Sidratul Muntaha

Chapter 18🧗‍♀️

Bismillahi Rrahmaani Rraheem•

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu•

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The night was of fourteenth. Zarabeel shone like the pearl once more. The people were making it more lively and crowded like they did each month. Music and dance along with the intake of alcohol had resumed once more. The incident of a month ago didn't seem to have made any difference to them at all.

A shadow leapt from one rooftop to the other and then took the support from a nearby window ledge to jump across to another building. His footsteps were light and swift. His face was covered to reveal only the eyes. His whole body was shrouded in the black cloak which gave him the appearance of a bird when he jumped. His focus was on the person who was running just like him, a little ahead of him, without the apparent knowledge of being followed.

The first man was sharp and precise. His movements were naturally graceful. His form was lithe and powerful. He was clothed in a navy blue attire made of coarse cotton. He ran quite lightly on his feet and flew from one building to the other with the ease of an eagle. The shadow behind him kept in the darkness and kept pace with him as they moved.

Gradually the first man slowed down and stood silently in the centre of the roof. The building whose rooftop he stopped on, was a normal building made up of bricks and mud. It was one storeyed and didn't have the luxury of marbles unlike many of it's neighbours. The windows were grilled and dark like there weren't any occupants in it. The shadow behind him started in surprise for a second, before laying flat on the neighboring rooftop. His heart thudded in surprise at the man's actions.

There was a sudden sound of swooshing that cut through the air. It was so low that a normal person couldn't have been able to hear it in such a loud atmosphere, but the shadow on the roof had heard it as it laid low. The shadow looked up to see an arrow swoosh above him through the air, towards the man, who stood still with his back turned towards the incoming arrow. Just when the shadow thought that the man on the rooftop hadn't heard it, due to his silent posture, the man raised a hand and gripped the arrow tightly right before it pierced his ear. He turned slowly towards the upcoming threat.

Many men leapt in the air and landed steadily on the roof, surrounding the man, who still hadn't moved. The men unsheathed their swords and began to walk around the central man in a circle. One of the men broke form and leapt towards the central man with his sword held to pierce the central man. The central man suddenly moved his arm. The attacking man gurgled and spat out blood, before falling to his knees, as he dropped his sword beside him and held his neck in both the hands. He fell down on the roof, lifeless, with his eyes staring unseeingly. The hands that held his neck had fallen away lifelessly, revealing a neat hole in his neck. The dead man's companions became still as they stared at their man and the central man in quick succession.

They hissed in anger as the blood continued to color the floor below their feet. The central man still remained standing motionlessly, like the scene before him wasn't something to worry about. The men around him moved as one and surged their swords towards him simultaneously. The man jumped up high as he rotated in the air with bent knees. The swords clashed with each other creating a loud 'clang' right before the man landed on them. He didn't pause to catch his balance and leapt again towards one of the man. The man dropped his sword in surprise, as the central man settled on his shoulder and the very next second he shrieked, as his eyes widened, and dropped down on the roof, just like his companion had. His hands gripped his neck fiercely.

The central man didn't stop and leapt off the dying man. The companions were still watching their friend in a stupefied silence, when they heard the sound of unsheathing of a sword. Before they could react, two of their men had gone down. They finally began to attack the central man, who was leaping from one man to the other swiftly and taking them down one by one. Their vast number of twenty five had come down to twelve in the mere span of five minutes. The sound of clanging was very loud, yet was masked by the shouts of the crowd downstairs.