Ashes of Merciless

by Odette Michael

  “No!” I screamed, my voice so loud it echoed off the stones and hurt my ears. I fought the chains, wanting more than anything to hurt the monster in front of me. The tears that hadn’t stopped streamed faster down my face. “I’ll kill you! You killed my father! Scott set my house on fire at your command! And my mom . . .”

  The Master prattled on, seemingly oblivious to my cries. “And now I’m sure you’re wondering about yourself and your mother. You now know better than anyone the consequences of disobedience, so why spare you and your mother after Richard’s treachery?”

  “I’ll kill you! I swear it!”

  He waved my threat away and smiled at me. “Sometimes a quick death is so unsatisfying, wouldn’t you agree, Ashley?”

  I stopped pulling at the chains and gazed at him warily.

  His smile widened. “Your father was so full of himself. So confident, thinking himself above everyone, above me. Thinking he had power over me, that he would expose me and my corrupt followers. I promised him that if he lived through his next Assignment, I’d let you all go. The three of you would be erased forever from Merciless’s archive.”

  “He wouldn’t believe your lies,” I said.

  “He did when I told him of the slow torture that awaited his family. You see, at first I had a special idea in mind for Ruth, but then I saw how Richard’s death broke her. I saw that she’d kill herself with her child watching. What better punishment than that? So don’t be too angry with Scott, Ashley. All the alcohol that woman ingested did its job—your mother was dying anyway.”

  I looked down at my lap. His words tore at my very soul, and I suddenly longed for my own death to escape from it all.

  “You knew of your mother’s failing liver, did you not?”

  Of course I knew. How could I not? The vomiting hadn’t just been from her alcohol intake. Her disorientation, the yellowing of her eyes, and how she’d stayed asleep more than she’d stayed awake. She’d refused to get help, and I hadn’t been home enough to try to convince her otherwise.

  Had I truly been so angry at her that I just hadn’t cared enough?

  I bit my lip and kept my gaze down, no strength left to fight. I felt bruised and defeated, ashamed and guilty.

  “And then there’s you. Why kill you immediately when there was something so much more colorful in store? Why not make you a child Assassin? Doing so would not give you ample time to prepare your mind for the harsh reality of your life.”

  “I was the second child Assassin in Merciless. It’s in the archive,” I said.

  “Because I put it there! There has never been a child Assassin in Merciless. You are the first. But the joke is on me a little—you ended up being the most gifted Assassin I’ve ever seen. You move like smoke, and your anger feeds your abilities. But talent isn’t everything, is it Ashley?”

  I looked up at him as blood ran down my wrists from where I’d fought the chains.

  “I’m not sure what you mean,” I mumbled.

  “Don’t you? You seriously deny it? If you were trying to hide your pathetic mental state, be rest assured you did a terrible job,” he said smugly.

  Time seemed to move slower after learning of the Master’s hand in my father’s death, but now I was sure it stopped completely. I couldn’t feel my pulse, and I didn’t know if I was even breathing. A drop of blood splattered against my cheek, mingling with the tears.

  “I don’t . . . I don’t know what you’re saying,” I whispered.

  The Master got out of the chair and crouched near me, but he remained out of reach so I couldn’t kick him.

  “Lying is useless. Just how screwed up are you? I sent you on the hardest and harshest Assignments. When brutal death was called for, so were you. Remember when you were thirteen, the one where you had to make a man bleed out? How you had to slash every artery—ˮ

  “Stop it!” I screeched, thrashing around. “Stop, please!”

  The Master’s laughter flitted around me. “Tell me, Ashley! How insane are you? Don’t you wish I’d just killed you sooner?” He reached a long arm out to my face and held my chin with a bruising grip. “Tell me. All about. The voice in your head,” he said with a smirk.

  I jerked away from him, banging my head on the wall in the process. I glared at him, breathing heavily. “How do you know this?” I whispered, horrified.

