The instant that Railyn stepped outside the barn, she knew something was wrong. The dragon blood in her provided her with instincts far more precise than that of a normal human. Thanks to those instincts, she realized that she was still being hunted. A horrible feeling in her gut struck her as she stepped into the moonlight. She and Joseph had agreed to primarily travel by night, so as to be seen by fewer people, but neither of them had counted on attackers doing the same.

"Joseph, I don't like it," she whimpered as she stepped back inside and closed the barn door and turned to face him. "Out there, I feel like I'm being watched, but in here, I feel like I'm cornered."

"What do you propose we do?" Joseph asked, scratching his temple. It was a difficult situation, and not one that amused him, but he didn't want to dismiss the girl's worries.

"I don't know, and that's the problem. My instincts tell me when something's wrong. They don't always tell me how to deal with it. I was hoping you'd have an idea."

The blond boy frowned, considering the few facts he had. "I don't have a lot to go on though," he sighed. "If you're being hunted here--which wouldn't surprise me--then I'd suggest that we quickly get to the next town. The trouble is that I don't know where that is, or what the best route is. We can't just cut through the mountains either, there's no telling where monsters will be."

"The closest town is the capitol, but that's the last place we want to go. Not friendly to oddballs like us." Her eyes shifted nervously as she said it, and her hands seemed to fiddle and fidget. "After that, the closest town is the city Iridia. The only route there is a winding pass through the mountains. It's long and unforgiving for travelers on foot though, we'd never make it. In addition, the mountains are frigid this time of year. We could take the warmer coastal route, but that's just as bad, if not worse."

"Why worse?"

"Mermaids," Railyn said softly, her face paling slightly. "The upper east coast is infested with them. You don't want to go that route, trust me. The mountain pass would be better."

"What's so bad about mermaids?" Joseph asked, tilting his head as the image of Ariel from The Little Mermaid popped into his head.

"I don't know what it's like where you're from," Railyn hissed, "but in these parts, those things are seriously dangerous. I saw one once when on my way here while looking for work. I can't really properly describe it, but it's not good. Trust me on this one."

The boy gulped. "Understood. Shall we take the mountain route then? Do you think that pursuers would follow us? What's the route like?"

"Jagged, windy, rocky, and sometimes attacked by monsters, bandits, or both. I dunno if we'd be followed. Nobody sane would follow at least. Not on foot anyway."

"So the question is whether or not our hypothetical pursuers are sane. Do you think that they're just more of the men that were chasing you before?"

Railyn shook her head. "No, that was bad, but not this bad. This feeling that I'm getting is a lot worse."

"If that's the case," Joseph said thoughtfully, "then I'd guess the pass wouldn't daunt them. So the next question is: if we were to take the pass, would we be at an advantage or a disadvantage? You said it's cold this time of year. Can you handle that? Are you cold-blooded or warm-blooded?"

"Warm-blooded," Railyn replied, "though I am sensitive to the cold. Depending on how bad it is, I'll start to slow down some. I'm still functional, but I'm quicker when it's warmer. Sunlight helps, though that's really just more of an extra boost."

"Then you'd be able to take the pass okay?"

"I'd be a little sluggish, but I might be okay for the most part." She flicked her tail slightly. She didn't like the thought of the cold, but it was the best option they had.

"Might be," huh? That's reassuring, Joseph thought to himself. "Well, that rules out the pass. As for the coast, is there any way to avoid the mermaids?"

"You'd have to have your ears plugged constantly," she replied. "If you hear them, you're pretty much done for."
"Is that how you dealt with it when you saw it?"

"Yeah. And I only saw it for a few seconds before fleeing."

"And you're sure you can't describe what you saw?"
"Yep."
"Perfect," Joseph groaned. "We're pretty much trapped. We could buy someone's help through the pass, but I barely have any money. I only have eleven ryngs, and based on what I've seen so far, that's nowhere near enough."

Both of them sighed in unison, completely at a loss for words.

We go out, we get hunted. Take the coast, we get hunted maybe? Take the pass, we slow down and probably get caught. Take the straight shot over the mountains, and the critters probably tear us apart. Stay here, and we never get anywhere. We have to get going somehow though! Joseph let out a frustrated yell and furiously rubbed his head.

"Let's take the pass," Railyn said suddenly.

"Huh?"

"You heard me. The pass. Let's take it. It'll be cold, but it's the only shot we have at getting out of here. So let's take it before we tear ourselves apart tryna figure out what to do." Her expression was serious. She wasn't joking.
"If you're sure," Joseph said hesitantly. "I'll take the money I have and get you a cloak in the morning when the vendors come. In the meantime, let's sit tight until the morning. Once we both have cloaks, we should be able to get to the mountain pass without being spotted. Where's the pass?"

"It's not far. It's on this side of town."

