The Dark Path (35 page)

Gen bent and retrieved his helm and shield. His whole armor glowed almost white hot now. He walked over and stroked the dragon under the chin. His leather glove caught flame and Gen pulled it off and let it burn upon the ground. He walked back to the edge of the circle and looked Thomas in the eyes.

"Step back twenty paces and drop the shield." Gen's voice sounded raw. The students that had gathered to watch the spell all ran back at least fifty paces at Gen's command. Thomas dropped the shield when they were all far enough away. The shield came down instantly. A wave of heat still almost knocked Thomas over, even at this distance. Gen walked out of the circle. His greaves caught fire to green grass as he walked away toward the gates. His horse trotted along behind him. The preparations were done. It was time for the death to begin.

XXX

Lessons Learned

The dim light of pre-dawn slowly brought color to the deep forest. A large figure walked silently down a small dirt path. The birds had begun to sing around an hour before when the figure had broke camp and started walking. A sharp crack of a breaking twig brought the figure to a sudden halt. Brown eyes turned toward the sound and the figure slowly melded with the shadows behind a large ash tree to its left. A few moments later, another figure walked past. This figure was small of stature and wore a brown traveling cloak, its hood pulled up. The figure behind the tree moved with catlike motions and held the smaller figure with one arm while holding a blade to its neck with the other. A feminine gasp escaped the hood.

“Why are you following me?” a deep male voice asked. The tone carried an unspoken threat.

“I didn't know anyone was here. I was on my way to Sally Richard's house.” The feminine voice shook a bit with barely controlled fear.

“Why should I believe you?”

“I speak the truth. Nothing less.” A small tone of defiance crept into the smaller figure's voice.

“Is there anyone else traveling with you?”

“No. These woods have always been relatively safe to travel. Well till now I suppose.”

“Very well.” The knife was removed and the arm holding the smaller figure was withdrawn. The small figure turned and pulled the hood back off its head to reveal a lovely young woman. She had short, sandy brown hair and hazel eyes. She looked up, then up a bit more to gaze at the face of her captor. He had short blond hair and piercing blue eyes. Tattoos crept up his neck and over his face to around his eyes. She would have found him handsome if he hadn't just had a knife to her throat.

“Am I free to go now?”

“How much further is it to your friend's house?”

“It's not far, but why would I lead you there? You may kill us both then.” Her eyes held a look of defiance.

“I'm not here to harm anyone. I merely thought that you were following me.” He reached out a massive hand connected to a well muscled, tattooed arm. “My name is Duncan. What is yours?” He smiled a warm smile that made her forget all her worries. No one with a smile that warm and open could harm her.

“Anouk.” She took his hand and shook quickly. His grip was strong but he was gentle.

“I'll walk you to your friend's house and then be on my way.” He smiled that warm smile again and offered her his arm. She declined the offer and began to walk once more down the trail. They walked in silence for a time and she noticed that even though she had grown up in these woods, and walked the paths every day, she made more noise than him. She couldn't even hear his footsteps.

“Where did you learn to walk so quietly?” She asked innocently as she looked up and to her right where he was walking beside her.

“I'm not really sure. Probably something I picked up in training.” He shrugged and put on the smile again, but she noticed that his eyes were pained and did not reflect the smile.

“It must come in handy while out hunting.” She smiled and kept the tone light. She wanted to start a conversation, not push him away.

“I don't hunt,” he said nonchalantly.

“Everyone hunts around here. Everyone but the rich anyway.” She arched an eyebrow. “Are you a noble?”

“I don't believe so.” He chuckled a bit then turned to look down at her. “I don't eat meat anymore. So I have no need to hunt.” He flashed her another warm smile and she felt silly for having brought it up.

“Where are you from?” she asked. She hoped that question was innocent enough.

“I'm from a ways south and west, here on the island. I'm actually on my way home to visit.”

“That must be nice. Have you been away from the island?” She loved to hear stories of places far away. She had never gone much farther than the village though she longed to travel.

“I've been around the world actually.” He looked away from her and his eyes took on a far away look. “Just recently, I was a sailor.”

“Do you like the sea? I've never been to see it.” He had been around the world! Maybe he would tell her some stories she could share later with Sally.

“I love the sea. There is nothing else like it. I recommend that you go see it at least once in your life. It's really not that far from here. A few days walk to the nearest shore.” He looked down to her again. “Maybe I'll take you to see it after I visit home.” He smiled that warm smile once more and she found herself smiling back at him. She wished now that she had taken the arm he had offered. She looked him over more closely. He wore a loose fitting, sleeveless shirt made of a soft gray material. She was thinking of removing her cloak as the walk and the excitement from earlier were warming her up. He carried a small pack made of dark brown leather. He wore leather pants that looked to be a bit tight. She blushed slightly as she looked at places she knew she shouldn't. She looked down and saw that he wore well worn boots made of black leather. They looked like very comfortable boots.

“You have lovely boots. Where did you get them?” She asked as she looked back up into his blue eyes.

“I made them actually. They have served me well. Though I had horrible blisters for the first week I wore them.”

“I thought you said that you didn't hunt. How did you get the leather?” She wondered if he had lied about the hunting. Maybe she shouldn't trust this man just yet.

“I didn't hunt for the leather. I purchased it from a family that needed coppers more than leather.” His eyes grew distant and they walked in silence again for a time. She was just about to tell him that her friend's house was right around the next bend when suddenly he dove and knocked her off the path. She opened her mouth to scream and he covered it with his large right hand. Her mind began to go blank with fear at what he would do to her when she noticed that he wasn't looking at her at all. His eyes scanned the nearby trees. He leaned down close to her ear and whispered in a barely audible tone.

