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I took aim at the first window and dropped an unfamiliar elf. Every time one of them hit the floor, I whispered a soft apology. I’d made sure to prep my bolts with a paralyzing poison. This fight wasn’t about them. I liked to think that they worked for a corrupt man because they’d been born into Locke’s corrupt court.
Even if that wasn’t the case, I hoped that they woke and decided to turn over a new leaf—if not out of a desire to change, then perhaps out of fear. One after another, I dropped the elves posted in the front windows. The others watched their friends fall and ran.
Meanwhile, Arven stormed up to the door and unleashed his true form.
No matter how many times I got to witness Arven’s other form, the sight of it still captivated me. His monstrous form was both beautiful and terrifying. Just the sight of him made my heart flutter a confusing beat. Great horns curled up from his forehead. His height rose until those long horns grazed the awning above the door.
He became a demon of the battlefield, and I promised myself I would never turn away from this side of him. Why would I? There was a monster inside me, too. I’d become someone who craved violence and adrenaline. He and I weren’t so different…apart from the horns and red skin.
He lifted a foot and slammed it through the front door. When the wooden doors flew open for him, I put a hand to his back. That should have been harder to break through. That meant Locke had traps waiting for us. He wanted us to fall prey to whatever waited inside.
Arven showed no sign that I’d touched him, but he stayed where he was and didn’t push inward. I slunk around him and slowly entered the foyer with my crossbow locked and loaded.
I should have felt bad for hunting a man in his own domain. It should have felt like an invasion, but it was just another day at work, really. This wasn’t any different than what I did on any other given day. I remembered chasing Cerri through the streets of Lakesedge only to get caught by Taliesin’s old-ass magic.
I was a hunter, and this was what I did best.
“Isn’t anyone going to face me?” Arven shouted at the entrance.
Though he issued the goading call, no one responded. It confirmed my suspicion that something was waiting for us inside. I still had no idea where Locke’s saferoom would be. Had he already left the domain? If that was the case, then Arven could sniff him out. Locke wouldn’t be able to get far.
Hiding in a securely locked room would be the safer option, and Locke likely knew it. Locke had money, and money could buy information and security. He would know that Arven could track scents. There was no way Locke didn’t know I’d become a bounty hunter.
Taking a vase from a nearby side-table, I tossed the porcelain vessel into the next room. Smoke immediately burst out and filled every available inch of space. I heard the telltale thumps of light footsteps as elves rushed into the smoke to take down the intruders they believed to be in there.
While they fumbled in the smoke, I turned back and tapped Arven to let him know he could press deeper into the house. By the time he reached the trapped room, the smoke had cleared. The elven guards looked up, almost in unison, and saw Arven standing in the hall with his arms crossed over his chest.
Two of the guards straightened, dropped their weapons, and proclaimed that they didn’t get paid enough for this. The third guard, however, raised a crossbow. I spared no time sweeping his feet out from under him. He literally didn’t see it coming.
Arven laughed and told the two to leave. They rushed past him and vanished, stepping in-between.
I crouched beside the third, fallen elf and whispered in his ear. “Where is Locke?”
The elf jumped, startled. Eyes wide, he searched the room for me, but I was still invisible beneath the kobold leather.
“W-w-why should I tell you?” the man asked flat on his back.
Arven loomed over him. He didn’t have to say a word. Just the sight of the Golden Beast was enough to make the fallen guard squirm with fear. I didn’t like it, but we weren’t hurting him. I had to remind myself that this was necessary. The man’s fear would lead us to the end goal.
I wasn’t used to working like this. When I worked with Rhoan, the man cleaned up anything I left behind. Arven worked differently. His skillset lay more with loud, boisterous fighting. He’d made himself into a symbol, and a symbol needed to be seen to be understood.
We just needed to find the ogre.
The thought of him made my heart race. My feet stuck to the floor for a cursed moment. They refused to push forward now that I’d remembered who would be waiting ahead for me.
The ogre hadn’t laid a hand on me, but he still terrified me, nonetheless. I hated this feeling. In the time that I’d been gone, I’d become a cold killer capable of anything. Yet, the thought of that ogre gave me pause and held me in place.
“Son of a bitch,” I muttered bitterly.
Arven huffed a warning. I couldn’t afford to give away my presence.
I looked back to the last guard pinned to the floor. That man already knew there was another person here. We needed to get the information out of him so we could knock him out. Leaving him conscious would be a risk we couldn’t afford to take.
Arven put more weight on the boot he’d planted on the man’s chest. The man groaned and tried to push Arven off, but it was no use. There was no way the slight elven man would be able to shove massive Arven off his chest.
“He’s in the basement!” the man shouted while thrashing against the floor.
I bit back a sigh of frustration. Not only would the shout be heard through the house, but the man’s kicking feet slammed into the floor several times…in a specific rhythm.
