A/N: I know... Really short, but I just had to end it there. XP Who doesn't love a good cliffie?
Visit my DA gallery for the illustration of this scene! =D
Chapter 2:
Ignorant Slaughter
Koba stood over the dead, smoking carcass of a Dark One, blood staining his white lips which were still curled in a merciless snarl.
Moments before, he'd seen the Rainsworth heiress leave the house for the gardens. He'd followed at a distance, keeping close eye on her while not leaving his post at the perimeter. But when he'd seen the evasive shadow creeping its way through the hedges to greet her at the center… He knew he'd had to do something. He'd trailed the wolf quietly, avoiding any twig that might snap and alert it of his presence, and caught it just before it rounded the corner to meet the girl. Only a snarl had escaped it before his jaws had clamped down on its throat and squeezed until the monster writhed no more.
And the heiress chose that moment to step around the corner, and scream at the top of her lungs. Instantly, Koba's body went rigid, and he perked his ears toward her. His gaze followed, and he spotted her just at the corner of the hedge, hugging the frail, vine-like branches as if they would save her life. Her pink eyes were wide, her gaze on him and never straying.
He would have been content to stand there until she turned and fled in her pathological fear. But when the blur of white, purple, and crimson vaulted over the wall of vinery just behind her, his plans changed.
The guardian had arrived.
And his blade was drawn.
Eyes widening, Koba took a step back in anticipation of an attack. The human was smirking, with just a hint of vengeance, and bloodlust in the wine-red eye that wasn't hidden behind the fringe of silver hair.
"You crossed the wrong heiress," said he, wielding the blade. It made a ringing arc through the winter air. "And now, you will pay for it."
Time to go! Abandoning the body of his victim, Koba turned on his haunches and sprinted away with a surprising burst of speed. By the heavy clomp of boots on the cobblestone path behind him, he knew that the guardian was following.
Great, now what do I do? It wasn't difficult to keep track of where the human was, and how close he drew, for despite all their numerous skills, most humans were incredibly loud. Koba snorted. And Gianaval says I'm loud…
He glanced back only once, and caught sight of the fluttering tail of the white overcoat as the guardian came round the bend right on his tail. And then, he knew it was time to change tactics. It was much too easy for a human to follow on just a clear pathway…
"Time to go off road," the young wolf muttered to himself, before making a hairpin turn straight through a break in the base of the hedge. He slipped through easily, but the human was not so lucky.
Pausing, he heard the guardian curse under his frosty breath.
Watch your mouth, human… A small growl almost escaped his throat.
A shadow blocked out the moon, and Koba looked up just in time to leap away before the white boots made contact with the stone, and the blade swiped through the air where he'd stood just moments before.
"You're quick," said the guardian, that same unnerving smile on his pale face. "Good thing, too. Otherwise, you'd be dead by now."
Koba fought the urge to respond, and instead bolted away again, ducking under the next hedge. The guardian followed quicker this time, and Koba didn't have time to stop running. He darted through a small orchard of barren fruit trees, weaving in and out through their trunks, over a rock bed, and then came to the brick wall. Without a single glance back, he flew over it, and landed in a soft snow drift on the other side.
The footsteps still followed. The white wolf took off up the hill before they stilled, signaling the human's jump over the wall as well.
Koba raced through the snow, not caring about leaving tracks as he aimed for the treeline at the crest of the hill. His breath came in short pants that puffed white in the coldness and were gone as he ran through them. The air froze his nostrils, and dried his tongue.
He reached the edge, glanced back at the small figure of the following human, and then turned his gaze to the shadows under the trees. He looked closely at each one for whom he sought, for he knew the old wolf had to be there somewhere.
"Gianaval!" he barked, "Gianaval! Please, I know you're there! Answer me! Or… help me, do something!"
Nothing but silence answered him. And in that silence, which seemed to grow deeper by the moment, he felt an unnatural chill travel his spine, and he shuddered. He angled his ears back to listen for the footsteps of the human and, to his horror, he found none.
All was silent. Absolutely silent.
Where did he go? He whirled about in all directions, trying to catch sight of something, anything that would give away the deadly predator's position. He couldn't just disappear… Come out!
A flash of silver. The ring of metal. Koba whirled just in time to see the blade come plunging down at him…
He didn't feel any pain. One moment, he saw the blade protruding from his chest. Saw the crimson blood as it stained his pure coat.
And then a blast of white light sent them both flying in different directions, and all went black in Koba's world.