‘Have we caught the scent?’

  ‘It would seem so…’ the two voices spoke to each other on more equal grounds now that they’d fed. Once more they were on the hunt.

  ‘It is like the scent of our own.’

  ‘Yet more ancient, more potent.’

  ‘Much much older than our own…’ Whatever the reason was for the sharing of one body by two souls had seemingly vanished with their newfound clarity. A new scent had made itself known in its territory, the scent of dragon’s blood. It looked down from the rooftops, its head casting a shadow from the light above.

  ‘Weaklings,’ said one of the voices, ‘they have forgotten their purpose.’

  ‘They have found one apart from the hunt, from the thirst.’

  ‘We will not feed on them again, their blood is tainted,’ it said, ‘it was fouled by the poisons they consume.’

  ‘Let us find a mortal then, to feast.’

  It began to sniff the air, its large nostrils flaring at the scent of a mortal human, a man sleeping comfortably in his home not far from the creature. It dashed over the rooftops, cracking and breaking the shingles under its weight. The man’s house and bedroom bordered on a large courtyard filled to the brim with people, and all of them witnessed clearly what happened next. The monster crawled onto the side of the building before jumping in through the window and shattering it and its frame into tiny pieces that scattered all around. The cacophony drew the attention of every person in the courtyard, and the bloodcurdling scream that followed it made them all gasp in surprise and horror. The beast’s ravenous thirst had claimed another victim.

  Yara’s eyes shot open the next morning and she sat up immediately, resting her head on her hand. She’d been having a nightmare she could now barely remember, and it’d left her with a thumping headache. She looked around, Laras was gone and she sat alone on their bed.

  ‘Are you alright?’ asked Julie as she made her reappearance.

  ‘I’m okay, yeah,’ said Yara as she looked at her.

  ‘We should go outside,’ said Julie, ‘you need the fresh air.’

  ‘Is Laras outside?’

  ‘He is.’

  ‘Then I’d rather not.’

  ‘You’re still angry with him?’

  Yara wanted to answer, but she wasn’t really sure at this point. She thought about it for a good minute before she stood up.

  ‘You’re right,’ she said, ‘I’ll follow you.’

  It was bright outside, for once it was a clear and sunny day on what was normally quite a gloomy island. Laras sat at a table outside enjoying his breakfast when he saw Yara approach with a woman he hadn’t seen before.

  ‘Morning,’ he said after he swallowed his food, ‘How are you feeling?’

  ‘Fine, why wouldn’t I be?’

  ‘You were tossing and turning all night, even broke out into a sweat a bit before I got out of bed.’

  ‘I’m better now.’

  ‘Good, that’s good,’ said Laras, unable to focus on his food again he looked at Yara, ‘look, about yesterday…’ he got up, and as soon as he wanted to continue talking Yara cut him off by giving him a hug.

  ‘It’s okay,’ she said, ‘I acted childishly, and I’m sorry.’

  ‘You don’t have to be sorry, you weren’t exactly in the wrong.’

  'Yeah, well I didn't exactly give you much to believe me for.'

  Yara let go of him and they both sat down, with Julie seating herself next to Yara.

  ‘I don’t believe we’ve been introduced’,’ said Laras to Julie.

  ‘You’re Laras, right?’

  ‘Yes, I’m assuming Yara told you,’ he said, ‘Your name is...?’

  ‘Julie,’ she said, putting emphasis on the soft J sound, ‘I met Yara in Yulvat, when she helped me with something.’

  Laras shot Yara a really quick dirty glance, which she responded to with an eyeroll

  ‘A pleasure to actually meet you,’ she said, a little distracted by the commotion going on around the terrace, ‘do you know what’s happening?’

  ‘No idea,’ said Laras, ‘I’ve been sat here all morning watching whatever is going on, some guy climbed onto that statue earlier and began to shout something in Yilgran.’

  Julie got up and walked towards the crowd.

  ‘Should we accompany her?’ asked Laras as he watched her walk away.

  ‘No, she’s fine,’ replied Yara before she took a bite of Laras’ food.

  ‘You think? She looks like the type of woman that’d need an escort.’

  ‘Trust me, she’s fine,’ she said while she was in the middle of chewing. A little bit later Julie came back.

