Arranged (52 page)

He ripped his mind away from her; he needed all of his concentration to defeat this beast. The king launched again, roaring as he connected with Qwinn's chest, sending them both sailing backwards.

Qwinn gripped the beast's mouth shut, so as to avoid the dangerous teeth. The beast bucked, trying to knock him off, but Qwinn held tightly, trying to squirm just enough to get a hold of another dagger tied to his belt.

The Torin king suddenly rolled, catching Qwinn's leg painfully under his massive weight for a moment. Qwinn grit his teeth in pain, trying to maintain his grip.

The beast slammed his head into the wall, succeeding in dislodging Qwinn from its face. Qwinn crumpled.

Alison screamed his name, but things were blinking in and out of focus. The Torin had knocked himself into a dizzy spell, and some part of Qwinn's mind he realized this was the perfect time to attack.

Gathering every ounce of strength he had left, he grit his teeth harder, fighting his weakness. Diving into the depths of his soul, he called upon the strength of his ancestors and every drop of magic passed down through his bloodline. After a painfully slow moment, he felt the power begin to hum and warm in his stomach.

The Torin King bore down on his legs, preparing to deliver the killing blow to one of the two Qwinn's he was seeing. Qwinn found himself in such a state of peace, for a moment he wondered if he had already died. Then, from his crumpled position against the wall of the cave, he saw the Torin begin to charge.

The warmth in his stomach spread and he lifted his arms forward. From someone else's point of view, it might have looked like the King's feeble attempt to protect himself, but Qwinn knew differently. Something was happening to him, something that he'd never experienced in all his centuries of life. He was purely following the instinct of his body.

The Torin opened its large jaws, ready to devour the helpless Vidarian King, when a light began to glow inside of Qwinn's chest.

The strange occurrence did not stop the beast. Alison screamed, the sound resounding a million times against the cave walls and the warmth turned into a fiery blaze. Anger, fear, worry, disbelief and hope flourished in him, sending the burning from his stomach and chest out through his arms, almost as if channeling fiery energy. Qwinn roared as the energy shot out of the palms of his hands in the form of fire orbs. They soared through the space remaining between the Torin and Qwinn, slamming into the large figure in an explosion of light.

The Torin hardly had a moment to react before he became engulfed in flame and incinerated within seconds.

No one moved, no one even breathed as they stared at the disintegrating body of the Torin King.

The stench of charred flesh filled the air as Qwinn turned his wide and disbelieving eyes to his hands. The warmth had left him as soon as the fire had soared. Somewhere inside he knew that if he concentrated and called on it, the fire would return.

The other Torin seemed transfixed to the body of their dead leader. That was all that Qwinn's soldier needed to deliver the deathblow.

Qwinn shakily pushed himself to his knees, fighting the intense wave of nausea that hit him. He didn't have time to worry about his injuries or the mysterious fire, his mission was still clear, he needed to get Alison out of here; she was all that mattered.

He used the cave wall as a brace to help himself stand and carefully made his way toward her. He had lost a lot of blood and was growing dizzier by the minute, but he felt relief for the first time since he had found out she was missing.

As he neared the cage, his soldier sliced through the lock and Qwinn's world pitched dangerously. He fell, hitting the cold stone ground. Alison came running out of the cage, kneeling by Qwinn. He found it hard to keep his eyes open, oblivion calling him so temptingly.

Her beautiful face swam in and out of view. She was saying something, but he couldn't hear her. He smiled weakly and lifted his hand to cup her cheek. She pressed into it with her own hand and tears filled her eyes, those beautiful eyes. She was safe, he could rest easy now, he thought as he allowed his heavy eyes to finally close.

"NO! QWINN!" ALISON CRIED AS he closed his eyes. His hand fell limp from her grasp and her tears spilled over.

When he had burst into the cave, it was then that she realized how in love with him she was. He had come for her. She was certain that she loved him, and now, watching him bleed out onto the ground, she felt as if he were taking her heart with him.

"Come back. Please?" she sobbed, her forehead pressing against his, as if too exhausted to hold herself up any more.

Just then, more soldiers filled the room, swords drawn and bloodied, eyes scanning the room wildly for the enemy. Vin shoved his way through the group, his face covered in blood , but shining with victory. His eyes landed on Qwinn's still form and a frown grew on his mouth. He pushed men aside until he was kneeling beside Alison; tears streamed silently from her eyes.

"I apologize, but I need you to move if I am to help him."

Hope bloomed in what was quickly becoming an empty shell of a woman. She quickly backed away and Vin placed his hands directly over the open gash in Qwinn's chest. He closed his eyes, concentrating with every ounce of his being.

Before her very eyes, the blood on the group began to move. At first she couldn't believe what she was seeing…it was almost as if the blood had begun to collect itself into small streams and those streams were flowing back to the wound. Alison gasped as the blood moved back up Qwinn's side and returned to the wound.

When almost every drop had returned, Vin pulled back, suddenly gasping for air as if he had been running and looking very pale, even for his skin color.

"Quickly b-bind the wound!" He stammered.

Soldiers hurried forward, sacrificing strips of their tunics to staunch the bleeding.

"I don't understand…cant you heal him?" Alison asked in a shaky voice.

Vin looked grim, his hands still pressed against the wound, trying to hold the blood inside. "I can only control fluid…I cannot close the wound."

Alison turned fearful eyes back to Qwinn. There was still a chance he could die.

Even though he was her captor and had hurt her, he was her hearts song.

Alison watched helplessly as the others bound the wound and a couple of stronger soldiers lifted Qwinn into their arms, carrying his weight easily. She had no choice but to allow them. As she tried to stand with them, she crumbled back to the ground. Her limbs quivered violently, not only from her whole ordeal, but now she was being tested in a way no one should ever be; not only Qwinn's life, but her heart was on the line. If he died, she would die too.

