Nag's injury wasn't serious. He woke up a few minutes after the attack and I helped bandage him. The big brute was stronger than anyone would give him credit for.

"There are too many variables we can't control here," I told Nag and the bounty hunter. We were still sitting in that d.a.m.ned cave. We had to move, change places, but I knew Bodrick's men would find us, sooner or later.

"What was that blinding light thing?" the bounty hunter asked.

"That was a light spell," Nag answered. "Whoever used it isn't good at controlling it yet. We would be dead otherwise."

"What do you know of Bodrick and his agenda?" I asked the bounty hunter. "You're a native. You must know a thing or two about the man."

"All we know is that his family has been trying to get a champion for the Holi Wars for years now," he answered. "They say whoever gets a champion, gets fame and power. I guess Bodrick's after the power."

"It's not that simple," Nag intervened. "You don't choose to take part in the Wars."

"Bodrick's father had found a way," the bounty hunter said, "or so the tales spread about him say anyway."

"What does this way involve?" I asked.

"How the h.e.l.l should I know?" he retorted. "I only came here looking for that merchant robber."

"Why?" Nag asked. "Forgive me for saying, but you don't look like a hardened fighter to me."

"You look like a beast to me," the bounty hunter replied, "you don't see me screaming, asking for help having your head."

"Sounds like you hit a nerve," I whispered to Nag.

"What's your name?" Nag asked the bounty hunter.

"Osgar," he said. "Osgar Murkwaters."

"Well, Oscar," Nag went on. "Where are you from?"

"Merinsk," Osgar said.

Nag and I exchange furtive looks.

"You say you're chasing the merchant robber, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, what's it to you?"

"What if we could help you with the matter?" I asked.

"Help?" Osgar scoffed. "Like you helped that poor woman back in the mansion?"

"There was nothing I could do," I protested. "And neither could you. We couldn't fight a demon, and we're lucky it didn't spot us."

"Morrison must be back to the village by now," Nag intervened. "Talking about what we could have done isn't helping us now."

"He's right," I told Osgar. "On the other hand, we can help each other. You can get us to the city, give us shelter, and we'll help you with that merchant robber."

"You don't even know what it is," Osgar said. "And you heard Bodrick, he's blocking all main roads. There's no way we can reach the city without being found out."

"Is Bodrick the highest authority in the city?" I asked.

"No," Osgar replied. "He has connections to the underworld market leaders though. Cross him, and you might get to deal with some nasty people."

"But he can't stop us from entering the city, can he?" I went on.

"I suppose not," Osgar said. "He's not the Chancellor's favorite person right now."

"What would happen if, say, Bodrick had an unfortunate accident?"

 "You're not thinking what I'm thinking, are you?" Nag asked.

I smiled. "Just hear me out," I said. "I've got a really good plan."

***

We slipped out of the cave before sunrise then searched for another. With Nag's help, it wasn't difficult. He was a good tracker. We'd found a bear cave in which we nestled ourselves. Nag could speak to animals through psionic links.

I tried it, but it didn't work. I guess they weren't called Children of the Forest for nothing. He managed to convince the bear to let us borrow his nest for a while. Then we got to work. We had a lot of things to prepare and little time to do so.

By midday, it was time for me and Osgar to move. Nag remained behind. His role in the plan was to come after all h.e.l.l broke loose. We headed for the village, where Osgar had to wait by the trees for my signal. We saw a lone guard on patrol near the entrance.

"Don't panic," I warned the bounty hunter. "If we don't do this, you cannot stay in the city either. You'll be a wanted man forever."

Osgar nodded. "You can count on me," he said. "I'm a good actor. That's all I'm good at really."

"Ready?" I asked.

"I don't like this," Osgar said. "I'll never be ready. Let's get on with it, Shall we?"

He squared his shoulders and walked out of the trees. He waved at the guard who rushed toward him.

"What's your business here?" the guard asked.

"I saw some suspicious men in the forest," Osgar said. "They were talking about raiding this village."

"Where?" The guard asked.

