Broken Wings and Stone Hearts

Chapter 1: Unexpected Visitor

Melissa's POV

"…the storm will hit Richmond by seven o'clock and then continue up north…very dangerous… stay indoors… keep away from windows…" the voice of the reporter went on. I heard a few phrases here and there but didn't pay much attention to it.

I turned the page in the book I was reading, "The Fellowship of the Ring", and let the words of Tolkein drown out the annoying buzz of the TV. I was tempted to go and turn it off but I was feeling too comfortable in my curled up position on the couch to move.

Several minutes later the musical ring of my cell phone pulled me out of Middle Earth and into reality. I reached for the phone and checked the caller ID. Uncle Dean's smiling face showed up.

"What's up?" I asked, answering the phone.

"Did you hear about the huge storm coming your way?" I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"Yep," I replied, popping my "p."

"Do you—"

"Yes, I have bottled water, flashlight, batteries, and all the other emergency stuff. I got everything under control," I said, feeling like I was talking to a three-year-old. Dean was cool and stuff, but when it came to being prepared for stuff like break-ins, robberies, muggings, epidemics, and natural disasters, let's just say that he was slightly obsessed about it. Okay, maybe a little more than slightly obsessed. A lot more.

"Are you sure?" I rolled my eyes at his worried tone and sighed loudly so that he could hear me.

"Positive. There is no doubt in my mind that I will make it through this storm alive and in one piece… more or less."

"Not funny. I'm being serious!" he grumbled. I smiled slightly. "I promised your dad," my smile slipped, "that if anything happened to him, I would take care of you!"

My somewhat good mood that had come from reading, had just about evaporated.

"I can take care of myself during a storm. I'm a big girl now," I replied testily.

There was a pause.

"I do not doubt you Melissa. I just…" sigh, "be safe. Please?" his voice sounded so sad and vulnerable that my annoyance quickly went away.

"I will. Have fun on your business trip."

"Not possible," he replied. I forced a chuckle. Surprisingly it sounded quite real.

He hung up soon after that. The emotional conversation had put me in a mood for ice cream. Cookie dough ice cream, to be exact. I reluctantly moved out of my warm cocoon of blankets and sauntered into the kitchen. I reached in the freezer and grabbed a little pint sized bucket of my favorite ice cream. Obtaining a small spoon from the utensil drawer, I dived into the ice cream.

The cool and creamy stuff felt so relaxing as it went down my throat. Thunder rumbled nearby. I looked out the window at the dark storm clouds overhead. I loved storms. Settling into my favorite, leather wingback chair, ice cream in hand, I began to watch the approaching storm with barely concealed excitement.

Altair's POV

"ASSASSIN!" one of the guards on top of the wooden guard-tower shouted, alerting all of the other guards to my presence. I scowled under my hood and urged the stupid horse into a gallop. I didn't have the time to deal with the guards at the moment.

The horse's hooves kicked up a huge cloud of dust, making it difficult for the archers to shoot me. Difficult: yes. Impossible: no.

I could hear the arrow whistling through the air. Pain exploded in my right shoulder. I gritted my teeth, forbidding myself to let out the yell of pain that wanted to escape. I urged the horse to go even faster. It complied, but there was something off about its gait. I glanced down at the horse's legs. An arrow protruded from one of the horse's back legs. It was lame.

I cursed loudly and made the animal go faster. We had to get away from those guards. I could hear their yelling begin to fade into the distance.

Something warm and sticky began to trickle down my arm. I glanced down. It was blood. Thunder roared up ahead. Dark storm clouds were between me and the city of Damascus. I slowed down the horse. The city was still about thirty miles from here. I would not make it tonight, not with a lame horse, an injured shoulder, and a storm on its way.

Not long after, it began to rain heavily. I searched for a good place to rest for the night but found none. The blood loss was slowly beginning to make me lightheaded.

Lightning flashed nearby, effectively scaring the horse and causing to rear. I tried to hold on, but to no avail. I fell, landing with a roll. The horse let out a shrill neigh of fear as another flash of lightning lit up the dark sky and it bolted off at top speed.

I cursed again. Now I was stranded. I tried standing up, but a wave of nausea and lightheadedness washed over me, knocking me down again.

A couple of trees stood a few yards away, offering little shelter. But it was still better than none. I began to crawl on my hands and knees over to the trees, thankful that neither Malik nor any of the other assassins were here. What would they say if they could see me now? The best assassin of the Brotherhood, crawling through the mud, defeated by an arrow to the shoulder.

I reached the trees and propped myself up on the trunk of one of them. Thunder rumbled overhead.

Another flash of light appeared, but this time it was different. The light lingered for a moment then turned a brilliant gold. The golden light spread out into a triangle then slowly formed the symbol of the Brotherhood. The air vibrated and created a low hum. The world around me began to blur.

So this is what it is like to die? It's not that bad.

Something grabbed me around my middle and suddenly I was spinning. The trees, the rain, the road, everything blurred into grey. The humming became louder. I yelled and thrashed but no sound left my mouth. I was being pulled away.

Melissa's POV

A strange, golden triangular symbol appeared, preceded by a loud BANG! I sat up in my seat, startled. Something large and white fell out of the golden symbol and into one of the apple trees. The branches snapped as the weight of the thing crashed into it. The light vanished as quickly as it had appeared and all was dark.

I stood up and ran to the door. I stepped outside. The warm rain felt nice against my skin. I jogged over to the tree where the thing had crashed. Lightning flashed, illuminating the world for a short moment before it turned black. I gasped in surprise. It wasn't a "thing". It was a man.

He lay sprawled out on the ground under the apple tree. An arrow stuck out of his shoulder and his strange clothes were bloody, muddy, and torn. I rushed over to him and turned him over. He didn't move. I shook him. He still didn't move. I checked his pulse. He was alive.

Thunder boomed and the wind picked up. I couldn't leave an unconscious and injured man out here in this weather to die, complete stranger though he may be. I tried picking him up. I couldn't even pick him up high enough to drop him. This man must have weighed almost two hundred pounds at least! I took hold of his arms and dragged him across the slippery grass. That worked until we got to the stairs.

I gathered all of my strength and pulled him up the first three steps. I stood there panting, silently cursing Uncle Dean for putting so many steps up to his front door. At least they were relatively shallow steps. I did the same for the next three steps. Two more left. With one last effort and a loud groan, I pulled him up the last two stairs and into the house. I kicked the door shut and turned back to the strange man lying on the black and white tiles.

"What the hell?" was the first thing that came to my mind.

He was dressed in medieval looking white robes, leather boots, and with several varieties of weapons. He even had a broadsword at his side. A white hood that had been covering his face had fallen back. My eyes widened.

He was HOT! His skin was dark and his jaw, nose, and brow were perfectly sculpted. His only blemish was a small, white scar that stretched from below his nose through the corner of his mouth to his chin. Unconsciously, I reached out and touched it. I felt the beginning stubble of a beard growing beneath my fingertips as I traced the scar.

Then his eyes opened. I snatched my hand back as if it had been burnt. Slightly unfocused greenish-brown eyes locked onto my seaweed green ones. There was a moment of silence. And then he fell unconscious again.

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