  ‘I went to listen to what they were saying,’ she said, ‘they’re calling for the duke to actually do something about the murders now.’

  ‘If we’re in any luck he won’t need to.’

  ‘It seems you have been given ample opportunity to prove your efficiency,’ said a man in an authoritative tone. It was Grant, the undertaker Yara had met the night before, he’d made his way across town in broad daylight to meet Yara in order to inform her about the murder.

  ‘Another person fell to the creature last night, and it just so happens you might need my help again.’

  ‘Good morning to you too, Mr. Grant,’ Yara looked at him, a little surprised at his sudden appearance.

  He tipped his top hat.

  ‘The attack happened in a location that will not be easy to reach for the likes of yourself and your companions, save for one,’ he looked at Julie.

  ‘You mean it’s somewhere humans can’t go?’

  ‘No, not precisely,’ said Grant, ‘she is simply the only one dressed the part.’

  ‘Sorry, who are you?’ asked Laras, his head slightly cocked as he stood up and walked towards their visitor.

  ‘My name is Grant, I’m an undertaker, as your rather fetching friends must’ve told you, and who might you be?’

  ‘Laras,’ he said, ‘pleasure to meet you,’ the latter he said slightly disingenuously, ‘would we need different clothing to enter wherever the attack happened?’

  ‘Precisely that,’ said Grant, ‘You’d hardly walk into a refined establishment wearing such sweat-soaked rags would you?’

  ‘Wouldn’t be the first time,’ Yara chuckled, ‘most nobles didn’t care before.’

  ‘Anglans, typical.’

  ‘I have to be honest, Mr. Grant, I don’t believe we have enough money to pay for fancy dress for the both of us.’

  ‘A tailor in the West End owes me a favour,’ said Grant as he looked at the three of them. Julie got visibly excited.

  ‘I think I know the place he means,’ she said as she turned to Yara, ‘It’s been so long since I’ve been there.’

  ‘They might even remember you,’ joked Yara.

  ‘Maybe they do.’

  ‘Very well then, meet me at my morgue when you’ve finished, and we will proceed towards where it took place.’

  ‘If I may ask,’ Yara interjected before he could storm off in a hurry, ‘what’s it called, this fancy get-together?’

  ‘It is called The City By Night.’

  Julie had guided both Yara and Laras through the tailor’s shop as they looked around their inventory. She’d worn Yara out by continuously suggesting to try something else while Laras had been left to his own devices for the most part, only after Julie had finished helping Yara pick something did she divert her attention to him. His search had been significantly shorter, as both he and Julie saw eye-to-eye much more quickly. Soon after they departed, their fancy clothing was covered and protected by a sort of bag that went over them.

  ‘Good evening,’ Grant greeted them as the trio approached his morgue, ‘I trust it all went well?’

  ‘Incredibly so!’ Julie beamed with pride while both Yara and Laras just nodded slightly.

  ‘It is time for you to get changed,’ said Grant, ‘please do so inside, I’m certain neither of us are particularly keen on seeing either of you undressed.’

  As she entered the building Yara could swear she heard Julie mutter “speak for yourself” under her breath. Both Yara and Laras walked to opposite sides of the room. He looked at her rather sheepishly as she draped her dress over a chair in the waiting room. Yara was about to take off her shirt when she realised he was looking at her.

  ‘Well?’ she looked at him, a tiny hint of a smirk on her face, ‘aren’t you going to turn around?’ she was almost going to let it slip.

  ‘What?’ he shook his head slightly, ‘oh, right, my bad,’ Laras then turned around. Both of them turned their backs to each other and began to change into different clothing.

  ‘So our friend outside,’ said Laras, ‘What exactly is his deal?’

  ‘He’s a vampire that works as an undertaker,’ said Yara as she tried her hand at fastening her own corset.

  ‘A vampire!?’ Laras wanted to rush over and see if Yara’s neck hadn’t been bitten.

  ‘Calm down,’ she laughed, ‘he didn’t bite me, according to him it’s a taboo.’

  ‘That better be true,’ he said, ‘I don’t want us to end up as the main course.’

  ‘Laras?’ Yara called his name, ‘could you come over here for a second?’

  ‘Uh, sure, what for?’

  ‘I can’t get the corset fastened.’

