Return back to Amandor was taking far longer than I'd personally like, but keeping appearances was also important. I had enough strength remaining to probably lift Abi up and carry her as well on my shoulder for the remaining part of the road. Instead I've simply slowed down my pace, to let her drag her feet forward. She was exhausted, probably more mentally than physically, all thanks to lack of sleep. Unlike her Kastan didn't even bother to stay awake and slept on my shoulder.

  "Any clue how much longer?" A soft and tired voice sounded to my left. She didn't even bother looking up at me, just tried to keep her eyes open without moving them.

  "If we keep this speed, less than an hour. You sure you're able to go?"

  "I'll try..." A big yawn forced her to end the sentence, immediately poisoning me as well, as I also yawned.

  If not for the redhead, a lot of blood could've been shed on the farm. Not to mention the potential that I could've not even manage to find the fire mage in the first place. This girl had potential, but could she really be trusted? I had no idea, so I've left the question unanswered for now. It would require few more missions to be fully sure, but maybe it will be one of the few people who'll know about my secret.

  Talking about it, I've found myself subconsciously licking my fangs. I had blood last time in the fort, right before sleep. A week on old supply of beast blood stored and reheated with fire was getting on my nerves. I've lifted a hand to look at it and I could see how it shook. From outside perspective I've probably looked like an addict without their fix. If only there was a convenient monster in the woods that I've could kill heroically and bleed dry, until I was fully satiated.

  I've almost dropped Kastan, when suddenly I have heard rustling in the bushes nearby, but when I've looked it was a small bird. It grabbed a little fruit from the branch and flew away. I've followed it's path with my eyes, wondering how nervous I've become. It was getting dangerous to go 'dry' for so long, so once the mission was accomplished, it was time to go on a hunt through the woods.

  Walking, slowly and steadily. Step by step, Abigail tried her hardest to not fall - even thought the prospect of sleeping on the dirt path seemed like a good idea. She'll reach the gates and go straight for a tavern and probably in the evening meet up with Karya to late dinner, maybe even some drinking to celebrate a completed quest.

  But then, as if angels brought it up on their wings, a small flock of birds rose from the tree line into the sky, and for the first time in hours Abi could see them at the background of the sky. She didn't even noticed it was getting brighter... And was it the far away gatehouse?!

  A big smile started crawling its way on her face, she felt the corners of her mouth lifting with great resistance, so she turned to her new 'friend' who share good news with her. But was it still Karya?

  She was staring at a girl who looked the same, yet different. Muscles tense as if ready for combat, her eyes seemed to glow in the first sunlight, like two rubies. She was licking her teeth, as if she was a starving beast with sight on a delicious piece of meat. It took Abi a moment to spot that the canines on Karya were unusually long. Right next to her was a person who looked like a vampire, was tensing, preparing to pounce on anything she spots.

  But how was she alive? Right now sunlight was shining right at her, bathing her visage in warmth, but she was alive still. Was it all a dream?

  Suddenly Karya turned towards Abi, their eyes meeting - the dream turned into a nightmare. The redhead could see herself in the big red orbs staring into her soul. The moment fell silent and both stopped walking, simply staring at each other.

  "You okay?" The voice woke her up from the trance and she shook her head.

  "Y-yes, I'm fine. I'm so tired, I've started imagining things, but luckily we're getting close to the town, so I'll be able to crash in bed and sleep." Abi chuckled at her own words, sensing how awkward she sounded.

  "Yeah, if I'll pay you for the bed. You're as poor as church mouse. First we're getting him to lord Otto, grab the reward and then think about sleeping. If we're lucky we'll be able to stay at whatever manor he's renting."

  Hearing that almost broke her spirit. Easy rest was out of the picture and she'd have to slog through unknown amount of walking and talking.

  When we both reached the gate, the water magician looked even worse somehow. She looked so bad in fact, that the gate guard ignored the bound person on my shoulder, looking over the redhead instead.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  "Are you fine miss?" He then looked over me, my prisoner and the burnt hole in my shirt on my stomach. "Night hunt?"

  I've responded immediately. "Yup. And this here individual is the one whose burnt the fort yesterday morning. So I'd need to meet with your captain, or for you to tell me where lord Otto is right now."

  The guard looked at his buddy, who simply shrugged. "Don't know about his lordship, but captain will be in barracks. He doesn't usually leave until noon."

  "Thank you." I've nodded as I passed the gates. But just to make sure, I've walked extra slow to allow for Abi to pick up her walking pace from start again, before we marched to the barracks.

  Guard barracks were easy to spot in Amandor, as they were position on an elevated mound of dirt, built with red brick. It showed that they were newly built, as the only other red brick buildings in the town were situated in the guild district. A single road filled with equally red structures, where different craftsmen guilds, councils and other administrative bodies were situated within.

