Law#6: The Making of an Assassin

Athena's POV:

I had completed my work in two hours.

Laying out the tables was not an easy task, especially when the Head Butler of your clan leader's family was watching your every move like a hawk.

The stone tables were really heavy, and the heartless guy made me arrange them on my own! Immortality allowed us to live forever and use magic; it did not give us super strength.

However, Mr. Butler (he wouldn't tell me his name) kept on barking orders and yelling at me for the whole of the first hour when I placed some of the tables out of line.

I had gotten the hang of it by the second hour and even managed to complete my task early. So Mr. Butler (it turned out that his last name was really Butler) dismissed me after he inspected and confirmed that I had arranged every table perfectly.

I was wandering out on the streets aimlessly, awed at how fast my clan had changed. I might have worried about my freedom before I came here, but it felt good to be back.

Even if I liked the human world, I had never felt a sense of belonging there.

Being among my own people brought me peace and a weird feeling of happiness. I looked at the buildings and shops around me in awe. 

Wow.

Things have definitely changed in the last three years.

What once used to be nearly empty streets filled with scarcely populated houses are now adorned with beautiful shops and large mansions. It saddened me that I couldn't be here to witness it all.

A lot of old memories came rushing back to me. Most of them were of me training with my friends during my days back here. I wondered where they had gone. Being an assassin meant we had to be ready for travel at a moment's notice. So, I couldn't really bother to keep tabs on them.

If it weren't for Isaac and Isiah, I would probably still be friendless. I thought about my time with them. Most of my memories with the Davenport twins were happy memories, and as much as I hated to admit it, even hunting immortals was fun if they were around.

They were my best friends, even if I didn't like to say it out loud. I remembered my first days with them. They were scared out of their wits and couldn't get over the fact they were teamed with me on their first year itself. I couldn't blame them, though.

I and my previous partner were on a mission to kill a group of outlaws who were plotting against the Artemis Clan. Naturally, I ended up almost killing him when he kept making innuendos while I was making the plans.

They were supposed to be my temporary replacement, but I made a request to assign us together permanently as they were more tolerable than the other assassins I had worked with. They were also the only ones who weren't afraid of me because of my element.

My memories drifted back to my first day here. I was not always an Artemis. I was originally from Egypt. My father was Greek, and my mother was Australian. When my mother was offered a position at the University of California to teach as a professor of archaeology, we had to move here.

My clan back in Egypt agreed to transfer me to an American clan. There was no way I could've stayed in Egypt as I was only fourteen and my parents did not know about me being an immortal. The Artemis Clan was the first to accept me.

Other clans were reluctant because of my previous clan's reputation and the element it specialized in. Everything was going smoothly for a month.

My parents didn't suspect anything, and it was easy for me to sneak out for training and perfecting my water element on the weekends using portals. But all good things fall apart, don't they? The day I left for my initiation was the last day I ever saw my parents alive.

They had somehow found out that I was immortal, and the Immortal Council sent out immediate orders to terminate them. Direct orders from the Immortal Council were always carried out instantly. I tried to save them, but they had been killed before I had even crossed the clan borders.

The council granted me a private audience to explain the situation. They assured me that they died a painless death, but even a three-year-old knew how ruthless immortal assassins were.

When they repeatedly told me about their lack of choice in the matter, all I wanted to do was rip their heads off. But I kept quiet. Keeping my tears at bay, I just kept nodding along to everything they said.

That day, I swore I would never become an assassin. But fate seemed to have other plans for me. My initiation into the Artemis clan took place on the same day as my parents' funeral. That was also the day I found out what my element really was. They told me I could specialize in two kinds of enchantments and one element.

I had chosen shadow and combat for enchantments and water for my element. We could choose what element we wanted to specialize in, but if it didn't call out to you, you couldn't truly master that element. Water didn't call out to me.

I thought maybe it was because I had already specialized. But I only learned the real reason on the day of my initiation, because water wasn't my element.

Blood was.

Some were astonished when they found out. Some were disgusted at the prospect of having a blood user in their clan. I was horrified.

Blood was the only element that could be used to kill an immortal without the special weapons that were usually used in the case.There had been no records of a blood user in the past four hundred years.

For days, I asked myself why this had to happen to me.

What did I do?

Everyone ignored me and kept out of my way whenever they could. I couldn't blame them. So, I distanced myself from the clan. I planned to run away and go back to Egypt. Whatever I did, I couldn't make myself stay in the clan.

But yet again, my life was taken out of my control.

About a week after my initiation, I was summoned by the clan leader, Lady Fletcher. She asked me to meet her in her study. I was surprised, but I had anticipated it.

Is she going to kick me out?

Was the only thing on my mind at that time. Later that evening, I met her in the study. What she asked me to do was far from what I had in mind. I still remember her exact words.

"Athena, your training will start tomorrow," she said.

I was confused and asked her, "What training?"

She took a deep breath and uttered the words that I had vowed to never hear.

"Training to become an assassin"