A/N – To get the creative juices flowing, this story takes place in the same world as my longer fiction the Edo Coven. It's my entry into a challenge to write 25,000 words ina month. (Check out the C2 community for more information).

Five Witches

By Yaya

Act I, Scene I

He watched her as she slept, dark golden hair falling over her face – when had she let it down from her trademark ponytails he didn't quite remember – and tried to memorize everything about her. The overhead reading light cast a golden focus on her and he committed to memory the path of the silk that fell over her face, the curve of her incredibly long lashes as they rested against the top of her cheeks, and the pout of her lips in sleep.

Because when they landed, his job would be done, and he would deliver Robin Sena into the hands of Sienna Lucas, one of the most powers women behind Solomon International.

The past forty eight hours had been a blur. He was still unsure whether he believed that they had been led out of the Factory by the specters of those who had died there. But Robin had said they whispered their secrets to her and he had no course except to believe her. She repeated what they said to him, A tunnel this way. Turn here, soon... there is a broken light a few meters from you. It had been details like those that had convinced him she was not making it up, that they were being saved by witches he had probably help send to their death. Their ability to forgive was something he did not understand, but he accepted the gift humbly.

The strangeness did not end there. As they exited the tunnel, finding themselves just a quarter of a mile away, on the backside of what had once been the Factory, a man had greeted them, appearing at just the right moment. He had only a few words for them, If you wish to live, follow me.

Amon had figured him to be a Solomon Agent, but he had not voiced his concern to Robin, as he considered whether to put their lives into his hands. After all every moment they lived from this point forward was a moment longer than he had expected.Standing in front of Zaizen, he had seen his life pass in front of his eyes,before Miho had saved them.

So he had taken another leap of faith, pushing Robin into the car first, and closing the door firmly when he took the seat. The man had taken a second to turn to face them, winking at them and it had oddly enough put Amon at ease. At his side, Robin relaxed slightly and they had sped away in silence.

The agent had been older, with the kind of face one could easily forget. And there had not been the air of Hunter about him. Amon would know, he had spent his entire life surrounded by Hunters and he could pick one out in a crowd of thousands. This man – no name had been exchanged, though Robin had asked that one question with no responce– was something else entirely.

Perhaps it was in the airport that Robin had loosenedher hair, as they had been outfitted with blue passports and different names. Alfred Black, a name that should have meant nothing, except that it was the first identity Sienna had helped Amon create when he was still a teenager.

The stranger, in an instant became Dave Tom, a family friend who had acted as their tour guide in Japan. And for Robin, Sienna had picked another innocuous identity: Grace Black. Brother and sister, heading home after a three week vacation in Japan where they had celebrated her sixteenth birthday. It had been Robin's lie, and Amon was amused by her quick thinking. She never failed to surprise him.

They had parted company with "Dave" at one of the central hubs, his ticket was for Russia, leaving an hour earlier than their own flight and so he had only a few moments to spare. As he headed in one direction, Amon thought it would be the last they saw of him, but the man turned, his eyes – they were so dark they were almost black – bore into Amon's as he gave them a final farewell, "You two, take care of yourself. There are a lot of changes in this world… Make sure that you survive them."

Amon had only nodded. He intended to survive. It was the only thing he knew how to do.

Hour later, as they flew over the Pacific Ocean, he glanced outside the window into the darkness of the sky. He did not know what they were flying towards, but he had made a promise months ago and he was bound by it. He did not know what would happen when he landed in Honolulu, but he had to have faith in Sienna… because if he failed Robin… You can't fail Robin, he told himself leaning against his chair and once again turning to look at her.

Her head had fallen on his shoulder and he reached with his right hand, across his chest, to smooth a stray hair behind her ear realizing at that moment he had never actually touched her with his bare hands . Not her face, not her hair. It was just as he imagined – silky soft hair and the smooth curve of her ear… He had neither expected the electricity that surged at his finger tip nor the heavy beat of his heart.

