"You're sure it was him? You're sure it was him?"

"Yes. I'm certain. I'd recognize that bastard anywhere." Zen was pacing across the room. It was past midnight, and Trace and Flora were fast asleep in their room. "I'm glad you weren't there. I don't think he knows who I am, but he certainly recognized me. He only knows me as, well, your brother. He doesn't know me as your sister. I think that's the only saving grace."

"What's so bad about this 'Aezr'? If he's just another assassin, that's bad, but I don't think you'd be panicking this much." Barret asked, kept awake by the barrage of questions.

Zen sighed. "He was the fox who trained me. He's a crafty old man, and could always see through my disguises, no matter how hard I tried. And he's very dangerous, even among the Brotherhood. He nicknamed himself 'The Hunter'. No one ever disputed it, because it fit him so well. He takes pleasure in the hunt. He loves to meet targets, to tell them they are being hunted, to watch them struggle, to watch them panic. He gives everyone a few days head start, though that's never mattered, he kills them within hours. Never catches. He relishes the hunt and finds glory in every single kill."

"There's no one in the Brotherhood that has a higher body count." Natani added. "He has a nasty, disturbing habit of tracking down other people's targets and eliminating them first, letting other people take the reward while he takes the credit. It sounds like he's being nice, but no: he just loves killing people that much. He has a particular love of killing traitors and high value targets."

"Then we should leave." Barret said plainly. "Go wake Trace and Flora and let's get out of here before things go wrong."

Keith shook his head. "Not yet. We'll tell them in the morning, leave at dawn. Flora's worn out from our journey here, she's liable to get sick. It would be safer to let her sleep for tonight."

"I doubt that." The room was quiet for a minute as everyone waited for someone else to make a move first. Barret then asked a question no one was ready for: "Who is Aezr hunting?"

"What?" Zen looked confused. "Does it matter?"

"It might, actually. Who would he be looking for here? If he's hunting you and Nat, he'd be looking for wolves."

"Oh! And if he's hunting Trace, he'd be looking for a human!" Keith said, understanding what Barret was implying.

"We don't have the supplies to make a long journey again, so we should send someone to the market before the sun rises to get food. If we send someone he's not looking for, they'll have a better chance of coming back."

"You're forgetting something though." Natani said with a frown. "We are all wanted people. Zen and I are ex-Brotherhood. Trace is the former Grand Templar, and Flora has been accused of a shockingly large number of crimes as well. Keith is a Basitin diplomat, and there are undoubtedly people who would rather see him disappear, and you are an Ishtar with a general standing bounty. Aezr doesn't just hunt one target. He hunts as many as he can."

"I know, but this is a risk we have to take. I think Keith should go. He's the least recognizable of us."

"Actually, I agree." Keith said, shocking Natani. "He almost recognized you today, and Barret can't disguise himself very well. Scales aren't exactly common around here. Make up a list tonight, and put it beside me before I leave. I'm going to get some sleep. Or at least try." With that he stood up and left.

"I think that would be wise. For all of us." Natani said, following him.

"I can't write. Or read. Zen?"

"Yeah, I can write it up." Dispersed to rooms, a restless sleep took them. Hunted. Again. Barret, he was used to this, even Keith was to a certain point, but Zen and Natani? Never before had they been so frightened. When Clovis attacked the estate, it was scary, but they at least knew when and where the fight would be, but this? Was this what their targets felt before they struck? Was this the same fear they struck into the hearts of their quarries?

Before dawn, Keith woke up Natani, and went to go get supplies: food and firewood. Silently, she slipped into Trace and Flora's room to wake them. Though they were not happy, they listened, and agreed that the plan was good. Quietly packing their bags, they met Zen and Barret, who were packed, dressed, and armed. Zen's knives glistened in the dimly lit hallway, and Barret's bow creaked as he knocked a crudely carved arrow. Then, they waited. The sun was barely creeping over the trees when Keith showed back up downstairs, but he was not alone. Wrapped in a thick cloak, a Keidran with gray fur limped in behind him carrying a bag of items. "Ah, you are still here. I was worried I would not finish these in time." Tauh smiled as he saw Barret. "I understand you are leaving immediately. Don't worry about payment. I know you don't have much anyways, and I really did simply enjoy the pleasure of working on something. It was nice to have one final task to work on."

"Final task? What are you talking about?" Barret walked over. The main room of the building was barely lit, and light began filling the windows.

Tauh sighed and hung his head. "I'm sorry. Please, take it. I'm old. I know my time is almost up. I wanted to tell you when I saw you, to make you run as fast as you could, but their power is too great. They know. They will kill me for this." Holding out his left leg, he procured a shard of a mana crystal, and pressed it against leg, causing a shackle to flicker into view. "Illusory bonds. Most of us have them, and those who don't are on their payroll." Standing up, he leaned against a table, slowly panting heavier and heavier. "You must run. They are coming for you. HE is coming for you. Leave now. You. Must. Run…" With that Tauh slouched into a chair, panting heavily. The smell of burnt fur began filling the room, and everyone gasped as the shackle began to glow red hot with silver runes shining on the band.

