Chapter 4

-          You ready?

Silence. The man looked around.

-          Twein are you ready for this? Twein!? Where the hell is that boy? He whispered

-          Daze! One of his team members whispered back from somewhere to his left.

-          Where is Twein?

The other man pointed in front of them, where a shadow, barely visible in the thick darkness and tall grass, moved slowly without a sound. Daze let out a silent curse and signaled the rest of the group to advance. Twein was in for some serious punishment.

The forest of Gaeran looked creepy on its best days during daytime, but now in the dreary night it was downright terrifying. It went without saying that you had to have some loose bolts in the intellectual sphere to enter it at this time, but then again neither he nor his men had ever received any rewards or praises for sanity. Besides, it was not his fault that their mission was currently residing in the one castle that used this wretched forest as a shield.

Spotting movement ahead, Daze raised a hand and everyone stopped. Everyone except Twein of course! Daze let out another curse barely managing to keep it quiet and stop himself from running after the boy. If he got them caught, he hadn’t decided how yet, but he was going to make Twein wish he was never born.

When the movement turned out to be only an owl, they started moving again. Daze picked up a fairly large rock on the way and threw it ahead. He waited a seconds before he smiled satisfied, when he heard Twein’s muffled mewl of pain. Bullseye!

Their advancement continued quietly and cautiously, weary of any guards that may be standing watch. As soon as Daze was close enough to Twein, he gave the boy a scalding glare which Twein didn’t hesitate in returning as he still kept rubbing his shoulder, where the rock had hit.

The deeper they sank into the forest the thicker it became, making it difficult to find their way through and in the absence of a sky, the task seemed almost impossible. Luckily, Daze knew better than to rely only on the stars for guidance. It helped that their target had not hidden amongst the most subtle of races, though it was one that raised a few challenges. 

Suddenly a close growl pierced the silence around them and they all froze. Everyone waited tense beyond limits. Daze turned his head right and gave a slight nod to the man there. He received an affirmative nod back, as the man proceeded to carefully extracting an arrow from his quiver. Daze then turned to his left and gave Twein a wicked grin, for which he only received a roll of the eyes as Twein instantly took off running the way they had arrived. The growl sounded louder this time and a large mass bolted after the boy.

The arrow never made a sound from the moment it was released to the second it stopped in the creatures eye socket, followed shortly by a second arrow that wedged itself into its chest. Twein was already down, taking cover as did the entire party without moving a muscle. They waited in silence for what felt like hours and Daze focused his mind on the darkness around them, feeling its most hidden crevices for any more surprises. But when he got nothing they went on their way.

It was a little over an hour later that they finally reached the edge of a large clearing, without any other major incidents, where the five men that comprised the party gathered behind a thick tree.

-          Alright, we all know what we have to do. Be careful, don’t hesitate, trust your instincts and never forget ‘no honor in pointless death’, Daze whispered so low he almost didn’t hear himself.

-          Haia mien sait, the men whispered back in their ancient tongue.

They went to spread out and take their places when Daze grabbed Twein’s arm and stopped him before he could leave.

-          Twein, he gave the boy another scalding glare, if you do anything to ruin this, I swear I will tell your mother you fell into an endless pit and died, then I’m gonna hand you over to Laila for her to do with you as she pleases.

Twein went pale and stared at Daze in horror for a long moment, then turned around without another word and walked to his designated spot.

-          Why is he so afraid of her? She is such a sweet girl, one of the men asked.

-          Don’t know. He’s been terrified of her since they were children, Daze shrugged.

They spread out, Daze joining Twein behind another tree as the other three men took their spots and got their weapons ready, all five sets of eyes trained on the other end of the clearing where an enormous fortress stood with its back against a cliff.  A little over fifty feet high the dark grey construction had been raised a few centuries back to provide shifters with the seclusion and proximity to nature they so much needed and craved. Like most races, their numbers had been diminished by the last war and then by the constant squabbles for power amongst themselves. By the time their current ruler had managed to kill every ounce of conflict, they had become almost extinct. Most of what was left of their kind resided in that fortress, but there were others, clans, packs or rogues that lived around the world.

This was going to be tricky. Their mission was hiding among creatures with exceptional senses, agility, speed, strength and healing abilities. Still, it wouldn’t be the first time they were working with impossible odds.

Daze once again focus on the shadows around him, silently gathering information. A set of guards were stationed at the main entrance to the inner courtyard, but they weren’t the only set of eyes watching the gate. In the shadows of the first story windows, others were scanning every shadowy patch of the clearing, patiently waiting for the end of their shift. There were four more guards that watched the side entrances, two for each gate. He looked up at the moon waiting for it to hide behind a cloud so he could start advancing. He needed the cover of darkness otherwise the keen eyes of the shifters would spot him in an instant. The task at hand would require perfect timing, and Daze wondered for the hundredth time that day if Twein was up for it. While the boy was still too young to be with them on such a mission he was one of the best in their House at bending shadows to his will. He’d planned everything so that the young one would stay as far away from danger as possible since he gave the boy’s mother his word that he would bring Twein back safely. All he had to do was keep the path through the shadows open. Still, there were so many things that could go wrong. Good thing their scent was covered from the shifters by the grace of a pissed off witch that wanted the man they were going after six feet under, but if the creatures behind the walls spotted or heard them while they were approaching this would go south very quickly.

