by Candy Crum
There were screams coming from the village, forcing Cathillian to make the decision between leaving Jenna alone, knowing she would be taken, or staying and abandoning the other druids in the community.
Having seen the dilemma on Cathillian's face, Samuel smashed another dark druid in the chest before saying, "Go, lad! I can handle this."
"Be careful. Her brother will come for her. Don't let them touch you. You remember what happened to me." Cathillian spared only another moment, giving his friend a nod before running toward the screams.
More cries echoed through the forest, leading him to a mass of dark druids invading the actual village. When he got there, he realized they were all women. "Ladies! Ladies! Hey, no fighting. There's enough Cathillian to go around. All you had to do was ask."
A dagger whizzed by his head, one he hadn't seen coming but which had luckily missed.
"Hey!" he said, pointing a finger at the one who had thrown it. "That's no way to treat a guy you like. Unless, of course, that's just how you flirt."
Just as it was in the sparring match with Nika, his hand was a blur as he drew his knife and threw, hitting the woman directly in the chest.
"Did I mention that I flirt harder?" he asked.
There were five of them, and all five charged at him at once, clearly not amused by his sense of humor. Lifting a hand into the air, Cathillian was able to grab a thin branch which creaked as it angled down far enough for him to reach. The branch quickly lifted Cathillian as he swung his body upward to stand on the end.
The women stopped, anger all over their faces.
"Now see, if you guys weren’t evil psychos, you'd still be able to use your nature magic. But no. The trees don't like you now," Cathillian said, then childishly stuck his tongue out at them.
He only barely dodged another knife flying at his head before he once again reached for the sky. A vine shot down from one of the overhead limbs and wrapped around his wrist. He held on tightly and jumped from the branch he stood on, swinging downward and wrapping his legs around one of the dark druids as he passed her. He arced high into the air and released her, dropping her from a height that was enough to kill her on impact.
As he arced back down, he broke the vine at the lowest point and dropped to the ground, tumbling once and landing flat on his back. From his position on the ground he kicked one of the dark druids in the gut as hard as he could, sending her flying back several feet.
Scrambling to his feet, he unsheathed his sword to meet the last two coming for him with blades and staffs. They weren't nearly as well trained as he was in close-quarter combat, so he was able to cut them down easily. The last one had recovered from the hard kick he’d given her and was now coming at him with a staff.
It struck him as odd that they would use staffs at all, because the druids believed that the weapon helped them connect better with nature. The dark druids were more or less an abomination of nature, their magic taking life instead of giving it.
She came at him, screaming out a war cry. He easily ducked out of the way, spinning once and hitting her in the back of the leg with the broad side of his sword. When she was on the ground, he lowered the point to her throat, pushing it in just hard enough to draw blood.
"How did you get in?" Cathillian asked.
"That would be me, big boy," a sultry feminine voice said.
Cathillian looked up to see a woman with white eyes approaching. He'd never met a mystic, but he had a feeling this was the very one Arryn had told him about. The woman on the ground shifted, attempting to get away from the sword, but he didn't give her the chance. Thrusting the sword downward, Cathillian ended her fight.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Cathillian asked. "Aren’t you the mystic helping Talia in Arcadia?"
The woman bowed slightly. "Scarlett. So nice to meet you, Cathillian. I've heard all about you. I just must say, you are much more delicious in person. Before you ask, I have an Arcadian with me. Stashed away. A large group invaded the southern border while I came farther north. The Arcadian teleported me inside the barrier, and I used my special abilities to convince a few of your people to open the barrier here to let my friends in. Really, it wasn't that hard."
Cathillian shook his head. "Why are you telling me this?"
She shrugged. "I felt like it? I don't know. I don't really have any reason not to. I mean, I'm getting out of here. I'm perfectly safe, so why shouldn’t I? Anyway, I made a deal with Jenna after she nearly killed you outside the Arcadian gate. I can't exactly get my side of the deal if she's here in your custody, so her hot brother asked me to help. As soon as I'm done here, I'll be teleported out to safety, away from all you savages."
