Wanderer’s Eyes

Chapter I

The Sorcerer Huntress

Gravel crunched out of her way under the boots covering her feet. The leather sheath that housed her dagger-like sword thumped against her thigh, and the wind blew her cloaking kimono shawl around her. The hood of her cloak was pulled low so that the people of this village would not recognize her, nor the trademark pupil less golden eyes that marked her clan. She was on a mission and it would not do for her target to discover her before the correct time. She would not fail this mission; there were too many things at stake. She saw her target entered an inn and paused to look at a stand in the market. As she pretended to examine the various trinkets that were for sale, she saw the door close and the man, who had entered, did not come back out. After a few moments she too entered the inn and walked up to the counter.

“Good afternoon, miss?” the woman at the inn addressed her. “How may I help you?”

“How do you think?” her voice was low and her tone battle hardened. “Give me a room and I shall leave you be.”

“Very good, miss. What name shall I put you down for?”

“Cassandra.” She replied softly. “My name is Cassandra.”

“And a last name, miss Cassandra?”

“Kyna.” She replied her lips curving up into a small smirk. “If you prefer, that is to say. My mother’s friends often call me ‘My Lady’ but I simply prefer Cassandra.”

“Lady Cassandra of the Kyna line?” the landlady’s eyes widened and Cassandra nodded softly. “What business have you here, my lady?”

“My target is staying in this inn.” She stated simply. “But I assure you, you need not worry. He knows I’m here, and he won’t blow his cover just yet. He, like myself, shall wait for the precise moment to reveal his true identity. What he doesn’t know, is that I already know who he is. Thank you for the room, ma’am, and don’t worry, I’ve never heard of a Daughter of the Kyna letting an innocent bystander die.”

Cassandra took the key the landlady was holding and started toward the stairs. She didn’t need to know what number she had. She was the Sorcerer Huntress, like all the others before her the birth-ritual that they all underwent had equipped her much like one of the Vampire Hunters. This included the ability to sense the spirit of human and Sorcerer alike. Cassandra entered the room she sensed to be empty and smirked as the key slipped in and turned with no trouble at all. Slamming the door shut a vase wobbled on the table it was resting on. Throwing back the hood of her cloak her eyes flared a blinding shade of gold and an aura erupted around her shooting out through the tip of her finger and surrounding the falling case. The breakable halted in its decent and slowly rose back up to the table. 

She threw off the rest of her cloak and walked toward the bed, crawling up onto the down feather mattress. She wouldn’t let that Sorcerer win against her.

“She’s here…” His voice was slightly horse from years without use. “Well, well, well. You think you can intimidate me? You can’t. Come and get me, Cassandra Kyna.”

The man stepped away from the ball resting on the table and started to pace around the room. Cassandra Kyna was the strongest of the living Huntresses. It wouldn’t be as easy to defeat her as someone else. But he would manage it. Cassandra might be the strongest of her line, but so was he. Semi-pointed fingernails hovered lightly over the crystal ball on his dresser and finally closed around the delicate object and crushed the rosy crystalline sphere. A figure rose out of the shattered rubble and gave him something between a sympathetic look and pure annoyance at its rest being disturbed.

“Master Aubrey.” The figure nodded to him. Aubrey returned the nod and explained the current situation that they were trapped into.

“Seishou, we seem to have a rather unfortunate problem to deal with.” 

Kasai Kuro Seishou nodded and leaned over to whisper in Aubrey’s ear. “Was it necessary to smash my ball to tell me this?”

“No, but, perhaps, I had a bizarre inkling to actually see you.”

“I find that particularly hard to believe.” Seishou scoffed, folding his arms over his crimson chest. “Now, what might this emergency be?”

“Cassandra Kyna is here.” Aubrey stated, smirking in amusement at the widening green eyes. “But that’s not all, my friend.” His smirk widened as Seishou’s face took upon a mildly crestfallen expression. “She knows we’re hear too.” This time his smirk did not widen as he noted the genuine concern in Seishou’s eyes and the furrowed orangish-red eyebrows.

“Will the Kyna Line never let you be?” Seishou’s fingernails were digging into his skin, but the fire summoning took no note to this. “Why do they follow you so relentlessly?”

“I made Merriam Kyna a very angry lady a long time ago. The Sorcerer Huntresses are, and always have been, very bitter people.”

“What did you do?”

“Oh, usual. Massacre a village and they get just so ticked off at you. Weird, huh?”

Seishou nodded again and placed a hand on Aubrey’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Master Aubrey. We’ll beat her, I guarantee it.”      

“So…” Cassandra’s lips turned up into a semi-smirk/semi-smile. “You think that thing can defeat me? Good luck, Aubrey Ferinea. Come and get me if you think you can…”

“This is where the fate of both our lines shall be decided, Cassandra Kyna.” Aubrey’s eyes narrowed and he squeezed his fingers around a shard of the glass that had previously housed Seishou.

“This is where the strongest of us shall be decided…”

“This is the end of it all, Kyna!” The blood dripped from his fingers and Seishou narrowed his eyebrows in faint concern. But he wasn’t overly worried. Aubrey could repair a mere flesh wound…he hopped.