Life Begins Anew

Sara still deals with the finding the traitor. The Master Assassin flashback is important to the story

Chapter 7: The Master Assassin Part IV

Flashback continues..

Sara closed the master assassin’s book, leaned forward and pinched her temples. Reading about betrayers and how to deal with them had given her a headache. The book was very specific about how to deal with betrayers.

She began the trip down to her rarely used quarters, which was located in one of the oldest areas of the guild. As she got older and more tainted, she found and maintained a residence elsewhere. No one was the wiser, as her mark told her when one of her brothers would have need of her.

Standing at the entrance way, she looked at a door just down the hall. That door led to the “Room of Regret” She shivered as she felt a sense of foreboding. Now that was also an emotion she had not felt in some time. She shrugged it off. She bet that the room knew it was activated and was just doing its job. After all, one should not have feelings of happiness and joy upon entering it.

She grabbed her wand, and muttered the incantations to allow her in. She really didn’t need the wand, but forced habit made her use it outside her personal residence, as she wanted to hide her true power.

She entered and repeated the incantation in the book. A key with a skull head appeared in front of her. She then saw the door that had not been there previously. A skull was burned into the wood. She fingered the skull as she unlocked the door.

It was at first the size of a closet, but expanded as she stepped in. There was only one robe and accouterments hanging on the wall, and they matched the ones described in the book. They were black. It was almost as if the cloak sucked up the light around it. She put them on and then put on the knee high leather boots that were on the floor next to the hanging robe. She felt old blood crack as she pulled up the boot. She then found a long silver chain with a silver skull with ruby eyes hanging on a peg. She placed the chain over her head and immediately she felt powerful dark magic wash over her. She fell to her knees and gasped as it felt like the last of air was leaving her body. She slowly stood back up, shaking. She remained still until the shakiness passed. What was that she wondered? The book had not mentioned anything about that.

Sara grabbed up the last remaining item and that was a leather pouch. She opened it up and pulled out a leather case containing numerous instruments of torture. She felt the self cleaning/self sharpening charms that were placed on them. She was glad of that because no normal blade would remain sharp with what she was going to be required to do.

Oh, she has been involved with her share of dark magic, torture, and being the main implement in the creation and extension of physical and psychological torture. She was actually quite good at it. What The Master Assassins book required her to do went beyond anything that she had ever been involved with.

She then noticed a shelf above the robe peg and took down 3 glasses and a decanter full of black liquid. The glasses and decanter also had a skull with ruby eyes etched into them. She exited the room and made preparations to meet her two sergeant at arms.

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Bootstray and Slightly arrived at the apparition point within the guild. As they were walking toward the meeting room, they felt their master’s presence within their mind. They looked at each other with astonishment and apprehension. They had been told to meet in the master assassin’s quarters. That was unheard of. No one but the master assassin has access to that part of the guild.

“Slightly, you got any of that firewhiskey left over?” Bootstray asked.

“Sure mate, but I’m taking a tot myself first” replied Slightly as he dug the bottle of firewhiskey out of his robes and drank down a generous amount.

Bootstray grabbed the bottle and drank down the goodly amount left in it. He dropped the bottle, shattering it.

Slightly jumped and muttered “I feel like I’m walking toward my impending death.” Bootstray silently agreed.

They grabbed the lit torches and walked toward the entrance to the oldest parts of the guild. The door opened and they walked down the steps and into the hall. After a few moments of walking, they stopped at the entrance to the master’s quarters. They looked at each other, took a deep breath and knocked.

“Enter” Sara replied stiffly. She had taken off her mask and was waiting for them to enter the room. Only DEATH saw how she truly looked. Having the mask off and un-glamoured made her uncomfortable.

Hesitating at first, the assassins walked in her quarters and noticed her maskless face.

Not Good! This usually meant death for those who see the master assassins face. Bootstray knew that she was pleased with their last mission, and was desperately trying to figure out what he had done. Slightly just stood there. Fear now ate at the assassins, locking them in place, their eyes staring at the ground.

“Bootstray! Slightly! Remove your mask now!” The master assassin commanded in a cold voice.

They removed their mask and went to kneel, but she just shook her head, gesturing for them to stand up. She silently observed them.

Bootstray looked 30 and had hazel eyes and laugh lines. He was tall and strapping. His hair was light brown, and like his beard, short clipped. Sara had no doubt that he preferred both to be longer, but held back due to the profession that he was in. He was handsome and could without a doubt lay any witch that he decided to pursue when not on the guilds business. She glanced down at the picture in his assassin’s book. He had not changed much in five years.

Slightly was completely opposite. Homely would have been a compliment. He was of average height and build. He looked about the same age as Bootstray. His face was pockmarked and had a ferrety nose and dark black hair; also shortly clipped. Slightly had not changed much over the course of 5 years either.

