Chapter Two

                                    

                                          
July 24th
                          
I awoke with a start and opened my eyes. My head was blazing with the fire of a sleep poison and I sat up with a soft groan. I was in a soft and comfortable bed. Beside me, on a table, was a lit, solitary candle. I looked around the room for the hot, dark-haired man. He was nowhere to be seen but upon further inspection of the room, I saw a body on the bed beside me. A living one. His hair was sunny blond with a short braid over his left shoulder. He was fast asleep. I stood up quietly, moving to grab a small knife on the bedside table. I edged closer, preparing to kill him.
                          
"Stab me if you want, pup, but I promise that you won't get very far." He opened just one of his eyes and the torches on the wall sparked to life. I flinched as my eyes burned against the light and shielded them, stumbling back, onto my bed. I lowered my hands slowly and squinted at him. The man laughed and sat up.
                          
Before I could muster a question, the door flew open and on instinct, I threw the knife. The newcomer calmly ducked as the knife sailed over her head. My roommate and the stranger laughed. It was a woman this time, with vibrant ice blue hair, tied back in a side ponytail over her shoulder. I could see a red and black tattoo of an eagle with its wings stretched out on the right side of her chest, just below her collarbone. At her waist, she carried a blade. A red blade. I remembered Alekai's. 
                          
Now I wish I hadn't thrown the knife. 
                          
The woman smiled, a smile that radiated joy in waves. Her blue eyes danced like fireworks. I scooted back on my bed, pressed up against the wall, unsure if I was about to die or not. 
                          
She halted at the foot of my bed and I could see that her skin was flawless, apart from the faint freckles dotting her nose. "Flax, are you terrorizing the pup?" She laughed. 
                          
"As always, Bayah. You look lovely." The man flashed her a dazzling smile, then jerked his thumb towards me as she rolled her eyes. "This is the pup from the prison."
                          
Bayah gasped, "Really?! We for sure thought you were going die in there. If Boss hadn't gotten you out when he did..." she left it there and exhaled dramatically.
                          
I gave a weak smile. That's comforting. I thought. "I'd like to know where I am," I said. 
                          
The man—Flax—spoke up, "We are, informally, known as The Red Blades. Welcome to our organization!" He grinned fully.
                          
My heart stopped beating. The Assassins? No, no, no. Not good. I looked around the room, searching for bloodstains, bodies, and torture weapons. 
                          
Bayah must have read my expression, "We aren't here to kill you, so relax. Our Boss wants a word." She laughed merrily, "Come on, I'll show you the way." the woman spun on her heel and left. Flax nodded for me to follow her. 
                          
I crawled off the bed, following closely. The knife was embedded in a wooden support beam outside the door and Bayah laughed, leaving it where it was, "Sorry about that," I mumbled. 
                          
"It's nothing. One of the Twins went berserk and almost killed Flax. So, we prepare for the worst." She laughed again, moving on. We were in a tunnel, underground of course. The walls were damp like the air, and torches lit the passage periodically as we went. It was brighter than the prison I had been living in.
                          
"This is our hideout. I apologize for our methods of capturing you, but if you don't pass the tests, we can't have you telling anyone how to get here, can we?" She was still smiling.
                          
"Tests?"
                          
"Yes, you must pass a test to enter our ranks. If you fail once, you can try again but after a second failure." She exhaled deeply, "Well let's just hope you don't fail again." She winked back at me. We passed a girl, about eighteen with orange hair and a blue whip on her belt.