“Kind of hard to argue with that logic,” Flare said, moving over to help Atock.
The woman stood at the edge of the forest, “Are you coming?”
“Yes!” Flare said, “Just give us a moment.” He and Philip started helping Atock to one of the two remaining saddled horses, as Atock's horse had died in the fight. “Will the horses be able to make it through, in there?” Flare called over to the woman, who was anxiously watching the road.
“I can take you on a path that will accommodate them, but hurry!”
Philip and Flare hoisted Atock into the saddle of Flare's horse, and the big warrior gave a grunt of pain. “It's not broken, is it?” Philip asked, tossing the reins up to Atock.
Atock shook his head, and sweat ran down his face. “No. But it sure hurts bad enough.”
Flare started moving toward the forest, leading Atock's horse. “Philip get your horse and the pack horse. Quickly!”
Several moments later, they were barreling through the underbrush. The strange woman led the way, followed by Flare on foot leading the horse that the injured Atock rode. Philip brought up the rear, riding his own horse and leading the frightened packhorse. Barely a hundred yards into the forest, the woman stopped suddenly, and turned back to face them.
Flare skidded to a halt, and sub-consciously placed his hand on his sword hilt. “What's the matter?” He asked, a sudden fear that the woman was about to do to them what she had done the scared soldier. But the woman wasn't looking at him; she was staring past him to the road.
“Riders; they've reached the scene of the fight.”
Flare turned his body sideways, not wanting to take his eyes completely off of the strange woman. “How many?” Looking back over the way they had come, he couldn't see any sign of pursuit.
She was silent for a moment and her eyes lost their focus. “I'm not sure, at least twenty.”
Flare silently cursed. What had they gotten into? “Are there any hills or anything like that around here?” He asked, then seeing the confused look on the woman's face, he continued. “We need a spot that we can defend.”
The woman smiled at him, “They may try to pursue us into the forest, at least since we are this close to the edge, but do not worry. They will not reach us.” She then turned and strode deeper into the woods.
For some reason, he found it easy to believe her, she seemed to radiate a sense of knowing what she was talking about, and the fear of the soldiers catching them slowly ebbed away. However, a new fear replaced it. What was this woman, what could she do, and what were her intentions toward them?
Just then Philip spurred his horse forward, coming right up on the back of Atock's horse. Flare stopped walking, and turned completely to face him.
“Hey!” Atock called back over his shoulder in Philip's general direction. “What are you trying to do? Breed em?”
Philip's face was anxious, “I can hear soldiers in the forest following us. They're not far behind.”
Flare jerked back around looking for the woman, and almost wet himself when he realized that she was standing just a couple of feet away. “I thought that you said they wouldn't follow us into the forest.” He said, trying to keep his voice down.
The woman shook her head, “No. I said they wouldn't get far into the forest.” Her eyes seemed to glow a deeper green, and then it seemed as if a mighty wind was blowing through the trees. The trees and shrubs whipped around, some of them cracking in the powerful gale. Dust, leaves, and small branches were blown about and quickly had the guardians covering their eyes.
The wind was howling and the noise was amazing, but Flare still could hear the shouts coming from back towards the road. The soldiers, who had entered the forest, had clearly sounded the retreat and were running for their lives. He moved closer to the front of Atock's horse, using its broad chest to help shield his face. The horse whinnied and jerked its head in terror, almost pulling the rope from his hand. He quickly grabbed it again and held on tightly with both hands.
After a minute or two, the wind started dying down. Slowly the dust and leaves settled to the ground, and the guardians were able to uncover their eyes. Flare quickly moved to check on his fellow guardians. Atock had leaned low over the neck of the horse, and pulled his cloak over his head. The horse had shifted in the wind, but had not tried to get away. Philip was not so lucky; he had the reigns to the horse that he was riding in his right hand, and the lead rope to the pack horse in his left. When the winds had intensified, the pack horse had reared trying to get free, and Philip had been yanked from his saddle. It was a measure of the man's bravery, that he hadn't let go of either horse. They both stood there, quietly shaking. Flare smiled, thinking that he too was shaking a little. Hearing a rustling behind him, he turned to see the woman approaching.