"Where's Arryn?" Cathillian no longer cared about this woman or her game. He knew she was stalling for some reason, but he didn't give a damn. At that moment, the only thing on his mind was Arryn.
Scarlett laughed. "Took you long enough to ask! And if I'm to be completely honest, I don't know."
Cathillian took a few steps forward, but Scarlett smiled and held up her hand, wagging a finger at him. With her eyes white, he knew she could take him down before he could even get close to her. And if he attempted to use magic, she would know what he planned before he did it. Now he understood why Arryn was so obsessed with shielding her mind.
He had so many regrets. So many things to apologize for.
"You do know. You wanted to take her. You were probably one of the people who kidnapped her," Cathillian said.
Scarlett shook her head. "Actually, I'm not lying. You are correct, I did have a hand in taking her. During the battle with the remnant, we bled her out and weakened her so she couldn't heal easily. Took us a couple days to get where we were going, but we finally dumped her. Talia wanted her to suffer alone before she died."
Cathillian growled, "She isn't dead. I can promise you that."
Once again, the mystic laughed. "Well, I certainly hope not! You see, I need her. I need her to come back to Arcadia with all the rage that has probably been building the entire time she's been fighting to get out of that deathtrap we left her in. I need her to kill Talia. If Arryn’s dead I'll have to change my plans, and I'm not a big fan of doing that."
Cathillian couldn't believe what he’d heard. Though it pissed him off more than he could comprehend, he also felt hopeful. This woman had been one of her captors, and she wanted Arryn to survive.
The woman sighed heavily. "Please don't go and cry on me now. It'll totally ruin the image I have of you. Let me just say, I plan to use that to my advantage later tonight, if you know what I mean." She winked and smiled.
Cathillian could hear heavy hooves and knew his mother and Chaos were coming.
"Oh! Our time is up. I'll be seeing you soon." Scarlett winked again. "Very soon, I'm sure. Tell your mother I said hello."
The whites of her eyes suddenly brightened and pain shot through Cathillian's head, overwhelming him and causing him to slump to the ground. Darkness surrounded him as he fell unconscious.
***
Samuel had failed. The dark druids had proved to be too much for him when a small group attacked from all sides. Celine had managed to take a few down with her newly acquired skills, and Samuel had taken almost all the rest, but one had managed to get through and free Jenna. He imagined that one had been her brother.
As the final body hit the forest floor, Samuel turned to find Celine, and his heart jumped into his throat when he saw her lying on the ground with blood pouring from her stomach and shoulder.
"No!" Samuel cried out as he rushed to her side. He dropped to his knees and slid his arm under her head, his free hand going to the side of her face. "Not again. Please. Don't go. Just hold on, and I'll get ye ta Cathillian or one of the others. Just hold on!"
He could feel a pulse in her neck, but it was weak. Her breathing was shallow, and he wasn't sure if she would make it long enough to reach anyone. He didn't care. He would do whatever it took to save her.
Sliding his hand
s under her body, he lifted her, struggling to stand. Samuel had lost quite a bit of blood himself during the fighting, and even more energy. His body was weak, even with the fear racing through him.
Samuel tried several times, dropping back to his knees every time. Tears began to fall down his bearded cheeks as he screamed for help, praying someone would hear him.
"Please hold on just a little longer. I'm gonna run and get help. I'm too weak ta carry ye," he pleaded. "I'm so sorry."
As Samuel started to climb to his feet, he heard a tiny groan. He looked down to see her eyes weakly open before shutting again.
"No." It was only a single word, but it shattered him into a thousand pieces.
He pulled her into his lap, cradling her face against his chest as he kissed her forehead. "I've got you. I got you."
