Chapter 49:

  “That’s the place,” Karen pointed at an old wooden house.

  Stryg and Karen were currently hiding in an alleyway a few dozen feet away. Karen had led Stryg to one of the poorer areas of the commoner district. It had taken them most of the day to arrive and the sun was already beginning to set.

  “What’s the plan?” Karen asked. She kept fidgeting, worried for her mother and little sister. Were they alright? Were they hurt? ...Were they alive?

  “I’m going to wait until it gets dark, then I’m going to sneak into the house,” Stryg said.

“But what about my family? We can’t just wait out here doing nothing!” She snapped.

  “If I go in now they’ll see me coming and we aren’t going to do anything. Last I checked, you can’t fight. You’ll just be a hindrance to me. You should leave before it gets dark, don’t trust the sentinels around here. Some have been malfunctioning and I don’t know if they have been fixed yet.”

  “I don’t care about any sentinels. All I want is my family to be safe. It doesn’t matter what happens to me.”

  Stryg sighed, “Karen, if you don’t value your own safety that’s fine. But, if you go there now, you’re putting me at risk. I won’t go in and follow you into a trap. You’ll be out there by yourself. When Jax realizes that, he’ll kill your family if he hasn’t already, then he’ll kill you. I’m your best bet and I’m going out there when the sun falls.”

  “I risked my family’s safety to come find you and you’re not willing to do the same for them?” Karen accused him.

  “That’s right. I’ve already put myself in danger for strangers and I was injured for it. I’m not taking that risk again, especially when I’m going to need my full strength.”

  “You’re cruel,” Karen said with tears in her eyes.

  Stryg hauled Karen up by the collar of her shirt, “Let’s get one thing straight. I’m here to kill Jax and his crew. I’m not here to save your family and I’m definitely not here to die. Understood?”

  Karen’s feet dangled off the ground, as her hands tried prying Stryg’s hand away, but he didn’t budge.

  “Understood?” Stryg pushed her against the wall. He wasn’t about to let her ruin his chances of victory because she was too dumb to understand simple hunting tactics.

  Karen’s shoulders slumped. He was like the rest it seemed. She finally nodded. Stryg let her go. She fell to her knees in defeat. Karen was used to abuse of power, intimidation tactics. She fell into the familiar submissive role before Stryg would hurt her. Stryg was unfair, cruel even. Yet, deep down she believed she deserved much worse, she had abandoned her family.

  Stryg mumbled something under his breath and glanced at Karen.

  He groaned in frustration, “I don’t know if your family is alive. But, if they are, it’s your job to keep them alive,” Stryg said.

  “W-what?” Karen raised her head in confusion.

  “Once I go in, wait five minutes. After that go through the back door. You're in charge of getting your family to safety while I deal with the others. Understood?”

  “Yes!” Karen wiped the tears from her eyes. This was her chance at redemption. She wouldn’t fail.

  They waited in the alleyway for the next half hour until the sky darkened and only moonlight graced the empty streets.

  “Is this dark enough for you?” Karen asked.

“Yes,” Stryg pulled out a small dagger. He had bought it from a vendor just for this day.

  “Now what?”

“Now you wait,” Stryg said.

  He took a deep breath and tried to focus. He remembered how his master Loh had told him that shadow spells didn’t need to be corporeal to be deadly. He had proven this when he fought the guard at the Merry Crescent. He had used the shadows as cover to get close to his enemy. This time he had something similar in mind, but on a smaller scale, more compact and concise.

  Stryg searched within himself for the emotion that called his power forth. The anger was just below the surface of his being. It rose to meet him like an old enemy.

  Tonight, he’d finally get revenge on the bastards that had attacked him all those months ago. He was no longer a lost child of the Blood Fang tribe. He was a manifold mage eager for blood. The shadows around him darkened to different gradients, blending into the murky wall behind him. The shadows enclosed around him like a snug cloak.

  Karen’s eyes widened, she took a few steps back. This was real magic. Stryg really was a mage. “Y-you disappeared I can’t see you. There’s only a smudge of shadows.”

  “Three minutes Karen,” Stryg said.

“I understand.”

  Karen made a small prayer to Lunae, goddess of the moon, asking her to keep them safe.

  Stryg wasn’t actually invisible; the shadows simply helped to keep him camouflaged in the night. While it didn’t require the same amount of focus to cast the spell, it still took a lot for Stryg to maintain the spell. His mana could hold out, but he wasn’t sure how long his focus could. He needed to be quick. Stryg ran through the dark street as fast as he could. Within a few seconds he was at the old house.

  Loh had recently begun teaching Stryg how to use grey magic’s drain spell form, but he wasn’t very confident in casting any grey spell yet. Stryg looked at his own shadowy figure. It didn’t matter, he didn’t need grey magic. He recalled Melantha the Blue. She only needed a single spell form to deal with her enemies. He’d do the same.

  Stryg crouched low and began walking around the house. He concentrated his hearing, trying to pick out where the goblins inside were. He heard a few voices talking at the front of the house, but he couldn’t hear what they said. A few more to the west side of the house, their voices were a bit clearer. A few muffled cries resounded off the east side. The south was quiet. Stryg headed to the southern window. The latch was worn and he had no difficulty cracking it open with his dagger.

