by C. R. Pugh
“Hey, I got someone!” she shouted to another soldier. I prayed it wasn’t Two.
My stomach churned as I realized who she might have found. I was hoping to escape without delivering any more death today, but I was starting to believe that the only way to be free of the soldiers was to kill them all. That way, they wouldn’t be able to hurt me or anyone I cared about.
My throat went dry when I realized what I’d just considered. Did I care about that blonde warrior?
I cared that he lived. That was all.
Oh, stop it, you big liar, I thought. It was more than that. There was something about him. I couldn’t explain it, but I cared very much that he lived.
I prowled beneath the undergrowth in search of Twelve and her mocking voice. She couldn’t be more than twenty feet away. When I reached the scene, the warrior was there as I feared he would be. Twelve was behind him holding a pistol to his back, and a bald soldier – I couldn’t remember his number – was standing in front of him. The bald soldier’s rifle was lowered, arrogantly thinking that they had complete control of the situation. That mistake was going to be their downfall.
This was why the warrior was a hindrance to me. I didn’t know what he was thinking, what he would do, or if he even had a plan at all. There was no way to know for sure if he would react quickly enough if I attacked.
I should have just jumped out from the bushes and taken care of those two soldiers myself. It would have been easy. Realizing how foolish that plan was, I disregarded it. There was no possible way to kill them both without using my pistol. Even if I decided to use it, the warrior might shift the wrong way and get shot by mistake.
Biting my lip, I held my position and waited for an opportunity.
“Where is she?”
The sound of Twelve’s lifeless voice was irritating. The words would have come across better with some sarcasm, but the soldiers couldn’t speak with emotion anymore. All of the General’s soldiers sounded this way now.
“Who?” the blonde warrior replied.
The bald soldier responded. “Don’t play dumb with us, we saw you follow her in this direction. Where is she hiding?”
“What is she to you?”
Keep them chatting, warrior, I thought, preparing to attack.
“She is General Wolfe’s …”
“Shut up!” Twelve ordered the bald soldier before he gave too much away.
I needed to make a move soon. They wouldn’t stand around and chat for much longer, and I knew they wouldn’t leave the warrior alive. I clutched both my dagger and my pistol. The pistol was risky. The noise would most certainly attract Two and any other soldiers this way.
“I am going to give you till the count of three to tell me what I want to know, then I’m going to pull this trigger,” said Twelve.
I hoped the warrior was ready.
“One.”
Clutching my dagger, I took aim.
“Two.”
The warrior moved so swiftly to attack, I barely saw him turn.
His timing was perfect.
I sprung out of the bushes and sent my dagger hurtling toward the bald soldier. He crumpled to the ground with my blade buried in the side of his skull just as the warrior knocked the pistol from Twelve’s hands.
The warrior shoved Twelve back a few feet, then spun to confront the bald soldier. His brows furrowed with confusion when he spotted him on the ground.
“I’ve got this under control,” I assured him.
He gave me a quick nod and turned back to continue the fight with Twelve.
It should have been easy for the warrior to make the kill, but instead he let her attack. Twelve advanced again and again and he easily blocked her punches and kicks, but never finished the fight. I didn’t understand his hesitancy.
What is his game? I wondered.
The warrior used his feet to knock her legs out from under her and she rolled away from him. Getting back to her feet, Twelve reached for the knife hidden inside her boot. Sighing over this turn of events, I raised my pistol and fired one shot to her chest. She dropped to the ground.
The warrior turned to me and I was met with ice-blue eyes. He was just as tall as I thought he would be; well over six feet. His white-blonde hair was cropped short and slightly curly. The next thing I noticed were the tattoos. A matching set of thorny vines curled around his muscled arms, starting from somewhere beneath his sleeveless shirt, then winding around his biceps and forearms, all the way down to his wrists. Glancing back up at his striking face, his expression had turned as chilly as the color of his eyes.
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Don’t look so annoyed.”
“I had it under control.”
“You were being too defensive …”
The muscle in his jaw ticked. “By choice. I wasn’t trying to kill her.”
“She didn’t deserve your mercy … even if she is a woman.”
Turning my back on him, I ignored whatever protest he had and returned to crouch down beside the bald soldier I’d killed. I didn’t recognize him so I carefully rotated his head to see the tattoo I knew would be permanently etched on the back of his neck. The markings were on every soldier, including me. Same letters; different numbers. His said ‘TS39’.
I felt bile rise up in the back of my throat. General Wolfe had managed to create over forty of them.
“What does that mean? TS39?” The warrior was hovering over my shoulder. He smelled like rain with a hint of something else I couldn’t place.
“Nothing.”
The soldier called TS39 was bleeding out from his temple. I wouldn’t need to worry about him, so I left him lying in the dirt. The female soldier, Twelve, I couldn’t be sure about. I stepped over to her body and knelt down to inspect her wound. The shot had been to the chest. She seemed dead. Just to be certain I ran my dagger across her throat to slice her carotid, the largest blood vein in the body. She’d bleed out in seconds.
I had to be sure.
