Chapter 9: A Hunter in the Dark
The alley was narrow and filled with the scent of damp stone and rotting refuse. The soft patter of distant footsteps echoed ahead, drawing Kairos and Erynn deeper into the twisting maze of backstreets. Darkness pooled in the corners where the moonlight could not reach, and every shadow seemed to breathe with quiet menace.
Kairos kept his breathing steady, his body moving instinctively to the rhythm of pursuit. His eyes, sharp despite their usual lazy demeanor, focused on the two figures ahead—the hooded man with ember-like eyes and his silent companion.
"Do you even know what you'll do when we catch up?" Erynn whispered, her voice low but tense.
"Make polite conversation," he quipped, a smirk curling his lips.
Erynn glared. "This isn't a game. Whoever they are, they're dangerous. You saw his eyes."
"I saw them," Kairos admitted. "That's why I need answers. Whatever this is, it's bigger than a few disappearances."
The figures turned a corner. Kairos and Erynn hurried after them, but when they rounded the bend, the alley was empty.
"Gone?" Kairos muttered, scanning the darkness.
Erynn pressed her back against the wall, her hand resting on the hilt of her dagger. "They couldn't have vanished. There must be—"
A sudden movement above.
Kairos ducked just in time as a dark shape dropped from the rooftop. The hooded man landed silently, his cloak billowing like smoke before settling around him. His eyes, twin fires in the shadows, locked onto Kairos with predatory intensity.
"You follow where you do not belong," he said, his voice low and rasping.
Kairos straightened, his hand resting on the pommel of his sword. "And you walk where shadows grow. What are you?"
The man's lips twitched, but it was not a smile. "A warning."
Before Kairos could reply, the second figure appeared behind Erynn, silent as death. A blade flashed, thin and curved, but Erynn moved with practiced speed. Her dagger clashed against the stranger's weapon, sparks dancing in the dark.
"Ambush," she hissed.
Kairos drew his sword in a fluid motion, the steel whispering against the scabbard. He met the hooded man's first strike head-on, their blades clashing with a resounding ring. The force of the blow drove him back a step, his arms vibrating from the impact.
"You've got a heavy hand," Kairos grunted.
"You've got a sharp tongue," the man replied.
Their swords danced in the narrow space, a blur of steel and shadow. Kairos moved with surprising agility, his lazy demeanor melting away as instinct took over. He parried a downward slash, twisting to the side and countering with a quick thrust. The hooded man dodged, his movements unnaturally fluid.
Erynn fought her own battle, her blade flashing in precise arcs as she drove her opponent back. The stranger moved like a ghost, his feet barely touching the ground. Every strike he made was calculated, aiming for the heart with ruthless efficiency.
"Help would be nice," she called over her shoulder.
"I'm a little busy," Kairos shot back.
The hooded man pushed forward, his blade a blur of silver in the moonlight. Kairos blocked the strikes, his feet sliding on the slick cobblestones.
"Why are you attacking us?" Kairos demanded, their swords locked.
"You asked the wrong questions," the man growled.
With a burst of strength, he shoved Kairos back, sending him stumbling. Kairos regained his balance just in time to see Erynn disarm her opponent with a flick of her wrist. The stranger's weapon clattered to the ground, but before she could strike again, he vanished—melting into the shadows as if he had never been there.
"Gone," she muttered.
Kairos didn't have time to react as his own opponent leaped into the air, twisting impossibly high before landing on the rooftop above. The hooded man paused, his ember-like eyes meeting Kairos' one last time.
"Stay out of the dark," he whispered.
Then he was gone.