TELVIN

The location our client wanted to set the trap was only about a day's journey east. It felt unnatural to be with such a small group now. There were only five of us. Charlotte, me, Hark, and two of his close friends. One went by Fingers, the other was named Wilbern. I didn’t know why they called him Fingers, but I had a sneaking suspicion. I tried not to stand too close to either of them, but I had my eyes on him more than the other.

Our instructions were very specific. We would have Hark stop the royal carriage for directions, posing as a lost courier. Wilbern and Charlotte would shoot the few knights down as fast as they could as Hark grabbed the queen. Fingers would provide support if anything looked like it got too hairy. I would be tasked with grabbing the king. It didn’t matter which one was killed, if one died the other would follow. The thought sent shivers down my spine. This guild has done nothing but hurt others, and I was just the same. I had no choice but to go through with what I was told.

“Pick up the pace, Tel,” Charlotte said to me. She slowed to fall in step with me. “Up ahead we’re making camp for the night. Tomorrow we will wait for the royal carriage.”

“Doesn’t this feel wrong?” I asked in a low voice. I looked at her, my head tilted down so the men ahead couldn’t see my face.

“Wrong to kill a vampire?” she asked in response. A wrinkle formed between her brows.

“Are they as monstrous as you say they are?” I questioned.

“Is this about that girl you knew?” Charlotte hissed. “She’s with a vampire now. Don’t you think that’s monstrous? You know what he does to her, right?”

I felt my face heat up and my chest hurt. “It isn’t about that.” Though, the thought of that man biting into her neck made me queasy. I swallowed dryly and looked away from her before she could see my reaction.

“Then what is it about? We can’t turn back now.”

She was right. There was no backing out this far in. The client had already given us half the payment. My share of the coin jingled in my pocket now. Guilt riddled me. I should have never accepted the money. I should have left when I watched the child get bitten. But where would I have gone? There was no other place for me.

We set up a camp just behind some brush. We had a view on the road but whoever passed through wouldn’t be able to see us. After we had a small meal, we pulled out the bed rolls and went to sleep. Though I had trouble sleeping with all the thoughts going through my head. I tossed and turned and eventually pulled myself up. The others were sound asleep. Hark snored quite loudly, Fingers had his mouth wide open and drool coming out. The other two had their backs to me. None of them stirred as I got out of my roll. I needed to get away to clear my head. I needed to forget all the things I dreaded.

I walked a bit into the woods, the cool night air biting into my skin. My shoulders felt exposed without my usual armor plates. The dark leaves above me reminded me of a simpler time. Soft hoots of night birds rang out and calmed me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. If only I could go back to where this memory brought me. Before Pa was mean and before I had gotten to know Iara.

Iara. The thought shattered the peaceful memory. I felt bitter towards her now. She had left and for what? She never mentioned to me she was a princess. She told me how much she cared for me just to leave me behind. I wished I could have gone back to before the woodcutter died, before we got to know each other. She was better off being the mysterious girl who lived in the woods. I regretted ever getting to know her. She held my heart in her hands just to throw it back in my face.

I jumped at the sound of a twig breaking. I whipped around, tightening my hands into fists. When I saw Charlotte, I laughed. “You never make sounds when you walk,” I said. It was almost comical being able to hear her coming.

She rubbed sleep out of her eye as she frowned. “I’m tired,” came her poor excuse.

“Sure.”

“What are you doing out here?”

I fell silent. What was I doing here? Moping, mostly. But I couldn’t explain that to her. She would call me an idiot for sure. “I don’t think I’m comfortable with the work the guild does,” I said instead. I regretted it as the words came out. Somehow that felt worse than just saying I was moping.

“What, so you want to leave?” Charlotte’s voice sharpened. The grogginess was gone from her expression.

I let my gaze fall to the forest floor. Dead leaves and twigs littered the ground. “I’m not sure what to do.”

Charlotte didn’t reply for a long time. When I heard her step and snap a twig again, I met her eyes. She stepped inches away from me. “Do you really want to leave?”

The sadness she showed made my heart drop. Every choice I made felt like the wrong one. Everything I did felt like it was digging me deeper into this hole and I couldn’t climb out. “I think so,” I whispered.

“I can’t make you stay if you don’t want to,” she replied back, in the same soft tone I had used. “Once we come back from this job, you can go. I’ll let Hark know if you don’t want to tell him.”

I nodded and looked away from her again. “Yeah, I think that sounds good.”

She lifted a small hand to reach out to me, but stopped. She looked torn, like she had more to say. She turned to go back towards camp, whatever she was about to say stuck on her tongue. She didn't even take a step before she stopped and turned back around. She looked resolved, like she would say what was on her mind no matter what. “I’ve been running away from my problems too.”