After cleaning my blade on her clothes, I tucked it back into my boot and slid my pistol into my belt again. I searched both bodies quickly for anything of value. There were a couple of nice daggers, a few more magazines that I could use, and some food. I stuffed it all in the rucksack that was still slung over my shoulder. When I looked back at the warrior, he had already armed himself with the pistol that belonged to Twelve and a rifle was slung over his shoulder. He looked even more impressive with all that fire-power.
“Here.” I tossed him a spare magazine which he snatched out of the air easily. “We should leave. I’m sure there are more soldiers nearby. The shot I fired will lead them here.”
“One soldier for certain,” he agreed. “Big man. Dark skin.”
“Dark skin?” I scanned the area nervously. The sun had finally risen, its rays shining through the trees. The morning fog had lifted as well, but the shadows of the sequoias continued to make the forest seem ominous. I looked at the warrior again. “You’re sure?”
When he nodded, I cursed under my breath and started jogging away from the two soldiers I’d killed. If the warrior was smart he would follow me.
The ferns were thick around the sequoias and difficult to maneuver through. The branches slapped my arms and legs as I ran. Large roots jutted out from the base of each sequoia and there was no shortage of branches and logs to avoid as I fled. I had no clear destination in mind so I simply ran east, moving closer to the coast.
“Why did you do that?” the warrior asked, keeping pace with me easily.
“Do what?”
“Cut that female’s throat?”
“Seemed like a good idea. Those soldiers can never be too dead to suit me.”
He frowned and his brows pinched together. “Dead is dead.”
I laughed hollowly, and then mumbled, “Sure.”
He was still jogging beside me, which made me a little uncomfortable. His stride was smooth and effortless. He hadn’t even broken a sweat earlier in the skirmish with the soldiers.
Why was he still following me?
I put that question out of my mind. Two was the bigger concern. He might still be tracking me, but without his back-up, he may have returned to General Wolfe again. If that was the case, I almost felt sorry for him. Returning to the General empty handed was dangerous.
After about a mile, I slowed to a walk, but kept my pace quick. Sweat dripped down the sides of my face and down my back. Veering through the sequoias was beginning to aggravate me. There was no definite trail through the trees and their trunks were so wide, it forced me to meander around them instead of simply walking in a straight line.
“So, who are you?” I asked him. “You were not from that village?”
“No, I did not live there. I’m from Peton. A Warrior.”
Slapping another branch away from my face, I stepped out of the undergrowth and turned around to face him. The warrior wasn’t prepared for it and nearly barreled into me. He took a step back and put his hands on his hips.
“I’ve heard of that clan,” I said as I glanced around the area for signs of any soldiers. We were sheltered within a circle of four giant sequoias. Their trunks were at least twenty feet across. I glared back up at the warrior again and muttered, “Now it all makes sense.”
While I wasn’t looking he had shifted his body so he was only partially facing me. He peered out of the corner of his eye so only the unmarked side of his face was visible to me.
“What makes sense?” he asked.
“You’re a slaver.”
The warrior snorted at my accusation, but I wasn’t letting him off the hook.
“That’s why you didn’t kill Twelve,” I said, frowning with disgust. “You wanted to take her as a slave.” I held up a hand to stop him from interrupting. “Were you going to take some of those villagers as slaves? Is that why you were there?”
I crossed my arms over my chest and waited for his excuses.
“First of all, we do not deal in slavery. Second of all, no, I was not going to take the villagers as captives. They belong to a clan. My people only take the exiled or deserters that have no place.” He folded his arms, mimicking me. “And what do you mean ‘twelve?’ What’s with all the numbers?”
I pinched my lips together, turned away, and started hiking through the thick undergrowth of the forest again. Why couldn’t I have kept my stupid mouth shut?
The warrior stayed right on my heels, continuing to hound me. “Answer the question, Ravyn.”
I wheeled around to face him. Once again, he stumbled to a halt and angled his face away.
“How do you know my name?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.
“Your friend spoke it when you were standing on the balcony.” The warrior waved his hand in dismissal, as if that weren’t important. “Now tell me.”
With a reluctant sigh, I answered, “That was her name. It’s what she was called.”
He scoffed. “A number? That’s ridiculous.”
“I agree. And what do you mean, ‘all the numbers?’ What other numbers did you hear?”
“Just after you fled into the woods, I heard one of them say ‘she took out Eight.’ They call each other by numbers?”
I grudgingly nodded.
The warrior held my gaze for a moment. His expression had thawed, the anger gone. Now he seemed to be studying me. “You shot him almost between the eyes,” he muttered.
I shrugged and ducked my head. What I had done wasn’t something to be admired. “Sometimes I get lucky.” My head snapped up again. “What happened to the other two? You said that the dark one was still out there, but what about the third one? Did you kill him?”
The warrior lifted his chin arrogantly. “Yes.”
“How did you kill him?”
“What does it matter?” Irritation laced his voice.
“Just tell me!” I demanded.
“My dagger severed his spine at the neck,” he explained. “Now, it is time for you to answer some questions. How did you know this Twelve person and those other numbers? Who are they?”
