***

It had been a month and the transformation had run its course. I was kept in that cell until they were sure I could control my body. Apparently my transformation took exceptionally long; they don't want to take any chances. I was learning gradually how to control my body. You cannot just sit around for a month without control and not try. The man in the white coat came in to check on me twice a day since the ceremony began. I don't know what the actual process has done to me, but over time I could feel my body change shape. It ages you. I understand now why they do the procedure at such a young age. As the hunters do not age, once in your final form you remain like that until death. You had more of a chance of looking young if you are changed early.

The door to the room was such that I could see my own reflection. My skin was a deep white, my fingernails red and my hair jet black with the ends tipped silver. The transformation changed my body. It changed my muscles, my bones. I was taller, stronger and older. I look 35 at this point and my mind had most likely advanced farther. My cloths are but rags at this point. As the body changes the bones shift. They tear at your shirt. My bones are like steel now. I have lost all texture in my skin. I have no fingerprint left. My shoulder blades have grown longer and now protrude from my skin. The wedjat on my chest still burned with a fiery glow. My eyes were the eyes of a hunter, a deep red, etched with black radiating out from the pupil.

It was a week after my transformation had been completed that he came to see me. He called himself my teacher and said there was no other name was necessary. He unchained me and took me outside. My first time outside that room was a shock. Everything was clear. It was as if someone had taken a picture of the world and sharpened it to the point of perceiving individual molecules.

He brought me to the armory first. It was there that I was given the garb of the hunter class. I was rapped with bandages up to my neck. A plain black shirt was pulled over my head and I donned the like pair of pants he handed me. The black leather jacket he put on me strapped thrice over my breast with a silver buckle for each. The boots were simple leather buckled in a like style. The straps from the belt at my waist entwined themselves around my leg till they met the ground.

He showed me to my quarters and told me that I must appear at the training grounds at sunrise.

I entered my small room with only a bed in it and I fell asleep.

Chapter 5: Heka

Shadow gathered more tightly than usual around the citadel of the hunters.

The hunters traditionally worked as assassins, their superior speed, strength and sight allowing them an edge over most other races. They were descended from the Egyptian Goddess Satis, Goddess of the hunt and were thus gifted with near demigod abilities.

There were two ways to become a hunter. If you were a direct descendant of the hunter class you needed only to awaken those abilities. If you, however, were not related to Satis by blood, after training you could have the Ha, or human body, of a fallen hunter fused with you own. The result either way was a period of intense pain as the hunter form took over for the human form. Afterwards, assuming you survived the process, was a period of intense training to master such new abilities.

Khnum Heka had begun to study combat as a normal hunter child would at the age of four. Like his classmates who had also lost their parents, by the age of twelve he had mastered all forms of human combat and weapon usage. It was at this point that he could decide to join the ranks of the hunters.

His mind made up he approached the clan leader. After consideration of the high members Heka was allowed to begin the process. Though his ancestry was withheld from him he learned he was a direct descendant of the clan.

He was brought to a white room and chained to the wall. The survival rate, though higher for descendants, was still well below ten percent. As the body changed, the mind was no longer in control. You were chained to a wall not only for others protection, but for your own as well.

It was then that a master in a white coat came in. He took up a basalt dagger and approached Heka. The master raised the knife and carved the symbol of the wedjat into the boy's chest. As the blood began to run the symbol glowed a fierce red and the boy's blood turned a dark blue. Heka fell to the floor as his body began to change.

Chapter 4: Joe

I was siting at Michael's council seat on Mount Olympus.

I sighed. Mike once again had decided to shirk his duties. He must know that as a Controller he actually has to go to these things. I sighed again, of course it fell to me once again as Mike's second in command to go. I was Joe, the magic administrator of Mike's domain. It's not like the Gods were particularly interesting. In fact, they were rather tiring. You would have assumed that after millions of years they would have exhausted political intrigue between them... but, you would be wrong. The worlds basically govern themselves without the God's particular guidance. All they do is sit around and bicker as to who should be in charge of Mount Olympus.

