The morning after dinner in the tavern was full of preparations. Noah and Theo went through their belongings and then made a list of supplies they would need. Noah made a very tight budget and only made sure that it was essential supplies as Theo liked to sometimes throw in a thing or two not needed. However, Annabeth was ten steps ahead of them and had a full pack ready for them along with extra money. Noah tried refusing the money but lost the battle severely.

"There aren't many places that are as helpful as we are. You take this money and use it to get your asses to safety." Annabeth shoved the small bag into Noah's chest and held it there until he begrudgingly took it.

They placed everything in a nice hiding spot in case anything did happen. The paranoia was very real right now.

About a block away the day started on quite a sour note for some of the locals. A poor lady going to the market for her groceries was the one that found the victim of the previous night's assassination. Word spread like wildfire and the police were already on the case of finding suspects. Gabriel of course heard the whisperings. He wasn't sure that now the man he made the deal with would keep his mouth shut. So, he went to find those two boys he idiotically made this deal with.

The market was buzzing with life like usual. Of course, everyone was on high alert this morning with the news of the murder passing through, but this didn't stop the movement of the market.

Gabriel kept a low profile as he made his way through the town to find those two boys. It was ironic he was the cause of all the fright when he had told those two not to cause trouble. Then again, these situations were bound to happen in this line of work. As he made his way through the crowded market, Gabriel spotted the all too shiny and familiar armor of the northern soldiers. Two to be exact and a rather snooty-looking royal official. Gabriel looked for a way around but as he tried to make his getaway he was spotted. The two soldiers were grabbing his arms before he could realize they had moved.

"Hey, you've got the wrong guy." Gabriel struggled against the tight grasp as he was being dragged through the crowd. Some looked at him with funny expressions and some whispered. No one dared try to help him though. There were deadly consequences for meddling in the business of the northern officials.

The snooty man all dressed in the finest robes one could buy stood off to the side. He very much stood out from the rest of the crowd, but they always did. "Many say that you have a set of skills that we could benefit from."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Gabriel lied through his teeth.

"Ah right." The man moved aside and opened the door he was standing in front of. There was a staircase that led up to an apartment that Gabriel was dragged to.

He was finally let go once in the main living room. Gabriel rubbed the sore spots on his arms and watched the door close behind the official as he stepped in.

"Have a seat."

"I'd rather not get comfortable," Gabriel shot back.

The official nodded. "Then I'll make this quick." He sank into the warm couch and looked up to Gabriel who was on guard and ready to bolt. "Is it true that you are a man for hire?"

Gabriel smirked. "You've got to be a bit more specific." He knew exactly what he was being asked but why miss the opportunity to mess with an official?

The official's face turned bright red. "What I mean is, are you the one we go to when we need people gone."

"Depends on the price." Gabriel folded his arms. His heart was pounding against his chest as he tried to keep his breath even.

"I can promise you that we pay handsomely." The man sat tall trying to look respectable. You can't get much lower than hiring an assassin though.

Gabriel nodded. "Alright. What's the job?"

The man stood. "We've had quite the issue of runaways in Líadain. At this point, they are traitors to their king and kingdom. We need you to take them out as it is easier than having soldiers stationed throughout trying to find these boys."

"It seemed to be working just fine." Gabriel pointed out. He didn't like this one bit.

"Well, things are changing." There was fear in the man's eyes. Secrets he would never spill to a stranger. "Are you up for this job?"

"What's the pay first?"

"Each soul you collect will be 5,000 gold. This has to be done before they reach the border, however." The man stated.

Gabriel contemplated the job or at least acted like it. If he didn't take the job, they'd probably kill him where he stood. Word of this couldn't get out to the public or protests would erupt. He looked the man square in the eyes. "Deal." They shook hands and out they went.

The official told Gabriel to come to Líadain when he was ready for payment. He hopped on a horse along with the soldiers and they quickly made their way out of the town back to the royal city.

