Poppy (The Deadly Flowers Series)

by Riana Lucas

  As she turns slightly to look over her shoulder, I notice the quiver of arrows strapped to her back and the bow hanging loosely in her hands. She appears to be calm and alert. This thought is reinforced when she quickly whirls around, grabbing an arrow and notching it all in the same motion. She crouches down low and aims. A second later a small white rabbit breaks through a bush just a few feet from where we are hiding.

  The Faery stands, but does not relax her grip on the bow and arrow. She looks around again, searching for another threat.

  The Halfling slowly takes hold of my arm so that I will look at him. He nods his head toward the Faery. He then nods at me and tilts his head to my left and his eyes travel around in a half circle until they reach the Faery.

  Somehow I know exactly what he is trying to tell me. I nod once and focus my attention back to the other Faery. The Halfling takes a deep breath and stands up staying hidden behind the tree. I notice the Faery tilt her head to the side as if listening. Her focus is on the tree we are behind.

  The Halfling places the dagger I gave him in the band of his jeans at his back and steps out from behind the tree. As he does this, I quickly make my way around to the other side of the clearing and place myself behind the Faery as she studies the Halfling. I crouch behind another tree that keeps me directly at her back and wait patiently for my opportunity to strike.

  “Oh, hey there,” the Halfling says brightly, waving and offering one of his winning smiles. “I didn’t notice you there. Nice bow and arrow you’ve got. Are you hunting?”

  I cannot help but to smile as well. He sounds completely cool and genuinely surprised to see her there.

  “Where is the Faery?” she demands.

  “Faery? What is a Faery?” he sounds completely confused by this question.

  “The girl. The one you were with. Where is she?”

  “Oh, Poppy? She went to get some dinner for us. I’m in charge of setting up camp. Are you two friends? Do you want to wait here with me for her? I’m sure she’ll be right back.” He begins to move a bit, as if he is truly setting up camp. Then he pauses and looks back up at the Fae as if he just thought of something. “What is a Faery?” The Halfling keeps rambling off questions and I can see that the other Faery is starting to get irritated. Her bow lowers for just a second so that she can scold the Halfling and this is when I take my opportunity.

  I jump out from behind the tree, dagger in one hand and fist balled tight on the other. I pull back and punch the other Faery in the side of the head with as much force as I can. Fae are strong so I cannot pull my punches, so to speak, when fighting one. I have the advantage right now and I must keep it.

  The other Faery stumbles but quickly rights herself, she turns quickly to try and aim her arrow at me. I know that I must disable the bow. The bow is made with magic and will mend itself, but I have a feeling that this particular Faery uses her bow more than her fists. If I can take her bow away from her, I will gain another advantage. I slash out with my dagger and slice through the arch of the bow.

  She throws the broken bow to the ground, lets out a battle cry and charges me. She has completely transformed to battle mode. Her features have grown sharper and there are more shadows on her face. Her cheeks, nose, and chin are much more defined and scary. Her lips are pulled back from her mouth in a snarl, showing sharp teeth. Her battle face looks fierce and deadly.

  Just as I am sure mine does.

  Her arms reach out and she throws herself on me, knocking me to the ground. I let out a snarl as well, as my back hits the ground and I begin to feel the blows to my face and abdomen. I can smell the metallic scent of blood and can feel it trickling from my lip. I can also feel the bruises that are already blooming in various places all over my body, but I force the pain away as I counter her blows.

  For every punch I receive I deliver one equally as damaging. I see the blood and bruises that I am inflicting on her and feel the grim satisfaction seep into me at the pain that I am causing her. But I know that I cannot keep this up forever. If I wish to win this fight, I must gain the upper hand. I struggle under her until I am able to get my legs wrapped around her waist. I use all of my strength and am finally able to force my weight over her. I flip her on her back so that I am now the one on top.

