Chapter 1: Camouflage, My Ass.

Kyia reappeared right outside of a large, marble mansion. She sighed. Not her idea of a ‘hideout’. But, she wasn’t the one calling all the shots, was she? Still shaken by what happened, Kyia opened the doors and walked inside.

A large, narrow, candlelit hall with all sorts of weapons lining the walls welcomed her back. As Kyia walked through the long hallway, more intricate weapons and armour lined the walls, and the lighting got dimmer. The hall then split five different directions, and Kyia took the middle one without a second thought. The hallway ended in a room brightly lit by a ball of white light floating around the high ceiling. The walls were wooden, and a tree flourished in the corner. A bed of foliage was placed in the middle of the room, and on the opposite wall there was a chest of drawers and a changing screen. Kyia grabbed the shirt and skirt hanging off the top and started to change.

The loud thumping of feet came down the hallway, and skidded to a halt just at the entrance of the room. “How did it go?” said a lower, albeit excited female voice. Kyia knew the owner of the voice. She pulled her shirt over her head, ignored the untied ribbon in the back and stepped out from behind the screen to meet the black haired woman with red eyes and fangs standing there. She was wearing a dressing gown made of a swirling black material; Sin. Kyia walked over to the bed, sat down and faced her back to Sin. Sin took the hint and started lacing the ribbon tightly through the corset.

“How did it go?” repeated Sin, pulling the ribbon just a little tighter than she should have to make Kyia respond. Before doing so, Kyia reached for the hair brush on the bed and started to brush her long, dark chestnut brown hair.

“I found the target practicing with his teacher, as we expected,” she started, sounding a little irritated. “However, his teacher left right when I was standing in front of the door and there were not shadows- OW! Watch how tight you’re tying that!”

“Sorry!” Sin apologized and let the ribbon loosen a little. “So? What’s wrong? The suit was supposed to camo-“

“Camouflage, my ass!” Kyia said, turning around to get right into Sin’s face. “The bastard could see me standing there, holding a sword, my hands over my face like a fool and had enough time to make a double and almost kill me!”

Sin’s expression fell in a hurry. “I’m sorry. I guess I still need to work on the base enchantment.” She finished lacing the shirt in silence, then said, “I don’t get it. ALMOST kill you? What stopped him from doing it? These people aren’t exactly nice.”

Kyia sighed, and pulled her hair into three sections, and started to braid it. “That’s the thing. I need to talk to everyone about it. Is everybody here?”

Sin thought for a second. “Morokai went out to grab us some wood. He should be back soon. I’ll tell everybody else. Give me ten minutes.” And with a little wave, Sin ran down the hallway again.

Kyia sighed. Finally, she could think about the scene she witnessed. The figure that killed her target- it waved at her. A friendly wave. As if they had met under normal circumstances. Why? Kyia thought over what she could remember about the figure- tall, purple cloak, claws, long red hair... It hit Kyia like a blow to the stomach. There was only one person it could be, one person that would be able to sneak up in absolute silence. The only problem was Kyia wasn’t sure she was an ally anymore.

Scared, she ran down the hall and took the far right passage. When it split again, she took the left path and arrived in a large white room. Seven roughly cut chairs were seated around a wooden table, and so far five were occupied. Sin sat in one, and a female with straight black hair and a white robe sat next to her. She waved brightly at Kyia, who waved back. Next to her was a girl with a soft face and long bright red hair that shyly looked at the middle of the table. She wore a simple jumpsuit in bright blue, quite like the one Kyia had just changed out of. On the other side of the table sat a young man with short silver blue hair and a sellsword’s armour. His eyes were soft and blue, and he smiled at Kyia. On his left was a girl with short cherry red hair. She wore a green half-corset with a little more material and a pair of extremely baggy, yet flowing green pants. She nodded at Kyia, and played with one of the many gold bangles on her wrists. Kyia sat down next to her, and waited for Morokai to show up.

It didn’t take long for him to arrive. His short, yet voluminous black hair was a little less spiky than usual, suggesting he had been out working. He was wearing an open royal blue vest and baggy white pants similar to the girl sitting next to Kyia, only his were stained with blood. He sat in the remaining chair. “Sorry I’m late,” he said casually, his voice calm yet commanding. “Now, what’s this about, Kyia?”

Kyia took a deep breath. “Well, as you know, I went to the Demon Caves to assassinate one the candidates for the-“

The girl sitting next to Kyia rolled her eyes. “We know, Kyia. Why would you even bother to say it?”

