Protector (Little Death Bringer, #2)

by Banks, Catherine

  I shook his hand and gave him my business face. “Marin.”

  Micah held out his hand and Murdock shook it, but his eyes never left mine. “You’re a mercenary?”

  I nodded my head. “I am.”

  “But you’re a woman.”

  “Did the boobs give it away?” I asked with a smirk.

  “What can you tell us about the recent events?” Micah asked to bring things back on topic.

  Murdock looked at me a moment longer and then turned to Micah and said, “They’ve been happening once every three nights. So far they have taken two men in their sixties and one ten year old boy.”

  “Where were the people taken from?” I asked.

  “They were taken from their homes as far as we can tell, but we don’t know if they were inside or outside,” he answered with a scowl.

  “They all lived alone?” I asked in shock. Why would a young boy live alone?

  “We are a poor town. None of us could afford to take care of an additional boy so he took care of himself,” Murdock answered my unspoken question.

  “Has anyone seen the attackers?” I asked. The barkeep set the two mugs of beer on the bar top and scowled at me. Apparently he and I weren’t going to be friends.

  Murdock nodded his head. “I saw the boy taken. It was two ogres and they made absolutely no sound. I’d never seen ogres do that. I tried to catch up to them, but they disappeared into the forest.”

  “Have you tried sending out parties in search of them?” I asked.

  He scowled at me. “Of course we did. We aren’t cowards.”

  “What did they find?” Micah asked.

  “Nothing.”

  “Nothing?” I asked in shock.

  Murdock nodded his head. “Nothing. There were no footprints, no scents, nothing. It was as if it hadn’t happened.”

  This was getting extremely weird. As far as I knew the only way to accomplish that was with a magic spell and ogres have no magical abilities. Who was helping them and why?

  “When was the last attack?” Micah asked.

  “Two nights ago,” Murdock said.

  “So if they’re going to keep to their pattern, they’re going to take someone tonight,” I said with a smirk. I drank my mug of beer and headed out the door to Fire.

  “Why was she smiling?” I heard Murdock ask.

  “She has a feud against ogres. She tends to get excited when the opportunity to kill them presents itself,” Micah answered as he stepped out of the bar and headed towards his horse with Murdock following.

  “I’m going to scout the forest,” I said, “You scout the homes.”

  “Meet back in an hour,” Micah said seriously.

  I mounted Fire and tied my cape on. “Yes, sir.” Fire cantered off with no urging and I felt my blood churning. I was finally going to get to kill more ogres and I was going to kill whoever was helping them as well. And I would be able to complete a mission without Favian. I calmed myself with a deep breath and focused on my surroundings as we neared the forest. There had to be a trail they took often, or some sign that they had been there.

  I moved towards the forest and felt my twitchiness increase and my heart beat faster. Ogres were definitely near, but how close? I stopped at the entrance to the forest and hopped down from Fire’s back to survey the ground. There were no wards and no charred lines to indicate a spell. I squatted and looked at the forest floor to inspect the animal trails. Strangely there were none. Even if these people over hunted and dwindled the large animal population, there would still be rabbit or squirrel tracks here. I walked into the forest and continued my search, still coming up with nothing. Had these people killed off their entire animal population by over hunting? Including squirrels? They were a poor town, but they didn’t seem that poor.

  Finally, about a mile into the forest I came across a few trails, but they hadn’t been used recently. I walked back to Fire and looked around, feeling like I was being watched. What was going on that Murdock hadn’t told us? He was withholding something from us.

  Fire trotted back to town and I looked around at the people. They were scared, something that I had not noticed when I had first come. The town of large, frightening people was scared. Micah trotted up to me a few minutes later and whispered, “There’s something they are not telling us.”

  I nodded my head. “There weren’t any animals within a mile of the forest entrance. The trails are cold,” I whispered.

  “And the town is frightened. What could be so scary that these people would ask for our help?”

  “Magic user,” I whispered, “If they don’t have any in their town and they haven’t experienced it, they could be frightened of one, especially if he was using ogres for muscle.”

  Micah sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “We need to decide our strategy for tonight. We can’t be at everyone’s house at the same time.”

  “We need to ask Murdock for a map and mark where the kidnappings happened and see if there’s a pattern.”

  “You think there will be?”

  I shook my head. “No, I think we’re going to need to wait at the edge of the forest and follow the ogres into it and hope we can see through the spell. How much have you improved?”

  “I’ll see through it, don’t worry.”

  I stared into his eyes. “Don’t let those ogres escape.”

  He smiled. “I won’t deprive you of your kills.”

  I nodded my head and dismounted. “Let’s eat. We only have a couple hours until dark.”

  We dismounted and walked into the bar. This time only a few people stopped talking when I walked in. I sat at an empty table and Micah sat down with me. The more I looked at the people, the more I noticed their unease, which made me more uneasy. Micah sat still for a moment longer and then walked up to the bar to order our food since there were apparently no barmaids at this bar.

  Were they upset because I was here and this was a male-only place? I could certainly understand why that would upset them, but I had no intention of leaving especially since this was the only place we could get food.

