Hunted

The bounty spread like wildfire.

By morning, every cutthroat, mercenary, and assassin in the city knew Kalen's name. Ten thousand gold was enough to start a war. And that's exactly what the Temple wanted.

Kalen, Renna, and Varik sat in the safe house, the candlelight flickering over their tense faces.

"We can't stay here," Renna said. "They'll come for us."

Varik smirked. "Let them come." He twirled a dagger between his fingers. "It'll be fun to thin the herd."

Kalen wasn't listening. He was staring at the bounty poster on the table. His name. His face. A target painted on his back.

"They'll come in waves," he said, voice cold. "We need a plan."

Renna sighed. "And what? Fight them all?"

"No," Kalen said. "We make them fight each other."

Varik raised an eyebrow. "I like where this is going."

Kalen picked up the bounty notice. The Temple had made a mistake.

They had put a price on his head too high.

Ten thousand gold was too tempting. No mercenary would trust another with that kind of reward. Greed would turn them against each other.

And Kalen would make sure of it.

The Blood Market

The first place Kalen and Renna went was the Blood Market.

A den of cutthroats, bounty hunters, and mercenaries. A place where the city's worst killers drank, gambled, and sold their services.

Tonight, everyone was talking about him.

"He's just a kid," one man scoffed, slamming his tankard down.

"Then you go kill him," another sneered. "Let's see if your corpse is worth ten thousand gold."

A hooded figure laughed from the shadows. "You all think this is easy? You really think the Temple would pay that much if he wasn't dangerous?"

Kalen and Renna, hidden in the rafters above, watched the chaos unfold.

Kalen smirked. He didn't have to fight anyone tonight.

They would kill each other first.

A mercenary accused another of hiding information. A fight broke out. Knives flashed. Blood splattered.

By the time Kalen and Renna slipped out, three bodies were already on the ground.

"Smart," Renna admitted. "But this won't stop them."

"No," Kalen agreed. "But it'll buy us time."

The Hunters Arrive

That time ran out the next night.

They had barely returned to the safe house when the first assassin struck.

A poisoned arrow slammed into the wall inches from Kalen's head.

Renna gasped, drawing her dagger.

Kalen didn't hesitate. He vanished into the shadows.

Shadow Cloak.

The assassin moved like a ghost, leaping across rooftops, bow in hand. A professional.

But Kalen was faster.

He reappeared behind him, dagger flashing—

The assassin ducked.

A foot slammed into Kalen's chest, knocking him backward. He hit the ground hard, rolling to avoid a second arrow.

The assassin didn't speak. Just moved.

Fast. Precise. Deadly.

But Kalen was learning.

The assassin drew another arrow—too slow.

Kalen lunged.

His blade sank into the man's side.

The assassin gasped, staggered—then fell.

Kalen exhaled, pulling the dagger free. His first bounty hunter kill.

More would come.

Renna ran up, her face pale. "We need to leave."

Kalen wiped his blade clean. "Not yet."

Renna stared at him. "Kalen—"

He turned to her, eyes dark. "I need to know why the Temple wants me dead."

The Temple's Secret

The answer lay in the old archives.

Varik knew a man—an information broker named Drest. He worked out of an abandoned church, selling secrets to those who could pay.

Kalen, Renna, and Varik entered the crumbling ruins, greeted by the scent of old parchment and dust.

Drest, an elderly scholar with one blind eye, sat behind a massive desk. "I heard the whole city is looking for you, boy."

Kalen placed a dagger on the table. "Then let's make this quick."

Drest chuckled. "What do you want?"

Kalen met his gaze. "I want to know why the Temple fears me."

Drest's smile vanished.

He was silent for a long moment. Then, he stood and walked to a dusty bookshelf. He pulled out an ancient tome.

"This book is forbidden," he said. "The Temple destroyed most copies."

He set it on the table and opened it.

Kalen and Renna leaned in.

Inside was a drawing.

A figure cloaked in darkness.

Eyes burning like embers.

Shadow coiling around him like living tendrils.

Kalen's blood ran cold. It looked like him.

"What… is this?" Renna whispered.

Drest exhaled. "This is the prophecy the Temple fears."

He pointed to the faded text below.

The Shadowborn shall rise again.

One will walk unseen, and where he treads, the gods shall tremble.

Kalen's breath caught in his throat.

The Temple wasn't after him because he was an escaped assassin.

They were after him because they thought he was something worse.

A Shadowborn.

Renna's voice was barely a whisper. "Do you think it's true?"

Kalen didn't answer.

But deep inside him, something stirred.

A power he didn't understand.

A darkness waiting to wake.

Drest closed the book. "Now you know why they fear you."

Kalen's fists clenched.

Then he smiled.

"Good."

End of Chapter 8