- Two Mirror Images

It didn't matter how long it took or how far she had to travel. To Lia this was the chance she would need to get what she wanted , to take the first step toward her goal. She was provided with a horse, a saddle and directions from the nearest guard who had seen the carriage carrying the two leave the city.

She was due East and with the light falling against her back, Lia knew that time was not on her side. If the day ended before she got to where she needed to be, then she would have twice as much difficulty in finding them. More so, if she had to fight off a group of angry farmers in the night.

'Due East.'

The horse galloped along breathing heavily as the evening sun was just beginning to set behind her. The day was coming to a close and she could feel her own shadow chasing her, no doubt Kal's presence as he watched her.

He had taken it upon himself to come out and protect her white she was fighting, considering Cain was at the moment busy with something else.

'I'm surprised those two have hung out until now. They had that fight nearly a week ago and they're just now choosing to act.'

Their tolerance must have been great considering how angry the Master's wife had seemed that fateful day in the office. It also appeared to her that his wife didn't particularly like her much.

Perhaps it was out of fear that many of the city's people still held for her, or because she was on the side of her husband, who still believed that help should be given where help was needed.

However, for Lia she didn't care about the lady's attitude nor did she care for what reasoning she had for acting the way he did, all that mattered right now was getting to where she needs to be.

"I'm going to follow the main road!"

Lia yelled back towards her chasing shadow, as it morphed and changed its shape like ooze as it swiveled around.

"Head on ahead and find the supply shipment! Make sure no bandits have gotten to it."

The shadow morphed against and from the darkness that the sun cast beside her, Lia saw the rising figure of Kal surrounded by a living shadow.

She didn't turn to look at him in order to know what he was asking, and with a cold and chilling voice filled with authority, she gave out her orders, galloping ahead.

"If they've reached the shipment, kill them."

Kal didn't wait for any signs of dismissal, his order was one. With one easy step towards the ground, Lia half expected him to shoot back at the speed in which she was going.

Almost as if one were to step out of a moving carriage, they would find their foot rooted to the spot where they stepped, only to be sent back against the ground. But instead Kal held no fear in his eyes, and immediately as his foot landed on the ground, a small current of static electricity surrounded him as he shot forward.

In a moment's glance he was gone, speeding ahead as he moved back into the shadows. The forest was now long before her, the trees melding into a blur, a large wall of green and dark wood that now stood ahead.

Lia had not even been riding for more than thirty minutes and now she came face to face with the forest ahead, the same forest that the Master had spoken about. The shipment would be coming down this main road straight to the city.

And so would the Lady and her daughter.

As if summoning them by a mere thought, Lia's horse galloped over the nearest hill, speeding fast and steady down the trail before Lia laid eyes on some large wooden box-like shape.

A carriage.

She kicked her horse and forced the animal into a rushing speed, one that would put any other animal to shame. From the distance, she could only see the small figures of the Lady and her daughter standing outside the carriage.

'Why would they be out of the carriage? And where is their coachman?'

An eerie feeling settled over her and it was then that Lia realized from this distance what was really going on, and she couldn't bid the horse to go any faster than it was already going.

From this distance all she saw was the carriage, and nearly ten men surrounding it.

***

The sky cracked and the ground shook, a storm raging around the Marsh and the night's fog settling in over the still moving pools of water and mud. The trees raked and waved in the wind as a small group of seven made their way through the darkness of the night.

The wind roared and the storm cracked the sky apart as the company held up their hands were their faces, intent on keeping the wind from stinging their eyes.

"Where did this storm come from?!"

Emma who was taking up the rear with Olivia yelled ahead, her own hair disheveled and uneven as it blew in the wind.

"Who knows! Let's just get out of this marshland and get to more solid ground!"

Gilbert half turned around to face them, but upon seeing that he could hardly see through the pounding rain and heavy winds that pounded the earth, he turned back around to keep up with Trevor's figure.

"We've been walking for hours!"

Abigail complained, her own body so light that it was nearly pushed over several times by the rough updraft that shifted. If it were not for Arnold who stood beside her, the main reason as to why she was beside him, she would have long since fallen over and been left in the mud.

"And we will keep walking till we get out of here."

Arnold clutched Abigail's arm, leading her through the rain that blinded them. His eyesight was much better than hers, and considering that the girl had hardly eaten anything, spoken, or so much as showed her face from the small crevices she hid behind in the cave, Arnold was more afraid that she would pass out.

