“Let’s get out of here.”

  Kost crunched on his last apple as he watched the end of the drama unfolding in front of him.

  “Kids these days are so dramatic.” He muttered, shaking his head with mock disappointment. From his perch atop the mound of dirt, he had a perfect view—like a man enjoying the final act of a play he hadn’t paid to see.

  Below him, the little group stood framed by fog and corpses. The monster looked exhausted, barely upright. The girl’s voice trembled when she spoke, her hands shaking as she turned away. The other one—the quiet one carrying the old shopkeeper—didn’t say much.

  It had been so interesting to see them rescue the old man. How neither the captain nor the hag had noticed anything, so busy were they tearing the monster-turned-young-man a new one.

  He bit into his apple again, the crunch muffled by his magic.

  He stayed there for a short while after the group split—the girl wandering back into the city, the others heading north with the old man in tow.

  Only once the graveyard had gone still again did he drop lightly from his perch, landing without a sound. The shimmer around his body flickered and faded, revealing a lean man in travel-stained clothes and a dark cloak.

  “Well, that was something.” He scratched the stubble on his chin and took another thoughtful bite. “Now what do I tell the captain?”

  Kost chewed slowly, eyes wandering over the fog-drenched grave as if the corpses might answer for him.

  “Eh, I’ll figure it out.” He shrugged.

  He brushed the dirt from his cloak and turned to leave. His invisibility shimmered back to life around him, bending the air until he melted back into it. By the time he reached the cobbled road, even the sound of his footsteps had been erased, his form undetectable.

  The city was quiet at this hour. Kost kept to the rooftops as he made his way back, occasionally pausing to toss a gnawed apple core into the shadows below.

  “You know,” He said to no one in particular, “All in all, today was not a bad day. I learned something new. A sentient, empathetic monster, huh?”

  He chuckled softly as he walked deeper into the city.

  The estate loomed ahead—its walls cracked, gardens scorched, blood and gore strewn everywhere. The faint hum of repair wards clung to the air, masking the damage with shimmering illusions that fooled no one.

  ‘Serves them right.’ Kost snorted. ‘Arrogant pricks.’

  Having come from poverty himself, Kost had a pronounced aversion to the nobility; the three main families in particular, grated him to the bone.

  ‘Still though, they really did a number on him, poor guy.’ He considered the viscera scattered across the ruins of the gazebo. ‘I’m impressed he could keep fighting after all that, incredible healing powers or no.’

  The fight had been incredible to watch. Well, calling it a fight was a bit of a stretch. It truly had been a while since Kost had last seen a beatdown of such legendary proportions, and the first time he had seen one all delivered to one being.

  ‘Most things don’t survive against the captain long enough to get there.’ He mused.

  Shrugging again, he finally made his way into the gargantuan mansion, passing by the guards stationed at the door with them being none the wiser.

  Inside, the mansion was a mess. The servants rushed around in every direction, no doubt to fulfil five conflicting orders from ten different people. Kost strolled through it all with his hands in his pockets, humming tunelessly until he reached the study.

  The Miganos family head and his captain were already there.

  The hag looked awful, the strain of channelling that much magic for so long having taken its toll, formation or no formation. She seemed almost frail as she sat there, a poor, bullied grandma, not one of the most powerful mages in the city.

  Adamantios was sprawled out across a groaning armchair across from her, his armour filthy and scratched, but otherwise unharmed.

  “Kost.” The captain said without looking up. “I trust you bring news.”

  “I do.” Kost sighed with resignation, dropping his invisibility. “Bad news, though. The monster’s gone.”

  Adamantios turned his head slightly, eyes narrowing. “It got away from you?”

  “Of course.” Kost said. “Chased it through half the city. Thought I had it cornered near the walls, but it vanished. Fast one, that thing. I’d say teleportation, maybe phasing. Either way, I lost it.”

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Lucia’s gaze flicked up. “And the accomplices?”

  The vice-captain shrugged, his voice just regretful enough to sound sincere. “Didn’t find any. If they were there, they covered their tracks well. No idea how they got away.”

  Adamantios’s jaw tightened. “You’re telling me you lost sight of a creature that was half-dead and unaware of your existence?”

  Kost raised an eyebrow, leaning against a nearby cabinet. “Unaware of my existence? Sure. Half dead? Not quite. It took both of you hammering away at it for the better part of an hour to drive it to escape; I’ll believe it’s dying when I see it.”

  Lucia’s pen scratched slowly across parchment, then stopped. “Unacceptable. It was within your grasp, and you let it slip. You had plenty of opportunities to jump in and finish the job.”

  “Firstly, I don’t take orders from you.” Kost smiled faintly. “And secondly, did I? Because from what I recall, the entire garden was on fire, the air was cutting holes through people, and the ground was coming apart. I’m good, family head, but I’m not that good.”

  The old woman’s lips thinned. “In the end the fault still lies in you two. Not only did you-” She flicked her eyes at the captain, “-interfere with my plans, you also stepped in several times to prevent me from killing it. Your insistence on taking the creature into custody has directly led to its escape, and now I’m the one who will have to pay for it!”

  Kost raised an eyebrow at the sudden outburst, exchanging a glance with his captain.

