Odessa

Chapter One

The great cloak of night had been thrown over all of the fair country of Thestria. Lovely, pale Moon was crowned by a halo of white light, like a bride beneath a veil; thousands of smitten crickets serenaded her, filling the night with their song.

The usually-verdant palm trees which speckled the country were now a sleepy shade of olive green. The dusty, tattered roads which coiled about clay-brick houses went undisturbed by peasant feet; the quiet aura of abandonment had settled over the deserted marketplace.

The houses were locked, the restless children put to bed, the candlelight smothered and the curtains drawn closed. By this hour, the commoners were long lost to sleep -- no one would hear or see the fateful meeting that was to occur.

Odessa swerved around a corner and pinned herself against the rough wall of a clay house. She locked her body into that position, making no noise but for the frantic throbbing of her heart. Her golden hair, which was tied beneath her right ear, flowed down over her heaving chest. Her vigilant gray eyes flickered as she listened for her target.

He was approaching.

The crunch of brown earth beneath his boots grew louder with each fleeting step. He practically flew through the marketplace, leaping over boulders and dodging trees without ever breaking a sweat. A slight breeze nipped at his feet, trying to keep up with him.

He was a shady character, no doubt--exactly the type of person Odessa was out to get.

Obliviously, he ran straight in her direction.

Odessa withdrew two silver daggers from her belt, each about a foot long and sharpened to a lethal point. They were her prized possessions, her faithful companions, left to her by her father following his death. With them, she was as unstoppable as a tornado.

She crouched, ready to pounce directly in front of her prey; if he tried to run away, he would find one of her knives lodged in his back.

She closed her eyes, feeling for the opportune moment, and held her breath.

She leaped from her spot and spread her arms, cutting him off from the road. On either side of her were two houses, which were connected to the rest of the shops surrounding the plaza; there was no direction for him to turn except back.

"Halt!" she ordered.

"Whoa!" The thief skidded to a stop just feet in front of her and grasped his weapon in both of his hands, shocked.

The man towered over Odessa, as tall and fearsome as his blade. He wore two battered, ancient-looking boots which seemed to have run for leagues; fine, scarlet silk pants; and a golden chemise which left his chest bare. An enormous black cloak was draped over his shoulders, trailing behind him like a lowly servant. Its hood was up, completely shrouding the mysterious man's eyes from view.

A long, tensed silence filled the space between the two, law-keeper and law-breaker. At last, the latter spoke, in a rich baritone suitable for his size: "Good evening... My Lady?"

"What is your business at this hour of the night?" Odessa demanded, ignoring his politeness. She speculated him a bit before adding, "And why do you wear a hood to cover your face?"

"Is it so obvious that I'm up to no good?" the thief replied, sounding perfectly at ease. He wasn't even panting after the sprint he'd just performed. "Why, my dear, are you following me? Why should you be awake at this hour?" He scrutinized her shining hair, her stormcloud-gray eyes, and her slim, nimble figure. When his eyes reached the two daggers clutched in her fists, he smirked.

Odessa jerked her chin at the man's weapon. "You realize that scythes are for farming, not battling?"

Irritated, Odessa jabbed a knife at him; the man leaped backward, his expression cautious and no longer smiling. As he did, a bag of coins jingled from within his cloak.

Odessa looked triumphant. "Where did you get the coins?"

The thief raised an eyebrow -- she was rather clever. "I... relieved a rather large house down the road of them," the thief said matter-of-factly. "Seemed like they had more than enough money to go around, so I took some. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm really in a hurry to leave this suffocating city."

Odessa blinked; no crook had ever confessed so quickly before. Nevertheless, she had to perform her duty. She bent her legs and assumed a fighting position. "You will not leave. I must place you under arrest, for taking what was not rightfully yours."

The thief released a long sigh, as if he had dealt with this issue many times before. "If you wanted to die, you could have just asked." He swung his scythe in a wide circle, but Odessa did not back down. "Although I do hate the harm such a beautiful angel. Why don't you just spare me the guilt and run away to your husband?"

Odessa smirked at him -- if he thought she was just some common housewife, he was certainly in for a surprise. She twirled the knives in both her hands, and, with speed akin to the wind, she swiped at him.

"Gods!"

The thief had not expected Odessa's attack, but his excellent reflexes quickly jerked him out of her reach. He parried one of her knives and coiled away from the other, following her attacks with his own. He aimed for her torso with his blade.

Odessa was smaller and undoubtedly too fast for his bulky scythe--but the thief himself was like a ghost, expecting her every move.

"You are surprisingly good, for a woman--and a tad too stubborn. Your husband must be a miserable man," the thief noted. He jumped away and came at her again.

"I am unmarried," Odessa responded with a grunt. She turned her head, hearing the whistle of his giant blade as it barely missed her ear.

"Understandable."

The thief chuckled--either amused by Odessa's pathetic efforts against his blade, or delighted by her unexpected skill. Laughter sounded awkward coming from such a serious, fierce deity.

Odessa gasped for air, growing tired; her opponent, however, appeared well enough to battle for hours. She realized with growing dread that he was way too strong for her, that fighting with him was like fighting an immortal god.

He took advantage of her weakness. She saw it coming, but was too slow to respond.

He rolled toward her and grabbed her ankle, then jerked it out from beneath her. Odessa flew downward, and as her head slammed into the hard ground, she let out a small shriek.

With that, their battle was ended.

The stars were distorted; night sky seemed to spin. The thief stood over his victim's body, looking down at her from behind the darkness of that hood.

Odessa gaped up at her conqueror, astounded, but was unable to move. The pain in her head was just unbearable.

"Forgive me, My Lady," the thief said, setting the end of his scythe on the ground. "It was... a pleasure to meet you."