D thought all through the night what he might do, trying best to ignore the frequent comments from Lefthand about time, and how he had wasted too much of it when Ophelia had been involved before. Then it came to him. D knew where she was. It was a full day's journey from where he was now, but that would fit the time frame, and it seemed the most likely place. Lefthand was about to begin another complaint when D squeezed his hands tightly around the rough leather reigns of his steed as he spurred his horse quickly into the night.
Ziri rode quickly. He could see D's path plainly in the soft earth. She knew it was weak to do so, but she had to follow him. She didn't know where to go…where Ophelia could have taken the boy. D seemed to have a pretty good idea, as his path was straight and unwavering. She was about an hour behind him, so his trail was fresh. She was careful not to speed up too much, because it might alert him to her presence, but the moon was full and the light was plenty for her to track him.
She'd only been a hunter for a few years. Going around picking up easy bounties. Living in slums and tiny villages that didn't know or care about Dunpeals. Her mother had been a vampire, and her father a helpless victim of her lust. He'd just been a pointless struggling weak human that she'd kept as a plaything for a while and then disposed of. But to her mother's extreme unhappiness, he fathered a child to her… Ziri… Abandoned at a young age, Ziri had been on her own for decades, shunned by all who she met, utterly alone. And she knew she needed revenge… Against Ophelia, that bitch. Her mother… her greatest enemy.
D rode all through the night until the sun rose. Even in the forest the sun hurt his eyes and made him feel weak. But he couldn't rest. He knew Ophelia's charms did not take long to work against young men, and he didn't want to be late in arriving. Besides the fact that he wanted to save the boy, he would be facing off with another Dunpeal in the hunt. Little did he realize Ziri was tailing him closely, as he neared Centelion with every mile he rode.
Soon Ziri realized that D was heading toward Centelion, however, she dared not to cut ahead, and risk being caught by him. She'd heard rumors about him, the silent and cold Dunpeal. That he was a murderer, who would do anything for a bounty. She needed to somehow make a plan so that she could distract D long enough to take the boy, and kill Ophelia, and then the bounty would be hers. She needed to stop him…or at least, slow him… She rode on forward, trying desperately to think of a plan, as they drew closer and closer to the Centelion