“Stop! Please!”

Tom’s begging did nothing but piss Grace off more as she slapped the fat man another time.

Glancing at the three fingers on the floor, Grace moved back to Tom’s right hand and held it steady once more.

“Sooner or later, you will tell me,” Grace growled. The candle she had lit in the room cast a shadow around her. Even without needing it, Grace could see Tom’s face. The snot and tears, along with the sweat that seemed to roll off him, did nothing to hide the bruises she had given him when she first came in.

Tom tried to jerk his hand away, but he was bound at his feet with some rope Grace found after she knocked him out. His left hand was tied to the bed, and her grip was like a vice.

I owe Cedric for helping me to control my punches… otherwise, I would smash his face in…

“I… I can’t say,” Tom howled. “They will kill me!”

Grace began to cut around the flesh of the finger, pressing the blade to the pointer finger of his right hand till it hit the bone, slicing all the way around as Tom howled in pain.

“You seem concerned about what they are going to do to you later when I’m here right now, carving you up like a feast for a holiday,” Grace said as she dug the blade into the bone. “Now talk, or after I do this hand, I’ll move somewhere else, and I don’t think you want me to cut down there.”

Through the pain that lanced up his arm, Tom howled as he nodded.

His massive body trembled from fear and pain. The stench of himself pissing and crapping himself filled the room.

“A knight and guards came… he gave me the food to give you… said… said to make sure you got it… not to mention it was from him… I didn’t know! I swear!”

Tom cried out, screaming as the blade cut through the bone of his finger. Grace looked down and winced. She hadn’t meant to do that, but hearing it was a knight left little doubt in her mind who it had to be that had done this.

“Blond hair? Blue eyes? Goes by the name Michael?”

“I don’t know his name!” Tom groaned as he sobbed. “Please! I swear! I didn’t know!”

A bark came from outside, and Grace knew her time was up. She knew who had done it, and now there was no doubt in her mind what she would do to Michael when she saw him.

“I believe you,” Grace said, leaning close to Tom’s face. “Now, forgive me for this next part.”

Tom’s scream was cut off as it started. Her knife plunged through his eye and into his brain. His massive body shook for a second and then went limp.

Moving quickly, Grace wiped the blade on the blanket, took the candle, grabbed some papers, and put them on the bed. A bottle of alcohol was on the side of the bed, with just enough for what she needed.

Emptying the liquid on the paper and blanket, she held the candle to it, watching the flames immediately spread all over where she poured the liquor.

Running, Grace went to the window up top and glanced out to the street. A few people were walking with a lantern, approaching the warehouse.

Sliding out the window, she moved with haste, reaching the ledge and making sure nothing was below, dropping to her feet.

The height sent a few aches through her leg, but nothing that meant something was damaged.

A low whistle as she ran around the building soon brought Lilly as she headed toward the central part of the northwest city.

“Good job, Lilly,” Grace said as they ran down the street.

Time was not on her side, and she wasn’t sure how the next part would go.

The merchant side of town had the occasional light on the metal posts. Before the battle, every one of the posts had a light at night, but now it appeared that one out of every six was good enough.

The stone buildings looked the same, none touched by the fighting or showing any signs of distress. A stark contrast to the decay and rotting of so many homes where she lived.

One shop she ran past had flowers in a few pots outside, their colorful petals reminding Grace that there was a world somewhere where life was good.

If only we could get back to this… not having to fight or –

A cough further up the road, about thirty, came from around a corner, sounding so loud in the silence.

Dashing to a set of stairs and hiding behind them, she and Lilly hid in the shadows.

A minute passed, and not hearing anything else, she slowly eased her way to the corner and paused.

She could hear breathing. It was slow and steady. The kind when someone was sleeping.

Peeking around the corner, she saw a guard sitting on a small wooden bench, most likely brought by him since it didn’t match the shops here, fast asleep.

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

Her hand automatically went to the knife on her hip, but she stopped herself.

I’m not that bad yet… he’s possibly not involved…

Motioning to Lilly, they snuck across the road quickly, making no sound as they moved along the stone sidewalk and street.

A block later, she spotted what she was looking for. The alchemist's shop was on the far end of the street. Not sure why, Grace assumed it might have something to do with the awful scent she could smell even so far away.

Quickening her pace, Grace ignored the front of the store and looped around the building till she got to the backside. As she made her way around, the smell had gotten stronger, and some windows were open to a basement where the smell was coming from.

Lilly whined slightly, and Grace nodded, motioning for her to hide in the ally.

Boxes, bins, and an assortment of other items were neatly stacked along the wall between the buildings.

Some of these items would serve as excellent replacement lumber for… Focus!

Shaking her head, Grace gently pulled on the window and saw that it would open just enough for someone her size to squeeze through. Even with the pungent smell, it was the best way to get inside without having to break a window.

