The Huntress

Stealth darted after her quarry. She sped past an apartment block and turned into a narrow alley. From under her hood, she heard a blade whistling through the air towards her. There was a soft rustle and a twang. Her prey crumpled, lifeless, to the ground. Stealth placed her hand upon the dead man's chest, and the body condensed into a shimmering white orb. She picked it up and flung it down the street. It bounced off the pavement once and then shot through the air towards it's former master, Stealth in close pursuit.

She followed the ball, running flat-out for twenty seconds, before it came to a sudden halt in the middle of a busy square. People where bustling around, oblivious to the sphere that had just flown right through them. Stealth paused behind a corner, scanning the square with a frown. Then she saw him, purple tunic billowing in his stride as he marched toward the ethereal globe. Some people winced slightly when he stepped into them, most didn't notice at all.

Stealth bit her lip. She couldn't aim through the throng. But she didn't have to. He had picked up the sphere and was holding it high. It contracted to the size of a pinhead, held it's shape for a moment, and disintegrated in his hand, causing palish blue ripples to spread out through the plaza. When it was over, the people had vanished in light clouds, and the buildings around them seemed a century older.

Stealth didn't pause to think. She knocked an arrow to her bowstring and swiftly let it fly toward the target. With his now orbless hand still held high, the purple-clad figure spread out his fingers and pointed them outward, facing the incoming arrowhead. Instead of spearing his palm, however, the arrow dove into the flesh noiselessly, without reappearing out the other end. Unsmiling, he pointed at the corner where Stealth was hiding, waiting to hear the impact that hadn't come. He flicked his wrist sideways. Stealth was thrown off her feet onto the cobbled square. With a further wave of his hand, her bow flew out of reach. Now looking slightly amused, the man sauntered towards her limp body.

Stealth leapt to her feet, flung her arms back, and grabbed two shafts from the quiver still hanging round her shoulder. In one fluid movement, she hurled the arrows forward. This time she heard the soft thud as they embedded themselves neatly in each of the target's grey eyes.