In the Empire of Agrium, 73 miles from the border:

  Andes held his weapon, nervous.

  He had only been an assassin for two weeks, and wasn't used to it yet. Thankfully, today, all he had to do was stay back and watch the rest of the team handle it.

  The night was dark, and the streetlights, lit by a flame, flickered, casting strange shadows over him, and the person behind him, his leader, Hames.

  Hames stepped forward, putting a hand on Andes' shoulder. “Don't worry. Today should be easy. We're just supposed to send a message to some noble. The preparation is just insurance.”

  Andes nodded, though the words did little to reassure him.

  I can't always be a coward. Or I'll just end up running and embarrassing myself, or worse, get someone killed.

  He steeled himself, holding his spear higher, hoping to present confidence.

  “That’s more like it.” Hames said, as he stepped past, before he dropped off of the roof of the building to speak with the other assassins, who were dueling to prepare for a possible fight. They halted the fight as he stepped forward, and spoke with Dansen, one of the two duelists.

  The other duelist, Sylae, jumped up onto the roof.

  Andes turned towards her, surprised. Sylae stepped closer. “So, how is your second mission so far?”

  “Well, a little nerve-wracking.” He said, and she laughed.

  “Don’t worry. Hames has been doing this for years. He should be able to keep you safe.”

  “Yeah.” Andes said.

  Sylae fidgeted for a moment, then spoke. “So, after this mission’s done, do you want to go eat somewhere? Together?”

  “Uh, sure!” Andes said, a little taken aback.

  “Great!” Sylae said. She smiled at Andes, and he shifted his weight between his feet awkwardly.

  “This is unbearable.” A voice said from behind. Andes turned towards it, seeing a fifth person standing there.

  “Chena! Don’t scare us like that!” Sylae exclaimed. “How long have you been listening to us?”

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  “Long enough for it to be painful. Now come on. I have to talk with Hames and you should listen in.” She said as she began walking towards the two assassins speaking by the ground.

  She jumped off of the building, and Andes and Sylae followed her.

  Chena walked up to Hames, Andes and Sylae joining the group a moment later.

  Chena spoke. “I saw our target entering the city. He looked like he was trying to be quiet about it.”

  “Good.” Hames said. “He’s going the way we want?”

  “Yes.” Chena said.

  “Alright. Dansen, get in your building. Sylae, get in the back spot. If he runs, I need you to be there. Chena, you know your job.” The assassins nodded, and moved to prepare for their work, and Hames pulled Andes aside.

  “For some reason, I’m getting a bad feeling about this. And my feelings are rarely wrong. We can’t back out of this, but I want you to stay to the side to be safe. The others should be able to handle themselves in a crisis, but you’re new. Be careful.”

  Andes nodded, nervousness returning, but he obeyed, hiding in a building off to the side, watching the street.

  The other assassins were already prepared, and Hames jumped up to a building, then drew his knife.

  Before long, a hooded man stepped into view, and Andes’ hand tightened on the spear reflexively.

  Hames dropped behind the man, raising a hand to take hold of his hood, but the man spoke.

  “Assassins. Strange move to take.” He turned towards Hames. “Confirming your target, I presume?”

  From his vantage point, Andes had a better view of the man’s face, and shuddered, seeing the sheer indifference in his eyes.

  Hames hesitated, and the man reached up, grasping his hood, before he threw it at Hames’ feet.

  “Does that help?” The man asked, his gaze betraying his apathy for the situation. At most he seemed slightly inconvenienced by the threat of assassins, a threat that most people would consider lethal and attempt to escape from.

  The lantern nearby flared, and Andes saw in detail the red cloak the man wore. A golden clasp held it together, the pattern of a bat at its center. His boots were dusty, and rubble stuck to his clothing in certain places.

  “Oh god.” Hames said, and Dansen panicked, shooting an arrow at the man in the red cloak’s head.

  He stood, not turning to see the arrow, and Andes hoped for the easy end of the source of terror that plagued Hames.

  That hope was shattered, just as the arrow was, when the man raised a finger, and the arrow exploded.

  The man turned to Hames, ignoring Dansen. “I assume that you’re the leader? In that case, you should die first.”

  Suddenly a wall exploded outwards, and Chena dashed forwards, moving to attack the man.

  Without turning, he raised a hand, then flicked it in a sideways motion towards her.

  Still dozens of steps away, Chena died instantly, and her two halves fell to the ground.

  Another arrow shot towards the man, and Hames roared in anger at Chena’s death, punching towards the man’s skull.

  The arrow halted its flight midair, and the man, the monster, raised a finger towards Hames. Suddenly, Hames’ arm was missing, gone in a mist of red, and he slipped backwards.

  The arrow reversed, flying more than five times as fast as it had flown towards the monster in red, and as Dansen stood there, not realizing it, it struck his skull, and his body fell to the ground.

  Sylae left her building, moving to run, and the monster simply flicked a hand backwards, and she fell, a deep cut appearing on her stomach.

  Andes looked in horror as the monster stepped forward, and Hames lifted his gaze despite his pain, meeting Andes’ eyes. He shook his head no, before it, too, disappeared in a flash of red mist.

  Andes held his chest, feeling his heart beat faster than he thought possible. It felt as if it would tear itself out of his chest with the force, as the monster turned.

  The monster stepped forwards, towards Sylae, who, despite her deep wound, was still breathing.

  Andes’ body froze, and his hands held the spear so harshly that it cracked, splinters digging into his hands. He wanted to shout at the monster, run away, scream, but his body refused to obey.

  The monster raised his arm slowly, to extinguish the last ember of Sylae’s life, before Andes’ body moved without his knowing.

  He threw himself forward, between the monster and Sylae, holding his spear pointed towards the man in a defensive pose, despite the futility of his actions.

  The monster raised his hand to deliver the blow that would tear Andes’ body and extinguish Sylae’s life, but he hesitated, looking more closely at Andes’ face, before he lowered his hand.

  He turned away, then jumped, immediately vanishing from Andes’ range of view.

  Andes stood there, confused by his continued existence, before he remembered Sylae.

  He dropped the spear to the ground, and knelt to examine the bloody wound on her stomach. Even with how hardy people like she and Andes were, it could be fatal.

  Andes quickly tore off part of his shirt, and wrapped it carefully around her torso.

  He picked her up gently, and began to run to find help. Afterwards, he could only recall one last thought before the evening blurred together.

  Perhaps being a coward isn’t too bad. Running seems like a wise choice.