'That's what you get for not noticing the tail Darkstar,' I swore under my breath as I observed the fencer in front of me.

I knew how a fencer moved. I even trained on this discipline some time ago. The way a fencer stands. The way they shuffle their feet and attack from impossible angles. The way they can turn a fight to their advantage with a simple flick of their sword.

All these factors played against me, especially that I was extremely vulnerable. I couldn't risk using the same style against her either. I could tell from the confidence she exuded. I wouldn't be able to beat her in her own game.

I had a sword now, the one I stole from one of the shadows. I took an eastern position, like the infamous swordsmen from Angon. My legs were spread apart further than shoulder length. I squatted, putting myself slightly lower than my opponent.

I didn't have the right sword to pull the kind of counters Angonese swordsmen could, but this was the best way to counter her fast and unpredictable moves. I needed to bait a wide attack and punish with a deadly counter.

She had a light sword, slim and pointy. It had a bell guard large enough to cover her hands. So I couldn't think of disarming her. She knew I could create an area of effect in my immediate vicinity as well. I had to get creative in order to get her to make a mistake.

 "What did you do to Lord Fischer?" she asked.

"He'd dead," I said. "Where's my gear?"

"Somewhere around here," she answered.

She jumped forward, her sword aimed at my groin. I activated the area of effect around me knowing full well she'd jump back. I jumped after her, and she jumped further back. She pushed some carts my way, and their motion slowed midair as they were falling. I was forced to jump back and release the spell.

"There's enough s.p.a.ce here for me to tire you out," she said. "Boss wants you alive. So I can't kill you, but I can cripple you if need be."

"Boss?" I asked as I put a comfortable distance between the two of us. "You mean Hartwell?"

That took her aback. I grabbed a painting with a solid oaken frame and threw it at her then. She moved aside to avoid it, only to find another frame flying her way. She had no choice but deflect it with her free arm. I jumped at her and aimed a thrust at her midriff. Despite attacking from the blindside I created, she managed to deflect my attack and graze my left thigh.

I jumped back. The fresh wound stung. I began bleeding. I cursed under my breath. I willed a small bubble to coat my wound. That would slow the bleeding for a short time. By my calculations, it would take five minutes for me to hold it. If I couldn't manage to beat her then, I'd be unable to keep dodging her attacks or swings properly. I might even slip on my own blood and fall to my death.

"Cool powers," the woman said, smirking. "I wonder if you could hold that spell and slow my attacks at the same time. You look tired already."

What's with this country and freakishly strong women?

She rushed toward me and overwhelmed me with fast thrusts and swings. I had to keep track of her arms, feet and hips. She could change an attack's pattern mid-swing. She would quickly hop back to avoid my retaliation then continue with her onslaught. She moved like a nimble cat, attacked with deadly precision. I could barely keep up with her.

My back hit a row of old crates, and I ducked just in time to avoid a dangerous thrust. Her sword got into a crate with a m.u.f.fled thud. I punched her in the stomach in an attempt to send her toppling backwards. Her stomach was harder than steel. She could take a hit and not even flinch.

She sent her knee up my face. I tilted my head to the side just in time to avoid it, but I couldn't avoid the following punch. I fell back, out of balance. I lost control over the spell I was maintaining to slow my bleeding, and blood gushed out like water bursting through an open dam.

"You're better than most. I gotta give you that," the woman said. She was still struggling with her sword as I struggled to reduce the overflowing stream that gushed out of my leg. "If you had your gear, maybe things would have turned out differently."

She took the sword out of the crate and hurried my way. I was losing too much blood then. I panicked and couldn't calm my breathing fast enough to coat my wound again. She thrust her weapon my way. I swung my sword and deflected it, but I slipped on my own blood and toppled backwards. I fell on my a.s.s, and saw her driving the pointy tip of her sword toward my chest.

I moved instinctively. I held the sword from its blade with my left hand. It stung as it slid down my palm and tried to penetrate my chest, but I persevered and held on to it tighter. I saw death grace me with its presence for the umpteenth time. It felt like an old friend had come to pay me a visit once more. An annoying friend I could very well do without.

I gritted my teeth and looked at my attacker with rage and fury in my eye.

"You think you already know my fighting style?" I growled at her.

I forgot about trying to mend my injury then. I willed time to rewind to just before she took her sword out of the crate. That was as much as I could get to in my state anyway. I knew what she was about to do then. I crouched and I waited for the thrusting attack. I positioned my sword diagonally over my shoulder, just at the right angle.

Her sword slid past me. I fought not to slip again and fall under the weight of her attack, and I pushed against the floor as hard as I could. I stood up, and the woman's sword flew out of reach.

"Didn't see that coming, did you?" I said as I plunged my sword through her ribs and toward her heart.

"I knew it…" she said, breathing her last. Her arms fell to the side, and her lifeless body drove me to the ground beside her.

I struggled to my feet then headed for a smaller room opposite Fischer's office. It was the only place that I hadn't explored in the warehouse yet. I went near the Shadow whose wrist I cut open. He was still groaning, albeit faintly. I grabbed him by the collar and took his hood off.

Color had deserted his face. He couldn't have been older than sixteen moons. He reminded me of the one I killed before meeting Beatrix for the first time. I felt bad for the poor soul, fighting a war he understood nothing of. I sighed then drove the sword, his sword, down his throat.

I collected the sack in which I put all of Fischer's hidden trinkets. Then I headed for the room. Surely enough, my gear was hidden in there. 

The sun was about to disappear in the horizon when I left Fischer's warehouse. Beatrix and I agreed to meet in the old warehouse where we met first by sunset. If one of us didn't tshow up, then we'd a.s.sume the mission had failed and retreat.

"I wonder if she got out safely," I thought as I headed for the Old Port area.

Fischer had made sure Kohler's men didn't come snooping around in his territory. The nameless woman, whoever she was, knew about my powers. Something about the look in her eyes before she died made my hair stand on end. She said she knew something…

 "h.e.l.lo Myles," a melodious voice called out to me as I took a turn toward the Old Port.

My heart leapt to my throat. n.o.body knew my real name in this city. I slowly turned, expecting the worst. A curvy woman in an emerald cloak stood before me. Her golden hair no longer reached her hips. Her green eyes watched me with warmth and compa.s.sion.

"Long time no see," she said.

"Raiya?" I asked. "What the h.e.l.l are you doing here?"