Catch A Falling Star

Chapter 9

It was quiet like on most nights in the city of Renhara. It had been so since the Great War had ended and now its citizens felt like they no longer had a purpose in this life. With the days when they trained hard polishing their combat skills long gone all that remained now was the bitter disappointment of living with the memories of what once was. During those days of glory the city had flourished and the general mood of its inhabitants had been far more welcoming. But that was then, a time when mastering the discipline of warfare was not frowned upon and knowing how to stand your ground was admirable. Still, even with all the threat of conflict gone the habit of placing guards at each of the gates at all times had not been relinquished. A pair of them, brother and sister, a set of twins that despite their best efforts had failed to raise to the family standards - unlike their older siblings - felt edgy tonight. It wasn't like anything had changed or that there was some event to warn of an upcoming disaster. It was just the hair at the back of their necks, the knot in the pit of their stomach and even the need to be overly alert.

- Hey Jay, her whisper cut through the darkness sounding louder than it was in the eerie silence around them.

- What? Came the abrupt and tense voice of her brother.

- I have a bad feeling about tonight.

- You're not the only one sis.

He jumped when he heard rustling coming from a low bush nearby that turned out to be nothing more than a small animal but it was enough to emphasis the tension he was feeling.

- Definitely not the only one, he mumbled again before everything was quiet once more.

The silence between them had never been uncomfortable. Even not saying anything was a form of communication between the two and the connection they shared had displeased their mother on more than one occasion especially since they seemed to have developed the personality meant for the other one. Rhea had definitely always been the boyish, tough personality of the duo that was "very unladylike" whereas her brother's sensitive personality was not fit for a man, in their mother's wise opinion. The woman had blamed Jayrin's personality on Rhea, because she always tried to shield him from everything. As a result their mother had tried everything she could to sever the bond between the twins. It turned out to be far beyond a simple failure which ended in them leaving their home as soon as the opportunity arose.

The said chance came in the form of the City Guards that turned out to be quite a good fit for the duo. Their mother insisted that neither would last more than a week in the training program which did in fact prove to be extreme, but the siblings weren't ready to give up that easily. In the end they passed and were paired together because of their ability to work in perfect sync. This is how they ended up here and now, in the middle of the night guarding a gate that was supposedly not in danger.

The alternative would have been staying behind to help clean up the headquarters of the City Guards and between this and mopping up floors, polishing centuries old weapons and rearranging their captains office (he did it every time the general cleanup was in progress) being on guard sounded like the better option at the time.

Suddenly Rhea let out a heated curse and pulled her crossbow out as the shadows seemed to come to life.

- Jay, sound the alarm, she whispered without turning to look at him.

- What? Why? It's just a small animal or two.

- Does that look like two small animals to you? She asked pointing towards the nearby line of trees.

He didn't see anything at first, but giving the darkness a much closer look the outline of a tall figure took form right outside the range of visibility cast by the torches at the gates. He couldn't tell what it was or if it was hostile or not until he heard the low growl the creature released. In a flash he was lunging for one of the torches to ignite the beacon when a sharp swish cut the tense silence and an arrow lodged itself into Jay's shoulder. He grunted his pain as he stumbled forward but didn't stop until he lit the fuse to the beacon.