As soon as we got through the door he released me. I sprung up and turned, unsheathing my talons and readying myself for an attack. The man put his hands up, making no move to go after me. Something about him made me think he was not very interested in this situation either, but he didn't say anything. I was about to speak up when he put his hands to his lips. He pointed to the door and then to us.
"Are they listening outside?" I whispered, barely audible. He nodded slowly, then he started taking off his jacket. I flinched and readied my talons again. He shook his head and mouthed "pretend." I was wary but realized what he was getting at. If we faked it then we could both walk away from this without bloodshed. I nodded, slowly taking off my boots. It had to look like he had ripped my clothes off and soon noises would have to be heard. I banged the wall suddenly and the man smiled. He, too, banged on the walls and then looked at me expectantly. I tried not to giggle and made noises somewhere between pleasure and resistance. I was hoping my sounds would clue Essmay in and stop her from worrying since the only sound she would have been hearing was my steel in his gut. If I did not think about what we were pretending to do too hard then it might bother me less.
He removed his top hat and walked toward me, unbuttoning his shirt. I tried not to gawk. He had a perfectly muscled torso and his arms were straining against his long sleeves. His hair was short and flat, having presumably been under a hat all day, and dark. I still could not see much of his face since his nose upwards was covered. His jaw, however, was defined and square, with the hint of black stubble. Part of me wished we had met under different circumstances. He still had not breathed a word to me. I wonder if it was so no one could ever recognize his voice. It would also explain the face mask. I wonder why he had chosen one with a beak?
The assassin finished rebuttoning his shirt so that it was a few holes off, looking like he had haphazardly redressed. I ripped my shirt on the shoulder and ruffled my hair, all the while slamming my hand intermittently against the wall. I pointed to his hair and he nodded, running his one ungloved hand through his black locks. Then he got closer to me and hesitated. He pointed to his lips and my neck. I gave him a wary glance.
"Do you have to?" I maintained my low voice. He grimaced and shrugged. I suppose it would make it more believable and it was better than having to bruise myself but it put me in a very vulnerable position.
He lent over gingerly and swept my messy hair from my neck and I could feel the warmth from his breath. The ripped shirt exposed more of me than I would have liked and he carefully pressed his lips on the tender skin between my neck and shoulder. I felt a thrill through my body and I tried not to squirm. He sucked gently at first and then harder, digging his teeth in. I winced and held onto his arms, mostly because I wanted to make sure I could push him away and partly because I wanted to see how nice they felt. They were very nice. He moved down to my collarbone and I felt goosebumps form all over my body. I tried not to enjoy the feeling of his lips, which were soft and welcoming, and the way it was causing my body to feel. He moved back up to my neck and I was internally screaming. Then he did an odd thing and pulled me into him. It was a small tug, but enough for me to register. Our bodies were now pressed together and he quickly pinned my arms with his. I gasped in surprise, about to tell him off when the door flew open.
"Have you had your fun yet?" Hollered a man, who I was pretty sure was the younger boy.
"I'd quite like to have a turn with her." He may be a boy, but he was a disgusting filth of one. The masked man turned his head toward the intruder, still covering my body with his own. He must have heard the door opening before I had.
"Mine." He said in a voice that was obviously lower than his real one. It was husky and smooth, making my whole body vibrate in unison. I reminded myself that he was an assassin, not lover material. The boy seemed annoyed.
"How come you get all the fun, huh? Why don't I get a tur-" The boy's voice was cut off by the masked man who had thrown a small knife into his jugular.
"I said mine." The boy fell to the floor, hand desperately grabbing at his throat. The blood pooled around him fast, thick, and glossy. The masked man's mouth did not move, as if this was routine for him. Assassin, I reminded myself. The poor boy did not take long to bleed out, his body ceasing to convulse on the floor. There was always more blood than you would think possible in a person's body.
I wanted to feel bad for the lad, but he had just tried to force himself onto me. I looked into the assassin's eyes which were shadowed by his mask.
"Who are you?" I asked, not fully sure if I wanted to know the answer. He smirked and picked me up into the air. He carried me over the dead corpse, all the while looking at me. I wanted to be disgusted with him, but he had just saved my life. Well, he had avoided bloodshed. I might have killed them both, though after that little episode I was not entirely sure.
We walked into the other room and I pretended to pass out in his arms. No need to make a huge scene when I could just pretend to be out cold.
"You really had your fun didn't ya slayer?" That was Mr. Silver who seemed far too pleased with himself.
I could feel the man holding me nod.
"Gods, never one for words are ye? Surprised ya even wanted to. Don' think I've ever seen you with a woman before? Do you want her?"
"Mine." The assassin said, vibrating authority.
"Eh? Alright, alright, you can have her. No one wants that one anyway. Too much baggage attached to it. Bet she was pretty feisty though eh? Surprised you don't have any scratch marks on you." I could feel the masked man tense as he said it, his arms holding me tighter and closer to him.
"Whatever. Stop fussin' over it. We packed up the locked chest and threw in some extra for her. Not that she's worth much but...Take her to the other Hunter. The pretty one. She's outside with the bribes. Careful, she maimed two of our men as vengeance just to-bloody hell! Did you kill Jeremy?" Obviously, Dahren had started to see what remained of the perverted boy. I thought the masked man might get in trouble and readied myself for a fight. Instead, the District Leader and his followers bellowed in laughter.
"I can't believe it! Mr. Nightstorm, you are a man of many wonders. I heard you were the territorial sort, but I always assumed it was regarding your targets. Haha! Just remember, my brother has a bone to pick with this one-"
"Payment. My payment." Mr. Nightstorm said though I doubted that was his real name.
"Payment? Yes, yes I haven't paid you yet, but just wait till-"
"Payment now." He said again, voice sending shivers down my spine. The room went quiet and I could tell from Dahren's tone that this man-made him nervous.
"Alright, she can be your deposit. No one besides you will lay a finger on her, ok? I'll pay the rest in full when taxes come in. She must have really pleased you huh?" Dahren's voice was wavering. He wasn't just nervous, but terrified. The Leader had hired this man to do something and had not had the funds to pay him back. A dangerous game to play with an assassin.
Mr. Nightstorm left, still clutching me firmly in his arms. I kept my eyes clothes until we were well outside of the house and I could feel the cool wind on my skin. I peaked my eyes open, scrutinizing his handsome profile. Gods he was a tasty piece of meat.
"Skyee!" My best friend's worried voice brought me out of the daze.
"Essmay!" I exclaimed, wriggling out of the masked man's grasp. I ran toward her and swooped her up in my arms, squeezing with all my might.
"I was so so so worried! You idiot, what in the hen's nest happened?" Her voice dropped as she saw the masked man approaching and reached for her bow.
"Wait-wait! It was his idea to fake it. Nothing happened. He's a...Well, maybe not a friend, but not that kind of man. They called him Mr. Nightstorm. Mr. Nightstorm this my partner Essmay. The one you, uh, well, had your talons on."
The man in question bowed deeply.
"My apologies." His voice was quiet, still trying to disguise his real one no doubt. Essmay was skeptical but looked more relieved to see me whole.
"You don't deserve a thanks since you work for that bastard. Plus you should really be thanking Skyee for not killing you."
Mr. Nightstorm quirked his lips in an almost smile. In one swift motion, he took off his jacket (which I hadn't recalled him putting back on), flung it over my shoulders, and departed. It had been so fast I was pretty sure he had taken to the air, though I had neither seen his wings unfurling nor him taking off. Either way, he was gone.