---Nadir's POV---

I watched Javier's movement for a few days, waiting for the opportune moment. The man was exceptionally cruel lately, especially to the slaves his men caught. I felt bile burn in my throat as I glared through the crowd.

Javier smirked widely in the daylight, his fist curled tight around a leather leash as he tugged along a young boy. I recognized the child faintly as one of the boys from the downtown area. His father had been forced to work into the mines and the boy was probably insurance so the man wouldn't pose any trouble.

The boy shivered, crying silently and flinched any time Javier moved his hands. Judging from the large handprint on his cheek, the boy had been smacked around a few times. Keeping my head lowered, my eyes followed the boy until he glanced up.

I smiled reassuringly at him, nodding once and grinned when he seemed to brighten up a bit. Getting on my feet, I started stumbling and tripping. Bumping into random folks and making them grumble in anger, pushing me off of them.

Smiling goofily, I stuttered and hiccupped around a weak apology. "Fucking drunk roamer." One of the men cursed, shoving me harshly away from him and right into Javier.

The slaver cursed, curling his nose up with a sneer as I burped in his face, giggling drunkenly. "A-apologies." I hiccupped, fumbling over my feet before tripping and falling on the boy. He tried to carry my weight but failed miserably, falling over in a cloud of dust while Javier was still busy cursing and dusting himself off.

"Your father is doing fine. Have hope, I'm getting you out once the moon is up." I whispered in the boy's ear. He seemed shocked but offered me a wobbly smile, eyes watering up as he looked at me.

"You little shit, get your filthy hands off of my property!" Javier roared, grasping my neck in his hands and tearing me off the boy. I yelped as he threw me off and flung me to the wall, making sure to bounce off it and tumble on the dirt before laying still.

Soon enough I felt a boot pushing me on the floor, hands yanking at my pouch and tearing it off as I gurgled drunkenly. "Yeah, laugh it of you stupid drunk. Let's see if you're still in a jolly mood when you sober up without all your money." Javier sneered, giving me a sharp kick in the ribs before he sauntered off.

The boy glanced back a few times before they disappeared in the crowd. After a few minutes, I slowly pushed off and stumbled to the alley before grinning and sprinting when I was out of sight.

Luckily Javier only grabbed at the obvious pouch, which only held the bare minimum of my coins. Snatching an apple of the nearby table, I saw the cleric already standing up, ready to be calling me a thief before I flipped a coin in his direction.

The man instantly closed his mouth and nodded his head as I bit down on the juicy fruit, I might be a thief but I'm not stealing from these people. When a few of Javier's men bumped past me, I let my fingers do their job, a quick hand gesture that opened a pouch, a tumble to regain my balance as I let my hands wander and when they pushed me away and went on with their business, I grinned.

Opening my hand, I had multiple coins in the palm of my hand, a few rings and a single sapphire gleaming in the sunlight. "Fools." I chuckled, safely depositing the trinkets in the pouch around my neck. By the time the men realized they had been robbed, I was streets away, spotting a few of the mercenary's men.

"... not supposed to talk about this in town. The walls have ears." One of the men hissed as they passed by. His friend nodded but the third man rolled his eyes as I lingered at a nearby stall, eying the merchandise curiously.

"Bullshit, you think that unknown spy is still lingering around? Its been days since the notes and since then nothing! All the boss has been doing is laying an ear out for those slaves down the mines."

"Yeah, poor bastards. There must be some way to break 'em out." The man nodded and they started a heavy discussion on how to get the slaves out. I bit my cheek to stop a grin from blooming on my face and instead bought some necessary food and water for the upcoming journey.

As soon as Javier was dead, Saemus would follow. And then I was going for the next of my so called masters, and possibly the worst of the bunch. The reason why I didn't go for him first was simple; he relied heavily on Saemus and Javier's constant flow of slaves coming his way.

By stopping the slavers first, he'd get the assurance that no one else was going to be loaded onto the rest of his cruel masters. Especially not Sheik Aakif, the monster that still filled many of my nightmares.