The council room was shaped like a pyramid. The three major religions', Greek, Egyptian and Norse delegates lined each side. The walls were made of three single sheets of glass. Every few million years or so the religions rotate in dominance. This time it was the Egyptian Gods that were in charge. I had my own seat in the corner to the left of them. The master Amun-Ra and his pesedjet were seated to my right looking out over the plains. It was considered an honor. The other three sides looked off into the void or at Mount Olympus itself. Though there were many dieties in each religion, they were only allowed nine members to sit in the council at a time. The Egyptian pesedjet consisted therefore of Amun-Ra, Atum, Geb, Isis, Nut, Nephthys, Set, Shu, and Tefnut. Osiris long ago gave up his seat to be guardian of entrance and of the dead.

When we went our separate ways after Ra dismissed us I decided it was time to tell go yell at Mike for the millionth time. I arrived at his Arch-Temple just as the sky began to change to the traditional artificial night of the Mountain. His temple was set at the back of the mountain in the pass between a set of higher cliffs which, together with the cliffs, serve as a boundary between the Gods on the mountain and the void behind. Behind the cliffs was a desert which flowed off into the horizon to meet the blackness of the void. Mike seemed determined to guard both sides of the temple, the void side and the God side. He said that you never knew where your enemies would come from. Even with that said, we haven't had war since he gained Controller status. The temple itself is a spell-bound, tan stone fortress. It has never been entered by force before.

It's also worth mentioning that we have a number of others who worked with us and quite a few guards. Every time Mike went out into the world and found someone he liked he'd mark them to come work for us later.

I entered Mike's chambers expecting to have an argument. I knew he'd be unhappy about it, but seriously I don't want to have to go to these meetings for him. He wasn't there.

I went downstairs. He wasn't there.

This was just great. I couldn't find him to go to the council meeting and now he just isn't here.

I tried the dining hall. He was nowhere to be found. I did however find the chef.

"Hey, you know where Mike went?"

"Hey Joe,... Mike? Hmmn he came down this morning looking rather distracted. We talked for a bit."

"Did he tell you where he was going? When he'd be back?"

"If I remember correctly he said he had business to attend to across the void."


Now that was perhaps the most ridiculous thing I've heard in a long time. Across the void? There is nothing across the void. Why would Mike enter the void? He does realize we're bound to him. If anything happens to him... that would be bad.



Wait.

Does this mean that he left me to do all of his work back here? Really?

And seriously, where did he go?

***

Jack was a cool kid. The more I got to know him, the more impressed I became. We liked the same music and had the same ability to learn things quickly. I guess that's why we were chosen for this program. If there was anything you need as a prerequisite to do this it was the ability to learn, fast.

That first day Ms. Sullivan had taken us first to the school gym, which had been decked out for the summer with all sorts of training equipment. Apparently we were joining a government training program. The idea is that through a complete knowledge of our world from a young age we would become the people to move humanity beyond our current state of development. If I just told you this you'd think that we'd a) be spending most of our time in a classroom and b) Jack would be much more equipped to do this. Well you'd be right, almost. Jack was certainly better, but I wasn't half bad myself and we did spend quite a bit of time in a classroom.

It turns out that the different countries in the world are in competition. Each has its own program similar to the one we were in and all of them secret from the general populace. We were to become not only the mentally advanced of our civilization but physically adept as well. We couldn't have guessed, but we were to become the equivalent of modern day spies or ninja or what have you.

We spent the first few weeks of summer building up our stamina, both mentally and physically. We spent hours on end being instructed in physics, chemistry and the other sciences in addition to the history of our world. Our evenings were spent mostly running and weight training.

It was then that we moved to more intensive physical training in the gym. The idea was after building up our physical stamina and understanding science on a macro level we would be equipped to learn martial arts. From that day forward we only ever trained... or walked around for that matter... with training weights on. We would practice with Ms. Sullivan as our teacher and each other as sparring partners.

Of course we moved from there to learning weaponry. I can't tell you how many times I came home that summer trying to explain to my parents why I had say a giant gash on my arm etc.

Ms. Sullivan, for all of her overbearing nature was actually a good teacher and we progressed quickly. It's also kind of nice to know as you walk down the streets of New York that if someone tries to start a fight with you, you could put them out blindfolded.

