Chapter Seven

Dante in Action

           The night air was cold and crisp. the prey was completely unaware of the hunter that stalked him. Silently moving, never losing sight of the target, Dante waited for the right moment to strike.  The street was barren at this hour. The night watch would not be around for another seven minutes, plenty of time. The prey would look back from time to time to make sure he was not being followed. Dante had been through this enough to know how to stay hidden. the shadow of a tree was good enough to shroud his figure. The prey approached the meeting place. 

           “were you followed?”, a voice said from the bushes. 

           “no”, replied the prey. The new voice stepped out from the bushes. 

           “good, now lets discuss business. Ralf is pushing too far. We need to figure out a way to stop his tyranny, before he takes over all the business in this pathetic town.” This voice was expected. It was the second half of the contract.  

           Dante did not care about the words the two men were speaking. He readied a throwing knife.  He slowly leaned out, getting ready to take down the first kill. 

           “you are completely ridiculous! That would never…” before the final words could be spoken, the throwing knife plunged deep into the side of his neck. In a gurgling slur, the target fell into the arms of the other. Their eyes met, both full of shock. The second target dropped the dying body of his associate and began running in a frantic daze. 

           “good”’ thought Dante’ “I was in the mood for a chase.” The target fled deep into the woods, screaming at the top of his lungs. He had no idea where he was or where he was going. He slowed down, collecting his wits slowly. He needed to hide. At least until morning when he can make it to somewhere safe.

           The prey looked around, found an area underneath a tree whose roots grew a tad too high.  He quickly dove into this spot, making as little noise as he could. Everything was moving so fast! His wife was probably waiting for him to return home, kids asleep in their beds. He had to stay alive, make it back home for them. A firm hand grabbed his leg and pulled him out. He looked up and managed to scream, 

          “no!”, before a boot smashed into his face. 

          He woke up chained to a table. Delirious from the pain, he looked around. He tried to move, though it was a fruitless effort. Dante walked in, novaculas in hand. 

         “Please, let me go! I have a wife and kids!”, the target screamed, sobbing loudly. Dante met his eyes with an unchanged expression. 

          “I cannot let you go, it would be a violation of my contract.” At this, in one swift motion, a novacula slashed across his chest. A cry of pain escaped his lips. He pleaded over and over but his pleas were only met with another slash crossing over the other one. The man began to cry loudly, knowing this was the end.

          “meet death with honor”’ Dante said, then cleaved the head clean off with one swift strike.

Author's Note

My Fiancee wrote this.

Novaculas are a type of blade that are extremely rare and to be quite honest I have no clue how to describe them.