Nightfall

Chapter 5

"You let her get away?!" A young girl with golden brown hair had her crossbow aimed at Hollis, who was covered in blood, her shirt torn in the front and her wrist still bleeding from the bite that Ember inflicted on her.

Hollis shifted her feet nervously. "Rachel," she whined, "I tried. She's simply too strong, and she-"

"Too strong?! That's the dumbest excuse I've heard! You're just weak!"

Hollis mumbled under her breath, "Maybe if you weren't such a bitch, and if Katie was still alive-"

Rachel fired her crossbow, the arrow aiming for Hollis's chest. Gasping, Hollis looked down to find an arrow lodged in her right breast. Coughing up blood, Hollis fell twitching to the ground, reaching for the arrow.

Rachel walked up to her calmly, leaning down to whisper in her ear, "My sister was weak. I am not. At least you'll never make that mistake again," before she fired another arrow at Hollis's brain, causing blood to splatter Rachel's crossbow, and her face.

Shaking the blood off her crossbow, Rachel sighed, oddly calm and serene after that mild bloodbath. "Anyone else want to voice their opinion?"

A timid young man rose forward out of her staff. "W-w-well," he stammered, "I think-" He didn't get a chance to answer before an arrow shot into his chest, pinning him to the now blood-stained wall behind him.

"Does anyone know who Ember is?" Not a sound was made as Rachel prowled the room like a homicidal panther. "I'll tell you who she is. She's the bitch whose parents murdered my father," Rachel's voice started to break, but she kept on going. "She's responsible for his death, and now that my dear sister Katie has passed, I have now taken over. We are trying to spend every waking moment looking for Ember, and thanks to Catwoman wannabe over there," Rachel said, pointing to the lifeless Hollis on the floor, "We finally know where she is. So I want everyone to go all over the city. Find her, and bring her back dead or alive! GO!!"

Arming themselves with various guns, knives, and crossbows, Rachel's guards went on their way to find Ember.

Smiling, Rachel turned toward the enormous portrait of her father hanging on the wall, putting her hand to it. "I will not let you down, Father, I'm sure of it." Staring at her father's menacing face, and his cold grey eyes brought her happiness, but that contentment was soon temporary when a large knife flew into the room, sticking itself in the painting. One inch closer, and it would've embedded itself in Rachel's brain.

Smirking, Rachel glanced at the shadowy figure lounging in the doorway. "Talking to dear old dad I see," the figure drawled.

"You missed, asshole." The figure walked towards Rachel, a tall, slim woman with green eyes that glinted in the sunlight. "I wasn't trying to aim for you," the woman said as she came into view, her dark brown hair moving slightly as she moved.

Rachel glanced at the woman, then walked away. "What do you want, Tessa?"

Tessa pulled her knife out of the wall. "I heard that my dear sister Katie died."

Rachel whirled around, pinning Tessa to the wall. "Don't you dare try to call her your sister, bastard!" she cried.

Shoving her off, Tessa walked around. "Nice to see the company being held in the hands of an eighteen-year-old girl who knows nothing rather than a twenty-four-year-old woman who knew everything. How are you, little sis?"

Rachel put her crossbow down. "She would be twenty-seven right now, and I'm fine, no thanks to you."

"No you're not fine. You're trying to find who? A girl, who's your age. You'd think you would have more knowledge in someone that's in your own age group. Try luring her out with Netflix."

"Well, she is not like other girls. Besides, why do you care? This isn't your fight, remember? He's not your father, so you can go back to Tucson and enjoy your carefree life working all day and taking care of your whore mother."

Anger boiling inside her, Tessa slapped Rachel, drops of blood falling to the floor.

Rachel wiped blood from a cut on her cheek, glaring at Tessa. "Wow, Tessa," she said, "Hitting me for telling the truth? Now who would do that to their own sibling? Oh wait, I forgot, you're only half a Blackwood."

"Oh, little sister," Tessa sighed. "Are you just stupid or naïve? You have so much to learn."

"Oh, really, like what?"

"I could help you find her."

Rachel froze. "How?"

Tessa leaned towards her half-sister. "Like I said," she whispered, "you have so much to learn. Now, what do we know about Ember so far?"

"We know that Ember is alone with no place to go. She has no motives, no home, no family."

"Actually," Tessa said, staring at her reflection in the knife, "her motive is to go after and kill the people responsible for her parents' deaths. Since our father is dead, it is likely that she will be going after you, since she doesn't know me. Anyway, Ember is basically what?"

Rachel rolled her eyes, knowing this lesson since she was merely a child sucking her thumb. "A lone wolf."

"Exactly," Tessa hissed, her green eyes burning with desire. "And finally, what do we do with a lone wolf?"

Rachel bit her lip with boredom. "We should track its scent, and capture it. Only this time," she said, glancing at her arrows, "we should show no mercy."

"Very good," Tessa said sweetly, her green eyes sparkling with pleasure. "Tell your so-called hunters to track her scent instead. We can't go in blindly, and remember, she is stronger than she was eight years ago, so we must be careful."

Twirling her knife around, Tessa walked away.

"Wait!" Rachel called.

Tessa stopped, turning around slowly and rolling her eyes with impatience. "What?" she snapped. "I already helped you, so what more do you want?"

Rachel smirked. "I know something that can lure her out."

Tessa raised her eyebrows in thought. "Like what?"

Pressing some buttons on a keypad in the wall, a hole in the floor opened, revealing a large cage with tall metal bars.

Inside the cage, a figure lay, moving slightly.

Sighing, the figure raised her head, her dirty blonde hair falling over her face. Her green eyes widened when she saw Rachel, and she started laughing. "Well, well, well," she said, her eyes glowing a faint yellow, "If it isn't the Queen Bitch. Oh, wait, that's me."

"Who is this?" Tessa said, looking through the bars at the girl.

"She was kidnapped during the raid six years ago," Rachel said.

"SHE has a name," the girl said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, smartass," Tessa said, "What is it?"

The girl glanced at Tessa with hatred. "My name is Sage," she explained, sitting up, "and whatever you want me to do, I won't do it."