Night's Cold Embrace

Chapter 14

The man closest to Garrett hadn't even taken two steps before he collapsed on the ground. Garrett caught a glimpse of a throwing knife as it whirled through the air within an inch from his face and hit its target squarely in the middle of his sinewy neck. The brute grasped at the blade to pull it out, only succeeding in increasing the flow of blood streaming from his paling skin. Within seconds, two more blades followed in quick succession. Each downed another target with deadly precision. The remaining ones aimed their crossbows aimlessly at dancing shadows.

Garrett traced the paths of the blades back to the beam from which he had fallen just moments ago. A female figure clad head to toe in black stood against the soft light streaming through the open roof. A headscarf and mask covered her face, and a leather ensemble hugged her slight frame. She hopped with expert agility to the next beam before dropping out of sight behind a vat. A strangled cry of surprise sounded a second later.

Four down, three more to go. He counted off the men in his head.

A rumbling growl that reverberated deep in his chest snapped Garrett's attention back to the centre of the room. His gaze shifted past the blank gaze of the body on the ground to the monstrosity of a man in front of him. Fiery hatred momentarily abated at the sight before him. Gil clenched his fists and cried out in pain as he doubled over. Limbs thrashed. The sickening sound of cracking bone echoed sharply throughout the room as his spine cracked and expanded. Cloth ripped as bone grew and curved. His hands contorted, fingers fusing into elongated talons nearly a foot long. Pale skin blistered and stretched to make room for his horrifically enlarged frame. By the time the mutation had completed, Garrett only recognized the creature before him by its glowing eyes - which remained unsettlingly unchanged.

It turned its head too far to be considered normal to face Garrett, its bright eyes more menacing than before against the disfigured visage.

On an instinct, Garrett immediately darted to the entrance. He didn't have to look back to know that the monster was at his heels. He could hear its growls as if it were breathing into his ears, could feel its icy breath permeating the sweat-soaked layers of cloth and leather wrapped around his torso. After dodging a few clumsy swings from the panicked men running amok, Garrett closed the gap between the rows of cisterns and the entrance. He rammed his uninjured shoulder into the door. Thankfully, the rotten wood gave way easily. He burst out of the hatchery and to the pier.

The woman had also apparently had escape in mind. The four mangled corpses that guarded the door now lay unmoving at Garrett's feet. Each of their heads was bashed in. The method of approach brought to mind another aggressive thief he knew.

A flash of movement caught his eye. He looked to the houses across the pier. The woman had already made her way across the docks. She was halfway up a building, scaling it with a speed that rivaled Garrett's. Without ever turning to look back, she swung herself over the other side of the rooftops before disappearing from sight. Garrett broke into a run after her, every intent on finally putting an end to the tiresome game of cat and mouse. Enough was enough.

The ragged breaths behind him spurred him onwards. He leapt from the dock to the stone stairs leading to the street just as a claw reached out to swipe at him. Razor-sharp talons caught on his cape before tearing it, the resistance effectively shortening his jump. Garrett's hands flew in front of him to catch the edge of the dock. He pulled himself up and melded seamlessly back into a sprint. Keenly aware of beast who had made the same jump effortlessly behind him, he quickened his pace.

Garrett ascended the stone steps leading to the main street and crossed the wide stone road. Following the woman's path, Garrett grabbed hold of the awning above the door. He climbed the facade of the building, the jutting windowpanes providing sturdy footing for him. By some miracle, the strength of his injured arm did not falter in the slightest. Still slower than he would have liked to, Garrett reached the roof and hauled himself up. He glanced over his shoulder at his pursuer. To his relief, the creature paced and roared at him from three stories below. It didn't seem intent on following him; judging by its massive frame, Garrett doubted that it could have. With a feral snarl it backed away and abruptly raced out of sight, though not before its piercing eyes burned themselves in his retinas.

Focused solely on his pursuit, he turned around and paused to scan the rooftops. The roofs were empty, as were the streets below. He was chasing someone who clearly knew the City like the back of her hand. Finding her would be nearly impossibly, especially with the head start she had gotten. Garrett exhaled in frustration and wiped the sweat off his forehead with a quick swipe of his hand, cursing inwardly at himself.

He had lost her yet again.

The thrill of the chase was now all but gone. The blood racing through his veins now throbbed painfully around broken skin and capillaries. He raised shaking hands in front of him to inspect. Thin trickles of blood ran down in smeared streaks down the palm of his right hand, though what concerned him more were the tiny splinters embedded in his hand. He prodded his palm, hissing as the contact elicited a sharp pain from his tender skin. Twisting his arm, he glanced at the tear in his sleeve. The bolt had only grazed his shoulder. He would be able to mend the wound without much of a problem.

The physical pain barely bothered him. It was the pain that no amount of time or medicine could heal, that tightened his chest unbearably and evoked a dull ache in his heart, that he was not sure he could handle. The Queen of Beggars was dead. The list of people with whom he shared a mutual respect seemed to be growing shorter day by day.

There was only one other person he could consult now.