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 familiar?"

I went digging through his

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

finally, I found his

sort of looks like

Zac continued.

from a few

said, reading the

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

is this guy’s last name," I

"Noah Kennedy."

then turned to look at the man tied up

connection to him? I’d thought that Miles was an underground businessman or some sort of

pull a fast

have acquired problematic documents relating to him?

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

Noah and pulled out the cloth I’d stuffed

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

go, please,"

do anything.Just...don’t

related to Miles?" I asked,

face blanked for a

"What about Miles?"

my questions plainly.I’d already had

m y dagger into the wall directly

I hissed, pulling the knife back

repeat myself for the last

out a ‘yes’, his

"Howe"

m-my brother,"

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

last time you

never showed up at the bar on Saturday.I

is, 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’.

that held my curiosity and yet I knew

had already asked

my father’s dealings,

of me wanted

out whether or not his death sentence today was actually

so I asked the question I

Miles involved with?"

"Rae—."

Zac

of an

he was also under the same orders

"Smuggling," Noah answered.

goods from all over.The best at

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

businessman?" I asked

looked at me as if I were

of course.Who else in this city would be

Fuck.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

An employee.

had been a goddamn

wasn’t some random criminal or a rivaling

...I killed an employee*.

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 in this city what

moment and stop tunnelling down a

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 for what I

wasn’t like the jobs I’d