The Broke and The Hunted

  Rayna threw the note to the floor. Grabbing the only chair not being used to keep the indigenous monster life out, she sat down with a huff. At a second glance, the note did not have any marking, so there was no way to know who it was from. “Well... whoever it is, there not my enemy. If they were, why warn me? What purpose does this serve, and more importantly who is this from?” Rayna let her thoughts take verbal form. She found that it helped her figure things out. Rue squawked imperiously from inside Rayna's armor, demanding her attention. When she didn't receive her scratches, Rue landed on her mother’s arm and affectionately bit her finger. “OW!” Rayna exclaimed. Once Rue got her scales scratched, she flew over to the window, and began scratching at the glass. Of course, Rue wanted to go hunting. Rayna began the arduous task of unblocking the window to let her pet go out. Overall, she was a self-sufficient creature. In Rayna's opinion, that was the one thing she lacked at the moment. She was surrounded by nocturnal horrors with no place to disappear to... Or did she? Growing up her parents always warned Rayna to stay away from the tree line, because of the monsters. So, even then, there had always been monsters lurking in those woods. If that was the case, then were where the house's wards at? Not only that, but there was the problem of powering said enchantments.

  Pulling the last piece of furniture away, Rayna spotted Rue scratching at the window. What she saw her mini dragon sitting on made Rayna glad no one was around to point out her blunder. Rue was sitting on one of her theoretical wards. Quickly, she opened the window for her dragon, and closely looked at the symbols and patterns etched into the window sill, and if common sense said anything about this, it was that every window and door frame should have one. Hope began to snake its way through Rayna. These wards were wonderful. It solved a problem, but created another. If her estimation about her position was correct, then there was no way Rayna was going to clear this forest in one day without a mount. That was where this potential solution came into play. If she could get her parent's old wards up and running, then Rayna had a safe house with a natural defense against Gerwulf, any mercenaries, or would be assassins he sent. No doubt that screams she heard last night was one of them. The problems it created was power consumption and reliability. Common knowledge dictated that all enchantments required power to run, and this was no different. On top of that, if any of the magic circuitry was to damaged, then all the mana in the seven worlds could not help you.

  While Rue hunted, Rayna set to work locating all the dwelling's wards. Once that was completed, she inspected each one to make sure they were intact. Beyond the common bits of information every educated adventurer knew, that was it. Make sure the circuitry was intact and not to badly damaged, and feed it mana. As it turned out, a couple of the enchantments were damaged, but not badly. Rayna gave it a 70/40 shot. Seventy being optimistic, but those were good odds considering she was being hunted by the second. Plus, she needed time, and ironically this house of broken dreams could give it to her. There was nothing she could do about fixing the enchantments... regrettably, but maybe mommy fucking dearest kept some stored mana somewhere. Hell, a minor spirit stone would juice it for at least twelve hours.

  By this point Rue had return with a black and silver striped Sililyque hanging limp from her mouth with its tiny eyes rolling in fear. She gave a triumphant squeak before gorging herself on her breakfast. At least one of them was in a good mood. Rayna searched the house ground level to attic with no success. It was only when she went down into the cellar that she found what she was looking for. Situated in the cellar corner was a small iron band box. To Rayna's delight, the box held one major and eleven medium spirit stones. Assuming the enchantments worked, these stones would power the wards for one month and twenty-one days. It was a start. At the very least, it was promising. With a medium spirit stone in hand, Rayna, holding her breath, and placed the stone against the enchantment. At first nothing happened, then, after a few tense seconds, the held stone dissipated into small motes of light that were then absorbed into the wards. It slowly lit up, and tried to spread, then flickered.

  You have enabled house defense Major Beast Ward. Your House will repel beasts and monster up to level 80

  Without an enchanter there was just no telling for sure just how stable the enchantments making up the wards were, but Rayna took it as a good sign. Rue must not have, because she abandoned her meal to get as far away from the wards as possible. Rayna laughed as she accessed the enchantments menu and gave Rue immunity.

