††† Haylee †††

It was late into the evening when Haylee and Siegfried climbed out through a drain cover behind a tall stone-built warehouse. They were close to the northern gate now, and the looming outer wall cast a giant shadow, obscuring them even from the faint moonlight. A silent approach was still made impossible by Siegfried's thick, torn leather vest that creaked with every movement.

Haylee grimaced. "You have to get rid of that thing if we are to move stealthily. It's hardly holding together anyway, and you should also clean up the blood… you reek like a butcher."

"Alright, alright," Siegfried chuckled. "But there’s no aqueduct near, and we can neither break a supply pipe nor sneak in a random house for access to water."

"I know the area, and there's an old well not far from here. Follow me."

Siegfried complied, and Haylee navigated through the empty alleys in the dark with decisive strides until they reached an old, overgrown stone well amid an untended garden. It belonged to an abandoned, bedraggled house, and Haylee watched, amused, as Sieg carefully felt his way forward. No street lantern or torchlight would reach there.

"How are you able to walk so surefooted through the dark? I can barely see my hands in front of my eyes," Sieg enquired.

Haylee simply turned around to face him. She had shifted her eyes to that of a cat and knew they would glow from the little light they reflected at night.

"Okay, never mind," he snickered, shaking his head.

"The well is just behind me," Haylee answered in an amused, self-satisfied tone. "Let me fetch you a bucket of water." She operated the derelict drawing well as silently as possible and guided Sieg to sit on the broad edge next to the big, wooden bucket she brought up. When he worked himself out of the damaged, stiff leather, Haylee was glad he could not see her face flush in the dark.

Though she couldn't see colours at this level of darkness, the cat-girl could perfectly discern the muscles' contours on the chiselled body with her enhanced eyesight. A grey sculpture of physical perfection, almost inhuman in its composition. When the rigged, tall warrior started to wash away the blood and grime, Haylee bit back a purr of delight at the sight of his muscles working.

"There, all done," Sieg stated confidently. "The hot season of the year has already started, but the nights can still be quite chilly," he hinted.

It took Haylee a second to react. "Oh, sorry!" She rummaged through the contents of her backpack. "Here, we have one blanket for the nights. You can use that to dry yourself." She was glad to have managed to keep her voice on a conversational level so quickly. "There is also a black raincoat for you. It's thin but should keep your body temperature and match better with the shadows."

After drying up, Sieg held his leather vest for a moment in front of him before tossing it into the well. "Seems like this was my last day as a guardsman, huh?"

"The guard meant much to you?" Haylee asked. She couldn't quite discern his tone, but it sounded melancholic.

"The day Bolverk brought me into the guard was the day my life changed for the better," he answered. "I was living as an orphan in the slums before that. Anyway, that’s in the past, and we have to make use of the night-time. Lead on, Haylee." He donned the wide raincoat, and they made their way to the front gate.

††† Siegfried †††

It was the first time Siegfried saw it from a close distance, and his spirit dropped a bit when he studied the enormous steel gates that were the only entrance to the City of Nemeah. According to their information, at least fifteen third-class enforcers should be manning the inside of the walls, led by a single second-class enforcer. And he honestly hoped that Haylee was as dangerous as they made him believe.

"Well, that’s one big door," Sieg stated the obvious. "What are we going to do now? Knock and ask if we could use the closet for a minute?" The joke tickled a snicker out of Haylee, but it was more to loosen his own tension than hers.

"Don't worry, big guy. You are not going to do anything for now," the lithe cat-girl answered.

"What do you mean I —"

"Look to the right of the gate," Haylee interrupted him. "There are three arrow-slits, which lead into the top floor of the inner gatehouse."

Siegfried inspected the smooth, grey wall next to the gate. It was hardly visible in the dark, but he noticed three shadows that looked slightly darker than the rest of the wall. And those three shadows were at the height of a three-storey-tall building. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and shook his head. "I can imagine that you could barely squeeze through that, but how will you reach up there? Whatever the wall is made of, it is completely smooth."

"You'll see soon enough," Haylee answered, sounding unusually bashful.

"Even more important is how you plan to take on several enforcers by yourself," Sieg stated, unable to keep the worry out of his tone. "I was hoping we would have a chance together if we could fight in close quarters. Going in alone is suicide," he argued.