I started hiking again, weaving between the trees and high-stepping through the brush. This line of questioning was dangerous, regardless of how I’d felt earlier about rescuing him.
“Do not walk away and pretend you know nothing.” He kept up with me easily with his longer stride. “You didn’t recognize the man, but you did know the woman.”
I rolled my eyes and admitted, “Fine, I knew her.”
“Yet you killed her?”
“She was not a friend,” I explained. “They were sent to find me and take me prisoner.”
His brows pinched together and his mouth turned down in a worried frown. “Prisoner?”
“Yes,” I said sharply.
The warrior ran his fingers through his tousled curls. “What of the man?”
“Like you said, I didn’t know him.” Once again, I started walking east.
“You’re not answering my questions.” The warrior gently grasped my arm, breaking my stride, and turned me around to face him. “Be truthful, Ravyn.”
I liked the way my name sounded when he said it. His deep voice demanded honesty. Though his face was partially turned from me again, his eyes bored into mine, urging me to tell him what was on my heart … but I couldn’t. Could I?
“It’s not fair that you know my name and I don’t know yours,” I said a little breathlessly. His hand was hot against my arm and it made me feel warm all over. I could feel heat rush to my cheeks.
“My name is Thorne.”
He let go of my arm but didn’t step out of my personal space. I got the feeling that this man was accustomed to getting his way.
Glancing around me, I searched for signs of danger; mainly Two. I didn’t feel any tingling in my tattoo, but I wasn’t going to depend solely on that passing twinge. Thankfully, the thick fog had lifted. It would be more difficult for someone to surprise us.
“Come on, let’s keep walking.” We began hiking again, this time side by side. “Those two back there and the others near the village … yes, I know most of them. They’re soldiers.”
“For this General Wolfe?”
I bit my lip to keep from cursing. Thorne was digging for information again. It wasn’t safe.
Thorne heaved a sigh of frustration. “Why can’t you answer me? These are simple questions.”
“Because it’s none of your concern. That’s why.”
When he didn’t respond, I glanced at him to see his reaction. He wasn’t paying attention to me at all. He looked like he was trying to sort out a complicated puzzle.
A few minutes later, he gave me a calculating stare. “So you were their prisoner before?”
Through gritted teeth, I confessed, “No, I was one of them. Alright?” I couldn’t stand him thinking I was some victim – someone who was weak. Most of all, I didn’t want him thinking he’d be able to take me captive.
“Humph,” he retorted. “You don’t seem very soldierly to me. Not like them. They seemed … off, somehow.”
“Like they were sleepwalking? Just going through the motions?”
Thorne nodded. “They had no emotion in their voices at all. You’re not that way.”
“No,” I whispered, stopping in my tracks and staring off into the trees, remembering. “Those soldiers are broken.”
“He couldn’t break you.”
Unable to look at him, I shook my head. I was afraid there would be pity in his eyes. “He did his best.”
When I started moving again, so did Thorne. “So, this General Wolfe is in charge of these soldiers. Who is he?”
An evil, evil man, I thought to myself. “I don’t know much about him, honestly. He’s not exactly the friendly sort, so I didn’t get to know him.”
He looked at me thoughtfully. “It sounds like he didn’t want you to leave.”
I laughed dryly. “No, he didn’t, but I won’t go back. I’ll die first.”
We entered the clearing where I’d first
met Laelynn, Thorne just a step behind me. I didn’t know why I’d come back this way. My feet must have unconsciously brought me here, where yesterday’s adventure had first begun. My eyes automatically searched for the man I’d killed, but I was completely unprepared for what I saw. I gasped loudly, covering my mouth with my hands. The man I’d killed had been picked clean to the bone during the night by the beasts of the Valley. Closing my eyes against the gruesome sight, I spun and barreled straight into Thorne’s body. His arms caught me and encircled me protectively. His earthy scent was so comforting, I never wanted him to let go.
“Night Howlers, most likely,” he murmured into my ear as I continued to hide my face in his chest.
“I did this,” I breathed sadly, keeping my eyes pinched tightly.
“You killed him?”
Feeling ashamed of my weakness, I slowly backed out of his arms to meet his eyes. “I had to. Those two men were attacking Laelynn – the woman I was with on the balcony,” I explained. “That’s how I met her and why I was in the village.”
“You brought them both down? By yourself?”
I clenched my jaw. “Just because I’m female, doesn’t mean I can’t kill. You saw that for yourself.”
Thorne said nothing, but I could see him trying to fit all the pieces together as he studied me. His body was angled away from me again, so I couldn’t admire him fully. I thought the claw marks from whatever beast had so foolishly attacked him were … not ‘beautiful’ – that was the wrong word – but they were certainly not ugly, and they didn’t make him unsightly in the least.
Being in this clearing, knowing what was lying on the ground right behind me, made me cringe inside. I sincerely hoped that Laelynn was safe and that this death that I’d dealt out was not in vain. Hopefully the soldiers had abandoned the village now that I was no longer there. There was no way to return now. I would only put them in danger again. It was best to just move on alone. As much as it pained me, I knew the same was true for Thorne. I must walk away and never see him again, for his own good.
