that he was already gone. But as she pressed her fingers to his throat, she felt a weak pulse.
Ignoring the agitated whispering of the crowd, she looked around.
“What are you all standing there for? Get a doctor!” She shouted. A young man jumped like a frightened squirrel when she looked at him, before scurrying down the street to locate a doctor.
The other woman was now crying quietly, while clutching the man to her chest. Selissa gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
“What happened?” She asked. The woman took a shaky breath and looked at her, tears falling down her face.
“I don’t know!” She said. “I was just gone for a few minutes, when I heard him yell. Then I came back I found him like this!” The last of her calm disappeared as she said the words and she broke down crying again.
A frown crossed Selissa’s face. How could no one have seen what happened?
A few moments later, the young man from before returned with a doctor in tow.
Selissa took one last look at the injured man, before slipping away silently. No one spared her a second glance, as she slowly walked away from the ruckus.
Her eyes scanned the ground, until they found what they were looking for. She crouched down and let her fingers trace the blood stains on the earth. The dark red liquid stuck to her fingers and she crinkled her nose in disgust.
She stood slowly and took a few tentative steps forward. There were several more blood stains, but they were becoming less and less frequent the further she walked. She came to a stop a couple of steps later when the stains disappeared.
She cast a look over her shoulder. The people were still occupied with the wounded man. No one was thinking about finding the one who had attacked him.
She made a quick decision. These blood stains were obviously left by whoever had attacked him. Which meant that the attacker had probably escaped into one of the side streets.
She had just started to turn down the nearest alley, when she was reminded of something. She looked all around her, but there was no sign of Alassane.
She bit her lip indecisively. She knew he would disapprove of her going after some unknown assailant alone. Well, he would probably disapprove of going after him all together. After all, he didn’t believe in getting involved in something that didn’t concern him.
But she wasn’t Alassane. Dismissing the nagging voice in the back of her head that told her this was a bad idea, she ran down the street.
Several other streets connected to that one, and Selissa had no idea where to go. Going by instinct she turned right, then left and then right again, until she had no idea where she was.
She turned again and almost collided with a wall. Dead end.
She sighed to herself. The attacker was probably long gone, while she was running around blindly.
Disheartened she turned and started to walk away from the alley.
‘He’s here…’ She heard someone whisper. She stiffened. That voice…
She hadn’t heard it since she left the temple. Why now?
A chill went through her. She suddenly knew why.
She turned around slowly, having a bad feeling she knew what she was going to see.
“Looking for someone?”
14
Cold, dark eyes were watching her intently. The man watching her was crouching on the roof of one of the buildings and was dressed from head to toe in black clothes. Black clothes covered in blood.
Long, black hair was tied in a low ponytail and falling down his chest. And a black tattoo snaked its way across his face…
Demios. A feeling of dread spread through her body. The man was watching her calmly, appearing completely relaxed, but still he emitted a feeling of danger. Of death. She felt it surround her and it made her feel like she was choking.
She swallowed hard, her eyes never leaving the Demios. The man cocked his head, strands of dark hair falling into his eyes. A smile graced his lips, standing in sharp contrast to his blood-covered appearance.
“Something wrong, sweetheart?” He asked, smiling at her gently.
Selissa took a cautious step back, all the while trying to swallow her panic. He was smiling. He was covered in the blood of a man he had practically slaughtered, and he was smiling.
“Their insanity is clear for everyone to see”. Alassane’s words echoed in her mind.
The man didn’t move, but his eyes continued to bore into her.
A million things ran through her head. Could she run? Would he go after her if she did?
It wouldn’t help. He had attacked that man and had been gone before any one even noticed something was wrong.
She needed time to think… If she could just stall him for a moment, maybe she could figure out how to get away.
Trying to keep her voice calm, she asked the first thing she could think off.
“Why did you attack that man?” It was probably not the best thing to discuss with a raving psychopath, but she didn’t have any other ideas.
