Red Ink, White Feather

Ezio and I waited in the kitchen while Bob made the tea. I wasn’t a fan of it, truthfully, but he insisted that it was the single most respectful ritual in the world. While we waited, I took out the letter that Ezio had given me. I slid a finger underneath the open edge and released it from the seal without destroying the surprisingly intricate design pressed into the wax. The letter was much larger than I had thought; it unfolded several times, and I had to fold it in half the other direction to begin reading it. It didn’t matter much, though, because apart from the first word – Gerard – I couldn’t read any of it.

“What does this say?” I asked. It had been written by someone with a lot of patience for forming complex letters. I tried to show it to Ezio, but he cast his eyes downward.

“It is only for you to see, I am told,” he answered. He glanced back up at me curiously, though. “Unless you cannot read Latin.”

“I’m afraid not.”

“Allow me,” said Bob as he set a tray containing a teapot and three upside down cups on the table. After pouring tea for each of us and taking a small sip of it, he took the letter from my hands and cleared his throat.

“Gerard Way –

Your presence is requested at the palazzo precisely one week from the time that you receive this letter. As a member of the Auditore family, it is customary that you attend the funeral of your great grandfather, who is being laid to rest on that date. At that time, after a short examination, you will be informed of your rank.

Safety and peace.

–Francisco di Medici.”

There was a strange silence in the room. It was safe enough to say that Bob and I were thoroughly shocked by the words, while Ezio simply seemed to be waiting for a response from either of us. I still didn’t quite understand what was going on.

“It is settled, then,” Ezio said. “We leave tomorrow.”

His words broke me out of my thoughts. “Tomorrow? I can’t go anywhere! I’ve never even heard of this family. And what about my wife? She would notice if I just disappeared for who knows how long.”

Bob sipped his tea calmly. “You have no choice, Gee.”

“What do you mean, I have no choice?” I nearly shouted at him. I couldn’t believe that both of them were acting so relaxed about the whole situation until I remembered what they were. Dangerous trained killers. Cold-blooded murderers. Assassins.

“The Assassins are an ancient group,” said Bob. “To refuse them something like this would be an insult.”

“Why me, though?” I asked helplessly. “Why not my brother?” Not that I wanted Mikey to be involved with this, but it did seem strange to me.

“You are the eldest son,” Ezio answered. “You must be the one to train. Should something befall you and bring about your death, your brother will-”

“Stop.” I felt weak all over again and was starting to get slightly sick. “I get it. Just don’t bring him into this.” I sighed. I wanted to keep talking, despite my incredible amount of disbelief, because it kept that horrible silence out of the room. “How can you be so sure this is meant for me?”

Ezio grabbed my wrist. I saw Bob tense up and instinctively reach for some weapon that was doubtlessly tucked away inside his jacket. Ezio pushed back the sleeve of my shirt, revealing a tiny mark of black against my skin. Bob’s eyes widened.

“I never knew you had that,” he said.

I shrugged. “Always have. Never thought much of it.”

Ezio looked mildly insulted. “It is the mark of the Auditore family. Did you not recognize it from the letter?”

I picked the piece of parchment up from the table and flipped it over to study the red seal on it. Ezio was right; it matched the small tattoo stamped onto my wrist. The ink had spread out slightly over time, but the picture was clearly the same. “Why now?” I asked. “Why not…I don’t know…ten years ago?”

“The Assassins’ Order knew of your…occupation…and decided that it would be best not to contact you unless you were needed.” The pause in his voice caught my attention.

“Is there something wrong with what I do?”

He shook his head. “It is nothing. Simply not the way of an Assassin. The second tenet is to hide in plain sight, not to stand in it.”

It was official. I had no idea what he was talking about. He seemed to understand the confused look that was no doubt covering my face.

“I will explain when we leave tomorrow.”

I felt my heart sink into the floor. “Tomorrow? But the letter said I don’t need to be there for another week!”