  I straddle her legs with my own, locking them tight with my knees. I do not want her to use the move I just did and flip us both back over. I grab a fist full of her hair as tightly as I can. I see her wince and can see the tears gathering in her eyes at the extreme pain. I am sure that I have dislodged a great amount of it. I tighten my grip and slam her head back onto the hard ground. I hear a crack, but she does not give up. She tries to grab my hair also, but since I keep it in a braid, she is not able to get a good grip like I have on hers.

  I still have one hand wrapped in her hair and the other pinning her shoulders down to the ground, giving her an opening. She takes advantage and slams her fist into my face. My head snaps back from the blow and I feel the blood gush out of my nose. The pain is so intense that I have to fight back the darkness that wants to blur my vision.

  I look down at her and snarl, “You are going to regret that.”

  She cocks her fist back for another blow, but I head butt her so hard that this time, I actually do see black spots start to seep into my vision. I shake my head to clear my vision in time for her to spit in my face and snarl viciously “You bitch!” But she is still weak from the head blow so I quickly flip her over onto her stomach, straddle her legs again, and pull her arms behind her back. She bucks and snarls, but my grip tightens and I hold her down.

  “You may as well give up. I am not going to let go and you are only wasting your energy.” She must realize the truth in my statement because she stops moving and takes a few deep breaths. I take this moment to wipe the spit from my eyes. I also wipe at the blood that is dripping down my face. I use one hand while still holding her with the other.

  That was a big mistake.

  She takes the opportunity of my distraction and loosened grip to surge up and slam the back of her head into my face. I fall off of her and land hard on my back, knocking the wind out of me. She wastes no time slamming her body on top of mine as I did her to pin me to the ground. She grabs both of my wrists and uses my own hands to choke me.

  We are very close in size and weight and we both seem to be equal in strength and fighting technique. The fact that I allowed myself to be momentarily distracted without restraining her properly has given her what I fear will be the final advantage. I am weak and unable to fight back.

  “Not so tough now, are you?” She grinds out between clenched teeth as she leans closer to my face. Blood is dripping from her lip, nose, and a nasty gash on her cheek. I can feel it dropping on to my face and throat. It is disgusting. She has bruises already in full bloom all over her face and it appears she is missing a small amount of her hair.

  Although my vision is beginning to fade and I am growing weak, I still manage to grin up at her. I feel a small amount of satisfaction in knowing that I put up the best fight I was able to. Her recovery will be slow and painful and she will be reminded of the pain I inflicted upon her as she heals.

  “You think this is funny?” she snarls, “I’m going to kill you.”

  “I don’t think so.” I hear suddenly from behind her.

  She turns her head around, but does not release the pressure on my neck. I see Reed running up behind her, dagger in one hand and one of the deadliest looks on his face that I have ever seen. I can see the intent in his eyes and a wave of fear runs through me. Reed is intuitive, smart, and extremely strong; unfortunately he is still half human. Without the proper training, a Halfling is never a match for a full Fae, especially one trained as a Warrior.

  “No! Reed, No!” I try to scream, but it comes out as a barely strangled whisper because of the hands still locked tightly around my throat.

  Reed races up behind her to try and help me. The other Faery lashes out with all of her strength
and knocks him away. He flies back a few feet and is slammed into a tree. I see his head slam back forcefully into the tree and hear a loud crack at the connection. Then I watch in horror as he slumps to the ground, unmoving. A small trickle a blood begins to seep out of his nose.

  I see red. “Reed!” I hear the horrible scream but it takes a moment for me to realize that the noise belongs to me.

  My strength has returned tenfold and I attack with a fervor that I have never felt before. I throw her hands off of me and begin punching and kicking her with every ounce of training I know. She is still fighting back, but her strength has waned and she is not fighting for someone like I am now.

