Chapter 5When Bck Cats Cross Paths

  It felt like fire was blooming within Deney's chest as she sped off down the hill. Although their hands were joined, neither she nor Marrow were truly leading their escape in any particur direction. All Deney knew was that they weren't going back the way they'd came.

  Gardens, cottages, and pathways rushed past her view — scenery that would have surely been beautiful if her brain wasn't completely and totally consumed by the mere effort of keeping her legs moving.

  Did she even still have a heart rattling around in her ribcage?

  Everything felt like a blur...

  Luckily, as the buildings grew denser together, separated by cobblestone alleyways and dotted with color, the two necromancers were finally able to slow their pace a bit.

  Not that they dared yet stop.

  "Y'know, you pick the weirdest times to stand there and do nothing," said Marrow between hard breaths. He spent most of his life doing necromancy in a cave; running was not and would never be his strong suit.

  "You're lucky I'm actually concerned about not dying again.”

  "And you pick the weirdest times to criticize me,"

  Deney retorted breathlessly. Her chest hurt, and her feet felt numb, but the adrenaline coursing through her veins allowed her to press onward at a steady pace. So, instead of focusing on her pains, she examined the area as they trotted past.

  The road was rather rge — most likely a main road within Noctithnain, designed to support carriages and cargo traversing it. Up ahead, it appeared that the road opened into a bit of a clearing, however it was blocked by a mass of bodies in a tremendous din.

  Luckily, these bodies were alive.

  "Hey, look up there! If we hurry, we can escape into the crowd.”

  "More running? Can't the crowd just come to us so we can take a... break..."

  Marrow's whining stalled as the mass of people suddenly grew closer and closer, thundering towards the two of them. Many of the crowd wore faces of shock and arm, as if they'd just seen some horrible threat. Before the necromancers could get trampled, Marrow pulled Deney to the side of the road so the stampede could pass.

  There were too many voices to distinguish any full sentences, but through the overy one thing was repeated enough times to decipher:

  The Hounds.

  Deney's numb legs nearly gave out as Marrow haphazardly pulled her aside. She had to hold onto the wall of the nearest building to prevent herself from crashing to the ground, their abrupt halt forcing her to acknowledge just how empty her lungs were.

  A few gasping breaths ter, the ginger could finally form words.

  "What.... What's.... going on up there..? Everyone's... terrified…”

  "No idea, but it looks like we should stop sprinting... Thank god..."

  Once the way was clear, Marrow took the lead, hugging the wall as an open epicenter came into view.

  It would have been a lovely sight at any other given time. The street opened into a beautiful town square amongst the buildings, open enough to allow traffic as well as a commons to socialize. In the center of the square was an ornate fountain which depicted a maiden pouring water from a vase, and resting opposite the necromancers, right beside the road passing through, was a rather rge staircase leading to the town hall.

  However, the intricate details of the space were lost in the presence of the commotion which chased all of the residents away.

  "Agh! Crafty bitch!"

  "Don't let those pests get away!"

  Suddenly, the words Deney had barely paid attention to from the crowd made sense. Right there in the square was a small squad of Hounds, about five in all, each galntly armed with batons and handguns. They were apparently in some sort of intense altercation with two other figures, the smallest of which had just sliced a Hound's arm with a short scythe, evident by the burst of bright red staining their clothes.

  "Whoa! They're fighting!"

  Intrigued, Deney trotted from the side of the street into the square, crouching behind a flowerbed pnter.

  It was as dynamic as a stage py. Now close enough to focus, Deney could see that three of the five Hounds were in pursuit of a nimble woman, the small figure with the now-bloodied sickle. She was remarkable, leaping across balconies and the fountain statue, avoiding occasional gunfire with unrivaled ease and grace.

  The other two Hounds were much more grounded, their guns holstered in favor of swinging their batons against the sword of the other figure. He was a young man with sapphire eyes and simir finesse as the acrobatic woman. Alert cat ears pushed past his sleek bck hair, and fangs bore as he grit his teeth against his own odds of survival.

  Come to think of it, the woman also had cat ears, and even a long tail that the man seemed to be missing... Were they possibly...?

  "Oh great, more conflict," said Marrow, interrupting Deney's thoughts.

  "At least we know not to go in that direction. C'mon, I think I saw a deep alleyway back where we came from—”

  "No way... I think those are the Lucifee from that wanted poster!"

  Deney interjected in a hushed voice, not wanting to draw any attention to their hiding spot. She even tugged at Marrow's shirt to keep him from walking off.