  Do You wish to give Rue the mini dragon immunity to the Beast wards? Yes / No

  She selected yes. Rue quit trying to flee the house and landed on Rayna's shoulder, and nipped at her angrily. With her mini dragon mollified, she fed another spirit stone into the ward and noticed that it started to stabilize. She did not feed the whole box to it just in case she needed them for future use. That level of restraint came from her constant need to be prepared. In her line of work, it pays well to be prepared, but efficient as well.

  Rayna checked her bag. Now that she had a place to lie low, what was her food reserves looking like? Dumping the contents of her bag onto the floor, she took stock of her food stuffs. The good news was that Rayna had enough food for a couple of days if she rationed. The bad news was that she needed three days minimum which meant that Rayna was going to have to risk her life at least a few times if this was going to be an effective safe house. What made this dangerous, was the fact that beasts and monster alike would likely feel threatened by her houses defenses and would flee from it or hang around the perimeter to attack the first living thing to leave its safety, seeing it as a challenge for their territory. Lamenting on a saying she once heard from a strange fellow, she would have to risk it for the biscuit. Did she though? Rayna dug through her bag for anything that could help. Sadly, the item she was searching for was not there. Rayna's traps were missing. Thinking back, she had packed them, but because they were wearing a hole in the bag, she had to strap them to the Lizzorse, aaaand the Lizzorse had been dragged off to who knows where and eaten by gods knows what. A shiver ran down her spine at the recollection of that night. Rayna would do a lot of things in the name of survival, but tracking that thing down was not one of them. That was an apex predator, and she was not prepared for that. They often came with a variety of immunity, and blindly charging after it without knowing exactly what it was, was a recipe for a horrible death. There had to be a better way to get some traps, then it hit her. There was a better way. If memory served, there used to be a trading outpost no more than a mile in a half walk. It was midday now, so she should be ok given that these woods had monsters that started hunting in the twilight hours. Jenkins Hunt would have some traps left. That was assuming it was still there. Rayna packed up her jerky along with her weapons. After checking for any possible dangers that might be lurking around the perimeter, she set out for the old trading outpost of Vanhier, but not before checking how much time was left on the Beast Wards. Satisfied, she left.

  Roark underestimated that old beast kin. Indeed, Gerwulf was cunning. To think that a binding contract could be defeated so easily using a fake finger and a little pixie blood. When his target blasted him and his party with a boomer stick, Roark thought it was the end for him. Hell, with only one arm, he thought his career as an assassin was over, and then that sly old wolf roped him back in by offering to make him whole. The deal was quite simple really. Find out what his target's connection with King was, and if it turned out that she did have ties, find out the nature of those ties, and take her out in a way that could not be traced back to Roark or his client. In terms of her ties with King, he found out that she was purchased by him as a slave, although the details of that purchase were... obfuscated, and killing a slave who belonged to someone as ruthless as King was tantamount to suicide. Of course, His contract with Gerwulf was iron clad. There was no going back, and not only that, payment had already been received.

  Thanks to the circumstances of the new contract, Roark was able to requisition new people from his guild to assist. However, unlike him, the guilds elders were non to please with how their contract was so easily terminated, and the binding magics negated, but that was in the past. More importantly, even though his target slipped through his fingers, he had another chance at her. The thing was, he knew where she was going which made him extremely nervous. Between those monstrous nightmares roaming the woods at night, and the loss of one of his men following a courier from the Zoo, he figured it would only be a matter of time before his contract was fulfilled, and he could go home. As it was, Roark and his men were holed up in a cave. “Look, I'M telling you she is at the old abandon house.” An older human said. “And I'M telling you that our target went to the abandon outpost.” A younger beastkin argued. A third interjected. “You both have excellent suggestions, but I'M willing to bet both.” That got the attention of both the younger beast kin and the older human. “And what makes you say that?” They said skeptically, in unison. “That is a good point.” Roark said, then asked. “Haven't you noticed that the beasts and monsters stay away from the abandoned house? If she has secured her base of operations there, then what's to say our target won't go to the old outpost for supplies. What if she needs fresh equipment?” The third being in his party nodded with a smug smile of vindication. The other two let their displeasure show. A howling screech reverberated through their cave letting them know that the outside went from caution to out-rite deadly. In the morning, I want two of you to go to the old outpost, and I will go with the other to the house to investigate, kill, and if possible, set a trap or two if she is not there. If you run into our target at the old outpost, you have my blessings to kill her. The beasts will cover our tracks on this one.”

