Aris circled the building low and quiet, boots shuffling over ash and broken glass. The fire crackled behind her, throwing long shadows against the school's rear wall.
Someone whistled casually. She could hear footsteps. One male. Relaxed. Unaware.
She peered around the corner. This one was an archer. One of the enforcers who had been watching the fire from the front.
What was he doing back here?
His bow was slung over his shoulder, and he also carried a dagger on his right hip and a baton on his left.
To Aris, he was basically unarmed. The bow was a long-ranged weapon, and the other two would have to be drawn first before being put to use.
She crept up on him, slowly and silently so as to not alert him.
His back was turned toward her now. His pants were loosening…wait was he relieving himself?
Surely enough, a stream shot out, extinguishing some of the flames on the side of the building.
Not only did these bastards have to burn down her buildings, but they also pissed on them too.
She drew closer, readying her dagger.
The man hummed for a moment, then began to sing. "I'm just a lonely man, from the south of Brenmir. I walk the deserted road, not an ounce of fear. I'm just–"
His voice cut off as Aris slid her dagger across his throat in a curve, severing both jugulars.
She clasped a gloved hand around his mouth and let him sink to the ground in a pool of his own blood and piss.
Exactly where he belonged.
Grabbing the fallen bow from the ground, Aris snapped the string and tossed it away.
The fire popped loudly as Aris melted back into the shadows opposite of the school.
Someone was coming.
A deep voice laughed and drew closer. "Why're you taking so long back there, pissboy?"
The man with the mace appeared, his massive silhouette warped by the flicker of frolicking flames.
Silence followed, and the enforcer's footsteps drew to a stop.
He scanned the ground, eyes narrowing until they locked on the burning bow and the dead body.
"Well well well. I was wondering when we would face some resistance," he grumbled. He reached into a pouch at his belt and withdrew a vial of dark liquid. The tonic sloshed as he uncorked it with his teeth and tipped it back in one long pull.
You're already dosed, she thought with a pulse of anxiety. She'd never seen an enforcer take a second dose of Thorne's tonic before.
His throat worked as he swallowed, veins in his neck darkening to a pitch black almost instantly. His muscles tensed, swelling beneath his clothes as his breathing grew heavy and uneven.
The enforcer wiped his mouth and grinned.
"Alrighty," he said with excitement. "Come on out."
His mace hit the ground with a thud as he rolled his shoulders.
Aris could feel her breath quickening. He was talking to her.
"Where are you?" he growled. "Let's see how brave you are."
Aris stepped back further into the shadows, her back against a wall now.
It seemed Thorne's dogs weren't just sniffing around anymore. They were hunting.
There was no way she would be able to take this one down without making a scene. After killing him, she would have to make an escape.
A plan formulated in her head as she took in a deep breath.
Here we go.
She stepped out of the shadows, bloody dagger in hand. "Come and get me, bastard."
The enforcer's eyes locked on her, his pupils dilating. "There you are."
He lunged without warning, a roar escaping his throat.
The mace tore through the air where Aris's head had been a heartbeat earlier, smashing into the brick wall with a thunderous crack. Stone exploded outward in a spray of dust and fragments.
Aris rolled, came up low, and sprinted back to the school.
The enforcer followed close behind as she launched herself through a window, glass shattering around her and stinging at her exposed skin.
She landed inside and dashed across a room to another door.
She cut left, then right, forcing him to turn. The tonic had made him strong, not smart. His movements were powerful but heavy, every step cracking the wood floors beneath his feet.
The mace came again, cutting through the air at an incredible speed.
Aris ducked beneath the swing, feeling the wind of it tug at her hood, and slashed at his exposed leg.
Her dagger bit into the skin, but barely. The blade skidded across muscle hardened like iron beneath his skin, drawing blood but not slowing him.
She needed a better angle.
The roof above her sending sparks and ash raining down upon them. Smoke filled the air, suffocating her lungs more with every movement.
As a response to the attack, the enforcer backhanded her across the face, sending her flying backward. She crashed into the wall and hit the floor, knocking even more breath out of her lungs.
Aris tried to breathe in, but there was no oxygen left in the air.
She had to get out of here. And fast.
It was do or die. No one was going to save her from this. It had to be done by her hand and her hand alone.
She gritted her teeth and rolled again just as the mace crushed down where her head had been.
So close.
The enforcer loomed over her, veins pulsing black beneath his skin. "You should've run," he said. "Most do. We are soldiers serving what will be the most powerful empire in the world. You should've known what you were up against."
Aris spat blood onto the ground and smiled. "Don't worry. I know what I'm up against."
The enforcer snarled.
She was already moving.
She vaulted over fallen rubble, came in low, and drove her dagger into the back of his knee.
This time, it sank deep.
The enforcer roared in pain and fury, dropping to one knee. He swung blindly, the mace clipping her ribs as she pulled away.
White-hot pain exploded through her side.
Aris stumbled but stayed upright, breath hitching. Not broken. Just bruised. She could work with that.
She was now in her fight mode. No fear. No hesitation. If she died here, it didn't matter. But she would at least bring this bastard down with her.
"I'll tear you in half!" He screamed, mace raised for an attack.
Aris charged straight toward him, which was something he wouldn't expect.
At the last second, she slid between his legs, slashing upward as she passed. The dagger carved a brutal line across his thigh. Blood poured freely now in a dark crimson stream.
The enforcer howled, staggering forward. His hands flew to his belt, fingers fumbling for another vial of the tonic.
He knew he was losing. He wanted to get even stronger.
Aris pivoted hard and kicked his wrist, kicking the vial from his hand.
The vial slipped from his grasp, shattering against the floor in a splash of black liquid. The fumes reached her nose instantly, mixing with the smoke. It smelled of poison.
She almost gagged as the enforcer screamed in pain, holding his now broken wrist.
"You think a child like you can hurt me?" He snarled, swinging his mace again.
Aris ducked inside of the arc of the weapon, too close for it to be effective. She slammed her shoulder into his chest and drove them both backward into a collapsed desk.
She didn't stop moving. Her dagger flashed, first stabbing him in the ribs, then the gut.
In the blink of an eye, she was slashing open the pouches at his belt. Glass shattered. Vials burst open. The tonic soaked into cloth, mixing with his blood, and into his open wounds.
The enforcer's roar emulated a dying beast on its last breaths.
His body convulsed, veins bulging as the tonic seeped into his wounds.
Suddenly, his strength spiked. One second, he was lifting Aris clean off the ground. The next, his legs buckled beneath him.
Aris managed to tear free from his grasp and escape, her chest screaming with pain from the lack of oxygen.
The enforcer dropped to his knees, clutching his head, mace slipping from numb fingers. Black veins crawled up his neck, across his jaw, and into his eyes, turning his pupils from green to gray.
"You don't understand," he gurgled, the life fading from his eyes.
"I understand enough," she said, kicking him backward into the raging bonfire behind him.
His body caught fire, quickly charring his skin and clothes. He died without so much as a whimper.
Aris didn't stay to watch. Instead, she burst back outside, taking in as much fresh air as she could. Her head felt dizzy, and her body was ready to collapse.
Behind her, the old school finally gave in, part of it collapsing in a roar of fire and dust.
It seemed she had escaped just in time.