My fingers brushed against the scar on my throat and thighs as I remembered him before gulping. Phantom pains rushed through my back before I shook my head to shake the memory off.

Aakif would die by my blade soon enough. I'll make sure that his death is long and gruesome. But now I had to deal with a certain slaver and his master. Javier was going to be a warning to Saemus; no doubt the fat sheik was going to flee as soon as heard what happened to Javier.

Bells chimed heavily through the air, making me look up and smirk. "The evening bells... Time to get going." The sky was a brilliant purple with pink hues. I grinned as the Bedouin guided their camels further into the desert, away from the city. When a few of the nomads looked up, I raised my hand in greeting, smiling as the kids laughed and came over, talking erratically.

"Nadir." The leader smiled warmly as I approached, grabbing me in a hug and kissing both my cheeks as I returned the gesture. "Raseen. It's been a while, my friend." He nodded, waving me towards the comfort of their fire, "Come, sit. I'm sure you must be tired."

I chuckled but allowed him to guide me to the fire and close to the four other men, who nodded at me and greeted me with a warm hug as well. Raseen's wife offered me a plate of food and I nodded slightly as thanks. It wasn't according to custom to greet a female but I believed that every one was equal.

Raseen didn't take offence and gestured for me to eat. I sat down on the floor crisscrossed and happily dug in. Using my right hand only, I savored everything and enjoyed the silence as everyone else ate as well. After dinner, the women serves us some sugary tea while we talked about mundane things.

"So Nadir, how are things? I'm surprised to see you lingering around here." Raseen spoke, his voice calm yet stern. I nodded, sighing deeply. "I still have... business to deal with."

Raseen seemed to want to pry a bit more but I wouldn't allow any information to slip from my lips. Not that I didn't trust this man; I did. He was related to the family that saved me on that faithful day.

I was more worried about a possible backlash if I spoke to them about my plans for the Sheik and Javier. Who knows what would happen in Javier's men got wind that the Bedouins knew of his demise.

His expression was stern but Raseen nodded slowly, sighing deeply." I will not pry because I have the feeling I won't like the answer. Just be careful Nadir. Please." His concern was touching and I assured him I would take care of myself before I had to leave.

I had a family to save, a slaver to kill and a Sheik to hunt.

---Carson's POV---

Inhaling deeply, I stood in the entrance of my tent and frowned, staring off into the night. I didn't know why but I had this odd, sinking feeling in my gut, as if something was wrong.

The breeze yanked at my hair, pulled at the tent and kicked up sand before I had to close my eyes to shield them. When I opened them, I glanced to the side, where Mord'u had suddenly appeared.

As I silently gazed at him, he nodded once as if hearing my unspoken question. "There's something up boss. I can feel it." He stared up at the moon, brows furrowing before they settled on the sleeping city.

"Double the guards tonight. I have a feeling we're going to have company before the night is over." I commanded, lifting a flap of the tent before I stepped inside. I wasn't going to lose any sleep over what could happen with any of the slavers. I was more concerned about the wellbeing of the citizens and my men.

I fell asleep to the soft nickering of horses and the occasional cough and sleepy grumbles of my men. When I woke up however, it was due to the alarm bells ringing in town, signaling an immediate threat.

My eyes snapped open as I vaulted out of bed, the covers flying through the room as I was already at the entrance. I could hear my men scrambling to prepare themselves to fight, loud curses and feet crunching in the sand as we gathered at the edge of our camp to look what was happening.

Surprisingly, the city looked rather peaceful; I had expected there to be a fire of sorts that would've cause the bells to ring. But as my eyes scanned the sky above the city, I didn't see any smoke that looked out of place. I did however notice that the guards on the ramparts were running around like headless chickens.

"What the hell?"

The loud neigh of a horse and a man's shouting made us all turn around, expecting an approaching army, only to see a messenger from town bolting towards us. His panicked screams put everyone on edge, looking for anyone pursuing him.

After he rambled on about something happening in the city and that we were required to come before the Sheik, urgently, he dashed back to the walls. I frowned and raised an inquisitive brow at Mord'u, who only shrugged before getting to his horse.