It's already winter of our senior year in school. The program told our parents that we were guaranteed college and then a job which seemed to satiate their desire for full educational opportunities. I'm not sure what we're supposed to do after high school. I expect we'll continue training. It takes a while to learn all of the knowledge humanity has amassed over a few millennia. Jack's parents wanted him to go to MIT... I'm not sure what their doing about that but I'm sure everything will work out.

We stopped going to regular classes a long time ago. We now train in the park since the school gym is in use. It was nice until it got cold. It's really cold. Ms. Sullivan doesn't seem to care, but it's damn cold in the park with nothing but training weights and pants on in the winter. What's nice though is that it's easier to learn about the natural sciences while being around nature. It's not an experience you get easily in the city.

That was where we were at the time of the first thunder storm of the season.

Chapter 3: Max

The energy in the room was contagious. It was the start of summer and the sunlight beamed through the formally dark and gloomy classroom. I sighed.

"Hey Max, what's wrong?"

That was my friend. His name doesn't matter, you wouldn't know him anyway.

I raised an eyebrow.
"I'm not done remember?"
"Oh wow... sorry 'bout that..."

Yep, the sky is blue, the air fresh, the sun bright and I am stuck here waiting for everyone to leave and enjoy their summer vacation so that I, I could start the second half of my school year. Well, it could be worse. At least it wasn't summer school. I didn't fail any of my classes... they're calling this 'enrichment.' Either way, I have classes in the summer, we'll see...

The bell rang. There was a large clatter as people moved boisterously towards the door. The room emptied faster than a beer bottle at a frat party… but what would I know about that.

That was the first time I met her. She identified herself as Ms. Sullivan... Amanda I believe was her first name but I'm pretty sure she didn't want me to call her that. She was remarkably fit for a person of her... girth? She was a rather large person, but looked more the type to shove you down a flight of stairs than take you to the principle. She was taller than I was, and I was something like 5ft 8. Her hair was gray and pulled back. The black shirt she had on looked like it could just barely contain her chest and the gray sweatpants she had on just added to the aura that she could kick my ass. Her voice was like iron. This was going to be fun.

“You’re in luck kid.”

“Huh?”

“There’s another kid who’s going to join you this summer.”

I must have looked shocked beyond words; I certainly felt it.

“Jack, come in wont you.”

Now I was really confused. Before me stood Jack Griffen the 6ft 1 genius of our school. He was literally the kid that got straight ‘A’s. You went to him if you didn’t get something. What was I doing in summer enrichment with the smartest kid in school?

***

We reached the gate by the time the sun began to peak through the maple leaves of the glade surrounding us. I looked back. The last time we had been beyond the gate was as ambassadors to the present empire when they first arrived. If the Capital is our destination it must be in that occupation we go again. Unfortunately, this time we did not move with an honor guard. There was no ship waiting at the gate to take us away.

In each of their 400 years on this planet Jailen and Neilara had gone beyond the gate but once before. There was no need. Their civilization was small, but old. The Valorth was an ancient race that had existed long before the other species on this planet. It had been the elders who had raised the great trees of the center-city. They were perfectly comfortable being self-contained. In the center of the capital the great library stood as their prize gem. Hours upon hours each was spent studying. Even in a Valorth lifetime, it was a great feat to read the entire library. Jailen was one of the few in the race that could say he accomplished such. He was the youngest in their race; he lay down the scroll of the forbidden before his 378th birthday. Neilara was much more one for nature. She spent her hours training among the trees.

The gate, mostly hidden by the trees, which over the years had grown around it, was a spectacular work of craftsmanship. The base was a white granite which seemed to rise effortlessly out of the ground. The remainder of the gate was constructed of white crystal that grew as the branches of the trees around us did out of the base to create a sparkling crown above that caught the light as you passed. At the crest there was an emerald, the stone of stones. This was the source of the gate's ability to guard against harm. The glyphs encompassing were for protection and regeneration. If the gate was ever damaged, that emerald held the power to re-grow the gate. To all but the invited the gate was impenetrable.

"Sigh."

"Are you ready?" She asked looking me up and down.