Looking through the opening, she saw a few empty barrels upside down on a grate, dripping some liquid onto some cloth underneath them. All along the walls were an assortment of tools, glass bottles, and so many different reagents.

Seeing nothing was directly under the window, Grace started to push herself through, twisting and grunting. Halfway through, she realized she was stuck. Grace couldn’t push herself anymore, and her feet were dangling, unable to get a grip on the empty wall under her. Panic began to set in, and Grace felt herself breathing so fast she felt light-headed.

Focus!

Grace forced herself to slow down, taking a few deep breaths and letting them out as slowly as possible.

“Lilly,” Grace whispered. “I need help.”

Her dog came over, sat on the ground, and looked at her.

“Push me. Push me, please.”

Cocking her head, Lilly looked at Grace and moved around her, almost as if assessing the situation.

“Push me like when we wrestled. Before you… changed.”

Grace would have sworn in that moment she saw Lilly’s eyes change slightly, and then her dog came over and licked her on the face like the old times when they played and wrestled.

Suddenly Lilly turned and shoved her butt into Grace’s face and began pushing it against her over and over.

Trying not to gag or cough, Grace hadn’t expected this position, but it was how Lilly had always played and wrestled.

Holding her arms out straight above her head, Grace tried to pry herself through the window with her legs while Lilly jammed her butt against her head.

Slowly, she wiggled through the window till only her chest and above remained. Breathing was getting difficult as the window constricted her ribs, threatening fear and tension. Forcing herself to stay calm, Grace said, “A little more, harder.”

Exhaling the air in her lungs, Grace almost fell all the way through the window and on her butt after Lilly slammed into her. The force, combined with empty lungs, thrust her into the room.

Landing on her feet and regaining her balance before falling backward into the barrels near her, Grace rubbed her chin. Coming through, had banged it into the frame and scratched it some. It burned slightly, but there was no time to worry about it.

“Good girl,” Grace whispered. “Stay.”

Pulling her knife out, Grace turned and looked around the room. If she had any idea what half of the stuff here did, she knew stealing it would be worth a fortune.

On one wall was a door, and Grace refocused.

I need to hurry… Max and the others need me!

Opening the door slowly, she began searching for the alchemist.

Finding the stairs had been easy as they were right down the hall from the ones she had come up from the basement. Thankfully, the door wasn’t locked, and nothing creaked or made any noise as she walked down the hallway.

Part of her wanted to see how nice the kitchen and other areas of the house were. To have a shop meant one had money, and to have money meant there was a life free from struggles she faced constantly.

Each step was a trial, and Grace shifted her weight carefully, making sure none of the boards would squeak as she moved up them. The house had no lights, but she could see the wallpaper on the walls. The old painted pictures of what must be the lineage of the whole family.

Reaching the top, she did the math in her head. The door on the other end would be where the alchemist would sleep. Two other doors stood partially open, and Grace snuck by them, glancing inside. In each one was a little girl around Levi’s age, sleeping in a bed that looked identical except for the color. One had a bed painted green, while the other was red.

Moving past the door with the last girl, Grace slowly turned the brass nob, praying it wouldn’t squeak or make noise.

Feeling like someone who was way too practiced at the art of sneaking in where people were sleeping, Grace peered through the tiny crack as she opened the door and saw a well-furnished room with a massive bed in it.

There in the bed, however, was just a man sleeping, and Grace paused.

Could his wife be somewhere? Is there another room?

Not sure what to do, she pulled up the red window and saw the timer ticking down. There was no time to waste and she didn’t want to fail this quest. Too many people would die if she did.

Slowly, she crept and shut the door behind her.

The floor had a soft rug, and her footsteps were as quiet as if a cat as she walked across it, coming to stand next to a man who looked about the age her father was when he died. His complexion told her that he wasn’t one of the locals. His skin was an olive brown, and his hair was straight and long. Lying there on his back, breathing, and sleeping quietly seemed like a dream.

Memories and pain flooded her as Grace thought about her father. How much she missed him.

Standing there with a knife in her hand made her feel like she was betraying a memory that she didn’t want to destroy. Yet a tiny red window showed a timer counting down. Less than twenty-one hours left.

Balethem, let this man see reason… let him just give me what I need…

Mustering the will she needed, Grace scowled and clamped her hand down on the man’s mouth, touching the dull side of the knife against it.

His eyes went wide as he struggled for a moment.

“Quiet, or I’ll kill you and your girls,” Grace growled.

Terror filled the man’s eyes as he couldn’t see who his attacker was, but the words she spoke didn’t require light.

A heartbeat later, he was still, almost like a corpse.

“Good, now we’re going to go downstairs and have a talk. Try to yell, cry for help, or fight back, and I’ll make sure you and your daughters die a death beyond what you can imagine. Do you understand?”

The sound of a muffled yes and a head nodding was what she had hoped for.

“Good. Now, do as I say, and know that I won’t give you a second chance. Get out of bed and head to your shop.”