Smiling slightly, she stopped a couple of paces away from them. “They won't follow us now. That little bit of wind scared them away.”
“And perhaps us too.” Flare said. “We saved you because it was the right thing to do, but who and what are you?” He could hear Philip moving in closer behind him, preparing to back up whatever Flare chose to do. He also heard a noisy thud and then a groan, which could only be Atock dismounting from the horse.
The woman was quiet for a moment, as if considering how best to explain. “The people around here call me a wildling, because of my,” she paused for a moment, apparently trying to find the right word. “Talents,” she finally offered. Moving over to fallen tree, she leaned against it as she spoke, “I used to live in Dal-Arium, until I was called. It was strange at first; I would wake up at night, and look out over the forest. It was like the trees were whispering my name.” Her eyes were a little glassy, and she seemed to once again be looking out over the forest. “It got worse over time. It got to the point where all I could think about was the forest; I seemed to have a burning need to go there.” She was quiet for several moments, lost in her thoughts, before she came back to the present with a small start. Glancing around, she seemed embarrassed to see the three warriors watching her, and she quickly dropped her eyes back to the ground. “I finally surrendered to the urge, and I came out to the forest and I just never left.”
“That really doesn't help me,” Flare said, stopping suddenly as the woman raised a hand.
“Over the last thirty or forty years, the forest has been calling people to it. There are others, like me, who were drawn to the forest, and,” she paused for just a moment, “Changed.”
“Changed? How have you changed?” Flare asked.
She cocked her head and studied Flare for a moment, “I have been giving certain abilities, like my own special kind of magic.”
“Like what you did to that boy, back at the road,” Philip interjected. “What exactly did you do to him, anyway?”
“I drained his life out of him, and used it to heal my wounds.” She ran a hand through her bloody hair. “My hair is still matted with blood, but the wound underneath is healed. Perhaps, that is why the people hate us so much, perhaps they fear us.”
They stood there for a moment, just staring at her. For all of her strangeness, Flare didn't feel threatened by her, she felt trustworthy. “What's your name?” He finally asked.
“Leela,” she answered, smiling at him for the first time. “And thank you again for helping me.”
Flare nodded, “You're welcome. It wasn't right, what they were planning on doing to you.”
Leela shrugged, “They do not like us wildlings, but tell me where were you headed? Were you going to Dal-Arium, or were you just passing through?”
Flare paused for a moment. He didn't really want to tell their plans to strangers, but what options did he have here? The three of them could head back to the road, and walk right into the soldiers, or they could try to skirt the city in the forest. He didn't like the idea of wandering aimlessly through a strange forest that was inhabited by wildlings. But, perhaps there was a different way. “Actually,” Flare said, studying Leela's face as he spok
e, “We are passing through. We are headed south along the highway.”
Leela nodded, smiling. “Good. I'm glad that you were not headed to Dal-Arium. I would hate to be the reason that you could not enter the city.”
Flare returned her smile, finding as he did so, that he was starting to like the woman. “But we now have a problem. We can't go south along the highway, so we will have to travel through the forest.” Leela's smile faltered and she looked troubled. “Perhaps, you could guide us through the forest?”
“Through the forest?” She repeated quietly, sounding as if she didn't like that idea at all.
“Well, yes. I mean, we can't go back, so we have to go through. Don't we?” Flare shook his head, “I don't much like the idea of wondering through your forest.”
“No.” Leela said quietly, “I wouldn't advise anyone to wander uninvited.” She was quiet for several moments, and seemed to be considering the idea. “How far south did you want to go?”
Flare shrugged, “Well, we are headed to Helum, so anywhere to the south of Dal-Arium should be fine.”
“Wait,” interjected Philip. “If those soldiers have half a brain, then they will send soldiers south along the road to keep us from doing exactly what we are talking about doing.”
