A Gift from the Goddess

"Rae...I do believe this guy is alive," Zac said.

The two of us were peering into the cupboard, looking at a very tied up and very terrified looking Noah.

"Yep," I replied.

"Right...right....And, just to make sure we’re on the same page here, you are aware that normally I don’t see this part, right? That I come in afterwards?"

"I’m aware."

At the sound of the conversation, Noah immediately started to squirm and plead to Zac with his eyes, hoping that he would help free him.

Not that it would do him any good.

"So, what's the hold up?" Zac asked, still confused.

"Isn’t this just another Thursday for you? I’ve seen you do worse."

He was right.This really wasn’t that abnormal of a job for me to do.

But I gritted my teeth at his question nevertheless, hating how I had ended up in this situation.

"I...can’t," I said, deflating in defeat.

"I can’t do it."

"You can’t...do it...," Zac repeated slowly.

"And why is it—."

"Look, I just can’t, okay?" I said, cutting him off, irritated at all the questions.

"I’ve tried.I even tried again before you got over here.I can’t do it, I can’t do it, I can’t do it.End of discussion."

"...So why am I here? Just tell your dad that —."

"No."

Of course, Zac would suggest that.He didn’t know about every dark secret my father was hiding, only ever seeing as far as he needed to.

"No, I can’t tell him," I said.

"...And you can’t tell him either."

"Rae, the boss is expecting this guy dead," he said, taking a step back to look at me.

"I’m not really sure what’s going on, but you do realise he’ll find out sooner or later, right? You can’t just keep him locked up in a cupboard forever."

"Okay, fine! Fine...," I sighed in frustration, before slowly locking up to meet his eyes.

"...Then you do it."

Immediately, his face paled.

"What?! Rae, no! No," he blurted out.

"I don’t do that."

"c’mon, Zac," I whined.

"It’s not that different from cleaning up.Both have a lot of blood.I can talk you through it.Here...just grab this dagger like this...and then hold it in your hand facing—."

"Raven, stop!"

I'd been trying to get him to wield the weapon but he immediately held his hands up and stepped away.

"Just...chill," he said.

"I’m not going to kill someone."

"Argh! I spun around and angrily started pacing the room, beginning to get more worried as every second passed.I didn’t understand why this had to be so difficult.It shouldn't be this hard.Any other day, I could have done this job with my eyes closed.Why was I struggling to kill one random man? Who even was this guy? A small brown wallet then caught my attention as it sat on top of a table, and I walked over to inspect it.

this guy look sort of familiar?" I heard Zac say behind

him as I went digging

a grocery store reward one...a rental shop...a membership to a laundromat? I didn’t even know

then, finally, I found his driver’s

of looks like

Zac continued.

from a few days ago.You

said, reading the name

Kennedy.Wasn’t he the guy from the clean-up a few days ago?" I slowly spun around to look at

is this guy’s last name,"

"Noah Kennedy."

both then turned to look at the man tied

Miles was an underground businessman or

a

relating to him? But...‘clean up’.That’s how this

whatever Miles had been up to? ...Or was I sent here because he was digging into his disappearance? ...If that were true...then didn’t that mean Noah’s death sentence today was because of me? Because of m y accidental lapse in control?

Noah and pulled out

talking to the future murder victim was possibly the dumbest thing I could

me go, please," he immediately

do anything.Just...don’t kill

Miles?" I asked, disregarding

face blanked for a moment

"What about Miles?"

answering my questions plainly.I’d already had my fill of that

crouched down to his eye level and sunk m y dagger into the

I hissed, pulling the knife back out to point

me repeat myself for the last

in fear but managed to huff out a ‘yes’, his

"Howe"

m-my brother," he

closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose, already knowing I was

was the last time you heard from

up at the bar on

him but it’s like he’s just disappeared....Is that why you’re here? Does this have something

That caught my attention.

‘Business’.

that held my curiosity and yet

already

dealings, it was just

a part of me

or not his death sentence today

so I asked the question I

was Miles involved

"Rae—."

Zac before he

know how bad of an idea

the same orders

"Smuggling," Noah answered.

businessman in town.Gets in supplies and rare goods from all over.The best at what he does, in

I should have stopped.No, I *definitely* shouldn’t have wanted to keep going....But I

I asked

if I were

course.Who else in this city would be shady enough to

Fuck.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

An employee.

had been a goddamn

criminal or a rivaling businessman.He was on the freaking

...I killed an employee*.

all? Was he trying to run away or snitch on my father?

make someone want to betray aman as powerful as my father? Someone who would know better than most in this city what going against him entailed? There were too many questions already asked and far too many

needed to pause for a moment and stop tunnelling down a

of the why, I was now left with a very important ‘what’; As in, what the hell was I going to do about Noah? And I quickly stood back up and stepped away, my brain swimming with a million different

like the jobs