Delt & Kai Meet

Chapter Twenty Three: Hello, Little God

Loose gravel crunched under Delt’s charcoal grey combat boots, excitement trilled through her veins at the thought of her debut as a leader in the Guild. Although she wouldn’t admit it aloud, Delt was slightly bewildered as to why Tanto had chosen her for this role. In truth, it had been more of Reyarth and Lox’s decisions than his, but Delt wouldn’t let that one slip either.

In a rather unusual fashion, Delt had woken early, rousing the troop members near her sleeping quarters and ensuring they ate breakfast at some speed. She’d only managed to catch a glimpse of Asta, Quol and Bentir entering the canteen as she proudly led her somewhat unwilling troop to one of the several briefing rooms in HQ.

Delt had chosen the meeting room she had received her first official briefing in, as a little homage to her time spent at the Guild. Standing firmly with her chest puffed out, Delt impatiently waited for the arrival of the nine Guild members who had been allocated to her troop. Delt’s reputation in the Guild was one that made people either fear her or find her amusing. Void help the members who fell in the latter camp. A tapping foot had been enough of a signal for the two troop members who sat close to the door to depart and then very quickly return dragging the missing members with them.

She raised her eyebrows disapprovingly as they were thrown into chipped black chairs that were lazily scattered around the room. Delt regards them all coolly, remembering Asta’s advice from the night before. Asta had gently suggested that Delt assert her authority whilst regaining her composure, explaining that there were quite a few Guild members who sneered down at Delt. This was chiefly because they believed Delt to be immature after her displays in the canteen, when actually Delt could transform into the formidable assassin on a moment’s notice.

This was the Delt that now stood before nine Guild members, one of which was a fifth-year minim that had been ordered to join in the hope that observing this contract might make him buck up his ideas a little. At least, that’s what Reyarth had said. Something about a lack of discipline growing in the Academy, that both initiates and minims had been behaving recklessly.

It had come as quite a surprise to Delt, although she hardly stepped foot in the Academy, she doubted Quol and Asta would let their trainees walk away after disrespecting them. Nonetheless, Delt was more than happy to remind arrogant minims of their place within the Small Gods. The minim in question had his lip curled in contempt, not even bothering to meet Delt’s eyes.

At the time it had taken a surprising amount of strength for Delt to restrain herself from lunging across the room and ripping his vocal cords out, but she had managed to keep herself still. Instead, Delt had prowled around the room, sending a shiver down some of their spines. A good reminder that they could easily become the hunted, but Delt would always be the hunter.

“Today’s assignment is crucial. This is a purple level contract. If we don’t perform well, it will reflect badly on the entire Guild and I will not let that happen. I assume you’ve all read through your briefing notes?”

A murmur of agreement, aside from the arrogant minim who was using a pencil to pick seeds out of his teeth. “Bored Laias?” Delt’s question is very clearly directed at him despite her contradictory body language.

“There’s not much to be said. We go into their shitty little Compound, we scare ‘em a little and we come back. Job done.” Laias flicks a seed into the air, which lands precisely on Delt’s shoulder.

The girl on the left of Laias lowers her gaze to the floor, knuckles white with dread. Even the ones who had been mildly reluctant to take orders from Delt are definitively showing their dislike of Laias’ actions.

Disrespecting your troop leader was ill-advised in any Guild, but it was one of the principles of the Small Gods. You see, one had to earn the right to lead in this Guild, generally achieved through years of dedication. Perhaps this was why there had been a tension around Delt leading, not only was she the youngest official member of the Guild, but was now leading a contract years before anyone else.

Delt casts her eyes down to her shoulder, staring intently at the seed that is nestled on her jacket. She picks it up between her thumb and index finger, placing it on the table in front of Laias.

“I believe this belongs to you?” Her voice was remarkably calm for someone who was thinking about a hundred different ways to kill a man.

Laias scoffs at the seed, placing his feet on the table as he leans back in his chair. “Don’t you have a briefing to do?” Derision drips off his tongue as Delt surveys him, the glint in her eyes vanished, replaced by a deadly abyss.

“Come here.” She beckons him with her index finger, and Laias to his own surprise, shifts closer to her until their noses are nearly touching. “Did you read the briefing sheet or not?”

Laias places his hands on the table, his fingertips floating towards the seed on the table. He picks it up, running his thumb over the small thing and not balking from Delt’s eye contact for a second.

“Scanned it.” He offers her the seed in an upturned palm, a scornful look etched upon his face.