Leela nodded, “He's right. To the south the highway branches, but most of the cities are to the south-east. Helum is one of the few major towns to the south-west. We would have to stay in the forest for quite a ways before you could travel the highway again.” She sighed, “I guess that it is the least that I can do; I mean you did save me after all.”
“Thanks for the help,” Flare said quickly, smiling. He looked over his shoulder, and noticed that neither Atock nor Philip seemed to share his happiness of the situation.
Chapter 16
Heather opened her eyes and blinked, trying to get the images to come into focus. Everything seemed blurry and hazy. Confused and not quite sure where she was, she groggily tried to remember what happened. A throbbing pain was emanating from the back of her head, and after a couple of moments, she realized that she was sitting, not lying down. Lifting her head, she groaned, as the soreness in her neck added its protests to the pain from her aching head.
“Heather!” A relieved voice called out from her right. Heather turned her head, realizing as she did so, that she was tied to a pole. Mikela was likewise tied to a pole just off to her right, looking scared and relieved at the same time.
Mikela seemed on the verge of tears, “I was afraid that you might not wake up. They hit you pretty hard.”
“Who hit me, and where's Aaron?” Her voice sounded funny and it was hard to talk. It felt like she had cotton stuffed in her mouth.
“I think it was Shim that hit you, and Jefflem hit Aaron with a club. He's over there,” Mikela said, motioning over to Heather's left. “He's been awake a couple of times, but he keeps slipping back into unconsciousness.”
Heather turned her head, and noticed that Aaron was tied to a third pole that had been driven into the ground. His head lolled forward resting on his chest, and he was breathing funny. For the first time, she noticed that they were in a large tent. Several boxes and bags were scattered around.
“Is he all right?” Heather asked quickly.
“He'll live, at least for now.” A man's voice said from directly in front of Heather. Wylon, Shim, and Jefflum had just entered the tent. Jefflum was smiling wickedly at Heather.
Heather blinked, trying to clear her eyes. “What's going on? Why did you attack us?”
Wylon sighed, “Well now, I was hoping that you could answer that question for me.”
Heather shook her head, sure that she had miss-heard him. “I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about.”
Wylon smiled at the puzzled look on the three prisoners' faces, “You see, I heard about a bounty being offered for certain individuals.”
“Bounty? What bounty? I assure you that we haven't broken any laws.” Heather asked quickly, instead of clearing things up, they seemed to be getting more confused.
Wylon and Jefflem laughed. Wylon moved over and leaned against a crate. “I didn't say that the law was offering a bounty for you. In fact, I am quite sure that the government of Aramonia knows nothing about this. You see, the reward is being offered to those of us who work outside the law.”
“Criminals.” Mikela said flatly, putting as much venom on the word as she could manage.
“At least one of them figured it out,” Jefflem spat. “I was really starting to think that your brains were addled by that blow to the head.” He said, looking at Heather.
“Criminals?” Heather repeated slowly, still confused. “Why would criminals want us?”
Wylon tilted his head, the puzzlement plain on his face, as he stared at Heather, “You really don't know. Do you?”
Jefflem leaned closer to Wylon, motioning to Shim as he spoke. “Give us a few minutes alone with them, and we'll get it out of them.”
“Shim!” Heather exclaimed, finding it hard to believe that the wagon driver that had always seemed so kindly would assist with what Jefflem was proposing.
In response, Shim smiled at her, but it was not a warm smile. “For the kind of gold they are offering, I would skin you alive, while you screamed.”
Wylon shook his head, “Absolutely not.” Both Jefflem and Shim turned quickly to look at him.
“Sir,” Shim started hesitantly, “For the kind of gold that is being offered for these two, they must have something extremely valuable. It would be a good idea to know what we are selling.”
“And besides,” Jefflem said with a leer at Heather, “I want some alone time with her before we turn her over.”
