Chapter 70: Sleep

Chapter 70: Sleep

Dantes poured what was left of Gaspards healing potion over his knuckles, wincing as the bones in them resealed and the scrapes stitched together. He pocketed the other two potions that were left over, and patted the pocket hed stored the wand Gaspard had used in. He couldnt tell exactly, but it felt as if it had maybe two charges left in it. Hed also found a small handful of gold. Between all those goods, the satisfaction of killing Gaspard with his bare hands, and the information hed gained, hed say it had been a great evening overall.

He returned to Gaspards corpse, which was being devoured by rats and roaches. Only his face being left alone per Dantes' request.

Excuse me

The creatures parted at his warning as he grabbed ahold of the corpse and began dragging it through the house. He reached the front door and pushed it open to find that the slight drizzle had turned into a heavy downpour, thick dark clouds now obscuring the full moon hed been able to see earlier in the night.

He appreciated the cover as he moved through the dark alleys until he reached the edge of a main street. It was clear, and the heavy rain was obscuring everyones vision who might have been nearby. He tossed the body into the sidewalk, and started walking back toward the Vixen, the gears of his mind cranking. He wanted the body to be found, he hoped that between Gaspards connection to Mondego, and the damage hed caused to Pachas office, hed stir up some general trouble that hed be able to find some use for.

Not one of the few people out in the rain so much as glanced in his direction as he walked away from the corpse. Just another Mutt with his hood up in midtown. It was comforting, but he also missed the attention hed received in the Pit. The glances, whispers, and parting of crowds as he moved through them. Hed savored thatand hed taste it again.

He walked through the streets until his jacket was nearly soaked through, Jacopo muttering light complaints of incoming water. He was nearly halfway back to the Vixen when he felt a chill climb up his spine. Every single hair on his body began to stand on end, and his heart began to beat more quickly as his breath quickened.

Theres a predator of some kind nearby, sent Jacopo, crawling to sit on his shoulder, his head poking out next to Dantes own in the hood of his jacket.

A mugger maybe? Some kind of street thug.

No. Something not human.

Dantes was about to ask for clarification when a howl pierced the roar of the rain and shook him down to his soul. He looked around, with both his eyes and his senses. No one was on the side street he was walking through except for him, though he thought he saw a shifting shadow on a nearby rooftop, but it was gone before he could make sense of it. His other senses spread out gradually, and he quickly found that while there were still roaches aplenty, all of the smaller animals and birds were gone. He sent his senses out further, and felt a sudden intense pang in his chest, as if an icicle had been driven momentarily into his heart. He had to stop himself from breaking into a sprint and running.

He took a deep breath, and began to summon his will, sending roaches out in a search pattern from where he was as he walked. He started to gather rats and bats to rally to his aid as well, but he could feel a tangible resistance from them, as if their fear was overriding his will as he sent it to them. Still, he pushed and started to feel them approach.

Before his roaches could find anything, the beast that was following him made itself known. Dantes heard rapid wet footsteps approaching him from behind, and whirled around to the sight of a massive black shape in mid-air about to strike him.

He heard howling, and the heavy thumping of paws behind him. He risked a look back to see both wolves leaping from rooftop to rooftop behind him. The black one, whose leg hed stabbed just moments ago seemed completely unharmed.

He could feel himself getting exhausted. His limbs began to feel as if they were filled with lead, and he nearly slipped off of a particularly high rooftop. He pulled old shivs from each of his sleeves as he turned around on a particularly narrow rooftop. Hed make a stand on the edge. Only one wolf would be able to follow him one at a time, and if he could make it lose its footing it would fall down and die in the alley below.

He looked at the wolves, and realized theyd stopped moving. Black and grey, obscured by the rain, the wolves simply stood there. They werent looking at him, but rather the sky above him.

He looked up, to see the shape of a massive bird with a wickedly curved beak briefly silhouetted by a lightning strike. It dove toward him.

He ducked just before it hit him, and pulled up. When he looked behind himself where he expected to see it, in its place was a bear. Much like wolves hed never seen one in person, but he had seen one's head mounted at an inn. This one seemed much bigger. It was completely white, with black eyes that matched the sky behind it and claws bigger than his head.

Dantes held up the shivs defiantly. You youre druids right?

The bear regarded him with pitch black unblinking eyes.

Why are you doing this?

The bears eyes seemed to glow, and Dantes felt in his mind a single command from it.

Sleep

He began to collapse, but held on slowly stepping toward the bear with the shivs raised.

SLEEP

It repeated. His eyes closed and he angled his fall with the shivs pointed, hoping theyd find a target before he lost consciousness.