  "What are the odds of us running into them like this? But they're in danger… We need to help them!"

  Her emerald eyes were glued to the fight before her. She'd never in her life seen a Lucifee in person before…

  Fabled creatures, who were widely regarded among mundane and supernaturals alike to be unwanted pests who only bring bad luck. However... Deney couldn't help but think that, up close like this, they looked remarkably like ordinary people.

  People, just like her, fighting for their lives….

  And fighting a losing battle.

  Suddenly, there was a great cttering sound of metal against cobblestone. While the sword-wielding Lucifee had been holding his own against his two assaints, it wasn't long before one of the Hounds had apparently disarmed him of his bde. The other then took advantage of the opening and tackled him to the ground.

  "And you think we're able to save them?"

  Marrow asked, now more focused on finding a way out of the city than the battle before them.

  "We're hardly equipped to save ourselves!”

  "But... We have to try..."

  Deney's voice faltered as she felt a deep pang in her chest, aching all the way into her soul. Unlike Marrow, her eyes were fixed on the scene before her, and it was becoming too much to bear.

  Now pinned to the ground chest first, with his right hand trapped behind his back, the Lucifee began to struggle. But then a resounding click halted him.

  It was such a small sound, yet it seemed to echo throughout the square with forebode. The second Hound had cocked his handgun, pointing it mercilessly between the Lucifee's eyes like a hunter staring down vermin. The Lucifee froze, absolutely petrified by the crushing weight of certain death before him. The slit pupils of his eyes dited so small that they looked like thin, bck canoes amongst a sea of sapphire. As he stared down that cold, dark barrel, the shrill cry of the other Lucifee rang out…

  "DAMON!!!"

  It's strange how time can seemingly stand still only to speed up rapidly within the next instant – as if it were trying to make up for being too slow by suddenly being entirely too fast, before the pacing eventually evens itself out again.

  That phenomenon is exactly what happened here, in the town square of Noctithnain. The younger Lucifee's cry seemed to cut through the icy time, heralding the arrival of a fsh of fire and a Valkyrie.

  Except... Wait... Fire..?

  No... That wasn't a muzzle bst... It was fiery ginger hair!

  Then the Valkyrie was actually...?

  "RRRRRAAAAGHHHHH!!!!"

  BANG!

  P'TING!!

  Head completely empty of all inhibitions (and common sense), Deney had hurled herself at the Hound's outstretched arm, knocking the pistol away from its target just as the trigger was pulled. The bullet then hit the cobblestone and ricocheted towards the Hound who was pinning the Lucifee down, grazing his arm.

  While both Hounds were completely stunned by this turn of events, the rescued cat-boy regained his composure and whipped around, using his free left hand to grapple with his captor.

  As the cat and dog fought like Lucifee and Hounds, the Ex-gunman whom Deney so generously relieved of duty (for more information, go to ) whipped his body towards the spitfire necromancette and reached for his baton.

  "What the—? An accomplice!”

  "My ass!"

  Deney retorted despite her struggling. He had managed to tightly grip the ginger's arm, not letting her go. Though, that didn't really stop her from making a very rude gesture with her other hand.

  "Only criminals have accomplices — I'm a good samaritan!"

  She then stuck her tongue out at him, brandishing her middle finger as if it were some sort of protective talisman. Yes, the true image of a good samaritan.

  Unfortunately, the Hound took offense to that.

  Fortunately, however, another gunshot rang through the air just as he was about to raise his baton for a strike. Deney whipped her head to the right, only to see the Lucifee she'd saved now pointing the barrel of a handgun between the eyes of the Hound who'd tried to kill him.

  "Let her go!"

  The young man demanded firmly, not even a finger trembling on the trigger nor the hand now sheathing his katana at his side. Even his intense eyes looked dangerous.

  It was in stark contrast to the Hound, now practically shaking in his boots, when mere moments ago he was steeled for cold-blooded murder. As his trembling hand loosened around Deney's arm, she noticed the body of the second Hound just behind the Lucifee, quickly accumuting a pool of blood. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the cat had wrestled out of the Hound's grip and shot them…

  And without his own gun, who was he to refuse this order? The Hound released Deney, allowing her to rub her wrist from the firm grip.

  "Just like an alley cat to py underhanded..." spat the Hound, as if he was testing the Lucifee's resolve. His baton still in hand, he tried to divide his attention between the two troublemakers before him.

  Deney backed away from the Hound instinctively, gring daggers at him.

  "You're one to talk! How exactly is a public, two-on-one execution fair—?!"

