THREE: Cade

Cade contemplates the danger of his current situation

THREE: Cade

    Cade ran. He raced away from the dull scent of sea breeze and straight back into the forest. As he breathed the pine scent surrounding him he gathered enough energy to fly through the forest at top speed, refusing to think of the situation at hand and focusing on running. As he sped through the forest he seemed to be trying to outrun reality. At this speed he’d beat Daemon back by a few minutes, enough time to sit and think before he had to face him. Cade arrived at the tavern in an unimaginable amount of time. He collapsed against the wall outside and took several deep breaths before he entered.
    The door of the small tavern slammed loudly behind him, yet, in the excited atmosphere it wasn’t much of a disturbance.  As he strode through the crowd breathing heavily a few heads turned in his direction. The usual excitement of the tavern’s bar continued but he didn’t notice anything around him. He pushed an intoxicated human gruffly out of the way as he made directly for the back door. A young gypsy sprawled in a chair stuck out her boot to stop him. She grinned seductively up at him, but when he looked down at her she withdrew. His eyes were glowing with rage and frustration and he knew he had frightened her. He slipped through the back door with shaking hands and proceeded up the worn stairs.
    Cade entered a small crooked hallway lined with several doors and quickly made his way to the second to last one. He withdrew a key from his pocket; after several failed attempts he managed to stop shaking long enough to insert the key. Once inside, he locked it again. It was the room he’d been living in for several months. It was small and consisted of a bed, chair, table and small window on the far side. There was only a small lamp on the wall, the candle already used up. His belongings were spread messily on the table and he took out his dagger and placed it among them. Then he collapsed into the chair, head in his hands.
    He felt his hands shaking against his face viciously and tried to take deep breaths to calm them. He had overexerted himself again, a dangerous idea so far from home. He body racked with exhaustion and panic. He fought the weak spell threatening to overtake him and tried to organize his thoughts. This was unbelievable. Everything had gone exceedingly wrong. It had been specifically stated that no one was to witness the attack, and that if anyone did they needed to be disposed of immediately. Cade had been distracted by her full nymph aura; she had to be royal, had to have station. He knew there was no way he could have murdered her and gotten away with it; he could only cover himself so much. He was skilled enough to keep himself generally unnoticed but he wouldn’t stand a chance against any trained full blood nymph guard. Most nymphs didn’t use their powers to their full extent, many didn’t even know they possessed powers; but every guard and warrior had spent years honing their skills, and Cade wouldn’t be a match for them, at least not more than two at a time. Homicide left a plethora of emotions behind, fear and anger. That was what was difficult, the act of murder left a mark, a piece of the killer’s aura left behind. No matter what magic the killer used to conceal him or herself, that significant piece could never be hidden. The guards would know exactly what to look for and they’d track him to his death.
    Cade growled into his hands, gripping his hair in frustration. Where had she even come from? How had she appeared on the beach in the middle of the night. He and Daemon both knew how unused the beach was even during the day and tracking and cornering there had seemed like a secure plan. He had been tracking the subject carefully as Daemon hurried ahead in hopes of cornering him on that beach. The plan had been so simple, so easy, and the most unimaginable thing had happened.
    Just then he heard a key fumbling in the lock. In one swift movement Cade snatched his dagger from the table and held it behind him. The door was slammed open and reverberated off the wall with force enough to slap itself shut again. In a few large strides Daemon had his hands around Cade’s neck. Cade could feel rough calluses scratching his skin. As soon as Daemon had a hold Cade swung the blade up from behind him and pushed it pointedly into the side of Daemon’s neck. His cousin froze, eyes flashing. Though barely older than Cade, Daemon’s features were harder. The older he got, the more the human blood in him stood out. His rough human complexion clashed with his Druyd one and the effect was revolting.
    “Daemon, listen to me,” Cade said quietly, holding his cousin’s dull green eyes.
    “No.” Daemon growled, “Do you know what you’ve done?”
    “Daemon -”
    “No!” Cade felt the grip on his neck tighten as Daemon raised his voice, “Are you trying to get us killed?”
    Cade pushed the blade into the soft of Daemon’s neck a little harder, “You know I couldn’t kill her. Don’t be ridiculous.”
    “How could you have been stupid enough to attack him right in front of her!” Daemon’s voice was getting frantic now.
    “I didn’t see her, she was hidden and all my senses were focused on the task,” Cade explained.
    “I don’t care,” Daemon growled, “This is your problem, I refuse to be punished for it. You’re going to go get that girl and dispose of her by tomorrow night or I am going to dispose of you.” He spit angrily into Cade’s face as he spoke, but Cade didn’t flinch. Daemon’s eyes were flashing with fury and Cade knew that his cousin would not hesitate to kill him to save himself; but he also knew that he was Daemon’s only hope of fixing the problem. Daemon lacked the skill and abilities to dispose of the girl safely, Cade was the only one with a chance. Reluctantly, Daemon removed his hands from Cade’s neck and backed up, away from the dagger. “Tomorrow,” he hissed, turning to leave.
    “If I don’t?” Cade retorted testily, placing his dagger across his lap.
    Daemon froze with his hand against the door and without turning said, “You will.” Then he pushed against the door, which flew open and slammed shut.
    Cade felt himself relax in defeat and slumped into the chair. He knew Daemon was right; and he knew that he either got the girl or he’d be dead by tomorrow night.

Author's Note

ANY comments are appreciated. The more specific the better :]

Reviews

[Mary Evans]

Again great work. Your descriptions are amazing. The critique i have is:

"followed the worn stairs upwards." This sounded a bit odd to me.

"He withdrew a small metal key" I think you should use something different than "withdrew"

"room he’d been lying in" Again a bit awkward but it might be just me.

And lastly, you repeat murder and murdered a bit too much in too short a paragraph, i would consider revising and changing some of them with similar word.

Nice ending by the way, cant wait for the next chapter.