Finally a large cloud glided slowly in front of the moon and Daze tensed ready to make a run for it. He gave Twein another look, nodding shortly and receiving a confirmation, then he bolted for a tall patch of grass hiding behind it. He took a moment to make sure no one saw him and for Twein to catch up, then moved to the next stop, hiding behind a three feet tall, and about six and a half feet wide bush of a flower who’s name escaped him at the moment. He didn’t have time to ponder on it and moved on again and again, mindful of the guards who could spot them. He finally ducked behind the last hiding place, a larger bolder, before they would finally reach the wall with Twein still hot on his heel. The boy willed the shadows to surround them for better cover, but as soon as Daze got up and ran for the wall, one of the gates to the main entrance opened. Daze glued himself to the wall, then both men froze.

A tall large figure materialized between the two guards, and Daze recognized him as Manicket, the leader of the shifters. He held his breath willing the man to go back inside, when he suddenly felt a strange pull towards the gate where the tall man stood. He soon realized that it was most likely that someone had joined Manicket, but, to his disappointment, they were hidden by the man’s large stature.

-          Good evening, Sire, one of the guards greeted and both of them bowed respectfully.

Manicket didn’t answer but scanned the silent darkness in front of him instead. The moon chose that exact moment to emerge from its cover, almost exposing Twein to the eyes trained on the clearing. But his skills helped him as he extended the shadows around him while he made his already slight figure even smaller by curling into himself. When Manicket’s eyes scanned the wall where Daze was hiding the intruder held his breath and used his own abilities to better hide himself in the shadow, even though the pull towards that unknown person begged him to do the opposite. His sense of self-preservation won. If Manicket saw them he was rather sure they would be begging for death soon enough. After all, the leader of the shifters was not known for his kind and forgiving nature. Everyone who’d heard of him �" and there were very few that hadn’t �" knew of the cruelty through which he had taken his current position, and it was widely known that even his own people feared him above all else. Getting caught was not even an option to consider.

-          Keep a sharp eye, the leader addressed the guards without looking at them, something feels wrong tonight.

Manicket turned around after that without another word and went back inside, finally exposing the person that had joined him earlier. Sadly for Daze he couldn’t make out anything that would help him figure out who this person was since the small creature wore a long black cloak and had the hood pulled over their face. 

Daze frowned, the pull becoming so strong that he almost left his hiding place and followed his instinct, but luckily whoever this person was, they turned around and left, easing the feeling enough for him to remain under the cover of darkness.

When the gates closed behind the two, both men let out a shaky breath. Carefully Twein made his way to Daze. They kept close to the wall as they reach the farthest left corner, where the wall of a tower stood out and covered their presence allowing them some sense of movement. Daze grabbed the crossbow from his belt and slowly attached a grappling hook padded with leather to it. He aimed upwards and pulled the trigger, waiting patiently. They tested the rope, pulling at it twice for good measure, but before Twein could grab the rope, Daze put a hand on his shoulder squeezing it a little as he leaned in to whisper “No tricks” into his ear. Twein nodded and started climbing without any kind of protest. When he was on the rooftop he signaled Daze to climb as well and the man didn’t take long to show up. Now all they needed was a location for their target and a route to him.

Both men focused, letting the darkness enter their minds, allowing it to fuse with their senses and used it to search every corner of the fortress. They walked through the shadows cast by even the smallest light, searching hallways, bedrooms, bathrooms, the kitchen, the towers but they couldn’t find their target. The party that had brought him here was in the kitchen complaining fervently about the one they had escorted, but the man himself was not in the castle. Daze had been sure the nobleman would be in one of the guest bedrooms, but neither one of those had revealed his presence, so where the hell was he?

His mind running back to a previous thought he had, Daze merged with the shadows once again and went deeper, searching the one place no other host would ever send their honored guests. No other host other than Manicket, of course. Reaching his destination he found the nobleman huffing and puffing in one of the cells in the dungeons. A wicked smile spread on Daze’s face. There you are he thought to himself getting ready to act.

Author's Note

NOT edited and I know I suck at punctuation (English is not my first language - it's my third to be exact) so try to disregard it.

Reviews

[MelissaAndres]

I think this is getting better as you go along. I seem to see and feel what is actually happening. This particular portion of a line stood out to me. It is up near the beginning of the chapter:

'but then again neither he nor his men had ever received any rewards or praises for sanity.'

I think if they did give out rewards for sanity very few of us would receive one! Haha!

[RedMistress]

Well then my goal has been achieved. I've always wanted to create stories that readers can see in their mind and make them feel the intensity of the characters' emotions. I also agree that very few of us could ever receive awards for sanity but that's fine, because you have to be a little crazy to survive this world.

[MelissaAndres]

So very true! Haha! If we were all normal the world would be a very boring place.