The King's Traitor

Chapter 6 - Friday the 13th

Kira's POV

    I stood in my walk in closet overlooking my options for clothing again as I had been for the last hour. If I was going to be fighting I need something flexible that would allow me to move. Though I was going to a tavern so I needed something at least a bit formal. I was thinking about going for a dress that would show off my tribal tattoos. Perhaps that would keep the catcalls away, but was it supposed to be cold?

    Beep! Beep!

    I sighed walking back into my room and picking up my phone off the creamy wood dresser. I typed in my password and opened it up. The background was a picture taken of Keirstan, Adrian, and I just two days ago after our dinner date at Auburito's. 

    1 New Message From: Keirstan Hathoway

    Hey I'm almost ready to leave I'll meet you at The Abyss in 45 minutes!

    I swore as I sprinted back to my closet throwing out outfit, after outfit, after outfit. Why did my sister have to be so damn punctual!? I eventually settled on wearing a corset with hidden pockets from knives, and in extreme cases poisons like cyanide, hemlock, ricin, and many others. I laced up the back with a sigh, not as flexible as I'd hoped, but the weaponry I wanted would at least be there. I picked up a simple off the shoulder dress from my closet. I'd forgotten that I'd owned, it was a shade of blue that perfectly match the icicles I called eyes. It didn't have any designs but went to my knees and was a flow type of style. At least if I had to run the skirt wouldn't get caught in my legs. I slipped on a pair on ice blue pumps with a low heel and walked to my vanity. I left my hair down since it's slight curl look nice, but left a tie around my wrist in case I needed it out of my way. I dripped some gold jewelry on, along with gold eye shadow, and dark red lipstick. Looking at my reflection with a smile I realized I was done so I made my way out the door. 

    30 minutes later I arrived outside of The Abyss. I had been amazed at how few people had been on the streets tonight. I guess everyone really did take this whole Friday the 13th superstition seriously. I guess I had never really took the superstition stuff seriously. I could scientifically prove that Demon activity rose on this night, but that didn't necessarily mean that you were going to get attacked. I knew tonight I'd have to be more careful than usual. Joshua was still on his way back from Eminence, so while he knew what I was doing tonight he wouldn't actually be back until tomorrow morning. If something were to go down I'd be all on my own. 

    Even though the streets were crawling with city guards, a few people, and let's face it more than likely some Demons. I knew that the tavern would more than likely be packed. People, as long as they were around others and in a publicly crowded space were less likely to be scared. Plus alcohol was called liquid courage for a reason. And hell I was definitely going to need some. 

    I walked into the bar and noticed infinitely more people than there had been at lunch two days ago. There were men and women of all shapes and sizes. All the tables were packed, and a few tables had been moved in order to accommodate a small band that was playing lively music. More than likely trying to keep the overall mood up. All the tables were packed and the tavern reeked even more so than last time of ale and stale bodies. I glanced around knowing almost certainly that Keirstan had beat me here. I finally located her at the bar talking to Archer. She was sipping on some wine. I knew with her refined tastes that Archer wouldn't be able to get her to drink the ale even if her life depended on it. 

    I sauntered my way over ignoring that men that stared at me with lust in their eyes, women with jealousy. If only they could know that I wouldn't, and would never be interested in what they were offering. Keirstan looked up with a smile patting the barstool next to her. I easily pulled it out, sat down, and draped my left leg over my right. 

    "I wondered if you were ever going to get here" Keirstan said over the music.

    "Well I hope Archer kept you entertained. Beauty like this doesn't come out within five minutes" I said flipping my hair. All three of us chuckled slightly as Archer set an ale down in front of me. I wasn't really looking forward to drinking it, but I needed to keep up appearances. I know Keirstan felt the same way as the corner of her mouth curled slightly into a sneer. 

    "Well I need to make my rounds, but Jayce isn't here yet. I'll tell you when he is" Archer said neutrally. I just nodded at him with a soft smile. He honestly was taking this really calmly, and it made everything easier to handle in the first place. As he walked off I immediately turned to Keirstan we leaned our heads together to talk about what would go down tonight.

    "Ok before we go over anything I have to ask. Where'd you get the wine?" I whispered conspiratorially sipping my ale once I finished. Keirstan just giggled. 

    "I told the bartender I didn't care for ale, and that I was only here for you. He brought out the bottle saying he usually kept it for the private room, but since I was with you I could have a glass or two." She said with a shrug and a smug smile. I chuckled softly as she pulled a me and flipped her hair.  

