Assassin's Realm - The Lost King (COMPLETED)

Chapter 8d. Sanctuary

They reached Oakvale in the dead of night. Pike walls and wooden gates stood between the rogue travelers and a day's rest, but this didn't perturb Raven in the least. He pulled Torrent behind an oak and signaled for her to wait before disappearing into the dark.

Torrent watched the gates with interest. She assumed Raven would stroll up to them in broad moonlight and slaughter any who opposed his entry. But nothing moved other than the glow of a watchman's torch as he went on his rounds.

Alone in the dark, Torrent weighed her options. As a slave, she was accustomed to taking orders and acting without consideration of her own thoughts or feelings. But standing on the precipice of freedom, she struggled to make a choice. Raven had cared for her, but she was a burden to him. Her loyalties lay first with her Lord and Sovereign, King Athik. He would be eliminated long before she could reach him if she didn't leave soon.

Stepping cautiously into the dark, Torrent searched for the touch of watchful eyes and was met with nothing but the empty breath of the forest. A deafening silence taunted her ears and her heart beat in violent anticipation of running.

Against her best judgment, Torrent placed one foot in front of the other until building up the courage to wander past the point of no return. Her slow trudge turned to a quick amble and then a jog as she put distance between herself and the walls of the village. As the woods grew dense, Torrent turned west and stumbled into a small brook. Its trickle was so quiet, she hadn't known it was there, but it seemed luck had found her.

Traipsing downstream she struggled to be quiet and hoped Raven hadn't yet noticed her absence. If she could reach the next village, or stow away on a cart at the crossroads, she might have a chance of escape. But even in the thick of the forest, using the stream to cover her tracks, Torrent knew she was conspicuous. Pushing back the hood of her cloak so it no longer obstructed her vision, she crouched down and concentrated on moving fluidly through the water.

Autumn's blood had chilled, leaving the veins of the forest like ice in winter. Torrent's feet numbed quickly and she lost control over the velocity of her footfalls. As time wore on, her sloshing grew louder and the brook no longer served well as an option for concealment.

Rounding a bend, she stomped out of the stream and ducked behind a tree. There, she held her condensing breath and listened to the forest. Wispy tendrils of silence met her ears but something was not right with the night. Torrent sensed a stalker somewhere deep in the shadows. She waited, but the familiar sensation of icy fingers crawling up her spine eluded her. She'd not been spotted but the longer she stood still, the closer Raven stalked.

She ran.

Swift and silent Torrent climbed, dodging trees and hopping over fallen logs. When she managed to put some distance between herself and the stream, it hit her like an arrow in the back. It began at the base of her spine and spread its poison of panic and fear. Raven had found her and Torrent sensed she only had a short while to live. Her legs pumped faster as she tried to run from her unseen assailant. Like a wild animal she fled, her heart beating in rhythm with her frantic breathing. She sucked at the air as though each breath were her last, it very well could be.

As Torrent reached the crest of a small rise, her eyes locked on the crossroads. It seemed like a safe haven, a sanctuary from all evil. She felt as though reaching that vacant plot of earth somehow would ward off the Raven and set her free. Torrent drew closer and a whisper of reprieve dared to tease her mind, but then she stumbled. An outstretched arm sought a branch or tree trunk to steady herself, but a hand reached out from the dark and pulled her to a violent halt. Within the blink of an eye Torrent found herself lying with her back to the cold forest floor. Raven was upon her.