Screw this job tonight. They were leaving as soon as possible.

~~~*~~~

Noah and Theo decided to grab some lunch before making their way to the market. It was a quiet afternoon which made for a pleasant meal. The waitress was around with their food in a short time after they sat and disappeared into the back leaving alone. Not many others were here leaving Noah and Theo with the place pretty much to themselves.

"You hear what happened this morning?" Noah piped up.

Theo shook his head.

"Some lady found a body half hidden a few blocks from the inn."

Theo's blood ran cold. It couldn't have been. Right? He swallowed hard. "Where?"

"I don't know specifically but I think it wasn't too far from here actually." Noah shrugged as he continued to eat.

Theo was trying to piece together where the body was, but his thoughts were interrupted by the chiming of the bell over the door. It was Gabriel who walked in. His demeanor was as cool as ever, but his quick pace said otherwise. He noticed the boys and let out a sigh of relief. He walked over and sat down without so much as a hello.

"So I was just telling Theo about the body they found..."

"Yeah, there's been a change in plans." Theo raised an eyebrow. "We're leaving tonight."

"Why," Theo asked.

Gabriel shook his head. "Not now. Just get your things ready to leave tonight at midnight. It isn't safe here any longer."

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Noah nodded and looked over Theo who was very skeptical about this whole situation now. "We can do that. Where are you meeting?"

"Stables. And don't be late alright."

Noah nodded but Theo could feel the anxiety building in his stomach. Gabriel left without another word and the boys finished up their meals. Theo didn't state his worries to Noah because he knew they would be brushed off. So he went along silently.

~~~*~~~

Gabriel headed to the stables an hour before the boys would meet him there. He saddled up his horse and secured what he needed. An order had been placed earlier in the day that no one was to leave until the investigation was completed, but Gabriel had bigger things to worry about now than local police finding him. He slid his bow and quiver over his back and waited.

Theo and Noah headed out twenty minutes hopefully giving themselves enough time to evade the patrol and make it on time. The air was cool and sticky as they left the inn. Nothing new from the brutal summers but the brothers would take the humidity over the wicked cold of their winters.

They snuck through alleyways as best they could without getting lost. The main streets were patrolled heavily and hard to walk down without being seen. Though the backways weren't nearly as patrolled they held their obstacles as the boys maneuvered through them. Luckily, they made it to the stables without issues from the patrol.

Gabriel met them at the entrance to the stable and began helping them carry bags. "You two make it alright?"

"Yeah, no trouble." Noah groaned as he lifted his saddle on his horse. "We took the alleyways and barely anyone was searching them."

Gabriel nodded and started securing bags for the horses. Within ten minutes, all three horses were ready to travel. They quietly led their horses out into the side street when Gabriel motioned for them to keep quiet as he scouted the main road ahead.

He came back not even five minutes later with a frown. "We have a problem."

"What?"

"Two guards are posted at the entrance and it's going to be impossible to try to leave another way," Gabriel explained. He rubbed his face and groaned as he tried to quickly think up another way out.

Noah rummaged through his bag and then looked over at Gabriel. "You got a knife?"

"Why..."

"Give it." Noah held out his hand. Gabriel pulled a dagger from its holster and handed it over. Noah turned to them. "Come here."

"Wha... You asshole!" Theo yelled-whispered. Noah had cut him down the forearm. Theo was holding his arm to his chest. Noah tossed the dagger back to a shocked Gabriel. Noah grabbed Theo and out the stables they went.

"I promise you'll get payback," Noah rushed out. Theo glared at him as he bit his lip in pain. "SOMEONE HELP! HELP!" This got the guards' attention. They rushed over and saw the rather large gash on Theo's arm. Noah hadn't meant for it to be that bad. "My... My brother was attacked. We were trying to head home and some man came at us with a knife."

The guards looked panicked. One ran off but the other had enough common sense to stay around long enough to talk with Noah. "You get a good look at the guy?"

Noah shook his head.

"You see where he ran off to?" The guard asked in a rather rushed tone.

Noah pointed up the street. "He ran off. I don't know which way though."

The guard let out a sigh of frustration looking towards the direction Noah pointed then at Theo's bloody arm. "Just... just stay here and I'll be right back okay." Then he went after his partner.

They watched him disappear and the boys rushed back to their horses.

"I'm going to kill you, Noah," Theo growled through clenched teeth. Gabriel was furiously wrapping Theo's arm as best he could.

Noah rolled his eyes. "And you can once we're clear of any patrol here."

Gabriel finished up and all three rushed out of the stables as if it was on fire. They could hear the guards rushing back as they realized the story had been a lie. The three rushed to get on their horses and off into the night. The yells and protests of the guards being left in the still air of the night. They wouldn't stop running for almost five miles.

The night was still dark without the moon to light the way ahead, but it made for a spectacular view of the stars. Neither of the boys had seen so many stars in their life. A soft warm breeze blew and rustled the tall grass but the only other noise was the horses' hooves meeting the ground. For a while no one spoke, the silence was somewhat calming at this hour. This was until Theo spoke up.

