The twin shadowy figures made their around the base of the lighthouse. Each moved as if sneaking, but carefully presented to be seen by anyone watching. Talen followed, each foot fall carefully placed to be as close to silent as he could make it. The youth reached the far side of the mammoth building and there was naught but the roar of the sea to greet him. The youth stopped, confusion spreading across his face at the lack of anything, or anyone. The light high above swung around out into the fog and a tiny white blur caught Talen’s eye. Closer still, a shape was down the rocky incline towards the shore.
That’s where Play Back went.
Talen was about to call out when his partner disappeared. Talen paused, mouth slightly agape as his need for words vanished. The youth swore and looked back out to the stretch of sea. If his partner had gone across the shore he was sure he would need to as well. The boy pushed his pistol back into its holster and with it the two illusions he had conjured disappeared. The youth didn’t have quite the same skill with teleporting than his partner. It took Talen much longer to move great distances. The youth was forced to stand and wait as the second ticked by.
It had been a minute and a feeling gripped Talen, a call of sorts much like the warning before. The youth figured that it was his partner that was emanating the call from across the water. Talen adjusted his planned trajectory as the final few seconds of his preparation ended. The youth simply vanished.
Talen appeared slightly above the water two metres from Play Back. The youth looked slightly surprised as he fell into the churning water with a huge splash. It was cold, a thousand icy needles stretching across Talen’s skin. With a roar of surprise and anger he burst back through the water and looked around wildly. Water streamed down across his face, overpowered slightly by the look of anger.
“Fuck!” Talen pulled himself up onto a rock and shot Play Back a dirty look, “Did Sei ask you to trick me into having a bath..?”
The accusation hung in the air as Talen’s eyes fell upon the unconscious man on the rock.
“Is that one of the men back at the lighthouse?”
Talen could tell that it was from his partner’s demeanour. The nod that came after was superfluous. Talen pulled himself up to his feet lifted his hand towards the prone man. Trails of darkness leapt from Talen’s palm and wound their way around the man. The shadows snapped into physical being and formed black chains wrapped around the man’s legs and chest. Talen’s eyes were cold as they moved down over the man and hovered over the blood oozing from his leg.
“His own sword it looks like.” Talen pointed towards a few traces of blood still on the blade, “Probably won’t die, but might not be much use if he bleeds out and faints.”
The youth lifted his gauntlet and twisted it into a fist. Flames licked over the dark metal, flickering light across the youth’s pale skin. The youth placed his free hand on the man’s leg to brace it. With a slight smile Talen thrust the flaming metal against the man’s wound.