I moved forward with my body low to the ground, every muscle held tight and ready. The guard sighed ahead of me, turning the knife in his hands absently, unaware. I adjusted my angle each time he shifted his weight, keeping myself always at his back. He would not see it coming. It had to be quiet and it had to be fast, before he could send anything through the link to the others.
Ready? I asked Cel.
"Always," she said without hesitation.
I rose from the ground and shifted silently to my human form. I took one slow controlled breath and then dropped my shoulders, hunched my back and staggered across the muddy ground toward him like someone barely keeping themselves upright.
He spun on instinct and his body went into a defensive posture, but when his eyes landed on me the readiness in his face gave way to something colder and more contemptuous. "You? Again? What are you doing back here?"