  Micah came back and sighed. “Apparently we have to fend for ourselves.”

  “What?” I asked in shock.

  “They don’t serve food here, just alcohol.”

  Scratch me being here then. “Alright, let’s go.” I stood up and headed out the door without any other prompting. I didn’t want to make these men anymore uncomfortable than they already were. We mounted our horses and headed out of town towards the forest. “We should camp just outside the forest so we don’t get caught in the magic users trap if they use the perimeter of the forest as their guide.”

  Micah nodded his head in agreement. “You set up camp and I’ll catch us some food.”

  Micah continued into the forest as I stopped in the field just before it. I dismounted and started clearing sticks and stones from a patch that would serve as our sleeping area. Once I was satisfied with my work I unsaddled Fire and set my belongings in my sleeping spot and then grabbed large rocks and began making a fire circle. The sun lowered close to the horizon as I started the fire with firewood I had collected and Micah finally came back with two dead rabbits.

  “You’re right that the animals are unusually far away. I’m sure it’s because of the ogres,” he said as he dismounted, tossed me the rabbits and then began unsaddling his horse.

  I set the rabbits down and pulled a dagger from my belt to start skinning them. “This situation bothers me,” I whispered to him.

  He sat down next to me and started on the second rabbit. “It bothers me as well. I think we should have enlisted more help.”

  I ground my teeth together and said, “We can handle it.”

  He smiled. “Easy girl. I wasn’t saying we couldn’t handle it, just that I would feel a little better if Favian were here.”

  “We should split up tonight to cover more area,” I whispered again. For some reason I felt whispering was necessary. I felt like I was being watc
hed and I didn’t like it. “I do not want them to get another person from this village.”

  “Agreed,” he whispered back.

  We stopped talking after that and cleaned, cooked and ate the rabbits. As the sun went down a chill swept over me and my body began tingling all over. Ogres were approaching. I looked at Micah and whispered, “They’re on the move.”

  He stood up and put out our fire, not to hide our position, but simply to keep it contained and not catch the rest of the forest on fire if it somehow spread. I stood and checked all of my gear before saddling and mounting Fire. I closed my eyes as I sat upon her back and inhaled deeply, the scents of the forest were the first to greet me and then I smelled the foul reek that hung around ogres like a mist of poison. My blood began pumping harder and I felt my other power awakening the closer the ogres moved towards me. Micah set off at a canter to the other side of the forest, closer to the homes. Now all I had to do was wait.

  Fire cocked a back leg, bored with the situation. I opened my eyes and surveyed my surroundings, but found nothing out of the usual. Where were the ogres? I could feel them near, but they weren’t anywhere to be seen. Had I been wrong to separate Micah from me? Should we have stayed together?

  Someone screamed on the other side of the forest and then I heard Micah’s telltale whistle, two octaves higher than anything I could accomplish. I made a kissing noise and squeezed my legs together and Fire instantly responded, charging forward into a gallop and racing along the outside of the forest as quickly as she could.

  It seemed like hours, but minutes later we made it to the other side where Micah was off his horse, fighting with a man wielding a staff while three ogres headed towards the forest with an older man in their arms. I leapt from Fire’s back and pulled my swords before I’d hit the ground, charging after them.

  “Stop!” I yelled at the ogres who had turned towards me with creepy, evil smiles on their faces as they ran towards the forest. I caught up to the ogres and sliced my sword along the back of one of the ogres who bellowed in pain. He didn’t slow down or turn to engage me and as I raised my swords for another move, a blast of hot hair hit me in the back of the head and knocked me to the ground.

  “Marin!” Micah yelled.

  I leapt up, ignoring the dizziness and pain in my head and lopped off the nearest ogre’s leg. The ogre fell to his knees, but the other two continued on with the man in their arms, ignoring their fallen comrade. The ogre I’d hurt turned and slapped me with the back of his hand across my face, sending me flying backwards. I hit the ground on my back and slid a few feet before coming to rest. My head buzzed with pain and confusion, but I couldn’t let them get away. I stood up and opened up more of my power, using it to mask my pain and ran back to the fleeing ogres, swords raised to attack.

  My sword fell on emptiness as the ogres before me disappeared. “NO!” I screamed as I spun around in search of the magic user and Micah. Micah lay on the ground, either dead or unconscious, but I couldn’t take time to check. I attacked the magic user, but I was not protected and he used a spell which knocked my legs out from under me. I landed on my face, unable to move my arms to catch myself.

  He leaned down next to me and whispered, “Today I let you live, but tomorrow I will come back for my last person and I will take your magic Little Death Bringer.”

  How did he know who I was? “I will kill you,” I snarled.

  He laughed. “See you tomorrow.”

  A bright light flashed and then silence filled the area. How had he beaten us? How? My body finally loosened and I was able to move. I stood up and took inventory of my body, which was thankfully fine, minus the bruising from the ogre smacking me. I ran to Micah and turned him over gently. His eyes opened and he cursed a very inventive string of names. “I can’t believe that bastard used a sleeping spell on me.”

