Chapter15

They slowed down after that and started toward him carefully, all three drawing their weapons once the distance got short enough to matter.

The first man kept his sword low while the other held his axe across his body, and Cassie stayed behind them with one hand near the small knife at her waist.

When they got close enough to see the ground around him, the second man noticed the half-finished meat first.

"He was eating," he said, looking from the dropped food to the body on the ground. "So what happened?"

The first man stared at Hajin for a second, then at the dry blood on his clothes.

"Maybe he died after," he said. "Wouldn't be the strangest thing."

Cassie looked at Hajin's still body, then at the state of the camp and the blood around him, and a small nervous look crossed her face.

"We should just leave him alone and go," she said quietly. "If he's dead then there's nothing we can do, and if he's not then I don't think we should be standing over him like this."

The first man was about to answer when the other one suddenly looked down near the dead fire and smiled.

"Lookey here," he said, crouching a little.

Cassie's eyes followed his and saw the two crystals on the ground near Hajin's things.

"Those are monster crystals," the man said, already reaching down. "He won't care about them if he's dead."

"Wait," she said, the word coming out fast, but she was already too late.

The moment his hand moved close, Hajin's eyes snapped open.

It happened so fast that for a second none of them reacted, because there was something wrong about how suddenly he moved. This was not dazed blinking or a confused flinch, his hand just shot out for the sword beside him while his body twisted off the ground in the same motion.

The man barely had time to look up before Hajin's leg came around in a hard back spin kick that slammed straight into his chest.