Knights lounged lazily against a crumbling stone wall on the outskirts of the market district, their spears propped carelessly beside them. The night air carried the distant hum of the city and the faint scent of woodsmoke.
"I'm starving," one grumbled. "Cover my shift, yeah?"
"No chance," the second knight replied, stretching. "I've got somewhere to be."
"The brothel, I bet," the first knight shot back with a smirk. "Come on, you've got a wife. I'm not lying to cover your ass again."
"You hear that?" the second knight said suddenly, head tilting.
"Stop changing the subject—"
"No, look!" The second knight pointed. Orange flames licked high into the night sky from the market square. Both men froze, then broke into a run toward the growing blaze.
**Four minutes earlier**
Dot's head snapped upward. Perched on a nearby rooftop stood two silhouettes against the flames: the painted clown bounty hunter known as the Whisper, and the hulking figure of the Hound.
"You actually dodged my arrows *and* shielded the girl," the Whisper called down, her voice light and mocking. "Impressive, boy."
"Who are you?" Dot demanded.
The Whisper's smile widened beneath her makeup. "Bounty hunters. And you, little prey… have a very large price on your head."
**Flashback — The Tavern**
The five bounty hunters sat around a scarred wooden table, tankards in hand, while the green-cloaked assassin laid out the contract.
"Why do I have to hunt a *brat*?" the Whisper whined. "And with *this* idiot, no less?"
"Watch your mouth, nutcase," the Hound growled.
The air turned ice-cold. The Whisper's painted smile vanished. In a blur she was behind the Hound, dagger pressed to his throat, death radiating from her like poison.
"Who are you calling a nutcase?" she whispered sweetly.
A single bead of sweat rolled down the Hound's neck. For one long second he didn't breathe. Then he forced a laugh. "Sorry… my bad."
The assassin continued as if nothing had happened. The Whisper returned to her seat, cheerful smile back in place.
"I hope this kid is worth killing," she said brightly.
**Present**
Arrows rained down like fiery hail. Dot, Yiva, and Robert dove behind the wooden stall as shafts thudded into the planks inches from their heads.
"Get out of here!" Dot shouted. "Take Mira and the others—straight to the castle!"
Before they could move, the Whisper loosed a flaming arrow. It struck the stall's canopy and erupted. Flames roared to life.
They scrambled out just before the entire structure collapsed in a burst of sparks and smoke. The stall owner stumbled into view, screaming as he watched his livelihood burn. The Whisper drew another arrow—only for it to be deflected mid-flight by a shining shield. Cottage thundered in on horseback, Astrid clinging behind him. With one arm he scooped the screaming owner off the ground and kept riding.
"What the hell is happening?!" Cottage bellowed.
"Who are you? You're no fun at all," the Whisper pouted.
Cottage urged the horse forward—only for the Hound to drop from a rooftop directly into their path.
"No witnesses," the massive man rumbled.
He drew his weapons: two heavy war-axes, each with a wide, brutal head and a thick wooden haft wrapped in leather. The blades gleamed wickedly under the firelight.
With a single savage overhead chop he severed the horse's front leg. The animal screamed and toppled. Cottage shoved Astrid and the stall owner clear, but the horse crashed down across his legs, pinning him. Bone cracked. Cottage roared in agony.
The Hound stalked closer, axes raised for the kill.
A blur of motion—Dot appeared between them, two short blades in his hands, each longer than a dagger but perfectly balanced for speed. The new weapons Robert had risked everything to bring him.
**Flashback — The Smithy**
Robert had burst into the forge, panting. "The weapons! Dot needs them *now*—they're all in danger!"
The smith had ignored him at first, hammering away at the glowing metal. "I'm not falling for another one of your lies, boy."
"I'm not lying this time! I don't want their deaths on my conscience!"
The smith finally paused, recognizing the desperation in the boy's eyes. "Even if I wanted to give them to you… they're not finished."
"I'll take them as they are!"
The smith quenched the twin blades in oil. Steam hissed. The weapons were rough, but deadly.
**Present**
Dot charged.
