Meera held onto Tamas as he clutched Onyx's mane, and she hoped his grip was strong enough to not send them tumbling off the stallion's back. The Mistblades had reappeared and were running full tilt towards them. They couldn't match Onyx's speed. Not when he was running this fast.

But that's where she was wrong. They couldn't match Onyx's speed, but their weapons could.

Three shapes came whizzing through the mists. Meera knew right away they were throwing knives. She erected a Mirror Shield to block them, but the worst happened. They disappeared at the last moment, only to reappear after clearing her Shield and embedding themselves in her back.

Meera cried out. Her fists clenched on Tamas's dirty shirt. One throwing knife hurt particularly badly as it had grazed her spine. All three dissipated into the mists soon after. Meera healed herself, but the sensation of pain lingered. I cannot take many more of those.

"You, okay?" Tamas asked over the wind rushing by them.

"Yes. They just got me good. Nothing to worry about."

She knew the Mistblades were chasing them as the whispers remained constant. After a few moments, which felt like an eternity, the Mistblades finally showed themselves.

Two more had joined the pursuit for a total of eight Warriors of Whispers.

Meera was content with running away, but with how fast they were gaining on them and their infernal Mistwalk, which seemed to be getting a boost from their home turf. And Onyx had to slow so they wouldn't smash into any trees. It wouldn't be long before they were on them. So, Meera decided to earn some experience and skills.

She removed one of her Level 2 chakrams from her back and threw it at one of the Mistblades. It side-stepped, but that was no matter as thanks to Mirror Wing, it didn't take her long to dissipate it into the mists. She quickly moved for the second one, and once she felled him, the others wised up and turned invisible.

Meera gritted her teeth and recalled her chakram, hoping to get someone on the way, but she was not so lucky. More throwing knives zipped at her. This time, she erected a Mirror Shield on her back, leaving no space between the two. Her Shield stopped the throwing knife. She felt a slight thud, but that was all. She kept the Shield there, knowing others would try something similar.

This chase went on for some time. Her Mana dropped considerably from having to keep Onyx out and sprinting. Not to mention, Mirror Shield was also taking a portion of her Mana, albeit a tiny portion.

The night was in full swing now. Mirithia even tipped to the western sky now. So, whenever she got a peak of the ringed planet, it looked like they were heading directly towards it.

The whispering had grown fainter but not gone completely. Meera had hoped they would have given them the slip by now, but they could literally spring out of nowhere here.

Tamas leaned back. "Meera, I know a place ahead where we can stop and rest."

Meera listened for the whispers, and they were a little ways off. Maybe they could give them the slip. "Where?"

"In the wagon, we hid in as we crossed the border," Tamas replied.

Meera wasn't sure about this, but it had been a while since they had been riding, and a break to rest and recover her Mana was sorely needed. But then her hopes were dashed as fresh new whispers grew louder and louder.

"Sorry, Tamas. There is no rest for us this night. Mistblades ahead," she replied.

As soon as she said it, three Mistblades jumped down from the trees, but they didn't touch the ground; instead, they remained a few feet off the ground thanks to Nimbus.

"Tamas?"

The trembling cook finally snapped out of it. "Oh, right. Go right and…"

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

As he gave Onyx directions, Meera prepared to face them. If it weren't for Mistblades' brethren at their backs, she would have stood her ground and faced them then, as Onyx was about to go right and follow Tamas' directions. Something alerted her. It was not sight or hearing but an instinctual warning.

"Onyx, just go straight," Meera ordered.

"You sure?" He asked. "I mean, they are right there."

"Yes, that is precisely why we should go right through them."

"Have you lost your mind?" Tamas asked. "In case you've forgotten, I have no armor or—"

"It's a trap," Meera interjected. "Why do you think we have six invisible or who knows how many at our backs, and these two decide to show themselves? They are goading us to go towards their trap. Onyx, go straight. I'll take care of them."

She extended both hands. With one, she shot a Mirror Shard Barrage directly into a Mistblade's chest, sending him flying into a tree. With the other hand, she shot out Vampiric Chains. They wrapped around the other Mistblade and began sucking him dry.

