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.

guy look sort of

ignored him as I went digging through his different

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

then, finally, I

sort of looks

Zac continued.

from a

reading the name

few days ago?" I slowly spun around to look at Zac, my mind now racing with

Zac...Kennedy is this guy’s last

"Noah Kennedy."

to look at the man tied up in the

thought that Miles was an underground businessman

tried to pull a fast

acquired problematic documents relating to him? But...‘clean up’.That’s how this job had been

Miles had been up to? ...Or was I sent here because he was digging into his disappearance? ...If that were

pulled out the cloth

would have agreed that talking to the future murder victim was possibly the dumbest thing I could

go, please," he

anything.Just...don’t kill

I asked,

for a moment before

"What about Miles?"

I really wasn’t in the mood for people not answering my questions plainly.I’d already had my fill of that from Kieran

eye level and sunk m y dagger into the wall directly next to his head, causing him

questions," I hissed, pulling the knife back out to point it at

myself for

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

"Howe"

brother,"

closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose, already knowing I was going to hate where this was

when was the last time

bar on Saturday.I think he’s missing," he

he is, I swear! I’ve been looking for him but it’s like he’s just disappeared....Is that why you’re here? Does this have something to do with him?

That caught my attention.

‘Business’.

held my curiosity

had already asked was already

to investigate my father’s dealings, it

a part of me wanted to

out whether or not his death sentence today

the question I knew

was Miles involved with?" I

"Rae—."

interrupting Zac

know how bad of an idea this

under the same orders

"Smuggling," Noah answered.

smuggler for that wealthy businessman in town.Gets in supplies and rare goods from all over.The best at

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

businessman?" I

looked at me as if I were

this city would be shady enough

Fuck.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

An employee.

had been a

some random criminal or a rivaling businessman.He was on the freaking

...I killed an employee*.

been given instructions to bring him in at all? Was he trying to run away or snitch on my father? ...Did he find out something he shouldn’t have? And

my father? Someone who would know better than most

for a moment and stop tunnelling down a thought process that had

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

like the jobs