“Stop right there!”

Kali barely steadied herself after a dark shadow rushed past her and into the bustling crowd of Baska city. It wasn’t like this was an uncommon occurrence but Kali found it awful to have one of them run into her once every now and then. If the angry blacksmith huffing and puffing next to her wasn’t an indication of what just happened, there couldn’t be a more obvious sign. It was theft, simple as that. Nothing new in Baska and nothing new for the onlookers. Safe to say that this scene has been played a number of times in front of them which is also probably why no one was paying attention to the bellowing blacksmith except her.

“Break his legs if you have to,” the bearded man seethed as he gave Kali the quest of capturing the thief back. It was no wonder why the man grabbed her out of everyone hanging around. She was the only one standing there lost in thought looking down at the way the man ran off with an expensive-looking item. Dressed in nothing but black with a cape over her head, she probably seemed like someone who would do anything for money. And he was right.

Kali didn’t have to rush to find him. There were only quite a few spots in the city where the thief could hide until he could leave and anyone with the right know-how could locate them. As she guessed, Kali found him hiding in a pub not too close yet not too far from the city gates amongst many other no-good-doers. The pub was specifically there to cater to people from the darker side of the spectrum. No ordinary person would come around these parts unless they are looking for one wanted person or another.

It would be a lie to say taking the thief in was easy. The man was surely on the lookout with the stolen weapon hidden somewhere in his clothing. He could flee the moment something didn’t seem right. So, Kali just had to take some precautions and grab the nearest wooden chair, lifting it up above her head with one hand and walking soundlessly behind the shaggy-haired man. People’s eyes darted towards her and so did her target but far too late because by the time he was about to get up and dodge, she had brought the wooden chair down on his head knocking him out.

Kali ignored all the stares and gasps while dragging the fainted man down the street. No one was going to ask anything anyway. People rarely came out to question anything in this city. Being a merchant town meant that something unsavory always happened somewhere and the number of thugs and thieves was not small at all.

It become a bit noisy when he eventually woke up though. But they were already very near the blacksmith’s place and all Kali had to do was grab his ankle and literally twist and break one of his legs, all the while she kept her right foot firmly on the man’s mouth as he struggled and clawed at her pants. Left a crying and broken mess, the man barely had the energy to move as she threw him to the ground in front of the blacksmith.

“Bad taste,” Kali found herself muttering in a low voice watching the still furious Godfrey bring a hammer down on the handcuffed and muted man. She sat one leg over the other on the shop’s wooden counter watching the bloody scene in front of her as if it was nothing new. And it was not. Ever since waking up with no memories in the middle of nowhere thirsting for blood, Kali had instinctively known that she had no humanity in her. Blood didn’t bother her as it did others. Instead, she craved it.

She wasn’t as crude and inelegant as this guy though. This guy clearly had no tact and moved purely in rage. But rage blinds people and Kali looked down on bugs like them, both the thief and the blacksmith. She made no effort to hide her sneer when Godfrey finally regained his cool and acknowledged her presence in the shop. He must have noticed and got annoyed again because he threw the hammer down one last time, harder than before, on the near-dead thief’s legs.

“I’m grateful for your help,” he forced a smile, grabbing his wallet to pay Kali for her services. “Sorry I lost my cool just now.”

Kali said nothing, receiving the money. Her eyes glowed red for a brief moment. Something told her this wouldn’t be the end of it.

776/750
-Exit-