Chapter 111 A Shadow in Red

Despite having warned the Captain the night before, it didn't sit well with Rassa to just leave things as they were. Something, an instinct of some kind, was telling him that things would be a whole lot better if he just helped. He'd been distracted for most of the day just thinking about it. Had even purposely chosen to work at the Saar Docks, those right next to the Token Docks, so that he could monitor the situation better. His hearing had been concentrated and on high alert all day, and his ears were beginning to feel strained.

So when their work ended for the day, and he went to follow Aegin and Ebony, the two of them paused and turned to him.

"Look, you've been fidgeting all day, we know something is up," Aegin said.

Rassa paused, hesitant. Aegin went to speak but Ebony slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Just go. We'll meet you back at the apartment later tonight," Ebony said.

Rassa looked at the two of them, then nodded in thanks before he turned and headed for the Token docks. Aegin slapped Ebony's hand away.

"I wasn't gonna push him," Aegin grumbled.

"Sure you weren't," she replied, "Come on, I'm hungry".

Aegin didn't argue with her.

Meanwhile, Rassa followed his senses through the streets. Seeing as it was still daylight, he'd be more easily spotted along the rooftops even if he did take advantage of his speed. Instead he chose to weave through streets and alleys at a human pace, though somewhat hurried, in order to find those he was looking for.

He found them eventually, waiting on the edge of one of the quieter outer parts of the city. It was one of the back roads certainly, but most of the carts headed for the Token docks took this road because it was less busy than the main streets.

If they were still waiting here, then the goods hadn't been delivered yet.

Rassa watched from the shadows as Ewan handed out swords to his companions.

"Remember, no one gets out alive," Ewan said.

Clearly, the hours between last night and now had thrown Ewan further over the edge. Either that or he didn't expect to be caught. Rassa supposed the lack of witnesses helped in that regard, along with the fact that there was no evidence to catch up to him from last time.

Still, this was a stupid idea conceived by a vengeful man. From what Rassa had seen, the others Ewan had brought with him were average in fighting at best. While he hadn't actually witnessed them fighting before, he'd seen enough of their movements to be able to determine minimal training and experience, a trait both his father and Victor had insisted he hone in order to size up his enemies as accurately as possible.

Suddenly, Rassa registered the sound of a cart approaching, he moved further back into the shadows, a frown appearing on his face.

Should he take care of it now? With how spread out they were, Rassa ran the risk of missing one. Realistically he could take them all down with ease, but he'd either have to erase all of their memories, which would take time he didn't have, or kill them, which would leave evidence against him. After a few seconds hesitation, Rassa decided to only interfere if it looked like the Captain couldn't handle the situation, after all, it appeared he'd brought enough individuals to put up a fight against Ewan and his nine friends.

Besides, he did not have the advantage of darkness in this evening light.

The cart rounded the corner, showing the driver and a large man sitting up front with him. as well as seven others, including Jeremiah, walking on either side of the cart.

Ewan waited until the cart had passed the first of them, then gave the signal to attack.

The group of ten rushed forward, spooking the horse and catching some of Jeremaih's group off-gurad. Three of them backed up several steps in order to avoid the initial attack, then they seemed to find their senses and draw their weapons. The others entered the fight immediately.

Straight away, Rassa could see that Jeremiah's group were at a larger disadvantage than he'd thought. Despite the lack of training in Ewan's group, they were ruthless and unpredictable, and many of Jeremiah's sailors received injuries quickly. Jeremiah himself, while no injuries were present on his body, had come up against two of the enemies, and seemed to be doing his best to simply hold them off.

Ewan was the only one on his side that seemed competent, he quickly defeated his opponent, slicing across the opponents stomach and walking past to the next as the sailor collapsed.

Rassa's eyes narrowed, the the scent of blood wafted his way. It seemed to call to him, begging him to join in, to bathe everything red. Rassa's eyes turned to Jeremiah as Ewan approached from behind.

The sword lifted up threateningly like the knife had in The Leaky Boat the night before. The blood sang as another sailor was caught off guard, joining his friend on the ground. It seemed to say the on thing that Rassa needed to stop holding him back, the one thing to convince him to take that step forward.

This is your territory, your prey. They cannot stop you, they have no right nor power to anyway.

Rassa felt his fangs extend as he stepped from the shadows, parting the air before him with his speed. He scooped up the sword one of the sailors had dropped then stepped in between Jeremiah and Ewan.

The clang of metal ringing stopped Ewan dead cold, the man's arrogant and cold gaze meeting red eyes and a grin that chilled him to the bone, that sense of familiarity jumping to the forefront.

"That's just rude," Rassa's voice came out, even and velveteen, "How could you not invite me to join a bloodbath?"

Ewan's eyes widened and Rassa threw him back, the force knocking Ewan off of his feet.

Rassa didn't bother with his speed, it was so much less fun that way.