Mercenary Little Death Bringer (10 page)

“Marin, I’m glad you’re here,” Macon said as
he eyed the Elf Queen with fear.

“Please tell me you did not agree to be used
as bait?!” she asked with flames dancing within her eyes.

“Of course I did,” I said honestly, “It’s the
best way to discover who is after me.”

“Are you mad?!” she asked me, “You could be
killed!”

“I could be killed as a mercenary yet you
allow me to complete this training to follow that path. Why is this
different?”

“Because someone is after you with the intent
of kidnapping you, which will possibly lead to your death,” Father
said matter-of-factly.

“There is no other way for us to discovery
who it is. Besides, if they wanted to kill me they could have just
ordered the bandits who attacked us to do it,” I replied in a
neutral tone so as not to upset him.

“I told you she wouldn’t listen to reason,”
Favian said to Father.

“What are you planning for this
test
?”
Mother asked as she sat down in the chair beside Father.

Macon relaxed now that she had sat down and
said, “We are going to have Favian and Marin go to the town square
and appear as though they are shopping for gifts to try to lure the
kidnappers out. The rest of the sixth years will be spread
throughout the town either in hiding spots or shopping as well with
some at each escape point in case something goes wrong. Masters
Sean and Martin as well as myself will be watching as well. She
will be completely protected.”

“I don’t like it,” Mother said and shook her
head.

Father put his hand on Mother’s and smiled.
“Dear, it is a good plan.”

“They are going to risk her life!” Mother
said, “That is never a good plan.”

“You cannot protect me all the time,” I told
her.

“You cannot risk your life all the time,” she
said back to me.

“Are you telling me that I cannot become a
mercenary?” I asked her softly. She turned her head away and my
anger skyrocketed. “It is my life and I will decide what to do with
it. I am going to be a mercenary. I am going to go through with
this test. There is nothing you can do to stop me. If you take me
back to the castle I will escape and come back. If you try to hold
me against my will I will attack any who guard me and escape. I
will do as I wish,” I said angrily before storming out of Macon’s
office and walking to the stables.

Fire nickered in greeting to me and I hurried
to her stall, burying my face against her neck as I cried. I had
training in thirty minutes, but I was in no condition to practice
my swordsmanship so I walked to the tack area and grabbed Fire’s
saddle and bridle, quickly tacking her and led her from the barn. I
swung up onto her back and kissed to her. She took off at a fast
gallop, eating the ground up quickly with her hooves as we passed
the outdoor training arena and began the five mile trip to my
favorite hiding spot. Fire galloped happily since she hadn’t been
out of the stable and had been craving to stretch her legs. She
slowed as she started the climb up the side of the mountain and she
was forced to use some of her energy for the steep climb.

We rounded the mountain and I spotted the
trail off to the right, slowing Fire so we could make the turn onto
the mostly unused path. Most didn’t know the trail existed or where
it led, but my first year I’d found it and had often visited it
while attending the Academy. Fire was forced to walk since the path
was narrow, steep and windy, but she didn’t seem to mind. It took
twenty minutes before we finally made it to a spot where the trees
stopped fifteen feet away from a rock which overlooked the lake
further down. I dismounted, dropped the reins on the ground to
ground tie Fire and then sat on the rock.

How could she do this to me? How could she
plan to keep me from being a mercenary? Why even let me go to the
Academy if she wasn’t going to let me do the job afterwards? I felt
awful for the way I had spoken to her, but I had meant every word.
I greatly appreciated them raising me as if I were one of their
own, but she couldn’t force me to stay at the castle. I wasn’t
built to be a lady who sat on her hands and let the men go off and
fight. I was a fighter and I needed to be out slaying ogres and
protecting defenseless people.

Tears leaked from my eyes again and I hated
that I was crying yet
again
! I rolled onto my back and let
the tears flow as the sun warmed my face and body. Before I’d
realized it, I had fallen asleep and then was woken by Fire’s
nicker. “How did you find me?” I asked Favian without sitting up or
opening my eyes. I knew it was Ice who’d come, by the way Fire had
nickered so I didn’t need to look to know it was Favian on his
back.