  I stared at him in shock. “You got caught by a cheap beginners spell?”

  He glared at me. “I didn’t think he would use something as juvenile as that.” He looked towards the forest and ground his teeth together. “He got away.”

  I nodded my head. “Yes, but he’s coming back tomorrow.”

  “What?” he asked in shock.

  I explained what had happened and what had been said and then rubbed my nose gently. Getting hit by the ogre and then falling on my face had made it swell, but thankfully it wasn’t broken. Hopefully I wouldn’t have a black eye from it either.

  “Can you beat him?” I asked Micah quietly.

  He glared at me. “Of course I can. I’ve got something special in mind for him when he returns.”

  “What is he doing with these people?” I asked angrily. Part of me didn’t want to know. Part of me was scared to know.

  “There are several rituals he could be performing, but I don’t think that’s what he is doing,” Micah said as he looked at the ogre leg lying on the ground several feet from us.

  “What do you think he is doing then?”

  “I think this was a trap for you,” he whispered.

  I closed my eyes and sighed. Not this again. “Why me? What could he want with me?”

  “You possess an incredible amount of magic for a human. So much that he could suck out half of it, leave you alive and he would be incredibly more powerful while you would still be alive.”

  “So why kidnap these people then?” I asked. “Why not just find me on a mission?”

  “You’re not that easy to track down unless you are at the Elven Kingdom and going there to attack you would be suicide on his part. He must have heard about your disdain for ogres and devised this plan to draw you here. He would need at least two sacrifices to complete the spell necessary for stealing your magic, but since you hadn’t come yet he must have just continued to steal more. I think we should contact…”

  I opened my eyes and glared at him. “I am not contacting Favian. We can handle this.”

  Micah sighed. “Alright, but I want it noted that I objected and tried to get you to contact him. I don’t want to get beaten by him if you get injured.”

  “Then you will just have to use all of your magic to stop the magic user while I kill the ogres,” I said with a smile.

  The moon rose above us, glittering brightly and looking sad. Was it a bad sign? Or was I just worried? “We had better get to sleep. I need to gather some items for tomorrow night.”

  We gathered our horses and then headed to our camp for the night. Tomorrow I would kill the ogres. Tomorrow I would kill that magic user. Or I might not live to see the next tomorrow.

  * * *

  The townspeople would not look at us as we walked through town. I had expected them to be angry that I had not stopped another person from being stolen, but instead they seemed afraid of meeting my eyes. Why?

  I grabbed an older man and pushed him up against the side of the building. “What aren’t you telling us?” I asked him with steel in my voice.

  “What are you doing?” Micah asked in shock.

  “Just let him take you!” the man screamed at me. “Let him take you so that he will leave us alone!”

  His eyes were wide with fear and his breath stank of alcohol. I pushed away from him and turned towards Micah. “You better catch him with your spell so I can slide a blade through his heart.” No man should be able to cause such fear in an entire village, especially a village like this.

  Micah nodded his head in understanding and we continued on our way. It took Micah most of the day to gather his materials and combine them in accordance with the spell, but as the sun began to set we were finally ready.

  I stood with my hands resting on my sword’s pommels, waiting for the feeling I always got when ogres were nearby. “Are you sure that you are ready?” I asked Micah.

  He nodded his head. “Yes. As long as you take care of the ogres I will take care of the magic user.”

  The ogres would be easy. The magic user was the one I was very worried about. Should I have contacted Favian? What if this was the last time
I ever got to talk to him?

  I was about to reach into my pocket to get the bracelet when I felt the ogres. “They’re coming,” I said as I headed into the forest, towards them. I drew my swords and waited, taking deep breaths to keep calm.

  The forest took a deep breath and then ten ogres appeared ten feet in front of me. I spun into action, letting the other part of myself, the one that relished in killing ogres, take over.

  My blade bit into ogre flesh again and again, decapitating, mutilating and killing. I could hear Micah chanting and sense magic being used, but I still had three more ogres to kill before I could go assist him.

  The ogres that were left began circling me, trying to come up with a plan to attack me. “It’s no use,” I told them, “I will kill you.”

  “Little girl talks a lot,” one of them said. “I will shut you up!” He charged at me and I ducked his punch, sliding my right sword up into his stomach and then sliced off his head as his body fell.

  “Who’s next?” I asked the other two.

  They looked at each other and then started running towards the magic user and Micah. I ran after them, refusing to let any ogres live.

  Micah yelled something and the other magic user flew backwards, slamming into the ground on his back. Yes! I threw one of my swords into the back of one of the ogres heads, killing him instantly. I grabbed my sword out of his skull as I ran past and then tackled the ogre trying to engage Micah.

  The magic user tried to use fire against me, but Micah countered the spell, saving me from being burned alive. I decapitated the ogre and thought I could relax when the magic user spoke a word that instantly knocked out Micah. He was preparing to use fire so I ran forward, jumping in front of Micah just as the word was spoken. Flames engulfed me and I screamed in pain. I rolled on the ground, but the flames would not go out. I screamed for Micah, but I passed out from the pain.