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

I went digging through his different

shop...a membership to a

I found his driver’s

looks like

Zac continued.

from a few days ago.You

I said, reading the name on the

the guy from the clean-up a few days ago?" I slowly spun around to look at Zac, my mind now racing

guy’s last name,"

"Noah Kennedy."

we both then turned to look at the man tied up in

I’d thought that Miles was an underground

who'd tried to pull a

to him? But...‘clean

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

Noah and pulled out the cloth I’d

have agreed that talking to the future murder victim was possibly the dumbest thing I could ever do...but I felt we were

me go, please," he immediately started

anything.Just...don’t

Miles?" I asked,

face blanked for a moment before

"What about Miles?"

really wasn’t in the mood for people not answering my questions plainly.I’d already had

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

hissed, pulling the knife back out to

repeat myself for the

but managed to huff out a ‘yes’, his head quickly bobbing up and

"Howe"

brother," he

eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose, already knowing

when was the last

never showed up at the bar on Saturday.I

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

That caught my attention.

‘Business’.

that held my curiosity and yet I

questions I had already asked was

dealings,

part of me

his death sentence today was actually because of

the question I

business was Miles

"Rae—."

I repeated, interrupting Zac before he could stop

bad of an idea this was, just as I

the

"Smuggling," Noah answered.

goods from all

I should have stopped.No, I *definitely* shouldn’t have

I

as if I

city would be shady enough to need

Fuck.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

An employee.

had been a goddamn

criminal or a rivaling businessman.He

...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 those documents allegedly pertaining to the

harmful, then what could 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

needed to pause for a moment and stop tunnelling down a thought process that had no end in

As in, what the hell was I going to do about Noah? And I quickly stood back up and stepped away,

the