Damian's Assassin

"Are you a doctor?" she asked, wiping her eyes.

"I can make it so he doesn't remember that you did this to him," the stranger said. "But you understand that medical treatment isn't free?"

Her chin trembled as guilt flowed over her and she swallowed hard, nodding.

"It will cost you something."

She dug through the pockets in her jeans and pulled out the stash of one dollar bills she'd been given for trips to the candy machine down the hall. She counted them with shaking hands.

"I only have four dollars," she said with some dismay.

"I require more than that." His eyes seemed to swirl, around and around, changing from the color of her mother's tulips to a color almost as dark as the night. He wasn't like the other doctors. His voice wasn't kind. He had no emotions, like a man in a Halloween mask.

"I don't have anything else!"

The man with purple eyes knelt in front of her. His face didn't look rubbery like a Halloween mask, but he didn't look normal. The air around him was cold like it was around an air conditioning vent. She took a step back.

"You have to help him," she whispered. "Please!"

"I will help him, Bianca. If you make me a promise," he said. "You must keep this promise no matter what, or your brother will get sick and die. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"There is a man you will meet when you are older, a man who-- "

"This is low, even for you," a second man's voice said.

She jumped at the new voice. The second man's hand clamped on the first man's shoulder. The eyes of the newcomer were the color of their Christmas tree. He had Papaw's face, with wrinkles around his eyes and a kind smile.

"By divine code, you can't interfere," the man with the purple eyes said in a tone that made her shrink away.

"By divine code, neither can you."

Purple-eyes rose. Green-eyes stepped between Bianca and Purple-eyes, and Purple-eyes backed towards the window again.

"We're so much better than this, brother," Green-eyes said. "Children are off limits."

"For your kind, Watcher. There are no boundaries for us."

"Divine code disagrees with you and the rest of the Others."

Purple-eyes looked at her, and she shrank behind Green-eyes.

"The Grey God will destroy us all, brother. You can stop this war here, now," Purple-eyes said with a look that made her snap her eyes closed.

"You're a fool led by a fool. Go, brother," Green-eyes said.

Bianca held her breath and waited, able to feel the tension between them even with her eyes closed until he spoke again. "He's gone, Bianca."