    "Now what's the plan" She asked with an evil grin. I sighed inwardly knowing that Keirstan was a lot like me, too reckless for her own good. I didn't plan to let anything happen to her tonight because of it. 

    "I'll be doing the investigating" I said and immediately she frowned. 

    "Then why did you have me come?" She pouted causing me to chuckle. 

    "I needed moral support. Plus if we're being completely honest, Joshua would've killed me if I didn't bring some sort of backup" I said with a shrug. She just rolled her eyes, we both knew how Joshua could be sometimes. 

    "I get that," she murmured, "but I can't feel like I'm sitting here doing nothing. I know that you know what I mean." 

    "I get it," I said exasperatedly, "but I did promise I return you in one piece to Isaac." 

    "Isaac-Smishic I'm a big girl" She said flipping her hair. 

    "Never said you weren't," I continued with a shrug, "but I have no idea what I'm up against K."

    "That's why you should let me help you!" She said with some very animated hand gestures.

    "Absolutely not" I said staring her down. 

    "Kiraaaaaaaa.....don't treat me like a baby" She grumbled causing me to snort.

    "Then don't act like one" I muttered. 

    "Hey!" She said slapping my upper arm. 

    "Look K. You're my little sister I'm obligated to keep you safe. Also you have a boyfriend to go home to, a little boy who loves you so much. What do I have to really return to K?" I said forlornly. She just huffed and stared down at the ground. I knew that she knew I was right. I was just an assassin for the King. Sure I was rich and all, but what did I really have tying me to Reign besides a sense of duty and loyalty. 

    "Joshua" She shrugged offering an answer. I just fake gagged to which she laughed. 

    "Joshua is my best friend, and trust me I'm not really looking forward to marital duties with someone I don't look at in that light" I said wrinkling my nose.

    "But you do have to admit at least Joshua is somewhat good looking and practices personal hygiene." She said with a smile. I just giggled nodding, she really was right on about that. I remembered something in that moment that caused a frown to grace my face. Keirstan just studied me quizzically. 

    "Who's the dude that lives across the hall from you?" I asked remembering Green Bean that I ran into a couple days ago. 

    "What dude?" She asked wrinkling her nose. I just studied her.

    "Um the green haired guy, tall, brown eyes" I said, wondering why she was trying to lie to me.  

    "No one's lived in that hotel room since I've been there" She said studying me with a look of confusion. I just laughed dryly and shot her a look.

    "Seriously Keirstan I swear to god this guy came from the room across from yours and ran right into me!" I said feeling my temper stir slightly.

    "And I seriously have no idea what the hell you're talking about!" She said throwing her hands up in annoyance. 

    "Don't f**k with me not about this" I said finally starting to realize where I might've seen Green Bean before. 

    "I'm not Kir I swear!!" She said looking worriedly at me. I just swore and rubbed my hands up and down my face as I remembered what had happened just a few weeks ago. 

6 Weeks Prior    

     "Oomph!" I cried out as something slammed into the side of me. Whatever it was threw me into one of the walls and my head slammed into the bricks with a crack! I took in deep breath after deep breath trying to get the dizziness to fade. I realized I couldn't even feel my knife anymore, or move any of my limbs. "What the hell" I thought in confusion through the pounding in my head. 

    I opened my eyes with a groan even the meager light in the warehouse sending knives of pain through my skull. I startled as I realized I was staring into a man's face, and this man was definitely not Joshua. He towered over me so if I had to guess he'd be over six feet, he had a honey colored complexion, dark wavy black hair that hung messily in front of his eyes, and his eyes. "s**t" was all I could think of he had dark eyes that would be by my definition black. You couldn't see the pupils, but you could see the whites of his eyes. Once I snapped away from studying him I noticed he had me pinned against the wall even one of his hands was big enough to pin both of mine to the wall. His legs pinned mine so I couldn't escape him as I had with Joshua, and if that wasn't enough he had my own dagger pinned against my throat. I was in some deep s**t.

    I heard a bark of surprise from Joshua and a cackle of someone else. Whoever this man was he'd obviously brought a friend. I turned back to the dark eyed man when I felt him draw his nose across the hollow of my throat. I made a disgusted sound in the back of my throat to which he answered with a throaty chuckle. He met my gaze again before smirking at me revealing sharp canines. "Oh f**k" I thought in horror. This man was a Demon, and he held a knife to my throat. 