Jefflem was still staring at Heather, when Wylon slapped him hard across the face. “I said no!” Wylon shouted, it was the first time that he had raised his voice since he had entered the tent, and it had a pronounced affect. Jefflem stumbled away from him, and he stood there rubbing the side of his face, which was quickly turning red. Shim, stood a little straighter, and glanced nervously from Wylon to Jefflem. The boy was glaring at his uncle, murder in his eyes.
Wylon returned to leaning against the crate and looked over his shoulder towards Shim. “The people that put up the bounty are not to be crossed, or it will be us doing the screaming. The bounty is very specific. Do what it takes to subdue them, and then do nothing else to them.”
Heather watched the three men with scorn clearly showing in her face. “I don't care how much gold they are offering you. You've got the wrong people.”
Wylon smiled at her, and pulled a small piece of paper from his pocket. “Let's see. Five thousand gold pieces for Aaron Imes, a human male fighter, and” he glanced at the still unconscious Aaron, “What do you know, but he fits the physical description that I was given. Next, we have five thousand gold pieces for Mikela Shaltin, a human female of average height, pale skin, and black hair.” He paused and glanced at Heather, “And Heather Elt, long dark hair and average height. Supposed to be an excellent woodsman.” He set the paper on the crate beside him, “Are you denying that you are the three that they are looking for?”
Heather swallowed hard; obviously they were the three that Wylon had just described. But who was looking for them and why? “I admit that does sound like us, but who put that reward out?”
Wylon smiled again, “I don't know. My contact in Falda met me several days ago on the road and passed me this reward information, and how to get in touch with the people offering this reward. He also said that all he knew about these people was that they were not to be crossed, and I have learned over the years to trust his advice.”
Heather's head was swimming again, and the pain was threatening to make her blackout.
Wylon picked the paper back up off of the crate, “What I really want to know is where your friends are?”
“Friends? What friends?” This time it was Mikela that had spoken.
“Well, let's see.” The old man studied
the piece of paper in his hands, and then started reading from it. “There's Derek Aldanon, Del-Atock A'banani, Enstorion, Enton Dale, Trestus Obiah, Philip Connell, and Kara Elba, all of them are also worth five thousand gold pieces. But the big prize is Flaranthlas Eldanari, because, you see, he is worth twenty thousand gold pieces.”
The room was seriously starting to swim in front of Heather now. Who knew that they had gone south? Did someone know that they were after the sword? But who could afford to offer that kind of money for them? Could it be the church?
Wylon folded the paper and put it back in his pocket. “Perhaps, we could make a deal. You tell me where I can find the rest of those people on the list, and I could let the three of you go.” He wet his lips, watching them. “What do you say?”
“I say to the abyss with you!” Mikela spat at them.
Shim moved towards her, his face dark with anger, but Wylon was faster and he grabbed the big man's arm. “I said do not touch them for any reason. Is that clear?” He spoke quietly, but with murderous authority.
Shim swallowed, “Yes sir.”
Wylon turned his head to Jefflem, “Is that clear?”
In answer, Jefflem turned and stalked out of the tent.
Looking back at Shim, Wylon released the other man's arm, “Put a guard in front of this tent and another behind it. I don't want them escaping, and I don't want Jefflem sneaking in. Do you understand?”
Shim nodded quickly. “And if Jefflem tries to get in?”
Wylon shrugged, “Do whatever it takes, but do not let the boy touch any of them.” Shim looked like he wanted to ask a question, but was afraid. Wylon just smiled. “Kill the boy if you have to, if he hurts any of these three, then we'll all burn, and neither of us wants that.”
Shim nodded solemnly, “Are we waiting here, then? I mean to turn the prisoners over.”
Wylon shook his head, “No. There are too many city guards around Falda, so we'll continue on south.” He nodded at the three prisoners, “These three will travel in the back of a wagon. I want them tied tight and gagged. Put a guard in the wagon with them and have him loosen the gag occasionally, and give them water.”
Ossendar: Book Two of the Resoration Series Page 29