He sighed and removed his hand reluctantly. Can I really deliver her to Sienna? Sienna who he had always trusted, for no other reason than he felt it was right . No matter his reservations about Solomon – even before the Factory and Zaizen – he had felt that if he had to place his loyalties in any one direction it would be towards Sienna. Carlo Lucas had Amon's loyalty because he was Chairman of Solomon International, Juliano had it because he was Amon's mentor; but Sienna had more than his loyalties. She had his trust.

Sienna had treated him as if he were more than rank and file. In Japan he had some clout, but in the grand scheme of things he knew that he was not one of those who moved the players on the board. At best he was a knight, but guessed that he was closer to pawn than anything else.

Funny to think of the organization and his place in it in that way… but then again this mission had started with a chess game. It felt like years since he had been in Rome, playing chess with Colin in one of Juliano's room.

That same morning Juliano had said, hunt her. The older man had not seen the surprise behind Amon's eyes, the doubt. Amon more observant – perhaps Juliano had lost his edge, perhaps when it came to Robin, Juliano was just more careless – whatever the reason, Amon had seen the weakness in Juliano. Hunt her, from the lips. My weakness, from the eyes. A green so like Robin's, it had made Amon pause.

Amon should have known the relationship between his mentor and his partner. It was there for the world to see when one knew what to look for. Perfectly matched shades of verdant eyes, the color of Tuscan hills. There were no such things as coincidences, everything was a clue, Juliano had taught him early on – and Amon had forgotten the lesson when it mattered most.

Regardless, Juliano was a man of absolutes, granddaughter or not, he had chosen a path and ordered it to be done. Amon was not so disciplined, a flaw in his genetic makeup. A flaw that Juliano should have been aware of. Amon Nagira after all, had been born because of a mind changed, a life not ended.

It may have been that fact that entered Sienna's mind when she picked him to save Robin. He remembered playing chess with Colin that day, unequal combatants in a game Amon had a knack for. Colin weakness had always been his lack of patience, a mortal flaw in a game that could take an incredible amount of time.

Somewhere towards the end of the game, Sienna had walked in with her proposition, Bring Robin Sena to the United States into Solomon America's care, and you will be able to write any ticket you want.

Sienna eyes had fallen to the game, quick to see the moves necessary, though she hid it well. There had a been a light in her eyes as he made the series of move that would lead to the end game. Of course, she had seen the path already laid out. For Sienna Lucas, sister to Solomon's Chairman, strategy was a way of life. Games were how one survived in Solomon, and Sienna orchestrated many the games herself.

Then the nagging again, What if this is just a huge game and Sienna wishes to exact final judgment on Robin? What if she knew Juliano better than he did, that the old priest would not be able to finish the kill. What then?

It was a thought discarded quickly. There had been something in Sienna's eyes that evening. With time to finally assess every angle of that night, Amon could now see it for what it was– worry, fear. It had been those emotions that had moved Amon to promise to deliver Robin. He had never seen Sienna so unmistakably human.

It was what drew him to protect Robin, he supposed. The uncomplicated answer. The incomplete answer. Even with all the deception between them, she a spy for Juliano before she became a witch to be hunted, there had been something about her that had not matched the idea of the most dangerous witch. There was a freshness about her, the same innocence that had stayed his hand from pulling the trigger that day. That was all he would admit to himself.

Amon wondered if it had been this way for his own father and mother. Hunter Keisuke Nagira and his prey, Anabelle Vaughn. Amon's mother had put her life in Keisuke's hands and he had deemed her worthy to live.

Was history doomed to repeat itself, Amon wondered? In the end, Keisuke had spared Annabelle's life just as Amon had spared Robin's. Solomon had turned on Keisuke, hunting one of its most formidable Hunters. In the here and now, it was the biggest difference: Solomon was still directing Amon, still protecting him and Robin.

Almost thirty years earlier the organization had tolled the death sentence for Annabelle Vaughn, yet months earlier it had stayed the execution for Robin Sena… it was enough of a difference, Amon hoped to prevent him from making the second mistake that Keisuke had made. Keisuke fell in love with Annabelle. Amon was determined to fight that from ever happening. He could never admit to loving a witch.