Chapter 9: Assassin Deal
Everything was going smoothly until it wasn’t.
Late in the night, with only Raiden and Ash left in the library, the sword moved in practiced arcs. Each swoosh pierced the silence until the inevitable happened.
A dead silence settled. The wind grew still.
Raiden stepped back from the windows, both hands finding the hilt of his sword as his heart began to quicken. Something stirred uneasily in his chest. Ash crouched before him, back legs bent, a low growl rumbling from her throat as she fixed her gaze on the window.
A figure stepped from the shadows. That smirk, that presence—Levi. The shadow of Noor had found them again.
"You know you can’t win... just put down the sword." He rested a hand on his waist while Raiden narrowed his eyes, staring coldly at that unbothered expression.
"How sure are you about that?..."
"Stupid as ever," he scoffed. "I didn’t come to fight this time." Both hands went up in mock surrender.
"Shame. I was looking forward to returning the favor." Raiden’s knuckles whitened around the hilt.
"I came for the creature." His gaze shifted to Ash with cold interest while she growled at him. "That thing isn’t ordinary. I want it—and the book."
Raiden’s smirk was razor-thin. "Such bold claims for someone who couldn’t defeat a number 9." The humor died from his face, voice dropping to ice. "You don’t touch Ash."