  ‘Are you covered?’ he asked before turning around.

  Yara let out a short sigh, ‘yes, I’m “decent”, or decent enough.’

  He turned around and saw Yara’s back still faced him, at the bottom of her corset were two laces.

  ‘Pull on those.’

  ‘Right, breathe in.’

  Yara inhaled deeply and felt a hard tug on her back, the garment tightened so much it almost forced all the air out of her lungs.

  ‘A little less tight.’

  He got it right on his second try and Yara proceeded to untie her hair.

  ‘No ponytail?’

  ‘It’ll look out of place,’ she turned around and saw that Laras needed some help with his shirt. Immediately she walked over to help. After they were done they stepped outside again.

  ‘Wonderful!’ said Julie as she saw them exit. She’d reshaped the smoky dress she normally wore into one similar to Yara’s. Her previously exposed décolletage was now covered by an extension of the corset that continued to a collar.

  ‘Don’t you need to change, Mr. Grant?’ asked Laras.

  ‘I did change, Mr. Laras,’ he answered, ‘I’m wearing a different hat.’

  Laras wanted to argue, but instead chose to shut his mouth.

  ‘Are we ready to leave then?’

  The trio nodded and followed the man through the streets of the West-End, now lit by red street lights it was anything but deserted. People Yara now understood to be vampires walked the streets and visited shops, creating a vibrant nightlife in Mirelue.

  ‘The place we are visiting, The City By Night, what’s it like?’ asked Laras as he matched his pace with the Undertaker’s.

  ‘Very exclusive is what it is.’

  ‘I could’ve guessed that.’

  ‘Typically one only gains entrance on invitation from a member, and while I am not a member, they made an exception just this once.’

  ‘How come?’ Yara asked as she also caught up.

  ‘You are dragon hunters, are you not? If anyone can slay a beast like this it would be the two of you, it is for this same reason your weapons will not be confiscated at the door.’

  The both of them caught what he meant and shut their mouths.

  ‘Oh, and before we arrive there’s one more thing Mr. Laras,’ Grant said, ‘While present I suggest you treat either of the lovely ladies with us as your own.’

  ‘Why?’ asked Laras as both Yara and Julie looked at him.

  ‘For the simple reason that it makes you look better, or all of us for that matter.’

  ‘Do I have to choose?’ he looked back and forth between them. Grant nodded.

  ‘Yara?’ he looked at her, ‘I don’t suppose you’d mind, would you?’

  She put her arm around his, a little smile on her face.

  ‘Not at all.’

  The door to The City By Night was narrow but fancy, with a tall, broad man standing outside of it keeping watch. Grant said something to him in Yilgran before they were all let through. They walked through a narrow and old hallway before they eventually passed an open door that led into a large square courtyard. It was beautifully decorated and several well-kempt hedges formed paths for visitors to walk on.

  ‘Welcome to The City By Night,’ said Grant, ‘do mind the flower beds, Antoin works very hard to keep them tidy.’

  Julie walked out ahead, while neither Yara nor Laras were listening to what the Undertaker was saying. Laras was too focused on exploring the courtyard with his eyes, while Yara leaned her head on his arm, perhaps a little distracted.

  ‘You want to go look around?’ she asked, ‘this place looks nice.’

  ‘I’d be happy if they have anything to drink.’

  ‘Ask the sommelier,’ said the Undertaker, overhearing their conversation, ‘he usually provides the beverages.’

  ‘I think I’ll go walk with Julie, actually,’ said Yara.

  ‘Don’t be afraid to step out for a bit if it’s all a bit exhausting for you,’ said Laras, ‘I’m not going anywhere.’

  Yara let go of his arm and thanked him before she caught up with Julie, who was in conversation with the sommelier the Undertaker mentioned.

  ‘Are the wines any good?’

  Julie let out a disappointed sigh, ‘no... it’s all bloodwine, no good stuff either.’

  ‘That’s okay, we should be looking for clues, not wine.’

  'You look for clues, I'll... take in the scenery,' the succubus' eyes darted around, no doubt taking a good look at the other guests.

  'The gardening isn't that good,' Yara said as she had to carefully step around a low hedge.

  'Right... you already have something sculpted to look at,' Julie said slyly, she looked at Yara, who had an eyebrow raised, 'I mean, I don't blame you.'