Her Health rose higher as the Mistblade withered. This one slashed at the chains with his blade but ended up failing, as when they passed him by, he was dragged behind them. Meera's Health topped up by the time he was gone.

The other Mistblade got up, saw what she had done to its brother, and dashed away. He didn't even bother to give chase.

"Looks like those chains of yours scared them," Tamas said.

"Maybe."

Meera wasn't sure that was it, but the whispers quieted over the next few hours to the point where she heard nothing. Did my Vampiric Chains scare them that much?

"Are they still behind us?" Tamas asked.

Meera surveyed the area with eyes and ears. "Not that I can tell."

"How can you tell? You didn't even look behind you."

"I have a skill for that. I'll tell you about it someday."

Onyx chuckled.

"Say, can we slow down, please," Tamas asked. "All this running is wreaking havoc on my body."

Meera's first response would have been no, but seeing his condition and the fact that he hadn't complained, Meera slowed Onyx to a trot. They traveled quietly with no run-ins with the Warriors of Whispers.

It was some time since she had heard any sounds of the Mistblades. It was suspiciously quiet. They crossed this tree, and she heard nothing. Before that, she at least heard the chirping of crickets and other noises of insects and smaller animals, and then nothing.

They passed this corridor of trees, and her Wild Instinct skill went wild. She realized what was up, but before she could even dig her heels into Onyx's hide, Meera's eyes widened as she gasped.

Three Mistblades had stabbed her in the back.

“Onyx…run…”

Her friend didn't question her for one second and took off. The rest of the Mistblades dropped their illusions and stepped out of the trees. Every tree in this corridor was a Mistblade. There must have been more than two dozen, maybe more. Meera activated Vitalize and hugged Onyx's sides with her legs as she pulled off her two greatest chakrams.

They had disguised themselves as trees. That was how she had not known about them. Mist Telepathy…They informed their brethren about Meera's ability to hear them, so they cast illusions on themselves to hide.

Meera wanted to slap herself for slowing down. They should have kept going until they were out of these mists. I got overconfident. Not again.

Onyx blazed through this area. Mowing down any Mistblade stupid enough to get in his path. Meera covered her and Tamas' legs with Mirror Shields and launched her chakrams into the horde of Mistblades. With Mirror Wing, she controlled them and cut as many down as she could, which was not many as it seemed they had wised up to her tricks.

Tamas did the sensible thing of hugging Onyx's neck. She covered him with Mirror Shields as best as possible. Meera slashed with her smaller chakrams when a Mistblade came closer, firing off Mirror Shard Barrages, one after the other. Her Level 2 Chakrams sniped any foe that came close, but they still crowded them, making it harder for Onyx to run.

She couldn't use a Mirror Blast, or she might as well say goodbye to Tamas. So, she brought her big chakrams around to the front to clear a path for Onyx. She groaned and cried out when the mist constructs got a good hit in, and they got in many. One was actively trying to pull her off the horse. She activated Vampiric Chains around that Mistblade and sucked him dry to heal herself while it thrashed, trying to get away.

The others gave her some distance after that. One stabbed her with its elongated sword through her bicep. Meera cried out, but she was already healing herself. One left a deep cut on Tamas' thigh, making him scream. Meera shot a Mirror Shard Barrage in its face, and it dissipated into the mists. In every sense of the word, it was chaos all around.

The level 2 chakrams did their work beautifully and cleared a way for them, and it didn't take Onyx long to clear them after that. By then, she had killed only four and left cuts on many more.

Then she realized why the Mistblades had come out in such force. The mist wall ended a few meters after their blockade.

Onyx ran out into the night, and she could finally see clearly after so long. Meera couldn't stop grinning.

"Onyx, stop." She reached around Tamas and pulled on his mane with difficulty.

He came to a slow stop, and she turned him around to face the Mistblades, who had gathered at the edge of their home.

"We did it." Tamas didn't sound sure of himself. "We did it. We escaped the Mistblades." Then he laughed, and Meera laughed along with him.

Their laughter was cut short as the constructs did something they were not supposed to do or, by Tamas's account, they could not do.

The Mistblades stepped through the border wall and into the kingdom of Azeria to finish their hunt.