Mntui came to her senses in a more that sour state. Was all this pain, the cold fever caused by the burnt wound she got in battle, she wondered. She moved carefully, afraid of more pain. In fact she didn’t want to move at all, but she was so thirsty… laying doing nothing wouldn’t help her. She sat up half way from the bed and opened her eyes. That was the point were it hit her…

There was an unconscious man on the other side of the room placed in a wide wooden armchair. In that moment any other thought left her mind. The pulsing sound coming from him mesmerized her. And that delicious smell… She had no idea what it really was, it was nothing like anything ever she encountered.

She carefully crept closer as if she worried waking her prey up. But it was also from the pain. Her whole body ached as if some terrible disease would be eating it away. Kneeling on the victims lap she bit into his neck. Gulping down the life giving blood she forgot about everything else. Even from the first moments she felt her pain easing up. And there was a moment when it seemed to disappear completely. After that only the pleasure mattered.

By the time she felt satiated the man was already dead, almost drained dry. For a few moments she still enjoyed the ecstasy, than the cruel reality dragged her back to the present. It was as if she got slapped on her face with something heavy, but in fact it was just the shock from the truth. She looked down on the unknown tribesman and almost screamed. First she cowered her mouth with her hands in dread. A few tears ran down on her cheeks. But noticing the blood on her hands she jumped to the floor. Only taking a step closer again in the next moment. She wanted to make sure if…

“He is dead…” came a cold, uninterested voice from behind her.

Mntui turned around in that instant seeing Saleh sitting on another chair. By the realization she almost dropped her jaws.

“I… know… remember you” she breathed the words dumbfounded.

“Well that is good to know.”

There were long moments of silence between them. Mntui was over run by memories, questions and confusion, while Saleh were in no rush to anywhere. But as the woman stepped back glimpsing to the corpse, he saw it fit to elaborate on things.

“You shouldn’t worry about him. You had every right to do it…”

“Every right?” Mntui burst out interrupting him. “He was a tribesman! I killed him! One of us… And I don’t know even who he was. Which tribe?”

“Would it be better if you knew?” Saleh posed the question to her. And she should have known the answer. It should’ve been obvious that of course she should know. But there was only confusion left for her.

“At least tell me, why?” she was close to giving up, and just collapsing on the floor. In the White Tiger tribe everybody was trained to be a warrior at one point… but to murder someone in cold blood? That was something else.

“The Shadow Clan takes what it needs. Especially in times like this. It’s the toll of the land. We protect it and weakened warriors can’t do that now, can they?”

“No… but…”

“You remember. That’s what you said. So you saw my real face” and just to be sure Saleh’s eye gleamed up in bright red, and he grit his teeth to show.

Mntui shivered with fright and stepped back not realizing that she was mimicking the other’s expression at the same time.

Saleh stood up and went closer the woman. He moved without hurry, and his slick body gave out the impression that even the weakest breeze could pick up and trow him away. He grabbed Mntui’s chin to force her to look into his eyes.

“You are one of us now. You need blood to survive and to grow stronger. Or would you rather the highlanders burn down all our forests like they did on the borders?”

“No…” she looked down sadness started to envelop her.

In the silence she heard a door opening but she didn’t look up. A ginger haired young looking man stepped into the room. His blue eyes gave out the impression of cunning intellect. His face and features were angular most of the time, and his body better build than Saleh’s. But that was a feat easily earned, it was probably harder to find a thinner person than Saleh. He wore an outfit made of black leather and cloth covering most parts of him except his face.

The snake-man gestured toward the dead body with his head. And his underling passed through the room as quiet as possible. Mntui only looked up when he was leaving with man’s corpse.

“What are you going to do with him?” she asked frightened.

The man stopped on the question but only for half a moment as Saleh gave him a sharp look urging him to continue.

“Rouh will give him a proper burial. Yes, even we have a sense of respect when we have the time…”

Mntui looked up. At first she followed the other leaving with her eyes then looked at Saleh. Full of doubts and confusion she didn’t know could she dare to ask anything at all.

“What is it?” Saleh frowned. His voice was sharp, startling even. “Out with it. Just to be clear up front I don’t like to ask. Especially about the obvious. And especially twice.”

“I’m confused…” she started halfheartedly. She wanted to continue saying ‘can I ask?’ but decided against it in the last second. “What happened? And the others? It wasn’t you who attacked us, right?” Although her memories about meeting this man was painfully clear, everything else was kind of hazy.

“Yes, you are right. There is no reason for a Shadow to attack a caravan this size at random. Let me take the opportunity to make this clear. You have the right to take what you need, but senseless massacre is against the rules. We protect the Feral Lands, and aren’t some blight hanging over it. Understood?”

Mntui felt shaken with every word the man said, as that every mentioned word he got more serious. There was silence for a moment. Than Saleh grit his teeth.

“Am I understood?” he asked again slowly, emphasizing all three words.

“Yes!” Mntui almost shouted as she straightened her stance in fright remembering what he said about saying things twice.

“Good. You’ll see how things work in our side. But until then it’s enough if you do as I say. As for your other questions. The highlanders attacked you. We don’t know how they got so deep in the forest without leaving a trace, but we will figure it out I’m sure. And as for your prince and the guards, they all dead except that old witch. We arrived to late to the fight to save anyone else I’m afraid. But if it gives you any solace none of the highlanders escaped, we made sure of it.”

Mntui nodded but for what exactly she didn’t know. Acknowledgment? Maybe. But with every moment she felt sadder, like her soul was becoming empty. As she was looking at the floor she didn’t really noticed his superior aiming to leave. Until an other question was directed at her from the distance.

“What’s your name?”

“Mntui…” she answered still a bit lost in thought.

“Hmm… a good name” Saleh commented. “We are leaving.”