  Morning came with the usual songs of the wood. Birds could be heard chirping their tunes. Two of his team gathered their equipment, and left for the outpost while he and the young beast kin gathered their stuff and set out for the house. By the look of it, it seemed that they all drew lots and this beast kin did not have luck on his side. Aside from being ambushed by the occasional predator, Roark's group just made it to the house just five past noon. No activity could be seen from inside the house, but he did notice that his companion was tensing up. “Is something wrong?” He asked his partner with some alarm. “It's the house. It exudes a dangerous aura. I just want to run the other direction, but I know there is nobody there.” The Beast kin said. It had to be a Beast Ward of significant level to make a beast kin this jittery. Just to confirm, Roark closed his eyes and concentrated on looking for any out of place sensations, and sure enough he felt it. A light tingling sensation danced across his skin. “Its magic. Stay here and keep a look-out. I am going in.” His orders given, he went up to the house, and with practiced caution, Roark picked the lock and entered the old abandon home. What he saw confused him. This was not the place of someone who was looking to use this as a place of operations, let alone a safe house. Much of the furniture was still placed against the windows save for a pocket here and there. Roark did not know how much time he had. So, instead of analyzing the targets living conditions, he began placing traps wherever he felt would present the best opportunity.

  It was a gloomy overcast day with rain pelting the windows. Ross was sitting on the edge of the bed staring at the amorphous blob that was between him and the egg that was his friend and only family in this world. What Ross could not understand was why this creature was so devout to it. At first, He thought it was because of Grisre, but that turned out to not be the case. When he had asked, all she said was “It is a pack thing.” This confused the cat even more. How could Danny who was once human have a pack? Toiling with this sort of thing was Danny's thing, not his. That was something he would ask Danny about when his friend... hatched. At one point he asked the shadowy blob why it wouldn't let him pass, and believe it or not, the thing actually gave a civil response, that was unlike that of a beast. That night when the egg was approached, it popped up between Ross and the egg as usual, and this was what was spoken. “This is the last time I warn you.” The shadow said threateningly in beast speak. Ross bristled, exuding an aura ready to go into a blood rage. “I will kill you if you attack me.” Ross had warned back. This line of talk was normal for beasts, but this was where the conversation became a real conversation, and got really weird. The shadow was still for a moment as if weighing its options on what to do with the thing that had returned its threat. It asked a single question that was more sentient than beast which shocked him so much that it took him completely off guard. “Is he your friend? I remember you saying that to the Beta.” It asked in sullen tones. The cat looked down debating on what to say, then decided what could it hurt telling this creature what it wanted to know. It wasn't like it was telling anyone. Everyone that saw this thing usually ran the other direction. He would have to consider when answering. “Yes. Were you once human?” The blob of shadow perked up at the question. Ross could feel joy emanating from the creature, but quickly hid its emotion. “Enough questions.” It said quickly changing the subject. “I am bound by an Alpha bond, if you come close, I will attack. Not because I want to, but because of an oath I willingly took.” Seeing Ross's confusion, he explained further. “Danny is a pack leader. He gave me my revenge which caused the animal side of me to become endeared to him which causes compulsions under the right circumstances.” Understanding began to fill the cat after hearing the shadow explanation, but it continued. “I warned you because I like you, and do not wish you harm, but your action can cause me to act out against my free will.” Now he just had to know. “What, or who are...” The shadow cut him off. “I said no questions. I could not answer even if I wanted to.” With that answer, Ross let it go. The truth was, he was curious as to the creatures’ origins after it displayed its ability for higher thinking, and its responses only served to confirm his suspicions. After all, it wasn't all that long ago that he too was once human. There were more important things to worry about anyway, such as money.