He tilted his head, while he considered her question. “I needed to get your attention.” He said slowly, his eyes never leaving her face.
So he really was after her. She had suspected as much, but getting it confirmed still made her feel like someone had just punched all the air out of her lungs.
She felt sick. The dead boy at the temple, the man beaten to an inch of his life just a short distance away… Did they have no qualms about harming innocent people? Harming them just to get her attention.
Fear and rage were battling for dominance. Part of her wanted to run for her life, while another wanted to make him regret that he ever decided to go after her.
She wanted answers. She wanted to know why. Why her?
“What do you want with me?” No matter how much she tried to keep her voice neutral, it came out as a snarl.
The man’s smile widened and a low chuckle escaped his lips. “He didn’t tell you?” He asked, amusement evident in his voice.
“Who? And tell me what?” Selissa’s frustration didn’t seem to affect him in the least. He threw his head back and laughed. It was a rich and joyful laugh, but it still sent chills down her spine.
“So he really didn’t tell you?” He said, almost as if to himself. He placed his elbow on his leg and leaned his face against his knuckles, still watching her with a soft smile.
“Well, that might actually make this easier.” He said. He rose slowly, before jumping gracefully off the roof. He landed on the ground in front of her and straightened to his full height. Only now Selissa noticed what an impressive figure he made.
He was well over six feet tall and despite his slender build you could clearly see the muscles moving under his skin. The long, dark hair framed a handsome face. If it wasn’t because everything about him screamed madness, Selissa might even have called him beautiful.
“What’s the matter with me? I haven’t even introduced myself yet.” He said, sounding quite disappointed with himself. “My name is Ardeth, member of the Demios. I’m pleased to make your acquaintance.” He bowed slightly to her, but kept his eyes on hers.
She couldn’t breathe. Everything about this guy was simply wrong. And she knew her time was running out.
Throwing caution to the wind, she made her decision. She leaped backwards and drew her swords. She kept her eyes on Ardeth as she slid into a defensive stance. He had not made a single aggressive notion and still she knew she had no choice but to fight.
Ardeth closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. “You know, you should just come along quietly. There really is no need for this.”
Selissa scoffed. “You think I’m just going to come with you, like a good little girl?” She asked incredulously. He shrugged slightly.
“I had hoped. It would be such a shame to mar such a pretty face.” He said and ran a hand through the loose strands of hair.
Selissa didn’t wait for him to finish. She charged at him, the red hilt ribbons of her swords
dancing behind her.
Ardeth’s only reaction was to lift his head. She had already swung one of the swords, aiming for his throat, before he moved.
With a speed far from humanly possible, he moved out of her way and her blade hit nothing but earth.
Regaining her balance, she sent a kick flying towards him with all her strength. Her foot hit him square in the shoulder and with great satisfaction she heard bone break. As soon as her foot returned to the ground she spun out of his way. A broken shoulder would definitely put him at a disadvantage. Maybe Alassane had exaggerated when talking about the Demios’ fighting abilities…
She came to a halt as soon as she was out of his reach. Looking up, she saw to her surprise that Ardeth hadn’t moved at all. His shoulder seemed to have been dislocated when she broke the bone, but he didn’t even seem to notice.
“Feisty, aren’t we?” He said, as a smile spread across his face. He slowly moved his shoulder back into its right position.
Selissa’s eyes widened when she heard a sickening crunching sound. Ardeth rolled his shoulder a few times, like it had never been broken.
She was so bewildered that she barely managed to react, as he suddenly rushed forward. She threw herself backwards, just in time to avoid taking the full hit, but she felt something tear at her arm. She dropped one of her swords in shock and it made a loud clattering sound as it hit the ground.
Stumbling back, she pressed her hand to her arm. The skin had been pierced and she felt warm blood running down her arm and through her fingers. Confusion flickered through her mind. How had he cut her, when he didn’t even have a