  He clapped his hands, happiness and satisfaction oozing from him. It was apparent I wasn’t the only one who was crazy.

  “Ha! Is it only one voice or more? Do you see things as well? Oh, how I wish Richard was here to see you now! Chained, helpless, crazy—ˮ

  “Shut up!” I cried. “How can you know this? Did the Evaluator tell you? Because I never told him anything!”

  “My dear, the signs of your instability was more than proof, and even though the Evaluator figured it out, he didn’t betray your confidence. He has no say when I demand to read his files,” the Master explained.

  The room was silent while he pondered me. I wiped my forehead against my shoulder as best as I could, trying to get rid of the cold sweat running down my temple.

  “There are two things I need from you, and the first is to tell me where Shane and his family are.”

  “I don’t know! And even if I did know, I wouldn’t tell you!”

  The Master’s black eyes glittered. “Really?” he mused.

  Suddenly, he whipped a handgun out of his suit and thrust the barrel against the middle of my forehead. I stared at him, expressionless, feeling the cold metal bite deep into my skin.

  “Not even on your life?” he asked, cocking the gun.

  I managed a smirk. “You’re going to kill me no matter what, and I will not beg for your mercy. You’ll get no such pleasure from me.”

  His expression didn’t change, but I could see astonishment and frustration in his eyes. Before I knew what was happening, the left side of my face crashed against the wall.

  Blood pooled inside my mouth, and I slowly turned with a smile toward the Master’s lowering fist.

  “Is that all you got? Surely someone of your greatness—ˮ

  Sparks flashed in front of my eyes as the butt of the gun rammed against my temple.

  There was pain, and then nothing.

  ***

  “Wake up!”

  Something jammed my shoulder and jolted me to consciousness. Through lidded eyes, I saw the Master’s profile.

  Despite the painful ringing in my head, hot fury trailed like fire inside of me. I tried to fling myself at him, but the chains around my wrists wouldn’t allow me to go very far. I slid back down the wall, contemplating on how to get the gun from him.

  He only looked amused. “It seems I’ve approached you the wrong way, Ashley. It was foolish of me to threaten your life, as you value it so poorly.”

  I spat a mouthful of blood at his feet in response.

  The Master sidestepped the blood and leaned in closer to me. “But what about someone else’s life? That particular method usually works well.”

  I froze, fear coiling around my ribs. I felt myself grow paler.

  “There’s no one else you can threaten me with,” I lied.

  “You are Richard Garreth’s daughter, so I know there aren’t many people here you wouldn’t die for. There’s something in the Garreth blood, I think, that compels such action.”

  The pain in my head helped me focus, helped keep my fear manageable. I bit my lip as the Master whispered something into his earpiece. My gaze found the door.

  One person. There was one person left in this world that carried a piece of me wherever he went, even if he didn’t know it. One person who understood me, heard the words I spoke in my silence. One person who had the strength to fight against my stubbornness and who could ignore my attempts at driving others away.

  If it was Gage who came through that door . . . If Gage was killed now after everything, and after admitting to myself that I cared for him in a way I almost didn’t understand, I would truly die. Not my h
eart stopping and the air leaving my lungs—that was inevitable.

  But Gage . . . He would be the final breaking point. He couldn’t die.

  The door swung open, and Scott hauled someone inside.

  I hated myself a little bit for the relief that swept through me as Scott sat Ariel down in the chair. Her blonde hair was a mess, and black mascara ran down her reddened cheeks. As soon as she saw me, she began to sob.

  I stared at her, numb. I didn’t want to register what this could mean.

  Scott gave me a playful wave. “Looking rough there, Ashley. But don’t worry. Not too much longer, and it’ll all be over.”

  I growled at him as he closed the door, and Ariel began to cry louder. Horrible, racking tremors ran through her entire body.

  I found myself wishing I could move closer to her. I wasn’t sure if she was crying because she thought herself responsible for my situation, or because she feared for her own life.

