Grace reviewed her plan for the fifth time as the guard tower appeared.

Everything was in motion, and revenge would be hers if the trap she set worked.

She had already dodged one set of guards earlier as she made her way through the northwest part of the city and didn’t want to run into any trouble right now.

Steeling her nerve, she started making her way to where the guards always approached her and demanded to know her business.

“Lilly, go hide. Be ready if I call.”

Her dog said nothing and, as only she could seem to do, found a shadow next to a building and vanished from sight.

Stay calm, keep things on the level.

“You can’t just go asking for the Knight Michael!” the guard protested. “He ain't got time for trash like you!”

Frustration was setting in, and Grace could feel the timer ticking down even though the screen wasn’t visible.

“Can I ask your name, sir?” Grace asked, trying to remain meek.

“What the hell you want it for?” the guard snapped back, crossing his arms and glowering at her.

Sighing, Grace shook her head. “I just wanted to know who turned me away the next time he and I talk.”

The guard glared at her, and Grace didn’t look away. It might have looked like a game had anyone else been watching, as a grown man and a young girl were unwilling to look away from each other. Finally, the guard groaned and threw his hands up.

“Fine, but I swear if he says we’re wasting his time, I’ll whip you myself!” the man shouted as he moved toward the house Grace knew most of the guards were in.

After less than a minute, the guard she had been talking to ran out of the house toward the walled area of the keep. Two other guards, who looked like they knew what they were doing, began approaching her.

A tingling sensation in her brain made her watch how they walked. Each kept a hand on the pommel of their sword, and even though they tried to look relaxed, Grace noticed they were agitated.

“Grace?” the one on the left asked as they got a few yards away.

“Yes, sir,” she replied, looking submissive and meek.

The guard nodded to his partner, and they separated slightly- not enough for most people to be concerned, but Grace’s Mental stat was telling her something was up.

They stopped about an arm's length away, and their gaze felt off.

“I believe that Knight Michael expected you a few days ago. Is there a reason you haven’t reported in like you were supposed to?”

Grace nodded and stepped back to point in the direction of her area of the city. “There was an awful sickness that killed a bunch. I'm not sure if it was a plague or something, but some died, some were super sick, and others, like me, didn’t really get affected. One of the older women mentioned a disease or sickness that might spread through touch.”

Grace wiped her hand against her forehead and then started scratching her hair. Some dirt that she had smeared on herself came off. She could see both men look a little concerned, and each took a step back as she continued speaking.

“So I have been helping people get better, running water and burying the dead… oh, and cleaning up a lot of vomit. I’m just glad I didn’t get sick, but who knows,” Grace said with a slight shrug, “old lady Velnar said there’s no guarantee the sickness is gone. I think she had said something about heads itching being a possible sign it was there.”

The guard on the right coughed and took another step back slowly. He almost started to move his hand upward but caught himself and stopped.

“That… sounds bad… we heard reports of some sickness or something on that side of town. We’ll wait by the guard shack and let Knight Michael know you are here. Don’t move, understand?”

Grace nodded and leaned forward. “I’ll stay right here!”

Both men backed up again and looked at each other before nodding and returning to their house. She could see them pick up their pace, and the one on the right began scratching his brown hair with his hand.

Smirking, Grace glanced around, making sure no one was coming anywhere near her.

She was getting frustrated as time passed, and the guards watched her from a distance, taking a drink or eating a snack while she stood there for over half an hour.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

If this guy doesn’t hurry up, I will have to try something else…

Lost in her thoughts about how to proceed if things started to go wrong, Grace didn’t hear the cart coming up the road until it was much closer than she could believe.

There were two guards up front, keeping the horses going. In the back, she saw a different knight wearing his full armor, and someone small was next to him.

As they got closer, Grace felt her heart fall into her stomach. In the back of the cart was the little girl she hadn’t killed from the Alchemist shop.

The girl had tears in her eyes and was leaning against the guard, who paid no attention to the girl or her plight.

Grace wanted to bolt, unsure if her skill was still working, but running would bring questions she didn’t want to try and answer.

The cart rolled by, and Grace stood still like a statue. The little girl lifted her head and looked right at her momentarily before laying it back against the guard.

A small sigh of relief was let out after the guards had rolled to where the guard house was.

The knight lifted the girl off the cart after he had gotten out, set her on the ground, and told her something before moving into the house.

