Chapter 73: Ruins
Morgan circled back, landing on the ruin of a building, stopping a short distance away from the dying Bretnar.
On the nearby crumbling rooftop, three of the five creatures left were still alive.
Dark blood spilled from the gashes on their bodies, creating a slowly growing pool on the weathered stone.
The rest of the group had taken to the air within the dimly lit cavern when their comrades began falling like dominoes during the ambush.
In a split second, the cornered prey they had been pursuing became the predator, and the hunters had become the hunted.
Morgan somberly watched the surrounding ruins warily, alertly observing them for the slightest of movements.
" This is quite strange," he thought silently, his eyes narrowing in contemplation.
Just when he’d been about to finish them off, a fleeting memory had flashed through his mind, causing him to hesitate.
A creeping suspicion slowly rose, refusing to be denied even as he crept forward.
The Bretnar were merciless even to their own kind, so there was no reason for them to leave any of their wounded comrades alive.
Morgan clearly remembered his first encounter with the winged menaces.
The Bretnar he had wounded in that fight had been dispatched almost immediately.
The culprits, their own brethren.
And yet not one, not two, but three wounded Bretnar stayed in plain sight, and the Bretnar hadn’t made any move to attack them or finish them off.
" Something’s off about this."
Morgan slowly scanned the ruins, searching for any abnormalities, movements, and enemies in the vicinity.
Morgan quietly noted that Emily had made herself scarce. He saw no sign of her anywhere.
" Smart girl."
A dark shadow stirred in a nearby alleyway.
His instincts screamed at him then, warning him of the other lingering Bretnar hiding in the shadows of the ruined buildings.
"So the Bretnar that flew off were just a diversion, the real threats are still down here with me."
Morgan’s eyes narrowed, a subtle frown forming on his face.
His eyes lit up in amusement when he realized what was happening.
A devilish grin slowly formed on his face.
" This is definitely insane. They’re growing smarter, more intelligent. On the other hand, this should make things more interesting."
This wasn’t the first ambush the wily creatures had orchestrated in weeks, but it was the first one where they’d retreated and regrouped.
To top it off, they’d set up another ambush, in a heartbeat, a more subtle and discreet one from the looks of things.
To trap the elusive prey turned predator once and for all.
" Well, I just hope wherever Emily’s hiding, she’s safe."
Morgan took a step off the building, then nonchalantly fell.
A few months back, this would have been a suicidal move on his part, but a lot of things had changed about him. He wasn’t the cowardly, defenseless boy he’d been before.
After becoming an initiate, he had firmly taken the first step on the path to becoming a full-fledged assassin.
His dark form approached the ground silently, cutting through the air with the deadly quietness of a tenebrous shadow.
Morgan agilely grabbed onto a pole embedded firmly into the wall.
The old pole held under the strain of his weight, then he spun around in the air, distributing the shock from the sudden stop throughout his entire body.
" Unfortunately for the Bretnar, assassination is what I was originally born for, so I’m truly thankful that they thought to kindly even out the playing field. It works well in my favour."
Morgan quietly slipped into a nearby ruin, quickly scaling the stone wall.
He activated his awakened ability, his eyes glowing eerily in the shadows of the decrepit structure.
The mark on his chest pulsed, emitting a powerful energy that flowed through him.
" Nothing in here."
He quietly crept up to the window and took a cautious glance.
A short Bretnar stood oblivious to his presence, with his back turned to him.
" And tonight’s first victim has appeared," he thought.
Morgan’s breathing grew still, then in the next instant, he vaulted out the window in one fluid move.
In the next instant, Blood Reaper silently flashed free of its scabbard.
Morgan plunged the dark blades into the bewildered creature’s throat before it could even register what was happening.
The Bretnar tried to screech to alert its allies, but Morgan brutally ripped through its throat, the sound ending in a muffled gargle.
" One down, probably just a few more to go."
Morgan silently ran into an alley, then vanished into another house.
The dead Bretnar was found almost immediately.
A series of frenzied screeches broke through the ghostly silence of the ancient city.
Morgan quietly chuckled, then continued slithering through the lost ruins like a malevolent phantom.
