Thar Shaddin

Dureena had pressed her finger into the blood droplet like everyone else, feeling the tingle of magic housed within it. Smiling slyly to herself she pushed it away from her and caught the bag of coins thrown to her. She pocketed it dismissively without any thought, listening to the man she had now distinguished as Camulous, Captain of the Guard from the contract she had signed.

Spies? she thought, laughing internally. Ah yes, how ironic ... She got distracted in her thoughts when the captain withdrew the paper. She sensed a great deal of hatred, that is, hatred toward what must be the magic contained in that little contraption and the tiny drops of blood it delivered. She surveyed him with glittering green-gray eyes. Well now, what have we here ... she thought somewhat annoyed. Ignoring it for the moment she stood, flashing everyone with one of her mischievous smiles. "A pleasure doing business with all of you" she said, casting her eyes about, resting them on the captain. "Until later then."

She exited gracefully, passing the guard at the door above she gave him a light touch on the arm and a smile before she raised her hood once more and journeyed to the other side of the tavern. She had no desire to stay in the likes of this place. No, she had much more pressing matters to attend to. Reaching the door, Dureena slipped out unnoticed in the throng of merry-making pub crawlers. She knew exactly what she was going to do.

Camulous waited until the others were safely out of earshot, watching the door patiently and without hinting at his intentions until he looked at Ebony again. He looked as serious as he had been for the whole meeting, wearing the expertly trained poker face of a professional captain.

He stared and stared at her, waiting for what he suspected would happen. He waited for it to get on her nerves, for her to begin to lose her temper and lash out at him, or at the very least show signs of aggitation. Having an authority figure sit across from them as though they were in trouble, without explaining why, usually got to people, he found.

When he thought she'd had enough, he broke the silence.

"You're not here for the money, are you? You don't want to work with the others."

His measuring gaze rested on her for a growing amount of time. She didn’t move at all, remaining perfectly still like a statue as she waited for him to speak. Her curiosity kept her in place but soon a sense of agitation began to gnaw at her mind.

Wasting time again. Has he no words to share? Why does he wish me alone? Her own broken thought patterns reflected what her body would not. Ryosha was confused. She could not think of a reason for him to request her presence to remain behind.

When her tail began to lash back and forth with annoyance, he finally spoke to her.

”You're not here for the money, are you? You don't want to work with the others." Money? Ah, the pouch of metal he had thrown at her. True, it did not hold her interest and that was not why she was here. She hated working with others and she only wanted to kill. Wasn’t that already clear? A rumble of laughter, not her usual maniacal tittering, was her verbal reply.

“Money means nothing. Good for some things but not many. Not needed for how I live. I’m here to kill,” she rasped. “As for working with others . . . it is not something I have done. Not ever. Do not like others during hunt. To many things go wrong.” It was hard to speak words, even harder to put them into sentences, resulting in her staccato conversation style that echoed among the rafters.

Camulous watched her closely with his blue eyes and nodded in understanding as she spoke. He was surprised by her directness on the one hand, having expected to have to tease her true purpose out of her, but on the other hand she was a warrior, not a diplomat. She wanted to kill. It was that simple.

People with that mentality made good fighters, no doubt. Ordinarily Camulous would put them through the most rigorous training in oder to bond them with the Guard's way of life, and to beat some loyalty, respect and discipline into them if it was possible... But there was no time for that now, and the guard didn't take non-humans. Especially not when they resembled dragons.

"I see. Then I won't ask you to work with them. I have a special job for you.

I want you to stay back with my men while the others sneak inside and do their business. Only go inside and fight the mages when things get ugly - when I give you the order. If that happens, you can kill them all. But I want you outside because I expect others to come and try to save the mages. They will surely be ready to fight, and I want you to handle them. Kill them too if it comes to it."

"I see. Then I won't ask you to work with them. I have a special job for you.

I want you to stay back with my men while the others sneak inside and do their business. Only go inside and fight the mages when things get ugly - when I give you the order. If that happens, you can kill them all. But I want you outside because I expect others to come and try to save the mages. They will surely be ready to fight, and I want you to handle them. Kill them too if it comes to it."

She was like a small child with a new toy: totally focused and ignoring everything else. He said she could kill. Only when ordered, that’s true, but the possibility was there. And she would be killing mages. Was there anything better?

“Yes. Good. Will do this. Will follow orders.” For the first time all night, she rose, towering over the seated man. With her wings like a cloak, something she got from Ebony, she stood properly on two legs without being hunched over like a cripple. “Go to prepare. Return tomorrow. Will be ready.”

With a bob of her hornless head, she marched out of the tavern and into the lingering night. Thoughts of slaughter filled her head as she hunted for both her dinner and a place to sleep beyond the walls of the village.