Jan and Hund stood still for a moment, scanning the forest with hard eyes.
Hund's jaw tightened, his knuckles white around the hilt of his sword. He spat out a curse under his breath, the frustration plain in his voice.
"Damn it… I lost him!"
Jan frowned, lifting two fingers to his temple. His lips moved silently as he channeled a spell.
A faint shimmer of light flickered across his irises and his vision expanded, piercing deeper into the shadows between the trees.
Every branch, every fluttering leaf, every creeping insect was laid bare before him but there was no sign of the assassin remained.
"He's gone," Jan muttered at last, his voice low. "That shadow form carried him too far and too fast. He's not anywhere near us anymore."
Hund slammed his sword back into its scabbard with a sharp clang.
"God damnit! Who the hell was that? That spell… when he turned into black smoke. It wasn't something ordinary. He muat be came from a strong group."