She did not know when she had come to the point that she could not live without him. Now that he had entered her life, she couldn't imagine the world without him. If she knew that he was alive, she'd be alright. Even if he didn't want her, she could find strength and move on because he continued to live, continued to exist.

The soldiers made their way out of the cavern and Alison was shocked back into action. She stood, shaky at first, then as she got her bearings, rushed to the cage made of bones and offered her hand to the poor Vidarian woman who continued to cower in the corner. Vin appeared behind Alison, looking just as shaky, but for the strength in his eyes. "We must go."

Alison turned pleading eyes to the woman. "Come with us. You will be safe," she said, not even sure the woman could understand her. "Safe," she offered again.

Vin watched the rest of the soldiers file out nervously and tugged on Alison's arm. "We must leave now. Leave her."

Alison shook him off and entered the cage, kneeling slowly before the woman. "Please, come," she said, offering her hand once again.

The woman turned fear glazed eyes on Vin then back to Alison. She began crying as she covered her face.

"Alison. We must return to the palace at once. The King must be healed before it is too late and I will not leave you here," Vin nearly begged.

Alison frowned and stood carefully, knowing that leaving the woman here would mean her death. She would either starve or venture into the forest and be eaten.

Vin grabbed firmly to Alison's arm and tugged her towards the mouth of the tunnel. Alison sighed, defeated, and turned her back on the woman, silently wishing her luck. They were a few steps from the exit when Alison suddenly felt a cold, trembling hand find hers.

The woman glanced hopefully and fearfully up at Alison, who squeezed her hand reassuringly. The trio moved quickly through the dark tunnel. Alison tried hard to keep her head level. She needed to be strong, not only for Qwinn, but for this woman. Vin had a firm grip and led her easily through the tunnel, even warning her about a body blocking the way, which led Alison to confirm her thought that Vidarian's had excellent sight in the dark.

The trip out of the cavern seemed much shorter than the one in. It wasn't long before Alison's eyes landed on the carcasses all around. Blood was everywhere, splattered on the walls, puddled on the floor and seeming to stream from the amputated limbs and even a head.

She quickly diverted her eyes to Vin's back and focusing on nothing else. She heard the woman clinging her begin to sob again and held tighter. She knew that the carnage would only get worse once they made it outside.

She stared at the strange leather of his armor and tried to block out the rank of battle from around her. One thing she knew for sure, she would never forget this day. The vision of these bodies and even Qwinn getting attacked by the Torin beast would haunt her dreams for eternity.

Vin kept quiet as they followed the others out. As soon as they entered the fresh air, Alison found that she couldn't hold it back any more. As she sucked in large gulps of clean air, she could no longer control the bile. She wrenched her arm from Vin's and threw up. It wasn't until she had finished emptying her already empty stomach that she realized she had thrown up on a body.

She scrambled backward and right into Vin's chest. He steadied her and took her hand once more. "Stay close. I will protect you."

Larius rushed to them, panting and swiping an arm across his forehead, smearing blood there. Vin nodded toward him and Larius joined their group, keeping a very close eye on Alison as they walked.

Vin helped her step over the bodies. Unfortunately, in order to watch her footing, she had to stare at the ground.

She stepped over bodies of Torin and of Vidarian's… an arm here, a shredded torso there. Tears stung her eyes at the thought of the war, over
her
. If she would have never run away, they wouldn't have died.

Vidarian's had been victorious, however, no one cheered. Grim mouths were all she saw. The soldiers that were able carried the wounded and a few soldiers began to fashion crude stretchers from large branches and tunics. Alison's eyes scanned the battlefield and found nothing but sorrow. Then her eyes fell on a large group of men surrounding something. Vin dropped her hand and hurried forward, shoving through the crowd.

Larius instantly took guard by Alison. "What is happening?" she asked.

Larius furrowed his brow. "The healer is trying to save Qwinn."

Now it was Alison's turn to push through the crowd. Larius and the other woman followed. She shoved aside many men, for once not afraid of some of their monstrous forms. Though she was small, once they realized who was trying to get through, they moved aside, giving her room. After fighting her way through the soldiers, she fell into the clearing that held Qwinn in the middle.

An ancient looking soldier had his hands over Qwinn's bare chest. His eyes were closed and he chanted to himself as he concentrated on healing the King.

Qwinn looked pale and ashen, not moving. Alison stared at the shallow rise and fall of his chest to reassure herself that he was breathing.

Alison clasped her hands in her lap tightly in an effort to calm her shaking. Vin was nearby too, trying to keep the men at bay and give Qwinn some air.

The tears she had been fighting sprang to her eyes again. He
had
to live. The world would not be right if he died. And it would be her fault.

"Please," she begged quietly as she knelt by his head. "Please live." She couldn't keep the tremors out of her voice. Everything that she had been through had left her feeling so raw. After a few minutes, the Healer took his hands from the King's chest and spoke to the crowd in a heavy Vidarian accent. Alison looked around wildly for someone to translate. Larius knelt by her. "He says that the King's will is strong. He will live, but has lost a lot of blood. He is unconscious now. We must return him to the city where he can create a tonic for him to drink."

The soldiers cheered and many began buzzing with activity. The stretcher was brought and many hands assisted in lifting the King onto it.

Alison stared, almost afraid that if she took her eyes from his mostly healed and freshly scared chest, he would die. He still looked so ashen.

The men lifted him and began to make the long trek back to the city. Others stayed to gather the wounded and carry some of the dead.

Alison fought to keep up with Qwinn and his bearers. They took long steps and it wasn't long before Alison, in her weakened state, fell behind. Vin and Larius stayed close to her side, as did the woman, who jumped at every noise.