Sasha The Assassin Part 6

Three times the blades pressed into her neck. It was the distress sign Lord Brown had never used before in Sasha’s whole life but now she was feeling it. She remembered him joking that if he ever needed to use the call that she might well decide to run the other way since the threat might be not worth dealing with. Sasha recalled his grim words and armed herself and ran to her horse. Lord Brown must be saved since if he died whoever killed him would almost assuredly find the device that controls her collar and could kill her with the press of a button.

                As she came upon his estate she saw dead bodies on the grounds, servants having been butchered with their bowels ripped out. Whatever person or persons were involved in this attack they sure were not being subtle about what they were doing. Sasha entered the back door of the building and saw Pablo’s dead body sprawled on the carpet she grimaced as his lightless eyes staring at her as she walked into the room.

                Down the hallway there were yet more dead bodies, throats slashed, torso’s run through, everything was professional and effective, she knew those behind this assault knew what they were doing. “Sasha? Are you here yet my dear?” a man’s voice called out in the distance. Sasha drew her sai and braced herself for combat.

                “You’re why I’m here Sasha.” The voice continued. “Lord Brown is the only man left alive, and he’s alive only because I fear that if I killed him it would have trigged something in your slave collar to kill you. I took the contract to finally meet you, to finally kill you.” The voice finished. Sasha felt the man shadow step and turned to where he’d appear. He popped from the shadows some ten feet away from her.

                “I was supposed to wear that collar you know.” The man said with a smile. He was pale like Sasha with light blonde hair and green eyes, she didn’t know if his features were a glamour or not. “You don’t remember me do you? You don’t recall big brother Benjamin do you?” he asked her. Sasha backed up a step at the sound of the name. “Yes Sasha. I’m your beloved brother.” He said with an acid tone. “Well not really, because I was supposed to be Lord Brown’s slave. Mommy and Daddy thought he’d want a big strong boy to be his slave and when they had me they were so happy since they knew they had paid our debt to the Browns. They never loved me or cared for me, when Jenna arrived a few years later she got all the love and attention, and you, you were the most beloved of all.”

                Sasha couldn’t believe the man’s story, but she knew from her study of people that at the very least he believed every word he said. “When Lord Brown took you it broke mother. She wailed for weeks on end, she went from not loving me to hating me. It was my fault I wasn’t good enough to be Lord Brown’s slave, it was my fault her beloved Sasha was taken from her. Then I heard the tales of the assassin’s school and how that’s what Lord Brown wanted. So I ran away from home and I found a group of assassins and I had them train me, teach me their arts, till finally I could meet the little bitch that ruined my life and kill her.”

                As he said it he charged at her, in his hands were two short swords. Sasha parried his swings with her sai and looked for openings to counter attack. Benjamin’s speed was impressive and he kept her on the defensive. Sasha shadow stepped and he was right upon her again continuing to hack away at her and forcing her to defend herself.

                “You’re over-rated” he sneered. “This is going to be easier than I thought.” Right as he finished his boast Sasha managed to leg sweep him and sent him crashing to his back. Sasha brought her sai down in a stabbing motion and Benjamin barely rolled out of the way. “Good one sister.” He smirked and then he threw a dagger at her. Sasha side stepped it and the next one. She felt him shadowstepping behind her and jumped away from the spot, when she reappeared a knife was flying at her head and she barely had time to react and deflect it away from her face.

                “Slow, to slow.” He said, he charged at her again the two exchanging thrusts and parries as they battled in the darkness. Sasha ducked under a swing at her head and lunged at him with a stab at his chest but found the blow deflected harmlessly away. “Haven’t fought an assassin have you?” he asked. “All I’ve been doing is fighting people like you, knowing their moves, understanding what they can do, how they’ll react. I’m sorry to say sister but you’re pretty disappointing.” He finished.

                Sasha didn’t reply but she knew that she’d never fought anyone who could have even threatened her before this fight. Her whole life had been killing easy targets or merely the threat of her black cloak was enough to prevent anyone was giving her trouble. Now she was in a fight to the death and she had no idea if she was going to survive it.

                Benjamin brought both his swords down upon her sai and began to try to push her arms down. Sasha decided now was the time to see if the deep earth iron was just a sales pitch or not. She twisted her wrists and started driving the guards of her sai into the sides of the swords. “Really? Trying to break my swords with your gardening tools?” Benjamin scoffed. “The Champions paid top dollar for these blades, steel refolded countless times to the point where it’s indestructible. Your silly little weapons will shatter like glass.”

                Right as he finished the word glass the sword in his right hand snapped clean in two. Benjamin stumbled forward and Sasha reacted just in time to drive her sai into his stomach. She felt the blade dig into his body and he fell into her, his head resting on her shoulder. At that instant she felt his teeth trying to find purchase in her neck but her slave collar prevented him from being able to doing any damage. She stepped away from him and in a swift motion brought the sai out of his belly and into the bottom of his jaw, through the roof of his mouth and into his brain.

                As his eyes started to glass over she smirked at him. “I guess there’s a reason mother loved me most.” She said as she pulled the blade out and watched him fall. Right after he hit the ground she drove the sai through his heart to make certain of his death. “Lord Brown!” she shouted. “It’s over, I’ve killed the assassin the king sent for you.” And then she felt the blade of her collar hitting her neck, four times it grazed her flesh.

                “How many times did I trigger the blade?” Lord Brown asked nervously.

                “Four.” Sasha replied. She knew lying could have meant her death given the panic her master was in.

                Lord Brown rushed from his chambers. “Sasha! You saved me. I can not thank you enough. This is open war the king has declared on us. All my servants and staff are dead, thank the Gods my children were not here. Armies must be gathered. I must contact the Green’s at once about this. The day of reckoning is coming soon Sasha, you must stay with me till it arrives. We will defeat them Sasha. They will pay.” He said with his voice regaining it’s confidence as he spoke. Sasha looked down at her dead brother a man who spent his whole life obsessed with killing her and now having failed. She looked at Lord Brown and thought of his obsession and how she was positive he was to fail also. The big difference was Lord Brown’s failure was going to get her killed.