Ky'Mera: The Next Generation (Sequel Series to the Ky'Mera Adventures Trilogy)

Chapter 5: Assassination

"Just one." Dad said, "How are you going to fight if you don't have any weapons?"

Lokí smiled smugly, "I have weapons, just not ones you can see with your eyes." He opened his mouth and made a call that sounded almost exactly like one of the birds that fluttered about at night. "I can distract the guards and break their necks while they're ducking and dodging invisible birds." He pulled out a stone knife from his belt, "And I have this in case any of them have any brains hiding in their heads."

"Well that settles it." Mom said, "Are we going to get moving or are we going to sit out here all night getting dusty and damp?"

With that we all stood and inched our way from the bushes, keeping a sharp look for the guards we knew were around somewhere. Lokí led the way and stopped us every now and then with a raised hand, and then led us on into the first row of tents. Once inside Trinlodan itself we crept from shadow to shadow, using the back allies and patches between tents to hide our movements. Every one of the fires posted around town had been set into wooden posts set every fifth tent or so, leaving dark patches in between. Mom and dad snaked through one gap while I followed Lokí through another, until we crouched behind the last row of tents before those that belonged to the elders.

It wasn't too hard to see which ones they belonged to, mainly because the entrances were decorated with tapestries and hanging chains of beads. Posted at every entrance was a pair of guards, though all but one of them looked almost asleep on his feet. I looked around the corner of the tent and spotted mom and dad hiding behind the tent just to the left of us. She caught my eye and I nodded, using my hands to direct them to the farthest of the three tents. She nodded back and tapped dad on the shoulder, motioning for him to move. As they stood up I looked over at Lokí and he pointed to the middle tent, and then to me. I nodded and he pointed to the nearest tent and then to himself. I nodded once more and he stood, disappearing off to the right and into the shadows. I looked back at the tent in the middle and mentally prepared myself for what I had to do. Resigned to my task I pushed myself into a half-crouch and slowly moved out from behind the tent, trying to move silently as I snuck around the side of the elder's tent. As I moved across the dirt my feet made small plumes of dust, and I tensed as one of the guards squinted in my direction. He looked around with tired eyes and shook his head, settling back into his slouched position while I breathed a silent sigh of relief.

Upon getting to the side of the tent, I peeked around the corner and saw the guard directly in front of me had truly fallen asleep. His entire weight was supported by the spear in his hands, and it looked like any moment he would fall over in a heap. I got flat on my belly and inched my hand around the side of the tent, reaching for the bottom of the spear. I hooked it with my fingers and gave a light tug, unbalancing the guard and making him fall over onto his face. As he started from the impact I plunged my dagger into his windpipe, cutting off his cry as he spotted me next to the tent. He burbled slightly as blood ran out of his mouth and down his chin, and then he lay still as a small pool began to form at my feet. I looked around the side of the tent again to make sure the other guard hadn't spotted my handiwork, but he seemed totally oblivious to anything besides staying on his feet. His eyes constantly drooped and his grip on the spear was loose at best. I flattened myself against the side of the tent and inched my way around to corner, hoping to kill this guard just as quietly as the last.

The poor guy never even saw me coming, his eyes focused straight ahead and with no focus what so ever. I came up behind him and clamped my hand over his mouth as I drove my blade through his spine and into his heart. He mumbled slightly as he stiffened under the pain, but almost immediately fell over, his eyes staring up at the cavern ceiling with a glaze forming on the surface. I almost retched as the scent of blood finally hit my nose, and I forced down the urge to puke as I slipped into the tent, feeling my way through the near pitch black to try and locate the elder. I had only gotten two feet when my right foot snagged on a body. I froze as whoever I had just kicked rolled over and stretched, though the only way I knew that was the shifting weight and slight groan as whoever it was woke up. I stayed as still as a statue as the person moved about, clothing rustling in the dark as the weight moved so my foot was free again. I waited for any other sign that someone was awake, and then slowly moved my feet forward, not moving each one more than three inches at a time. My eyes finally adjusted to the dark, using what little light filtered in from the flap and under the edges. What my eyes could make out in the faint glow make me start to rethink my plans for killing the elder.

In almost every square inch of space was a body, and from what I could make out the entirety of them were wearing female garb. I looked around to try and spot the elder in the jumbled heap of bodies, and spotted the only male Bloodlust in the entire tent, on the opposite side from the door. I sighed to myself and lifted up my leg, setting it down between two girls who looked to be only about twenty from what I could see. In fact, as I looked around, all of the girls appeared to be my age or slightly older, not what you would expect from the elder's tent. Then a thought hit me. Could all of these girls be different wives, and if so, how was I ever going to get back out of the tent when the smell of blood woke them up? I would be caught before could get two feet. I shrugged and decided I would deal with it when it happened, and slowly made my way through the maze of bodies to the back of the tent, where the elder was asleep with three girls heaped at his sides. I took one more step and hopped out of the living trap of bodies and stepped onto the plush carpet and pillows that the elder had arranged around him. I looked to see if there was any way to get to him without waking up the girls, but there didn't seem to be a single path that wouldn't end up with me tripping over a girl or stepping on someone's tail.

I knelt down and examined the situation. I could try and get past the girls by stepping over them, but that would risk upsetting the pile of pillows and waking everyone up. Or, I could move one of them out of the way, hopefully without waking her up, and then move through the gap to get at the elder. I looked back at the flap and saw the light was beginning to strengthen. How could it be morning already? I decided it was now or never so I gingerly grabbed the girl in front of me under the arms and slowly lifted her up. She mumbled slightly in her sleep but otherwise didn't move, and I slid her down to curl up to one side of the pillows. Now with the way clear I inched forward and onto the pile of pillows, until I was just inches from the elder's side. He was a wrinkled old cat, with more lines to his face than a zebra, and his once-black fur had faded until it had become a dark silver-gray. One ear had a notch taken out of it, and both hands were gnarled and veined with little flesh to cover the bones. He most certainly showed his age, but I knew what had to be done. I lifted up my dagger and drove it into his chest, the old cat's eyes opening wide and a small gasp escaped his lips as he died with my blade stuck in his ribs. I sighed and pulled out the blade, cleaning it on the pillow next to his head as I stood up, knowing that the timer had been started, and I had very little time before the guards came to check on their comrades or one of the girls woke up. I turned around and felt my way back through the maze of bodies, but my need to hurry got the better of me, and with a misplaced foot I stepped on one of the girl's tails. She yowled in pain and I jumped off of her, only to trip and fall on top of two other girls, who had begun to stir at their companion's exclamation. Now I scrambled to my feet, hearing the sounds of every one of the girls waking up around me, and I did the only thing that seemed sensible at the time, run.

I pushed and shoved my way through the throng of bodies as they milled about in confusion, until a petrifying scream echoed throughout the tent. I knew one of the girls had just discovered the elder dead in his bed, and I made one last push to break free of the confusion. I burst out of the tent and tumbled to a heap on the ground, only to stagger to my feet as the sounds of battle reached my ears. I looked around and saw for the first time the warzone we had created in murdering the elders.