Neilara had kept the cloths she had on before but added a few accessories. Of all the things the Valorth knew how to do, the ability to materialize energy still eluded them, and it took too long to take primary defensive weapons out of storage in battle. I grinned. She had strapped a pair of blades to the sides of her thighs. If I was right she also had one or two daggers in her shoes. She wore a light traveling cloak the same black as the rest of her outfit but this one was clasped with a bright ruby. It seemed she expected conflict; too bad, I was hoping this was a peaceful visit to the Capital.

I wore a similar outfit, my cloak being a paler blue than the rest. In lieu of the rather numerous smaller blades my companion carried, I preferred to carry a single sword across my back. My blade, Gelantair, looked a little like the gate we passed. The hilt was white marble and the blade a clear crystal. I found a few years ago that steel can be sharper than stone, so I outfitted the edge of the sword with steel that was as clear as the crystal of the blade. If you didn't know it was there you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. The hilt was fitted with a single diamond lending its strength and sharpness to the blade. I had woven the blade with a spell for lightness since I found it rather hard to use in battle being made of stone. It was now easier to swing and carry than in all likelihood Neilara's blades were.

"Let's go."

We walked through the gate and instantly it seemed the world became a darker place. I sighed. Leaving the gate behind was not my idea of a fun time. Well, here we go.

Chapter 2: Jailin

She jumped to the highest branch on the center tree in the garden. As she stood perfectly balanced, her dark hair shimmering in the light of the half moon I noticed her figure for the first time.

She was slim, medium build and had a nice face. Her hair would look better curled, but what can you do. Her eyes were dark; the starlight causing them to shimmer like dark pools of water. She was wearing a simple black button down shirt. The shirt was just long enough to cover the belt holding up her black-leather pants. She wore a jacket, also of black leather, which kept her secrets hidden from detection. At her belt she carried something that looked and felt like a taser. I should know ‘cuz the first time I met her she used it on me. Long story, another time.

Now, perhaps a bit about me. I'm 6 foot 7 inches with long wavy hair and a smile to die for. Yup, that's me. Or... not. I'm about 5ft 7, straight short black hair and my eyes have nothing to commend them. My favorite color is blue. Which, now that I think of it is probably why I am wearing the same thing she is... but in blue.

Neilara jumped off of the tree. "Oy, Jailin You having delusions of grandeur again?"

"Ha ha, But of course my dear, is that not how you know me?"

She glared at me. Though we grew up together I don't think she likes me that much; ah well. She walked over to the pool and knelt down.

"We should leave."

"What? Why?"

"Don't question me, just go get ready."

"Wait, Nei, where are we going?"

"It'll be a long journey."

"Darling... where are we going?"

"I told you not to call me that."

"Hello? You there?"

"The Capital ok?"

"Do you mean our capital or the Capital?"

"The Capital."

"What?!? You do know how long it will take us to get there. It will take weeks on foot just to get to the nearest way station not to mention trying to find a ship that will take us there!"

"Yes."

"This is a crazy plan. Have you talked to the elders about this?"

"Yes."

"And they agreed?!?"

"Yes."

"This must be a joke... this is ridiculous."

"Make your preparations. Mine are done."

"This is insane."

"You going to tell me why?"

She looked at me sternly. She had her mind set. Ok then, off to the Capital for some reason.

***

It was already nightfall by the time we reached the city.

"Hey kid"
"Yeah?"

We had traveled but a few hours and already I was growing fond of the kid. It takes a while for someone new to open up, but if you're skilled... well you get the picture. From what I could tell Aaron was originally from the desert. He had some sort of master, who died... he was the one who made the twin blades. I can only imagine that if he lived in the desert he got caught up in the uprising earlier this year. It's too bad, he could have had a quiet life.

"What do you say we leave this planet?"
He looked at me. "Leave? Where would we go?"

I paused. I didn't really have a place in mind. "I don't know. I'm just kind of sick of this place. Where would you want to go?"

He thought a minute and gazed back over the landscape behind us.
"Can we go to the Capital?"

Yep, he must have been involved with the uprising if he wants to go to the Capital. I don't care, as long as he doesn't get himself... or me... killed.
"Sure, let's go."

