The Sprinter

Chapter 3

Eloise ran desperately, panting heavily, heading in any direction - anywhere. She needed to get away from that woman. Her foot caught on a loose stone and she stumbled to a stop, leaning into the wall. The assassin wasn't chasing her. She wasn't being chased. She was alright.

Still breathing heavily, Eloise pushed off the wall and began to wander the slums. Once again, everything had gone wrong. She needed to escape - permanently. What had happened tonight had proved that, but to escape, she needed money. Money that, in her panic and desperate flight, she had left behind in The Curved Swords.

She needed to go back. No, she couldn't go back. They were smart - they'd be waiting for her. They were probably sitting on her bed right now, her savings in their bony hands. And the assassin - what did she want? The woman had saved her. She had killed those creatures. She had asked for Eloise to come with her - then let her run away. It didn't make sense.

People around here only looked out for themselves. If the stranger wanted to take her, it would be for her gain, not Eloise's. So why then would she let Eloise go? Did it mean she was coming back for her?

Eloise sank back against the wall. She'd had a plan. A secure, foolproof plan that meant that nothing like this was ever going to happen. The second she'd got hold of that ticket, she'd known that it was her last chance to get away from her pursuers. Her only chance. The Western Isles was her last chance. She had made sure that it was all going to be under her control. For once, things were going to go her way. Then he had appeared - the Commander - so she'd taken off and left her only lifeline - the money - behind. And now that damned assassin had put her token on the table and joined their game. Had they known she would be here? Was she part of their plan?

Eloise shook her head. It didn't matter. She had to focus on the present, not mystical assassins with secret agendas. She needed to think. She needed a plan. She needed an escape. She needed money. She needed -

A gloved hand clamped tight over her mouth. Eloise surged forward, but she was being held tight. She kicked back and beat at her captor - in vain. Two dark figures emerged from behind her. They stood in front of her, facing her. She bit and screamed into the gloved hand, but it did nothing. One of them, the one who'd been waiting at The Curved Swords, the Commander, leaned forward and tucked her hair behind her ear. She thrashed desperately, trying to dislodge it, but it was too late. He straightened up and spoke to the man behind her, giving him a curt nod. And although his frozen, blue eyes displayed not a hint of triumph, she knew what he had said.

Gahsh sne.

It's her.

Her body froze up and began to shake as the panic set in. She cried out, struggling and kicking - in vain. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of movement, then a dull thud as something hit her head. A few moments later, she felt the pain blossom and spread throughout her skull. She went limp, and sank into the arms of her captor. He slipped an arm around her waist, holding her. She peered through abnormally heavy eyelids, up into his pale, cracked face. He stared forward, paying her no heed as the steady thud of his footsteps lulled her into the darkness. Her eyes flickered, then drifted shut.

The bottomless eyes of her captor flickered down to her, then back up. And he smiled into the thick darkness ahead.

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