  'What do you mean "Something sculped"?'

  'I'd never let Laras wear a shirt if I were you.'

  Yara started to blush, 'that's-.'

  'Then again, I don't think I'd let either of you wear anything if it were up to me,' Julie smirked when she saw how flustered Yara was getting, 'but... we're here for information, right? How do you plan on getting any?'

  Yara collected herself, ‘I thought I should do what I usually do? Why?’

  ‘Eavesdropping?’ Julie sighed and rolled her eyes, ‘you have to learn how to mingle, be part of the conversation or even lead it sometimes,’ she said, ‘here, I’ll show you,’ she walked up to a group of women, all holding up glasses of the same crimson wine she’d looked at before. One of them was in the middle of telling a story when Julie and Yara joined them. Julie laughed alongside the others when they started laughing, and Yara caught the hang of it quite quickly.

  ‘Did you hear about what happened here last night?’ asked Julie, ‘about the man living over there?’ she pointed at the boarded-up window.’

  ‘That? Oh, it was simply horrible,’ replied one of them.

  ‘Truly so,’ said another, ‘my sister was here, she saw the whole thing.’

  ‘Was she?’ Yara attempted to mingle with them a little.

  ‘She was, the way she described it… it must’ve looked horrible.’

  ‘Oh, do tell,’ said Julie, ‘I’m sure your sister is quite imaginative.’

  ‘She said it was white as the snow, whiter than even her own skin, and that it moved almost like an enormous cat,’ the woman paused to drink, ‘the way she described it made me think it had wings.’

  ‘Wings?’ Julie rolled her eyes, ‘don’t be ridiculous, there is no such thing as a winged cat.’

  ‘Well it’s true.’

  ‘To think of it, with all these creatures running around it’s not the strangest thing that my dear old auntie dropped dead a week ago.’

  The topic began to shift and Yara opted to leave before she got caught up in a conversation she really had nothing to do with. Julie followed her away from the group.

  ‘I thought you did pretty well there.’

  ‘That makes one of us,’ said Yara as she looked around if she could see Laras in the crowd of people. She caught sight of him, surrounded by three vampires. He looked a little out of his depth.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  ‘Oh dear,’ said Julie.

  ‘I know what to do,’ said Yara, she walked over to the table with the wines, where she simply grabbed one glass by the foot and sniffed it. The smell of fermented blood overwhelmed her a little, ‘saints, that is just awful.’

  ‘Don’t bother with the etiquette, like I said it’s not exactly quality wine.’

  Yara didn’t budge, instead she walked through the crowds and towards Laras, eventually adding a little stagger to her step in an attempt to look mildly inebriated. One of the vampires surrounding Laras was getting a little touchy, to his own chagrin. Unfortunately any time he’d tell them to ease off they’d ignore him, whether it was due to a language barrier or something else he really couldn’t quite tell.

  ‘Hey there,’ said Yara as she pushed past them, intentionally spilling a little wine over both herself and a female vampire. The victim of her spillage looked appalled and by this minor slight. Immediately Yara put a hand on his arm.

  ‘Are you drunk again?’ asked Laras, he genuinely couldn’t tell.

  ‘Maybe,’ Yara giggled, she looked at the vampires before turning her attention to Laras again. As she got closer she put her other hand on his chest, ‘we should go somewhere private.’

  Laras looked at the three vampires around them.

  ‘Forgive me, there’s something I need to take care of,’ he said as he straightened his shirt. They turned around and left while Laras put an arm around Yara to help her stay upright. When they were out of sight and earshot she shook off his hand.

  ‘Now with them out of the way,’ she said, breaking her act, ‘Did you learn anything?’

  Laras was a little confused and taken aback, but he shook his head.

  ‘Not really, other than that you look wonderful in that dress.’

  ‘You’ve seen me in a dress before,’ she replied, a smile on her face.

  ‘I know,’ he said, ‘I guess I never really looked at who was wearing it before.'

  Yara blushed, but before she could return the compliment Laras had already asked her a question.

  ‘What’d you learn so far?’

  ‘The creature’s apparently very cat-like in movement and build, though it has wings according to a witness.’

  ‘There’s only a handful I can remember that’re described like that.’

