2 A Dangerous Liaison

Between the tree where she was perched and the corner where the skirmish happened earlier, it only took her a few quick jumps and strides like an alley cat in the shadows.

She landed just in time to catch the semi-unconscious man in her arms. "Whoa there..." She gasped.

The man, whom she thought was barely a man had a frail build, soft brown locks, and a face as pale as the moonlight. He was lighter than what she expected. Even though by the looks of him, they are about the same age. Perhaps she was maybe even younger by a few years.

"Uggghh..." He struggled getting up from her grasp but ultimately failed and completely lost his senses.

She inspected him for further injuries. Only minor bruises aside from the large gash on his right arm were visible. As an assassin, she knew she was crossing another line here for helping this boy in front of him. Lesley knew that whoever was chasing this rogue they were not done yet until they finish their job. And apparently that job was him. Getting involved with him means they'd be aware of her in his tracks too.

She pushed that thought aside, determined to tend to the wounded stranger. But just when she was about to get them both up, a glint in the darkness caught her peripheral vision. She turned, almost knocking them both down but only caught a familiar glimpse of a pendant burried in the ashes of his cloaked pursuers.

It was a bronze pentagram. She snatched it from the remains of the assassins and clutched it tightly; bringing back the unpleasant memories of her past.

Who the hell was this man?! Why was he being hunted by the same people who murdered her father when she was just a child? This pentagram necklace. The cold metal seem to burn on her palms but she didn't mind. Lesley couldn't believe that she was this close to the perpetrators of her father's demise.

Rage filled her mind. The sleeping vengeance awakened in her heart.

She stared at the pendant. It was the only thing she remembered from the unfortunate night of the attack. The men who were cloaked in pitch black wore anonymous faces. But the pendant they wore - the ones that remained from the ashes after she destroyed them all with her father's rifle, that was the only thing that were embedded in the memories of her father's assailants.

"What kind of fate is this? I... I thought I've put it in the past..." She laughed at herself. "Why? Why now? Is this why you've made me save this man?" It seemed quite ironic how she never thought of a divine power guiding over her until this moment. She looked up in the moonlit sky, hoping for an answer.

"Urrghhh..." the man in her arms coughed but was still oblivious of her monologue. She rolled her eyes and prepared to drag him to the nearest infirmary.

"By the gods, if saving you means becoming a dangerous liaison to my father's culprits, then so be it. I will have answers. And I will have it even if I'd have to force it from you, mister!" She uttered with such conviction that gave her the strength to carry a stranger in her arms.