A Collection of Short Stories

Part One: Introduction

*Third Person POV*

The sinking sun began to create shadows through the tree as dusk crept in. A small group of ruthless criminals made their way towards their camp site after a particularly successful raid.

Yana walked farther ahead from the group, arms crossed as she said, "I told you we should have entered from the west instead of the east, that would have gone a lot smoother if-" Her words were cutoff by the leader of their entourage.

"I don't give a single fuck, as long as we got what we went for. And we did, didn't we?" Lucan raised a brow, lifting the sack of jewels from the loop on his belt.

"We sure did." Tarred said into Lucan's ear before leaping onto his back. Lucan grunted, but he couldn't hide the small smile on his lips.

Kai playfully nudged Yana's shoulder with her elbow, "C'mon pals, cheer up! We've just successfully slaughtered an entire village and looted them of every valuable thing they had. I'd say it was a pretty productive day." She wiped the blood from her face with a beautifully embroidered cloth that she took from the pocket of the last villager she murdered.

Yana laughs, and looks back at the large bag slung over her shoulder, "Yeah, I mean that and the fact that we found enough food to last us at least two weeks."

"Not with the way Tarred eats. I would bet my life that all of that shit will be gone in a week's time." Lucan scoffed.

"I am hurt." Tarred slapped the back of Lucan's head and slipped off of his back, stomping off pretending to be angry.

"Oh, come on babe, you can't tell me I'm wrong." Lucan shouted, trying to hold back the laugh struggling to get out.

"Wait, did you see that?" Kai's tone had went from playful to vigilant in a moments time.

A flash of motion had flown between the trees and Tarred was now nowhere to be found.

"Tarred! Tarred can you hear me?" Lucan began sprinting forward eyes going from one direction to the other wildly as he unsheathed his sword.

Yana, walking quickly just behind Lucan, said, "What ever is happening he couldn't have gone far. Should we spread out?"

"I'm going to get a higher vantage point and see what we're dealing with here." Kai slung her bow over her shoulder and quickly scaled the closed tree and climbed as far as she could, using her inerrant eyesight to scan the area. Just about half a mile away Kai spotted distinct movement to the west. She slid back down, the bark ripping at the skin on her hands.

"Anything?" Lucan said frantically when she caught up with them.

"This way, quickly." Kai wasted no time, she began running as fast as she could in the direction that she saw the movement. Yana and Lucan were keeping pace just as fast.

Lucan's heart was beating violently in his chest, all the while his in his mind was running wild with possible scenarios. Anger boiled hot in his veins, and the thought of anything happening to Tarred made him ravenous for blood and revenge. He couldn't help but place the blame on his own shoulders. Lucan was known for his bloodlust and thievery, and it hadn't exactly made him many friends. In other words, those who were his enemies vastly out-weighed those who weren't. And Tarred? He was a bit homicidal, sure, but he was loyal, and genuine, and everything that made Lucan's life not completely excruciating. Kai, Yana, and Tarred were his family and he burn the world to ashes before he let harm come to them.

The sound of Kai's voice snapped him from is maddening spiral of thought.

"The movement I saw was just up here." Kai said, her voice labored and breath heavy as she ran. Her finger was out-stretched pointing just a stone's throw ahead.

As they approached the spot Kai was speaking of they slowed down, looking around frantically for any sign of tracks or struggle. Lucan was about to make the decision to keep going when a drop of something warm and wet landed on his forehead and dripped down to his brow. With confusion he lifted his finger to wipe it off and when he saw the deep scarlet color of the blood his eyes snapped to the air above him. And there, just feet above him was Tarred, hanging from his feet and blood dripping from a gash in his head.

There was a flurry of movement and words around him as Kai and Yana saw what he saw, every muscle in his body was screaming at him to move, to do something, anything. But he seemed to be frozen. Suddenly Yana was in front of him, hands gripping his shoulder.

"Lucan! Kai is going to get him down we need to be ready to catch him." Yana said.

He shook his head, eyes vacant, trying to break out of this trance. He'd never felt so weak, so inconceivably breakable. But he knew that he needed to do what he did best, shove his emotions under the surface, especially now. He held out his arms, mirroring what Yana was doing. Kai lined up an arrow at the rope holding Tarred up, and let it fly. They caught his slight limp frame easily and lowered him to the cool green grass. Lucan lowered his ear to Tarred's chest and listened desperately for the steady beat that lulled him to sleep every night, and for one long moment there was only silence. The breath being held captive in Lucan's lungs was set free when he heard the slow faint beating of the heart he loved more than his own life. He heard Yana speaking next to him, though his eyes never left Tarred's face.

"He'll be okay" Yana whispered, the relief apparent in her voice.

"There's a note." Kai said from just a couple feet away, holding a small wrinkled piece of paper.

The note read: "One step ahead of you. Be prepared. -Until we meet again"

Lucan could practically feel the anger burning within him from the inside out. He knew exactly who had done this, that tiefling trash that he made the mistake of being involved with. He couldn't wait to set him and his pathetic little crew ablaze. Within an hour they had a plan, and set to leave after a visit to a healer.

"Let's finish this, once and for all. I'm in the mood for some chaos." Lucan clenched his teeth. This time he wouldn't leave until the streets ran red with the Icarus' blood.