Shadows of the Night

Chapter Three

 Camellia Kain

  The shadows of the forest lingered around Camellia, closing in around the Fey girl like a veil, hiding her from view. Her footsteps were silent against the cobblestone, the rustling of the wind around her the only sound. Above, the stars were beginning to fade, the moon disappearing behind dark clouds. The smell of rain and salt from the distant Mavros Sea filled the wind. A storm was coming.

She took a deep breath, savoring the smell of the distant sea. Denavia, the homeland of all Light Fey, held a beautiful, glistening kingdom that rose above the dark waters of the Mavros Sea. It had been years since she had seen the gleaming palace. The smell of fresh air and salt brought pleasant memories, but they were also a cruel taunt of what was and what could never be again.

A strong gust of wind whipped around her, jerking at her cloak and blowing back her hood. Quickly, she drew it back up, concealing her face, and continuing on down the dark path; Trionate, the Kingdoms of the Elves, at the other end. Camellia had been sent to Trionate with one objective, to kill an elven nobleman named Galather Adara. She never asked for details, but it was always the same. He crossed someone with a good amount of coin. Whatever he had done it was enough to cost him his life.

Lately, the list of important individuals to kill had been getting longer. The more valuable they were, the harder they were to kill, even for a trained assassin such as herself. The next thing Camellia knew, she might be killing the Elven king's last son, Prince Octavian. Assassinating someone so important could start a war. She had voiced such worries to the leader of the Assassin's League, Alinar.

"Start a war with who?" The man had sneered at her. "Do not get caught, and no one will know."

Fey, a Light Fey to be exact, such as Camellia, should never carry out such sinister crimes. To take a life, an innocent life, was the greatest atrocity that her kind could ever commit. But no one, not in a world filled with hatred and evil, was innocent. Darkness had stained Camellia's soul young. There was no longer any point in trying to hide from it. Darkness was a disease. Once infected, the only thing you could do was let in run its course.

The Dark Fey, on the other hand, were tainted with darkness the day they were conceived. She grew up hearing stories of them, dark menacing stories of bloodshed. They are as vile as demons, her mother used to say.

A twig snapping in the distance brought Camellia out of her thoughts. It was the third time she had heard the sound since she had left the Assassin's hideout that morning. She'd traveled without stopping since. She froze, as still as the night around her, glancing around the shadowy forest. For a Fey, she had keen eyesight that allowed her to see things most would overlook, but whatever was stalking her had failed to show itself.

She was being followed, she knew that for sure. She could sense the presence of another, of eyes following her every movement. And the thing that unnerved her the most, was that whoever was watching knew she was aware of their presence. It was only a matter of time before they revealed themselves.

Exhaustion weighed heavy on her and dawn was hours away. Camellia veered off the trail and into the cover of the forest. The thick canopy of leaves swallowed the remaining glow of the moon. She dropped her satchel in a clearing yards from the trail.

The silence unsettled Camellia as she sat on the forest floor, leaning against a tree, and clutching her satchel. The satchel was nearly flat against her chest, containing only a change of clothes, small amounts of food, a canteen of water, and the few coins she allowed herself to bring. As much as she wanted to, with the chill in the spring air nipping at her, she did not light a fire, mindful of the beings she might alert to her presence.

Instead, Camellia pulled her dark cloak tighter, blending into the darkness around her. She was drifting off into a peaceful, dark sleep when a sound broke the silence. She jolted, becoming fully aware of the rhythm, loud and fast, like dozens of drums beating at once. It took a few seconds before Camellia registered what the sound was.

Hooves.

Centaurs.

Camellia could see the silhouettes of the horse-like men, darting in and out of the washed out moonlight. Centaurs, from what she had heard and experienced, were savage creatures, known to capture, torment, and kill their prey in horrendous ways. Camellia scrambled to her feet, cursing under her breath as she slipped on loose leaves and dirt.

Before Camellia had the time to hide, hands from behind covered her mouth and she was pulled against something solid. She was dragged backward, her protesting feet tangling with the strap of her satchel and dragging it with. A few paces away, she was shoved into a hollowed out tree that was nearly possible to see with the lack of light. She would have fought against her assailant were it not for the fact that dozens of Centaurs charged by on the other side, shouting and hollering words Camellia could not distinguish.

Her only exit was blocked by the dark outline of a man shielding her. He smelled of the forest and the wind, his scent masking hers, which the Centaurs could have easily picked up. They went as quickly as they had come, the herd thinning before there was nothing but distant thudding and cries.

"Are you stupid or do you often camp in woods prone to Centaur attacks?" The man before her asked, his voice low and accusing and....familiar. Where had she heard that voice before?

As fast as lightning, one of the many sharp and gleaming daggers from Camellia's belt was in her hand. A strong, large hand caught her wrist, but she was already twisting away from him and through the small gap and out of the hollow of the tree. She spun, her cloak rippling as it caught on something, another dagger in hand, and she slammed into him. One dagger pressed against his throat, the other at his side.

"Why have you been following me?" Camellia demanded, her words as sharp as her blades.

He hissed as the blade nicked his neck, a message that she would not hesitate to slit his throat open if he did not answer her question. His face was hidden by a crawl and he laughed a dark and humorless laugh. She could sense what he was, the power radiating off him. It was so strong that she nearly took a step back in astonishment.

He was a Dark Fey.

"I have a message for you, Camellia Kain." He spat her name like a curse that made her insides twist with unease.

"How do you know my name?"

"That doesn't matter." He snapped, not with panic or fear, but with enough urgency that Camellia listened to this "message". "Do not continue on to Trionate. If you do, it'll be your worst, and last, mistake."

Camellia's chest tightened in fear, not with the warning of death, but the way he had worded his message, putting emphasis on certain words. She knew she was being paranoid. It had been five years, after all this time there was no way...

"And to whom do I have to thank for such a pointless warning?" She asked.

She felt, more than saw, him grin.

"An old friend." Was his reply, before he disappeared like smoke.

~~~~~~~

Author's Note: Happy(day after) New Year!! Enjoy and sorry for any mistakes.