It''s nice to be in a town again. This one seems a little deserted, but they have the most exquisite sauna. Too bad I''m stuck with Vene and not Shiroi and Meredith. Though I could probably sneak in and they wouldn''t mind.


    I stare blankly at the wall as I enjoy being steamed like a vegetable. Of course, I’m also thinking about Shiroi and Meredith all soaking wet in the steamy water.


    "You talked to her, in the woods last night, you talked to the the shadow stalker?” Vene asks totally killing my relaxation buzz.


    "Look Vene, I know you''re a mage, but shut the fuck up, I''m trying to relax."


    He looks over at me flustered.


    "Are you serious, you''ve spoken to the soul of an enchanted item, and you just brush that off like it''s nothing!” he yells.


    I punch his shoulder, "hey the sword is one thing, Umbra is a fucking person ok, yeah she makes me nervous, but don''t treat her like she''s a fucking object Mr. Magic."


    Vene raises his hands, "my apologies, I didn''t know she was so attractive that she''d sway you so quickly."


    I punch him in the mouth and walk away.


    "What the fuck Dirk,” he yells.


    I look back at him and roll my eyes.


    "Sorry, that was a compulsive reaction to you not keeping your fucking mouth shut."


    I return to Shiroi and Meredith and lay on a bedroll.  They stare at me strangely. I look up, "what?" They move closer and force me down onto the bedroll. I struggle a little.


    "Dirk, we covered the wagon floor in pelts so we could all rest, you can read us a tome, can''t you?" they say acting giddy.


    Vene steps in with a perverse smile. I bet this was his idea. I’m glad I punched him now.


    I read a tome about a woman and a beast. Vene and Meredith fall asleep. The wagon isn’t very large, but it houses the four of us quite comfortably. I think it might be some spell Vene is using.


    Shiroi cuddles up to me, "read me one more, I long for your voice to lull me to sleep."


    “Just one more, and only because I adore the wonder in your beautiful eyes,” I say with a smile.


    I grab another tome. This one is darker.


    "Zurko, we are routed," Amare yells coughing blood.


    "Amare you should have run!"Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    "I could never abandon you I, I lo-," the sword tore through Amare''s back. She spit blood on the ground as her lungs filled with it. Zurko stood tall; his anger kindled by the loss of the woman he loved. There would be no other. That day he became, The Destroyer.


    Shiroi snores gently on my shoulder, as if purring. Maybe she is purring, or whatever reptiles do. I close the book and pull her close to me. Maybe it''s our loss, our pain that connects us. If that''s so, what has Vene lost? Would it be rude for me to ask him? I pull a pillow and lay it under Shiroi''s arm. I lean down and kiss her cheek before sneaking out of the wagon with my sword.


    I set it on a rock in the moonlight. The clearing is peaceful. I don''t know how to summon her. Maybe she''ll just come to me like before. I sit down crossing my legs as I gaze at the sword. A half hour goes by and I''m ready to give up. That''s when I feel a soft hand on my shoulder.


    "Wow you were really going to sit out here all-night waiting for me to show up?"


    I look up into her golden eyes.


    "If that''s what it took then yes,” I reply.


    Umbra sits down beside me and crosses her legs. Her midnight hair extenuates her beautiful smile which shines like a full moon. Her soft gentle fingers rub across my cheek.


    "You have your mother''s eyes, her bravery too." She laughs, "you''re a bumbling fool like your father when it comes to emotions though."


    I grab her hand, "you''re very attractive for a spirit."


    She blushes.


    "Well, I''m not technically a spirit, though you can trap souls in an enchanted item, I''m not just a soul." She climbs into my lap and smiles, "I am bound to the sword, but I''m not a spirit, the sword is a realm of its own, that''s how it traps the souls of your enemies."


    "You''re alive then, so touching you is real?"


    I run my hands over her hips and she grabs my wrists.


    "You''re cute, and I like you, but maybe now isn''t the time for that." She climbs out of my lap and stands looking over her shoulder. "Don''t worry, if you need me, I''ll be shadowing you."


    She vanishes and I grab the sword. Atleast I know she has my back.


    Wagon wheels patter on the road. Heavy footsteps echo through the woods, soldiers. I crouch behind some bushes and see maybe fifteen soldiers marching around a wagon filled with prisoners. It''s elves, should I get the others? Maybe I can handle this myself. There’s no time, if I don''t strike now, they''ll get away.


    I look into the wagon and a young elf boy holds his sister. Their ears are clipped. Those monsters. I draw my sword, "Umbra, I need you."


    Not a scream, not a single sound as seventeen souls are sent to the afterlife. Blood paints the trail as the horses slow to a stop, their driver deceased. So fast, it happened so fast it almost seems like a fleeting memory.


    "Will you free us, or have you come to sell us off too?" The boy asks trying to drape himself over his sister.


    "I will free you, take weapons from these men, train yourselves to kill."


    "What is your name, who do we thank for our freedom?"


    I turn and look over my shoulder.


    "Just tell them some bastard saved you."


    They are free now, how they use that freedom is up to them. I can''t keep doing that though, there are terrible things in this world. I can''t be reckless every time I see one. I return to my party. Vene steps out of the wagon.


    "You did the right thing, those children, they would have hurt them."


    "I thought you were asleep with the girls Vene, how do you know where I''ve been?"


    He steps over to me and places his paw against my chest. It''s a strange feeling; I''ve never been around a full blooded Neko.


    "I feel the pain in your heart, you long for redemption, for vengeance, to fill a void in your heart." He looks into my eyes, "you''re hurting, you feel loss, I too feel loss." He pulls his paw away, "don''t let the hate and rage control you, if you do, you''ll end up like that crater in the ground."


    "Who did you lose?" I ask grabbing his shoulder.


    He looks away from me, he''s reluctant to speak. It''s a few moments before he says anything.


    "Her eyes were pink, her fur white, when the litter came, they took them all, my kittens, my love, all they left me with was the pain of their absence."