  "Where the hell is my sister?!"

  The ginger could barely get her words out before the Lucifee demanded more from his adversary. His resolve was unshakable, and his gaze was reminiscent of a mother protecting their cub.

  But, before the Hound could answer, someone else answered for him.

  "Why don't you see for yourself?"

  From around the ornate fountain the remaining three Hounds emerged, restraining the second Lucifee as she attempted to kick and cw at them. They were led by who appeared to be the squad’s captain, wielder of the man-catcher that held her by the neck like a stiff leash.

  Without jumping about, they were all finally allowed a proper look at the girl. She was small and wiry, with freckled caramel skin, and short cinnamon hair that was just long enough to get snagged by the man-catcher at her neck. Her feline ears, the same color as her hair, were tilted backwards with aggression, and a lethe, cinnamon cat tail shed about behind her.

  Honestly, Deney couldn't help but think the girl was quite lovely — at least, if she weren't struggling ferociously against such a cruel device.

  "Run away, Damon! Save yourself, I'll catch up!"

  She pleaded, baring her fangs and growling at the Hounds.

  "Damon..."

  Deney mused, slowly turning her gaze to the other Lucifee. He looked alert like a cornered animal, and his sapphire eyes had dited to lustrous orbs of terror and indignation once more.

  "What—"

  Damon's stunned inquiry was cut short by his sister's shrill yowl, for as she reached for her sickles held by one of the other Hounds, their captain mercilessly yanked her away by the neck.

  It was an awful, strangled yelp, causing the poor thing to cough and choke...

  "Zoey!! Let her go, you bastard!"

  Damon pointed the gun towards the captain now, practically oozing with murderous intent. Deney even had to take a few steps back from the situation, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire.

  But as Damon held up one gun, three more were pointed back at him. The Hound he almost shot had retrieved his gun during the standoff and sided with his comrades.

  The captain also had a gun. But instead of pointing it at Damon, he lowered it towards Zoey.

  "You better pray to H?mos you don't miss, because Seras knows we won't."

  He jabbed the man-catcher lightly, reminding Damon of the control he had over him now.

  Once again, Damon was on the wrong side of a gun barrel. Three, actually, but he only had two eyes and both of those were focused on the only gun that mattered — the one held by his sister's captor.

  This made things all the more difficult to navigate. His brain searched for any means of a way out of this situation alive, but time was running thin and their outlook seemed quite bleak... Yet, there was only a slight bit of hesitation evident in Damon at that moment, apparent strictly by his bared fangs and tightening grip. To think a man threatened so fgrantly with death wouldn't even flinch!

  However, it was nothing in comparison to Zoey.

  "You worthless piece of shit,"

  The small girl spat venom at her captors, staring down death as if daring it to cim her.

  "I don't care what you say, like HELL we're going to give you the satisfaction of shaming us! Just 'cause hurting others makes ya feel like you've got a bigger dick to swing around doesn't mean you're any less of a half-wit in bed.”

  "Shut it, freak!"

  A more green member of the five Hounds took that personally and gave Zoey a swift kick to the side. She recoiled, but only as a hiss in pain. These cowards weren't worthy enough to hear her cry.

  "Pathetic,"

  Zoey jeered in response, craning her neck to pierce the Hound with her intense amber gaze.

  "If that's the best you've got then you should consider a new profession."

  Deney was in absolute awe of this Lucifee. Even disarmed and quite clearly at the disadvantage, she spoke her mind without a care in the world about the consequences. If Zoey was going to die, she wasn't going to come quietly. Deney couldn't remember the st time she'd been so inspired, yet all that inspiration was for naught if she couldn't do something with it.

  The ginger wracked her brain for a pn, helplessly stuck on the sidelines. She didn't save Damon's life just so that he could watch his sister die instead.

  Think, Deney... Think...

  Think!

  "Ugnnn..."

  A chillingly familiar groan halted Deney's thoughts like a cold-shot. In his own pool of blood, the Hound who was shot down by Damon had started to stir.

  The captain was the first after Deney to notice this, and jerked his head at one of his comrades.

  "He's still alive. Hurry up and bring him over here, I'll make sure this vermin doesn't do anything stupid..."

  One of the other Hounds followed his order immediately, circling the precarious standoff to make it to his apparently living partner.

  "Now then..."

  The captain continued, his eyes still locked on Damon's.

  "If I don't see that pistol on the ground by the count of three, you can kiss this little kitten’s quick death goodbye. Since I'll have to waste a bullet on you instead, she can pay for all your sins t—"

  Arghhh!!!