"You…

must…

r…u… n…"

And with one final sigh, Tauh breathed no more.

For several long heartbeats, no one moved. Suddenly, Zen pushed them towards the door as shadows moved past the window. Out the door they ran, as quietly as they could. Down the road, not looking back, tears began to well in Barret's eyes. Someone had chosen to help them. Someone chose to show kindness. Someone chose to die to help them. Determined not to let Tauh's sacrifice be in vain, he ran faster. They made for the western gate, which was usually opened just before dawn to let the night hunters in. The city was silent, save their footsteps and the rattling of their bags. They had made it halfway to the gate when the silence broke. They heard a shrill whistle that rang high, loud and long. Then silence again.

CLANG CLANG a great bell resounded, unending. The city stirred to life, shouts and cries from all directions as they continued to run, and from every building and alley, from every window and balcony, from every tower in the entire city, soldiers poured forth, wielding swords and bows, and every single one bore the insignia of the Templars. "Go!" Trace shouted, abandoning all stealth. Surging toward the gate with increased speed, they heard the alarm spread, and the distant twang of bows began, the hiss of arrows following behind, and a chorus of clatters and thuds rang out as their shots impacted the streets and buildings.

"Close the gates!" A shout rang, echoed a thousandfold, and as they ran the last four hundred feet down a straight and wide road. The stomp of boots and clanking of armor rattled behind them, and in front of them, the gate winch clattered. The portcullis slammed to a close.

"Keep running!" Zen shouted. "Get to that gate! Nat! Far side!" Sprinting faster and faster, Zen and Natani broke away from the group, each one headed toward a side of the street. With lightning fast moves, they vaulted up the houses and jumped across the roofs, making their way toward the wall, where the gate controls were. Guards filed along the wooden walkway with bows, but knives sent flying their way caused them to scatter. Zen reached the walls first and began to throw humans and Keidran alike from their posts. Natani reached the wall seconds later, and tackled one poor wolf wasn't paying enough attention, tossing him clear off the wall.

Keith was the smallest, and therefore the fastest of those on the ground. Though several Templars lined up along the road to form a wall, Keith let loose a fierce war cry, drawing his sword with both hands. The soldiers, suddenly unprepared to deal with a mad little monster that apparently had ZERO FEAR, lost their nerve, and either fled from him, or were knocked to the side with quick blows to their chest and legs. Barret followed behind, but instead of firing forward, he twisted around as he ran, sending his first arrow blindly spinning off to the side of the road. His second soared straight and true, catching one of their pursuers in the thigh. An arrow hit near Barret's foot as he pulled his bow back a third time, and in his shock, he pulled back too hard, snapping his bow in half. Stumbling, he dropped the remains of his bow, and resorted to running.

Trace pulled Flora along, much like she had done to him the day prior, but they ran in fear. No magic was used by Trace, for fear of his black mark spreading further, or unleashing some other nightmare. The walls were taken by Zen and Nat, and the gate slowly clanked open. Keith was routing the soldiers, and Barret joined him there in hand-to-hand, putting his sparring training to good use.

But a wicked whirling filled the air, and suddenly Flora's hand slipped from Trace. With a yelp, she fell to the ground, a bola wrapped around her legs. Trace skidded to a stop, spinning around. He barely heard Barret and Keith calling for them, and he looked past Flora to see their attackers. Seventy armed soldiers, most human, some wolves, some tigers, and worst of all was the one and only fox. Aezr stood still, bow drawn, staring into Trace's eyes as the arrow was loosed. The steel arrowhead gleamed, and time seemed to slow down, as Trace stooped down to Flora. He couldn't use magic, but he would not let Flora get hurt. And so he did the only thing he could do, and leapt over her, putting himself between her and death.

And he waited for the end to come.

A terrible hiss filled his ears, but it suddenly became a dull thud. No pain came, and Barret slid down and shouted over the noise "Sorry Flora!" as he hoisted her over his shoulder like he would a deer. She yelped in surprise rather than pain, and Trace followed behind. "Come on!" Keith shouted as they ran, the mob of soldiers closing the gap behind them. Their hearts pounded harder and harder as the gate got closer and closer.

And then the were out.

"Now!" Zen shouted as he turned his dagger to the rope holding the portcullis open. With one swift slice, the thick rope snapped, and the gate slammed shut with a heavy crash. Natani called upon her magic to create two beams of fire, which she turned on the wooden walls. Sufficiently lighting the place up, Zen stooped down beside an unconscious soldier, picking something up, and he and Natani leapt off the walls, using magic to slow their fall. As the group fled into the woods, the shouts of soldiers and cries of the wounded echoed through the trees. The gate was closed behind them, the walls burned to prevent pursuit, but they ran. And ran. And ran.