"Good. Then we'll start this whole thing first thing tomorrow morning." Joseph yawned and curled up in the corner, but Railyn didn't sleep. Her instincts were still screaming at her that something was very wrong.

The following morning, Joseph woke early and grabbed his money. He pulled the cloak over his body and slipped outside, heading down the firm dirt path toward the local venders. They were already setting up, selling a variety of useful items from blankets to clothing to tools. He found one selling a cloak for nine ryngs, and bought it without hesitating. Meanwhile, a pair of eyes rested on him. They watched his every move, and calculated their own.

"Buying a cloak, eh?" Evan muttered to himself as he watched from nearby. "Don't you already have one that works well enough?"

Joseph began to return to the barn, walking through as few populated areas as he could. He passed between houses of brick and stone, avoiding the lanes where vendors worked. All the while, Evan tailed him from a distance. Once he saw that Joseph was headed to the barn, he ducked behind a house and let out several quick whistles. Some were high in tone and some were low. All of them had roughly the same duration. A faint whistling noise echoed in reply from a few houses away. Then the same noise came from farther into the town. Evan smirked.

As soon as he heard the whistling, Joseph froze. It had come from three different locations, and each time it sounded the same. Someone was probably communicating with others, and didn't want most people understanding it. He slipped into the barn and tossed Railyn the cloak.

"Put it on fast," he hissed. "I think someone might be following me. They'll be coming to search the barn soon." He grabbed his knife and tucked it away, then he grabbed his old sack that he'd carried the scales in. "We have to get out of here fast."

Railyn didn't question him. She threw on her new cloak, pulled the hood over her head, and tucked her tail inside. Once ready, they both slipped back outside and looked around. No one could be seen nearby.

"Let's hed back to the town," Joseph whispered. "They're less likely to attack when a lot of people are around, right? If they see us going to the pass now, we're done."

The girl nodded in reply, and both made their way into the town. As they did, the same whistling noise repeated itself, varying slightly each time. Every time, the location was different. Every time, it wasn't far away. This time, Joseph and Railyn slipped through every populated area they could in hopes of losing their pursuers.

"Split," Joseph hissed as they passed through an alley filled with venders and shoppers. "We'll meet back up at the pass."

The girl gave another nod, then both ventured in opposite directions. Even if they suspect us, Joseph thought, there's no way to know which one of us--if either--is the dragon-girl, assuming that's what they're after. Based on the whistling noises, I'd say there are multiple people, but maybe not a ton? It's too hard to tell. Hopefully they can't track us both at once.

He turned several corners, walking at a brisk pace. No matter where he went though, he couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. Nobody was visible, but someone was nearby. The whistling seemed to have stopped. He turned and began to head back toward the pass when something stopped him. An arrow seemed to come out of nowhere and snagged the hood of his jacket. It continued, pinning the hood and the boy to the brick wall of a house he'd been walking beside.

He frantically yanked the arrow free before looking around to see who'd attacked him. A figure could be seen on the rooftop a few houses down. It held a large bow, and was already preparing another arrow. Joseph began to run as the arrow narrowly missed his leg. The figure dropped its bow and began to run along the rooftops, closing in on the boy quickly.

Once it was close, it hopped down from the roof and moved in on the boy. Joseph realized that, like him, it was wearing a cloak that concealed the figure's skin and face. With his arms tucked underneath his own cloak, Joseph's fingers wrapped around the wooden handle of his knife. As the figure got close, he stepped in and lashed out at it, swinging his knife at the figure's throat. The figure stepped back quickly, and the knife took a very small bit of cloth from their cloak. Without hesitation, Joseph moved in again, aiming a thrust at the foe's head.

The enemy moved in on him as well, slipping to the side to avoid the thrust. It moved behind him, sliding its arms under his cloak and grabbing his arms. When he attempted to struggle, a pair of hands gripped his right arm and twisted it, forcing him to drop the knife. It scooped it up, proceeding to gently press the blade against his throat. Following that, it let out several loud whistles like the ones the boy had heard before.

"I'm sure I don't have to tell you what this means," the figure said. It was a light, feminine voice--the last thing Joseph expected to hear. "You resist, and the knife does its work. I don't plan on killing you, but I do ask that you cooperate."

Joseph's heart began to race, and his body began to tremble. Wait, this was a mistake. I don't want to die. I don't want to die!

"Not used to this sort of thing?" the figure giggled. "I suppose I can't blame you. Now, listen closely. You can try to elbow me and get free, but I'll feel it and will slit your neck before you can finish, so I don't recommend trying. We're going to stand here until the others come. While we wait, I'm going to ask you some questions, and you'll answer them. If you don't give an answer, you die. If you lie, you die. If I get suspicious, then I'll give you one chance to change your answer. So to start off, what is your name?"