“I wish you had a month,” Bob said grimly, “or a year. There’s no way you’ll be able to learn everything you need to know in a week.” He glanced at Ezio. “But I’m guessing they expect you to already know some of it, right?”

Ezio nodded. “Typically, our training begins when we are much younger.” His eyes met my own. Never before had I really believed in the idea of emotion and feeling showing through eyes. There was so much coldness in his gaze, so much power and strength that seemed completely incomprehensible to me. I wasn’t sure if I wanted people to feel this way when I looked at them. “You will have much learning to do.” He stood up and bowed to me. “I must excuse myself at this time, as I have things to prepare for the journey ahead.”

“I can’t do this,” I said plainly. “I can’t fly to a foreign country to go to a funeral for a guy I’ve never met. I have a life here. I have a family.”

“If you do not come,” Ezio said as he paced toward the door, “there is a very good chance that your family will come to harm.” He bowed a second time, then left.

“What does that mean, Bob?” I asked. A flurry of questions had already begun to fill my head, but I was trying to keep them as straight as I could. He sighed and poured himself a second cup of tea.

“I couldn’t tell you for sure. I always thought my being here would be enough to keep any of you guys from getting hurt. Something must have changed.”

“But why would he threaten Lindsey like that?!” I cried. I almost got sick at the thought.

Bob shook his head. “It wasn’t a threat, Gerard. I think it means that if the wrong people find out that you’re not trained as an Assassin, well…they’ll take advantage of it.”

I heard my heart pounding against my eardrums. Me, an assassin? A killer? It didn’t seem possible. Granted, I would have done anything to keep Lyn safe, but I didn’t exactly see how murder could accomplish something like that. “I just don’t understand.” It was the only thing I could think to say at the moment. “What am I going to tell her? What can I say?”

“You’d better think of something fast, because she’s right outside,” Bob answered casually. I forgot to wonder how on earth he had known that and raced to open the door, hoping Ezio had left swiftly enough that she wouldn’t see him and ask me about him. When I opened the door, I saw that she was still halfway down the steps, and confusion hit me again. Bob was a wonder at times.

“Hey,” she whispered. “Someone’s a little sleepy.” Despite everything that had happened in that single day, I had to smile softly at the sight of my daughter’s face. No doubt she was enjoying happy dreams, thoughts much more pleasant than the nightmare that had just taken over my life.

“Looks like it,” I echoed. “I’ll put her to bed.” I gently took her from Lyn’s arms and cradled her close as I walked to the nursery and placed her in her crib. I almost wanted to cry. I had to leave her for who even knew how long. What if I never got to see her again? I finally sighed to myself and went back to the living room. I was mildly pleased to see that Bob had hidden the letter already.

“What’s wrong?” Lyn asked me, a worried look marring her perfect face.

“It’s…well, something’s come up…” I was choking on the words. Actual tears sprang to my eyes before I could stop them, and before I understood what was happening, I was sitting down on the sofa and crying into Lyn’s shoulder. I realized with a sort of sadistic happiness that I had the perfect means of backing up my story now. I explained that a relative of mine had died and that I had to go to the funeral and such. She seemed confused that I hadn’t mentioned my “great grandfather Francisco” before, but thankfully, she didn’t ask.

“When do you have to leave?” she whispered, still trying to calm me down. Her words only made me want to get more upset.

“Tomorrow.” The word barely slipped past my lips far enough to reach her ears. “I really am sorry, Lyn, but-”

“It’s not your fault.” She smiled softly. “I can take care of things while you’re gone. Just call me every day, okay?”

“Okay.” My voice had gone weak. I wrapped my arms around her tightly. “I’ll miss you.” Looking over her shoulder, I caught Bob’s eyes. He seemed to be lost in thought and not paying attention to whatever corner of the room he was staring at. Seeing me appeared to shake him out of it, but he swiftly regained control of his momentarily surprised facial expression, as he always did. He gave me a sort of grim smile the way only Bob could when he knew something was going to be difficult.