From the top of the tree where Maria was standing, she could see all the rest of the forest, especially Liliana's field of movement. She saw her trying to hide behind one of the wider trees and almost burst out laughing at the sight of her long hair sticking up on one side and her worried face on the other side. Maybe that girl had a munima, but she lacked any kind of training. It was like watching a little bird with a cannon.

Maria thought about approaching and finishing the job quickly, but then Liliana herself started running from tree to tree, not even knowing where her opponent was. She had no idea that Maria could see her perfectly in all her hiding places, and even if the assassin didn't, Liliana was making a lot of noise as she walked.

Slowly she began to approach her prey, attentive to the best moment to give her the coup de grace, but then the girl retraced her steps at full speed towards the first tree where she had tried to hide. This time she managed to hide completely behind the trunk.

—Well, at least she's trying— the assassin conceded.

But even if the girl had improved a little, she still had no chance of winning against her. Ready to end the game, Maria slipped in complete silence through the treetops toward her prey's hiding place. In a few seconds she peeked overhead, brandishing her knives to leap at Liliana and defeat her in one blow. However, Maria did not find her.

Disgruntled, she looked in all directions, but Liliana was nowhere to be found.

—She disappeared?— Maria wondered.

She couldn't believe it, and yet there she was, or rather she was not. Liliana had managed to escape her sight for a few moments. Maria was impressed, even entertained, but she wasn't the least bit worried. Since Liliana was nowhere to be seen, Maria closed her eyes and concentrated on the sounds of the forest; she eliminated the passing of cars, the echo of the street and the footsteps of people on the sidewalks. She was left alone with what was between the trees. Then a rustling, a little rustling of leaves caught her attention, a few steps away from the tree itself.

—Nice try, kid, but this is as far as you go.

Before letting her try any other trick, Maria darted towards the bush where she had heard the leaves moving, swatted it away and grabbed Liliana by the neck... only that it wasn't Liliana, but was a long, white animal with eyes as blue as the sun.

—And where did you come from?...

She suddenly heard a knocking from the side. Instantly she turned to block it, but on that side of the tree she found nothing but air.

—What was it?...— she wondered.

She turned back to the animal, but then saw Brontes' blade approaching her neck. Impulsively she stepped backwards, but the munima was already too close to dodge or block. Brontes drove a clean slash through her neck and put her to sleep instantly. Maria collapsed to the ground out cold.

----------------------------------

A few moments earlier, Liliana went to hide from Maria, when she ran into Papel. At that moment she had a somewhat crazy idea that might just work.

—I need your help— she urged.

Papel stared at her as always, with his tender and innocent eyes. However, Liliana knew well that he was pretty smart for an animal.

—When the bad woman approaches, I need you to distract her. Just make a little noise. Can you do that?

Papel turned his head, then climbed the top of the tree smoothly and in complete silence. Liliana watched him until he disappeared, somewhat envious. If only she could move with such stealth, she would have an advantage over the assassin. She put a hand on her shoulder. It hurt like hell, she wanted to cry, but she needed to hold it in. Erica had endured much more than that.

—She must be hiding somewhere, where she can see me— Liliana thought— Brontes, what can I do?

"First of all, determine her position" indicated the munima.

—But for that I will have to go out and she will be able to see me.

"It's better than not moving and waiting for her to attack you by surprise".

Liliana ducked her head, Brontes was right. However, in that moment she came up with another idea. Without wasting any more time and with her nerves running out of her ears, she took off running from tree to tree, following a seemingly meaningless path. It was precisely what she needed for her plan.

"I sense hope" observed Brontes "What do you have in mind?".

—That woman must be a professional killer, you said so yourself. Besides, she doesn't seem to hold me in high esteem— explained Liliana as she darted from one tree to another, hoping the assassin wouldn't predict her moves and attack her from behind —I want her to think I'm desperate, to underestimate me.

"Underestimate you?" wondered Brontes "You want to trick her?".

Liliana, after running all over the place, returned to the thick tree where she had run into Papel. She knew she needed to move from there, as Maria would find her without any trouble. Unfortunately for her, she had no idea where this one might be.

"No, I think you know where it is" Brontes pointed out to her.

—What?!

"Or at least you can find out. You're an empathic girl, imagine yourself in her position, what do you think she would have done? Where could she have gone to hide? What path would she take to come and finish you off?"

—How am I supposed to know that?! I don't even know her!

"I know you can, Liliana! Try! We have no other choice!"

Brontes was right, there was no other way. Liliana squeezed him in her hands and concentrated. Despite the nerves bombarding her head at that moment, she imagined the assassin, with her underworld life, plunged into that situation. For her it would be just another reward, an easy job. Then she imagined the surprise of finding that her victim possessed a munima. So far, all the people with munimas Liliana had seen were ghosts or very strong people, like Fir. Seeing a little girl who could do nothing but wave her scythe around without any serious training would have come as a surprise. However, for an assassin she had to be cautious. People with munimas should be treated with care.

—She went to a place where she could see me— Liliana supposed— in the top of a tree, where she is safe, but can study me and look for weaknesses.

"Don't guess, convince yourself that that's what happened" Brontes spat at her.

Liliana nodded.

—After hiding, she saw me running all over the place. She thought I didn't know what to do, but waited for me to stop anyway. Now that I am still she will come to attack me where I can least defend myself, from above. She'll walk along the tops of the trees... But how can I hide, if she can see everything?