Morokai looked over at the girl. “Quiet, C. Kyia’s just trying to give background.”

The girl looked offended. “I was just trying to save us-“

“I said shut up, Calla,” Morokai said, dismissing it. Calla, not overly happy, sat back in her chair and started playing with one of her rings. “Sorry Kyia. Go on,” Morokai said.

Kyia cleared her throat and went on. “I was able to meet the target, but I ran into a snag. I was held by the point of a katana, unable to finish the job. And then a cloaked figure appeared and took his heart out.” There was a moment of shock (or mild surprise) among the group.

The girl with the white robe on leaned into the table. “They killed our target, didn’t they? Doesn’t that mean they’re on our side?”

“Not necessarily, Amon,” the other man answered. “It just means that there’s someone out there that has the strength to kill these men, and we have a common enemy. Doesn’t mean we’re on the same side.”

“But Julian,” the shy girl sitting next to Amon raised her head. “We can’t prove that. Besides, you need to learn to be a little bit more optimistic. It’s one less hopeful we have to worry about.”

Morokai nodded. “Good point Sepia. You all make very good points. Here’s another one. There’s someone out there so strong that they can reach through a demon- the gods know what kind- grab out their heart and kill them. We need to figure out who it is.”

Sin looked at Kyia closely. “And something tells me Kyia knows who. Or else she wouldn’t have called us all together. Am I right, Kyia dear?”

Kyia sighed. She couldn’t hide it anymore. She took another gulp. “Well... based on what I saw of the figure, and the fact that it waved at me... I...” she looked around at everyone, hoping they would take what she was about to say seriously. “I think it was Raevynn.”

There was a moment of silence in the room, and everyone at once yelled “WHAT!?”

Calla stood up and put her weight on the table. “I thought we found out that she had died in the accident three years ago!”

“The ‘accident’,” Sepia reminded Calla. “Anything’s possible. Also, we can’t assume that Raevynn being alive is a good thing.”

“Speak for yourself, Sepia,” Amon said, tears welling up in her eyes. “I’m just glad to hear that she’s still alive.”

“Same here,” Morokai and Julian said in unison. They looked scared and relieved at the same time.

“She has a point though,” Sin said. “We don’t even know if it was really Raevynn or not. Besides, we may not be on the same side anymore.”

Kyia spoke her thoughts at last. “But that’s the thing. She killed one of our enemies, and she waved at me when she saw me. What about that doesn’t seem friendly?”

Calla sat back down, putting her bare feet on the tabletop. “All of it. Just because we share an enemy doesn’t mean we’re friends. Her waving could have just been a trap.”

Kyia snapped a little bit. “Does everything you say have to be negative?”

“Someone has to be the sober second thought of this group. Otherwise we’d all jump in right away and get ourselves killed.”

Sepia glared at Calla. “I thought it was my job to be the voice of reason. Stop arguing, you two. We have to agree on what to take from this news.”

Julian rested his elbows on the table and steepled his fingers. “I think the situation is too vague to take anything from it. At best we can assume that Raevynn is back and that we have an enemy in common. Coming to any other conclusion is stupid.”

Morokai nodded in agreement. So did everyone at the table, except for Calla. “Everyone just keep an eye open. We know what Raevynn’s capable of, and a lot could have happened in the last three years. Back to business, everyone. See you at dinner.” Morokai stood up and walked out of the room. The others followed, except for Kyia, who stayed in her chair. The events of the day still bothered her. She needed advice. Unbiased advice. And there was only one place she could think of to get it.

*******

Meanwhile, in a slightly less modest onyx castle, a man in a black cloak was standing outside of an oak door. He seemed to be waiting for something, but in the almost black of the hallway it was hard to tell. Without a sound a figure in a purple, blood-stained cloak approached the man, a beating heart held in her hand. They held it out to the man. “It has been done,” came a female voice from within the cloak. The voice did not seem out of breath, though it did sound annoyed. The man in the cloak took the heart from the female’s hand.

“Excellent,” he said, unable to contain his excitement. “We shall prepare your payment, and have it ready by tomorrow morning.” He slipped the heart beneath his cloak. “My masters have prepared a banquet for you. They ask that you join them at sunset.”

The female nodded. “I would be delighted. Thank you.”

The male nodded. “Excellent work, Raevynn.” And without another word, he slipped off into the darkness. Without sticking around to watch, Raevynn opened the oak door and slipped into the room, drained from the events of the day.