  I get her pinned back down to the ground and look into her eyes. I see the look of defeat there and know that she knows it is over. I have won. But I do not hold back now. I deliver the final blow that will knock her unconscious. I think of killing her for just a moment, but my sense comes back just enough to know that I need to keep her alive. She falls back to the ground and I scramble off her as quickly as I can and make my way to Reed. I fall to the ground beside him and reach for him before quickly pulling my hands back.

  I look down at my hands to see that they are skaing. I realize for the first time in my life that I am not quite sure what to do and that I am scared to death.

  Chapter 10

  “Reed?” My voice is so shaky with a combination of fear for Reed and pain from the other Faes abuse, that I do not even recognize it.

  I take a deep breath and will my hands to stop shaking. I reach for Reed again, slowly and carefully. I press my fingers to the pulse point on his neck and feel the faint beating. I know that if I had listened carefully, I could have heard his heart beating with my Fae hearing. For some reason though, I had the overwhelming need to feel his pulse under my own fingers to ensure that he really was still alive. Still needing that connection and confirmation, I place my hand on his chest to feel the steady rise and fall with each breath.

  I let out a breath that I had not realized I was holding and begin to move my hands lightly over his body checking for broken bones. While doing this I also begin talking to him. Not really knowing what to say and how to comfort someone, I say the first thing that comes to mind. “Reed, it would be very helpful if you woke up now.”

  I continue to run my hands over him, starting with his neck, down his shoulders to his arms, then over his chest and from the top of his legs down to his feet. Everything feels normal. I do not feel any broken bones or see any more blood, but his head is still slumped to the side resting on his shoulder.

  “I have to tell you, I am not overly fond of the idea of having to carry you the rest of the way. If you are just trying to avoid coming with me it will not work.” My fear is starting to fade and I find myself growing angry. Whom exactly I am angry at, Reed or the Faery, does not matter. My voice begins to sound less shaky and grow stronger and for this I am grateful.

  I probe around his head from front to back feeling for bumps or blood. When I get to the back, I feel a large knot where it appears his head made contact with the tree. It is also sticky and warm with blood. I begin to grow more concerned as I continue to feel around the swollen bump, when I finally feel Reed’s head move.

  “Reed?” I look into his face, hoping for a response, “I do believe you have rested for long enough. I demand that you wake up now. We have things that must be done, a prisoner that needs to be secured.” I can hear the small amount of hopefulness in my voice, but I do not really care right now. I just want Reed to wake.

  He groans and begins to lift his head. He groans louder and brings his hands to his face when he tries to open his eyes.

  I place my fingers lightly over his eyelids to hold them closed, “One step at a time. Give yourself a chance to get your bearings. Once your head stops pounding, try to open your eyes.” I move my hands back and allow myself to sit beside him instead of hovering over him like I had been.

  “Ohhh, my head!” He says in a pain filled voice. He starts to blink his eyes open. It takes him a few tries, but he is finally able to open them fully and focus. His face is turned in the direction of the Faery that is lying unconscious on the ground. He takes her in quickly and then turns his face slowly to me. He lets a lopsided grin touch his lips before it turns into a grimace, and then says “You look like you should be the one lying on the ground.”

  “Yeah, well you do not look very well yourself. How do you feel?”

  “Like someone knocked me in the head with a really big hammer.” He reaches his hand to the back of his head and winces when he touches the lump.

  “Well you are not too far from the truth. It was a really big tree.” I open my satchel and rip a small piece of fabric from my spare shirt. Then I pour some water on it. I reach out to begin wiping the blood from Reeds face, but stop just before the fabric makes contact. He is staring at me with an odd look on his face that I do not understand.

  “What?” I ask impatiently, beginning to feel a little bit awkward.

  “Are you about to wipe my face off?” he asks, clearly surprised that I would bother helping him clean his wounds.

  “Well… yes, that is what I intended. You are covered in blood. It is quite disgusting.”

  “Awww, that is so sweet of you. I didn’t know cold hearted Warrior Fae took care of little Halflings like me.” He says this with a smile so I know he is not being cruel, only teasing.