"When should we stop and make camp," Theo called up from the rear. His arm was throbbing in pain and his anger still bubbling under the surface.

"We're not stopping," Gabriel answered over his shoulder. He turned back and carried on.

Theo glared at Noah and then at Gabriel "Don't you think you think we need to stop and rest for the night? And I don't know how to make sure my arm doesn't fall off!"

"Firstly, your arm will be fine. Secondly, we'll make better time if we keep going now." Gabriel was growing uneasy. He didn't like this kid asking so many questions.

"So where are we going? Why do we need to travel through the night to get there faster? Why can't we..." Theo was cut off by a now annoyed-looking Gabriel.

"Would you just shut up? Can you manage that, or am I going to have to shut your mouth for you?" Gabriel had stopped and was looking right at Theo. Noah was stunned by the outburst and didn't know how to react.

Theo felt his cheeks burn. Not from embarrassment but anger. He was tired and hurt and wanted to figure out what the hell was going on.

"No." Theo's expression had changed. Noah had never had his brother angry like this. "You are going to tell me where we are going and why there is a rush to get there. I am not going to be pushed around by someone else."

Gabriel turned his head sharply back to find Theo. Anger shot through his veins. He stopped his horse and jumped down storming back to Theo. Theo hopped down to meet Gabriel head-on. Both are ready to blow at any minute.

"I told you to shut the hell up before I did it for you." Gabriel was seething. He was looking down a bit to meet Theo's eyes.

"And I asked you what the plan was." Theo shoved Gabriel away just a bit.

Gabriel was fuming and ready to fight. He didn't say a word but rushed forward tackling Theo to the ground and pinning him. "Don't test me, kid. Because I will put you in your place."

Before he could do anything to significantly hurt Theo, Gabriel felt arms wrapped around his torso and yanked him up and away. Noah had jumped in to try and calm everyone down. Theo jumped up at this point in which Noah grabbed him.

"You two morons fighting isn't going to solve anything," Noah practically was yelling. He threw Theo away from Gabriel and blocked Gabriel from advancing toward Theo. "Now if we could all be civil, I'm sure we can figure this out." Noah gestured to all three of them.

Noah gave both of them warning looks. He may get the crap beat out of him, but he wasn't about to let his brother get hurt. Both Theo and Gabriel backed down. After a few minutes, Theo headed back to his horse cussing to himself and the other two followed suit. Back up again and all three were again on the trail. Noah decided it would be best if he talked to Gabriel instead of another potential fight breaking out. He rode to catch up with Gabriel who was a little ways ahead.

Gabriel sighed. The anger dissipated leaving Gabriel feeling guilty. "Listen. Tell Theo that we'll stop."

"Is it safe?"

"We'll travel another mile or two to be on the safe side," Gabriel replied as he quietly carried on. Noah nodded and fell back.

A fire had been made and Noah was pulling out blankets for everyone. Gabriel silently cleaned and bandaged Theo's arm while Theo sat glaring at him.

Gabriel finally gave in and returned Theo's glare. "Your arm is going to be fine."

"Alright." Theo pulled his arm back and turned to watch the fire. Noah joined him soon after with a blanket.

"I'm an assassin for hire." Gabriel broke the silence. Neither of the brothers spoke. "I was in town for some jobs..."

Theo turned his head slightly and quietly said, "It was you. You were the one I saw in the alleyway."

The boy in the street. Gabriel remembered seeing someone watching him. He didn't think they saw him kill that man. Guess he was wrong. "Yeah." He hung his head. "That was me, and the body they found was my doing."

"So what are you doing with us?" Theo pushed. "Going to kill us out here!"

"No." Gabriel shook his head. He looked over at Theo, his eyes softening with guilt. "An official from Líadain showed up yesterday offering me a job to kill any runaways. They're no longer trying to bring you all back. Something is happening and they've pulled all soldiers out of their station. I had to get you two out of there before something happened to you."

Noah leaned forward to get a better look at Gabriel. "So, you aren't going to kill us." Gabriel shook his head.

Theo was still weary but his nerves were a little more at ease. He stood and stretched. He walked to the other side of the fire to lie down and try to get some sleep.

Noah stood to follow suit. "He'll come around, don't worry."

Gabriel wouldn't sleep but keep watch. He didn't trust what the shadows held. Years of this life had taught him never to trust the darkness.