For nearly a week she was silent, for nearly a week she had wallowed in her own guilt and pity, self hatred and shame. Now she spoke with such tenacity in her voice that Arnold forgot he had once worried about her health.

"We need to stay focused and keep going!"

He yelled to his team as they puddled through the mushy mud and small pools of water that now rose to heights of small streams and rushing rivers. Even Arnold could tell the areas where he and Olivia had passed through while hunting were now small rivers that flooded past.

'This storm is too unnatural. Is it his doing, or is it by chance?'

He looked up towards the sky that was covered in darkly lit clouds, before he silently shook his head.

'No. This is too soon for something like this to be chance. Something is doing this, but what?"

He shifted his attention to Abigail, who waded through deep earthy mud that clung to her pants and her long coat. Suddenly, he formed an idea.

"Abigail, do you think Bluey could lead us through this storm? He's got a better nose than the rest of us."

Abigail looked up at Arnold's face, a feeling of pride coming over her. This was the first time he had relied on her for such a meaningless task, but it made her feel happy inside. It gave her a reason to ignore the guilt.

"Bluey."

She called for her friend within the empty air and darkened space, a large flash surrounded the area and a large brown bear took the place of the empty air. He raised his head without needing an order, sniffed the air and trotted forward, his large paws leaving huge imprints on the ground.

The company followed along, Arnold and Abigail leading, Trevor trailing behind with an unconscious Lukali strapped to his back, while Gilbert, Olivia and Emma took up the rear.

If even one of them had turned to face the darkness that loomed behind them, they would have noticed the darkly lit figure of one man, standing between two large willow trees. As lightning tore through the sky, sending a flash of light across the ground, the figure was illuminated to be a calmly standing man.

His red eyes glowing like embers in the fire.

The company continued on, unbothered by the rain, unbothered by the wind or the lighting that struck the sky in vain. They pressed on, Abigail secretly hoped inside that Bluey would lead them out, that she could earn respect and praise in her superiors eyes.

But after nearly an hour of walking, complaints began to come out from the back. Someone groaned in the back and spoke up with annoyance.

"Ugh! This bear is leading us in circles!"

Abigail turned around and bowed, apologizing profusely.

"I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry. Bluey hasn't done something like this before so I don't know-"

However, her meek voice was interrupted by the sound of a shrilling bolt of lighting tearing apart the sky, illuminating the surrounding forests. And a figure that stood some distance away.

Bley raised his head, alert and in defense, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. Abigail turned to face him, concern ripping across her face as Arnold made his way to the front of the line, halting next to Bluey as he and the bear watched the surroundings with intent.

"You see it too, don't you big guy?"

Arnold whispered to the bear, who grunted in response as some affirmation. He gave the animal a firm rub behind the ears as he slowly backed up towards the group.

"Bluey isn't leading us in circles, something is leading him."

Suddenly, Arnold held up a fist, signifying for silence to settle in, which quickly followed as he took his long spear from his back and got in a fighting stance. The others followed suit like a well trained team, their eyes training the darkness for any signs of life.

Arnold stopped, pointed his spear towards the distance and began to walk forward. slowly, carefully, as to not make a single sound he neared the object of his interest.

Lightning flashed and the ground was dyed in a white brilliant light, suddenly Arnold found the figure was in fact a four legged animal some distance away, its head to the ground.

Gilbert and Arnold still held their weapons up, for they knew that if the time and chance came to it, that animal might see them as a snack. But from the back of the line a voice spoke up, a voice none of them recognized.

"What is that, a wolf?"

Arnold didn't have time to turn around and find who spoke first as Bluey at his side immediately began acting up, backing towards Abigail in a defensive motion. The wolf heard this of course and raised his head looking toward the distance away from them.

There was only a moment between then and now, as Arnold's senses spiked and he felt a sense of danger imposing on him and his friends. The wolf turned its head to face them, and as lightning struck, he felt his muscles and bones lock up.

The 'wolf' had red glowing eyes and half of its face missing. Its eyes stared daggers into Arnold and there was just some sense of fear that rushed through his blood that made him turn around with a warning on his lips.

"Run-"

The sound of growling stopped him dead in his tracks as he stood motionless, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end, as the sounds of heavy breathing filled his ear.

