The Search

The Search
Anger was gone, leaving the sadistic smile on Agnes’s lips as a cold, shocking feeling enveloped her heart and squeezed the life out of it. She felt her heart racing and her body stiffening, The fear seeping into her and then choking her as it surrounded her chest. His breath momentarily hitched and she remembered the danger she had led Cyrus into. The burden of the mistake almost suffocated her as it pressed against her chest ready to overpower her.

Fear kicked in making her drive like a woman possessed. She hurried out of the tent, forgetting the pain it the wound inflicted on her by Xeik. The sound of her bare feet striking the sound like that of a death rattle. She kicked up sand as she went moving about madly. Each tent looked like it was a never-ending maze; after a few moments, she glanced around searching for a figure as distinctive as Theo’s.

The silence gave her a feeling that the atmosphere was suffocating on her. Agnes stepped into the armory tent enraged and with determination and the sound of metal touching metal took over the eerie quiet. She saw a knight getting more weapons, a quiver of arrows, and swords. He was dripping with sweat from his forehead to his lips when though the weather was cool.

Still, no sign of Theo; Agnes felt heavy as died inside out. She did not stop; her search led her away from the camp of Ghysem into the warzone. The noises of the battle increased, and the stench of blood and sweat filled its presence.

The battle lay out in front of her eyes: a confusion of crossed blades and pained screams. They cut their blades on the opponent’s steel and the clanging was accompanied by a grim harmony as blood colored the ground. Fear for Cyrus grew sharply in Agnes and her heart recoiled.

Where was Theo? She spotted him, his figure cutting through the chaos with a singular purpose, his sword slicing through the mayhem. Theo bolted towards her as he noticed her standing with no weapons, his mind racing with dread.

"My lady, what are you doing here?"

"Cyrus," she murmured trembling.

Hurriedly, theo threw her onto a horse and climbed behind her then began to spur away from the battleground. He could not let anything happen to his best friend's mate, not this time again.

"You should not have come out there, unarmed especially. You are meant to be getting adequate rest."

"Cyrus," she said, her lips trembling. 

"What happened to Cyrus?" Theo asked, panic settling in his heart. "Where is he?"

"He went to the enemy camp. He has gone to avenge my mother. They could easily kill him."

Theo's eyes widened in surprise and fear, "Stay right here Agnes, and get some rest, I shall find him."

"Please do," she said, her body shaking. 

"Get some rest, my lady," Theo said, leading her back to her tent. Then he left hurriedly on his horse back to the battlefield, cutting down every soldier in his way until he got to the camp. 

The enemy camp was a dark sight lying ahead, where worn-out tents of dark cloth flapped resentfully of death awaiting someone. Southern soldiers where they fell, all contorted in the cold, stiff stances of death with the evil which they had seen carved on their faces. Theo moves through the area carefully, fear pounding in his heart. 

The first tent he entered revealed a grisly sight: Xeik lay dead on the ground, a black veil around his wrist, as if branded. His chest revealed where a sword had gone through. Panic and utter revulsion washed through Theo as he wondered what had happened.

He became suffocated, as if poisoned by the smell of death as he looked at the horrified face of Lord Xeik with vacant, dull eyes, vastly pale, and his lips unconscious, twisted with pain. There was sweat on his pallid cheeks. Theo’s thoughts whirled — he was completely at a loss to make sense of it.

He went on, looking frantically into each tent, the determination in his eyes increasing with the seconds that elapsed. He was panting profusely with his sword held prominently. His guts shrinking in his stomach; what had happened to Cyrus?

His heart sang with relief when he spotted Cyrus coming out of a tent, although he was covered in blood. "Cyrus!" Theo shouted for him quickly running to his aid.

Cyrus glanced up his features etched with fatigue, bewilderment, horror, and deception. His eyes said a thousand words, in his face, one could read a novel.

“Theo, Lady Asher is the Black Veil,” he said absorbingly, the words coming from him with absolute certainty. Theo’s bewildered expression resembled that of shock, and which was apparent to have struck the great Cyrus at some point.

Cyrus slowly moved closer to Theo, his hands and voice were shaking. "I saw her with my own eyes. She's responsible for all those deaths." 

"She killed Lord Xeik as well?" Theo asked. 

"No, she was about to but I stopped her, and she ran. I killed Xeik myself. Lady Asher is responsible for King Ares's death as well... He also mentioned something about Castilla."

"Where is she?"

"She is gone. I've searched the whole camp for her."

"Let us return to our camp," Theo advised. "Agnes has been worried. On the way, we might see Lady Asher as well. She can't have gone far."

"Let us search the tents once more. There are some men that still need to be finished off," Cyrus said. 

Together they went, slashing at any enemy soldier that was in the way. Their movements were swift and deadly.

But even these attempts did not help in getting close to Lady Asher. One tent after the other they ravaged hoping to capture the infamous assassin or at least get something left behind by hee. For a while the only sound that filled the air was the mocking, silent: cackle of the Black Veil.