"Have some faith, hero," Haylee playfully rapped her knuckles at his chest. "Those red meatheads might be dangerous in a fair fight, but if you slit their throat from behind, they die as easily as anyone else. There's a normal-sized door built into the wall right next to the gate. I'll take down as many as possible on the way there and let you in. We can handle the rest together."

"Very well, not as if I could provide a better plan without knowing about the interior… just be careful, Haylee."

"I will be. Promise… Uhm, could you turn around for a moment? I work better without these clothes."

"Ok, sure," Sieg answered and left Haylee some privacy.

A minute later, the sound of claws scraping against stone startled Siegfried from his thoughts. When he turned around, all he could see was a big shadow shooting towards the wall with ludicrous speed.

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††† Haylee †††

A few steps close to hitting the wall full-on, Haylee used her powerful hind legs to jump nearly vertically against the stonework. The sheer weight of her momentum pressed her body against the wall for the short moment she needed to cover the distance to the arrow-slit.

It was just enough to jab both front legs through the small hole and find purchase with her claws. It was a tight fit, but she squeezed through with practised ease and silently dropped to the wooden floor.

In all honesty, she wasn't as confident about this infiltration as she made Siegfried believe. The last time she’d snuck through the gate, she’d just hopped out the arrow slit on the opposite side. She had injured herself badly at the landing but slipped through without anyone noticing.

The cat-girl shifted back to her human form and lay down to prepare for a much more complex change. Her fully feline form came naturally to her, and she could just let her subconsciousness take over. A partial transformation had to be much more deliberate.

The young shapeshifter carefully altered her hip and thighs first. She closely monitored the many new muscles that formed while lengthening the femur simultaneously. The stretching sensation was unpleasant but not painful. She left her calves and ankles as they were but grew five small, soft paddings on the ball of each foot. Next came the most dangerous part, and Haylee went through every step with utmost care as she slowly let her body alter its spine and grow a tail.

Afterwards, she strengthened her wrist and fingerbones and grew out sturdy, razor-sharp claws. The feline ears, eyes and the smelling organ at her mouth's roof were easier as she used them every day.

The last step was to grow out her fur again. It was just a short fuzz, looking more like a dark champagne skin tone that was far less visible in the dark than her pale white skin.

She flexed her leg muscles and claws, ensuring everything felt natural and smiled predatorily. "Let's see if the cat still knows how to hunt," she whispered to herself.

A trapdoor gave access to the stairs leading to the next level, but she could hear a muffled conversation through the thick wooden beams the floor was comprised of. After a short search through the room, Haylee found a rectangular hole in the far corner. Iron mountings were fixed to it for holding a ladder — an older temporary access that no one bothered covering up after the stairs were finished. There was hardly any light reaching that far, so Haylee risked a peek through it.

The weak illumination came from a few candles lit on the sparse furniture, creating dim light spheres. Two enforcers were seated at a sturdy table, engaged in conversation and drinking.

Haylee noticed with glee the maze of wooden beams crossing the room close to the ceiling. Several chains with meathooks were attached to them. Apparently, this was planned as a storeroom for food in case of a siege.

The nearest of the sturdy beams was just out of reach. The nimble cat-girl turned around and squatted down on her haunches. She quietly sunk the claws of her hands into the wood near the edge and slowly lifted her rear backwards through the opening while keeping her calves planted next to her hands. Bending her legs, she took the weight of her arms, hanging upside down from the hole. Arching her back, she soundlessly reached the timber with both arms.

Gripping the diagonal opposite edges, Haylee flexed her arm muscles — one arm pushing, the other pulling — while maintaining the body tension and carried herself over to the beam like a weightless wraith, levitating through the air.

The enforcers were

"And while Thomas is having fun with his whore in the first', we're stuck with guard duty in the fourth'. I swear, I'm so going to pay him back for that," the bigger of the two men rambled at his colleague. They were still oblivious to the looming death, advancing slowly above their heads, waiting for the perfect time to reap their lives.

"Sure you will. And then you come back crying cause he kicked your ass again. Just let it be, man. The day of reverence isn't far. Just work hard to get a bigger piece of the cake this time, as we all do."

"Oh, shut up. We're almost out of ale anyway. I'm going for a leak and bring up another round."

