Skin Walker: The Shadow Assassin

Shattered Sight

I knocked him to the ground, my sister landing a few feet away. I crushed my paw into his hand, effectively causing him to drop the knife. I howled as the pain from the pressure laced up my arm.

Trying desperately to ignore the pain, I lifted my front paws off the ground, only to smash my good leg onto his head, knocking him out.

I bared my teeth, going for the kill. A strangled scream pierced the air behind me. I turned in horror to see an arrow protruding from my sisters side, her face a mask of agony. Forgetting the Skin Hunter, I rushed to her side. Shifting back to human form as I ran. I put my hands over the wound, frantically trying to stop the blood flow with my shaking hands.

"Your going to be okay, your going to be okay," I chanted, repeating it over and over.

Her eyes briefly found my face, before becoming unfocused again. I begged her to look at me. Screaming at the top of my lungs, telling her not to give up on me. My sis wasn't a quitter. But instead of becoming magically healthy like I wanted, her skin got paler, the color draining from her cheeks. I felt wetness slide down my arm, watching numbly as it mingled with her blood on the forest floor.
Danger! My Tiger screamed in my mind. I rolled out of the way as strong arms tried to grab me, not caring that I was buck-naked. Before I could regain my footing, chiseled arms wrap around me from behind. Struggling to free myself, I tried to shift, only to have a cloth clapped over my mouth. Before I could stop myself, I sucked in a breath of air. The edges of my vision slowly became fuzzy. My knees buckled. I couldn't leave my sister, I thought. Not like this.

An invisible force held me bound. The drug slurring my movements. I wanted to get up, to go to her. I tried in vain to lift my hand to rip the cloth off my face. But only succeeded in twitching a finger. I love you sis. I love you, I love you, I love you. Those last words repeated like a mantra. They echoed in my head as I slowly entered unconsciousness.

***

My head pounded to the rapid beating of my heart. I groaned, forcing my eyes open. I grasped my shoulder, confused for a moment as to why it hurt so bad. And then it hit me like a tidal wave. My sweet little sister, always kind and filled with light, was gone. Ripped from me. I wanted to scream.

No, I wanted anyone who was responsible to die.

Trying to distract myself from the grief, I took in my surroundings, though there wasn't much to look at. A cart pulled me along, bumping every which way. I was in some metal cage, covered completely by cloth. To keep someone from looking in or me from looking out, I didn't know.

Noticing for the first time that I was still naked, with only a bloodied cloth wrapped around my shoulder, I decided to shift back into tiger form. Normally I didn't care much, for it was a normal occurrence in my pack. But this situation was another story.

After going through the painful process of shifting with my injured shoulder, I wondered who had wrapped my shoulder and why.
Probably so I wouldn't bleed out. For they didn't care about my comfort, all they cared about was money. And I could be worth a lot.

My train of thought was interrupted by the stop of the cart that had been lugging my new prison.

The cloth draped over the cage was suddenly thrown back, the harsh light causing my eyes to squint.

"Kitten's awake!" A mocking voice shouted.

I didn't react at the nickname, instead, I laid back down, pasting a bored mask on my face.

"Don't fret," the same voice purred, "We will be there soon."

Chills raced up my spine, for there was only one place there could be.

The King's palace.