All I see is death under the perpetual orange twilight that is the setting sun. I rush past screaming women and children being chased down by blood-covered knights. Bounty hunters fight back, cutting through the knight's front line and charging towards the closed iron gates of the fourth ring of the city. Arrows rain down while bounty hunters conjure magical shields to protect themselves.
An opening appears in the main contact point between both sides, and I dash through to the gate. A long shadow is cast by the wall just through the bars of the gate. I step onto the shadow of a nearby knight, but before I can shadow step, a large black panther-like creature with a silver stripe on its back tackles the knight to the ground. I watch, horrified, as the creature rips through the knight's armor with its powerful jaws and begins eating him alive.
"Hey, I recognize you." I whip around to my right. A stunningly beautiful senat woman, with all red and white skin and 2 small horns growing out of her extremely curly black hair, which drops down just above her shoulders, stands over another knight. A khopesh is held to his throat.
She has eyes that are darker than black, leathery wings that stretch out from holes in the back of her silver armor, and a heart-shaped tail that flicks around behind her. On her neck is a tattoo of three lines with curved ends stacked upon each other. In one fluid motion, she slices the knight's head off and turns to face me.
"You're one of those people who were traveling with Glimmer, right?" She starts tapping her chin and walks towards me. "What did Vanhiel say your name was again? Whispershade? Shadowclaw?"
"Whisperclaw." I correct her, baring my fangs.
"Ah, such fire. I do enjoy that." She smirks and sticks her hand out. "I'm Eudora. It's great to finally meet you."
I jump back as the panther-like creature brushes past me. It looks back with its big blue eyes and stalks over to Eudora, who begins massaging its belly.
"No need to be afraid, dear, it's just Lucky." She laughs, the creature licking her face.
"What do you want?" I look for a shadow to step on.
"Nothing much, dear. I didn't think I'd run into you, quite honestly." Her grin is growing with every second that passes. "Ash was supposed to capture you and the knight, but I guess things got messy, and he let you escape. That's so like him, leaving some scraps for me. I don't know why I was surprised."
A knight steps between me and Eudora, looking between both of us. I go for his shadow, only to side step out of the way while Lucky leaps onto his head, ripping into it. The mutilated knight collapses to the ground, his shadow disappearing underneath. She's doing this on purpose, I think, commanding her pet to keep me from escaping.
"So, what? Are you going to try to capture me now?" She's starting to piss me off.
"Precisely. I did want to know something first, though." Her grin is a full-blown smile now. "Where are the other three?"
Time for talking is over. I try to dash towards her, but Lucky leaps in front of me, snarling. It takes a swipe at me with one of its massive paws. I duck underneath it and go for its shadow. Right as my foot touches the darkness, Lucky ducks and Eudora's boot slams into my face. The kick knocks me off Lucky's shadow and onto my back. I scramble to my feet, but Lucky is already pouncing, knocking me back down. Eudora stomps towards my head. I manage to shift just enough to avoid the hit.
Lucky bites the front of my already tattered cloak and throws me across the battlefield. Eudora swings her khopesh while I'm still in midair. A set of clouds drifts over the moon in that same moment, darkening everything. I use the opportunity to teleport into Eudora's shadow, stabbing her in the crease of her shoulder plates in her armor. Her shadow shifts from under me, and I lean back, narrowly avoiding the edge of her khopesh as she completes her swing. I pull my dagger out and go for another stab, but Lucky snatches Eudora away like one of its cubs.
"You bitch!" Eudora screams. "That fucking hurt!"
"Eudora? Is everything alright?" A voice says, obscured by static, drawing my attention to a wooden ring in Eudora's ear. "Hold tight. I'm sending Fraken to back you up."
"No! I'm fine! I just-" I cut her off, dashing towards her and closing the gap between us in mere seconds. I aim for her armor straps this time.
Eudora shifts backwards. This gives Lucky enough space to shift in front of her, slashing me across my arm in the same motion. The weight of its paw sends me skidding across the cobblestone road.
"No! Bad, Lucky!" Eudora shouts furiously. "Vanheil wants her alive!"
The bounty hunters have broken through to the fourth ring now. I take one look at Lucky and sprint towards the gate. A pale, human man, with a frizzy black and white afro, wearing a blood-covered white coat, steps in front of me. I know I need to keep running, but to where? I still haven't found Glimmer's location, and I can't leave Renald. Plus, only the Gods know where Ironvine and the others are. While I'm lost in thought, the man, with surprising speed, draws a syringe filled with gray liquid. He runs to me, stabbing at my stomach. I catch his hand, dropping my daggers in the process.
"You are a fine specimen." Drool pours from his lips.
I kick him back, knocking the syringe onto the road and shattering it. The contents spill onto the cobblestone. I feel a sharp pain cut down my back. I whip around to see Eudora, furious, standing behind me with blood dripping from her khopesh. I try to tackle her, but Lucky slams me to the ground. This time, he bites down on my neck, albeit softly.
"Leave, Fraken! I've got this one! She's mine!" Eudora yells.
I slash Lucky across the stomach with my claws. It lets go of my throat and howls in pain, giving me the chance to roll from underneath it and onto my feet. I flex my claws out, fangs baring.
"Are you sure about that?" Fraken stabs Lucky in the butt with another syringe, this one filled with a golden liquid.
Lucky's whimpers of pain disappear along with the deep gash across his stomach. I suck my teeth. Retreat is the only option. There are shadows all around me, but I can't think of where to go. Heading into the fourth ring will likely mean running towards danger, but Renald said he would meet me inside. Do I trust him? What if he doesn't make it?
"Damn the Gods. Just this once, you can help, and only because we have to keep with the deadline." Eudora glares at me, irritation replacing her once-smug expression. I smirk. Maybe I can beat them. I just have to take out Fraken first, since he can heal the others.
Lucky lunges towards me, getting within range faster than before. It smacks me across the side of the head when I try to leap away, knocking me towards Eudora and Fraken. Eudora jumps into the air and lands on me. I hear my ribs crack, my breath escapes me. She hops off and kicks me over to Fraken, who grins down at me. As I land, I donkey kick. He catches my legs with inhuman speed, trying to jam another syringe into my thigh. I use his arms as a platform to sit up, slamming my head into his own. Pain shoots through my head, ribs, and back as Fraken drops both me and the syringe.
"What are you so scared of? We already have your friend." Fraken says, licking the blood dripping from his forehead, "Don't fight it. I don't want to hurt you any more than I have to."
He injects himself in the neck with a syringe filled with purple liquid. His veins bulge and his eyes fill with the same liquid. Fraken disappears. A hand flashes. Then — black.