  Present Time

    "It couldn't be"  I thought in horror. How was I just now realizing the similarities between Green Bean and Black Eyes. They had different facial structures and Green Bean was more lanky, Green Bean was shorter, and yet they both had those soulless black eyes. They had to be related there was no way they weren't, but what if they weren't? What if I was just completely over reacting!? And how the f**k was I just now realizing this!? I literally have done nothing, but ponder what had happened these last few weeks!! 

    "Kira Brianne Hathoway!" Keirstan hissed pulling me out of my stupor. I looked up blinking to find her and Archer staring at me, the former worried, and the latter confused. 

    "What the hell is going on!?" She said laying her hand gently on my left forearm. 

    "Nothing," I murmured scrubbing my face, "I just remembered something. Doesn't have any significance to anything." She just gave me a look that said yeah right, but I think she understood I didn't want any questions asked with Archer around. 

    "What's up?" I turned to Archer and asked seeing as I thought he was supposed to be working. 

    "Jayce is here" He murmured gesturing towards the exit. I nodded at him and he sauntered back to his perch behind the bar. I glanced around scanning for a man that fit Archer's description. 

    I finally noticed a man standing next to a hooded man, and conversing with him. The man without a hood fit Archer's description perfectly. He was on the taller side probably around 5'11. He wasn't lanky or stocky more of a perfect in between. Not very muscular, but there was still a hint of them. He wore a maroon long-sleeved polo shirt with a pair of black ripped jeans. He had maroon ankle-type boots on. He skin was sandy, and he really did have long silvery-blonde hair. It was in a braid that reached about halfway down his back. I was pretty far away, but his eyes appeared to be gray, or maybe a grayish-blue. 

    I flipped my gaze over to the hooded man and studied him. He was probably around 5'9 and was lanky. I had a feeling he was probably strong, but he didn't have the ripped muscles to show it. He wore a pair of dark wash jeans, and a black semi-fancy sweatshirt (if you could even call a sweatshirt that). His choice of footwear was a pair of black sneakers. He honestly looked liked he didn't put much effort into this so-called birthday party. 

    I could feel Keirstan next to me studying them over the rim of her glass. She had never been as observant as me, but she had always been the nosey type. I knew she would come tonight just because she was curious. All I was curious about was who was under the hoodie. I had a feeling they would already be in the back room if they weren't waiting for the rest of their party. "Come on," I thought, "You can't keep that hood on forever". As if he magically heard me he reached up and threw his hoodie off, and what I saw made me freeze. I felt the color drain from my face, and I knew I might be screwed. 

    The man had those dark soulless black eyes that had been haunting me lately. His skin tone was more on the fair side and he had curly hair that brushed past his ears. His hair color? A bright baby pink. It was Pinkie from the warehouse. Archer had been right, whoever Jayce was he either was a Demon, or he was affiliating with them, like Lord Jaconis had been. I might have been able to take them, but I wasn't going to risk putting my sister in danger. It also didn't help that all that was running through my mind in the moment was,"Well perhaps you'll actually put up a fight next time we meet Huntress because if you don't you'll be returning with me", Black Eye's threat. 

    "Get up! Keep you're head down we're leaving!" I snapped to Keirstan. She whipped her head around and looked at me with surprise. She looked as if she was about to challenge, but at this point I didn't care. 

    "Archer!" I snapped. He immediately looked up and made his way towards us. He leaned he body atop the counter and looked at me. 

    "This is my card call me when Jayce comes back alone" I snapped handing him my card, my mood absolute s**t at this point. 

    "Is something..." He trailed off when I shot him a sour look. 

    "It doesn't matter we're leaving now. Come on Keirstan" I said sourly. She just nodded and threw a white jacket on over her skintight baby pink dress. God at this point all it reminded me off was Pinkie's hair which brought another horrid scowl to my face. I pulled out my phone keeping my head down as we made our way to the exit. I knew Demons had a stronger sense of smell, so I had to get out before Pinkie recognized my scent as the woman from the warehouse. I walked up to the door and leaned forward to push it open just as it swung open from the outside. I stumbled forward with a gasp, and felt a pair of hands catch me before I fell. 

    "I'm so sorry!" I said, steadying myself by putting a hand on the man's muscular chest. He was wearing a black button down with a open black blazer. His theme seemed to be black, as he was also wearing black ripped jeans and black ankle boots. I glanced up to thank him and froze my whole body going icy. I was looking into a familiar pair of black soulless eyes. The same eyes I had been hope to never see again. It was Black Eyes.

    "Hello Huntress. Long time no see"