He looked down, lifting her shirt enough that he could see the wound. It looked very deep. His eyes shut as more tears escaped to his cheeks, and he pressed his hand tightly against the wound in the hope that he would be able to stop the blood enough to keep her alive until someone else got there.
Please. Please. Please. I was responsible for ye. Ye've saved me arse more than once. Please live long enough so I can save yers.
Samuel felt warm, warmer than he should have, given that he was holding the dying girl in his arms. The heat in his body rose, but was highest in his hands. It didn't matter to him. All that mattered was that Cathillian needed to get his ass back here and fast.
The rearick open his eyes, preparing to search the area again for anyone who might be close enough to call out to, but he was interrupted by the woman in his arms taking a deep breath, her eyes darting open as she sat up and panted for air. They stared at one another in confusion.
As Samuel's eyes focused on hers, he saw a green glow in them, but quickly realized it was the reflection of his own eyes. He quickly shifted his gaze downward, moving his hand away from her stomach to see that the wound had stopped bleeding.
Celine had noticed the same thing, and her hands wiped at her abdomen, cleaning it enough to see that the wound had closed, though it wasn’t perfect. If she moved around too much it could easily bust back open, but he’d done it. He'd healed her.
Celine smiled and said in a whisper, "You did it. Samuel, you used magic to heal me. You saved my life."
Samuel heard voices approaching, but his mind was swimming and his eyes were suddenly heavy. "I…" That was all he managed before his eyes rolled back in his head, and he hit the ground, unconscious.
CHAPTER TWENTY
It took all day and well into the night for Arryn to reach the bottom of the mountain. As soon as her feet touched the green grass she smiled and dropped to her knees, her fingers combing through the blades.
Several times on her way down she’d had to stop to block the cold wind or use a little magic to warm herself. There were also times she had to stop because she couldn't quit crying. Leaving the tigers had been incredibly painful, more than she'd ever imagined it would be.
But no matter how much it broke her heart, she couldn't bring herself to take them from their home if she wasn't truly bonded to them. They weren't hers to keep. Besides, she knew that if the bond had been real, they would've followed her no matter what.
Painful or not, she knew she'd made the right decision.
When Talia and the others had taken Arryn to the top of the mountain, they'd stopped in several places for the others to rest between teleporting. Arryn had no idea where those places had been, so she needed to be careful where she stopped to prevent anything bad from happening.
She came to a small village with only a hundred or so people in its entire population. It was small enough that it wasn’t even mentioned on the maps of Irth she'd seen.
Of course, it was also possible the tiny area had grown, as hard as that was to believe, since the maps had been created.
Keeping her head up, Arryn made her way through the street. There was only one street, so it allowed her to observe everything the village had available. It was late evening when she arrived. The sun had set, though there was just enough light remaining in the sky to illuminate her path.
She saw the sign with an anvil and hammer on it hanging over the door of one of the buildings. She pulled her knives from her belt and examined them. They had been crudely put together, and though she was sure the metal was strong, it had originally been stone, which she had transformed by magic. If she wanted them to be what she'd intended, she would need a blacksmith.
Arryn went over to the shop and knocked on the door, hoping someone was inside and would see her. She needed food—something other than ram jerky. She also needed sleep.
On the way down the mountain, she'd been forced to teleport several times. The distances were small so the magical use had been light, but it had been conjuring heat and healing herself when she'd miscalculated one of her landings and nearly broken her leg that had drained her.
She had no doubt she could make it back to Arcadia tonight, but then what? She sure wouldn’t have the energy to do what she'd come to do, which was destroy Talia.
A man came to the door, which pulled Arryn from her thoughts. He wiped his hands on a towel as he stared down at her. "Yes, girl? What can I do for you?"
She gave a nervous smile, having no idea how to ask what she needed to. "I know this will sound strange to you, but I promise there is a reason. Do I look familiar to you?"
Arryn turned a little, allowing the light to strike her face. He stared at her for a moment, studying her features before finally shaking his head. "No, you don't. You do, however, look like you've been through hell."
