Colorless II: Black & White

8 - Twilit Woods

"We stop them here," Maram said. He was still itching for a fight, and his eagerness made Rinian sick. "Let one go, and they'll just follow us. We'll be too slow as a group to outrun anyone."

Cyran held a spear borrowed from the Guard as if it were covered in something foul. "Right," he agreed, nonetheless. "No survivors."

Kin scrutinized Rinian and then stepped in front of him. "Don't use magic," he reminded him before his own magic flared, pushing up a cloud of dust and stones from the ground. It flowed and swelled as it rushed toward the corner of the mausoleum where the first of the pursuers were emerging. The momentary distraction was cover enough for Maram and Cyran to make their attacks.

The three of them fought well as a team despite still being limited by their weapons, and Rinian stayed back to pick off anyone who got past them. Their pursuers were only six in number, disorganized and ambushed, and Rinian was confident they would be overwhelmed.

It was the first time in a while that Rinian was able to really watch Maram fight. He worked from behind his mirage-like illusions. They flickered and faltered, and anyone with a sharp eye would easily see through them. But Maram fought close to his opponents, relying on the chaos and confusion caused by Kin's magic and backup from his brother. Despite Rinian's interest in Maram's magic, he couldn't watch him for long. Maram was vicious. An air of excitement surrounded him as he slaughtered, and he let out a shout of triumph with each victory.

A man with vibrant blue hair, brandishing a rapier slipped from the others.

No magic, Rinian reminded himself, and he raised his sword to deflect the man's attack. While he wasn't very talented with a sword, he had strength and speed over his opponent, and their bout didn't last long. Rinian slashed his sword toward the man, but before he could kill him, a knife sprouted from the man's throat, splattering Rinian's face with blood. As he fell, the knife flew back into Kin's outstretched hand.

Rinian wiped the back of his sleeve across his face. "You didn't have to do that," he called, but Kin had already turned away.

Essen and the others were at the wall now, and the sound of stone scraping stone drew Rinian's attention. He glanced over his shoulder just long enough to see another slab of stone, another false grave, being pulled away from the ground. He was beginning to wonder if Meira's was the only actual body buried in the graveyard.

The distraction made Rinian too slow to react when Maram was knocked back into him. The two boys crashed to the ground. Maram groaned in pain as he rolled off Rinian and onto his hands and knees. He spat out a mouthful of blood. "Pay attention!" he said, wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, and jumped back up to join his brother in his fight.

Rinian rubbed his head where Maram's thick skull had slammed against his. In the fray, his headache had almost been forgotten, but now it throbbed in fresh pain. "Damn giant," he grumbled and retrieved his sword from the dirt.

With Maram's help, Cyran downed the last of the pursuers. Six lifeless bodies lay at their feet. Black blood stained the pale grass, and the scent of new death merged with old. 

Rinian scanned the area for other threats before giving a brief prayer for the fallen and chasing after Essen. Beneath the false grave was a claustrophobic cavern. It dropped down, and a steep staircase led them up inside of the wall where a hidden door was pushed open to emerge again outside the city.

"Doesn't seem that secure," Maram said. "To have a hole in your wall."

He was ignored by everyone save a quick glare from Essen.

The city was surrounded by farms nearly ready for the harvest. A grayscale patchwork covered the countryside with few places for a group of people to hide themselves from the watchtowers. But as always, Essen was prepared. He led them away from the city, following along streams and areas of taller crops where they were somewhat camouflaged and brought them to the edge of the forest which covered half the country.