None of the men seemed to care about her as they took the cart away and left the alchemist’s daughter standing outside alone.

I caused that… I’m not sure what would have been kinder, killing her or letting her live…

Sounds of horses coming at a gallop rang out, and Grace stood on her tiptoes in the direction they were coming.

Three horses, one with the knight she had to kill, plus two others with men wearing armor different from the usual guard, were urging their horses in what Grace knew was a race to her.

Fear started to well up inside her, but Grace knew that if she ran now, they wouldn’t stop until they found her, and that might lead them to her brother.

Grace felt rage building up inside her as their horses almost reached where the little girl stood alone. The man who had tried to kill her and most definitely tried to kill her brother and everyone else she cared about was going to be close enough that she could kill him with one blow.

Given the chance, she would have to take it sooner than later.

Michael’s eyes locked onto hers, and Grace felt confusion and something else. She knew he hadn’t expected her to be alive, and the fact that she was bothered him even more.

The horses thundered past the girl, almost seemingly unaware of her, and for a moment, Grace wasn’t sure if they would run over her.

“Woah!” Michael shouted as he pulled back on the reins of his horse.

It was a beautiful shade of brown, and its muscles rippled with every step. The horses she had seen looked nothing like the one the man she needed to kill rode upon.

In an impressive single motion, Michael was on the ground and walking toward her.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded. He stopped a few feet away, glaring down at her.

“You told me to come, but I couldn’t till today. Some plague or sickness or something broke out on my side–”

“I’ve heard!” he exclaimed. Grace watched as his eyeballs seemed to vibrate within his skull, and his jaw looked like if he bit any harder, his teeth would shatter. “How are you not sick?”

“Uh… I didn’t get sick… like twenty or thirty didn’t.”

The knight snorted in her face, his nostrils flaring, and didn’t seem to care that snot came from the force in which he exhaled and landed on her outfit.

“I know about the sickness, and we sent guards to help, but they are all gone,” he said slowly, watching Grace’s face as he spoke. “Do you or anyone else know what happened to them?”

The men behind the knight shifted in their saddles, and Grace didn’t have to check to see they most likely had their hands on their pommels.

“I didn’t until today. A guard came by and–”

“What? What do you mean until today?”

Grace winced, doing her best to pretend to be nervous at the man she knew was probably barely a wrong word away from trying to cut her in half.

“One of the people who didn’t get sick told one of the gang leaders they saw someone late at night moving around like a shadow. They thought it was silly when the woman said she saw the person jump up and grab a window of an abandoned second-story house from the street.”

Grace grimaced as she held up her hand slowly. “I mean, it sounds crazy to everyone, and even I would think it was–”

“Where!” snapped the knight, cutting her off. “Where did she see him go?!”

“I can show you, but I don’t want to go in it like last time. I still have nightmares,” Grace replied, shuddering a little. “It’s on the east side of town, in one of the outer gang districts.”

He glared at her, and Grace tried to cower slightly under his gaze.

After a few seconds, he turned and motioned to the two men on the horses.

“Get eight, grab Knight Edward, and tell him we may have our man.”

Both men nodded and turned their horses around, riding toward the house just a little bit away.

“Am I free after this?” Grace asked after the two men rode off.

“Free?” Michael asked as he turned around, his head cocked to the side, looking confused.

“Uh… you said I would owe you… if the person you’re looking for is there, am I–”

Michael moved up to where he was almost against Grace and bent down, grabbing her leather chest piece and lifting her till she had to stand on her tiptoes.

“You’re my rat, snitch, or anything else you want to call yourself until I say you’re free. You owe me a gold coin, and I will collect that from you however I want.”

He pushed her back, and Grace moved backward, stumbling and tripping, landing on the hard street on her rear.

Wincing, she nodded and lowered her head as she saw the man who called himself a knight leer at her.

“You better pray we find the one we’re looking for, or you’ll not like what happens later. Do not lead me on a path you’re going to regret.”

His speech sounded like a growl, and Grace nodded as quickly as possible.

“I promise!”

He grunted and turned, moving back to his horse. He was back on the creature in a single motion and had the reins in his hands.

“Wait here. We’ll leave in ten,” he said before riding toward the guard house.

After his back was turned, Grace chuckled slightly.

Don’t you worry. You’ll find who you’re looking for… I promise.