  ‘I could try running back to the inn to grab the encyclopaedia,’ Yara suggested, ‘so we can check and see.’

  ‘No, that’d take too long,’ Laras shook his head, ‘I could see if they have a library here, they might have a copy.’

  ‘Good idea, what do you want me to do?’

  ‘Stay here, enjoy yourself and keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.’

  Yara nodded, and Laras turned towards the club’s entrance.

  ‘I’ve got to be honest, I’m not looking forward to fighting in these.’

  Not too far away the creature that Yara and Laras were hunting stalked the roofs of the West End. It was once again bickering with itself.

  ‘Once more we caught its scent,’ said one of the voices in an almost whispering tone.

  ‘We mustn’t chase it,’ said the other, ‘it may be a trap.’

  ‘But to taste the blood of our brethren,’ the first voice whispered again, ‘we would never need to feed again.’

  ‘A tempting lie.’

  ‘Or a valuable truth.’

  The latter voice won their argument and control of their body, now it was on its way to what it presumed to be prey.

  Yara heard something coming. From the rooftops above the sound of paws treading on shingles came echoing down into the courtyard. She only barely made out the sound over the commotion of the crowds around her. The moment a pale white creature’s head peered over the edge of one of the rooves Yara immediately stood to attention.

  ‘EVERYBODY OUT!’ she shouted loud and clear. She began to hurry people away from the rooftop the creature was looking over. Yara drew her sword and ripped the skirt off of her dress in a clean manner. Under it she wore her greaves and armoured plates over her thighs. She was only half-equipped, yet she stood ready to fight. As the monster climbed down its slender body was revealed. Just as the witnesses had described it was cat-like, with two pairs of wings that jut out of its malnourished looking body. Its head was slim, with large bat-like nostrils on the front and two rows of long, hollow fangs meant for piercing and consuming the blood of its victims. Two pairs of eyes stared back at her.

  ‘Where is the blood..?’ it asked as it skulked towards Yara. Laras dashed out of one of the buildings on the side, holding in one hand an open book and his sword Drakeblight in the other.

  ‘Where is the dragon blood?’ it asked again, in a different voice this time, ‘its scent brought me to you.’

  Yara tapped Skycleave’s tip on the ground, the steel rang out with a clear “tink!” as it hit a tile.

  ‘This is what you’re looking for,’ she said, refusing to break eye contact with the beast. Laras ran up, throwing the book to the ground as he dashed towards her.

  ‘Found anything in there?’ asked Yara, the creature dashed away and toward the walls.

  ‘Nothing that looks like that… thing,’ he said as he laid eyes on the creature, ‘there were some missing pages, but nothing we can do about that now.’

  Its head and eyes moved wildly, trying to find where the scent of dragon’s blood came from.

  ‘Tell us where the blood is,’ said the monster, ‘TELL US!’

  ‘Come take it!’ shouted Laras, standing ready with Drakeblight in both hands. It approached them.

  ‘You did not lie, it is in the blades,’ its once inquisitive nature now replaced by one of hostility. The beast lunged forward and both Yara and Laras and dodged. Laras now caught that his friend had ripped her skirt off and saw that underneath she’d been wearing armour.

  ‘That’s not fair,’ he said, turning his attention back to what they were fighting, ‘I wasn’t aware we could wear work clothing.’

  Yara was nearly knocked off her feet by the creature when it attempted to pounce on her. Instead she managed to find her balance before falling face-first into the tile.

  ‘Next time you get to wear the dress.’

  Laras dashed towards the creature and slashed at it with his sword, nearly cutting its tail in half, it hung down limply as blood began to gush from the wound. Immediately the creature recoiled.

  ‘The blades, they burn!’ it said, ‘like the light of the sun, or the flames of a torch.’

  ‘Did I not tell you to stay back?’ it said in its second voice. As if it was suddenly grasped by reason it attempted to flee, but it couldn’t outrun its opponents. The creature felt one of their black blades sink deep into its thigh, before a burning sensation was sent through its body. It yelped as it fell to the ground.

  ‘Perish then,’ it said, almost whimpering. It wanted to circle around the two of them, not realising it was outmatched. Laras ran forward as Yara distracted it and stabbed the creature in one of its shoulders, nearly piercing the monster’s cold heart. Now it fell to the ground, and Yara put her sword on its neck to stop it from trying to attack again. In panic it began to look around frantically.