  After reevaluating their funds, they discovered that they were a quarter of the way through their money, and would need capital soon. Grisre did not have many skills other than working with beasts, and cooking, and housework. The two pondered ways to make money, but so far nothing was panning out. All the inns had enough workers, and cats for mousing which left Grisre's beast tamer class. She of course did not want to, and with good reason. It was not that she didn't want to, it was that she wanted to lie low for a bit until she felt it was safe to operate without the notice of the Zoo. Ross agreed, but she was starting to stink, and clothes were not cheap. Neither were the inns services which included a cleaning service and a bath house. “We need money Grisre.” Ross said. “I know, but what if they find me.” She said with worry creeping its way into her voice. “You said we need a ship, right? Then we need money. Besides, you have a shadow blob and me to defend you, and the egg.” Ross looked at the shadow for support, but found none in the form of an amorphous blob melting into the shadows. “Look! You're a beast tamer, right?” Grisre nodded. “That means your fairly knowledgeable about beast physiology?” She wasn't sure where he was going with this, but answered truthfully. “Yes, as a matter of fact that is the first thing they teach you. They start you out with small creatures then work you up to the bigger beasts followed by some simple healing spells like Cure...” She stopped with understanding. “It's similar to Beast Care.” Ross was going to say veterinarian, but assuming Beast Care was the same thing then yes. Then he knew as a notification popped up.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Congratulation! Knowledge skill has increase from lvl 1 to lvl 3 Novice. Knowledge-Your ability to recall knowledge that is common sense to you or knowledge that you have already learned. Level determines effectiveness. WIS +1, INT+1.

  It was the same. The only difference here, was that healing was done with magic, and not naturally under the body’s own power. “Yes, exactly! You can claim you're a veter... Beast Care professional, and no one is none the wiser, and if the Zoo starts nosing around, then we take our money and run. This can't be the only place with ships.” Ross said. Grisre looked as if she was about to protest, but nodded in defeat.

  That afternoon Ross slipped out of the inn and explored more of the city. Buildings gleamed in the noon light with streets packed with human and beast kin alike going about their daily lives. It was not really that big of a city. In terms of city size, he was used to, it was just big enough to be classified as one. That did not mean getting from one side to the other was quick. Not only that, but finding out how to rent out a stall, or if that was possible was proving to be difficult. Being a cat had advantages like being overlooked, or not being looked at twice. Some people would watch with fascination occasionally, but that was something a little stealth couldn't take care of. It also had its disadvantages, like not being able to ask where things were. Most beings could understand him, and attention was not what he wanted. So, after the first beastkin in what seemed like a 300 panicked, he stopped asking. That's when an idea struck Ross. Why not ask the local wildlife. All beasts shared a language. So why not?

  After confirming the existence of and arriving at the marketplace, he explored a little more. Ross eventually padded back to where the stalls were. If memory served him right, there was a merchant who had something resembling something like a miniature dragon. It was white like Karber, but with an opalescent sheen. If experience taught him anything, it was that dragons were intelligent creatures unlike a certain noble knight he knew. He scoured the stands until he found a dark-skinned human wearing purple and green mage like robes. Perched upon his shoulders was the mini dragon he had spotted earlier. Ross used his stealth skills to disappear beneath the crowd’s feat weaving safely with his cat agility to the other side without catching anyone's attention. Sure, it seemed pointless, but you try walking when you are consciously trying not to trip on an animal. It's like the ancient adage said. Ignorance is bliss. Coming out of stealth, Ross approached in a manner that his animal mind deemed non-threatening. Of course, his target watched the whole affair without missing a beat. He sat on a stone watching the tiny dragon. Honestly? He had not thought about how to start a conversation with this thing other than the whole beast speak thing.