"Wonder what got their panties in a twist." Mord'u snickered along with a few men as we quickly saddled up and went to town. A few of my men held their bows ready, especially when we noticed the Sheik standing at the gates, surrounded by guards as they scanned the surroundings.

"What's going on?"

The Sheik blew out a shaky breath at my question, motioning me in the walls as he stayed close to his guards. "One of my men heard a scuffle going on and found a body. We don't know who it is since the guard was attacked when he tried to identify the corpse."

I shared a look with my men before looking back at the Sheik. "And why does that have anything to do with why we're being summoned?" The man didn't answer my question, instead mumbled nervously as his eyes flitted from rooftop to rooftop, chewing on his nails.

He wasn't just nervous.

He was petrified.

The guards quickly guided us to the crime scene, where I saw several lights flicker behind windows, people hiding behind their curtains as they watched whatever was going on.

As one of the guards lit up a lantern though, I could hear several shocked gasps and my own eyes widened in shock as we found the body. Guards quickly set to work on lighting several torches, illuminating the crime scene so we could see whom it was.

What unnerved me though, was the way Sheik Saemus was starting to shake, one of his grubby hands held in front of his mouth like he was going to be sick. Because the crumbled and tied form that lied there in the center of the Souq, was Javier's body.

The man was tied up with shackles and chains, kneeling in front of a large wooden post used to publicly punish thieves and slaves. The shackles on the post were holding his wrists up and in front of him. Blood was dripping from his mouth from where he had bitten his tongue, his wrists chaffed from the chains.

But was extremely curious, was the slave mark branded on both soles of his feet and one in the middle of his chest. The skin was still raw, slowly blistering where the branding iron had pressed against the skin.

And as he was brought down the stage and laid on his side, the flickering lights of the lanterns fell on his back. Saemus made a sound of distress at the numerous lash marks all over Javier's back before he froze.

Suddenly the man strode forwards, shoving at the corpse before he yanked a golden necklace off. His mates shouted in anger at the disgraceful treatment before they silenced at the shock, anger and horror laced in Saemus eyes.

"Y-you..." He hissed, before spinning on the spot. "I know you're here you little slave bitch! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! COME OUT!" he suddenly roared at the rooftops, shouting erratically as everyone backed away from him. The man was growing insane!

"You think you can ruin me, playing your little games! I see right through you, you slave! Wait till I get my hands on you, you'll be squealing for mercy like the pig you are!" He roared on, spit flying through the air. People were coming out of their homes, eying the man warily and murmuring softly.

The man kept on his deranged shouting, even went as far as yanking one of the guards closer to steal his sword, swinging it through the morning sky. It wasn't until he spotted one of the small children, which seemed to be in slave outfit, trying to get away from the raving madman that things changed in a split second.

The mother of the child cried out, trying to pull her child back in the safety of her arms as the Sheik grabbed the child by the arm and yanked him away. He even kicked the woman to the floor before shouting to the sky. "A life for a life, slave! Let's see how the people will think of you now!"

His blade swirled through the air as my men and I grabbed for our own swords, preparing to stop the man from striking at an innocent child.

Everyone paused when the blade slid from Saemus' grasp, his breath exploding in a short burst as he glanced down at his chest.

A fletching made of owl feathers was slowly turning crimson form where the arrow pierced through Saemus' chest. The man's skin-color was already turning pale as red bloomed over his shirt from where the arrow had entered his body.

The light glimmered of metal in the darkness, making me turn and widen my eyes in shock as I spotted the shooter standing on a rooftop several feet away. A rooftop that seemed to be beyond any bowman's reach.

The unknown male proved me wrong as he cocked another arrow back until the fletching feathers tickled his ear and in one smooth motion, the arrow was set sailing. His shot was fast, steady and true.

"Gods above..." I murmured in shocked awe as Saemus dropped on his knees before tipping over, dead. An arrow straight through his heart and a second arrow pierced his throat, cutting through major arteries and ensured the Sheik was doomed to die anyways.

When I looked back up, the man had disappeared and I ignored the commotion around me as I stared where he had previously stood.

Who are you...