  ‘Spare us,’ said one of the voices again.

  ‘You’ve already caused enough harm,’ said Laras. Yara looked at him before looking at the creature again. All four of its eyes were focused on Grant, who had stayed to watch and taken almost too much pleasure in what had taken place before him.

  ‘MAKER!’ it yelped just before Yara wanted to bring down Skycleave on the creature’s neck.

  ‘Maker?’ asked Yara as she turned her head to look at Grant as well, she was slightly confused by what appeared to be happening.

  ‘Grant… Maker…’ it let out another pleading cry to the tall, grey man who stood watching from afar. Then, without hesitating a second longer Laras cut its head clean off. It rolled on the ground before it came to rest at Yara’s feet.

  ‘I’m taking this,’ he said as he lifted the creature’s head up by the nostrils, ‘it could help me identify it,’ Laras noticed Yara was too focused on something else, ‘Yara?’

  She looked at him when she heard her name.

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘Are you ready to go?’

  Yara nodded in response and she followed him out, walking past Grant with a subtle expression of suspicion on her face. They both waited until Julie caught up with them before they left, afterwards the three of them walked a good distance away before any of them said anything.

  ‘Something doesn’t sit quite right with me,’ said Yara as she started to walk closer to Laras.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ he asked, putting an arm around her shoulders to give her a sort of side hug.

  ‘It said maker,’ she said quietly, ‘it looked at Grant, and called him “maker”.’

  ‘It stood out to me as well,’ replied Laras, tightening his grip around her shoulder, ‘I don’t know why it’d refer to him as such.’

  ‘Laras?’ Asked Yara, tilting her head slightly as she looked at him.

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘You think we could sleep a little closer tonight?’

  They all went quiet on their walk back to where they were staying, just walking the empty streets until they got there.

  The next morning Yara awoke half on her stomach. Her hair, though a mess, was still in the ponytail from the night before. She’d hoped to wake up with her arms wrapped around one of Laras’, but instead she found herself alone in bed. Laras sat on the one chair in the room and Yara looked at him, a satisfied smirk on her face.

  ‘Morning,’ she said, not anticipating her voice to sound as groggy as it did.

  ‘Morning,’ said Laras, glancing up at her from the book he was looking at, ‘I didn’t want to wake you.’

  ‘You probably couldn’t’ve woken me if you tried,’ said Yara, ‘I haven’t slept this deep in a long time.'

  ‘Just so we’re clear,’ said Laras, ‘you’re okay with what we did, right?’

  ‘I am. Though...’

  'was something wrong?' he asked, genuinely concerned.

  'It was a lot of touching... I've never really done that before and, well...'

  ‘You didn’t think I was-.’

  ‘No! No you were great,’ she assured him, 'I'm very overwhelmed by it all... and I think I'll need some time to think about how I feel.'

  Laras indicated he understood. Yara got out of bed, put on her trousers, and walked up to him. She gently put a hand on his shoulder, retreating it not long after and realising that even that was too much right now, ‘what’re you reading?’ she asked in an attempt to change the topic.

  ‘After I woke up I began to look in our own encyclopaedia,’ he explained, ‘I remember what pages were missing.'

  ‘Which ones?’ Yara looked over her shoulder and at the book. At the centre of the page was a sketch of a creature very similar to what they’d fought the night before.

  ‘These, the ones about the Vampiric Hexwing dragon,’ Laras pointed at the sketch, ‘they’re made with magic, they can’t reproduce.’

  ‘So you’re saying..?’

  ‘I’m saying that undertaker, Grant, the vampire, whoever he is, made this thing.’

  ‘But why would he help us kill it?’

  Laras put the book down and stood up.

  ‘To cover his tracks.’

  ‘Then we should go after him,’ said Yara as she immediately hurried to find her boots, which she’d carelessly kicked off the night before. Laras also scrambled to find his things.

  ‘Have you ever fought a vampire before?’ he asked.

  ‘No, have you?’

  ‘Once, when I was in Estin there was one that’d put an entire town in danger.’

  ‘Did it threaten to kill the villagers?’ asked Yara as she put on her gambeson.

