Magickal and Melanated: An Anthology of Black Stories

The Assassin

Dread filled my stomach as they all stared at me. Tears pricked at the corner of my eyes.

'Tell them,' a voice whispered. What if..What if they could be the key to freedom? Freedom from a life of murder.

"Um.." I started. A couple of the others looked surprised at my sudden emotions.

"Well. I guess I'll start from the beginning." I sniffled, looking up at the darkening sky, that indicated that we were getting closer to Tenebris.

I ended up spilling my guts about my father who refused to take a plea deal and instead ran away with me and manipulated me into being a murderer.

I let out a huge sigh, not looking at any of them, instead, continuing to look at the sky.

No one said anything at first. But then a voice that I recognized as The Pirate's spoke up.

"Is that why you asked me who died? Because you might have killed them?" They asked.

I nodded, sniffling, trying not to let the tears fall down my face. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and it was the mage, looking up at me with her big hazel eyes. "That doesn't sound like your fault at all. He made you that way."

The Inventor spoke up, "He manipulated you. We can't blame you for that, as long as you don't kill any of us." She added, with a shrug.

The Alchemist reached forward, "Do you need help? Have you run away?"

I sniffed, "I'm being hunted by a bounty hunter and I'm going to meet my lover in Tenebris."

The Vampires eyes widened at the opportunity being presented, "If you need someplace to stay...or hide, I live in Tenebris and no one really...likes to visit."

My eyes widened, "You'd do that for me?" I asked softly,

She nodded, "In fact, there's room for everyone, that way it'll look less suspicious. I know this is stereotypical but I live in an abandoned mansion. I fixed it up and no one ever comes for rent because for some reason, everyone in Tenebris is afraid of vampires, and the dark."

It was almost as if she read some of our minds, The Princess and The Pirate, in particular.

"Thank you so much," I whispered and she shrugged. "I could use the company."

The conversation eventually moved on and we all took turns telling stories and jokes and random facts we had saved in the back of our minds.

It wasn't long until the ship docked in Tenebris. We all slowly gathered our things and The Vampire led us all to her mansion. She wasn't joking when she said it was a mansion.

I checked my watch. There were a good thirty minutes before I had to meet him, I might as well try and get a nap in before then.