Hola! So chapter six is up, obviously. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter! and its longer too!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of this.

Chapter Six

"Tell me!"

My fingers curled into his hair, sticky with blood. I yanked them hard, pulling his head back more even as he strained against it. My knee dug more into his back. A sound came from him. Such a weak sound, a whimper.

I'd never felt such ecstasy.

Just to end it right there. It would be so easy. Just slip the knife about an inch in and he would be dead. Too easy, like giving up. Why would I just let him die, when he had caused me so much pain? I pressed the knife harder on his throat, drawing a thin line of blood.

"If you're not going to tell me then I will kill you." My voice was calm, cold.

I meant every word I said.

I could feel him shudder, more than I could hear it. His throat worked, slipping the knife deeper.

"Their next stop is in Makapu Village."

Now I knew my next move. A strange feeling came over me. I started to smile, cracking and stretching the paint on my face. I think it was satisfaction.

It had been awhile since I'd had that dream. Not a dream really, but a flashback of my past. The first time I saw the stranger living inside me. The dreams always came back afterwards. Like a flashing reminder of what I was. They never let me forget.

I felt so cold.

It was completely dark now. My lantern had burned itself out. I couldn't see my own hands, not even when I brought them in front of my face. The house was quiet. The only sound I could hear was my ragged breathing.

I sat up in the bed and placed my feet on the floor. The bed creaked despite my attempts to be as silent as possible. I doubted anyone would hear me though.

It would be easy for me to find my bags in the darkness. I could walk the whole room step by step and never crash into anything.

I stood up and walked to the window. It was still open, letting in the wind. Much nicer now at night. It cooled all the sweat that had grown on my body. It felt very…soothing. I couldn't see the moon tonight. Nor the stars. I didn't know which made me feel lonelier, when the moon was out or when it wasn't.

Enough. Time to go.

I pulled my cloak off of my packs and put it on, pulling up the hood, tucking my unbound hair back to keep it out of my face. The cloak would keep me warm if it got to cold during the night.

I reached down to grab my bags and heard it. A rustle, a creek, a thump. I stepped back from the window, my hand instinctively going for the slim blade I kept at my waist. Someone was on the roof. They must've scaled the inn. I tried to listen for the sound again, tried to track just how many footsteps there were, but whoever it was didn't make a sound again.

Damn, and I'd been so prepared to go. There was no way I was leaving now until I found out who the intruder was and what he was doing. Not in Imata's inn and not with the company it was keeping.

I went to the door and opened it up as far as it would go without creaking. There was a light coming from downstairs. Besides that everything was pitched in darkness. I listened a moment for any sound and when I didn't hear anything I slipped out of my room. The door creaked. I stepped fast across the hall and moved over two steps.

And waited.

There was nothing. My heart was beating fast enough that if the intruder didn't hear the door he would hear that. I reached down and pulled a short blade from my ankle. I would not be caught unprepared. He could be on this floor or he could be downstairs with the light.

That's what worried me most. Who the hell would be downstairs in the middle of the night? It wouldn't be Imata she always goes to bed early and when she goes to bed she sleeps like a log.

I creep closer to the stair railing and shifted a look over, keeping in the shadows, out of light. The light was moving now, swinging back and forth, getting closer. Slowly feet came into view, I would just have to wait a moment more and I would be able to see who it was.

A thump rattled the wall I was resting against. I snapped my blades up and swung around to face…absolutely nothing. Nothing I could see that is. The stairs started to creek and the hallway I was standing in slowly became lighter.

I drew back against the wall crouching down into a notch between the wall and the stairwell. Who was walking up the stairs and who had made the noise down the hallway? I was facing two people from completely different areas.

I held my breath as the person on the stairs finally reached the top. I didn't dare make a noise because all it would take was for that person to turn his head to the left and he would see me. When I saw who it was I didn't know whether I was more tensed or relieved.

And all he did was walk past me, not glancing a look over? What if I was an assassin? How could he be so careless? And where in the hell was his guard?

I leaned forward, now out of his sight, glancing down the now lit hall, looking for anyone else. The floorboards creek underneath me and I gasped. There was no one in the hall. Where had that thump come from?

One of the rooms.

There was no way he couldn't have heard me. His head was already turning when I was on him, slipping a blade back into my waist band. My right arm, holding the smaller blade, wrapped around his neck, my left hand crushed over his mouth and I yanked him back, away from his room. His lantern shattered on the floor and caught flames then died away almost instantly.

"Don't even think about," I said, a tingling starting at the tips of my fingers. I could feel him concentrating on his powers. Like they were burning me.

His voice, regardless of my hand, was still loud. I couldn't make at the words but I know he was calling for his guards. This would teach him not to go unprotected.

"Quiet!" I hissed, "Unless you want to die."

I couldn't hear a thing over all of his struggles. His hands battered my body and his teeth gouged into my hand painfully. Please don't recognize me. I pressed my blade deeper, wincing when he twisted away, just enough to cause bleeding. I felt a warm splash on my hand. Either mine or his, I couldn't tell. He stopped struggling to my relief, settling for keeping my right arm in a death grip.

"Now I'm guessing you're under the wrong impression," I said softly, backing up against the stair balcony, "You see, Fire Lord Zuko, there is unwelcomed visitor, at this moment, somewhere in one of the guest rooms."

Noises came from my hand, marginally lower this time and the teeth just brushed against my thrashed hand, barely causing pain.

"We really don't have time for this little confrontation," I said, slowly loosening my hands and grip, "I'll let you go, everything that happens from here on is your responsibility. Be warned."

I let him go, feeling the air fly against my skin as he whipped around. I couldn't see him at all. Nor could he see me, for which I was thankful.

"Where's your guard?"

An agitated sounding breath washed over my face. Just how close was he?

"I had one posted at the door. The other one is resting."

"There was one at the door?"

"Yes," He said, angry, "I thought something was wrong. How am I supposed to believe you?"

"You're alive, right?"

He made a sound and the floor boards creaked, as if he was moving.

I resettled my hood. "Wait! Light the way."

"Thanks for the permission."

The tingling started again. It slowly turned into a throbbing I could feel in my wrists and a steady burn I could feel across my back. It didn't hurt.

But it did.