First Kill

The guard fell to the ground in a puddle of his own blood. The red seemed to glow in the light and my pulse quickened as I took in the beautiful sight. My throat moved as I was lost in the image. In the back of my mind, I was confused why I felt compelled to roll myself in the blood of the dead man. It was just a split second, but I couldn't forget it as I jumped down from my perch and joined in on the fight.

The second guard was an easy target. The brother fought him a bit, only sparring to weaken him. They were waiting for me because this was supposed to be my kill. They said it would only get easier after the first. Once you had it out of your system, it would feel like nothing. It would be the same as killing a rabbit when we went hunting. Though the life was the same as our own, after it while it would feel like the person hadn't even been alive in the first place.

I should have known that I would be the outlier. Something about me always seemed to be off from the others and different from everyone else in this world. The feeling was back. That was the nail in the coffin so to speak.

But the feeling, the slight thought I had in my head was only a speck to me as I ran towards the guard. I withdrew my two blades, feeling their weight in my hands. They were a part of me and without them in my hands I always felt off balance. I felt in my element. The adrenaline lifted me up from the ground and without even trying I was airborne.

I gritted my teeth as I hit the guard's back. He twisted around in shock, trying to throw me off his shoulders. I latched on with my arm, wrapping it around his throat. He twisted and turned. There was a yell as he grabbed a hold of my leg. I let him think he had the upper hand. While he tried to force me off my by leg, I jabbed the end of my blade into the side of his neck. He gurgled as blood poured out from his mouth. He chocked and raised his hand to his throat to stop the bleeding. His hand on my leg fell away and I took the shot to slide my other blade across his throat.

He had only a second of life left in him. He hit the ground with a thump. The sound echoed in my head. The sickening crunch of one of his bones breaking was a little tick in my ear that sent a chill through my body.

The kill didn't feel real. The aftermath was the realest of it all. But even as I stared down at the guard's body, now only a heap of flesh animals would feed upon, I couldn't help the need to help him. That need to help was also met with want to desecrate him more. I wanted to strip him of everything, take all that he had, and then leave his body naked in shame.

And I wanted to show off my kill like any other hunter would.

Meeko slapped me on the shoulder. "Nice job."

I looked up at him. His face was covered by his black mask, but his blue eyes showed only pride. He was proud by my work. Yet, I didn't.

I turned back to the dead guard. My stomach twisted with something vile. The urge to help and hurt made me dizzy. I thought I might be going mad. This was the hardest part they said. After the raid, it would be better. I would be better.

And this feeling I had would go away once I knew what I'd done had helped the Brotherhood. Because that was what mattered in the end.

We headed towards the gate. Meeko and the first wave of assassins took the front. I climbed back over the wall and surveyed the inside.

The village was quiet. We hadn't woken anyone and no other guards had noticed the yelling for help. The wall had helped us in that aspect. The thing that would be hard was sneaking through the houses with stirring anyone from their sleep. There was bound to be someone awake at this time and if they caught sight of someone dressed in black they would alert everyone else.

This was my time. Out of all the Brothers, I was the smallest. And in some ways, I was the best at sneaking around. After growing up pick pocketing strangers, it was bound to be my best skill out of anything else. Waving my blades was another, but tonight had been the true practice I'd gotten in all my life. It didn't really count for much other than a cool trick I could do by flipping my blades in the air.

The rough rock of the wall bit into my palms. My fingers gripped tight to the edge as I leaned forward to get a better look. The village was so quiet that I could hear the rustle of leaves from the trees as the wind blew. I tilted my head, listening as the wind blew faster. For a second I thought I heard a voice. I turned to look back at the dark forest. My Brothers were waiting in the shadows for me to go. My heart thumped in my ears and I felt the blood from my face drain away.

It seemed to all fall around me then. I could see something over the tops of the trees. It was a large shadow that was larger than the sky above us and seemed to trail on for miles. The shape was morphing, becoming something else that I couldn't place. It was at the back of my mind. Then, it hit me.

The shape was like that of a dragon.