Dark One Rising (40 page)

CHAPTER 24

S
he spent the afternoon browsing the merchant carts and storefronts and took some time to have a bite to eat in the city square near the fountain. As the sun was starting to descend in the late afternoon, she retrieved her horse from the public stable and headed out.

She wended her way through the city streets, humming a tune. She didn’t see the man watching her from an alleyway. He waited until she was past, then slunk out, heading around a corner to where his horse was tethered. He mounted and followed her, making sure to keep well enough behind. He didn’t want to make her nervous, and he didn’t want to make a move too soon inside the city walls where there would be too many eyes.

As she left the city proper and got into the outer part of it, where the buildings were sparse, and he was sure no one would pay attention, he picked up the pace. He was almost on top of her when she finally glanced over her shoulder.

She saw him approaching and nervously picked up her pace. He didn’t wear Fallon’s colors, but she was trained enough to be suspicious nonetheless.

She couldn’t gallop. The streets here were still narrow; the cobbled roads would make her horse unstable at a hurried trot. She needed to keep going. She kicked her mount on, wanting to reach the gates before he caught up with her.

He was able to take a short cut behind a set of buildings, and just when she thought she had only been paranoid for nothing, he stepped out in front of her, blocking her path toward the gates. She was nervous, but decided not to panic until she found out what he wanted. “Who are you and why do you block my way?”

“I’ve been following you for awhile. Do you always wander from your home without escort, Princess?”

She was startled. He knew her. “I’m a big girl and can take care of myself.”

“I gather, since you have managed to keep yourself hidden all these months. You must have realized we’d find you eventually.”

She knew now who he worked for and was no longer just paranoid. She knew she was in trouble. He was the only one, but she wasn’t naïve enough to think that there weren’t any others waiting to strike. She tried to go around him, but he anticipated her move. He leaned over and grabbed her arm.

“You’ve had your little vacation, but now it’s time to go home where you belong. Your family misses you, and your fiancé will be relieved to know you’re alright.”

“I’ll bet.” She stood up in her saddle, and, removing one foot from the stirrup, kicked her foot out and up as hard as she could and caught him in the chin. As his head was coming back down from its flown back position, she knew she had only seconds to move. She kicked her heels into her mount and took off down the cobbled street. Her mount was unsteady on her hooves but kept her balance. She rounded a corner where two more guards were waiting. She pulled back on the reins so hard her horse reared, kicking one of the guard’s horses in the mouth. That horse threw his head, and the guard had to take a few minutes to get his control back. She tried to steer around the other man, but he was ready for her, and she couldn’t squeeze by him. He was too close to the wall of the building for her to fit. He reached over and grabbed her reins, trying to get the mare to succumb to his pulling. She reached down into her boot and pulled out a small knife that she’d swiped from the armory. She leaned forward and sliced the guard across his arm where his flesh peeked from the sleeves of his gambeson. He pulled his arm back in pain, but instead of him letting go of the reins so she could get away, he got mad and pulled harder. She took another try. She had to be quick because his companion was regaining his control and would be ready for her. She thrust the knife out and up and caught him again, this time under the chin. The guard could not keep control this time. He let go of the reins and grabbed his throat, trying desperately to keep the blood from running down his neck. It was no use. The blood was flowing fast now, running through his fingers and down his neck, soaking into the leather of his gambeson. The other man was on her fast. He was larger than his companion, and stronger. He grabbed the reins and pulled so hard her face and his were practically touching. She tried to lift the knife high enough to catch him in the neck as well, but he was ready for it. He grabbed her wrist and twisted hard. Her grip on the knife was loosening. He wriggled it out of her hand and held it to her throat now.

“Let’s just stop all this trouble and come with me nice and quiet like.”

“Never!” She spat on him.

He wiped the spittle from his face with his free hand and growled at her, “I should show you how a woman should behave. You would make a nice addition to my household. All spit fire and feistiness. Or maybe I should take my pleasure of you now and be done with it.” He shifted in the saddle as if trying to ease the pressure from between his legs.

“I don’t think Fallon would look to kindly on you despoiling his prize possession.”

The man noticeably shifted now in nervousness at that realization, swallowing absentmindedly. He held on tighter, but she fought hard. He yelled at her, “Enough! Let’s go!”

He yanked one more time and this time pulled her out of her saddle. Holding her by her blouse, he backhanded her across the face. She felt a warm trickle run down her lip. She slipped to the cobbled street, slumping on the hard surface. He dismounted and reached down, grabbing her by the front of her blouse again. She heard it tear under his grip but couldn’t move. She was dazed from the blow and was trying hard to get her wits about her.

He lifted her off the ground and was just about to lift her and himself into the saddle when his grip loosened, and he slumped forward on top of her in a heap. His heavy body was crushing her. She slipped out from underneath him and pushed him away. There was an arrow sticking out of his back. She looked over to the other man she had grappled with earlier. He was lying on the ground now as well, blood pooling under him from the slice to the neck. She was breathing hard and stood from the ground, reaching for the reins of her horse. Galloping footsteps came from around the corner. The guard that had accosted her first was coming toward her. An arrow whistled by her and hit the man square in the throat, tossing him backward in his saddle to the cobbled street. His horse galloped away. She looked around and saw a man riding toward her, his face hooded from view, carrying a bow. A quiver of arrows was slung across his back and a sword hung from a scabbard at his side. He was riding a beautiful all white horse, and as he approached, she could now see his eyes from under the hood.