Emily was still stuck inside the ruin where she’d sought solace after the Bretnar had tacitly ambushed Morgan.
" What is going on out there?"
Her brows knit in frustration, her green eyes narrowing in contemplation in the soothing darkness of the ruin.
" I’ve got to get a move on and fast."
She gritted her teeth in frustration.
" The truth is, without Morgan here, I’m just a walking meal for these things."
Emily cautiously peeked through the window, leaning on the cracked wooden pane, then jumped out, landing in a deserted alley.
The air was filled with the slight scent of mould, dust, and age.
Emily’s legs pumped wildly, the sound echoing loudly on the cobbled stones.
Loud screeches rang out nearby on the roof of the building.
" Shit!"
Emily’s eyes darted frantically searching for an escape before landing on an opening at ground level at the dead end of the alley.
She quickly slid to a stop, frantically grabbing onto a metallic grater.
" Come on, come on!"
Emily grit her teeth, straining her muscles, but the grater held fast.
The sound of the screeches grew closer.
" Please, please, please! "she whispered, yanking desperately on the metallic grate.
For the first time, she wished Morgan were nearby, but sadly, she didn’t know what had happened to him after the ambush.
She was quite sure he could easily fend for himself, but hers was a different story.
" I should have stayed at the temple, but now I’m going to die in a deserted alley in the middle of nowhere."
Her heart pounded frantically in her chest, the sound thundering like a war hammer in her ears.
At the far end of the alley, a dark shadow loomed in the faint light, its silhouette blotting out the light at the entrance to the small corridor.
In her panic, Emily could vaguely make out the faint outline, four arms, and wings.
" It’s a Bretnar!"
As if things weren’t bad enough, she was also unarmed.
The creature’s dark eyes gleamed in the darkness of the alley, drool slowly dripping down to the cobbled stones in the deserted alley.
"Please don’t see me, just walk away."
Sadly, the Bretnar stopped in its tracks at that point, curiously sniffing the air.
In the next moment, its head whipped through the air, turning in her direction.
The creature let out a triumphant screech, squeezing into the narrow alleyway with a triumphant howl.
Just then, the grate sprang open.
Emily desperately scrambled inside, closing the grate behind her.
She let out a sigh of relief, then tried to look around.
The place was shrouded in darkness.
A moment later, a shadowy figure moved, parting the darkness.
A whisper floated through the shadows.
" Emily."
Emily jumped away in fright. Her mouth instinctively opened in a scream, but Morgan was there in an instant, clamping her mouth shut with his hand.
" Hey, it’s me! Are you crazy?! You’ll get both of us killed."
He gently let her go, then quietly backed away.
" Sorry, I thought..."
A chuckle escaped from Morgan’s direction.
" You thought you were done?"
Emily sighed quietly in the darkness.
" Where are we? I can hardly see a thing!"
Morgan moved silently, materializing next to her.
She nearly jumped again but caught herself in time.
" Stop that!" She hissed.
" Stop what?" He asked with a hint of puzzlement in his voice.
" Creeping around in the darkness."
Morgan scratched his head, then looked at her.
" Well, for me, it’s not exactly dark. I can actually see you quite well. It’s probably another boon of being an initiate."
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
" Honestly, I should have become an initiate much sooner. I’ve never felt so alive."
Emily scoffed.
" If you’re done with your small bout of self-discovery, could you tell me where we are?"
Morgan glanced at her in amusement, then let out a quiet laugh.
" Jealous much? Anyway, we’re underground. I killed quite a few of the Bretnar on my way to find you."
" You came back for me?"
It was Morgan’s turn to scoff.
" If I remember correctly, I did say I would protect you. Besides, you’re my first student, and you’re still wet around the ears. I couldn’t sit back and watch you become a meal for these things before you’re able to stand on your own."
Emily scoffed derisively.
" Yeah, sure thing."
Her voice softened a little.
" Thanks."
Morgan laughed.
" Let’s get a move on."
For Emily, the world was shrouded in darkness, but for Morgan, his eyes pierced through the shadows like it was a cloudy day.
"Come along now, dear student, let’s go."