Taris just growled at Envy’s words and his eyes flashed with an intense luminescence briefly. His already strained self-control snapped and his dagger flashed out, carving a gouge in the stone more than a foot long. For just a moment his skin looked the color of reddish ash and the image of a wolf’s head appeared over the assassin’s face. Then it was gone and he collapsed to his knees, “Envy, if you are sure about that…. I can’t leave her with them any longer. I need to go now, Envy.” His voice trembled in pain.

Envy shook his head. “If you go now assassin, you will die, and she’ll never get out. It hurts me just as much to hold you back, but I’m no fool. I need you to get her out, because I’m not strong enough on my own, or with anyone else. I know you better than you think, Taris, you revel in the violence of killing. I can see it in your face when you hold your blades.”

Taris slammed a fist into the ground, but the Kartaian continued on, “No Taris, listen. She is strong, they will try to break her spirit but she [i]is[/i] strong. It will take time. I… don’t like to think about what they might be doing, and just hearing her is more torturous than I think actually seeing it. But it is for that reason that I need you to be healed before we attempt this.”

The assassin’s body sagged in defeat, his face a mask of anguish, as Envy’s words took root and the taller elf felt a moment of pity for him. “Damn it all to the Void, Envy, I know you are right. And I hate you for it right now, you know?” Taris told him. His other fist hit the ground, “Fine, but Russel and Hadhen aren’t fit for this as they stand. I told them I’d train with them, but if I push them too hard I could leave them too exhausted to fight with us. Or worse. It’s just not enough time. Where is the other guy that left the wheat in my pocket, have you sent for him yet?”

Envy’s brow furrowed. “I have, but there’s been no word back yet,” he paused with a thought, “How long do you think your eyes will need before they are healed, assassin?”
“I think three, maybe four days, given their improvement so far.”
“I will help train them, and find Ruli, then. Get some food, Cainne will see to your needs. I… need to finish with this spell.”

Taris stood and looked at the tall elf a moment more before walking out. He knew the other was right about everything, but that still didn’t make it easy to stomach. After eating, he trained with the others working them until they could barely stand, and then training himself even more. It became the routine for the next two days. Wake, train the others, train while they rested, train them more, eat, train, rest, train, heal, sleep.

On the third day Taris woke early. His sight was much improved, another day would see it completely restored. But he felt uneasy, he worried about Aera. Every minute without her was pure torture for him, and he was terrified he might be too late. He needed to kill, and he’d promised an assassination in exchange for his freedom.

The Erris Estate was a dozen miles outside the city, but a quick jaunt through the shadows brought him to the manor grounds. The sun had not yet risen and the place was still fairly quiet. A scry through a nearby shadow located the target, an overweight middle-aged man. Taris decided to forego the darkness and nimbly scaled the wall by hand to the third floor balcony. He picked the locks on the glass door and swung it open, nearly laughing that the well-oiled hinges were nearly silent.

Taris padded across the room to where the man slept on the bed, a young woman still in her teens lay beside the Marquis staring off into nothing, wearing naught but a thin shift that revealed more than it hid. He had seen the same look in broken whores outside of seedy brothels in many towns, and the sight always disturbed him. Focusing on the Marquis, he clapped a hand over the man’s mouth and hauled him upright. The assassin conjured black flames around his body and gave his voice a demonic edge, “So sorry to disturb your rest, sir. But I’ve been made a better offer to end your contracts, at the source.”

His dagger flashed out, the pommel stunning the nobleman’s vocal chords. The assassin gagged him for good measure, and painfully began his work.

Soon enough, the sun rose over the horizon just as Taris stepped into shadow. Left behind in the room, the Marquis’ skin hung from the bedposts, his flayed body pieced apart at every major joint was scattered over the room. And still the broken girl lay on the bed, oblivious even when the maid’s scream roused the manor to a frenzy…