The cat-girl waited patiently for the grumpy guy to leave. That would be even easier than she thought. When she was directly above the remaining enforcer, she clamped both legs around the timber beam and let herself hang down behind him.

Haylee quickly closed her hand around her prey’s mouth while simultaneously slicing open his throat. When the body went limp, she jabbed her claws in the flesh beneath its arms and hauled it up with only minor difficulty. She hung the dead enforcer across the beam by the waist and crawled further along until she was directly above the door.

It wasn’t long until her quarry stepped into the room again, furrowing his brows at his missing table companion. The grumpy man took two steps towards the table until he saw the pool of blood in the dim light of the lamp.

By the time he looked up to notice the lifeless corpse of his friend, bleeding out from the ceiling, he had already shared his fate.

Sneaking through the open door, Haylee made her way downstairs. The next floor was built from bricks and stonework. The stairs led to a corridor that was lit by a few sconces. There was one door at the end of the narrow hall and an open passage on the left. Several voices came from that passageway, and it seemed well-illuminated. After verifying the enforcers' position by listening for a while, the cat-girl peeked around the edge.

Apart from a chest of drawers, she spotted a few empty armour racks, a round table with an ornate dagger, and five red mantles. It didn't come as a surprise that none of them expected an attack inside the gate. Still, five gifted warriors were sprawled out through the left side of the room, armoured or not. No matter how she approached it, she wouldn't be fast enough to kill all of them before they could use their power to end her. But sneaking past would likely trap her between her enemies.

Fortunately, it seemed that the rustic chandelier, hanging from the ceiling by a thick rope, was the only source of light. Haylee quietly put out the torches in the corridor and took a few deep breaths to steady her nerves.

Letting out her last breath in a burst, she sprinted towards the table, using it as a stepping stone to reach the chandelier. She severed the rope, and her adrenaline spiked as the candles went out in a sudden drop, accompanied by the surprised outcry of the men.

The cat-girl lunged at the nearest enforcer, ripping out his throat before he could even draw his sword. The second enemy reacted instantly to the gurgling groan that followed and blindly swung his blade in that direction.

Haylee bent backwards at the waist to evade the broad swipe and pierced his sword arm with three claws before he finished the movement. She jabbed her other hand straight into his chest, puncturing his heart as the room suddenly lit up again with a red glow.

Another enforcer was already on her, executing a quick thrust at the now-visible cat-girl. Haylee bent her body around the blade like a dancer. She hooked one arm around his and grabbed him at the belt for leverage.

Just before the other enforcer finished his charge, Haylee threw the crying man into the path of his ally. The impact was deafening for her sensitive ears, and the sight of two humans colliding at such speeds made even her cringe.

Alas, the room was still filled with a red glow. Haylee had hardly time to react as the last of her opponents finished his charge, and her body moved on instinct. It was by pure luck that she had sidestepped to the right while the attack came on the left, but it wasn't enough. A deep gash opened up on the left side of her waist when he rushed by, eliciting a scream of agony from her lips.

Not wasting a second, Haylee grabbed the dagger on the nearby table. The underhand throw was hardly aimed at all, but the short distance between them made for an easy target, and the red glow dimmed again as pain broke the enforcer's concentration. Before he could regain his bearings, Haylee was on him, eviscerating him in a fury.

She gritted her teeth, ripped off part of the dead man's shirt and started wrapping her waist.

A feminine shout and the creaking of the door in the corridor interrupted her short respite. The tell-tale red glow seeped through the passage. "Bring a torch!" the newcomer called. Haylee bit the inside of her cheek as every movement hurt. Her time was running out. As darkness reclaimed its territory, she sped through the passage.

Torchlight was creeping up from the next set of stairs to the door. It was just reaching far enough to reveal Haylee's athletic figure in front of the enforcer. The black-haired woman stumbled in shock as the cat-girl slashed her throat mid-run, not bothering to even look at the obstacle in her path.

She leapt through the door and down the stairs. She buried her claws into the enforcer with the torch, riding him down the last steps and breaking his neck. Haylee stifled a cry as the wound ripped open further and bounded into an empty room. There were only a single drawer and a burning hearth with four simple stools inside. But on the left side of the room, Haylee could finally see the heavy steel door she had told Siegfried about.