The Grey Chronicles Part Two: Under Siege.

Chapter 20: Forever.

Mariner Children's Academy, capital city of Machinae One, August of 8096 AL.

She almost slipped less than two steps past the door; Soluna wasn't sure if it was blood or juice, she decided not to check. She crouched behind the lunch room table closest to the door and peered over it. Several dozen Nephilim sat around a single table, occasionally hollering in happiness or shouting in anger. She saw dice and sticks, they appeared to be playing a game. Only a few walked elsewhere in the room, none had seen her.

Not that this surprised her; she smirked as she slithered along behind the table, sneaking farther into the room. Her footsteps made no sound, her breaths went unnoticed. This was a breeze for her until she reached the end of the table; she was about to cross the aisle when she peeked to her left around the end of the bench and noticed a soldier stalking towards her. He hadn't seen her, it appeared as though he had lost whatever game they were playing at the table. She looked around on the floor and picked up the first usable item she found. He grumbled quietly in his guttural tongue, and she flipped her knife around in her hand.

He drew closer, a full head shorter than her but much stockier. Even through his armor she could see his muscles were bundles of steel cable; this would be a difficult take down, but she could do it. Soluna took a step back and leaned forward, balancing on the balls of her feet like a cat ready to spring. She was glad that the Nephilim at the table were so loud.

She struck; he stepped past her, beyond the end of the table. She pounced, wrapping her left arm around his head and shoving the stale biscuit into his mouth to silence him. He was stunned, too paralyzed to react until eight inches of stainless steel cut into him. She assumed their anatomy was similar to a human's; the blade punched through his leather armor and into the gap between his fourth and fifth ribs, directly into the lower third chamber of his heart. The grooves in the sides of the blade allowed blood to flow freely from the wound, he started to struggle but could make no sound. She shoved him to the ground, rolling with him and laying him down on his back. Her left hand remained clamped onto his mouth to prevent him from spitting out the biscuit, the palm of her right hand was set against the pommel of the knife, pushing it further into his heart. He tried to grab at the knife, she straddled his chest and set her knees on his upper arms. He looked up at her, fear flashing through his eyes at the sight of the pure malice in hers. She smiled as she felt the tip of the knife scrape against the linoleum floor of the lunch room, then twisted it violently. The blade ripped his heart wide open, and the last spark of wretched life disappeared from his eyes.

She stood and dashed behind the nearest table, collecting her knife as she did. She looked back at the game table, relieved to see none of them had noticed their comrade's death. They went silent, then one of them spoke and she heard dice rolling. There was an uproar.

With a smile Soluna grabbed her victim by his shoulders and dragged him behind the table. A pool of blood left streak marks where he had died, as well as a chip in the floor where the snake's fang had pierced it. Soluna took up her blade and continued sneaking along the back side of the tables, happy to see the storage closet door. She was not as happy to see the guard standing in front of it. He seemed preoccupied with a set of papers in his hands, his eyes pouring over it. His eyes flicked from the papers to the hilt of the knife that sprouted from the center of his chest in an instant, then to the second sticking out of his neck. His knees buckled, his papers fluttered to the ground, and his hands grabbed at the hilt of the dagger. Soluna dove under him, holding her arms out to catch him as he fell. She caught him, grunting slightly and bending her arms. She struggled a little bit, but was able to ease him onto the floor. She sat up, pulled her knives out of him, and opened the door to slip inside.