She raced towards the sounds of the girl's screams, but she was too late. Calixto dropped the body while he glared at her as though feral, and the girl's blood soon pooled beneath her. He took one last withering look at the girl then, deserting his last necessary ingredient, he turned and ran down the street. Kedi glanced at the dying girl but knew she didn't have the necessary skills to save her; she worked with death, not life. Leaving her to bleed out and become another of the butcher's victims, she chased after her killer.
He led her down towards the docks, weaving his way through the winding and confusing streets of Windhelm. Calixto was being smart and trying to lose her, but at the same time, he was leading her to a dead end. Unless he had a ship waiting, there was nowhere for him to run once they reached the docks – and it was unlikely he had a ship, since he had been expecting to stay a few more days to finish the ritual.
They reached the bottom of the long, wide stone steps that led down to the docks, and entered the mist the covered the water at night. Kedi followed the sound of the murderer's feet slapping against wet stone, and nearly drew close enough to grab his shirt, until he turned sharply and headed down the boardwalk.
There was nowhere for him to run. She drew her dagger from her waist and followed him quickly but cautiously.
She heard the splash of his body hitting the water long before she saw his head bobbing up and down as he raced in the direction of the stables on the opposite shore. The water was freezing, with broken sheets of ice floating on the surface. But Kedi knew he had extensive knowledge in magic, so it was entirely possible he could survive braving the icy waters.
Kedi, on the other hand, didn't and probably wouldn't. But she couldn't give up. He was her target, this was her contract, and she had to fulfil it. She couldn't let him get away.
She ripped her satchel from her waist, and unclipped the cloak from around her neck, and dived.
If she had been wearing her armour, she would have had no chance of catching him. Thankfully, she was still wearing only her tunic, and she was also younger and fitter than he was. By the time he reached the shore, she had caught up to him, and she tackled him into the snow.
He had lost his weapon during the chase, but now fire spouted from his palms as he cast destruction magic.
Kedi dodged as much as she could, but the flames still sizzled against her wet clothing. She tugged her dagger from her hip, but it was wet and her fingers were frozen and numb and she could barely keep a grip on it.
With a wave of his hand, Kedi soon heard the crackle of a fire spirit being summoned behind her. The heat radiating from the flaming ethereal beast scorched her white skin, but didn't warm the cold that the icy waters had instilled inside her bones.
The spirit shot a ball of flames in her direction, but she leapt back and it missed her by an inch or so. It twirled in the air before shooting another, while Calixto turned and started running again.
The memory of how to cast a ward bubbled to the forefront of her mind and she cast it. It failed the first time, but after the second try, a translucent shield formed in front of her. The spirit's flames bounced off the ward harmlessly, but each hit weakened her even further. Even so, she edged forward until she was eventually close enough to through her dagger with enough force to kill the conjured spirit. It crumpled to the ground in a pile of ash, and she swept up the dagger and continued her chase after her target.
Calixto reached the road, but stumbled on the paving stones. As he fell into the snow drifts, Kedi summoned the dregs of her strength and leapt on him, pinning his hands behind him to prevent him for casting again.
"Release me, elf-blood bitch! I'll burn your eyes from your skull and cut you into a dozen pieces!"
"Shut up."
She released his hands and thrust her dagger into his heart. He gasped as his life-blood bubbled out of his chest and mouth. Before he choked on his own blood, he breathed his sister's name, and within moments, he was surrounded by pink slush as his life force bled into the snow and melted it.
The contract was completed. Finally, Kedi could leave the damned cold north and go home to Veezara and her family; but even as she voiced the thought in her head and tried to smile, she found her face wouldn't move. She couldn't stand up. She thought it couldn't possibly be hypothermia, because she just felt so warm.
Then she blinked and realised she had fallen into the snow next to Calixto, and although she knew she should, she just couldn't bring herself to care. She closed her eyes, just to rest a moment, and she didn't open them again.
