The next morning, at dawn.
Several guards were dozing at the manor occupied by the Jayne Trading Company.
Rain had fallen around three the previous night. Now the damp air carried a coolness that made everyone drowsy. Even an Ogre would have wanted to crawl under warm blankets and sleep.
A slender young man in a rough leather coat came slowly through the mud. In the hazy light, he had an almost unreal beauty.
Ajel rubbed his eyes and called out, "Stop. This is the Jayne Trading Company. Who are—"
Before he could finish, the young man vanished like a mirage. A figure swept past him and Makot. Pain tore through Ajel's chest, and from the corner of his eye, he saw Makot's body split in two.
An attack.
The warning came to Ajel too late. Before he could cry out, his consciousness sank into darkness.
Most of the Ogres in the manor were asleep. Only a few patrol guards wandered the grounds, ready to sound the alarm if they spotted an intruder.
A silent hunt began.
In a corridor, an Ogre ambled along, eating a piece of unidentifiable flesh. He looked thoroughly relaxed, nothing like a guard on patrol.
Wandering was indeed the right word for it.
Nameless stood beside a pillar and watched the Ogre pass. His eyes glimmered faintly as a Silence Field spread out in an instant.
The Ogre stopped dead. He froze with one hand still in his mouth, blood trickling from the corner of his lips to his chin before dripping onto the floor.
There was no sound!
The Ogre glanced left and right, then spun around. A laser shot toward him, leaving a black line across his body.
Demon Hunter!
The Ogre screamed in his mind, but his body crashed to the floor