“I followed you here when we were second
years after you had that fight with Brock and he’d upset you,”
Favian said as he sat down beside me.

“Have you come to take me to Mother so that
she can lock me up in the castle’s dungeon?” I asked.

“No,” Favian said with a laugh, “Though I
have thought of doing that a few times.”

“Everything I said was the truth,” I told him
softly, “She cannot keep me from being who I really am. I am not a
lady to stay at the castle while you go off and fight battles.”

“I know,” he said, “And she knows that as
well. She is simply worried for your safety as I was.”

“Is that why you got so mad? Because you are
worried for me? Or was it because I’m your partner and wouldn’t
listen to you?” I asked as I opened my eyes to look at him.

He nodded his head. “All of that. You are
very stubborn,” he said with a smile.

“As if you aren’t,” I teased.

He laughed and then went silent and still. I
saw his face change from happy to serious as he listened to
something in the distance. The tree leaves rustled in the wind and
Favian’s silver hair swayed with the breeze. I wanted to run my
fingers through it to see if it was as soft as it looked, but I
kept my hands where they were. The horses were also turning their
ears in search of whatever they were hearing. I wanted to ask what
it was, but he would just shush me so I waited for him to tell
me.

My patience was growing thin when Favian
suddenly jumped on top of me, shielding my body with his. I heard
the sound of arrows striking the ground near us and tried to throw
him off of me so that he could protect himself. Arrows whizzed past
our bodies and their metal heads buried into the ground just past
our feet. There had to be at least four shooters to release this
many arrows at once. “Favian get off of me! Run to the trees!” I
told him. If we didn’t move soon the shooters would correct their
aim and then his back would look like a porcupine’s.

He stared down into my eyes and shook his
head. “You won’t make it to the trees without getting hit.”

“You’re going to get hit if you don’t get off
of me. Now get off and we’ll run.”

The arrows slowed and Favian’s jaw clenched.
“You run as fast as you can. Understand?” As if I needed to be told
that!

I nodded my head and he jumped off of me and
grabbed my hand, pulling me to my feet and we started running. The
arrows increased in number and this time they were aimed directly
at us and I could see they were coming from the road. Favian and I
dodged the arrows right and left as we ran for cover, the sound of
them whizzing past our ears like angry wasps. We made it to the
trees and I pressed my body against the trunk of a tree, folding my
arms against the front of my body so they wouldn’t get hit by
arrows.

“Who is it?” I asked, “Is this a test?”

“I don’t know,” Favian said angrily, “They
aren’t talking and I can’t see them through the woods.”

Fire neighed from off to my right and I
turned to find her looking around for me. She spotted me and
screamed a horse scream of fear and worry and then started to run
towards me. I yelled at her to stop, but she didn’t listen. She ran
to me and I did the only thing I could do, I grabbed onto her
saddle and let her take me away from Favian and the arrows. I
didn’t want to leave him, but if I had let Fire stand near me she
would have been hit by the arrows. I couldn’t let her get injured
because of me.

Favian whistled and I heard Ice whinny in
response and knew he would be after me soon. Fire took a side path
which was dangerously steep and led down to the lake. Unfortunately
it was the only path besides the one we’d taken to get there and
despite it’s dangerousness it was the only way for us to get out
alive. Fire grunted with effort as she made her way down the path,
trying to keep me alive. I could hear Favian and Ice behind us, but
didn’t dare turn around for fear or throwing Fire off balance. We
were almost to the bottom when arrows began flying over our heads.
Fire blew loudly out of her nose in frustration and then finally
jumped down the last five feet to the flat wide trail around the
lake. Her muscles bunched as she prepared to gallop around the
trail, but I pulled on her reins, making her wait for Favian and
Ice. They finally made it down and Favian yelled, “What are you
waiting for? Run!”