“Pity.” Delt’s hand drifts up his cheek, her fingertips curling themselves in the back of his auburn hair.

Laias chuckles playfully, foolishly thinking that Delt’s gesture was an attempt of flirtation. Delt offers him a wide grin back, before smashing his head into the desk with a startling amount of force.

A scream rips out of his throat as she brings his head back up, fist tight on the back of his skull, before slamming him back into the cool steel. She yanks his head back up again, blood trickling from his nose, bent in all the wrong places. “Anything else to add?”

Laias shakes his head, whimpering like a wounded animal. “I’m sorry.” He stammers and Delt smirks venomously.

“One more for good measure.” Her voice is like a caress, so soft that it almost makes Laias relax.

His head is brought down swiftly, screaming again until he realises Delt has stopped the impact. She gently pushes his broken nose against the steel and Laias howls in agony. Her hand tears free from his head and she resumes her position at the front of the room. “Are there any other qualms about my capability to lead this contract?”

Several tremoring heads gesture no, the ones who cannot move are staring at the ground in fear. Delt laughs, the noise like wind chimes tinkling their cheerful symphony through the air.

The rest of the briefing had gone smoothly, although one of the others did have to retrieve a small vial of inky black liquid along with a cloth for Laias, to speed up the healing process and staunch the blood flow from his nostrils.

Now, in the growing light of the day, the troop were moving like a silent if deadly mechanism, across the streets of Night-Wing.

The contract had been simple enough, enter the Rifters Compound and make sure they were left feeling shaken. Reyarth had told Delt that the Government and CODERS were growing increasingly concerned about the Rifters movements, something about rousing speeches, illicit meetings and defaming statements.

At the time, Delt had felt rather sympathetic to the Rifters, but when Tanto had appeared in the room to utter his desire that she was the correct member for the job, she had forgotten any previous inclinations of sympathy.

The Rifters and the Small Gods rarely came into contact with each other, if you were lucky enough to survive the Academy but unlucky enough be thrown out, it wasn’t likely a Small God would join the Rifters. For whatever reason there was enmity between the two Guilds, it wasn’t something Delt had ever investigated. She didn’t see much reason to, up until now she didn’t think she’d ever encounter a Rifter, so what was the point in trying to understand their loathing?

As they reached the Western bridge, Delt ushers the others to fall behind her, concealed from sight.

“What now?” The girl, Aryanna, asks from behind Delt’s shoulder.

“We wait, until there’s a clear moment to cross.”

“Surely people will see us?” Aryanna counters but Delt holds up a hand to silence her.

“No, they’ve increased the Broadcasts to twice a day. One at 12pm and one at 6pm, in just a few minutes the midday broadcast will go out and everyone’s eyes will be on their screens, not out the windows. We’ll have a gap of time to get across to the West then.”

Delt glances at the rest of her troop, all awaiting her command. Trusting her judgement, the troops flatten themselves against the wall that encircled the Science and Technology Quarter. Delt’s helmet displays the time, and so the troop wait for Delt’s signal.

Ten seconds until midday. Delt was alert, body poised to sprint across the island soundlessly. Her hand is curled into a fist, raised slightly so that the rest of the troop can see her command. Three, two, one. Delt’s index and middle finger unfurl from her fist, pressed tightly together. She points across the island, and then they move.

It was a remarkably mesmerising sight, watching ten trained assassins glide across this inhospitable stretch of city. Inhospitable if you weren’t a CODER, Government worker or wealthy citizen. Each one moved with an unimaginable precision, as though their cells had already formulated the exact route long before they knew their next movement.

The power in Delt’s legs strains against her uniform, darting across the ground with steps lighter than a feather. Delt soars over the tarmac, the others following behind her in a dazzling display that challenged physics. The way they leapt across the ground, their bodies cutting through air like a sword through flesh. A beautiful dance of deadly stealth, moving so quick that they appeared as brief strokes of charcoal grey paint on the canvas of Night-Wing. Gone as quickly as they appeared.

Their precision rewarding them as they remained undetected by CODERS, who would have arrested them on sight. Even the Small Gods weren’t afforded the privileges of being overlooked, which had always frustrated Delt. She hadn’t understood why if they were being assigned contracts directly from the Government they couldn’t waver restrictions.

