Someone's Got A Death Wish

Sasha had been taking a nap against the walls of that magic school when he heard the scream. He jolted at the sound, then realized it wasn’t in his vicinity, as he’d thought at first. The scent of copper hit his nose next, and then he saw the young girl standing over the body… the killer? There was nobody else in the area.

He took a moment to determine which eye this was. A shoreline, water, the fresh scent in the air… the lake. His heart pounding, he got up at once, and set off quickly towards the source.

He ignored the grumbles of those he walked into along the way, and watched out of the corner of his eye as the girl cleaned away her victim’s body with a brutal efficiency. First the body was thrown into the lake, then what little blood was on the ground was wiped away… before he knew it, there was no evidence that any death had happened at all. Who was she? How had she taken down someone so much larger than her?

He wasn’t sure if she would allow him to ask those questions, but he could teleport away if he was truly in danger, so he felt no fear as he approached the lake, then caught sight of the girl, still standing in the vicinity.

He took a moment to slow his heart, then spoke. “Hello. Do you know if the fishing around here is good?”

His eyes were immediately drawn to the key in the girl’s hand. Who did it belong to? The dead man? Had he been killed for this key? And her hand was gloved, of course. He couldn’t help but approve of how well she had done. Even though he knew she had just killed, even the scent of blood was all but gone, to anyone who didn’t have as sharp a nose as him.

He watched her as she went. How could he keep her here, without coming close enough to be killed? “Actually, I don’t fish, as should be obvious by my complete lack of gear.”

“Do you normally wait for people while holding their keys?”

There. He’d caught her attention. …And now she clearly thought he was a threat. Good! Maybe not very good. Still, his day had just gotten much more interesting. “No. I only ask so many questions when confronted with interesting people.” He stood up straight, an intrigued glint in his eye. “If I was here to apprehend you I wouldn’t have come unarmed, though keep in mind if you try to kill me I might decide to tell someone. I can – leave. Very quickly, if need be. And I’m a bit difficult to find.”

“I didn’t get to see the scene as well as I would have liked. How did you get rid of the blood so quickly? I can barely even smell it anymore.”

She was a professional, to be sure. He wondered how many people she had killed so far. How quickly could she get rid of him? He focused on home, on the jacket draped over his chair. It was the last thing he wanted to do, but if he was going to die otherwise he wanted to have it in mind. “No, it doesn’t seem like anyone was killed here. It’s because the scene wasn’t obvious that I took an interest.”

He sighed softly. “There’s no need to accuse you of something we both know. I was just hoping I could have an interesting chat with a brilliant young woman. Is that so wrong?”

She’d given up on hiding her guilt, he saw. Good. That made things more interesting.

He shifted his weight slightly as he thought. “I didn’t think too far about it. You did something interesting, so I came.”

“But now that you ask…” Though his poise was relaxed he was ready to flee at any moment. “I suppose I would like to know why you would need that key. It’s not a car key from what I can tell. A residence? But you look like a student, meaning you have a residence at school – this all implies you have something to hide there, or perhaps even that you want a separate base of operations. I suppose it could be not for a residence at all, but something else of value to you.”

“Mostly,” he said finally, “I’d like to know just how many organizations are targeting the Manta Carlos Islands, and whether or not Starlight’s administration is stupid enough not to notice. It’s been interesting to watch. You can carry on.”

There. The gun. Once again he admired her efficiency in bringing it out. He honestly couldn’t see where she’d been carrying it.

“And you know I wouldn’t have pushed you this far if I couldn’t escape before the bullet reached me. But go ahead and shoot if you must – just keep in mind that so far I’ve had no reason to stop you, and if you try to kill me you’ll only encourage me to do further research.”

“A hunt gets more interesting with a fight, after all.”

“My apologies. I just thought you’d like to know.”

And then the trigger was pulled. She was quicker than he’d expected – he was more used to the sort of person that enjoyed a good gloat before a killing. Still, he quickly disappeared – but not before the bullet hit him.

It dropped, bloodied, to the ground, and was the only sign anyone had been there at all.