The next thing that happened was an aura flooding the area. High-level magic that pulsated almost the ground Lewis was walking on. Magic symbols seemed to etch into the air and a vibrant light that sent a wave of energy outwards. As quickly as it had appeared it was over as Simone was sitting up in a panicked state. She was looking around.

She looked so young now, closer to Lewis’s age. The dress she was wearing was barely clinging to her. “Wher… Where am I?” She remembered the snow the last time she could pinpoint anything of hers. She was unsteady as she got up and struggled to walk for a moment.

“Who are you?” Simone’s gray eyes were watching Lewis carefully as she bent over and got a stick. “I’ll hit you with this stick if you don’t tell me.”

Lewis felt it before it came. The air was charged with power that he could only dream of, magical filling the air as a violet aura grew around Simone’s body, throwing itself outward.

“Shit,” he cursed to himself as he jumped back, watching as the magic swirled around her. [it]Did I mess up? Is this a trap? The whirlwind of magic subsided, leaving a much younger woman behind. If he had to guess, she was around his age, if not a tad older, with a wide curious gaze, as if she had no idea where she was.

Is this high level resurrection magic? He had no idea what had just happened. I’m not about to be called a failure, though. Without a second thought, he rushed forward and tackled her to the ground, ignoring her ‘threatening’ stick. He reached for the sharpest dagger he owned, and raised it high.

“Die.” The word seemed to hang in the air for an eternity as he plunged the blade into her chest.

“Thank you,” she seemed to say with a knowing smile, staring up at him.

“Wha-” Once again, the magic swelled, only this time Lewis was too close. The violet magic swelled, throwing Lewis back and into a bush. Again, Simone’s body repaired the damage done, leaving her in the same state she had been in before he had struck her down.

How did I fuck up this badly? He questioned as the magic dissipated, leaving the now young girl alone once again. “What the fuck…” He scrambled up, looking to where his dagger had flown off during the blast. “What the fuck,” he repeated, trying to grasp the situation. Any moment the client would be coming back, expecting her to be dead, and him to be long gone. “Shit…”

Simone was quick on the draw as well. She found her stick again. “Who are you and where am I?” She moved fast to try and help him up. “Are you a friend or a foe?” She held out her hand to him but kept the stick just close enough to poke his eye if she needed to. She wasn’t acknowledging that he had killed her. No, it was like it hadn’t happened in the first place. “What are we looking for?”

Lewis whipped around to her and did the only thing he could think of. He threw up his finger pointing behind her. “But I don’t see anything…” Simone turned around. “It’s so dark… Are you sure it’s over here?”

Once she turned around she had some sort of tonic thrown in her face. “WHAT ARE YO–” Her eyes got sleepy and she fell to the ground. Once she woke up she had a gag in her mouth and she was tied up.

Once he was back up on his feet, he had a confused, young lady asking him questions. She wasn’t acknowledging her previous death(s?), which meant that she had no reason to fear him. I don’t understand. What the hell is going on? He had only moments to act, though. Emil Somerset would be arriving soon. Without thinking, he threw his hand out and pointed off in the darkness. When she looked, he used the opportunity to pull out a sleeping tonic. He could only pray to his master that it would work.

She turned back only to be blasted in the face with the tonic. Before she could get a complainant off, she crumpled to the ground. “Thank the Gods…” He quickly tied and gagged her, dragging her body into the bushes. With a bit of magic, he used the shadows to hide her.

Just in time.

Emil Somerset was walking up from towards the main house, a worried expression on his face. Had he seen the light show? Lewis cursed himself. How the hell was he going to explain that away? How was he going to explain any of this?

When it’s all said and done…the woman that he hired me to kill is dead. Lewis reasoned. The contract had been for a married woman, the wife of a nobleman. The girl that resulted from her death was a byproduct…and she seemed not to remember much of anything. It was safe to say that the contract was…technically complete.

“She’s dead,” Lewis said as he pretended to dramatically exit the shadows. “I expect payment promptly.” He was hoping and praying that the man wouldn’t ask for elaboration.

“I.. I see…” Emil held a somber look on his face. “And her body? No, I wouldn’t dare to see it after what I’ve had done to it.” He held up a lantern so he could see the area around them and frowned deeply. “Was she pained in any way? You did it quick right?” He was so worried about a woman he had thrown away.

Meanwhile, Simone was struggling over in the bush. Once Emil was gone Lewis came over to retrieve her. He went to pull down her gag and she immediately bit him. She was fighting him hard as she threw herself into him the best she could. “I will not be killed off without a fight!” She declared as she merely rolled around from the way he had her bound.

“As soon as I am unbound I will fight you properly!” She was struggling though. “I just need to… I just need to…” She let out a rather angry yell as couldn’t get herself unbound. “THIS IS HIGHLY UNFAIR. I demand to know who you are and why you have bound me. I'll have you know I am Simone Auclair… and while I don't know why that is a big deal…" She scrunched her face. "OH, WHO CARES! LET ME GO RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"

Lewis took his time assuring Somerset that the job was done quickly and painlessly before he ushered the man along. Once he had been dealt with, the assassin turned his attention to the new problem at hand; Simone. Or, at least, he assumed she was still Simone.

“Feisty bitch,” Lewis cursed as she bit him. “I’m not going to kill you,” he hissed at her as he smacked her. “Not for a lack of trying…” he said to himself as he looked at the bite mark. “You’re lucky you didn’t break skin…you’re practically feral…” He shoved the gag back into her mouth after she started to squirm and yell.

“Listen to me, and listen to me well,” Lewis said as he stared into her grey eyes. “If you don’t do as I say, I’ll kill everyone you love and cherish in front of your eyes, and then end your life.” At that, she seemed to stop fighting him. “Good…now, keep listening. You and I are going to take a little trip to meet my master. He’ll know what to do with you…”

—

Janus and Lila were both staring at their parents with their mouth’s agape.

“You…you tried to have mom killed!?” the momma’s boy exclaimed. “How dare you.”

Lewis shrugged, “She was a job. One that I technically finished. Well, no…I actually finished, but…spoilers for later in the story,” he commented with a smirk. “Are you really that surprised?”