Survival’s Path

Chapter 4

Lira suddenly opened her eyes. Dagger held tight, arm stretched out. She placed her dagger before, just beneath a figures neck. “Relax, it’s me,” Kaelan voice sounded. He placed her down gently on the bed. “Didn’t want blood to touch you.”

“Blood?” Lira frowned. When she looked she found two corpses. Blood poured out from their slit neck. Kaelan wiped two daggers on his shirt, placed them on the bed and picked up two more.

“How come I didn’t…”

“You must have been so tired,” Kaelan interrupted and placed the daggers on the bed. “Right, they had these on them.” He pointed to two bags beside her head. Lira turned to them.

“These… storage bags,” she said.

“We’ll need to change location tomorrow. One of them got away,” Kaelan said.

“So many Sarls.” Lira gulped at the Sarls that pour out of one bag. Kaelan watched her count. She looked like a little kid that found a new toy. “Three thousand, we can move into the upper district with this,” she said, as she packed them up. She opened the other bags. Clothes, daggers, and cloaks poured out the bag. “These… I don’t think they are simple assassins. You said one got away?”

“Yeah, I’m sure he’ll be back,” Kaelan said.

“We need to leave.” Lira kept everything in the bag. Kaelan picked the four daggers up then headed for the door. The duo left the room and made their way down the stairs.

“Huh? Are you leaving?” the innkeepers voice sounded behind them. Two scythe is hand, each connected to chains. “You haven’t paid your clean up f*e. I’m sure you two messed up the room with your fun.”

Kaelan raised a brow, but Lira spoke first. “How much?”

“Ten Sarls.”

She didn’t complain. She placed it on the front desk beside and asked, “can we leave now?”

“Yes, yes. Do come again. I like customers like…” the innkeeper paused. His grip on the scythe got tighter. “Tch, they are back again.”

Lira’s ears twitched, and her hand tightened around her dagger. “They are here,” Kaelan said, while looking around.

A shadow moved across the broken window. Then, the door burst inward, splintering at the edges.

Three assassins tumbled in, cloaked in black, daggers flashing in the dim light. One lunged straight for Kaelan.

Kaelan bent to the side, letting the blade slash past him. He grabbed the table and swung it, smashing the first attacker into the wall. The impact sent a dust into the air, and the man groaned.

“Hey! My Sarls,” yelled the innkeeper. Glass shattered as assassins came in through the window. “I’m gonna kill ya,” he said and charged at them.

Lira was already moving, slicing, dodging. Her attacker was fast, but she was faster. Kaelan a dagger at him. It pierced his neck from behind. Lira turned to him, but he didn’t pause. He grabbed the third assassin, swung him like a rag, smashing his back into the wall.

Kaelan bolted out the inn and Lira leapt after him.

The city was was dark and quiet. Kaelan and Lira ran through the alleyway to escape. Cloaked figures chased after them. Some behind them and others on rooftops. Kaelan’s crystal pulsed.

“Hold on!” Kaelan said. He snatched Lira by the waist, swinging her lightly over a crate, then ran at a sprint through the twisted alley maze.

The assassins gave a relentless pursuit. They emerged from side passages, rooftops, and shadows. Their daggers glinting under the moonlight as they tossed it at Kaelan and Lira. One shaved the tip of Kaelan’s shoulder, drawing a thin line of blood. He ignored it.

He made an abrupt turn into a narrow passage where only he could fit. The assassins collided into one another, giving them a precious few seconds of distance.

At the end of the alley, Kaelan slammed a wooden cart into a pile of crates. The crash sent a wave of debris into the air, blocking the narrow path behind them. Lira’s eyes sparkled.

“Nice!” she exclaimed, panting. Probably too loud.

The city came alive after her shout. From high above, shutters banged as residents peeked out, curious and cautious. Somewhere not too far, horses galloped over, and the faint clang of a bell echoed.

“The guards,” Lira said.

Kaelan scanned the rooftops and alleys. His instincts pulled him toward a partially collapsed building not far from their current spot. They slipped inside through a broken wall. The room was mostly empty, the roof sagging in places, letting pale light streak through the gaps. Dust hung thick in the air.

Kaelan pressed himself against a corner, checking all exits. “Over there, assassins,” he heard a shout and two men horses past by.

“We’re safe… for now,”

Lira slumped against the wall, finally lowering her dagger. Kaelan stood up, walking to bed buried in rubbles. “Huh? You got a dagger in you,” Lira said and got up.

“Where?”

“Stay still.” She pulled the dagger out his back and placed her on the wound. A faint glow, the bleeding stopped and the wound sealed. “You are crazy.”

Kaelan chuckled, brushing dust from his clothes. “Probably. But hey… we’re alive, right?”

She nodded her head, her smile lingered. “Alive, yes. But they’ll come after us again.”

Kaelan walked up to the bed. “We’ll deal with them,” he said as he removed the rubbles and dusting the bed.

“You should change,” Lira said and took out clothes for him. Kaelan looked at his body, his clothes were covered in dried up blood from the creatures, the assassin and his own blood.

“I need to wash up,” he said and took off his shirt.

“Let’s get a place in the upper district, you’ll have water to wash up,” she said. “Wait, what are you doing?” Lira covered her face and turned around.

“Pass me those clothes,” he said after taking off all his clothes.

“No, you take them yourself,” Lira yelled, her eyes shut tight and hands still over her face.

“Okay, you don’t have to shout.”

“Don’t do this next time.”

“Do what?”

“Take off your clothes in front of me.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Everything is. You are a man and I’m a lady. We can’t be naked in front of the other,” Lira said. “Do you understand?”

“Sure, sure.”

“Are you dressed?”

“Yes.”

“Feew,” she sighed and gently turned around. Kaelan laid on the bed, eyes closed and arm underneath his head like a pillow. A black trouser on, and a white shirt that seemed a bit tight. She sighed when she saw him. “Idiot,” she whispered.

Kaelan raised a brow but kept quit. She laid at the edge of the bed, keeping her distance.

They spent the next hours catching their breath, resting, checking the Sarls, and the other stuff. Soon, the morning daylight sipped it. In no time the city came to life. Shouts, footsteps, and the occasional crash of something falling into a side street reminded.

Kaelan finally got up. He glanced at Lira, who was carefully cleaning her dagger on a strip of cloth she found in the corner. “Let’s go?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said. “Put this on.” She tossed him a black cloak.

“Alright. So what do we do when we get to the upper district?”

“We’ll rent a place for a week,” Lira replied. “Hopefully, it’s not expensive.”

They covered their body with cloak and stepped out. The crystal pulsed lightly against Kaelan’s chest as they stepped into the sunlight. “ Let’s go,” Lira said and led the way.