I moved about. The bush behind which I hid rustled. I looked up and locked eyes with the guard, then I ran for it. The guard looked behind him, toward he village, then toward me.

"That's one of them!" Osgar shouted. "He was saying something about Lord Bodrick and black magic!"

That was it. The guard instantly decided to go after me. He found me waiting for him behind a tree. I ambushed the poor b.a.s.t.a.r.d and gave him a beating worthy of someone who's been tortured for hours.

I stripped him of his weapon and armor then watched him limp toward the village's main gate, screaming for help. It was Bodrick's men who came to his rescue. It was all going according to plan. I watched as he was led out of sight, then waited.

Half an hour went by when I heard a bell ring in the village. A commotion ensued. It was my signal to move. I wished I could do this at night, but I couldn't afford to be choosey at that point.

"Get out of sight," I told Osgar. "Wait for my signal, then start the fire."

He nodded. "Good luck!"

I snorted.

I slowly walked through the village's main plaza and toward the inn in which Bodrick was staying. His guards, as well as the mayor's few soldiers, were scuttling about, shouting orders and requesting help with one thing or the other. They were ready to storm the forest looking for me.

They didn't notice the one eyed man that walked among them. This was a technique I learned long ago. When you give your men an objective, everybody gets focused. They were all concentrating on getting to the forest on time. If I walked among them, not too fast, not too slow, with my head held high and a certainty to my steps, they wouldn't notice I was an outsider.

An a.s.sa.s.sin had tried this same technique against me once. If it wasn't for Kiera, I'd be dead, and nothing would have happened to her or to my men. I chased the past away. This wasn't the time for that.

Never let a doubt cross your heart, that's definitely the beginning of the end. All you have to do is walk toward your own objective, and be mindful of the officers who know who's who. The one I needed to watch out for was Franz, and the Lord's son. They definitely knew my face.

I saw Franz standing guard by the inn's door. I saw Bodrick as well, shouting orders at his men from the balcony. I smiled. I didn't know in which room that b.a.s.t.a.r.d was staying, but now he gave himself away. He's just made my job easier.

I was twenty feet away from the inn's door when I decided to take the risky path. Perhaps Osgar's wishes for good luck worked after all. I was about to test my theory. I had but two uses of the stop spell remaining anyway. I had to make sure I had one left for what was about to transpire after I killed Bodrick.

"Stop!" I mumbled to myself.

Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.

The world around me came to a halt. The commotion and endless shouting instantly seized. I could only hear my own heart beating. I had but ten seconds to act. I didn't practice this move, but I had to make it work. Bodrick wasn't wearing any armor. I only had to aim quite right and get the knife to land in his neck. How hard could it be?

It's worth mentioning that I took some throwing knives from Osgar. He used them to impress women. I thought I could use them to silence the guards around Bodrick's room. But I didn't need all of them after all. I just needed one, and it was flying toward the arrogant b.a.s.t.a.r.d.

I somehow knew I was going to hit my mark. Sometimes you know you've done something right before it happens. Call it sixth sense, or a fleeting moment of foresight, but you know you've done something right, and what you've prepared is going to work.

I had twenty more seconds to disappear. So I dashed toward the houses around the mayor's mansion. I had one more thing to do before I gave Osgar the signal. The time stop spell subsided after I disappeared. The commotion continued, but Lord Bodrick's yelling abruptly stopped.

An eerie silence fell over the village. The guards stopped shouting orders then I heard them murmur. I chanced a look from the corner I hid in. Bodrick was holding his neck, gurgling. Then everything went dark. It was midday, but it felt like midnight. I couldn't see past my nose again. It was that darkness thing again. I felt some hands fumble in my pockets, I tried to hit whatever was searching me, but I hit nothing.

My mind raced. I almost activated the stop spell when everything came back to normal. Guards started shouting then. I heard them all move in different directions. Some of them were moving toward me. I searched my pocket, in which I found a piece of parchment I didn't recognize.

I had no time to think about it then. I had to move, lest the guards discover me.