  Ross stared at it, and it stared right back, not sure what to make of the cat that was just staring at it. Eventually the tiny creature had enough and made a hissing noise similar to that which escaped his lips from time to time which translated to “Go away.” Ross sensed what was coming through instinct rather than sight, and bolted as the mage sent a magic missile his way. Ross waited for the mage to lose interest in him. When he had, Ross circled back, and before the mini dragon could speak, he said in a low set of cat noises “I need help.” It was about to hiss when it hesitated. “You just want to eat me. You are a trickster. All cats are tricksters.” It said non-believing. To be fair, it did look appetizing... sick thoughts aside. “Well, you're up there, and I am down here. Plus, I just ate.” The dragon-like creature pawed imperiously on its masters’ shoulders as if it won some kind of contest. “Ok, I bite stray so no tricks.” It sent an image of the scene from earlier with a twisted addition. Instead of dodging the magic missile like earlier, the mini dragon bit him and scorched him with a silvery flame. “Fair enough. My human wants to open a stand. How?” The dragon's eyes narrowed to slits for a moment after smelling the air like it was squinting to see something unseen, then its eyes widened. It jumped off the mage’s shoulders. Ross began to channel mana into his claws which did not stop the little dragon from landing in front of him, and took in his scent. “You smell like a high dragon, yet you are a cat.” Ross just wanted to know how to get a stand, but played along. “I traveled with a dragon that tried to eat me, then professed to be a noble knight.” Ross said not sure even he believed it entirely himself. Excitedly, the little dragon moved about like a fan girl at a boy band concert. He just didn't get it. Once it settled back down, Ross asked. “What is the big deal?” It gave him a look that was given when something was supposed to be common sense, but the child was just to special to get it. When Ross returned the tiny dragons look with an equal counter stair of, I really don't know, it explained. “It is a being that exists in multiple realities at once. They are the mothers of all dragon kind in all overlapping realities, and the fact you were around one means you might have some of its aura on you. I need it.” It took a deep sniff as if to confirm.

  This was the opportunity he was waiting for. Ross didn't know how much this aura thing was worth, but it's not like he could do anything with it. “Fine, I'll give it to you under one condition. Tell me where your master went to get this stand. “Deal!” It told Ross where they went without hesitation. Despite being a dragon, it was not Karber, so it still suffered some of the effects of having a beast’s mind. Dragons were by their very nature hyper intelligent creatures. At least, that has been his experience so far. When the tiny creature hit spots in its explanation that confused it, it beamed images into his mind. Satisfied, Ross consented to let the tiny dragon siphon the leftover aura that might still be lingering on Ross. It hopped onto his back and began hugging the cat. It felt weird at first, but it made him hyper aware of his own aura, and gave him an insight that he hadn't had before. It was primal, powerful, but most of all connected in the most intimate of ways. Not only that, but it started as a tingling sensation. As time proceeded, Ross was able to extend his feelings outward and see with his inner eye, his own aura. Ross could see it, a deep scarlet red, but floating in that sea of scarlet was a tiny patch of gold that was slowly shrinking. He saw his auras ebb and flow like a tranquil red ocean of peace teetering on the edge of violence. Ross was brought back to his senses when he felt the tiny dragon bite his ear. “Thought I lost you. Diving into your own aura is dangerous. Thank you by the way.” With that it flew in front of the mage and began to glow with a golden light, and turned into an egg of golden chrome and silver swirls. The mage of course freaked out, and Ross was not sticking around to deal with a pissed off mage. He had narrowly escaped his magic missile once. There was no need to tempt fate twice. It was a good thing to, because he could hear the young mages distress. Plus, he had the information that him and Grisre needed.

