Rise by Danielle Racey Read Free Book Online Page A

trees, and soon fell into a comfortable pattern. The trees would guide her through.
    Soon enough, she came through a break in the forest. She peered ahead, her vision no longer hindered by the tall pines and the wide shrubbery. In the distance, she could see a glowing campfire.  "Gotcha." Victoria whispered softly. She quickened her pace, while going over Sister Katherine's suggested plan in her mind. Just have to corner one of them. Maybe cut his throat just a little bit. Not too much, just enough to make him sweat. Victoria's body tingled with excitement and adrenaline. The campfire grew nearer, and she could hear the deep
voices of several men. She began running through a mental checklist.  She heard one voice, another, and then another. But, then where was the fourth?
    As she pondered this, something sharp struck her in the back of the head, and she fell hard, dazed. "What the---?" Victoria flipped over onto her back, and found herself staring into a familiar face. "Roman, what are you doing?" Victoria kicked upwards into the darkness. Judging by the grunt, her foot had reached its target. Taking advantage of the minor distraction, Victoria pushed herself up, and peered wildly into the darkness. She knew he was there. She could see him. She could see the whites of his eyes, but as for the rest of his body, it was as if it had melded right into the night. Victoria crossed her arms, although she doubted that he could see it. “What do you want, Roman? Didn’t get enough last time?” Roman smirked from somewhere in front of her. “I could get more, anytime I want. Don’t you remember what I told you? I’ve been watching you.” Victoria’s heart thudded a little faster in her chest. “W-well, stop it.” She cursed herself, silently. Roman would have noticed that stutter. His mouth suddenly spread into a wide grin. His teeth gleamed in the moonlight. “I can’t ‘stop it’. That’s what I’ve been told to do.”
    Victoria cleared her throat and hoped that her voice would come out stronger this time. To her relief, it did. “Fine, then, Roman. Watch all you want. You might even get a free show. Now, step aside, so I can get back to what I was doing.” Victoria heard the soft hiss of steel. She knew that sound all too well. “Roman?” The point of his dagger appeared beneath her chin, and Victoria gulped involuntarily. “Unfortunately, I can’t let you do that.” Roman’s arm snaked around her shoulder and pulled her closer, until Victoria was sure she could feel his on the back of her neck.
    Victoria’s heart was now thudding wildly, and she forced herself to take a deep breath while she considered her options. There was one, of two things to do. She could die, and prove to Raela and the rest of the nuns that she wasn’t cut out for this after all. Surely, Roman would deliver her dead body back to the convent, as a warning to all those who should try to cross him. Something along those lines, since all good assassins used one-liners and gruesome warnings, so she had heard. The second option, however, was much more frightening, because it was not as certain as death. Roman pressed his dagger, flat, against Victoria’s throat. She knew that move, she had practiced it enough times. It was a subtle threat, one to remind her that the seconds of her life were slowly ticking away, as she thought and considered her options. In a moment, he would twist his dagger, and it would be over. It would be a terrible way to die. In a dark forest, with no one around to tell how it really happened. The only account of what happened that night would be forever lost, or would be re-told by Roman, but only his version of the events. He wouldn’t tell how she was probably reaching her spiritual zenith, as his dagger was pressed against her throat. Or how she had secretly liked being that close to him, but at the same time, was too ashamed to admit it. But, that’s how it went, Victoria supposed. The winners write the