  “Well that is what friends do right? Take care of each other?” I know it sounds like a question because it actually is. I do not have many friends so I do not know the proper protocol in a situation such as this. I shrug and begin to wipe the blood that had run from his nose over his lips and onto his chin, “besides, you saved my life. It is the least I can do.”

  “Well, you were totally kicking her butt until she cheated. I couldn’t let her get away with that.” He smiles mischievously at me.

  I finish wiping his face and return his smile with a slightly mischievous one of my own, “Well, that is the best I can do with what I have.”

  “Did you just make a crack at my dashingly good looks?” he says as he mockingly narrows his eyes at me, which quickly turns into a wince. “Oh, too soon for that.”

  I laugh, which sounds funny to my own ears, but feels nice at the same time. I laugh with Rho all the time, but this is different. This is someone that I have not grown up with and yet somehow he has managed to get past my walls and found a way to become my friend. On top of that, he is a Halfling and I have never allowed myself to get to know one before.

  Before I can think too long on this, I am snapped out of my thoughts by the sound of another groan, but it is not coming from Reed.

  I spin around quickly, pulling myself off the ground into a crouch, dagger in hand. The Faery on the ground is starting to stir. I was so concerned with Reed that I did not bind her while she was fully unconscious. If I do not do it soon, she may put up a fight again. I fear if that happens, she will truly win this time. Neither Reed nor I have the strength for a fight right now.

  “Reed, are you able to help me?” I ask without taking my eyes from the Faery.

  “Yeah, give me a second…hey! Did you just call me Reed?” He ask, sounding shocked by the realization.

  “I do not have time for this right now! Are you able to assist me or not?” I demand.

  “Yes, yes. Geez! A guy gets knocked out while saving someone’s life and he doesn’t even get a second to rest. You would think the least he could get was a time out or something.” He mumbles sarcastically to himself while getting up and moving awkwardly to my side. “What do you want me to do?”

  “I am going to bind her with a spell, but I would also like to use a vine or something to tie her hands behind her back. She is strong and the double binding would probably be smart.” I am not going to allow this Faery to escape my grasp again. I would bind her tenfold if I could.

  “I agree. You do your magic thing and I’ll go find something that we can use for rope.
” He moves slowly away, still holding his head with one hand.

  I feel sorry for him, but once we have the Faery secured, we can both take a much needed rest. Once I knew Reed was okay, the pain in my body started. It was slow at first, but now I can feel it throbbing through my entire body. The dried blood is starting to itch and the mixture of the scents of the coppery blood and the sweat are starting to make me nauseous.

  The Faery at my feet groans again and her legs shift. I crouch down beside her and whisper a binding spell…

  As I bind

  Your hands and feet,

  You will not fight

  You will not flee,

  Your Will is mine

  I command thee.

  I place my hand in front of my lips once again, and blow the spell onto the Faery. Her restless limbs stop moving. She lies completely still now as if bound by ropes, but her groans get louder. She is becoming fully awake now. I am sure she felt my magic pulse through her and her Faery instincts are kicking in and trying to fight the magic.

  Having magic forced onto you by another Faery is not a nice feeling. As if to prove my thoughts are right, her eyes suddenly open. She looks around frantically before finally focusing her gaze on me. Her eyes narrow and her nostrils flare. I can see the anger mounting. She begins to thrash around trying to get out of the invisible restraints.

  “Stop struggling.” I command. She instantly falls still, but she is still grunting and cursing. I tune her out as I stand and turn around searching for Reed. I spot him a few feet away, coming out of the woods. He seems to be steadier on his feet and is no longer holding his head. He still squints though due to the bright sun. I am sure he has a horrible headache. I will find him a plant that will help with that once we are finished restraining our prisoner. I look down and see a long thick vine hanging from his hand. It is green and about an inch thick. It will be strong and virtually unbreakable once tied around the Faery’s hands and feet. It will work perfectly.