Hands starting to shake, Ar�thilmus began wrapping the freshly-made sandwiches into towels to keep them fresh. The trembling caused the filling to fall from Aelin�uial�s sandwiches and Ar�th muttered curses quietly to herself as she was forced to scoop the fish shreds back into the bread. She was quickly aided by Aza�lihnlia whose impeccable sense of hearing had picked up the faint curses, and who appeared at her side in a hurry, helping her mother to wrap the remaining sandwiches.

�Stop fussing Aza, I�m fine. Please, go and ready the dining room for me.�

�I have already finished in there, mother,� came the daughter�s reply.

Ar�thilmus furrowed her brow causing auburn hair to fall over her golden eyes, darkened already by age and years of worry left behind her. It was perhaps these past years that helped soothe the older elf in times like these, for she knew her family had always seen hard times and always come through to see another day. Be it the attacks of the Shadow Thieves, an elite assassin guild that she had once been apart of, Di�thang�s unfaithful ways during their time in Battledale and the torments of their foe Shade during these times, or the old demon that had possessed Di�thang returning to re-possess its vessel and then subsequently both Ar�thilmus and Aza�lihnlia; the Eil�deth family had seen more than their share of hard times, and had always come through them in one piece.

�Alright then, the rest room still has my needlework spread all over the carpets; if you�d be kind enough to clea-� Ar�thilmus needn�t have said a word, for Aza�lihnlia had already hurried into the corridor en route to the rest room. There was a sudden knocking at the front door to the home as Aza�lihnlia was just feet from the rest room; the eldest daughter bit her lip, knowing the sound marked the arrival of the Priestess. Hurriedly shutting the door to the rest room in hopes of concealing the mess from the holy visitor, Aza hurried to the door. She could hear her mother hastily clattering around in the kitchen, readying both the area and her own appearance for the priestess. Aza followed suite, dusting down her dress robes before clearing her throat with a cough and swinging the door open to greet the elegantly dressed High Priestess in the doorway.

�Ah, greetings to ye, Mother Priestess.�

Aza gave the woman a polite bow of the head, which was returned. The Priestess smiled faintly; she was a spectacle to behold, especially for someone of human blood descent and Aza�lihnlia couldn�t help but admire the woman, despite having met her and others like her many times before during her long life as a devoted follower to the Dark Lady Shar. Black robes ran down the Priestess�s slender body, the darkness of the outfit complimented perfectly by the deep purple rims that lined every crease on the garment. A perfect circle of flawlessly crafted black adamantite lay on the woman�s silver hair, a bed of purple sapphire engraved within the metal to resemble the circle of the Nightsinger.

�Would you wish to enter the livi�� Aza began, suddenly pausing herself as she recalled the mess of needlework and silks in the living quarters. �� uh, dining room rather, Priestess?�

The holy woman need only nod to give her answer, and the young elf began to lead the Priestess through to the dining room, waving across the hall to her mother in the kitchen to signal what she was doing. Ar�thilmus took a deep breath, and began to head towards the dining room where her eldest daughter now entertained their divine guest. She was inches from the door when she heard something; a faint noise, but a noise loud enough to grab her attention nonetheless. The sound was a metallic rattling, and it was coming from the front door to the house. Her brow furrowed in curiosity, Ar�thilmus made her way past the dining room door and to the front one, her golden eyes searching the wooden entrance for signs of the rattling. To her sudden shock, she realised that it was in fact the lock that held the door closed to the outside world that was rattling. Barely believing what she was seeing, the elven mother cocked her head on a side to examine the unusual sight. The pins and cylinder of the door�s lock were shaking and rattling now as though trying to escape from inside their wooden confines! Ar�thilmus backed away from the door just in time as the entire lock exploded, splintering the wooden door all over the entrance hallway.

Screaming out, Ar�thilmus leapt back further, her eyes wide at the sight of the door in front of her. What happened next, however, made her eyes widen further and her jaw drop in shock. The now broken door flew open and into the doorway stepped a dark figure. Long black hair fell down besides the elf�s face, parted by his nose and the shape of his face save for one long overhanging strand, and through it stared blank turquoise eyes. Clad in a long black robe that reached his shoulders, and a deep grey padded leather covering his chest. The elf lifted his head, flicking back the strand of hair from his face, deep turquoises piercing into Ar�th�s golden pearls. His name dropped off Ar�th�s tongue like a thousand nightmares revisiting her memory.

�Shade?�

The smirk crawled up his face darkly, and Ar�th shrieked. Needing not a moment more looking back at the man she had known and hated for so long, Ar�thilmus fled into the dining room without thought, slamming the door behind her. Within the room, Aza�lihnlia offered the High Priestess a sugared biscuit. The surprise of her mother tearing into the room made both waiting women jump almost out of their skins, and they stared across at her in shock.

