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.

doesn’t this guy look sort of familiar?"

as I went digging through

rental shop...a membership

I found his driver’s

sort of looks like that

Zac continued.

a few days ago.You

I said, reading the name on

a few days ago?" I slowly spun around to look at Zac,

is this guy’s last name," I

"Noah Kennedy."

to look at the

to him? I’d thought that Miles

pull a fast one

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

in 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?

over to Noah and pulled out the cloth I’d stuffed into his

to the future murder victim was possibly the dumbest thing

let me go, please," he immediately started

anything.Just...don’t kill

to Miles?" I asked, disregarding the

blanked for a moment before becoming

"What about Miles?"

for people not answering my

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

asking the questions," I hissed, pulling the knife back out

repeat myself

huff out a ‘yes’, his head

"Howe"

m-my brother,"

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

was the last time you

on Saturday.I think he’s

I swear! I’ve been looking for him but it’s like he’s just disappeared....Is that why you’re here? Does

That caught my attention.

‘Business’.

something that held my curiosity and yet

questions I had already asked was already way

my father’s dealings, it was just to carry out his

a part of me wanted to

his death sentence today was actually because of

question I knew I shouldn’t

Miles involved with?" I

"Rae—."

interrupting Zac before he

how bad of an

under the same

"Smuggling," Noah answered.

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

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

I

me as if I were

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

Fuck.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

An employee.

had been

wasn’t some random criminal or a rivaling businessman.He

...I killed an employee*.

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 those

to betray aman as powerful as my father? Someone who would know better than most

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 thoughts as

wasn’t like the jobs I’d had