The statement made anger build up in my chest. As if I had any other option than to run. “Is that why you're terrible company to keep?”

Charlotte gave me a harsh look. “If only you knew. I can’t wait for you to be gone.” Her voice cracked. She turned swiftly again and rushed away.

I thought about running after her. I could tell what I said hurt, but I knew I couldn’t fix anything. Whatever I said made things worse than before. I would be gone before I knew it anyway. I sighed and let myself fall back on a rough tree. I dropped my face in my hands and tried not to scream.

Tomorrow would be a long day.

I didn’t remember going back to camp or falling asleep, but I woke up on my rough bed roll. Hark shook my shoulder. “Come on, we gotta set up.” The sun was just reaching over the horizon.

I nodded and headed to where Charlotte was. Her face was even more sour than it usually was. Her orders were short and her words were strained. She didn’t say anything to me that didn’t pertain to work. I somehow appreciated it. If she did say anything, it would have only led to an argument. We could bicker all we wanted to later.

We set up a spot for Wilbern and Charlotte to take easy shots at the road, and another spot closer to the road for me and Fingers. Our spot had to be concealed by physical means so it was much more uncomfortable. I sighed, crouching behind a bush with him now. He was far too close with how well I imagined he could pick a pocket. I tried to keep my distance, but everytime I inched over, he would take up more space.

“You ever killed before?” he mumbled to me suddenly. His eyes looked wild as he watched Hark waiting by the road.

“Yes,” I grumbled back, the memory filling me with dread. I had killed my own father. No matter how you tried to spin it, there was blood on my hands, intentional or not.

Fingers gave me a small smile. “Well, you better be ready to do it again. Here comes the carriage.” His long digit pointed right over my nose.

I frowned at him and turned to look. There was a pitch black carriage, the curtains pulled tight in the windows. There were two men in the front to drive, and four knights on every corner of the carriage. Each knight was on great horses, every one of the beasts as black as the carriage was.

Hark waved them down. “Hello, sorry for the inconvenience but I seem to be a bit lost!”

One of the knights slowed and reached his hand to the hilt of his sword. “Stay back,” he commanded.

Hark gave a brilliant smile. “Please forgive me,” he said. “But I just need some direction to the city.” He said the last words with a force behind his voice. It was the line to que Charlotte and Wilbern.

And sure enough, arrows flew down shortly after. One hit the knight right in his eye. The arrow landed perfectly in his helmet grill. He fell off his horse like a sack of rocks. The metal of his armor clanged loudly, spooking the horses. Another arrow landed on the carriage driver and he cried out in pain. It had pierced his throat. He yanked it out, but blood poured from it. It squirted in an arch like a fountain. His hands couldn’t stop the flow. He would be dead in minutes. Another one flew, but another knight slashed his sword and deflected it with ease. He wasn’t fast enough for the next one though. It hit his horse on the neck, making the beautiful creature cry out in pain. It bucked him off, making him land hard on his back. Hark lunged forward and stabbed that knight in the throat. Right between his chest plate and helmet. Dead in the matter of seconds.

Fingers jumped out from his spot and gave me a look to do the same. I hadn’t realized how frozen I had been, watching the sudden attack take place with awe. Everything had broken out in chaos at the first arrow. It was hectic, all happening at once. I couldn’t follow along well enough to even make my own move. Fingers threw himself at one of the knights still on his mount. He yanked the man off quickly, the knight falling on his face. He jumped back up as quickly as his armor would allow and readied a balde. They started to clash swords, yelling profanities at one another. I set my sights on the carriage. I was sure Wilbern or Charlotte could shoot down the other knight.

I reached for the door as fast as I could, but an arm blocked me. It was the last knight. I looked up at him and gaped at how large and intimidating he was. His plate armor was as black as the night, his face was like stone. He shoved me back, making me stumble. I slipped on some rocks and almost fell. I straightened and pulled my longsword off my back. The knight drew his sword as well.

“You all will fall before the might of the night goddess,” the man boomed.

The man swung his sword and I ducked. He almost hit my forehead with the blade. I jumped back as he slashed out again. I turned and swung my own sword with all my might. It was deflected with ease. He blocked with his blade and rerouted my weapon into the ground. I staggered back, the large sword being ripped from my hands. The knight reared his sword over his head, but I caught his wrists. I pushed him back but he resisted. He was strong. If I didn’t do something fast he would cleve my head in two. I reached back a fist and punched him hard in the face. He staggered back, spitting blood. One of my knuckles had connected with his metal helmet as well. I seethed and shook my hand out. I didn’t have much time to react. I needed to grab whoever was sitting behind that damned carriage door right now.