That statement brought a knowing smile to her face. It wasn't funny to her, but she still found it amusing. "Yeah, you could say that. I spent the last couple weeks on those mountains. Way up at the top."
He looked at her curiously. "And why would you do a fool thing like that?"
"Because I was teleported there and dumped by a heinous bitch. That's why I asked if I looked familiar. They had to stop several times to rest between jumps." Normally, Arryn wouldn't have given out quite so much information, but she felt he was on the verge of helping her, and she needed to know for sure that he hadn't helped Talia.
As soon as she'd spoken the words, his eyes widened before he stuck his head out the door, looking in each direction. "I guess maybe you are familiar. Get your ass in here before anybody sees you."
He grabbed her arm and pulled her inside, taking one last look out the door before shutting and bolting it. Arryn's eyes went black before he'd even turned around. As his gaze fell upon her, he stopped hard, swallowing nervously.
"I take it I'm familiar to you now?" Arryn asked.
The man put his hands in the air, and she saw that they were dirty and calloused. He must've been the blacksmith. "I never saw you personally, not your face anyway. I saw them carrying you. I thought maybe you were very ill. They took you to the Widow."
It was Arryn's turn to look confused now. "The Widow? Who the hell is that?"
The man walked across the room, nervously pulling back the curtains an inch or two to peek outside. "She's been married five times, but none of her husbands have survived. She came here a long time ago. Rumor has it before she moved here, she'd had a daughter, coal black hair and beautiful, but the daddy was never around. He'd left her to take care of the child by herself. No one had ever seen him or knew who he was. Something about the whole situation drove her crazy. She ended up taking a husband when the daughter was around five or six—after she was certain he wasn't coming back—but he died in a barn fire."
When he paused, Arryn asked, "So, what happened next? What about the daughter?"
"She married again when the girl was around ten. He only lasted about six months before he was killed. Drowned in a pond in the horse pasture. The next one came a couple years later, and he caught a fever. People suspected poison, but there was no way to prove it. She married the next one a few years later; that was suppo
sed to be a hunting accident. Then the woman came here, but there was no daughter with her. No one here had ever seen her; only heard about her from people who had traveled south."
Arryn swallowed. There is something deeply disturbing about the story—far more disturbing than she thought possible. "Then what happened? That's only four."
"It was a few years after she lived here. Several actually. That woman was always quiet and withdrawn. Everyone said she was crazy, but when I'd run into her at the market, she didn't seem crazy. She seemed broken. Beaten. She herself had long black hair and porcelain skin. Gorgeous. Of course, I wouldn't go anywhere near her. With a name like ‘the Widow,’ you don't exactly take chances. Well, I didn't, anyway. Someone else did. She'd lived here for several years before she took any interest. He was a friend of mine. They married, even though I warned him against it. Within a few months, he was dead. Hanging."
"And everyone thinks she was one who did it?" Arryn asked.
The man nodded. "Everyone except me, of course."
Arryn shook her head. "Why didn't you believe it?"
His sad smile was unamused. "Because he met her daughter."
Arryn's eyes widened. "What did he say? What was she like?"
The man walked across the room, grabbing a couple mugs and pouring some ale. Arryn imagined it would be cheap and more than likely taste like shit, but she didn't care. She couldn’t wait to taste something other than snow.
"He said she had the most beautiful hair, skin, and face he'd ever seen. She’d come here from just outside of Cella to see her mother after the marriage, but he said his wife swore she never invited her. He also said she was cold and calculating. He met her more than once. He said that every time he saw her, she made some condescending remark about him never measuring up to her father. That her mother was a fool for trying to replace him."
"Talia." The word was only a whisper on her lips, but his eyes widened briefly before he nodded. Something seemed oddly familiar about the physical description and creepy behavior, but the second he’d said ‘Cella,” she knew.