Quol had answered many a time, stating that the Small Gods were considered mostly myth by the general public of Night-Wing. Even many of the CODERS didn’t believe in the Small Gods, only a few leaders were aware of their presence, and this was how Tanto preferred it. If privileges were given to the Guild, people would begin to suspect who they were. Considering they were supposed to be a Guild of covert assassins, it wouldn’t do well for them to be strutting about the city whenever they pleased.

Still, it pissed Delt off that they had to sneak around the city. At least built a concealed path specially for the Small Gods to traverse from East to West, Delt thought to herself. Irritation aside, her troop had landed successfully on the West side of Night-Wing.

Delt hadn’t mentioned that she wasn’t totally certain her plan would work, as she guessed not all CODERS would be attending the briefing, but her assurance had paid off. She doesn’t even bother to throw a look back over her shoulder at the distance they had cleared, at the risk they had taken. Striding ahead of the troop, she leads them towards the Rifters’ Compound. If one had looked closely, you would have seen a little smug smile tugging at Delt’s lips, but she did well to conceal it from the others.

As they draw closer to the Compound, agitation begins to creep into her troop. Restlessness, the desire to strike hard and strike soon. Delt had studied their profiles carefully, she knew the majority of the troop hadn’t had a contract for sometime, for five of them this was their first group one. It had become apparent very quickly that they had been chosen purely on a basis of energy. They had great reserves of it, all of them, which would make ransacking the Rifter’s Compound an easy task.

They were close now, Delt cross-checked with the location on her map. Only a few minutes away, Delt orders the troop to fall into a secluded street on the edge of A Rez.

“What are you doing?” Laias hisses at Delt, who silences him with a mere look.

“We need to split up. The front door will be the trickiest place to target, I’ll take that to serve as a distraction.”

“Why you?” Aryanna frowns at her leader.

“The Rifters are trained in hand-to-hand combat, most of them won’t stand a chance against us. But there are always exceptions. There’s a small group of them that are much more skilled than the regular Rifters, we’ll need to watch out for them.”

“Especially the Head.” A voice interjects from behind Laias.

“Indeed, I’m less concerned about him and more concerned about his General. She’ll prove tricky to spar with, remember we’re not to kill anyone.”

Silence. “Understood?” Delt snaps and the troop apologetically agree, not quite realising that’s what Delt had been looking for.

“I thought his second was out on a drop, that’s what the briefing sheet said?” Aryanna’s eyes adjust as her the tabs attached to her forehead change colour, indicating that she is looking at the briefing sheet once more.

“Two different people Aryanna. The second is out. His commander, Eveleyn, she’ll need to be cornered by two of you. I’ll take the Head and then you can hopefully handle the rest. Most of them will be spooked at the sight of a few weapons, don’t engage in physical combat unless you absolutely have to.” Delt pauses, her heartbeat quickening with ardour.

She’d forgotten how much she loved it, the thrill of the hunt. That was all this job was to her, a hunt. She missed the power that coursed through her veins, the exhilarating rush of concealing oneself so expertly that you became a shadow.

Delt chides herself, this was a different kind of hunt, it required a different kind of precision. It required a cool head, and the ability to invigorate your team effectively.

Delt split her troop into two groups, the first would enter through the roof of the Compound, scaling the walls at the edge of A Rez and vaulting across the rooftops to their destination. The other group would enter from the East door, not by choice, but by specific instruction from Syrene. According to Reyarth, she had been informed that this was one of the weak spots in the Compound. Nearby would be the majority of the new Rifters, who would run at the sight of four deadly assassins.

The rooftop had been Delt’s touch, the idea of terror raining down from the sky was a rather dramatic touch she had fondly thought about in the nights leading up to the contract.

The two groups are poised for action, awaiting Delt’s command to let the rampage commence. Delt examines her troop carefully, she could practically smell the adrenaline coiling off their uniform.

“Hurt no one, only protect yourself.” Delt reinforces, and they all respond with a sharp nod. “Good, now… let’s have some fun.” The last word was the match against the tinderbox that was her troop, sparking into a flame of raucous vivacity as the rooftop group scaled the building walls with finesse.

Delt watches closely as they reach the Compound roof alarmingly quickly. It didn’t take long for the screams to erupt from inside. Turning to the other group, she points towards the fences that surround the Rifters garden. Although garden was a rather generous word, stretch of synthetic grass where leisure activities took place was a better description, but not nearly as neat.