As we entered the city the dark buildings loomed ever closer. I wasn't much for buildings. I wasn't much for... well anything man made. It always had an impact you didn't want. This planet was rather new to the empire. It was designed as a mining colony. The imperial soldiers made some sort of deal with the former king of this land. But, as these things do, things went rather south from there. The king fled, or was killed... that part is uncertain, and the BC, bureau of colonization, took over the governing of this world. Once they started their thing, this world became just like any other colony world, and we who had sought refuge in this quiet corner of the universe went on the run again. So we were off. To the capital. Great.

"Tickets please."

I looked up. I hadn't realized we were already at the gateway. The ticketmaster just stared at me.

"Tickets please."

I glanced around. Well here's for nothing. I inserted a yellow card into the slot provided at the window. The window went dark for a moment then the ticketmaster reappeared.

"Which flight?"

This one would be harder. I hadn't hitchhiked to the Capital before. I doubt security would be as lax as elsewhere. I tapped the space on the glass that singled the capital with my gloved hand.

"Have a nice flight."

Wow. That was easy.

I took out an extra pair of gloves.
"Hey kid, do me a favor and from this point forward wear these. I don't really want to be followed and I assume you're of like mind."

He nodded and took the gloves. Well at least that's a start. The gloves were form fitting and allowed heat to pass through them. They allowed you to use things like that ticketmaster without leaving a fingerprint. A staple.

"Ok, no use waiting around. Let's get on."

The ship was a passenger flight. Nothing special, but at least it wasn't an official colonial vessel. We got on, past the simple entrance and through to the main entry way. This wasn't the longest flight in the system but it would probably take a couple of weeks. We got to our cabin and he sat down on one of the beds. At least the cabin was nice.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, it's just the first time I'll be off this planet."

So he was born here. Good to know.
"Well, it's a start of an adventure. Yes?

"Yep." He smiled. At least he was happy.

***

I had gathered some wood and pilled them together in such a way as heat and warmth emanated from them. I put a pot above it and turned around. My friend was still asleep under an oak tree a few feet away. Overhead the clouds parted in such a way as a single beam of moonlight illuminated the sleeping figure. He started to stir.

I got up and went over to him. Kneeling, I said, “Hey kid, how’re you doing?”

He just stared at me as he struggled to regain memory of that morning’s events.
“What…?”
“You were almost killed by a hunter.”
At the mention of a hunter he sat bolt upright. He clutched his chest, checked his pockets, and grabbed for his sword.
“Whoa, Hold your horses kid….” He looked at me searchingly. I could tell he didn’t remember who I was. “I saved you back there.”

By this time the food I made was ready. “Here, have some bread and soup, it’ll warm yah up.”

I got up and went over to my pile of slowly disappearing wood with the pot over it. I scooped some soup out of the pot with a bowl I got from my bag. My friend found a rock close by to sit on. I hadn’t made a fire so it was hard to see his face, but now in the moonlight I had a little more time to study him. He was about five nine, not tall by any means, but not short either. His hair was the same, neither short nor long. It was slightly wavy, and a dark brown that was almost black. His eyes were the most interesting things about him; I was surprised I hadn’t noticed before. They were the same brown as his hair, but his irises were trimmed with silver. He had a nose like mine, and a smile… if and when he smiled that was straight and full. He smiled now.

“Thank you.” I looked up and met his eyes. “For all you have done.”
As he said this I could tell; he was preparing himself to leave.

“You’re not out of the woods yet.”
He stopped. “What do you mean?”
“Ah, what do I mean…? Well it goes like this. We’ve all got something we’ve gotta do. We’ve all got people trying to stop us… Look, what I’m trying to say is that we should work together. I wont get in the way of where you’re going, and I’ll teach you what I know… Starting with how to conceal a knife properly.”

It had been obvious by the way he was sitting at the bar that he had it on him. I didn't want him to wake up and stab me now would I.

He looked first to his knife lying besides my pack, then to the quickly disappearing pile of wood. I knew what he was thinking.
“I know a lot of things, things that could help you survive, and accomplish what ever it is you need to accomplish. If you’d like, I don't mind following you... I've got no place of my own.”

