Phantom Hunters | The Obsidian League

2 | The Wolf and the Lamb

"Not good," Kael muttered, ramming against the wall of a building from running too fast to swerve away. He glanced around him, looking for any signs of the thief.

His shoulder throbbed. Kael winced as he grabbed at the pain, knowing a large bruise would appear there. He had barely managed to dodge an explosion of smoke coming from the Swindler's card, but it was at the cost of shattering his shoulder blade right against the ledge of the fountain.

"Where are you, little lamb?" the Swindler's voice called in a deceptively sweet intonation as if he was cooing an injured animal. "The wolf's hungry, but don't you worry. He'll make your slaughter as painless as possible!"

Kael cursed. The Swindler was playing with him. He took a moment to breathe before pushing off the wall and taking off towards the SIlver Wolf Den.

"Ah, ah. No you don't!" Before Kael could reach the path to the woods, the Swindler materialised out of the shadows, swiftly throwing his card at the running boy.

Kael stumbled, and it probably saved his life. Just as he fell onto the ground, his face scratching against the dirt, the card landed right next to him, giving him enough time to roll to the side and come away uninjured from the explosion of seething smoke.

He pushed himself to a sitting position, breathing hard. He hadn't expected the Swindler to be skilled enough to use two elements at once. Not to mention how cards were his weapon vessel of choice. How many he had stashed away, Kael could only guess.

The Swindler's boots crunched against the loose soil as he approached Kael. A wicked grin peeled across his cheeks, and his honey brown eyes were wide and crazed. Kael didn't have the energy to take off running, and he wondered if his life was going to end in such a meaningless manner.

"That's a good little lamb," the Swindler cackled. His cape swished behind him with each purposeful step. His arm instinctively drew a knife from a hidden scabbard on his belt, and he expertly twirled it around his fingers, clearly used to the legerdemain with which he used his weapons. "This big bad wolf will rip out your throat and leave you for the crows. Now be a good little sheep, and it will be over before you blink."

Kael ground his teeth, hating how helpless he felt. He tried to stand, but the Swindler kicked him down with wild laughter. "You're not going anywhere. Haven't you heard that a cornered lamb is nothing but mutton for the wolf?"

Kael almost snorted at the old Bijouan saying that described how society could easily rip apart naive childish expectations with its harsh standards. It wasn't supposed to be taken literally.

The Swindler threw his head back, his laughter increasing in volume and madness. He kicked Kael to the ground, pushing down on his chest with the flat of his boot and effectively pinning Kael to the dirt. The knife in his hand twinkled under the moonlight. Fear stuffed cotton into Kael's mouth. His heart leaped to his throat, threatening to burst through his vocaloids. Was this really how he was going to die?

"Do you know what the most terrifying thing in the world is?" the Swindler said, dragging a finger across the sharp blade of his knife. A thin red line appeared in the pad of his index finger, which he examined with interest. "Some say it's dying. Some say it's what comes after. You know what I say?" He hefted his weight on the foot nailing Kael to the ground, and it took all of the younger boy's strength to not groan in pain. At least, he thought, it wasn't his injured shoulder.

"I say," the Swindler continued his insane soliloquy. "Pain. It's the thing that drives people mad, the only thing that makes them want to die. Interesting, don't you think? How pain can come in such great waves that it transcends death in terms of pure abject terror?"