  The Captain's taunts were drowned out by his subordinate screaming in bloodcurdling agony. Everyone's eyes snapped to where he thrashed about on the ground, the partner he was attempting to retrieve now sinking its teeth into his neck. Before the Hound could get to his gun, his partner had located the precious jugur vein and pierced it, causing blood to gush spectacurly from the wound before his body went limp, bathed in deep crimson.

  They now had a member of the undead on their hands, and in the wake of this bewildering revetion, all weapons subsequently lowered.

  "What the hell!?"

  The Hounds cried in aggravated fear.

  "No way... Not another one of those things..."

  Damon's voice was low in horror, just barely loud enough for others to hear. Though, even that was lost to the quickly forming din.

  "He’s… a Ghoul…? But how... This can't..."

  Deney's baffled stammering caught the attention of the captain, who quickly shed out at her.

  "Her, with the book! It must be that bitch's fault; how dare she desecrate—"

  His words were interrupted by the sharp, crisp sound of a bde sshing through flesh and bone.

  It was soon followed by his gloved hand nding on the cobblestone floor with a dull thud. It rested at the feet of a newly freed Zoey, the macabre distraction allowing her to finally seize her sickles from the other Hound beside her, and use them to swiftly lob off the Captain's hand which clutched the man-catcher.

  The cat was unleashed, licking her lips clean of the bloodstains which now dripped from her bde.

  At first the captain was so in shock he could barely process what had happened. But now, as realization set in, he was consumed by agonized pain. The remaining two Hounds became disoriented as their captain stumbled to the ground, wailing and sobbing more than his vocal cords would allow. Ill-equipped to deal with the rapidly escating situation at hand, the remaining two Hounds retreated with their tails between their legs. Together, they attempted to pull their traumatized captain with them.

  Meanwhile, the Ghoul Hound was preoccupied with eating his comrade, who had inevitably succumbed to the injuries, its deathrattle but a murmur under the pooling blood in its mouth.

  "That's right, fuck all the way off!"

  Zoey shouted after the terrified Hounds, removing the man-catcher from her neck and tossing it aside. She seemed almost as if she'd completely missed the gruesome scene which allowed for her escape, in stark contrast to Damon and Deney, who were frozen to the spot.

  "What the hell is that thing…?" Damon's voice struggled to remain calm and steady, cracking slightly.

  "That... Definitely shouldn't have happened...."

  Deney's wavering tone illustrated that she was just as confused as the Lucifee.

  "M... Marrow? Marrow! Hey, where are you?!”

  After she called for her mentor, the Undead Hound would raise its arm up violently. It was a jerkish motion that made it look more like a puppet than an unliving being.

  "Gah, shit. Hold on."

  A familiar voice came from behind some potted pnts, and then a pale hand could be seen from behind them, filing as if trying to rid itself of water or dirt. Oddly enough, the Ghoul Hound repeated the same motion, until finally it fell limp.

  A corpse once more.

  "I must say," said Marrow, now emerging from his botanical hiding spot, "I didn't expect eating someone through someone else would quench my hunger as much as it... did."

  It was then he remembered that he was now among people who were not Deney.

  Actual people.

  That is to say people who don't talk about the dark and macabre on a regur basis.

  "Wait, another stranger??"

  Damon excimed, becoming more and more thoroughly confused.

  His baffled expression was in stark contrast to the two girls beside him — a delighted and relieved ginger who seemed particurly surprised that Marrow hadn't run off for some reason, and an awed Lucifee with blood spttered across her face and a shing about behind her.

  "Whoa! How did you do that?! It was awesome!!"

  Zoey cried, regarding Marrow with shimmering eyes.

  "Marrrroowww!! You staaaayyyeeddd!!"

  Deney looked to be on the verge of tears, and honestly, who could bme her?

  "No hugs, please."

  Marrow put his hands up, approaching the trio featuring Two Dead Hounds.

  "And of course I did. The hell am I going to do on my own out there?”

  Deney's touched expression immediately turned one of exhausted disdain.

  "Right. I should have expected that response..."

  "Sorry, but, this is really making my head hurt,"

  Damon interjected, yanking his sister back a bit from Marrow.

  "Just who the hell are you guys? And, not to sound ungrateful, but... why the hell did you save us?”

  Deney turned her attention from her mentor, innocent bemuse in her emerald eyes.

  "Oh... Well, why wouldn't I?"

  It was such a simple answer, and one that came from the very bottom of the ginger's heart, but it still struck Damon like lightning. He was utterly shellshocked by those words, and mentally exhausted by the whole ordeal.