He paused. “Let me think about it, I need to sort out my thoughts a bit; too much has happened.”
I nodded and gave him the bowl. He proceeded to scarf down the food I gave him, almost as if he hadn’t eaten in days. When he was done he thanked me again and got up. He walked back to the tree he had been sleeping under and gazed at the sky. That was the first time I saw his weapons. He drew them both at the same time, the moonlight dancing off both of them in perfect balance. He sat down laying both blades down before him. I could tell he was in deep thought.

I turned back to my meal. I wasn’t that hungry, but I figured I should at least finish what I had made. When I glanced up he was walking towards me. This time what I saw in his eyes was determination.
“Thank you for all you have done for me. I will accept your kind offer. I would like to move forward instead of running away for a change. Thank you."

“Here’s my condition.” He looked at me questioningly; he thought he had accepted an offer not asked for one. “You must tell me your real name."
He thought for a moment. He hadn’t been prepared for this. I could see the gears turning in his head and could tell he didn’t know whether to trust me or not.
“Alright,” he said.

I smiled and got up. “Agh… alrighty then. Help me pack up this food and lets get going.”

He laid down his weapons and started to help. As he leaned over to pick up the pot I had left on the ground a round blue-green stone dropped out of his pocket. The stone was a little smaller then my thumb, and the colors swirled below the smoothed surface. As it fell to the ground it made a gentle pattern in the grass. He quickly saw it fall and snatched it back up, immediately searching around him with his silver-rimed eyes. I continued working pretending not to notice. If he cared so much about it being concealed, I would wait until he showed it to me on his own terms.


“My name is Aaron.”
As I met his gaze he smiled again, it must have been a long time since he last trusted anyone.

“Mine’s Dakur Cosman, but for purposes of travel call me Sam.”

Aaron looked puzzled. “That’s not a human name is it? Oh and Alex, likewise.”
I smiled. “I live and die a human, we’ll leave it at that for now.” By this time we had almost finished packing my bag. I got up, stretched and looked back at him.

“The world is a dance of elegance. If you can see a pattern, you can change it or, move with it.” I spilled the remaining water from the pot on the flat rock he had been sitting on. “Every action will produce a ripple as wind on water. Not even light is exempt from this rule. You must learn to weigh action by how its ripples would affect the world around you.” Simple enough explanation, though I could tell he thought I was speaking in metaphor. It didn’t matter; in time he’d learn what I meant.

“Listen to me. I am older then you, yes. I will teach you some of what I know, yes. What you must understand though, is that I am your comrade, not your master. I will lead you in what to learn, but not tell you what to do. If you ever think that I am overstepping my boundaries as a comrade, you must tell me."

He nodded.

"Good, lets sleep here for the night, we’ll head out in the morning, that ok with you?”

He nodded again, then gave me that smile. I hoped he understood. I wasn’t looking for a disciple. I was looking for a friend. I was looking for an adventure. Earlier that evening, I had noticed that the patterns of possibility and importance flowed around him stronger then I had ever seen them flow. I guess I just wanted to be a part of the great adventure that this man would find himself in. As I looked out over the landscape a mist had settled and traced a delicate pattern across the rolls of the country. This pattern, it was a pattern dictating change, time for our generation to carry the burden.

Chapter 1: Dakur

I sat in a darkened tavern, situated at the crossroads of nowhere, on the dusty surface of this god-forsaken planet when he sat down next to me. He was young, seventeen maybe? I can’t say I wasn’t drunk, but he looked to me somehow hunted and uncertain, but strangely devoid of fear. Strange combination, I know. He was wearing high quality black traveling clothes. You know the kind they say will protect you from anything? That kind. What was strange, however, was that he wore no gloves. You’d think that if he was being hunted, he wouldn’t want to leave fingerprints.

It was only when he sat down that I noticed what was on his back. I guess nobody noticed it before because it was so out of the ordinary. All us travelers, hunted or mercenaries and the like, carried a dagger projection as a main weapon. It was as fast as a bullet, had a blade that could extend to any length, sharp as steel, and best of all, portable. This boy, however, wore across his back, a set of twin swords. They weren’t electronic, or anything like that, they were just… swords. He was so young, and yet, so.... old fashioned.

