Gathering Storm (The Salvation of Tempestria Book 2) by Gary Stringer (howl and other poems .txt) 📕

meant they would have to get up close and personal if they wanted to kill her. Which was precisely where she wanted them.

She feigned a trip, falling to the ground and the first two were upon her in a heartbeat, swords ready to strike. Fools. They clearly didn’t realise that inside six feet, knives beat swords every time. She rolled underneath their guard and went for their wrists. The one on the left was too slow to react and cried out in horror as the knife opened all the blood vessels. He fell to the ground, desperately trying to staunch the blood flow. The one on the right had quicker reflexes, but Mandalee had still cut through the tendons, causing her to drop her sword, which Mandalee levitated to skewer the next nearest attacker. The first two ended their lives still clutching their wrists.

Down to nine, the remaining warriors were more cautious now. Mandalee was desperate to go and heal Shyleen, but she knew if she left even one of them alive, they would kill her. Then she would be no use to her feline friend.

Retreating into the trees, Mandalee switched to stealth mode, taking care where she stepped, never snapping a twig, never so much as disturbing a single leaf. The breeze made more noise than she did.

She circled the clearing, picking out her next target. One of the nine, perhaps sensing something, strayed a little too close to the treeline and died, silently. None of the others even noticed Mandalee hide the body in the undergrowth. She thought about how Shyleen would approach this if she were here hunting her prey. She would stalk her prey. She would not rush out until the odds were stacked in her favour. So, Mandalee observed her targets and waited until she had a clear plan. Less than two minutes later, and all eight were already dead in her mind. She could see it as clearly as the trees in front of her now. Her enemies had no chance. None. They could not stop her. They were too late. They were already dead. They just didn’t realise it yet. One more breath and it would all be over for them. One more breath was all they had left. They were all looking away from her position. The time was now. They had each taken their last breath.

The assassin burst from cover, silent as a shadow. Two hands, two knives. Vital arteries in two necks were severed. The remaining six started to turn. Too late for two more as their kidneys were punctured. Wasting no time on those who were incapacitated, the assassin dropped to one knee and sliced open two more bellies. They threw down their weapons, futilely trying to stop their insides falling to the ground. The last pair leaned down to grab Mandalee. She could see the look in their eyes. The look she had seen before. Both men thought they had her. They weren’t even going for the kill. They didn’t care about the fifty who had fallen. Their thoughts had already turned to the ‘fun’ they were going to have with the ‘Freak.’

Mandalee allowed herself a smile at the cosmos that had allowed this. She hadn’t planned on making these two the last to fall to her blades, but she was grateful for the providence that made them so. Even as that word formed on their tongues, a knife split them in two and cut open their throats. Taking no risks on leaving an enemy behind her, even if they seemed to be bleeding out, she put them all out of their misery.

Maybe ‘White Assassin’ wasn’t such a terrible title, after all, she reconsidered. This was why she had become an assassin in the first place. She didn’t revel in killing. It wasn’t fun. It wasn’t sport. She just wanted to defend innocent people, protect her friends and be free to live her life as herself. The people who came to this island today had thought they could take that life from her. With that decision, they had forfeited the right to their own lives, and now they would harm no-one ever again.

Wasting no more time on them, Mandalee ran to where she had hidden Shyleen. She was still clinging to life, but she didn’t have long.

Mandalee lifted the leopard’s head and whispered, “It’s OK now, I’m here.”

Mandalee’s magic came from Shyleen, but being so severely injured, she could give no more, so Mandalee immediately set to transferring every drop of energy she had left inside her, giving it up so that Shyleen could live. The Cleric of Nature was already exhausted, so she didn’t have as much to give as she would have liked, but it would just have to be enough because Mandalee had already decided: Shyleen was not going to die today.

A short time later, Mandalee collapsed, unconscious, but just before her world faded, she saw the leopard stand. Her friend, the other half of her soul, she was going to be alright.

Shyleen, fully recovered and knowing what her friend had done, carefully picked Mandalee up by the neck of her body armour, being mindful of where she was putting her teeth, and carried her away, melting into the forest.

Chapter 29

Elsewhere on the island, Daelen caught up with Catriona, who was studying the ground, intently. She had her staff out, and her bow and arrows on her back, prepared to deal with any trouble in the most expedient way possible.

“Have you found her yet?” he asked.

Fear for her friend brought out her sarcastic streak, as she replied, “Yes, Daelen, of course I’ve found her. That’s why I’m standing here, staring at the ground.”

Daelen let that go in favour of trying to offer helpful suggestions. “What about your sympathic connection?”

“It isn’t a tracker,” Cat sighed, regretfully, “or even a direction finder. While Mandalee’s so distressed, it’s hard to get any clear readings from her anyway. Now she’s shut me out.”

“Why would she do that?”

“The last