Delt fidgets, waiting for the noise to erupt from the garden. A few minutes passes with no noticeable increase in volume. Concerned, she approaches the fence, peering through a gap in the russet coloured panels. Footsteps thunder on the tarmac, joined shortly by shouts of terror as the Rifters sprint out of the East door. Smirking to herself, Delt strolls past the groups of shouting Rifters, all of whom flinch at her presence.

Her footsteps are delicate as she approaches the main entrance to the Compound. Delt rolls her neck a couple of times, lulling the muscles in her body that are straining to be set free, begging her to unleash them upon the Rifters.

Remaining restrained as she reaches the bottom of the steps up into the Compound, she smirks mockingly at the ramshackle old warehouse. Compared to HQ, this was a pile of crumbling bricks, lacking in any sort of finery. She glances back at the street behind her, rolling her eyes at the frightened Rifters fleeing for safety.

Delt’s mockery is caught short. Her breath pauses, as she can feel the presence of another standing at the top of the steps. Muscles quiver eagerly in her body, whispering to Delt, pleading with her to unleash the full force of her brutality.

“Hello, Little God. Aren’t we a bit far from home?”

Delt almost melts, the rich low voice felt like thick honey sweetly nudging the back of her neck. She turns her head slowly, drinking in the sight of the figure at the top of the stairs. He leans casually against the railing, arms folded across his chest. His angular jaw is cut in lines that Delt can’t tear her gaze away from. He was unlike anything that she’d imagined, the little description she’d had of him hadn’t done justice to the man she saw standing before her. He smirks at her, his hazel eyes glinting in the sunlight.

Delt pushes aside the swelling torrent of emotions, realising rather shamefully that she had been silent for an awkward amount of time. “And you are?” Delt retorts, the retort bounces off him as he gives her an amused expression.

“I thought you might have figured that out, considering you came here to divert my attention.”

Delt bristles at his comment, anger twitching in her jaw. “Aren’t we clever?”

He chuckles deeply, the vibrations of his delight ricocheting off the walls and spearing into Delt with unabashed fervour. “Do tell me if I’m wrong, but I assume you think your friends are enough to hold off my Inner Circle? Even with one down, you sorely underestimate our ability.”

Delt’s brain is racing, had they underestimated their ability? Was this about to end very poorly for Delt leaving her either dead, or trudging back to the Guild having shattered their reputation? She pushes fear, shame and guilt to one side, staring down the honey-voiced opponent.

“I doubt that.” Delt challenges, gliding her eyes over his shoulders, scanning for any kind of weapon.

“How exactly are you planning on entering?” He indicates to the rest of the Compound with a jerk of his head.

“I’m going to walk through the front door.”

He clicks his tongue, shaking his head in near disappointment. “I trust you understand Little God, that I can’t just let you in? I will do whatever it takes to protect my family.”

Delt’s jaw clenches with contempt. “As will I.”

The two size each other up, both ready to lunge for the other whilst appearing totally relaxed at the same time. “Well then, shall we begin?”

Delt swore she could have seen his eyes sparkle with mischief. “Good luck.”

His eyes widen at her statement, whether it was in enjoyment or alarm Delt couldn’t quite tell, neither did she care as her hand flicked to the hilt of her favourite weapon. Delt had named it Lilith, after the old stories Bentir had read her during her time at the Academy.

Lilith was comprised of two curved blades, connected by a link of unbreakable chain. Unbreakable in the sense that it had been made by some form of magic or supernatural interaction, similar to many of the objects housed in the Archives Room. Lilith swipes out, the blade gliding through the air in a beautiful sound, almost like a lover calling out.

He dodges the blade with ease, swerving underneath the chain swiftly and rising back to his feet in a few seconds. The blade retracts back to Delt’s hand, and it takes all the strength she can muster to not let her mouth fall open in shock. Snarling, Delt pushes off her feet, diving towards him at great speed. He sidesteps at the very last second, causing Delt to have to divert her course to avoid smashing into the wall.

Delt whirls around, flicking Lilith out again, it glances off the railing with a loud metallic twang as he soars over the chain, landing on his feet. Delt clears the railings in three movements, landing a few feet away from her prey, although it was becoming startlingly clear that this was the battle dance of two predators.

Delt unleashes Lilith again, this time, he is not quite so lucky as it scrapes across his upper arm, slicing through the clothes and leaving a fresh trail of red in its wake. Smugly, Delt flicks out the blade at his chest. But arrogance came at a price. Unbothered, he darts out of the way, hand gripping the end of the chain that he now wraps around his forearm, muscles bulging underneath his clothes.