As I grabbed my long sword again, I glanced around for Fingers, who was supposed to be supporting me. I frowned, spotting him down the road. He was laughing like a mad man, dashing and cutting at the other knight. I turned back to my own knight and readied my blade once again.

“You’re going to die here,” the knight growled at me.

“I wouldn’t care if I did,” I hissed back, swinging the sword again. He blocked it once again, the metal ringing out loudly. I knew he would direct my blade right back into the ground. So I would use that to my advantage. While my sword was flung out of my hand again, I reached out and grabbed him by the neck. With my other hand, I pulled out the small blade I kept at my belt. He noticed too soon and staggered back just in time. If he was a fraction slower, his blood would have been filing his plated boots.

I threw the small knife at him before he could recover. It landed on his shoulder, digging into the metal just enough for it to stick. “Are you a fool?” he snapped.

Just as I was getting ready for another of his attacks, an arrow flew right past his head. He looked up to where it had come from, his blade coming up to block another shot. The arrow ricocheted off the metal and hit the cobble with a loud tink. I glanced to where the arrow had come from. Charlotte was walking towards us, getting another arrow ready. Her eyes were intense, unyielding. The knight wouldn’t leave here with his life. While he dodged and blocked arrows, he had no time to stop me. I lifted my sword back for one last swing and brought it down with all the force I could muster. The blade cut through the plating on the man’s shoulder. He crumbled, yelling in pain. I let my sword go, the weight of it making him fall back. There was no chance he was getting up from that.

“Telvin,” Charlotte screamed. I turned around just in time to watch the small woman jump at me. Everything seemed to slow down in that moment.

I was shoved back by the dwarf. Someone had leapt out of the carriage, wielding a small dagger. Runes ran up the blade, glowing like hot embers. The enchanted dagger must have been meant for me. For my throat. But instead the dagger sank into Charlotte’s back. Charlotte screamed out in pain. The woman who had the dagger pulled it back out and held her other hand up. She made a gesture, whispering words under her breath. I knew a spell when I saw one. I reached for Charlotte as she crumpled to the ground. The woman growled at us like an animal. She was as pretty as a doll, if not for how she screwed her face up in a snarl. Her fangs caught the light of the sun. This must have been the vampire queen we were to kill.

“You won’t make it far, Queen,” Hark called over to us. Her green eyes ripp`dsed away from us. Hark had a brown haired man in his grip, a knife to his throat. “Make a move and he’s dead.”

The look in the man’s eyes startled me. He didn’t look afraid. He was stoic, resolved. He only nodded at his wife. A single tear raced down her pale face as she turned and ran into the woods. “Go after her,” Hark snapped at me.

“I can’t, Charlotte was wounded,” I hissed back. I pulled Charlotte on her back. Blood pooled out around her quickly. Her breathing was shallow and her face gained a pale sickly parlor. She was dying.

Hark made an angry noise as he slashed the man’s throat. He threw him to the ground. The man dropped like a wet rag. He didn’t even fight back. “It doesn’t matter anyway. Those who are blood bonded will die if the other loses their life. She’ll follow close behind.”

We quickly gathered Charlotte and carried her back to camp as gently as possible. I treated her wound as best I could with help from Wilbern. She had lost consciousness before any of us were able to pick her up. I grew even more worried about her as she remained asleep. I was forced to carry her all the way back to where the rest of the guilt was camped. Hark was none too pleased at the extra weight he had to carry.

“Hopefully when we do this to the young prince, we’ll make twice as much,” Wilbern muttered as we trudged down the cobbled road.

“The young prince?” I asked. “You mean Prince Malachi?”

Wilbern nodded his shaggy head. “Hark didn’t mention we would be seizing the castle? We’ll be taking the monster’s home next. None of them will live.” His smile was wicked.

Fingers elbowed him in the ribs. “I can’t wait to see what that palace looks like from the inside.”

We would be charged with assassinating more people. That group could include Iara. I had to get out of this guild. I couldn’t handle the thought of killing the woman I loved. The weight on my back shifted then, breaking my thoughts. Charlotte took a deep breath in, her arms tightening around me.

“Where are we?”

“We’re headed back to camp. Are you okay?” I asked. I turned to try to look at her.

“Yeah, put me down,” she said.

I felt relief that she was fine. A flesh wound to the back couldn’t hold her down. I knelt on the ground and waited for her to stand, but she paused. When she spoke again, her voice was strained.

“I can’t feel my legs.”

“What?” I gasped. My heart sank to my stomach.

“I can’t feel my legs,” she repeated, her voice cracking with panic.

The knife that was meant for me was enchanted. I would have never imagined the nature of the enchantment would be something like this.