  Stryg paused after the latch broke, listening for anyone who might come check. There were no footsteps. Stryg pushed the windows open, but they creaked loudly as they swung open on rusty hinges. He cursed in silence. He jumped past the window sill and into the house. He rolled as his feet touched the ground and darted behind the closed door.

  He could hear a set of footprints nearing. The door opened and a young male goblin stepped into the room. The thug looked around, searching for an intruder. He spotted the open window and went to close it. Stryg sprung from behind the door and rammed his knife right into the goblin’s neck. Stryg used his momentum to pull the goblin to the floor. Stryg caught the flailing goblin before he hit the ground. Stryg held him tight as the goblin flailed his limbs, his last breaths becoming gurgles of blood.

  Stryg pulled the dying goblin to the wall, away from view of the door. The thug tried to clutch at his own neck weakly. Stryg pulled the dagger out and stabbed him twice more in the jugular, silencing the goblin.

  Stryg listened for any movement, but there was none. He peeked his head out the door to ensure the hallway was clear. The empty corridor was bathed in light. His shadow-cloaked self would stick out like a sore thumb. He took a deep breath and released the spell. The shadows faded away and revealed Stryg’s form. His hands were covered in blood.

  He was glad he hadn’t brought Plum’s scarf with him. If things went well he’d be drenched red soon enough. He closed his eyes and concentrated. He could hear a few voices coming from the adjacent room. Stryg could hear the muffled cries of a child, Sophi, he guessed.

  “Stop with the crying already. Gods, we already gagged her but she’s still so damn loud,” a female voice complained.

  “Please, she’s just a child. Just leave her be,” Shirleen pleaded.

“If you don’t want to make your kid shut up, then I’ll do it,” a male voice said.

  “Wait! No, don’t touch her!” Shirleen shouted.

“Back off bitch!” The male voice shouted.

  A loud smack resounded as Shirleen cried out. Stryg could hear Sophi screaming through her gagged mouth. Stryg crept up to the door and peeked through the bottom. Karen’s young sister Sophi was on the floor. She made muffled moans of pain as the male gangster kicked her in the gut repeatedly.

  “Leave her alone, please! Do anything you want to me, just please leave my daughter alone!” Shirleen yelled.

  The female gangster yanked Shirleen by her hair, “You just don’t get it do you lady? Stop acting like you have any say in this. You’re messing with the wrong people here. Only reason the others haven’t had their way with you yet is because Jax is waiting for little Karen to come back. But, don’t you worry, they’ll fuck you up real well after Karen arrives. Hell, they can even have a mother daughter duo. You keep talking and they might throw little Sophi into the mix too.”

  “Finally she’s quiet,” the male gangster sneered. Sophi lay unmoving on the floor.

  Shirleen screamed in a wretched hoarse voice, yet no intelligible words came out. Both gangsters turned to the wailing woman. It was more than enough of a diversion for Stryg. He slammed the door open and dashed at the male. The gangster only had time to look at Stryg as his blade sank into the goblin’s eye socket. He was dead before he hit the ground. The female gangster screamed for help, but Shirleen’s cries of agony drowned her out.

  Stryg moved in on her, blade in hand. She fumbled with her own blade, trying to take it out of its sheath. Stryg was already on her when she finally pulled it out. She made a clumsy slash at him. He caught the armed hand and stabbed her in the gut with his own dagger. She gasped in pain, but Stryg didn’t let her make another noise. He pulled out the dagger and kept stabbing in quick succession through the gut as she fell to the ground.

  Shirleen ignored the bloody events as she crawled her way to the Sophi. Shirleen’s hands and feet were bound by rope, yet it didn’t stop her from trying to hold her daughter in her hands. The mother opened her mouth. Only a hollow broken sound whispered out. Her hands shook as she caressed her daughter’s still face.

  “What the hell is going on over there?” Leroy shouted from the end of the hallway.

  Stryg recognized the voice of Jax’s right hand man instantly. He pulled the dagger out of the dead goblin and crept to the door.

  “Guys? What’s going on?” Leroy called out hesitantly. He walked towards the room slowly. He paused when he got close. A puddle of blood leaked from the doorway.

  “We’re under attack!” Leroy shouted as he turned to run.

  Stryg cursed, leapt out of the room and rushed him. Leroy tried running back into the room he came from. Stryg dived to the ground, his hand extended as far as he could reach. His dagger slashed at Leroy’s ankle as the goblin reached the door. Leroy fell to the ground with a shout of pain.

  He clutched his bloodied foot, tears forming in his eyes, “Fuuccck!”

Stryg grabbed his dagger, stood up, and advanced forward, “Fuck you Leroy.”

  An iron bolt shot through the air and pierced Stryg’s shoulder, nailing him to the wall. He wheezed in pain and shock. His dagger slipped out of his numb hand.

  “No, fuck you Stryg,” Jax said and pulled back his crossbow string.