�Mother?�

�Move, Aza!� Ar�th screamed, suddenly grabbing her daughter and pulling her across the room as the dining room door flung itself open inches from where the young elf maiden had been sat. The High Priestess had a look on her elderly face as though someone were pulling a very inappropriate prank on her, and she looked across at her two hosts with a questioning bewilderment. All the answers she might need were answered though, as Shade reappeared, now in the dining room entrance. There was a notable difference to him now, however, as two dozen daggers were spiralling through the air around his body like a magical tornado of blades, held aloft by unseen hands of his mind. Ar�th looked to be putting on a brave face as she backed Aza�lihnlia into the corner of the room, but the same could not be said for the daughter who gave out a frightened whimper. Aza�lihnlia had fought her way out of the stickiest of situations on a number of occasions in her past, the battle skills instilled into her from a young age by her mother and her stepfather. However, nothing she had ever seen compared to this elf stood now in the corridors of her home. The High Priestess of Shar, however, seemed to feel differently.

�What is the meaning of this!?� she screeched, advancing forwards towards the ominous Shade. Blood spattered across the room as one of the longer daggers shot from the tornado of blades around the figure, the poison-barbed tip piercing the High Priestess directly through the heart. Gasping in a split second�s shot before her death, the Holy Woman fell backwards a step and landed back first on the long mahogany table that was the centre-piece of the room. Aza�lihnlia screamed at the top of her lungs in absolute horror, her eyes transfixed on the corpse.

�What do you want here, Shade?�

Ar�thilmus�s voice was demanding; she wanted answers now, before anyone else could get hurt. Her family was in danger at the hands of the psionic assassin she had known for so long, and the elven mother would not see any single one of them hurt. Shade just laughed though, one hand stretching out to point at Ar�thilmus, his eyes ever unblinking, the daggers around him readjusting their spiralling pattern to accommodate for the outstretched arm.

�I�m afraid I will be taking you with me, Death.�

The old nickname from the days of her Shadow Thieves membership sent a shudder down Ar�thilmus�s spine. Nobody had called her by that name since she had left Battledale with Di�thang all those decades ago. She was just about to make her response when Aza�lihnlia shouted aloud, charging forward with the recklessness innate within her from her birth father.

�You will take her nowhere, you beast!�

Shade let out an annoyed growl, his extended hand suddenly flicking to the side. The air rippled between his pale fingers and the charging elven woman, and Aza�lihnlia felt herself abruptly lifted from the ground. Like a discarded sack of potatoes, Aza flew across the room, coming only to a stop when she hit the dinner set arranged on the wall. The glass shattered all around her, tearing her expensive robes clean from her skin, flesh coming with them in a number of places. Aza groaned in agony, but with a will to never give in that her step-father Di�thang had forced upon her from a young age, the auburn-haired beauty pulled herself to her knees. Thwip! Thwip! A pair of daggers hurtled through the air and imbedded themselves neatly in Aza�lihnlia�s thigh and arm individually. With an anguished groan, the elf maiden passed out into a state of reluctant unconsciousness.

Ar�thilmus�s eyes were wide as she stared at her crumpled daughter, bleeding amongst shards of broken glass.

�You bastard.�

Her words were cold and bitter and if looks could kill, Ar�thilmus�s expression would have dropped the invading assassin to the ground. Instead though, Shade stood dominantly, still unmoved from his position by the doorway, the daggers completely unchanged from their ever-moving corkscrew, save for the three now missing from their company. Shade gave her a patronising tut, shaking his head.

�You�re too callous to me, Ar�th. Now, are you coming quietly or are we going to rendezvous?�

Ar�th suddenly dropped into a fighting stance, fists closed at her sides, her eyes filled with a flame that they had not been in a very many years. For her family, the elven mother would be ready to fight to the death, even without the scythe and armour that she was accustomed to using in battle. Shade would not put an end to the hectic but ever-blissful life that the Eil�deth family had slipped into here. She would not let him.

Before she could even notice the dagger that had snaked its way from the pack, it was at her throat, the blade pressing deep enough into her neck to draw a hint of blood. Shade folded his arms across his chest, sighing as though deeply sorrowed by his own actions, though the smug satisfaction on his face suggested otherwise.

�That side is the one without poison, Ar�thy. I could flip it over, if you�d prefer� then I could get very acquainted with your pretty little daughter. Or�� and he said it as though he were giving her a legitimate option, ��you can come with me now, quietly, and she can lie there until she awakens.�

Gritting her teeth and holding her chin high against the floating dagger at her throat, Ar�th tried to push back at it with her own psionic strengths. The years of lack of use and the superior mental strength of Shade were too much though, and her efforts vanished as quickly as they had begun. A resigning grunt escaped the elven mother�s lips, and Shade knew he had victory. One last question plagued her mind though; they had spent years seeking the perfect isolation.

�How did you find us, Shade? Tell me that. How?�

The assassin laughed out loud, and his arrogant pause annoyed Ar�thilmus almost as much as the dagger pressed to her throat. Her smirked darkly as the answer crept of his lips, hitting Ar�th like a poisoned-blade to the heart.

�Your son.