The Thief (A Tale of Heroes & Demons Book 2)

Chapter 8

Dracfort

Shock. Pure shock burned across the man's face after the rock fell to the ground. His mouth dropped open and eyes dragged to the side to watch as Katherine crested the hill.

Air sputtered from his mouth as he attempted to speak. His knees slammed into the dirt, sending a spray of dust at Caedmon and Katherine. He stayed like that for a few moments, mouth open and eyes wide, until the air finally left his lungs and his body slammed forward.

They remained there, watching the man as blood pooled around his head, chest unmoving.

"That was...rather effective?" Katherine's eyebrows drew together. "I didn't think I hit him that hard."

Caedmon lowered himself and pressed a hand against the man's neck, feeling for life. When the faint pounding of his heart could be felt, Caedmon allowed himself to relax. "He's alive. Just unconscious." He didn't turn to see how she reacted to the news.

Instead he stood and surveyed the fight, surprised to find all the Herons were incapacitated. Although he didn't like the looks of the blood pooling under a couple of Zeref's companions, the rest appeared relatively unharmed.

Raena gave him a wave from where she knelt, tying some of the men together. Zeref was moving amongst those on the ground, checking the injuries of both sides.

It was over. They had won.

He shifted back to the man Katherine had just taken out, peering at the wound on his head. It was a bloody gash, but nothing serious.

With a sigh, Declan pushed himself up and turned back to Katherine. "Are you alright?"

She was turned away, watching the sun as it loomed closer to the horizon, shadows licking at the corners of the world. "Yeah, I'm fine."

His shoulders drooped slightly as he turned back to where his siblings were taking care of the men. "I'm going to help them." He eyed the sun's position. "We'll probably continue on when we're done."

When she didn't reply he moved to join his brother secure the men.

***

Katherine looked at the world through blurry eyes. Head pounding, she brought her arm up and wiped at her face, alarmed to find it covered in blood. With a quiet curse she wiped furiously at the blood, making sure she stayed turned away from the others as she did so.

Once she was sure her face was clean, she shifted to join Raena where she was finishing binding limbs. "If I may ask, what made the Blue Herons so...angry?"

Raena's eyes tracked Zeref as they leaned together. "Zeref and the Blue Herons' heir have some, uh, history." She shrugged. "We simply decided to pay them visit after the one they made to us."

"And I guess you don't care to elaborate?"

Raena smirked. "It's all ancient history now." She ruffled the hair of the man she had just tied up before standing. "So, how many are down the hill?"

"Three."

"Impressive." Raena wrapped an arm around Katherine's shoulders, leading them both towards the base of the hill where the men lay. "You are far more impressive than I thought you were."

"Thank you?"

"I have a feeling we're going to be great friends."

***

An hour later they had finally finished gathering and securing the Herons, making sure to bind the worse of the wounds for both parties.

"Are we just going to leave them?" Katherine stood next to Caedmon, apart from the Silver Blades.