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.

look sort of familiar?" I heard

him as I went digging through his

a grocery store reward one...a rental shop...a membership to

I found his driver’s

looks like that

Zac continued.

from a few days ago.You

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 with

this guy’s last

"Noah Kennedy."

we both then turned to look at the man tied up

Miles was an

who'd tried to pull a fast one over

acquired problematic documents relating to

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

and pulled out the cloth I’d stuffed

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

go, please,"

do anything.Just...don’t kill

to Miles?" I asked, disregarding

for a

"What about Miles?"

the mood for people not answering my questions plainly.I’d already had my

y dagger into the wall directly next to his head, causing him to jump in

hissed, pulling the knife back out to

myself for

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

"Howe"

m-my brother," he

of my nose, already knowing I was going to hate where this

was the last time you heard

on Saturday.I think he’s missing," he

like he’s just disappeared....Is that why you’re here?

That caught my attention.

‘Business’.

held my curiosity and yet I knew I

I had already asked was already way

wasn't to investigate my father’s dealings, it was just to carry

part of

whether or not his death sentence today

I asked the question

business was Miles involved

"Rae—."

interrupting Zac before he could stop

an idea this was, just as I

also under the same orders

"Smuggling," Noah answered.

rare goods from all over.The best

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

businessman?" I asked

if I were stupid

in this city would

Fuck.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

An employee.

had been a

wasn’t some random criminal or a

...I killed an employee*.

been given instructions to bring him in at all? Was he trying to run away or snitch on my

better than

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

hell was I going to do about Noah? And I quickly stood back up and stepped away, my brain

like the jobs I’d