  The Master looked like a child at an amusement park; his sadistic nature literally radiated off of him in waves. He gestured to the sobbing woman.

  “Seems like Ariel knows why she’s here. Are you going to play dumb and pretend you don’t know why as well?”

  I stared at Ariel through the tangles of her hair. She finally met my gaze.

  “You told him? But why?” I whispered.

  She shook her head. “He found out, Ashley. I don’t know how. And when he questioned me, I had to tell him the truth.” Her eyes were begging. “I had to tell him, or he’d kill my husband. My son . . .”

  I nodded, and I hoped she understood what I couldn’t say. I didn’t blame her, and I would have done the same.

  I looked at the Master. “Why does it matter that I saved a boy’s life? Was it because money wasn’t involved?”

  All-consuming rage colored his face. “You don’t realize what you intervened with.”

  Confusion swept through me amidst the pain and anger. “Why should you care? I saved someone. It’s not like I told him all of Merciless’s juicy secrets.”

  His eyes narrowed to slits. “It’s who you saved.”

  Both Ariel and I stared at him warily, and Ariel looked as confused as I felt.

  “Master,” she whispered. “Please don’t punish Ashley any longer. She didn’t mean harm. Please let her go.”

  He whirled on her. “That’s not her only crime! She didn’t kill her Assignment!”

  Ariel looked at me with wide eyes, her mouth open.

  I pulled myself as close to the Master as I could, my wrists straining with the effort.

  “He was an innocent man,” I hissed, enunciating every word. “You were an idiot to send me on that Assignment. Others may have ignored the obvious, but did you really think I wouldn’t see the truth in that man’s eyes?”

  Ariel looked from me to the Master, her head whipping back and forth. “What’s going on?” she murmured.

  The Master’s eyes bulged. “I’ve had enough of this. Last chance, Ashley. If you won’t tell me where Shane is, then where is the boy you saved? Where has he gone?”

  “How am I supposed to know? I don’t even know his name.”

  “Tell. Me. Now.”

  I stared at him, my mouth in a tight line.

  “Very well. I will have order. I will have blood. And those who have kept secrets and disobeyed my commands will be punished.”

  The Master raised the gun. I stared at the barrel aimed at my head. I wasn’t a coward who faced their death with their eyes closed, but my only thought was that I couldn’t die now. The Master and Scott were still alive. . . .

  I readied myself for the pain, but the Master turned suddenly and squeezed the trigger. The shot exploded and deafened my ears in the small room.

  Ariel’s eyes went wide for a single second, and then she fell to the floor at my feet, blood pooling around her head.

  I watched as the red liquid came toward me. I couldn’t get away from it, and soon it was all around me. There was a loud scream, and I didn’t realize it belonged to me until I saw the Master laughing.

  “Justice! Another life ended because of you, Ashley. I was going to let her off the hook if you told me what I wanted to know.”

  “You’re a monster!” I screamed so loudly that my throat felt as if I’d scrubbed it raw with sandpaper.

  “I told you, threatening your life doesn’t do anything. And apparently, threatening others does nothing either. Your father would be ashamed of you.”

  A strange sound came from between my teeth as I uselessly lunged at him.

  He laughed again and pulled a syringe out of his pocket. I was torn between looking at Ariel’s still form and the needle he held.

  “I’ve found that pain works marvelously when all else fails.” The Master held the syringe up. “Know what this is?”

  “Enlighten me,” I spat through clenched teeth.

  “A very special poison. It comes from a rare flower found only in the rainforests of South America, and it burns like fire inside your veins. It makes you think you are actually burning alive. Extremely expensive and illegal.”

  “I feel so honored that you’d use it on me.” I didn’t know why I kept antagonizing him. There were so many emotions running through me that I knew I was close to falling apart. Already, black, fuzzy dots were circling the edges of my vision.

  “You say that now,” the Master said slowly.

