The Blood in Our Veins

Chapter Ten - Silent Killer

I glanced behind us once again. Several men in black cloaks had been following us for the past three streets. I had been dressed similarly to them, so I guess I couldn't say anything. About an hour before, Dimitri had left for the market and Grace had taken the children to a local inn. Tristan and I had decided to explore the town. I currently rode on the back of my twin, who had shifted into the panther he so enjoyed being. I silently thanked Maldien that word of the Shadow Warrior's identity hadn't reached the west.

Although none had spoken of it, I knew that everyone had last night's incident on their minds. Little did they realize that I was just as clueless as they were. I rubbed nervous circles on Tristan's shoulder. A deep rumble came from deep in his throat. I grinned.

"Did you just purr?" I laughed.

He looked to me sheepishly. "Maybe..." he trailed off. I looked over my shoulder yet again. The men were even closer, a mere eight meters away. I stopped my twin and slid off him. Walking to the front I took his face in my hands and looked into his amber eyes. He seemed puzzled. You never really could tell through all that fur.

"Brendan." I said, using his alius. "I love you. I want you to be careful and learn to live your life without me. Go back to the wagon and wait for Dimitri. If I'm not back by sundown, I'm dead." As sad and confused as he was, he did as I told him. As soon as he was out of sight, the men moved in. I sprinted down the road, turning onto another street.  The buildings were falling apart. Judging by the scorch marks on the cobblestones, a terrible fire had caused the destruction. The roads were still covered in ash, so it had to have been a recent one. I turned sharply to the left, onto another street.

I froze in my tracks. A dead end. Snickers sounded from behind me. I whirled around to see seven men in crimson cloaks. Shit. They were royal assassins. What terrified me even more was the fact that I hadn't heard them coming.

"Don't worry, boy. It will all be over fast, that is, if you don't put up a fight." the tallest man smiled. I almost laughed. He called me boy. He had no clue as to who in the name of Maldien I was.

I deepened my voice slightly. "I never thought I'd see the day when an assassin didn't know his target." I mocked. The leader seemed grinned.

"We know plenty about you, Shadow Warrior. Or should I call you Brendan?" he asked smugly. This time I didn't hold back my laughter. The smirk dropped off his face. Not only did he have no knowledge of our true identities, but he thought I was my brother! The man looked genuinely confused.

"He's mad!" another assassin whispered to his comrade. "More clueless than an old woman with a basket on her head!" I sobered immediately.

I dropped my vocal disgise. "No. It is you who are clueless." I stated simply. I removed my cloak and hung it on the fence behind me. Releasing my snowy curls from their confines, they reached mid-thigh. His jaw dropped, but the man quickly recovered himself, his face once again a mask.

"Princess Sindri. Its been a while." he said.

"So it has." I agreed. A sharp click followed by a whoosh of air broke the awkward silence. My hand snapped upward, catching the crossbow bolt midair. I turned and raised my eyebrow at the man with the weapon responsible. They all seemed shocked.

I shrugged. "What? I've had a lot of practice." I took my time examining the bolt, then tested the wind direction with my finger. I whipped it at the man. It lodged itself between his eyes, deeply into his brain. The attacker collapsed into a heap. My first kill. Cool. It was then that two more men lauched themselves at me. I sidestepped them and watched as they ran eachother through. "Is that it? You all have lost your touch since my father last hired you." Three more threw their knives at me with skill and precision. I caught each one. Throwing it at one if them, It seemed to miss by a hair. As he fell, you could finally see the clean slit in his throat. The remaining two ran at me and I simply stabbed their hearts. When gravity took affect, I took the handle of each of their curved swords and slid them out of their sheaths. The leader stood frozen in fear.

I laughed evilly and kicked him in the stomach. He doubled over in pain. I shoved him down on his knees and crossed both swords at his throat. I tilted his face upwards so that I could see the fear in his eyes. "What is your name?" I asked, with a dangerously sweet voice.

"Farnoff, Your Highness." he managed.

"Who hired you?" I demanded.  Although I already knew the answer, I enjoyed toying with him. Farnoff remained silent. I pressed the cold,unforgiving steel harder against his neck until a trickle of blood ran from the blade.

"King Gallahein!" he finally gasped. "We had orders to bring you to the palace. We simply wanted to disable you to make our jobs easier. No harm done!" I pondered the situation. He had recently been at the palace and consorted with my uncle. He could provide some very useful information. On the other hand, my father's brother isn't as stupid as to share his plans with his workers.

I let the swords swing to my sides. "Farnoff, I will let you live with the eternal shame of being easily defeated by a young girl that led a sheltered life. From this moment forward, you will be known as Farnoff the Weak. Do you understand?" He nodded furiously. I dropped the blood-stained weapons and began to walk away. I can't believe I was ever so stupid. The moment I turned my back from him, a sharp pain rank out in the back of my neck. I reached over my shoulder and grabbed at a small protrusion from my skin. I pulled my hand away to reveal a piece of wood the size of my fingernail with a short needle on the end. I smelled it. Haraweed. Shit. I could already feel the paralysis begin to set in. Before it could, I whipped a throwing knife at the man. It missed entirely. He stood and laughed.

The world began to spin. My limbs started to freeze up. I fell to the dirt. Knowing my twin's hearing was heightened in his current form, I screamed. "Tristan!" The assassin grinned.

"He can't hear you. My boys have already taken care of him." he stated.

"Sindri!" came a distant cry. It didn't sound distressed. It sounded worried. The smile dropped from Farnoff. His plan had been ruined.

"Let's get you out here before brother dearest finds us." he said as if speaking to a small child. "We wouldn't want to do that, now would we?" He lifted me into his arms. Just then, the thumping of feet against the cobblestones met our ears. Farnoff's head snapped upward to meet the sound. His eyes widened.

"Put. Her. Down." Tristan ordered, seperating each word. I would have smiled if I could. The assassin slowly lowered me to the ground.

"Gladly. I'm going to need both hands to deal with you." he admitted. They began circling eachother. In a flash, Tristan roared in pain. Six darts lined up along his shoulder. He collapsed, twitching. Farnoff returned to me and brought my body to his chest.

"It couldn't be any better that you're a girl. The trip to the Palace will be much more fun that way." he grinned. I wanted to smack him. I'd been in that situation before. It was so not fun.

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Sorry it took so long for me to update! Yesterday my computer screwed me. I spent SIX HOURS STRAIGHT writing this chapter, but then my internet shut down deleting ALL OF IT!! GRRR!! So I guess I'll see you guys later!

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