Joseph gulped. "It's Joseph Millwater."

"Very good. Do you have any friends around here?"
"No."

The figure's grip tightened. "One more try. You were seen with a figure, if I'm not mistaken. So, was that a friend of yours?"

"It wasn't exactly a friend. We just met and decided to be traveling companions."

"I see. What does he or she look like?"

"Brown hair. Green eyes. Average height."

"Hmm," the figure sighed, "that's not all that useful. Be more specific. Gender? Name? Skin color? Any unusual features?"

Joseph gulped. I can't just sell Railyn out. "Female. She didn't give me her name yet, since we don't fully trust each other yet. Lighter skin. Her eyes are very fierce, and they kinda scare me."

"Fierce eyes, you say? Do they strike you as being particularly beast-like?"

Joseph hesitated. "I suppose."

"Hm. Usually I try to avoid overly specific questions, just in case I have the wrong person, but this is a little tricky. This is the last question. I'm looking for a girl who looks like she's part-dragon. Her name is Railyn. Brown hair, purple skin, green eyes. Do you know her?"

"Sorry. I don't," Joseph said, his heart slamming against his ribcage.

His captor's grip tightened again. "Really? Because all of this is pretty convenient. A girl with brown hair and green eyes? It lines up nicely. Also, when my boss tailed you this morning, he reported some suspicious behavior. You bought a cloak, even though you already had one. Then you slipped into a barn and came out with another cloaked figure. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're hiding something. So tell me. Do you know the girl?"

Joseph fell silent. I can't let her get to Railyn, but I don't want to die. I really don't want to die!

"Yes," Joseph choked out. "I know her." Railyn, if they use me to track you, then I'm sorry. I know we agreed that we'd both put our own lives first, but I feet terrible for doing this.

"That's more like it," the voice cooed. "I have a few more questions after all. Did you help her escape?"

"Escape? Escape from where? She didn't even tell me where she's from exactly!"

"That's a shame, but it does make this easier on me. If you weren't directly involved with her escape, then I don't need you."

Right as the blade began to press harder against the boy's throat, another voice rang out. This time, it was a boy's voice. "Hey, sis! We got the girl. Was the boy involved in the escape?"

"No, he wasn't," the person holding Joseph answered as both of them turned to see three figures moving down the alley toward them. One was cloaked, but seemed quite tall. He was the one who had addressed the girl that held Joseph. Over his shoulder, the second figure slumped. It was Railyn's limp figure. The third was a boy with a somewhat muscular frame and loose-fitting clothes. His fists were covered by a pair of silver-colored gauntlets. The metal covered his wrists and knuckles, but the fingers were open. His head was covered with light brown hair, and his eyes were a murky green with a permanently serious expression.

"What did you do to her?" Joseph gasped, feeling his blood run cold as he stared at Railyn's unmoving figure. He wasn't sure what he'd do if they'd killed her, but he couldn't stant the thought of it.

"Knocked her out," the green-eyed boy replied. "Don't worry, she's not worth anything to us if she's dead. Mille, who's this?"

"A boy named Joseph Millwater," the girl behind Joseph replied. "He knows her, but he didn't help her escape. I thought we could milk a little info from him, but it looks like you guys caught the girl already."

The cloaked boy chuckled. "Sorry 'bout that, sis." His voice seemed to be lighter, and good-natured. "Did you make the kid wet his pants? He looks terrified!"

"No, I didn't," Millie replied. "At least, not that I'm aware. I'm not as good at interrogation as Evan or Maya, but I'm getting better I think. How were things on your end? Did she put up a fight?"

The cloaked boy laughed. "She sure did! Luckily, she didn't really know much about fighting. Evan and I teamed up and had her in no time. Her skin is pretty tough though, so it was a little harder than we expected."

Evan nodded. "Gavin was a little disappointed that he couldn't blow anything up, but he'll live."

Millie giggled. "Well, what should we do with this boy? He's seen us, but that's not too big a deal, is it? Are we good to release him, or do we have to kill him? He seems okay, it'd be a shame to end him here."

"Are you kidding?" Gavin laughed from under his cloak. "Of course we gotta kill him! You know how it goes!" He looked at Joseph, who looked utterly horrified.

"Will you both stop goofing around?" Evan snapped, looking annoyed. "There'll be time for that later. Millie, this isn't so serious of a mission that the kid has to die. However, I am curious about him." Evan moved closer, observing Joseph's face as well as his glasses. "He's unusual. Let's put him to sleep and take him with us. I want to ask both of them a few things before we head back to the client."

"Lucky you," the girl behind him chirped, striking him quickly and precisely with her hand. Joseph let out a groan and slumped over. He hit the ground hard, and Millie stared down at him, seemingly proud of herself. "Mission complete!"