  Cold, metallic fear clogged my throat as he leaned down to me. I knew struggling wouldn’t get me anywhere, yet still I tried to shift away from him. He held my legs down as I attempted to kick, and he pressed the needle into the crook of my elbow. I hated the whimper that escaped my throat as I stared at the green liquid in the syringe.

  “All you have to do is tell me where they are. Come on, Ashley. Save yourself from this pain,” he whispered almost gently.

  I looked into his black eyes. “Save myself? Like I said before, you’re going to kill me no matter what I say. You don’t understand that I can’t give you what you want because I don’t know, and killing our members and torturing me won’t give you the answers!”

  The soulless eyes narrowed. “So be it.”

  He pushed the plunger, and I watched, terrified, as the green poison vanished inside my body.

  Pain. Fire.

  Disconnected from everything but the fire inside of me, my vision blurred, and I heard the echoing of a scream that wouldn’t stop. There was only pain, and the desire to rip my own heart out to end it. I was being burned alive, but I wasn’t dying.

  I wished for death, unconsciousness, anything—but there was no relief.

  Nothing but fire.

  I wasn’t sure how long I burned. There was no such thing as time, but somehow, there was something mingling with that distant, never-ending scream.

  A door opening. A struggle.

  Through the murkiness of my vision, I thought I saw a flash of dark green. My wrists suddenly felt less heavy in the fire, and then there was the sensation of falling. Through the burning, something caught me and held me close.

  Someone whispered frantically into my ear, but it was so far away I could only make out a few words.

  “Ashley . . . so sorry . . . not quick enough . . .”

  “Not quick enough!” Ash’s voice was much clearer. “Ashley, we’re going to be ok now! Listen to my voice, all right? Hold on to me. . . .”

  Chapter 9 The Wall Shatters

  I threw the knife at the wooden target on the wall. Bullseye.

  I walked over to the target and pulled the knife out, turning toward the Trainer. She smiled, marking something on her clipboard.

  “Great job, Ashley. That’s fifteen in a row.”

  I tossed the knife up into the air and caught it. “Am I done now?” I asked her.

  She nodded, chewing on her pencil eraser. “Take a breather while I go assist one of your fellow Assassins. Kevin looks like he’s having trouble with his rifle.”

  I followed her gaze to the enclose
d shooting gallery where Kevin had just shoved his rifle angrily onto a nearby table; the guy wasn’t the best shot.

  “Whatever,” I said, going over to the bench where I’d put my things. I grabbed my water bottle and took a swig just as movement caught the corner of my eye.

  I turned to the approaching person with wary eyes. Gage Calvien.

  I ignored him as he sat down beside me. I also moved as far away from him as possible, and he snickered.

  “You always do that. I’m not going to bite you,” Gage said, flipping his black hair away from his eyes.

  I took another drink from my water bottle and stared at the floor.

  “I saw you throw those knives. You didn’t miss the center at all. That’s pretty impressive.”

  I shrugged.

  “Maybe you could give me a few pointers sometime.”

  I was suddenly interested in retying my shoe.

  “Not very friendly, are you?” Gage teased.

  I didn’t respond, but I did finally meet his gaze. I was startled by his dark eyes, startled at the way my pulse jumped. He was looking at me curiously. It seemed like he was always looking at me curiously, always trying to get me to talk to him. In training, when I walked by him in the hallway, in the classroom . . .

  “Don’t get all starry-eyed on me. We’re here to train, not to get a boyfriend.”

  I gasped and quickly turned away from him. There it was again. That . . . voice.

  “You ok?” he asked.

  I turned back to him with wide eyes and nodded.

  He smiled at me. “I’m going to head to the kitchen. Apparently, our farmer friends have made us a strawberry shortcake. Want to come with me? You’re on break now.”

  I hesitated and bit my lip. It seemed like he wasn’t going to leave until I replied. But what to say? What to do? Something as simple as eating strawberry shortcake with another person shouldn’t be so complicated.