There, beside him, stood another wolf with red eyes, half its face that would have been covered in fur and flames was stripped to the bone. Yet the beast was still breathing.

Arnold only had a second in his moment of fear to realize the beast was standing next to him before a large great sword swung down from the above and cleaved the wolf's head clean off just as it lunged towards him.

Gilbert raised his sword, his head turning right and left as he took notice of the many other pairs of eyes that appeared from the darkness.

"Undead!"

Arnold snapped out of it at that moment and immediately drew his weapon to his side, using the wooden pole to slap away another dead wolf from his side. Behind him he could hear the sounds of fighting and a battle taking place as he drove his spear through the head of an oncoming wolf.

But the beast was still biting, clawing at him as she tossed it to the side. The animal left no blood and Arnold barely noticed as he swung around to plant the head of the spear in the side of an oncoming wolf, sending it rolling through the mud as slighting flashed again.

Bluey was roaring loud now, clawing and cleaving past the many wolves that rushed him, clawing at his back and his head as he bit deep into their bony flesh. But despite their attempts at keeping the wolves at bay, their numbers did not seem to stop coming.

One after another they came forward, throwing themselves upon each of them as they were culled down and killed instantly. Arnold knew this wouldn't last and eventually his team would become exhausted, Bluey might sustain more injuries than he could handle and at this rate, they would all die.

A wolf surged past him heading straight for Lukali who had been set aside by Trevor in order to help with fighting. Arnold reacted immediately, the safety of his son was his main priority as he rushed after the beast.

But despite his fatherly love, another wolf jumped on top of his back, forcing him to the ground as he grappled with the monster, stealing glances at his son as the wolf neared him.

"Lukali!"

His voice tore through the air surrounding them as rain poured down on his face. He slammed the butt of his spear into the head of the wolf, using this chance to pull a dagger from his waist as he stabbed repeatedly into the monster's hide. He turned to face his son, watching as the wolf soared through the air with an open maw.

But then, just as it arched across the sky, a hand reached from the darkness behind the tree and wrapped around the wolf's snout. Another hand, similar to the first, shot out from the shadows as well, stabbing right through the body of the wolf. It died instantly.

Before Arnold could even blink, a sudden flash of red crossed his vision and the sounds of battle came to an abrupt halt. Around him wolves fell to the ground, their heads, limbs, body parts chopped off like they were pieces of a toy. His allies and friends all looked around in shock and surprise, the instant victory causing a jolt of fear in their hearts.

As the bodies fell to the ground and lightning flashed across the sky, Arnold came face to face with a man he knew all too well. His red eyes piercing the darkness, his physic excluding an imposing fear that even caused him to feel its pressure, and his bone chilling deep voice that Arnold remembered well.

This was the man he had seen before in the marshes. The one who made him know the taste of fear. The one who caused him to run away despite never chasing him.

The Man in the Marsh.

***

Lia drew closer to the battle ahead , the sounds of death and slaughter as screams filled the air resonated in her ears. She was within a breath's distance now as she jumped from her horse, the animal coming to a grinding halt, as she pulled her weapon from the side saddle.

Two farmers who were drawn to the sound of a horse, pulled their attention from the battle around the carriage, raising their pitchforks and axes ahead of them before instantly being disarmed by Lia, who threw the weapons to the side with one swoop of her sword.

"Get out of here."

She said in an ice chilling tone, ushering the farmers to rush away at the sight of her clean and shimmering blade. They didn't not want to be the ones who painted that silvery blade red with blood, so they set off running.

The sounds of battle still continued though, despite no one rushing Lia or engaging her in a fight. On the ground she took notice of a small young woman with uneven hair huddling underneath the carriage.

'Sina. She's the daughter. But if she's here, then where's the mother?'

Lia raised her blade, prepared for anything as the sound of steel against steel echoed through the open air, rounding the corner only for the top of her blade to fall to the floor.

"...you?"

Before her, surrounded by a pile of unconscious bandits, Cain stood with his arm outstretched, his hand tightly wrapped around a farmer's neck until he passed out, dropping the man to the ground.

Against the front of the carriage sat the Lady, her eyes filled with shock and fear. She stared at Cain as the body of the farmer fell to the floor, brushing off the dirt in his hands, turning to Lia.

"Ah, Lia. Glad you made it here in time."

"How…?"

She was left with nothing to say as he smiled his same wicked smile that was all too familiar to her.