"She can't see everything. Besides, there's a clearing in the middle. She won't be able to move around there. Concentrate, Liliana. If the assassin will only move from tree to tree, she has two ways to come to you; from the right or from the left. Which way will she come?"

Liliana tightened her grip on the handle of her munima. A few seconds had already passed, the assassin would not be far away.

—Wherever there are more trees. That way she'll be able to move better. Law of least effort. So she'll come from my right.

Liliana concentrated on the sounds around her, hoping that the assassin would make a mistake and break a branch or something like that. But Maria was a pro, she could walk noiselessly even through the treetops. Liliana quickly realized this.

Frightened, she circled around a quarter of the trunk to hide behind it. That way Maria would not be able to see her until she was completely above her.

—She will appear from above, she will attack me— thought Liliana— I only have that one chance. Before that, she will be hiding above the trees, after that she can hide again and walk more cautiously.

"The key moment will be when she gets closer" Brontes supposed "But she doesn't make noise and we can't see her."

—Can't you perceive her as we did with Vikala in the castle garden?— asked Liliana.

"But in that opportunity what I felt was her munima. This assassin has none".

—I can't think of anything else— said Liliana.

"All right, but watch out. We'll need to move quickly".

Liliana nodded, and then they switched places. She retreated to the mark on her chest, while Brontes' consciousness took complete control of Liliana's body. Then he closed her eyes, held his breath, omitted the noise of the street and the cars around. He concentrated only on his surroundings.

They were still for several tense seconds. They had to breathe again a couple of times. But suddenly they felt a small touch, beyond their back. They immediately shifted again and made another quarter turn around the trunk to hide from Maria on the other side.

Liliana swallowed.

—Did it work? Is Maria behind us?— she asked nervously.

"Concentrate" Brontes snapped at her "act like everything is going perfectly, we can't afford to hesitate now".

Liliana nodded. She didn't know if Maria was behind her, confused, or if she was stalking her from above. She had no way of knowing, she could only hope her plan would work. She waited, tense, ready to lift Brontes and use him to cut whatever it was. She only had one chance. After several seconds of sheer stress, a sudden brush of leaves to the side caught her attention.

—Papel— she thought.

The rustling was followed by a quick noise; something bigger had rushed into the same bush, like a hand trying to catch something.

—The assassin— Liliana observed.

Quickly and without looking, she gave a little thump with Brontes on the tree to get Maria's attention, while she quickly moved to the other side. There she found Maria, with her back to her and Papel in one hand. Liliana was filled with joy as she realized that all her efforts were paying off, but she could not rest yet.

—I only have one chance— she reminded herself, as she grabbed Brontes with both hands to make a 180—degree slash.

The spectral blade slashed through Maria's neck just as she tried to dodge it. The assassin collapsed to the ground, released Papel and fell completely asleep.

Liliana jumped away and resumed her combat stance, tense and attentive to her opponent. Maria lay on the grass, motionless. The seconds passed slowly, very slowly. Liliana calmed her breathing and slowed her heartbeat. After several seconds she understood that Maria was not going to get up anymore.

"She's asleep" Brontes indicated.

Liliana's trembling knees gave way, she collapsed to the floor. The scythe returned to her chest, Liliana rested her hands on the earth and let out a last gasp of daunted air. It was over, finally. It had all been so fast, but she had managed to defeat the assassin.

—I can't believe I did it.

She looked at Maria again, thinking that at any moment she would disappear to attack her from behind, but her slender body remained still.

Still, Liliana turned back to her friends as fast as she could. She tried to throw Arturo over her shoulder, but his body was bigger than hers. Liliana wasn't very strong, so much so that she didn't manage to get up with the load on her back, much less with the added weight of Erica.

—What am I going to do?!— she pleaded.

She began to think she would have to drag them across the floor to the hotel, when suddenly a friendly laugh made her turn around.

—Haha. Let me help you, Liliana— offered a man.

Liliana looked at him in surprise...

----------------------------------

The next thing she knew, the city stretched out in front of her, at night, through the window. She waved her hand as if waving goodbye to someone.

Confused, she looked in all directions. She was in the hotel room. Erica and Arturo were still asleep in their beds.

Then she realized that something was wrong. A second ago she had been trying to carry her friends into the park. She leaned against the railing, disgruntled. She looked out at the city, but there was no one there close enough to say hello.

Somewhat upset, she put her hands to her head.

—What happened?

"What's wrong?" inquired Brontes "Don't you remember? A man showed up and helped you carry your friends".

—What?!— yelled Liliana —Really?

She carefully reviewed the events in her head, she remembered perfectly the fight with Maria, seeing her asleep on the grass, then going to her friends and trying to carry them by herself... and a voice...

—And what happened?— asked Liliana.

"Nothing important, we went back to the hotel. He just left".

Liliana looked at the open window.

—Which way did he go?

"That way, he jumped out the window".

Liliana leaned out to look down, but found nothing there.

—Did he say what his name was? Do you remember what he looked like?

"He had a mask on, he didn't say his name either, although from the way you were talking, it sounded to me like you already knew him".

—Really?

Liliana meditated; if she knew him and hadn't said his name by surprise, then he must be someone who was expected to appear at any moment.

—Could it be... my lord ghost?— she asked herself.

Suddenly Papel emerged from the side, climbed up to her shoulder, contentedly and squealed in greeting.

—Papel!— exclaimed Liliana, also happy to see him.