Chapter Forty-Seven – The bait

**Trigger warning: Violence**
When Kieran had gone to sleep she was there, and when he woke, she wasn’t. That alone wasn’t enough to alarm him. Ariel often went on walks when she needed to clear her head, stayed out for hours without warning because she needed to be alone. He was used to it.

But when he came home from work hours later and there was still no sign of her, he worried. He tried to call her, but it went straight to voicemail. He left a message and sent her a text. Considering everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours he didn’t blame her for needing a break. And he had a meeting with the mayor he couldn’t miss. If she wasn’t home by then he’d go to her father’s house. Maybe she’d gone there for old times’ sake.

But during the dinner with the mayor his worry only grew. What Anthony had to tell him about Ariel’s actions the night before didn’t sit right with him. That wasn’t the Ariel he knew. She wouldn’t hurt someone just for the sake of hurting. She had hunted big and small animals yes, but never attacked someone without reason. It was part of their code. Only attack those who attack you, with some expectations. Like, if you came across a creature who hurt others, then of course.

He’d managed to sit through the dinner meeting with Anthony. Telling him snippets of what he’d seen when walking the area, confirming what he had thought and what Adam had told him. They were just camping out, not bothering anyone.

But on the way back he couldn’t shake the feeling off that something was wrong with his beloved Ariel. And he was sure her father had something to do with it. At one point Kieran had respected the older man, but that had changed many years back. Now all he wanted was to protect his loved ones from him. And that meant getting Ariel out of his grip.

He’d taken a detour on the way back from town, walking past the grand house that was the Noye home. It was dark and quiet. A little suspecious, but he couldn't just walk through the bushes to have a look. Henry Noye would have him arrested for trespassing in no time. What good would that do any of them?

The walk back from the house and to the apartment building he resided in was short enough. With the sun now shining down and the wind calming it would have been a pleasant walk. But Kieran couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching him, following him. But there was no one there but him and the birds in the sky.

He was getting paranoid, grabbing a hold of the silver dagger he always wore under his jacket he rushed back to the apartment building, giving his neighbor a short nod when passing him on the stairs and heading directly for the door. He found it unlocked.

“Ariel!” He called once inside the apartment, still holding on to his dagger. It was silent. Her shoes were still missing from the rack, and her jacket was nowhere in sight.

“She’s not here” A strangers voice answered him.

Kieran found the source right away, sitting in one of the chairs in the living room. The curtains had all been drawn by the stranger, closing the natural light out, casting a shadow over the room.

“Who are you?” Kieran asked warily, keeping himself at a safe distance from the intruder, his hand still holding a firm grip on the dagger while he made a mental map of where the other weapons were stashed away in the apartment.

“That’s none of your concern” The stranger answered, folding one leg over the other.

“You’re in my apartment, uninvited, that makes it my concern” Kieran answered drily, taking a couple steps forwards, entering the living room.

“I’m just here to deliver a message, no need to get so worked up” The stranger leaned forward with a smile, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

“What’s the message?” Kieran asked, taking a few steps to the left.

“It’s not for you” She clicked her tongue as she stood from the chair, flashing a wide smile, showing of a perfect row of white.

“Then why are you here?”

“Like I said, to deliver a message” She clicked her tongue again, her eyes narrowing as she focused on the target ahead of her.

Kieran pulled the dagger out, preparing himself. Though he didn’t know her intentions, or what kind of message she was talking about, he had a feeling it wasn’t going to end well.

Her eyes went from his face to the dagger and back again, her smile turning into a smirk before she leaped into action, her fists colliding with the wall as Kieran moved out of the way just in time.

With the dagger in his hand, he took a swing at the woman, and missed.

She had a gleeful expression on her face as they kept on hitting and missing one another. Her with her hands, he with the dagger.

It turned into a dance of swing and miss, the apartment turning into a mess as a lamp were knocked over, the back of the couch torn open by the dagger and a chair falling over when she placed a surprise kick in his abdomen, forcing him back, the chair the only thing keeping him from falling over.

“You’re fun” She said with a big smile as she leaped at him once again, this time wrapping herself around him and driving a weapon into the back of his shoulder, earning herself an annoyed grumble before he pushed her off him.

Blood where streaming steadily out of the wound, fueling his anger.

“I can’t say the same about you”

He threw the dagger at her, but she dodged. Instead, it lodged in a picture hanging on the wall, shattering the glass and sending it to the ground.

“I was told you were a good shot” The woman teased as she rose to her feet again, squaring her shoulders.

Kieran scoffed in response, bracing himself of a second hit. She’d injured his left shoulder, and much to his luck, he was left-handed.

The woman took another swing at him, then one more. Both of her hands had brass rings with knives attached to them at this point, making Kieran take several steps back to avoid them. She kept him backing up against a wall, another wide smile presenting itself on her face before taking a stab at him, giving him just enough time to turn away. It avoided his chest, but scratched his other arm, tearing open the fabric of his jacket. His skin was intact.

“Who sent you?” Kieran asked as he created some distance between them, moving towards the kitchen. He could forget all about the weapons by the TV, but it wasn’t the only place with hidden weapons.

“Who knows?” The woman answered with a short laugh, taking a break to just stare at him. Her expression excited, the bright smile still present on her lips. She was having a good time.

“I bet you do” Kieran answered as he grabbed one of the utensils in the mug on the counter, revealing a rather oddly looking weapon. One end made of wood, the other a short and thin, rounded blade.

The woman eyes the weapon for a moment, nodding approving before she leaped into a sprint, heading head-first at Kieran. His left arm was useless, any movement triggering more blood. He couldn’t stop her, only dodge. Taking a step to the left sent her running past him, but not without injury.

The blades dragged along his torso, ripping both fabric and tissue at impact. It wasn’t deep, but enough to make some blood appear. And it stung.

“Less talk, more fight” The woman demanded, spinning around and running at Kieran again. Again, he sidestepped her, her weapon of choice just missing him, but she was quick to turn around. To quick.

She turned around mid-sprint, her arms outstretched and the fake claws on her fists digging into his side. A scream tore from his throat as he jabbed his own weapon into her side, making her scream in return.

They stood locked together, her pushing the claw like knifes on her hand further into his side, and him with his right hand locked on his weapon, angling it downwards.

“Foolish boy” The woman sneered as she closed the distance between them, eyes almost at the same level. She was a tall woman; he hadn’t taken notice of that before. Her eyes were a deep shade of green, and the excited sparkle he’d seen earlier was replaced by a burning anger. “You should know when to quit”

She pulled her hand back and thrusted it back in again within seconds, a little further to the right.

The pain was more than he could handle. Kieran had been trained for a long time, and part of his training had been how to endure pain. But this, the throbbing pain and blood flowing from his fresh wound. It made him feel weak.

Before he could draw another breath, she stabbed him again. And again.

She had a pleased smile on her lips, her laugh thrilling, like the one a child’s laugh.

“Ariel” He whispered lowly.

The woman took a step back with a satisfied look on her face. His hand had let go of the weapon in her side sometime during the stabbing. His legs gave in, and he sunk down on the floor.

“You might see her again real soon” The woman hunched down in front of him just as the door opened, flooding the hallway with light.

Ariel stepped into the doorway, taking in the horror in front of her.