As she reflected on this, her eyes widened in surprise as she noticed the one thing in common with the men. They were very familiar with one another. No other pair of assassins had a relationship with other guild members to that degree. They undoubtedly grew up together. If that fact had been known, either both of them would be dead, or one accepted and one put to death. Surely knowing one another would have been considered a liability to the guild.

“You knew each other growing up didn’t you.” Sara flatly asked. She now knew why the guild would choose them as her sergeant at arms. She was closer to these wizards than any with the exception of one other in her guild.

Slightly bowed his head... “Yes Master. I wanted to join for obvious reasons” moving his hand around his body. “Bootstray was the only one who would ever talk to me. He would not let me join alone. He was accepted 6 months after me to avoid suspicion. The last mission was the first time that we worked together, so you would have not noticed our thoughts and behavior before.”

“Well planned Slightly. Your secret would have indeed remained uncovered if not for that Dolohov incident. That was what made me realize it. You complement one another well and are a team. This guild selects the Sergeant at Arms to serve the master assassin. It chooses those amongst us who have true loyalty to me and the guild. The magic in this building knew your secret. If you were a liability you would have been killed long ago.”

“Look at me!” Sara growled. They looked up and studied the witch.

Holy shite! The wizards thought silently as one. She sounded a young witch, but her face was so disfigured by scars and burns. Her nose had obviously been broken many times. Why hadn’t the witch sought out a healer or performed healing magic on herself?

“You have been most abused, master.” Bootstray softly stated.

“Yes.” She then got her wand out and muttered an incantation. Her appearance changed. “This is what I would really look like if not for the scars. If I am out in public and show my face, this is what they would see.”

Slightly thought she looked about the age of 27 or 28. Not breathtakingly beautiful, but attractive in her own way. With her hair, her voice, and those lips, she could catch a fair shake of wizards

Sara smirked and said out loudly “Thank you Slightly.”

Bootstray looked at him with questioning eyes. “

“Do not worry about it” she said removing the glamour. “The ceremony we must perform states no outer magic will be used. No shield charms, no transfiguration or anything along those lines. She picked up two books whose title was Rites of The Sergeant At Arms. Handing the books to the wizards she told them that she was sure they would figure it all out.

She acciod a bottle of firewhiskey and three glasses, filling each of them with a generous amount. She grabbed hers and slammed it down, and poured another. She began to examine the amber liquid. She could see the wizards look at one another as they settled down to read their book.

After an hour of silently observing them, she noticed their eyes up from the book. They were glaring, and she could see a bit of fear in them as well.

“I will leave you gentlemen to discuss the situation at hand.” Sara stood up and put the mask on and exited the room, heading back to the meeting area. The wizards began to talk.

Bootstray and Slightly’s discussion:

Bootstray: “What the hell have you gotten me into Slightly?!”

Slightly: “Don’t blame me. I did not want you to join up just for me.”

Bootstray: “So, this must be the fates testing our mortality and placing us in our victims’ views.”

Slightly: “There is no such thing as fate. Only destiny and you can control that”

Bootstray: “Do you feel in control right now? I don’t. I thought the sergeant at arms job was just a title. I mean, the others before us have never had to do anything. You can’t turn the job down.”

Slightly: “Do you know why she greeted us unmasked?”

Bootstray: Hollow chuckle “Of Course! It was to get us to accept. I’ve a feeling she does not trust to many of our brothers at this moment. The book clearly gives us a choice to turn this ceremony down, leaving the master assassin to perform the ceremony alone. This would likely kill her.”

Slightly: “And…...”

Bootstray: “For a smart wizard, you are amazingly obtuse at times. She revealed herself to us to force us to accept this. If we decide not to, she has no recourse but to kill us according to our bylaws. Really clever plan, that.”

Slightly: “I really don’t like the mention of darkest bonding.”

Bootstray: “Me neither, mate. What choice do we have? Besides, did you notice her eyes?”

Slightly: “Yeah, they looked dull as if she stays in a continuous hell. Breaks my heart, it does.”

Bootstray: “She’s been the Master Assassin for 17 years, longer than any other master in the history of the guild. With the exception of Jacobs, she is the 2nd longest serving assassin in our current group.”

Slightly: “And her scars. I don’t care how long you have been in the guild. You have scars like that, you should be dead.”

Bootstray: “Hell’s with it. I never planned on living to a ripe old age when I took the knife. I’ll support the witch.”

Slightly: “Aye, me as well. Thoughtful of her though, leaving that firewhiskey. Can’t end up all bad.”

Both assassins laughed and finished the bottle before pressing their wand to the assassins mark. They felt her presence in their mind.

“What is your answer to my request?” she thought to them.

“Our knives are yours.” They thought back.

"See the door with the skull? Inside are your robes. Make sure you put on all the accouterments. I will meet you there.”

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A/N Next Chapter will be dark with torture/death. I warn you now. The Master Assassin flashback is important to overall story.

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