  “You will have to pay for it?” He tilted his head. “How so?”

  “That is not your concern.” The woman immediately clammed up.

  His second eyebrow raced up to join the first. “Interesting…” The vice-captain muttered.

  Lucia glared at him for a moment longer, then turned away, her attention snapping back to the stacks of paperwork on her desk, though he was pretty sure most of it was for show.

  “I will be filing a formal complaint with the Acropolis when this is all over.” She said stiffly. “I’d like you to leave now. Both of you.”

  Kost gave a mock salute. “As you wish, family head.”

  Adamantios rose from his chair, still saying nothing. His expression was unreadable as they left the study together.

  They didn’t speak until they’d exited the estate. The captain walked ahead in silence, his boots striking the ground with measured rhythm. Kost followed behind, hands in his pockets.

  When they reached the barracks, Adamantios finally spoke. “My office. Now.”

  Kost waved his hand. “After you.”

  Inside, the office was as orderly as always; clean, bare and pragmatic, just like its owner. Kost collapsed into his favourite armchair while Adamantios closed the door.

  “Ahh, that’s the stuff.” He moaned in comfort. “It’s nice to sit down after a whole day of running around the city. I’m taking a well-deserved nap.”

  And just like that he closed his eyes. For a time, neither spoke. The only sound was the faint creak of the chair as Adamantios also settled behind his desk.

  Kost cracked open an eye.

  The captain wasn’t moving. He sat perfectly still behind his desk, hands folded, gaze fixed on Kost like a statue carved out of disapproval.

  The silence stretched.

  Kost shifted, faked a snore, then cracked open an eye again. The man was still staring.

  He sighed and sat up. “You’re no fun, you know that? You could at least pretend to believe me.”

  The captain leaned back slightly, his voice taking on a serious edge. “Your report.”

  Kost slumped with a faint smile. “What gave me away?”

  “You know the answer to that.” The large man gave a resigned sigh. “You are far too skilled to let something like that happen. You could track a worm through the dirt, much less a blood covered monster that was rushing blindly through the city. I’d sooner believe that the dead could be brought to life than the fact that it gave you the slip.”

  “Sorry, what?” The rogue cupped his ear. “My ears aren’t what they used to be. Could you repeat that?”

  “No.”

  Kost sighed dramatically. “So mean.”

  “Are you done?” Adamantios asked flatly.

  “For now,” Kost muttered, slouching deeper into the chair. “You’re really ruining my fun.”

  Adamantios leaned forward. “Now, what actually happened?”

  “Fine.” Kost sat up, his expression turning serious. “I followed it, saw where it went.”

  “And?”

  “And it managed to make it out the central city no problem, though it collapsed on the other side of the Acropolis.” Kost scratched his chin. “I watched it change back into its human form, at which point it acted… very un-monster like. I’m honestly under the impression that instead of the human form being a disguise, it’s the monster one that’s not normal.”

  “And why did you decide to let it go?” Adamantios asked.

  Kost leaned back, folding his arms behind his head. “Because I wanted to. Because it didn’t feel right. Because I don’t think a monster would go out of its way—risk its life—just to rescue some old man it met less than a fortnight ago.”

  “That’s not your decision to make.”

  “And yet, I was the only one in a position to make it.” Kost shot back, eyes glinting. “You and the hag spent so long trying to kill it and still couldn’t do anything.”

  But the grin faded when Adamantios didn’t respond. The captain wasn’t angry. He just looked… tired.

  “This isn’t over.” Adamantios said finally. “Whatever that thing is, it’s dangerous.”

  “Dangerous?” Kost tilted his head. “Sure, but so am I. So are you. It’s not mindless. You saw that. It cared for someone. It hasn’t gone on a killing spree.”

  “Yet.” The word hung between them like a blade. “You also watched it suck up that guard’s blood as it ran. Do you honestly believe that a being like that could be good?”

  Adamantios stood and crossed to the small cabinet against the wall. He pulled out a sealed scroll, set it on the desk, and dipped a quill into ink.

  “What’s that?” Kost asked.

  “A warning.”

  “Ah.” Kost nodded. “For whom?”

  “For everyone.” The captain said. “I’ll have it sent to the Acropolis. By tomorrow, every city in the region will know there’s something out there that can heal like that, that can think.” He began to write, his pen scratching hard against parchment. “They’ll be ready if it ever shows its face again.”

  Kost watched him for a moment longer, then shrugged. “I guess that’s a good idea.”

  The captain didn’t reply.

  When he finished writing, he pressed his seal into the wax and handed the scroll to Kost. “Give this to the courier. And don’t pull any of your usual bullshit. This is serious, and I need you to actually do your job this time.”

  “Sure thing, boss.” Kost wiped the playful expression off his face. “It’ll be done.”

  He turned to leave but paused at the door. “You know, for what it’s worth, I don’t think I made a mistake by letting it go. Something tells me it could be a valuable asset in the future.”

  “I hope you’re right.” Adamantios said quietly.

  The rogue gave a lazy salute over his shoulder. “See you later, captain.”

  Then he was gone, the door clicking shut behind him.

  Outside, the city stirred awake. Bells rang faintly from a temple, and somewhere far off, a courier’s horse began to gallop.