A Kingdom of Tales (Kingdom of Avenlea #1)

Chapter 5

On our way out of the building, I hear someone asking for a woman with a description that awfully resembles mine. I grab Miles' hand and run, dragging him with me.

"Wha- What are you doing?" He yells. I don't answer, choosing instead to get us to safety.

Fortunately for us, this street is a terribly crowded one. When we're far enough, I pull Miles into a dark alley. I stop and start rummaging through my bag. I pull out my red hair wig. I tie my hair back quickly and put it on. It's not the best disguise, but it's come in handy a few times in the past. I must look terrible because Miles stands in front of me, gaping like a fish while trying to catch his breath.

"How are you not even winded?" He asks in astonishment. "And why were we running?"

"Bounty hunters." That is all I say, opting not to answer his first question.

I pull out a change of clothes and start unbuttoning my pants. Miles turns the other way, blushing. I smile slightly and continue.

When I'm all changed into a more colorful dress, that will help me blend in with the women of Telmor, I say. "You can turn now."

I fluff out the wig a bit to make it look more natural and stuff my old clothes into the bag again.

"Hopefully, this will be enough of a disguise." I murmur.

As we are getting out of the alley and onto the main street, I find myself face to face with a man I never thought I would see again.

"Damian." I whisper in shock.

On one of the first days of my being alone, I learned why I was never allowed to interact with people other than five people.

"Hello. What's a pretty girl like you doing all alone?" A voice spoke from behind me. I was still recovering from that fateful day and hadn't had enough time to mourn my losses.

I turned quickly with a dagger, Bastian's last gift to me, in hand.

"Wow. Almost got me there." The mystery man chuckled. He appeared to be at least 10 years my senior, judging by the streaks of gray in his hair. I took a deep breath and lowered my dagger.

His eyes widened when he saw me. I suppose I should've taken it as a red flag, but I was young and naive then, with no real experience with danger.

"You look hungry; let me buy you a meal." He said. It was true; I hadn't eaten in days, and I couldn't stomach the thought of food. But I was lonely, having been alone for close to a week, so I agreed in hopes of some company. It was the worst mistake of my life.

I stop in place, shocked at having seen him. Miles comes up behind me and almost crashes into my back.

"What's wrong?" He asks, looking over my shoulder to see a grinning Damian. "Who's this?"

"How foolish of me... Let me introduce myself. I am Damiano Castillo. Jasmine's father."

"No. That's impossible." Miles says with conviction that I don't feel.

Damian's eyes narrow at Miles. He's probably assessing how much of a threat he is. He might even be wondering what kind of relationship we have. Miles is all muscle, but Damiano is at least twice his weight and age.

I start moving away, praying for an ability I do not possess, invisibility. Alas, Cismos, the God of trickery, does not bless me, and I remain as visible as I always have been.

"Where are you going, daughter? Why don't we catch up? As you younglings say." He chuckles. His laughter pricks at my neck and brings up a rage I did not know I had in me.

I pull the dagger out of my bag and thrust it up his throat. "Was the last time not enough, old man? Have I done a poor job of scaring you? I should've killed you when I had the chance. Matter of fact, why don't I kill you now and rid the world of you?"

"Would your mamma agree to your sentiments, dear Jasmine?" He taunts.

"My mamma is a dead, dearest papa. And you will soon join her; of that, assure you." I dig the dagger deeper into his skin, cutting it. A drop of blood drops onto my face, making me shiver in disgust. He takes that moment of weakness to his advantage and flips me roughly onto my back. This breaks Miles out of his shock, so he comes to my aid.

He pulls out a knife out of Gods know where and stabs Damian in the stomach. I didn't look like the sharpest knife, so it must not have been made for fighting.

"Are you alright? I'm sorry I didn't help sooner." He helps me sit against the wall. I feel up against my ribs, trying to discern which ones are broken. It seems I have two broken ribs and a broken heart.

I stand up with Miles' help. Gods, it hurts to even breathe. I've never broken my ribs before. Arms and legs—sure, I was an active kid, but this is a whole new level of pain. How ironic is it that my father was the one who dealt that blow?

I grab my dagger from the ground and prepare for what I have to do. Taking your first life is hard, but patricide? That's a hundred times harder.

I limp to him, breathing shallowly and quickly. I pull his head up from where he lies, bleeding. "This is for everything you've done to me. You will never hurt anyone else again. I hope you end up in hell." I slice his throat, dropping his head back onto the ground.