He kept his vigilance for a moment or two, then stopped his horse in front of her, pulling back his hood. The man was young, or so he looked, with flawless pale skin, and green round eyes. His long deep shiny black hair was pulled back with a simple tie, and his clothes were made from a homespun material in green and tan colors. He wore brown riding boots and had no adornments of any kind. She would’ve thought him ordinary had it not been for the lobeless pointed ears. He was an elf. An elf away from Vallis, inside the cities of the kingdom. He looked down on her with a steady gaze, then put his bow away on his back with his quiver. She stared up at him in surprise but said nothing. She was holding together the torn pieces of her blouse and did not speak to him.

She pulled her gaze away from his when she heard horse clops coming from around the far corner. Another man came into view, this one older, carrying no weapons at all. He approached them both and smiled down at her, her lip still trickling blood down her chin. She reached up and wiped away the blood

“That’s all of them. The other two won’t be waking anytime soon, but when they do, they’ll find themselves cold and damp in the city dungeon, I reckon. I have filed a report with the Constable. There will be someone coming to clean up the mess in short order. I suggest we be on our way and through the gates before they do. I put a spell on him so that he wouldn’t ask too many questions, but it will eventually wear off. We would do well to be on our way before it does.”

She stared at him but didn’t move. He smiled at her again. “It’s lucky we happened to come along, Princess, or you’d be in the hands of Fallon right now.”

“Who are you?”

He climbed down off his mount and bowed to her, the belled sleeves of his robe almost touching the ground.

“I’m Sol, magician and map maker.”

“
The
Sol? The magician who it’s said lived over a hundred years ago?”

“Yes, well, I age more graceful than most I guess.” He hid an amused smile, then cleared his throat and motioned to the elf still sitting on his horse. “My companion is Tomaz Faolin, High Warrior of Vallis.”

The elf bowed in his saddle to her. “We finally meet after all these years, Princess. It is an honor to be in your presence once again.”

She was confused and looked over at Sol again, questioning in her eyes. “We’ll discuss things in more detail a bit later. Right now, I think it’s best we get you back to Drydon Keep before the king puts out a bounty for you. And you know Alek, he always gets his man.. or woman as the case may be.” He chuckled to himself.

She surprisingly hadn’t really thought about Dain for a while. She winced. He would be very angry with her for leaving without telling him, and without escort. He’d really be furious after he found out what happened here.

She felt guilty. She loved him, and she knew that he at least cared about her and genuinely didn’t want anything to happen to her. She should’ve been more aware of the effect of what her rash decision might have on others, Dain and Kevaan especially.

She tried to mount her horse with one hand, while grasping her torn blouse closed with the other. She wasn’t embarrassed but was a bit uncomfortable with being exposed. She stopped trying to climb up and, instead, wrapped her arms about herself to cover her naked chest.

The elf dismounted and pulled a woolen cloak and rope out of his bag and handed it to her. She pulled it around herself and tied the rope in a knot.

She got on her horse, and the magician followed. They turned toward the gates, the elf leading. He had covered his ears back up with his hood, and they sauntered past the remaining buildings on the outskirts of the city.

They went out the gate without incident, Melenthia suspecting that the magician had something to do with the fact that no one paid them any mind at all. Much less the fact that no one had stopped them to question them about the dead bodies left on their city streets.

As they left the city gates behind and approached the edge of some woods, the elf reined in his mount and waited for her to catch up. He dismounted and untied the pack that was tethered to the saddle of Sol’s horse. She stopped her horse in front of him; he looked up at her. “Come down and let me have a look at your face.”

“I’m fine,” she lisped through a swollen lip.

Sol looked at her now and smiled slightly. “There’s no need for embarrassment here. Let him look at it. It’s worse than you think.”

She dismounted and approached the elf. He reached out and probed the swollen lip and bruised cheek with surprisingly long and delicate fingers. He pushed a bit, and she winced. “You will have quite a good bruise in the morning, but your lip is going to need some attention if you plan to eat.”

He pulled a wadded up bunch of cloth out of the bag and opened it. Inside was a blob of something white and creamy, and when she leaned over to look closer, she got a whiff of it. She pulled her head back and cringed.

“What’s that?” she asked, wrinkling up her nose.

“It is a salve made from the rotten eggs of the faerie swan. It has healing powers that even the most gifted alchemists cannot duplicate. It smells but works wonders. After a few minutes your lip will get numb, but in a couple of hours the swelling will have gone down and the split will have healed almost completely. It cannot, however, do anything for your cheek. You will have to endure having black and blue on your left side for awhile. It is, however, better than what it could have been.”

“Thanks to you.”

“I do what I can, Your Highness.” He bowed to her and then looked straight into her eyes. She felt a warmth there, a soothing presence that emanated off him and made her feel calm.

He leaned over and rubbed a large dollop of salve on the left side of her mouth. It stung her cut tender lip and gave her a feeling of prickles in it. She tried to purse her lips together in order to keep the salve from going into her mouth. As bad as it smelled, she certainly didn’t want to taste it.

“Do not worry. It smells bad but has no taste and no ill effects. You can unclench your jaw now. If some of it gets in your mouth you will taste nothing.”

“Try not to lick your lips though,” Sol added with amusement in his voice. The elf was done applying the cream, and she looked at him.

“I thought he said I wouldn’t taste it.”

“You won’t, but your lip will heal faster if you don’t lick away all the medicinal cream.”

She rolled her eyes at him. The elf remounted and she followed suit.

“I suggest we be on our way now. I don’t want to take the chance that there were more than the five. I don’t want to be followed. I have put a concealment spell on us, but it won’t hide us from all the eyes.”

“Do you think they know where I’m hiding?”

“They know you’re on this side of the kingdom, but exactly your whereabouts I don’t know. If it was only those five, we may be lucky and word won’t travel. But, if he has more spies, then I don’t doubt that he’ll know sooner than later.”