The village was no longer a sanctuary. Fear thrummed through Sera's veins as she sprinted into her house, her heart pounding a frantic rhythm against her ribs.
"Mother, what's wrong?" Delena's voice, small and trembling, broke the silence.
Sera knelt before her daughter; her voice strained but determined. "We need to leave. Now."
With trembling hands, she opened the wooden wardrobe and began stuffing clothes – mostly Delena's – into a leather bag. Deep within the wardrobe, her fingers brushed against a hidden compartment. With a click, a small pouch filled with their meagre savings popped open. She clutched it in her hand and tossed it into the bag.
"Mother, please tell me what's happening!" Delena pleaded, her eyes wide with confusion and fear.
Sera took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm. "Resi…she…" The words choked in her throat; the image of her neighbour's lifeless body too painful to speak of.
Suddenly, a piercing horn shattered the silence, bouncing off the walls and amplifying Sera's terror. It was the village alarm, a grim signal that someone had discovered Resi's body and alerted the guards. The main gate was likely being shut, sealing them within the village walls.
**********************
Drenched in water, the assassin crawled towards the steep slope that led out of the village. He collapsed onto his knees, stretching his hands towards the rising sun that painted the mountain tops in a fiery glow.
For a year, he had craved this moment. As the sun's warmth seeped into his skin, he closed his eyes, savouring the sensation. This was his redemption, the glorious sunrise he had envisioned countless times.
He opened his eyes, his heart soaring with anticipation. But instead of the expected brilliance, he was met with an impenetrable darkness.
"No!" His cry echoed through the valley, a desperate plea against the impossible.
He repeated the word, his voice raw with anguish. "No! No! Noooo!"
The master's words echoed in his head; a chilling promise turned into a cruel reality. "One right kill," the voice had said, "and you can return back to your world. But if you kill someone else, it will be a loss of others, and so shall you feel the same pain. You'll lose someone too."
He had been so certain of his target. He replayed the scene in his mind – the door opening, the figure emerging from the darkness. Surely it was Sera, who else would be in her house at the break of dawn? But the darkness had shrouded the scene, blurring his vision.
A horrifying realization washed over him. He had killed the wrong woman. And that meant…
A heavy thud landed beside him, a muffled sound like a fallen blanket. He reached out and felt a sharp object against his fingers - a spear point, or perhaps... a beak. "Hewar!" he screamed, his voice raw with terror and despair.