I loosened Fire’s reins and she took off at a
full gallop, turning right so that we were protected by the
mountain from the arrows and our attackers. “How are we going to
get back? They’re on the only road that leads to the school?” I
asked Favian as the horses carried us farther from our
attackers.

“There is another path we can take,” he said,
“But I don’t know if they’ll have that blocked as well.”

“It’s our only choice,” I told him, “We don’t
have any real weapons except our throwing knives.” I desperately
wished for my sword underneath my bed. “How did they get inside the
grounds?” This was not a test, Macon wouldn’t allow us to be put in
so much danger. How had they gotten passed everyone without being
noticed? Had they slipped in the back way and gone unseen by the
guard there?

“I don’t know,” Favian said angrily, “But we
need to find out.” We slowed the horses since we were out of
immediate danger and didn’t want to use up all of their energy yet.
“Follow me,” Favian said as he steered Ice off of the path and into
the trees, “And watch your back,” he reminded me.

I followed him silently, listening for any
sound out of place or any sight to indicate that we might be
walking into a trap. We had been through several tests similar to
this, but this was the first real problem we had experienced. This
was the first time our lives were on the line. Surprisingly I felt
very calm and not even a little bit scared as we made our way
through the forest as silently as we could.

Favian stopped Ice and Fire stopped behind
him. I heard the noise too, which meant it was close so I went on
high alert, looking everywhere for a potential threat.
Unfortunately we weren’t prepared for the attackers to be right
above us, having been camouflaged so well that the horses and
Favian didn’t pick up their scents or bodies.

Two attackers dropped down from the trees
onto Favian, pulling him from Ice’s saddle, but Favian saw them
move just before they dropped and had pulled his knives to fight
them. Both attackers had dark masks on so I couldn’t see what type
of being they were or who they were.

I didn’t have long to watch because another
attacker dropped from the tree above me and landed on Fire’s back
right behind me. I tried to turn to fight my attacker, but they
wrapped their arms around my waist, grabbed the reins and dug their
heels into Fire, making her spin around and run in the opposite
direction.

I slowly reached down and grabbed the top of
my throwing knife and stabbed the person in their arm, making them
cry out in pain. “Whoa!” I yelled to Fire who instantly stopped and
made my attacker slam their face into the back of my head. I
stabbed their leg with my other knife and then swung my right leg
up and around in a dismounting move that also knocked them from
Fire’s back. It was a technique Kato had taught me and the trick
almost worked. I would have stayed in Fire’s saddle, but they
grabbed my left leg and jerked it out of the stirrup, throwing me
off balance and pulling me off of her. Fire moved around me and
started stomping her hooves, trying to kill my attacker as I stood
up and prepared to attack.

I clucked to Fire to tell her to back off and
pinned my attacker to the ground and stabbed my blade through their
shoulder. “Who are you?!” I asked angrily.

“Screw you,” they said venomously.

I ripped the mask off and stared at the human
man’s face. I had no idea who he was. “Who sent you?” I asked.

“I came on my own,” he said as he tried to
buck me off of his body. I stabbed him in the stomach and twisted
the knife as hard as I could, making him scream out in pain. “You
can kill me, but more will come,” he growled.

“Why do you want me dead?” I asked.

“He doesn’t want you dead,” he said, “He
wants to see you in person.”

“Who?! Who is ‘he’?!” I screamed and then put
the knife against the man’s throat.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” he said with a
sneer.

I didn’t have time to tie him up for
questioning later and I needed to check on Favian so I slit his
throat and hopped back up onto Fire’s back, squeezing my legs and
kissing to her to make her run back to Favian and Ice. We arrived
to find Favian pinning a goblin to the ground and questioning
him.

“I’m alive,” I told Favian as I dismounted
Fire and walked up to him. The other attacker was dead and another
human.

“More will come. They will come until she is
taken to him,” The goblin said.

“Who is he?” I asked, “What does he want with
me?”

“You’ll meet him soon enough,” the goblin
said, “And we only know the reason we don’t want you here.”

“Why don’t you want her here?” Favian asked,
“What has she done to deserve your hatred?”