  Rayna made excellent time getting to the outpost. Much like her old family home, it too was abandoned. By the looks of it, it appeared to have been abandoned for quite some time. It was very creepy. She had always heard stories of ghost towns. These were towns where people just up and vanished without a trace, leaving plates of food on the table, or items on a counter for purchase and never being sold. This was exactly like that. However, there was a bit of a difference. This place showed signs of long past being disturbed. Seeing no current signs of life, Rayna got to work pilfering the outpost of anything good. In her search, she found a bag of holding, three traps, and an enchanted crossbow with a matching quiver of glowing crossbow bolts that sparked upon being touched. Over all, it had been a good haul. How the crossbow and arrows got missed was beyond her, but hey, it belonged to her now.

  Rayna was about to call it and head back when she heard something out of place. It put her on edge. In the distance she heard voices. In reality, they were not being loud. It was because of the silence that they could be heard complaining. In truth, Rayna didn't want to be here either, but as things were, she was. Though, her reasons were due to necessity and survival. Whatever their reason was, it was suspect. After realizing where she was on that first night, Rayna figured she would not see a single living soul on foot for quite some time, or at all, yet here these two were. There was an older looking man, and a woman that looked to be in her twenties. Rayna hid in one of the buildings that turned out to be an old pub/inn. She watched them, and listened to see why they were there. Though, Rayna had a pretty good idea as to their true purpose. “She has to be here. If our target went back, we would have run into her. Now, start searching, and if you find her, kill her. We'll meet back here.” The woman said imperiously. “For fucks sake Aga. You do this every time. You are not my boss.” The older man protested. “Shut the fuck up and start looking.”

  The two began their search. Rayna grinned as a beast rarely seen by none but her enemies made an appearance. She was not a battle crazed maniac, but this was an opportunity to gain better insight on her situation involving Gerwulf. She looked at her crossbow contemplatively. There was no way she could take them head on. Their levels must be high to just brazenly walk into a location with little regard, especially in these woods. That left Rayna with few options. Opening up her bags, she quickly transferred everything over to the bag of holding, keeping her newly acquired traps separate. “I guess you three are going to see some action sooner than expected.” she murmured. Each trap was of good quality. Meaning, that she could hobble/catch anything up to Lvl 50 easy. Quickly, Rayna shoved all three traps into her bag, and gave Rue reassuring scratches that was more for herself than for the tiny creature tucked safely in her armor. Even if she was being hunted, Rayna refused to be the prey. Whats more, they would soon find out what it is like to be the hunted, and by a master no less. A dark smile spread across her face.

  Her prey was getting close. The one called Aga was not being as careless as the older man, taking her time when examining each building, but despite being the Ice Queen that she was, she seemed to care for him. Despite telling him to shut the fuck up, she looked upon him as a younger sister would an older brother, or a father figure which meant they were probably related. “I can use that to my advantage. So, all I got to do is trap the man. Get him to make noise, and she will likely come to his aid.” Rayna plotted. When Aga cautiously walked into the next building, Rayna seized her opportunity and stealthed out of the pub. She was careful to stay quiet and stick to the shadows, careful to stay down wind of her prey. There was no need to give them more clues to her whereabouts than they needed. After all, they knew she was here. So, why give them more than they needed? Rayna snuck around the outpost until she found the older man who unlike Aga strolled into the abandoned house. His search of the house was efficient. No doubt setting traps which meant she had roughly seventeen minutes until he reached the last building on the street. Quickly, she moved into the house. Removing one trap from her bag, Rayna carefully placed it in front of the door leaving the door cracked open outward. With dexterous hands, she spiked it into the floor as quietly as possible which took five minutes of Rayna's seventeen. Then, she set the trap, and very carefully covered it with a thinning and decayed rug, making sure that it had plenty of wrinkles to camouflage her traps outline.