“Hi,” I said, taking off my glove. “What’s your name?”

He just looked at me.

“Here, let me buy you a drink,” I said as I signaled to the bartender to get his attention.
He hesitated. “I’ll stick to lemonade if you please, it’s hot out there.”

The bartender came over, eyebrows raised; I guess he had sensed something strange about this kid. Before he could say anything, I interrupted.
“He’ll take a lemonade, on me.”

The bartender just nodded.

“Thanks,” he said. “I’m Alex by the way.”
“You mean that’s your alias.”
He just looked at me sheepishly. He was new at this, clearly. If he didn't get some training soon he might end up dead. I nodded. No point in making him feel bad.

We just sat there in silence until the bartender returned with the lemonade.

“So what brings you to this neck of the woods?” I asked, trying to find out more about this mystery man. As his eyes searched me, I could see that he was trying to gauge if I was trustworthy. He was so open. I could read him like a book; which of course meant I could mislead him, if I wanted to.

“Hey, don’t worry. We all get chased by the authorities once in a while, some longer then others.” “Hey! What do you say we travel a bit together? I’m bored as hell in this town, and it looks like I could help you.”

He sat there and sipped his lemonade. Then, suddenly, he let the glass fall to the floor. The temperature had dropped. Not a drastic thing, but it was suddenly 5 or so degrees cooler. The whole room was tense. No one blinked. A hundred knives were at hand. We all knew this feeling and we knew what came next. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the bartender press a green button. I chanced a smile; we now had an escape route.

My friend was the only one without a drawn weapon in the room. He just sat there, frozen, a red laser marker on his breast and one on his forehead. Then the tension broke. The hunter fired, everyone sprung and ran. As I grabbed my friend and jumped, the place where he had been sitting not a moment before ceased to exist.

Using the exit the bartender had made for us, I leapt with my friend out of the building. Still under my arm, we flew over the ground and away from the tavern.

Prologue

Aaron awoke with a start.

“Remind me of why you’re staying here again?”

He looked up. The speaker was an in-keeper’s wife, a farmer’s daughter. She had short-cropped hair. There was nothing about her that was either distinctive or interesting; that was of course, except for her posture. She was a strong woman. Years of war had tempered her face. She had, you could see, welcomed Death on more then one occasion.

“Hey! You listening!” she asked again, “why’re you here?”

Behind her, leaning against an unornamented dresser stood his most valuable possessions, a pair of mismatched blades made by his late teacher. Like his master, these were perfectly balanced. The shorter one, his personal favorite, though the other had saved his life on more then one occasion, was made from a form of gray steel with a hilt and guard of silver filigree. Unlike it’s partner this sword had a reverse-blade. It was a sword of protection, not of death. The other, carefully wrapped in black silk, lay next to it on the floor. This blade, in stark contrast to the short-sword, was made of ebony steel. It was a killing sword. The silver metal used to decorate it was in the same pattern as the design from the guard of the other. The blade was long and thin. Not only was it folded an uncountable number of times but it was also sharpened at a diamond’s point. The hilt was undecorated metal with a cord of silk wrapped around for traction. It had no weakness.

“Fine,” she said as she walked out of the room. “Diner’s on the table.”

Over the past few days, during the time he had spent here, he had grown to like her straightforwardness. However, he must move on. If he stayed in one place for too long those that wanted him dead would catch up. He felt sorry for what he had to do, but he had to cover his tracks.

He went down the stairs, taking his belongings on his way out. The in-keeper’s wife looked up at him. She was sitting alone at the table across from another place setting. Throughout the whole time he had been there, he hadn’t noticed another living soul in that house, and his senses told him that he was right. ‘At least it’s only her’, he reasoned.

He crossed the room and sat to eat. The minutes passed. He noticed that the sun had already set.


‘It’s time’ he thought, and stood with a sigh.

He drew the longer blade, the dark of the metal and brilliance of the silver playing in the light of the setting sun.

“Forgive me.”

Aaron shut the door. Behind him she opened the door one last time. Death merely smiled. It was her last time. Her last time: for this time she opened the door to leave.