Chapter 5
Glancing up to his Master’s floating form twenty metres overhead, Samuel catches sight of a pointed finger towards the east, and he immediately changes the direction of his flat-out sprint to follow. His chase had already forced him through backyards, over single and double-storey houses, and even through a half-dozen vegetable gardens… but they were finally closing in on the elusive perpetrator. Whoever it was, they could move quickly no matter the terrain, and he knew his surroundings well.
Vaulting over a six-foot-high fence, then immediately again over an adjacent four-foot one, he then has Lady Luck smile upon him as a slight break in the fog affords a single glimpse of his prey. Twenty metres ahead, running silently, and dressed in dark vestments that included a cape and a frayed stove-pipe hat…
Baring his teeth as he re-doubles his efforts, the long-haired companion leans forward in his dash, at times using his hands to propel himself faster or to aid in a high-speed turn. With every step that he gains on the murderer-at-large, his desire to catch the man only grows hotter. It was a delightful hunt, full of frustrations and rapidly-changing variables… but it was time to bring this sport to an end.
Keeping low enough to the ground that the long grass brushes against his chin, the wiry companion uses his centre of gravity to carry his momentum, and chooses the moment when his prey starts to leap over a high fence as the time to strike. Vaulting much higher than the average serial-killer could ever hope to accomplish, he lets out a victorious growl as he tackles the other male mid-air, twisting around to ensure that the weight of their combined reunion with the ground be soaked up entirely by the murderer…
As they impact a hard, dirt-packed alleyway, Samuel hears the whoosh of air from the other man’s lungs, and he releases the depraved townsman immediately in order to both gain combat distance, and to unsheathe a pair of daggers in anticipation of a bloodied fight. “On your feet, you manky git.”
Angeline descends through the un-moving fog onto the opposite side of their quarry, then slowly unlimbers her rapier to point the deadly tip towards the hunkered, cloaked male gasping in breaths of dust. “By the rights as a member of the Order of Three Lights, I hereby demand you surrender yourself to stand trial for the murders of thirteen men and women in the town of Côte du Nuit. How do you respond?”
An emotionless, blubbering chuckle wafts across the alley, bringing the long-haired companion the scents of alcohol, tobacco, and foul breath. It almost smelled as if the man had been dining on rotted meats… but it struck him slightly odd that there was a distinct lack of body-odour. “Divest yourself of your weapons, you bloody bastard, or you’re gonna find yourself without hands to hold them.”
The golden-haired femme displays a frown, and tilts her head slightly to the side as their prey refuses to listen to common sense, opting instead to pull himself slowly to his feet. Even in the dark gloom of the deep night, it was easy enough to see the hint of sheer madness in the young male’s eyes. “Johnson… well, shite. I was somewhat hoping that it was your uncle, the incompetent Magistrate that we were chasing…”
Letting out a loud cackle in response to the dismayed tone in the mage’s voice, the ginger constable moves to shake his head in retort, only to have it wobble around loosely on his shoulders. “That gormless duffer?! HARDLY!”
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Aegis and Order: First Light
Fantasy"It’s shoulders were wide and powerful. At four metres in height, it was almost as large across as it was tall. The arms of the hulking beast hung nearly all the way to the ground, and were thick with rope-like muscles that bulged with even the sl...