  ‘No, but the king’s forces would if it didn’t expose itself,’ answered Laras, ‘so I fought it, killed it, and presented its head to the king.’

  ‘So how do we kill one?’

  ‘If this undertaker is anything like that one was, we cut off the head and the body will turn to ash.’

  They finished up equipping their armour and rushed outside, immediately jumping into the saddle and rushing over to the other side of town until they arrived at the alleyway. From here they dismounted and followed the road directly to the Undertaker’s morgue. Once they were at the door they knocked twice. Yara looked Laras in the eye through her visor and nodded before she kicked the door in. Some of the glass shook loose from the old worn door as she nearly kicked it off its hinges and the glass shattered on the tile flooring. A cabinet had been pushed in front of the only door that could lead upstairs, but before they’d move that they began to look through the front desk and filing cabinets.

  ‘All of these list the same cause of death, and all of them displayed similar injuries to the corpse I inspected,’ said Yara, she looked up at Laras, ‘what’d you find?’

  ‘A journal and a bunch of letters, the latter of which concern supplies to make the Hexwing.’

  ‘What’s the journal say?’

  ‘From the looks of it he was after a pet, but got a monster instead.’

  ‘What reason could he have for wanting a hexwing as a pet?’

  ‘My guess? The daughter he mentions several times.’

  They were interrupted by the sound of a heavy object tipping over and hitting a wooden floor.

  ‘That was upstairs,’ said Yara.

  ‘I’ll push the cabinet out of the way,’ Laras put his back up against the piece of furniture and pushed at it as hard as he could until the door was free. Both of them rushed upstairs into a musty-smelling study and living room. More file cabinets lined the walls, though these were all pulled open and proved to be empty. They’d just missed Grant, as he escaped through the next stairwell and all the way to the roof. Once more he’d blocked off the doorway, this time with a cabinet he’d knocked over.

  ‘Help me lift this,’ said Laras as he squatted down next to the knocked over furniture. Yara did the same opposite to him and together they moved it away, after which they ran up the next set of stairs. It ended at a door that led to the outside.

  ‘Ready?’ asked Laras, he looked Yara in the eyes through her visor, she nodded. Together they burst through the door and onto the rooftops, where grant stood at the edge of the roof.

  ‘We know you made the Hexwing, Grant!’ Yara shouted through her visor, ‘Come quietly and we won’t have to kill you.’

  ‘I won’t!’ he shouted back.

  ‘It was worth a try,’ said Laras to her, he then turned his attention to Grant, ‘Listen, you’ve put innumerable people at risk with your poor attempt at magic, and unfortunately for you that’s not something we can let slide.’

  ‘You don’t understand, I can’t come with you.’

  ‘I’m fully aware,’ said Laras, he drew Drakeblight and held it in two hands, ‘It’s time for you to face Ghve’Dra, for you to explain yourself to him.’

  Grant took a step backwards as he saw that Yara also unsheathed Skycleave. His heel hung over the edge.

  ‘Another step and I’ll let myself fall.’

  ‘He’s lying,’ said Yara. She took another step and so did Grant.

  ‘I mean it!’ his heels inching ever further over the edge. He saw that Laras began to walk forward very carefully and Grant let himself fall nearly immediately. Now the two of them rushed forward, only to find nothing on the street below.

  ‘Told you,’ said Yara, she heard something behind them and turned around, only to find Grant standing there, ready to attack them.

  ‘So be it,’ he said, ‘you should’ve let me live with my shame!’ He rushed at them, teeth bared. He’d severely underestimated his opponents though. As soon as he charged he saw that Yara jumped aside, before feeling a kick in the stomach from Laras. Grant was knocked onto his back and scrambled to his feet. Once more he was at the edge of the roof. Before he could attack again he saw and felt Laras’ sword connect to his throat before he never saw anything again. His body collapsed backwards, separated from his head it began to slowly crumble into dust, falling apart completely as soon as it impacted the pavement below. There was no thud, in fact there was barely any sound at all. His head lay deadly still on the red shingles, where Laras picked it up.

  ‘We should bring this to the guards,’ he said before looking at Yara, ‘and after that we should get out of here.’

  ‘I agree,’ she replied as they both turned to leave, ‘I’m so tired of this place.’