  With Rayna's first trap set, she moved to the top of the stairs where she placed the second trap. This one did not need to be covered, but why leave anything to chance. With her remaining time, Rayna found another rug. This one was dirtier, and more torn up then the first one. This was probably for the best. Aga did not seem like the type to fall for a trap if she knew there might be one, but Rayna had an idea for that. Like the first one, she placed the tattered rug over the trap, but leaving the tears open in a way that did not reveal the trap beneath. If Aga was close enough, all that was needed to get the desired result was to shoot the bitch in the knee. Making a mental check on her remaining time, Rayna lightly hammered the trap in place. She armed her crossbow, and checked her dagger at the waist and waited.

  As sure as the sun shines, the older man walked through the door with little care. SNAP! CRUNCH! The man screamed and went down. Rayna held the cross bow at the ready. She wanted him to see who brought him down. She wanted him to know who the true hunter was. As soon as his eyes met her cold and predatory stair, the man understood the true gravity of his situation. She could see the thoughts behind his pain riddled expression, and the beast within feasted on that pain. The older man yelled once more. “SHE'S HERE!” That was the last coherent thing he said, because Rayna, with an aimed crossbow released an arrow into the knee of the man's good leg, sending him into an even greater state of convulsions, pain, and screaming. This served two purposes. The first, was to cut his ability to pull the trap up under his own power, and the second was to ensure Aga could find them.

  Wasting no time, Rayna reloaded the crossbow in preparation for the man's partner. Just as she predicted, Aga appeared in the doorway. She looked down, and anguished at the sight of her comrade's suffering. “I'M going to fucking kill YOU.” She screamed in absolute rage. “Like your friend?” With her dagger, Rayna made a slicing motion across her neck which enraged Aga even more. Seeing the success of her taunt, Rayna ran for the door in front of the stairs which caused Aga to charge up after her. Of course, Rayna watched and waited in the doorway. When her prey reached the top of the stairs, she saw her look down just in time to avoid the trap. Unfortunately, Rayna's crossbow had its own opinion on the matter. With a light squeeze of the trigger, the bolt crossed the distance in an instant, embedding itself into Aga's knee. Much like the older man who was watching the exchange with a mixed look of pain, worry, and hope, saw Aga go down. She hit the top of the stairs, landing on her face knocking her out. “Well now. That just will not due.” Rayna said in a condescending tone while walking over to the unconscious form of her would be assassin. “That just will not do at all.” The older man locked hate and pain filled eyes with their captor with promises of death to come with no real way to deliver, and they both knew it. To his horror, she picked up Aga's arm while looking at the man and dropped it followed by a loud snap fallowed by the crunch and another snap that came from his Aga's arm.

  Rayna stepped over her fallen prey, and made her way to her other victim, who gritted his teeth, and glaring at her with even more hate then was thought possible. “Come on now. You come barging into this outpost trying to kill me without so much as a hi, by, or kiss my ass. Where are your manners?” She said in that same condescending tone watching the man with calculating eyes. The man said nothing. Instead, he gritted his teeth against the pain of his mangled leg and shattered knee. Which, to his credit, was a feat in and of itself. “Not talkative, huh? I would not be either if I were in your shoes, but hey! Don't play dangerous games if you are not willing to pay the price. So, what should I call you? I mean, I already know that cunts name.” She knelt down so she was closer to his face. The man just spit in her face. Calmly, Rayna wiped his insult from her face, and slowly walked up the stairs to where Aga lay, but stopped just shy of her feet. Bending over, she gripped both of her feet and spun Aga causing her to slowly bend in ways a normal human should not. She woke, letting out blood-curdling screams as her back was slowly bent upwards ninety degrees, and she was spun just as slowly which caused her already mangled arm to finish snapping with a series of pops, cracks, and followed by more screams. Her back was no better off. Rayna just laughed a cruel and vicious laugh. It was that moment that the man in the doorway, and the woman at the top of the stair realized that they were not the hunters, but the hunted, and standing before them was no ordinary predator, but death itself coming to collect.