Temon and Rejah rode in the lead with Alina and Urdo behind them. By noon the Sacred Valley was in sight and a heat haze had settled on the Ashok lands. Rejah picked up the tracks of Eyeman's horse and hoof prints led straight down to the tallest rock tower at the end of the valley.

  His lips were dry and cracked and his throat was parched. He took a drink from a waterskin that would need filling again soon.

  “We need to find somewhere to camp. Somewhere with water." After a time they came across a pool beneath a purple rock tower.

  He was impatient to go and look for Eyeman and the Vault. Temon and Rejah were to do the search mission, leaving the cleric and colonist in camp.

  At sunset Temon and Rejah put their packs on and made their way down the Sacred Valley towards the tallest rock tower at the end.

  The night air was cool and the dark silhouette of the Sacred Rock Tower tower grew before them as they approached.

  There was a cave entrance at its base and they went in.

  Once inside, they lit torches and began to explore. There were three tunnels they could chose from - one going right, one left and one straight ahead.

  “Let’s take the one that goes straight on. It’s the widest," Rejah suggested and they followed it as it went down into the rocks.

  Temon marked the wall with chalk to record their route. After a time they entered a large cavern with a pile of animal bones on the floor.

  Moving through the cavern and into a cave, this cave narrowed and descended steeply.

  “Eyeman should be around here somewhere. He’s got to be.”

  Rejah was not so sure. “There are many caves. We’ve seen no sign of anyone."

  “We'll search a while longer."

  The cave system was massive and there were many passages through the rocks with loops and dead ends. He wondered how long it would take to search the whole place. They could spend days searching and still not know if the fugitive was here or not.

  “We'll find him, I'm sure we will,” Temon said. "The hoof prints lead us here."

  "The hoof prints disappeared when the ground turned to rock." Rejah countered. "I could only track Eyeman's horse as far as this tower."

  "I'm sure we'll find him here.”

  She sighed. “Let’s keep looking. ”

  They continued to explore the caves for a while but found nothing except animal bones.

  “We've seen no sign of him at all,” Rejah said.

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  He was beginning to get irritated with her comments. It had been a long time since he had slept. "You could have stayed back at camp.”

  “I knew you would need help when you got here,” Rejah replied.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You only listen to yourself, do what you want to do.”

  “That’s because I know what I’m doing.”

  Rejah poked his shoulder with her finger. “No. You don't! Remember our last bounty?"

  “I don’t want to talk about the last job.”

  Their last job had ended in failure because their target had escaped. Rejah had identified their target, but Temon had not listened to her, believing their target was another person, and so their bounty had got away. He should have listened to her.

  He regretted his mistake and wanted to make up for it by successfully completing this job. She was still angry with him and would be angrier still if they failed this job. That would probably be the end of their partnership, and he would be sad if it came to that. She was annoying at times, but was also an amazing tracker.

  They walked side by side along a rock tunnel. “I know you'll be annoyed if we don’t get this reward.”

  “Yes. You're right."

  Their torches were burning low. The dim torchlight illuminated the rock walls and the place was full of shadows.

  A cool breeze whistled as it blew through cracks in the rock and stirred up the dust. He sneezed and the sound echoed around the passage. The echo then continued for a while until it eventually faded away.

  “Let’s try up there." He led the way up a slope and pale stalactites hung down from the ceiling.

  They climbed higher and reached a small cavern with an opening in its roof that revealed the night sky.

  “Our torches are nearly done.”

  “Look, what’s that? Rejah bent down to see what was on the floor. "Here are some footprints.”

  They continued across the cavern following the footprints in the dust. They passed between stalagmites.

  Then they saw a faint light ahead.

  “There!” he said and hastened forward.

  A tunnel opened ahead. There was torchlight at the end of the tunnel and seemed to moving away from them.

  “Hurry!” he whispered and ran towards where the light was coming from.

  “Fine.” Rejah said and followed behind.

  He could hear sound getting louder. Was this Eyeman? The bounty was near?

  He drew his sword and advanced toward where the sound was coming from. The passage was curved and he could not see beyond a certain distance. The glow from the torchlight ahead flickered and shifted as if it was disturbed by something. A shadow moved against the dark passage walls and the torchlight bounced around, throwing odd shapes onto the walls and floor.

  To his surprise, a large man with a broad face stepped into view. There was a jagged scar across his forehead and his bald scalp glistened with sweat. His huge muscles bulged beneath his shirt. A belt full of daggers and knives hung over his shoulder.

  Temon stepped back, his heart beating in his chest. The other man was marked and had to die.

  He jabbed his sword at the tribesman who stood in front of him. He drove the tip of the sword deep into his chest, twisted it sharply and pulled it out.

  The bald man staggered back and fell onto the floor. Blood poured from his chest wound. The dying man clutched at his wound and coughed blood. His eyes rolled up in his head and then there was silence.

  Blood splashed onto Temon’s boots and trousers.

  “Damn it,” Tenon looked around. “That was bad.”

  Rejah said. "We need to hide the body.”

  They dragged the corpse over to a large hole in the floor of the passage. They lifted him up, swung him and dropped him down into the pit.

  “Let’s hide the blood. Cover it with sand,” Rejah suggested.

  They kicked sand and dust over the the bloody stain on the floor.

  “They won’t find anything here unless they take a good look.”

  He was angry at himself. He should not have been caught off guard like that! The tribesman’s face, the shock in his eyes as the steel found its home, played in his mind. He tried to push it away, to tell himself it was an obstacle between him and the bounty. Yet this one felt bad. He had killed so quickly, without a question, without a thought, as if he had no choice in the matter.

  He looked at Rejah, who was busy covering the blood on the floor.

  She hadn’t seemed surprised by his actions, but he couldn’t read her expression in the dim light.

  Did she think he was a cold hearted killer?