Moirai

The room was eerily silent.

“Good,” Collins continued. “I need two sets of patrols. One to head west and the other to protect Shadow. The last thing we need to do is send our best soldiers away from town, leaving ourselves vulnerable.” His eyes landed on Joshua and myself. “We're down two members already. I'm not crazy about putting either of you on patrol but we need the extra manpower right now.”

“I'm fine with it.” I knew it would be a good first assignment. There'd be plenty of council members to back me up and it would involve real hands-on fighting, not training. There was something to be said about truly experiencing a situation and not just planning for one. I could feel the anticipation bubbling beneath my skin, itching to tear its way out.

Collins glanced at Joshua, waiting for his answer.

“I'd prefer to be on patrol in Shadow, if I get a choice.” His answer surprised me.

“We can do that,” Collins quickly agreed. “Olivia, Cate, Aidan, and Maya: I want you to go west and track the outlaw. Joshua, Elsa, Hazel, and I will stay and keep Shadow safe.”

I glanced at Joshua, seeing the steely look on his face. He didn't look pleased that Collins had chosen me to accompany the others beyond the town’s border. “What are our instructions if we find the outlaw?” I needed to know we had permission to kill him, if necessary.

“We don't take prisoners, Olivia,” Collins remarked. “It's evident that whoever is out there is a brutal, merciless killer. Do whatever is necessary to protect yourselves, each other, and this town. Come back with the body and we'll burn it. Dead or alive.”

Joshua looked slightly pale. I ignored him. For once, I couldn't disagree with Collins’ decision. I'd seen the deceased in the grass just outside of town. Adelaide had been covered in blood; I hadn't even asked her if she'd witnessed what happened. Now, I wish I had. Our town was bathed in the shadows, kept in secret from outsiders. I wasn't always in agreement with their methods but this time I didn't stray from Collins’ decision. I'd seen what one outlaw was capable of and didn't want havoc wreaked on Shadow.

The four of us wasted no time in strapping on gear and heading out together just past the edge of town. The few times I'd ventured west, it was always alone and without telling anyone where I was going. It felt strange, particularly with Cate at my side, Maya leading the pack and Aidan in the rear. Maya was the most skilled of the four of us, having been our instructor during training, and also an incredibly skilled tracker. I directed her to where the body had been. The grass was brown and dead, smashed to the ground and coated in red. Clearly, the body had been here. I hoped Collins and the others had provided a proper burial.

Cate glanced around, shifting the bow she carried over her shoulder uncomfortably, letting out a sigh as she shuffled her feet. I couldn't tell if she didn't like being out here away from Shadow or the fact that a crazed outlaw killing people was on the loose. “Which way?” She sounded bored, distracted.

Maya examined the dormant winter grass, noting footprints leading north. “This way.” She gestured.

“Any idea how far he could have gotten?” I asked, patting my hip, feeling the dagger sheathed at my side. In all my training, I'd succeeded best at hand-to-hand combat. I had no idea why. I was smaller in size than most of the guys and had far less experience fighting. It didn't matter though: something with the Mindonsiphan had made me special. It had enhanced my ability to fight, or so Maya had once explained to me.

“Not everyone can be like Cate with a bow,” Maya quipped as she handed me a set of daggers. “Rumor has it you're pretty good against the guys in a brawl.”

“Am I?” I hadn't thought about it. I wasn't bad at blocking, but there were other things I was bad with; for instance, I could not start a fire if my life depended on it. Jaxon could make fire with his hands. I couldn't even make fire with two sticks or stones, or whatever you were supposed to start a fire with. Some talents couldn't be achieved, not that I cared.

“Come here.” Maya gestured me to come closer. “I want you to give me everything you've got.” She wanted me to fight her. I wasn't ready for it. I'd been here three months and spent every waking hour training with the different council members. No longer was I supposed to refer to them as recruits. They weren't recruits and neither was I. It felt strange, different, but I got used to it.

“You want me to fight you?” It wasn't that I thought I had a chance in hell I'd win, I just didn't think she'd be interested in going up against me. Maya was the best instructor. Out of all the council, she'd had the most training and the most experience in years. I had learned to expect a win against the boys.

Maya smiled, “I've heard things: I want to see them for myself. I'll start easy, I promise,” she offered.

I wanted to scoff at her, and tell her she didn't need to go easy on me. The reality was I hated hand-to-hand combat. It was tough, especially when I was paired against Jaxon or Aidan. Both boys were twice my size and had much greater physical strength because of it. I hadn't lost against either of them in two weeks though. I'd gotten quicker with my movements. I wasn't great at offense but I had a strong and mean defense.

Standing in the gymnasium, I could see the floor was covered with blue padding for today's exercise. I stepped closer to Maya, albeit reluctantly; I didn't hesitate. Her hand came out at me and I blocked her attempt at a hit. Had I not, she'd have certainly slammed me in the face. She did the same motion with her left hand, and again another block. She moved quicker and I matched her movements just as quickly. “Break,” she called and I stopped. She grabbed some water and I did the same, downing it before we got ready to continue. “I want you to use this,” she told me, handing me a dull blade. It wouldn't kill a bug, except for maybe the handle if you squashed it. “Get the hang of the weight and feel,” she informed me.

“I've used one before.” I took it from her, having a look at it. It didn't feel any different than the daggers I'd practiced throwing at a target.

Maya nodded knowingly. “I'm aware, but this one is made especially for you. We have a dagger the exact same weight and size, just sharp enough to kill. Use that one successfully today and you can have a real one.”

I didn’t know if she was serious or not. My mouth hung agape as she came at me. I had to react quickly and spun out of the way only to find her holding her own training dagger, her hand at my stomach. She'd have gutted me if this had been a real fight.

“Try again,” Maya insisted.

This time I was prepared for her movements. I knew the way she fought. She came up like she had before, her fist preparing to smack me in the face. I didn't let it. I blocked her blow and used my legs to trip her down onto the ground. I wasted no time in pinning her, the training blade at her throat.

“Good.” She smiled up at me. “Seems the boys are right about you; we should have given you the dagger sooner.”

Maya kept her head trained down, watching the path. Every so often she'd glance up, making sure she didn’t miss something important, I had to assume. Or perhaps she kept an eye out for the outlaw. “He could be a few hours ahead of us, on foot.” She glanced back at me before she continued tracking the trail he'd left. “There are no towns nearby and I'm positive he spotted our town. He probably headed far enough north to make camp, rest for the day, and I'm guessing tonight he'll head into Shadow when we least expect it.”

Aidan laughed darkly. “Sure, let him step into town. It'll be the last step he ever takes.”

Cate slowed down, walking alongside Aidan. “Never took you for the violent type.” I could hear the cheer in her voice. “Guess it makes sense: you did try and take off Joshua's head.”

Aidan's jaw dropped on the floor. “That was completely planned,” he justified his actions, though I wasn't sure if it was more to me than anyone else. “Collins and Maya put me up to it. This is different.” Aidan reiterated, “This crazy lunatic is out here killing people. We were lucky it wasn't someone from Shadow, which begs the question, who was it and how did two people find us?”

Maya held up a hand, telling us all silently to remain quiet and stop walking. We did as instructed and waited for her hand to come down and for her to speak first. “He's not far from here. I can smell the campfire.”

I took a deep breath in, but couldn't smell anything but fresh air. I lowered my voice, careful that wherever he was, he couldn't hear us, especially if it was a trap. “What's our plan?”

Cate's eyes narrowed. “You heard Collins: we kill him.”

I shifted awkwardly on my feet. I knew disagreeing would cause an uproar but I had to give my opinion