Delt pulls back on her own end, the chain straining with the strength of its two handlers. With a playful smirk, Delt lets go of Lilith and it hurtles directly at his face, he only just manages to escape as the blade embeds itself in the brick wall behind him.

Unfortunately, Delt had not particularly thought through what might happen next. He yanked the blade out of the wall, and with a wicked smile, hurled it back at her, letting go of the other blade so that the swirling chain would slice her head off if she had not slid underneath it. Lilith soars over the steps and lands with a loud thunk on concrete.

She for a knife at her hip, bringing it up to strike against the flesh of his neck. Effortlessly, he grabs her wrist, staring down at her as she brings her knee up to make contact with his groin. He grabs her thigh, flipping her over onto her back. Delt winces at the impact on the floor, she slams the heel of her boot into his sternum causing him to stagger back, winded from the force. Delt springs to her feet, and sprints towards him, blade arced high as she takes off, soaring through the air.

Then something quite remarkable happened, remarkable and unsettling. He caught her in mid air, pushing the dagger away from his face. In two movements he had lowered her to the ground and disarmed her, the knife now pressed against her carotid artery. Delt stares at him aghast.

The movement he had just performed was one Delt was very familiar with, an aerial disarm that she had been taught at the Academy. The two hold each other’s gaze, neither one flinching from the other, their chests heaving with exhaustion. At this moment, another Rifter loads a cross bow, directed straight at Delt’s head.

“Just give the order Kai.” The man with the cross bow snarls in Delt’s direction, Delt simply gives him a withering look.

“Jayed.” Kai warns, his hand held up to stop whatever Jayed had planned.

“But Kai-”

“Put it down.”

“They attacked-”

“I know, and I said put it down.”

Jayed hesitates, unsure whether to obey.

Kai glares at him, Jayed had never seen Kai look so animalistic, so bloodthirsty. “Down.” Kai snarls at him, and Jayed meekishly does so.

“I, I-”

“Inside.” Kai commands, and Jayed obeys immediately, leaving Delt and Kai alone once more.

“Kai? They never told us your name.” Delt muses, the severity in his eyes vanished as he looks down at the small assassin beneath him.

“Mm, but I know yours Delt.”

Delt stiffens at the use of her name, half tempted to knee Kai in the gut. “If you’re going to kill me can I suggest you hurry up?”

Kai grins wolfishly. “I’m not going to kill you. Why did you come?”

“We were told to. What business is it of yours?”

“I need to know if my family is being threatened.”

Delt shrugs apathetically. “Why should I tell you anything?”

“Because I think you had a little revelation earlier.”

Delt’s eyes bore into him, a failed trainee? Surely not, surely he just had a friend in the Guild who trained him. Either idea was insane to Delt, but at least it gave some understanding to the hatred between the Guilds. “I don’t know what your history with my Guild is, but I will find out.”

Kai cocks his head to one side, running the tip of the blade over her jaw. “Do you think your three friends have been completely honest with you about their time at the Academy?”

The suggestion makes Delt cringe. She fixes her gaze on the wall to her right, refusing to believe her friends would keep information from her, especially if it related to a contract.

“Perhaps you should start there.” He whispers softly.

“It was Syrene. Syrene ordered us to… scare you. Not hurt anyone, but just…” Delt trails off, shame burning her cheeks.

The Rifters had run, they’d been defenceless against her troop, except for Kai who just stared them down fearlessly.

“Thank you. Return home, tell them you succeeded. But if you ever come here again to hurt my family, I will not hesitate to embed this knife in your neck.”

Delt meets his eyes warily, but there is no anger in Kai’s face, just sheer absolution. He presses the blade into her palm hilt first, and walks away from her. Delt steadies herself against the wall, she would not stumble or cower in front of him.

Kai pauses, his fingertips dancing over Lilith. He snatches it in his hands, carrying it up the steps. “I think I’ll keep this, should you visit again.”

Delt simply watches him, her face neutral. Kai winks at her, and vanishes into the Compound. Numb, Delt returns to the original spot where she’d ordered her troop to attack, all of whom are waiting for her, thankfully no one is covered in blood.

Delt doesn’t meet any of their eyes, pushing past them all with her eyes ahead. “Back to HQ.” Delt orders, her eyes glistening with the thought of betrayal.

Wordlessly, the others follow. Delt trudges behind them, unaware that a pair of hazel eyes are watching her slowly walk away.