Silvery light flooded down from the moon hanging high in the heavens—a beacon above the forest that surrounded Harrow's Edge. The night was draped with immobility—all but for the occasional rustle of leaves and the far-off call of a hooting owl. Adrian and Kiera padded quietly through the underbrush, letting their heightened senses guide them down the darkened paths. The day was spent in preparation for the next move, but as the night wore on, the nature of the mission seemed increasingly daunting.
He turned to Kiera, who strode ahead purposefully. Her face had set into a mask of determination, her eyes darting about, scanning-Adrian felt-the surrounding environs for signs of perils. "Are you sure this is the right place?" Adrian asked, his voice barely in a whisper.
Kiera nodded. "Elaine said this is where we'd find the informant. He's supposed— oh no. He supposedly has crucial information about Silas and his plans, but be on guard; if Elaine's intel is true, we could very well be walking into a trap."
Adrian tightened his grip around his knife's handle. "We have to be prepared for anything. We can't afford, for a moment, to show some leeway, if Silas does have eyes in the dark.".
They came to a small clearing, and there, at the far side, was the crumbling cabin. Almost hidden behind tendrilled weeds, it looked deserted. The wood of the walls was old and gray; Kiera indicated for Adrian to halt. Then she abruptly dropped low, her eyes narrowing on the cabin.
"Be quiet," she whispered, "we do not want to alert anyone until we are ready."
Adrian nodded, padding silently behind Kiera as they closed in on the cabin. The moonlight touched the front of the cabin, exposing it in its soft light: a small window with cracked glass and a door a little ajar. Kiera stepped forward and her hand madly reached for the handle.
But before she could touch it, the sudden noise sent both frozen. Somewhere behind them, a twig snapped, followed by the sound of muffled footsteps. Adrian's heart pounded in his chest as he tried with all his might to peer into the darkness.
Kiera's hand signalled silence from Adrian, and she pulled out a weapon-a neat, silver blade with a leather-wrapped handle. She leaned around the cabin corner, eyes sharp, aware.
The steps grew louder, and a figure came closer to the light source from the shadows: a tall, broad-shouldered man in dark clothing with his face hidden by the hood, emphasized by a big duffel on his shoulder. His movements were slow in a way that reeked of deliberation, extreme caution with every step, as if he knew eyes were watching at that exact moment.
Adrian and Kiera exchanged a knowing look of concern. The man was obviously waiting for someone-or something. Kiera clutched her gun tighter, motioning again to Adrian behind her as they moved around toward the back of the cabin, so they wouldn't be seen.
They watched in silence as the man strode up to the cabin and, sidling in, vanished into darkness. Kiera gave a wave of her hand, indicating that Adrian was to stay put, and easing cautiously nearer the window, peered inside. The cabin was poorly lighted by one lantern its flame dancing shadows around the room.
Indoors, the man was speaking to another figure: an older woman with aquiline features and a forbidding expression. Kiera recognized her immediately: Elaine's contact—the informant they were supposed to rendezvous with. The two spoke in low tones, but the note of urgency in their voices was unmistakable.
We have to hurry," the informant said very seriously. "Silas has gotten very busy. If we don't get this out, it'll be too late."
The older woman nodded. "I have arranged a meeting with some key allies, but we must be very careful. Silas's spies are everywhere.
Kiera exchanged a look with Adrian; her expression was taut. "This is it. We need to get in there and find out what's going on."
Adrian nodded and they began to pry open a small window in the back of the cabin. Kiera slipped inside first, although Adrian was quick to follow her. They landed softly on the wood floor, barely making a sound with their feet. The room was cluttered with old furniture and dusty selves, but their focus went directly to the two figures at the center of the room.
The informant had a map laid out on the table. "This is where Silas is focusing the majority of his attention," he said, pointing to several locations with red Xs marked on them. "He's hitting major supply routes and working to sever support to competing packs through them.
The old woman frowned, worry written across her face. "He will break the packs, and they will make easy meat for his designs if he is successful. We need to warn the others and get ready for mutual protection.".
Kiera and Adrian sidled closer, unnoticed in the conversation's quiet tension. Adrian began to eye around the room – the details of the map, the urgency of their discussion – and he was about to signal to Kiera when the door to the cabin creaked open.
It was the same figure in the hood as before, but this time his face was half-illuminated in the light of the lantern. He suspiciously looked around the room, his glare finally stopping on the informant and the older woman.
"Somehow, this doesn't feel right," growled the hooded man in a low threatening tone. "I believe I felt someone following me just now. Can you be absolutely sure that you are not watched?
The eyes of the older woman opened widely, and she looked at the informant apprehensively. "What do you mean? We have been careful."
The informant's face went white. "We must leave now. If Silas's men are onto us, then we are in danger.
Panic set in the room as the informant began gathering up the papers and maps. Kiera and Adrian knew they had to think fast. Kiera, in a split second, made the decision and stepped towards the back of the room, grabbing a metal pipe off the shelf.
With the informant and the older woman hastening in their preparation to leave, Kiera queued Adrian to cause a diversion. Adrian moved out into the open, and the lantern swayed with his weight, casting long shadows across the room.
"Who's there?" he demanded. His voice rose high with alarm.
Adrian's heart was pounding in his chest as he stepped forward and locked eyes with the hooded figure. "We're the ones you're looking for."
Kiera was a lot faster to react as the room erupted with chaos at the lunge of the hooded figure towards Adrian. She swung the metal pipe at him, catching him right across his back; he fell, yet his reflexes were not bad. With a knife pulled from his belt, he charged towards Kiera.
Adrian and Kiera fought furiously, their actions measured. The informant and the old woman tried to flee, but something blocked their way. Furiously wrestling with each other, the small cabin seemed to close in on them—or so it felt.
In the end, it was Kiera who managed to wrest the weapon from the would-be murderer with a quick move and force the issue, bringing him to the ground. Adrian bound him tightly with some cord they found in the cottage, and both were panting hard, their breaths weighted and thick.
The older woman just stared at them, Kiera and Adrian, in the eyes a mix of disbelief and relief. "You were right. There were spies."
The informant looked up at them with a shine in his eye. "Thanks for stepping in. It was about to get hot there, for real."
Kiera nodded, her face set. "We need to pull out of here and recharge. There is so much still to be done.
They left the cabin, moving out into the cool night air, their situation growing heavier as they moved along. The threat from Silas and his spies somehow seemed ten times closer than it ever had in the past, as did what they had just learned, making their mission that much more crucial.
He turned to Kiera with a set determination upon his face. "We have to get this information to Elaine and start planning our next work."
To which, Kiera was nodding as she spoke further, "There's no room for delay further; every moment is very important."
The night was nowhere near over, and danger lurked ahead. Yet, Adrian and Kiera became dead set on stopping Silas and protecting their pack. With every step deeper, the woods seemed to close in around them, darkening the world, yet their resolution was a sure flame.
The stakes were very high, but that was just the beginning. Yet, the tougher the new challenge would be, Adrian and Kiera would also be tougher, bound by their mission to take a stand against invisible predators that threatened their world.