Chapter 64: Assassins
Crackle, crackle.
The orange flames from the fire illuminated the night; the wood beneath crackled as it burned down. Everyone sat wherever they wanted. Raze leaned against a tree in the forest, looking at the stars that littered the sky.
The journey to Ravenhold forced them to stay overnight, and when it was the next day, they would finally arrive.
Ella walked over to him and sat beside him, leaning on the tree as well. "Is this your first time outside your home?" she asked.
"Well, yeah, basically, it’s the first time," Raze replied. He placed his hands behind his head and relaxed. "But you’d be shocked at how much of this kingdom I already know," Raze said.
"Let me guess, you read about it. You know, reading is good and all, but being there yourself is the best."
"True, but many people stay in certain places and still end up knowing nothing about where they live," he replied.
They got into some small talk about places in the kingdom, but not long after, he spotted Gavin going deeper into the forest, so Raze decided he would follow him.
"Give me a few minutes, I have to check something," he said and then got up. He walked into the forest, using God’s Eyes to track Gavin. Gavin went deeper until he made it to a lake in the forest.
He sat down by the lake, his feet in the water and his sword lying by his side. He watched as the water washed over his legs.
"A pretty nice place to be, huh?" Raze asked, walking out of the forest. "The trees part here, and you can see the stars even clearer."
"Why did you follow me?" Gavin asked, not even looking back.
"Well, I wanted to ask you some questions. I haven’t gotten a good one-on-one time with you since we met," Raze said. He picked up a small rock and tossed it into the water.
"What do you want to talk about?" Gavin asked.
"About what happened in the forest close to Rybest."
"How did you know that?" Gavin barked, gripping his sword and getting to his feet.
"I didn’t, but your reaction said it all. I had my suspicions, but you just reinforced them and let me know something did happen. The question is—what?" Raze asked.
"Stay out of things that don’t concern you," Gavin said.
"The way you gripped that sword—it’s reflex. You’re a person who loves justice, but a part of you is a warrior who’s scared of everything," Raze said. "You fear what you do not understand, and so you instinctively took hold of the sword."
"Don’t speak like you know or understand me," Gavin said. He loosened his grip on the sword and stood straight. The cold wind of the night washed over their bodies.
"I’ll be honest with you, your presence is unsettling, Raze Grimhold. I am incapable of knowing what type of person you are. I’ve watched everything you’ve done in the short time I’ve been here, and all I can say is that you are inhuman. Your actions have no real way to be explained. It unsettles me," Gavin said.
"That’s fine. I don’t really want you to like or understand me. But whatever happened in that forest is important, so tell me what happened," Raze said. "Or is it such great information that you can’t?" he asked.
Gavin shook his head slowly. "It’s not about that," he said, his tone calm but firm. "It’s about the fact that what I experienced is my business, and you shouldn’t be digging into it."
Raze gave a faint smile, though there was worry behind it. "But it has something to do with the infected that attacked Rybest, doesn’t it? Rybest is my home. Whatever happened there, whoever caused it, they might come again. So please, tell me what it was."
"You don’t have to worry about that," Gavin replied. "It won’t happen again."
he frowned. "You sound confident. So I’m guessing you did something there, to make sure it won’t."
"I’m not saying anything more," Gavin said flatly.
He turned and walked back toward the edge of the stream. Sitting down, he dipped his legs into the cool, flowing water, the ripples breaking softly around him.
Raze approached quietly from behind, stepping closer until he was just a few feet away. He reached out, intending to tap Gavin on the shoulder—
Fffsshh!
A sharp whistling sound cut through the air.
Raze moved instinctively, dodging aside just as an arrow sliced past his ear and buried itself in the ground beside him. Its head gleamed faintly green, poison dripping from the tip even after impact.
In an instant, Gavin was on his feet, sword in hand, eyes scanning the trees.
Raze’s expression hardened. "God’s Eye," he whispered.
His pupils dilated, glowing faintly as his vision expanded, cutting through the shadows and scanning every movement in the surrounding forest for the source of the attack.
Raze’s eyes narrowed as his God’s Eye scanned the treeline. Instantly, more than twenty cloaked figures appeared in his vision, each hidden high among the branches or crouched behind thick trunks.
They hadn’t been there before. Even with his ability active earlier, he would have seen them. That meant they had arrived only moments ago, fast, silent, and coordinated.
His body tensed. Whoever they were, they hadn’t come by chance. Someone wanted him dead.
"Seems we’ve got company," Gavin said, unsheathing his sword with a calm but heavy tone. His stance shifted immediately into battle readiness. "You should go and inform the others. I’ll hold them off."
Raze chuckled, his grin sharp and dangerous. "In your dreams. I’ve got a feeling these people came for me," he sai. "So I’ll make sure they get exactly what they came for."
The air grew tense. The forest went still. twenty versus two.
’Andrew, please let this have nothing to do with you, please.’ Raze thought, his face went serious, ’because if not, I’ll kill you.’