HUNTED

Part 2

A woman dressed in leather armour stood in the kitchen next to a small lantern. A large rack of half-eaten ribs sat in front of her. She looked up as Braxton and the brunette entered with weapons drawn.

She locked eyes with the brunette woman. A small smile began to creep across her face.

The brunette sighed and shook her head.

"I told you I was going to handle this alone."

The new woman pulled a bone from her mouth and tossed it on the counter.

"And I told you that wasn't going to happen, Izzy."

Braxton looked at his companion and then the new woman. They were about the same height and build and had similar brown hair.

"You two know each other?" he asked.

"You could say that," Izzy said and lowered her weapon.

The new woman looked Braxton up and down.

"So, this is who you left me for?" she asked. "Looks like I interrupted your special time. I'm sorry."

"No..." Izzy said with a hint of frustration and shook her head. "I just met him. He's staying in the room across the hall from me."

Braxton cleared his throat.

"She speaks the truth. We both heard something and came to investigate. My name is Braxton River."

The new woman smiled and approached to shake hands.

"Camryn Stryker," she said. "Pleasure. And I see you've already met Isabel Baske."

Izzy started to say something, but then stopped and looked away.

"Baske?" Braxton asked slowly.

Izzy let out another sigh.

"Yes, Baske. As in Castle Baske. I told Cammy that I was going to come and handle the situation here alone – family duty and all that."

Cammy shook her head.

"And like I said, not happening, m'lady. There's only two of us left. Like it or not, I'm not letting you out of my sight."

"Two of you?" Braxton asked.

Cammy smiled in the dim light of the kitchen lantern and held up an orangish-red glowing blade, very similar to the one Izzy brandished.

"Sisters of the Sun Sword. There used to be five of us. Now, it's just me and Izzy."

"Yeah," Izzy replied, clearly unimpressed. "Just the two of us."

"The two of you are close then?" Braxton continued.

Izzy let out a huff and looked away again.

The smile faded from Cammy's face.

"Well, we used to be," she said softly. "Right, Izzy?"

The other brunette did not reply.

Cammy took a deep breath and changed the subject.

"Braxton, was it? That's a fine blade you wield."

He held up his magic weapon. Its soft blue glow illuminated half his face.

"Yes, a crystal frost brand forged by the lower mountain dwarves of the northern ice lands. A gift from their chief when I helped rid them of a band of trolls."

The smile returned to Cammy's face.

"Very nice. So, what brings you to MistyGrove?"

He looked over at Izzy for a moment.

"It would seem I'm here for the same reason Isabel is. It is said that a monstrous presence has been threatening this place. People going missing. Lights appearing in the old castle. The townsfolk have posted a reward. I mean to claim it."

Cammy understood and nodded.

"A fortune seeker then. Understood. Well, we might as well work together then, right Izzy?"

Izzy scowled in the dim light.

"The two of you are welcome to do whatever you want. I'm here for duty, not to earn a purse with a few coins in it."

Cammy stared at the other woman for a moment, then turned back to Braxton with another smile.

"She gets like this sometimes. I know how to calm–"

"No!" Izzy declared. "I told you, Cammy. We're done. Get it through your thick head."

Cammy's face clouded over and her smile faded. She was about to reply when someone upstairs screamed.

Braxton and Izzy looked at each other.

"The innkeeper," they said in unison, then charged back into the darkness of the tavern.

"They're already in sync," Cammy thought to herself with another smile as she ran after them.

"Mariann?" Braxton shouted as he and Izzy ascended to the second level and raced toward the room at the end of the hall.

Izzy arrived first and tried the door. Locked. She threw her shoulder into it a few times, but to no avail.

"Allow me," Braxton said and moved her to the side. He thrust his bare foot into the door just above the latch as Cammy joined them. The door frame splintered to reveal a grisly scene.

"We're too late," Izzy said with a scowl.

Cammy entered with her little lantern held high. Mariann the tavern keeper lay dead on the bed – her throat slashed and her torso split open. A stiff breeze rustled the curtains through her open window.

Braxton moved to the window with sword in hand. He glanced around, but then shook his head.

"The moon is hidden by cloud tonight. Whoever did this is gone."

"Who..." Izzy said with a frown as she examined the corpse, "or 'what'. These wounds, they're savage – like they were made by some sort of beast."

"And so, our adventure begins..." Cammy said softly as she leaned out the window. "I'm the only one dressed, so I'll take a look and see if I can find any tracks."

Before her companions could object, she slipped through the window and slid down the side of the tavern roof.

"Be careful," Izzy called after her. She turned and quickly made for the hallway. "She's capable, but always too eager. Dress yourself, Braxton. I don't want her facing whatever did this alone."

Braxton again did what he was told.

Ten minutes later, he joined Cammy outside of the building. Izzy had already armored-up and was using her blade to illuminate the main road a short distance away.

"Anything?" he asked as he approached.

Cammy squatted down and pointed her blade at a large print in the dirt. An impression about a foot long with three distinct clawed toes and a rear claw at the creature's heel.

"Have you ever seen something like this?" she asked.

Braxton shook his head.

"Well," Cammy said softly and looked to her blade sister a short distance away, "we have. Demons. Something has probably drawn them to the castle. MistyGrove has a demon problem."