“I'm going to move my hand. Please don't make a sound. They think that they got me. I have to use that to surprise them.” He removed his hand and she looked up to him in question. She looked down as she felt her hand, where it lay upon his upper arm, grow warm and wet. She saw that blood poured down from an arrow that stuck in his shoulder. She looked back to him and opened her mouth but he put a finger to her lips and shook his head. He motioned that she remain there and he quietly crawled off of her and stood up, vanishing into the nearby trees.

The woods were silent. Not even the birds sang their usual tune. She heard a sudden crash off to her left and turned to look. She saw a branch sway a bit as if in a breeze but no other movement. She crawled backward till her back was against a nearby tree. She looked all around her but she still saw no one. Just when she thought it was over, she heard a louder crash directly in front of her. She flinched as she heard a man let out a scream that ended in a gurgling sound. She heard the sound of shouting by many men then. She had heard the language they spoke before and she shuddered. The sounds of struggle went on and on. She thought it would never end. She wondered what the people that had shot Duncan would do to her after they killed him. She shuddered and drew the cloak up tight as she hugged her legs close to her chest. The noise of combat grew less and less till finally there was silence once more. She sucked in a quick breath as she heard the sounds of someone coming through the foliage toward her. A giant form broke though the bushes and she screamed in terror. She was brought out of it by a sudden slap. The slap was gentle though. It was more just to bring her back to herself. She looked up at the figure and gasped. It was Duncan. He was nearly covered head to toe in blood and gore. She couldn't tell if any was his own till he helped her up and turned around. Six arrows stuck out of his back making it look like a giant pin-cushion.

“My friend's house is just ahead. Let's hurry and patch you up.” Anouk's voice held nothing but concern for her wounded companion.

“I'll be fine for a while. I don't know if there are any more soldiers out there.”

“How many were there?” She asked as she placed herself under his right arm letting him rest some of his weight upon her.

“Twenty. Luckily only a third of them were archers.”

“Let's hurry then. Sally should have something we can use as bandages.” They walked on in silence and soon arrived at Sally's small cottage. Sally sat out front breaking beans. She rushed to them when they rounded the corner. Her long blond hair was tied back with a blue ribbon to match her pale blue summer dress. She looked questioningly to Anouk but said only that they should get him inside quickly. Duncan objected slightly but he was quickly losing consciousness. He remembered them laying him face down on what seemed like the softest bed he had ever lay upon when the world went black and left him.

“Duncan?” a voice called him from far away. He could barely make it out. He looked up to where he had been playing fetch with his new puppy in the field behind his house. He looked down at the puppy and the puppy met his gaze with a sad one. It looked to him then looked behind him and barked once.

“What is it, Boy? It's not time for dinner yet and I finished the chores earlier. We don't have to go home yet. Here, I'll toss the stick again.” He pulled back his arm and threw the stick far across the field but the puppy didn't chase after it as usual. Instead, he sat and stared up at Duncan.

“Duncan? Can you hear me?” He turned this time at the voice and suddenly he was flying upward through a dark tunnel away from his house and the field and his puppy. “NO!” He cried as his eyes shot open. He saw a strange young woman staring at him with concern. She had such lovely short hair he thought. It looked so soft. He reached out and ran his left hand over her hair and down her cheek. She smiled but grabbed his hand and pushed it back down to the bed.

“Good you're awake. We weren't sure you were going to make it. You lost a lot of blood.” She turned away from him and raised her voice. “Sally! Sally, come back in here. He's awake. Help me sit him up.” She turned back to face him and smiled again. He liked her smile. It was a bit crooked but it made him feel warm inside for some reason. He smiled back and tried to sit up. He got his legs swung around when the room started spinning. He felt hands on each of his arms helping him to sit up. He stayed for a second then began to fall backwards. The hands pulled hard and he was upright once more. Slowly the room stopped spinning and he looked over to his left. A beautiful, blond haired, blue eyed young woman stood holding his left arm.

“Hello,” He said with a goofy grin. She smiled at him and then looked past him to his right. He turned his gaze to follow hers and saw the brown haired girl again. He smiled again. “Hello.” She smiled and giggled nervously a bit.

“My name is Duncan,” he said with a large smile. Her smile left when he said that and he wondered if she didn't like his name.

“I know, Duncan. My name is Anouk. Do you remember me? We met in the woods.” She gestured toward the outside of the cottage. He looked in the direction she indicated and saw the green trees now lying in deep shade.

“It's very pretty here,” he said and he looked down because he had just realized he was in the presence of nice women and he should make sure he was dressed well or at least that his clothes were straight. He found when he looked down that all he wore was a towel wrapped around his waist. He felt his face flush red. He looked up at Anouk.

“I'm sorry I seem to be under-dressed. I'm not sure why, but please excuse me.” She smiled back at him and giggled again. He smiled too then he looked down at his right arm that she still held. He saw deep black tattoos all over his arm. They drew symbols that he felt he should know. Suddenly, it all came back to him. He remembered it all at once and with the memory came a severe head-ache. He groaned and grabbed his head with his left hand. He looked over to Anouk.

“How long have I been out?” His voice was no longer the innocent sounding boy's voice it had been just moments earlier.

“Half the day. We had to remove your clothes to dress the wounds. The arrows were very nasty to remove. We were afraid you had lost too much blood.” She smiled. “It's good to see you again.”

“I have to leave.” He tried to stand and had to stop and grab his head again when the room once more began to spin.

“I think you need to rest.” She gave him the serious look like his mother used to give that meant there was no arguing allowed. “Isn't that right, Sally?” He turned to face the blond. Her face looked like the blood had just rushed out of it.