you guys are all so mean to cafos. he's just a little guy! :3
Stephen startled awake to his heart racing.
He lifted his head, blinking around at the room lit only by thin rays of moonlight that filtered through the shuttered windows. Alexis was asleep at his feet, curled up on the other half of the bench. What had woken him? Had he been dreaming?
A muffled voice came from outside the building, and his adrenaline spiked.
"Alexis." He hissed, grabbing his friend's shoulder and shaking her awake. "Alexis!"
"Wh- h-huh?" Alex mumbled, starting to uncurl.
"Keep your voice down." Stephen whispered. "We need to go, now. Cafos is here."
"Cayy…?" Her eyes shot wide open. "Oh ####."
"Get into the back." Stephen lurched upright, dragging her up with him and setting her on her feet. "Hide in the storage room, stay out of sight. Maybe we can avoid-"
The door to the inn swung open, and Stephen grabbed Alexis and teleported.
They appeared in the kitchen, and Stephen all but shoved his friend into the pantry, whispering hoarsely that he would catch up with her. If Cafos found her, he would kill her. He at least had a chance. Stumbling into a run, Stephen dashed for the back door, fumbling with the latch in an attempt to let himself out.
"Oh Stephen!" A hand seized him by the back of his shirt and Cafos yanked him back, slamming him against the wall and setting a blade to his throat.
Stephen gasped, scrabbling at the hilt of the sword in an attempt to push it away. A devious grin spread over Cafos' face, his silver eyes filled with bloodlust.
"Lucius," He gritted out, holding him firmly in place even as he tried to struggle. "wants to talk to you. Come back with me, and I won't have to spill your guts all over this nice man's inn." Stephen huffed a breath, then teleported, appearing behind Cafos and bringing an elbow down in his head with a crack.
Cafos shouted with pain, hands flying up to his head as Stephen dashed out the back door. He had to get him away from Alexis, away from the inn, away from this town. Cafos wouldn't care about collateral damage as long as he got to hurt him.
"Stephen!" He stuttered to a halt at the voice, turning to see Hugo standing in the middle of the street with a lamp in one hand. "So that is your name." The innkeeper's voice was regretful. "Oh Stephen, what have you done?"
"Stephen!" A cry had him spinning around again, and he found Cafos standing in the back doorway, dragging Alexis by her hair.
"Let her GO!" Stephen screamed at him, panic and fury welling up at the sight of the unsheathed blade so close to Alexis's throat. Cafos scoffed.
"Come quietly with me, and I'll consider it." He rested the blade against Alexis's collarbone, and a low growl rose from her throat. Stephen's fists clenched, then unclenched. He was unarmed, overpowered. He was helpless.
Alex brought up a foot and kicked back, hitting Cafos in the knee and causing him to jerk in surprise. Stephen didn't think, just teleported, wrenching the blade from Cafos' hand and slamming the crossguard into his head.
"Go!" Stephen shouted as Alexis was released, Cafos throwing up both his hands in an attempt to defend himself. He had teleported three times now, and he knew if he kept this up he would exhaust himself, something he couldn't risk. To her credit, Alexis obeyed, and Cafos sneered at him as he caught the next desperate swing.
"That's not fighting fair, is it?"
"Neither is threatening me with her!" Stephen snarled back. Cafos grabbed his wrist and twisted until Stephen was forced to jerk back, relinquishing his weapon, and the next thing he knew he was being shoved off the steps. Any attempt to catch himself failed, and he slammed into a pile of empty crates.
"I was told to bring you home." Cafos called as he gasped and arched with pain. "But, if that failed, Lucius told me to kill you." Stephen's frightened gaze shot up as the valkyrie hopped off the stairs. No, that wasn't possible. "Said if you're not for us, you're against us." Cafos leaned over him, the tip of his blade resting against his collarbone. "Make your choice." Stephen stared up at him, horror and denial warring inside his head. Lucius had… ordered him killed?
"Just let us be." He begged. "We aren't doing you any harm."
"Your existence does us harm." Cafos shot back. "As long as you live, you are a threat. Make. Your. Choice." Stephen's throat tightened. To go back, knowing that if he stepped out of line again he would be killed… it would never be the same. And Alexis, he couldn't leave her alone.
"Kill me then." He gritted out. Cafos broke into a wicked grin.
"Oh, you have no idea how good it feels to hear you say that." He lifted the sword, and Stephen lashed out, sweeping the valkyrie's feet out from beneath him and sending him crashing to the ground. He scrambled upright as Cafos growled at him, searching desperately for anything he could use as a weapon. His time was up in moments, and he lunged for a large piece of splintered crate as Cafos swung at his head.
Improvised weapon in hand, Stephen ducked under a second swing, then slammed the piece of wood into Cafos' shoulder. Another swing came too close to comfort and he was forced to teleport again, this time striking the valkyrie in the wrist of his sword hand. His heart leapt as the sword clattered to the ground, but he had little time to celebrate as Cafos seized him by the collar and slammed him against the outside wall.
