Struck by surprise, the boy twirled around, his eyes wide open. He still had his hands on Herman's throat. He was strangling him which both hands, while the old man desperately tried to grasp for air.

He had almost no strength left in him, his hands were already handing at the side of the bed.

"You fucker!", you screamed and jumped at the boy.

With surprising agility, he jumped away and dodged the blade. With a broad grin, he reached to his belt to pull out a knife. It was a lot larger than yours, well crafted and actually made for combat. Challenging, he opened his arms to let you know that he wasn't fearing anything.

"What now? Do you want to stab me? With that little kitchen knife?", he asked, still grinning.

There was this shimmer in his eyes. It was a dark shimmer, like the lust to kill.

Carefully, you stepped up to Herman's bed, your eyes turned towards the boy and grabbed his hand.

There was no life in him. No breath left his lips and he wasn't responding as you shook him a little.

"Why?!", you screamed, holding the knife in front of you. "Why him? He was an old man."

Like a madman, the boy laughed.

"He was a witness. Don't think I came here to kill him.", he stared at you, grinning.

Frightened, you stepped back. But your legs hit the bed and you stumbled, falling onto Herman. He was cold. His skin felt wrinkly. Panicking, you wanted to jump up but couldn't find your balance and rolled to the side instead.
The boy took his chance, jumped forward and pressed the blade of his knife to your throat.

The metal felt cold, almost like ice. The sheer feeling of it pressing against your throat caused your heart to beat faster.

"Now, don't move or I will cut you.", he purred in a sweet tone.

Swallowing thickly, you raised your chin and met his gaze. He wasn't supposed to know that you were afraid. Instead, he should think that you were not afraid of death.
While sitting there, your eyes staring into his, heart was beating as if it was about to explode into a thousand pieces. Your breath was shaking.

"Why?", you asked the boy in a strong voice.

He giggled.

"Like I said. He's a witness.", he repeated himself, coming closer to your face.

"The general won't like that you have killed him. You were supposed to kill me and me alone."

"Huh? Oh, you think the general send me? The lovesick bastard that wanted to leave Nilfgaard for dead to run away with a commoner like you? Ha! No, the general would have never send me away with a request like this."

His words spread confusion in you.

It it wasn't Morvran who had send him, who could it be?

Morvran was the only one that knew about you. He was the master of this mansion.

So, who could have possibly wanted you dead?

As the boy noticed the questioning look on your face he leaned back a little. With the blade still on your throat, he eyed you up and down. An amused smile was shining on his face. He must have really enjoyed this.

"I can see the questions in your eyes. You know what? I will tell you who it was. After all, you won't be able to warm the general anyways.", he grinned so broad it frightened you.

But instead of shaking in fear, you nodded. You needed to know.

"Tell me. Don't leave out any details. That is my last request.", you whispered, unsure if it was for show or the truth.

Even more amused, he tilted his head. His eyes had something evil inside, you noticed. It was like a dark shadow that marked his soul as a lost one. He had no spark of empathy in him. Only pure lust to torture a person that was looking death right in the face.

"I am not a genie. I don't fulfil last wishes.", he sat down on a chair opposite of you, the blade still in his hand.

He lowered the knife, letting it rest in his crotch while still having a hand on it. He put a finger to his lips, indicating that you were supposed to keep quite and pointed at the knife. He would slit your throat if you were moving just the slightest bit.

Understanding, you nodded.

"Now tell me.", you said.

The fear had died down in you. Now, there was just this empty feeling remaining. It felt as if you were hollow inside, as if your body was a mere shell that was filled with pictures that your eyes painted.

"The emperor.", the boy said with a broad grin. "I had the pleasure to be hired by the emperor himself. You must know, your little late night talks with the general were quite obvious. The mages of the emperor had noticed them right away. As the general became more restless, the emperor suspected that he was building a plan. His instincts are sharp, after all, he was right. As the general handed me the note, the emperor payed me to kill whoever was supposed to receive the message. E Viola, it was you."

He tilted his head, a crooked grin on his lips.

"So, you are a spy.", you figured.

But the boy shook his head.

"No. I'm a free man. The thing I told you about my future wife. That wasn't a lie. The emperor promised me I could leave the army if I bring him your head to confirm I did the job. And I will. Soon I will be with my family again. And you will be dead."

"I don't think so.", you hissed.

Suddenly, you jumped forward. Your hands were reaching for the knife in his crotch. You grabbed it with both hands and threw yourself to the ground. Everything went so fast, he couldn't properly responded.

Instead, he grabbed the other side if the knife, the blade and pushed it down.

The sharp metal cut through the soft flesh of your arm, causing a loud scream to escape your mouth.

"I will kill you!", he yelled, pulling you to the ground.

Wrestling, you two fought for a moment. The knife slipped away and instead of reaching for it, he just grabbed your neck with both hands and pressed. All air was sucked out of your lungs.

Coughing and gasping, you tried to hit his face but he was determined and didn't let go. Helplessly, your hands touched over the floor, the darkness was already crawling into the edge of your eyes.

Out of pure coincidence, your hand found the knife. So you stabbed him.