Snippet #2743177

Tonight was the night they grabbed the girl. It had taken them several days of planning to formulate their plan, and Keona had been the one to figure out the big break since intercepting some correspondence between Iridessa and a trusted carriage driver of hers. Apparently, Iridessa had decided to run away. They didn't know why, nor did they much care, all they knew was the when and where. They'd waited at the pick-up point for the carriage to arrive, and then Lenandel had snatched the driver and killed him. While Keona kept watch for Iridessa, Lenandel was disposing of the body. Keona softly cursed when she saw the girl emerge only to freeze. The girl was perceptive. She could tell that something was wrong.

"She's here?" came Lenandel's soft voice from behind her, and Keona nodded. "Yeah," she said in a soft voice. The pair exchanged a look, thinking for a second. They'd expected the girl to just climb into the carriage, which they'd then hop on and go. She wasn't, though. "I'm going to creep around behind her," Keona said in a soft voice, "and get between here and the entrance to that passage. You wait until I'm ready and then approach her - if she turns and runs, I've got her."

Lenandel nodded slightly. "Yeah, that sounds good," he said. Keona was smaller, so it made sense for her to be the one to creep up behind the girl. Silently, Keona started forward, keeping to the bushes and then the wall behind Iridessa so that she wouldn't see her in her peripheral vision, and once she was in an ideal spot to grab the girl and keep her from retreating to her little secret passageway, Lenandel stepped out from the bushes. He eyed Iridessa closely, taking a few side steps in the direction of the carriage. "Is this yours?" he called out in a low voice, trying to hide the smirk that toyed at his lips.