Color flashed through his vision as Stephen's head struck the stones, and he barely had time to recover before he was pulled forward and slammed into the wall again. He drove his knee into Cafos' midsection and managed to break free as his opponent doubled over. Lunging for the abandoned sword, Stephen raised it above his head, and Cafos lifted his chin just in time to see the pommel coming down on his head.
The valkyrie crumpled to the ground under the blow, and Stephen took a step back, letting out a shaky breath. Cafos seemed to be unconscious. Stephen dropped the sword, reaching up to prod at the back of his head, and found a small amount of blood that matted his hair.
They would have to leave. Not only did Cafos know where they had been hiding, but Hugo… no longer trusted them. Stephen didn't know what Cafos had told him, he doubted it was the truth, but it was enough for the man to rat them out. This wasn't a safe place for them any longer.
Turning away from the inn, Stephen hurried off into the night to find his friend.
"Good while it lasted, huh?" Alexis murmured, her arm wrapped around Stephen's back as they limped through the savanna. Stephen grunted, focused on keeping himself upright. Once the rush of the battle had faded, he had really begun to feel his injuries, and right now he wanted nothing more than to lay down and try to soothe the pounding in his head. But they were far too close to the village to even consider stopping, so they plodded onwards.
"How'd he find us, do you think?" Alexis asked a few moments later. Stephen worked his jaw slightly.
"Cafos was always a good tracker." He said. "And… Hugo told him where we were."
"What?" Alexis frowned at him. "How do you know?"
"He was outside when I first got out there. He…" Stephen winced as he remembered the look of betrayal on the man's face. "…spoke to me. I don't know what Cafos told him, but…"
"Oh." Alexis lapsed into silence again. They limped along for a few minutes, Stephen trying to ignore the ache in every part of his body. Cafos really hadn't held back. "Do you think he'll find us again?"
"Probably." Unless they somehow found a place where they could never be found, they would always be on the run. Orders from Lucius aside, the look in Cafos' eyes when Stephen had told him to kill him made one thing abundantly clear - Cafos would stop at nothing to be rid of him, regardless of what, or who, got in his way.
"I think we should split up." Stephen mumbled.
"Not happening, Stevie."
"Cafos-"
"Is hunting you, yeah, I get it." Alexis cut him off. "And you don't want to put me in danger. Well, life is dangerous. I nearly died from falling out of a tree." The corner of Stephen's mouth quirked up at the reminder of their first meeting. "And I'd rather be in danger with you than by myself." She finished. "So, no." Stephen found himself swallowing back an unexpected lump in his throat.
"Alright."
They kept walking until morning.
"My lord Notch!"
"Micah!" Notch looked up with a smile at the sight of his aide, straightening from where he had been bent over a map. "Always a pleasure to hear your voice. What do you need?"
Micah gave him a smile from where he stood in the entryway to his master's library, but his face was pained. He was small for a valkyrie, but he had filled out considerably since he had first obtained the role of Notch's aide fifteen years ago. "I'm afraid my voice brings troubling news."
"Oh?" Notch abandoned his work, walking over to join him in the doorway. His navy cape swept behind him as he walked, the deep blue complementing his shimmering gold and white armor. Micah waited for him to come close before he spoke.
"There was an attack on Midford Keep." He said. "Everyone within was killed." Notch's eyes widened, then narrowed.
"Who? For what purpose?"
"We don't know. It was discovered only yesterday by a farmer bringing them supplies." Micah told him. "The killer had obviously searched the keep, but nothing of value was missing." Notch frowned, starting to turn away, but stopped.
"Killer?"
"Yes, my lord." Micah bobbed his head in a nod. "There were tracks from only one person."
"That keep was guarded by sixteen valkyries." Notch's brow furrowed. "What manner of person could pull off such a feat?"
"There are few," Micah reached for a notepad hanging from his belt. "The lords of Northridge, Blackhaven, and Helsburg are all accomplished warriors, and possess power that may be capable of such a feat, but all of them have alibis at the time."
"So our killer is a phantom." Notch mused. He leaned back, staring into space with a neutral expression. Micah had known him long enough to know that he would grieve the loss of his warriors only behind closed doors. "This is truly distressing. Is it connected with…?"
"The other killings?" Micah finished. "It's hard to say. The last one was nearly a year ago."
"How time flies." Notch murmured. "But they share a common theme. My valkyries, being slaughtered with no rhyme or reason to it."
"Perhaps that is the rhyme." Micah suggested. "But who among your subjects has reason to hate us?"
"Such a man- or woman - would not be my subject at all." Notch said quietly. "Thank you, Micah." The valkyrie bowed and left the room, leaving his master alone with his thoughts.
hmmmm the plot thickens