The Hound swung both axes in wide, crushing arcs. Dot had trained for this—Sylric's brutal drills had taught him how to read heavy weapons. He ducked the first swing, the blade whistling inches above his head and smashing through a market stall like it was paper. Wood and fruit exploded outward.
Dot stepped inside the second axe's path, crossing his blades in a tight parry. The impact jarred his arms, but he held. *He's slower than Sylric,* Dot thought, *but the power…*
He twisted, trying to hook one of the Hound's axes with his shorter blade and wrench it aside. The Hound simply powered through, slamming the flat of the second axe into Dot's shoulder and sending him staggering.
Dot recovered fast, rolling low and slashing at the Hound's knee. The bounty hunter pivoted, bringing one axe down in a vertical chop that Dot barely dodged by throwing himself sideways. The blade buried itself deep into the cobblestones, cracking them.
Dot used the moment. He threw one of his blades as a distraction, aiming for the Hound's face. The Hound leaned aside exactly as expected—straight into Dot's trap.
Dot had already slid under a nearby overturned stall. The instant the Hound planted his feet, Dot exploded upward with a powerful leg kick to the jaw. Mid-air, he drove his remaining blade straight toward the Hound's exposed side.
For a heartbeat it looked perfect.
The Hound twisted with terrifying speed. The blade only carved a shallow gash across his ribs instead of sinking deep. A brutal backhand with the flat of one axe smashed into Dot's ribs, launching him backward through two more stalls in a shower of splintered wood and scattered goods. Pain exploded across his chest.
"You're weak," the Hound sneered, advancing through the wreckage. "Same predictable tricks. I'll be collecting my bounty sooner than I thought."
Dot coughed, forcing himself up. Blood trickled from his lip and from the cut on his side. He was breathing harder now, but his eyes burned with focus. He had grown—he could read the weight of those axes, predict the wide swings, use the environment. But the Hound was a seasoned killer, and Dot was still learning.
The fight was far from over.
**Elsewhere in the chaos**
Yiva and Mira helped Astrid to her feet. Astrid immediately rushed to Cottage, whose legs were crushed beneath the dead horse. He screamed as they tried to lift the weight.*
"There's no use," Cottage gasped. "Run."
"We're not leaving you!" Astrid cried. Yiva nodded fiercely and they heaved again.
Flames had spread to the neighboring stalls. Smoke thickened the air, turning the market into an inferno.
"We have to hurry!" Yiva shouted.
The Whisper stepped out of the flames like a demon from hell, blades twirling, smile wide.
"Hurry and push!" Yiva urged.
Two knights from the earlier patrol charged in. "Surrender! We've alerted the others!"
In a flash the Whisper severed one knight's head. The second knight lunged from behind—only for the Whisper to hurl the severed head and body into him. Blood sprayed across his face, blinding him. She slid beneath his guard and drove her blade up through his jaw and out the top of his skull. He dropped, coughing crimson.
The Whisper licked blood from her blade and advanced on Yiva, smiling.
Yiva stood, pulling out the dagger she had kept hidden beneath her dress—Dot's dagger, stolen during their first meeting. Remembering his words—"You're one of the strongest people I know"—she tightened her grip and charged.
Her slashes were fast, but the Whisper danced around them effortlessly, laughing. A sudden headbutt cracked Yiva's nose. Blood burst. Yiva swung again; the Whisper kicked her hard, sending her tumbling across the cobblestones.
Dot tried to break away and reach her—but knights were pouring into the square now, Sylric at their head.
Sylric launched a devastating kick that hurled the Whisper backward. She landed lightly beside the Hound. The knights formed a tightening circle around the bounty hunters.
Then a massive explosion ripped through the burning stalls—barrels of oil and pitch igniting at once. Flames roared skyward. The blast stunned the knights for a single heartbeat.
That was all the Whisper and Hound needed.
The Whisper slashed two knights in a spinning blur. The pair vanished into the smoke and flames, escaping into the night.
Dot tried to chase after them, blades raised.
Heavy chains whipped around his arms and torso from behind, yanking him to a halt. Sylric stood there, expression hard.
"Not tonight," Sylric said quietly.
Dot struggled against the chains, eyes blazing with frustration and fury, but he could not break free.
Chapter ends