Ae marched down the main road of town, a few folks had cautiously come back into the open, picking up the debris caused by the ransacking the cultists had partaken in after Nidian's escape. Several sorrowed faces looked Ae's way as she took long heavy strides down the road. She could feel the blame. They all had counted on her whenever things went wrong. But this time she hadn't been there. By the time she returned the cult had departed. Leaving destruction in their wake. Houses had been set on fire, market stalls were destroyed, produce and goods stolen or rendered inedible.

  The skies were darkened by smoke, blotting out the moonlight, leaving roadside braziers and the smolders from arson illuminating the town. Up on the hill was a decrepit manor, roughly the size of Torrel's tavern but dedicated to a single selfish soul; Balak.

  She reached the trail head leading to her pond, taking a right down another pathway that lead behind a small irrigation pond. Tall mossy stone walls on each side holding back the terrain behind it. Old log steps leading up to the yard. Age old dead grape vines wrapping around the splintered fence.

  Bottles of empty liquor and mead littered the yard. She walked right up to the front door and without hesitation she kicked it straight off its hinges. The old rickety door shattered into a dozen pieces. Some of the wooden fractals hitting the wall across the first room. As she stepped inside she walked over to a table holding a lantern. She opened its hatch and snuffed the flame out between two fingers, ignoring the brief pain it caused. Along with the candle the room went dark as a door down the hall opened.

  Ae pressed her back to the wall as a man came rushing down to investigate the noise. She heard his gasp from around the corner when his lantern light illuminated the empty doorframe and the broken pieces at his feet. He looked at the extinguished lantern on the table, taking a single step into the room to get a better look. Before he could rush back to the room Ae's hands grabbed his head and neck and slammed it against the wall. A hefty crack as he fell limp in her grasp. She dropped the body and stepped on his lantern, crushing the thin metal and glass with ease. Once again all was dark and she continued her way down the corridor.

  Vague paintings of local destinations and framed papers of Balak's closed out bounties haphazardly cluttered the wall space, hung at any angle other than upright in the peeling wooden walls. Up on the right was a room the man had come from. Ae drew her blade and came around the corner ready to fight.

  A middle aged man looked up from a map and jumped back. Nothing short of shocked to see her tall form standing in the door way in place of his subordinate. "Hey! Who the hell are you?"

  Ae lunged across the room, his sword hand beginning to draw in panic. He swung outward as his blade cleared its scabbard to parry with hers. Her free arm swiftly elbowing his nose as she pressed her blade against his. Her sword swiveled to divert his toward the ground. His foot work turned to a shuffle as he tried to shake the stars in his vision from the blunt strike. Before he could regain composure her foot forcibly shoved him into the wall.

  She stepped on his hand as he tried to push off the ground, he winced as the pressure threatened to break his wrist. He scowled, His eyes pushed the limits of movement to capture the blade hovering in front of his throat.

  "Where is Balak?" Ae demanded.

  The man swallowed, slumping against the wall at the sound of her chilling tone. "He's outside of town...at some pond!" The man fearfully blurted.

  Ae's brow creased, silently pressing for the release of any further info. The man just whimpered, both hands raised in surrender. Her sword hand twitched with the desire to run the man through, but the pathetic display made it falter. After contemplating a moment she lowered it. "Get the hell out of my town."

  Without skipping a beat the man scrambled onto his hands and knees as he scraped at the floor boards to get away, stumbling back to his feet as he fled. Ae sheathed her blade and followed the man outside and continued back the way she came toward her pond.

  Balak gave a sigh of relief as he retied his trousers. He turned to see Ae standing at the edge of the grove, menacingly quiet. Her eyes seemed to almost glow in the dark, though it was more than likely just the light bouncing off the pond water. She seemed to visibly shake, infuriated at the sight of him. This only brought a sick grin to his face. He was nothing short of proud of himself.

  "Well, well, well. Little late Ae. I expected you back an hour ago." He looked behind him, acting as if he had just realized what he'd done. "Oh- Yeah, my bad. I hope you didn't mind me taking a piss in your pond." He grotesquely chuckled.

  Her knuckles clenched together and angrily whispered toward him, "Why'd you do it Balak?"

  The deranged man revealed those nasty teeth, grinning ear to ear. "Just making good on promises. I was thinking the other night. You always act tough until you're eating dinner with Torrel, or helping around his house. Those pathetic Kordish kids you act all mushy towards. You rely on people that like you. You wanna feel like you belong. Something tells me you never want to be lost again like you were when we first found you; scared and alone. After I gave you a home you stole it and my people from me! And I told you one day you'd pay."

  Ae stirred in place, holding her tongue as he took a few steps toward her. "And it can't get any better than three birds with one stone Ae" He boisterously laughed out loud.

  He watched Ae's eyes grow worried. "I got the towns folk right behind me now. When you didn't show up to save them they changed their tune. And even if they find out I brought those cult freaks here it won't matter cause I'm back in charge. If they want to dispute it they can take it up with my dirk." He beamed at her, "Poor Malles found out the hard way. And then that other stupid Kordish kid turned himself in!"

  Ae froze, he was stabbing her in the heart from twenty feet away. He really was proud of the senseless murder. And it only got worse when he mentioned Nidian. "He what-?"

  Balak continued his fit of sadistic laughter, "Yeah! He knew he messed up big time. He got your little errand boy killed, Torrel beat up, and I know the little shit is terrified of you. He showed up tail between his legs to those Final Dawn guys. Said something about blah blah don't hurt the people of Nomad's Haven blah blah. He thought he was making some heroic sacrifice, or maybe he was just avoiding facing you. Last I heard they're gonna just offer him to their 'dragon overlords' or some shit. I haven't been this happy in years! Town is mine, that incompetent snot is dead, your latest rescue is dragon food. Everything I could have dreamed of happening all in one day!"

  He watched a few tears slide down her cheek. He wanted so badly to taste the salt in them. Cherish this moment for days to come.

  "Balak... I'm going to give you one chance to answer me; Where did they take Nidian?" She sternly spoke, refraining from raising her voice.

  "Oh Ae, the look on your face is priceless. And I hate to break it to you, you don't scare me anymore. You can't touch me! That cult has my back. You lay a finger on me and they'll have your head and everyone else in Nomad's Haven. And I know you wouldn't want that."

  "I'm not asking again. Tell me, now!" She demanded.

  "Face it Ae! You've lost everything! I've won! You understand?! It is over! If you want to have a chance of getting anything you want you'll get on your knees and beg me for it!"

  Ae glared forward at the man, she stood tall, confident even through her sorrow. "No, I'm afraid I won't be doing that Balak. In fact, its going to be you on your knees begging me." The malevolence lacing her words made his bolstered ego crack a little. He could feel the urge for violence radiating off of her. He snapped his fingers and several cult soldiers emerged from the shadows, weapons drawn. Ae calmly noticed them in her peripheral and took a step forward.

  "You aren't going to kill me just like that Ae, you're in over your head. Sit down when you're told to like the bitch that you are."

  Ae looked at her feet. She dropped her sword to the side, and looked up. A bittersweet glow on her face. "You're right, I'm not going to kill you just like that. I'm going to take my time. Death will hear you crying for relief. When I'm through with you, hell is going to feel like paradise."

  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.