  "You guys needed help; I couldn't just stand there and watch them murder you,"

  Deney continued. She smiled brightly, hugging the grim tome to her chest.

  "My name's Deney Chainsworne — I'm really happy to meet you! I was totally worried that I wouldn't have been able to stop them. Like, honestly I had no idea what I was doing, heheh… Uh, your names are Damon and Zoey, right?"

  "Ah, yeah, Damon... Damon Seras—"

  "Man, you've really got some balls, girlie~!"

  Zoey's aggressive smile and commanding voice completely trampled Damon's suddenly hesitant one.

  Intense was probably the word kept in mind when she was created.

  "You saved my brother even though it meant you might die too. That's awesome! You're a badass!"

  Deney was taken aback by such praise, and her freckled cheeks turned lightly pink.

  "You ... Think so...?"

  "So who's this guy, anyway?"

  Zoey pointed enthusiastically at Marrow, ignoring the inquiry.

  "Is he, like, your sidekick or something?!”

  "Hardly."

  Marrow figured that was better to say than 'listen here you little shit'.

  "I'm Marrow, and I'm the reason you're all still alive. Tch, Sidekick..."

  Such a title was a blight on his decades as a Necromancer, of which the time spent shoveling corpses and making them dance were memories Marrow held in high regard.

  "Right, well,"

  Damon attempted to express his gratitude with a rather awkward nod and gesture, keeping his wary eyes darting around. It was then that Deney noticed his sleek ears were still somewhat prone.

  "I'm really thankful for both of you, believe me. We really owe you our lives, but if we don't get outta here soon, those Hounds will be back with reinforcements. We need to hurry up and get out of this town.”

  "What a coincidence. So do we."

  Marrow looked back at the street he and Deney came in through, just waiting for signs of a horde to pop up. If he had hairs on the back of his neck, they'd be stiff from sticking out for so long.

  "Oh. You're in trouble too."

  Zoey commented nonchantly, though her intentions were overshadowed by Deney.

  "Let's all leave together — We'll be safer that way!”

  "Yes, let's have all the fugitives and criminals in one spot. Maybe we can pick up some red paint along the way and put targets on our backs too!"

  Marrow groaned, that puppeteering spell taken more out of him than he'd have liked.

  "And where exactly are we supposed to go?”

  "Anywhere but here is fine by me!"

  Deney announced, her annoyance thinly veiled behind a bright smile. Which admittedly did nothing to conceal the sharp jab into Marrow's ribs she'd made with her elbow.

  "Oh! Oh! I know!"

  Zoey hopped up and down on the balls of her feet as Marrow choked slightly, her ears perked and sickle held into the air.

  "I overheard people in town talking about this forest just on the other side of Noctithnain. The... Pale… or... The Pearly..."

  "The White Forest,"

  Damon corrected, tucking the handgun he was still clutching into one of the deep pockets on his pants.

  "Yeah, that! People tend to avoid the pce, so we should be safe there.”

  CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP!

  Marrow cpped his hands aloud to get everyone to shut up.

  "Ahem... No.”

  "No?? The hell do you mean, no?!"

  Deney demanded.

  "Yeah, who put you in charge?"

  Zoey concurred.

  "I have my reasons, and shut the fuck up,"

  Marrow pointed to Deney and Zoey respectively in disrespect.

  "The White Forest is way less safe than the wilderness, or even here. The trees there are alive, and they watch your every move until the perfect moment to—"

  Marrow swiftly made a grabbing motion at thin air to illustrate his point.

  "—and hang you from its branches.”

  Zoey was particurly unamused by this response, ear twitching with annoyance as she scowled at Marrow.

  "Who cares? My bdes can slice through branches like butter. Sounds like you're just scared.”

  "I'm sorry... Is the person whose life I just saved insulting me?"

  Marrow looked down at Zoey (which wasn't very far), eyeing her as if she was a cat who just knocked down a vase. Ultimately, he grimaced.

  "Fine, I'll go. But if you get captured again, don't expect me to save you."

  With that, he stormed off, flexing his fingers as little blue fmes twiddled between the tips.

  Zoey's tail shed angrily, and her ear twitched a bit more aggressively than before. But, possibly even more uniquely was her retort as she trudged after him — which was less of a retort and more of an indignant hiss.

  Neither Deney nor Damon dared get in the middle of this quarrel, but now that it was seemingly over, they both gave each other a sort of awkwardly apologetic smile.

  At st, they were on their way out of Noctithnain.