It would take another 2 hours to get to the estate, so I decided to take a nap. Glancing at the quivering body of the snitch, I confirmed his helplessness. For if he tried to do anything, he would plummet to his death.

I relaxed on the soft feathers of my bird and drifted off into a sweet, dreamless slumber. I awoke with a start as Jam snorted a soft whine. My eyes immediately searched for impending danger, but I soon realized Jam just wanted snacks. We were also nearing the Marquis' estate, which stood out against the black night with tiny specks of torches.

It was like the estate was warmly welcoming me to free it from its nasty owner. I dug around my bag and stuffed a cookie into Jam's beak. She glared at me for my uncouth attitude but soon forgot her agitation when tasting the stale snack she happily munched away.

We were now sailing closer and closer. From a small speck in the distance, the manor grew. Our landing would be right outside the front gate. The soldiers would know the snitch as one of the Marquis' informants.

But as not to draw attention, we landed in a blind spot where the patrols couldn't see. Binding my hands loosely, I stepped from the shadows with my new "captor" and almost scared the life out of the snoozing guard. He quickly stood alert, wiping drool from his face.

Pretending as if he had seen us walk up the whole time. Then, recognizing my captor, he grunted to his sleeping companion, and they groggily opened the manor gates without another sound.

Once inside, numerous guards stood guard, much more awake than those at the gate, and as we passed through, sharp stares followed in our wake. Informants for nobles usually bypassed announcements and would go directly in to meet with the place's master. So I found myself quickly taken to see the Marquis. We stood outside the rough wooden door and waited for his assent.

My fingers tingled from the excitement of itching to be put into action. However, I still needed to be cautious. There were a lot of variables, and at any moment, I could be overpowered. At least fifty guards could rush to arms at any minute's notice. I had scanned their status,' and their levels were higher than the Starvires I had fought in the mountain; they even had brains. They were not mindless monsters digging around in rocks and leaves.

I took a deep breath when the Marquis' annoyed voice summoned us into his presence. It was late hours after midnight. As my captor gingerly pushed the oak door open, we entered the office.

A voice snapped out immediately. "What is so urgent that you invade my personal space at this late hour?"

Quickly, my captor bowed and pushed me in front of the Marquis, yanking off my hood in the process. I dropped to my knees and hung my head, an aura of shame wafting from me. My acting skills were quite good.

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"Forgive me, my Lord, but I caught him trying to flee from the army."

"Ha," a short bark of laughter ran from the Marquis' lips. With a cruel glint in his stony eyes, he ordered the guards outside the door not to react to any noise until his command. There was no way he could be this foolish.

My mouth broadened with a smile. I started my show as soon as the Marquis' eyes were on me. Tears began to fall dramatically, spilling over my cheeks and splashing onto the richly embroidered carpet below.

"You puny little bastard really thought you could escape from me?" The half-angry half, half-amused Marquis chortled. He brought his knee up and was about to leave a boot print across my face when I clumsily brought a dagger up and lunged towards him.

Immediately, a bright light activated, and a light blue force field blocked my blade. I dropped my dagger in mock surprise as the Marquis kicked me into the wall. I made sure to let out a loud yell and collapsed on the ground. My mind was racing. How was I supposed to get past that?? No matter what martial arts or magic I use, I'll have a moment of weakness trying to destroy that force field.

The Marquis laughed at me, clearly enjoying his little game. His eyes were filled with disgust as he rubbed his boot on the carpet, trying to get rid of the feel of a peasant under his shoes. "You are sooo predictable! Do you think that a mere toy kitchen knife could do any harm to me? Look here!" And he took off one of the many rings on his finger.

"This is the force field ring, one of the best defense rings; it is so powerful that this is all I need for prote-" His babbling was cut off because bubbling from his lips was blood instead of words.

A small, thin dagger had shot from my hand into his throat before he could breathe another sound. What kind of mentally disabled man would turn off his defenses and do something like that?

Well, all the better for me. Standing there in the flickering candlelight, I watched as the eyes of the Marquis slowly dimmed, and I smiled. My first genuine smile in a long time.

Now time was of the essence, I leaped over to the dead man and, pulling the force field ring from his finger, placed it on my own. Then, grabbing all the jewelry from the corpse, I dropped them into my coat pocket.

Snatching the stunned snitch, still standing in silence, I leaped out the window. He was probably still in awe of the drama I had acted out. Landing neatly on Jam, we were about to take off into the night when I felt a dagger in my back.

"Give me the antidote, and I'll let you live." The whiny little snitch shouted at me. I winced at the noise. A guard shouted from the other side of the door. "My Lord, is everything all right?"

Sighing, I said, "It's in my pocket.

I am going to turn around and give it to you now. Reaching slowly into my pocket, I turned around and, before the snitch could even react, yanked the dagger from his hand, replaced it with one similar to the one in the Marquis' neck, and kicked him back into the open window.

All this in a span of seconds. It was also in the exact second that soldiers bashed down the door from the other side, and what filled their vision was their dead Lord and a cloaked figure on the blood-soaked carpet next to him.

A yell sounded, and men rushed into the room, capturing the murderer red-handed. The clamor in the estate slowly died away from my ears as Jam and I were miles away in twenty heartbeats.

"That went a lot better than expected," I said quietly to Jam, patting her soft feathers.