  A large archway separated the military infrastructure from the civilian one. And past it was a training area, a large dirt field with dummies, wooden weapons and recruits slowly gathering. In front of them a tired looking middle aged man, observed the young men gather in front of him in a loose formation - but formation nonetheless. He seemed important, so I've approached him first.

  "Excuse me sir, are you the guard captain?"

  He turned towards me, looking over me and the redhead. "Garris is inside his office. Building behind me, first floor. You might want to go down to basement first, that's where the prisons are."

  "Actually, I'll be moving this man straight to lord Otto, its the arsonist from yesterday." At my words, the aged man's eyes widened. Few whistles sang from the recruits, but immediately silenced themselves when the trainer gave them a look.

  "Bounty hunters? Long time since I seen one in Amandor. Mostly just adventurers."

  "I hope they left positive impression on the guard?"

  "They did, but left as quickly as they've come. Your sort refuses to stay in place. Now, I have some men to train, so if you ladies excuse me."

  We both moved out of his way, as the man started ordering around the trainees into small squads, assigning them to mundane duties around the barracks.

  Entering the building, there was a desk at the front with a bored man, sipping on a cup of hot tea. He slurped loudly, observing us as we took the stairs up towards captains office. Before the door was a little chair and I didn't even have a chance to propose it to Abi, as she already sat down in it.

  "Don't fall asleep. It will take only a moment."

  "No promises." She spoke as she got comfortable in the chair.

  When I entered the office, to my surprise it resembled more a merchants room than a guardsman. On the left side was a bookshelf, that took almost half the wall's space, with a regions map next to it. I could see that the map was of the entire region of Amandor, all its farms and villages included. The north of the town was a great blank space with only few crudely drawn pathways, one leading to a fort with 'X' drawn over it.

  Before I could look over the other wall, I've spotted the captain's gaze on me. "Excuse me, brought the arsonist from the fort. It's the mage Kastan Thornheart. Need him cuffed and magically silenced properly."

  After saying that, I slowly lowered the man to the ground, helping him stand up. He looked tired, as if just now woken up. He frantically looked over the room, slowly realizing where he exactly was. He remained dead silent, at least for now.

  "That can be arranged." Said the captain as he stood up. He looked average, with normal height and build, but he had one feature that made him stand out. He was completely bald on the top of his head, but had bushy, curly black sides. "I'll get him prepared for the interrogation to come, but I can't tell you how long it will take. You better take a rest at one of the taverns."

  "At the taverns? I probably still need to meet with his lordship first and inform him of the completed hunt. Do you know where I could find him?"

  "Oh, you must not know?" He said, as he walked over one of the cupboards across his office, pulled out a brand new pair of shackles with runes carved into them and approached the fire mage. "Lord Otto is staying at his relative's estate out of town. From what I know he'll be within a week, but who knows with the nobles. But no worries, I've been given the reward money for the arsonist, so when we confirm that it's him, I can pay you. Simply come by tomorrow and everything should be ready."

  When he finished speaking, he untied the rope from mage's hands and clamped the heavy shackles on his wrists, locking it with a weird bolt, that started to glow when it engaged with Kastan's magic.

  "Alright. I hope he will admit to you as he did to me. Till tomorrow then." I've shook the captains hand and left the room.

  Outside, Abi was comfortably sitting in the chair, but luckily not sleeping. When I left, she stood up slowly and yawned before she could even mutter out a word.

  "So, I presume for now we're free?"

  "Yeah, let's go to tavern and rest. We will get paid tomorrow, so you'll have your own budget. From tomorrow on, you pay for yourself."

  "Alright, sounds good. I know a decent tavern that offers actual beds for travelers, not just a blanket and a pillow on the floor, but most importantly it's cheap." That information surprised me enough that I've decided that Abi should lead the way. Even more surprising, she didn't even seem that tired anymore.

  The walk to the tavern was fairly short, only few minutes from the barracks. And indeed it was cheap, only 2 silver a head, with each having a separate room. Of course food was not counted into the price, but at least we both had a bit of privacy. I've decided to lay down in the bed and try to sleep, but when I felt my hunger growing restless, I was forced into my little ritual for drinking blood from a vial. This time I was lacking the comfort of a hearth, and so I had to use a candle for warming up the blood.

  When I've drunk it, I could physically feel the thirst going away, but it left a disgusting after taste, as if it was wrong to drink something that died a week ago. Maybe it was, but I had nothing better on hand right now. This time thought, I've went to sleep in relative peace, hoping that tomorrow I can wake up without needing to jump out of a window.