his face. They had been taught since they were four years old to never show enjoyment or happiness unless they were killing. She had broken under this one quickly, but Xyde, who she had trained with her until he became a higher brother in The Brotherhood, had not broken under this rule.

He saw her out of the corner of his eyes and abandoned his book to join her. "Complete a mission?" Xyde asked looking at the stack of letter that she was holding with great interest.

"Yes, I did complete a less than satisfactory mission," she replied. Xyde frowned.

"How is it that you constantly called on missions, while I, a member of The Brotherhood, am stuck here?" He asked pouting slightly.

"You show weakness, Xyde," she hissed in the same monotone voice she always used.

"And what is this weakness?" Asked Xyde.

"Too much emotion," she hissed. "Maybe, so far, my skills have just been a tad more useful in the field. You'll get your chance." They reached the stairs leading up to the higher library and Adon’s office. "Wish me luck."

"Always do."