A Thin Line (12 page)

She stumbled to a standing position and began moving blindly along the path, her hands stretched in front of her, reaching.
 
Mikala felt the roughness of a tree trunk and knew she had strayed from the path somewhere.
 
Should she continue or wait for someone?
 
For the first time in her life she truly felt frightened.
 
This had all turned into a horrible nightmare in a matter of seconds.
 
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and opened them.
 
Darkness.
 
Bone-chilling darkness.
 

“No!” She yelled hoarsely into the night, trying to deny what had happened to her.
 
Fate would not be so cruel as to deny her both a normal voice and her sight.
 
She could not think of anything she did that did not include seeing.
 
Reading and riding were two of her favorite pastimes.
 
How the bloody hell would she exist if she couldn’t see?
 
She gave a guttural cry and began beating the coarse trunk of the tree in front of her.
 
She failed to hear the sound of feet crunching the gravel on the path.

“Kala!” She found herself so lost in her agony that she failed to hear the call of her name.
 
“Kala, stop it!”
 
She felt rough, strong hands clamp on her upper arms and pull her away from the tree.
 
“What’s wrong?”

“No, please no,” she cried as finally she recognized the voice over her agony.
 
Gabe.
 
Had it been him all this time?
 
Had he been the one she met with?
 
Only the person she had been meeting with knew where to find her.
 
How ironic.

“Kala, are you all right?” She felt herself turned around and her back pressed against the tree she had just beaten unmercifully.
 
His familiar hands brought some comfort as they brushed through her hair and checked the scratches on her face.
 
He lifted her hands and she felt blood trickle down her arms from the scrapes on her hand caused by the rough tree trunk.
 

She turned her face up towards the most familiar voice in the world to her other than her family’s, and wondered why she hadn’t put it together earlier.
 
Because she had been something she had never been before in her life—scared.
 
Not even during the attack last year had she been frightened, she had just been angry then.
 

“Kala, answer me.”

“No, I’m not all right you obstinate ass.”

“What’s wrong?
 
Your family is going to kill me.
 
I should have stopped the meeting as soon as I realized you were the one hiding behind that mask.
 
Tell me what’s wrong.”

“You knew it was me? Wonderful! All for nothing.”

“Just tell me what’s wrong.
 
And why were you beating the tree?”

“I am angry and scared.
 
I can’t see.”

“Well, it’s dark.
 
Of course you can’t see.”
 

“For once Gabe, stop being your high and mighty self and listen to me.
 
I. Can’t. See,” she growled the words.
 
Mikala punctuated the claim by swinging her fist which glanced off his upper arm.
 
Kala’s aim had always been true and for her to just give a glancing blow spoke volumes of her physical condition.
 

“Dear Lord,” Gabe fell back several steps as the truth dawned on him.
 
Somehow, Kala had been blinded in that small explosion.

“I think it’s a little too late to send up prayers.”
 
She pushed herself away from the tree and took several steps, before stopping. The world felt as if it were tilting precariously.
 
She attempted another step and stumbled when the dizziness overtook her.
 
All at once, Kala felt sick to her stomach and feverish.
 
The dizziness continually worsened.
 
Finally, she felt nothing but blessed oblivion.

***

Gabe watched stunned as Kala collapsed.
 
Feeling as if he were moving in slow motion, he caught her against him just before she crashed back onto the unforgiving path.
 

“Kala, are you all right?”
 
No answer.
 
He grasped her chin and turned her face towards him to see her better.
 
Her eyes were closed and her pulse beat wildly.
 
She hadn’t just stumbled, she had fainted.
 
Shock coursed through him.
 
Kala had never fainted a day in her life.
 
He swung her up into his arms and walked towards a bench a little ways down the path.

The small bench only allowed support of her head and back, while her legs draped off the end.
 
Cursing the lack of light, he tilted her face so that he could better see the damage caused from the explosion.
 
The random light from the fireworks did little in the way of providing light.

He quickly and efficiently removed the charred mask from her face.
 
Mild burns and scrapes could be found on the lower portion of her face, her chin, and her neck.
 
Part of her hair had white powder and bits of statuary in it.
 
Kala’s eyelids were black from the gunpowder and looked raw in places.
 
Her poor long, thick eyelashes were now sparse and short.
 
Gabe let his fingers gently skim her features.
 
He looked down and noticed that his hands shook and knew that a combination of fear and anger caused it.
 
At that moment he vowed to kill the person responsible for harming Kala.
 

He carefully opened her eyelids wanting to check her eyes while she remained unconscious.
 
The dim light hampered him from being able to truly see anything. They did appear red and dilated, but other than that he just didn’t know.
 
He would send for Dr. McGregor as soon as possible.
 
If anyone knew what could be done an old army surgeon would.
 

Gabe lifted his head as pounding footsteps came towards them.
 
He quickly stood, placing himself between Kala and the intruder.
 
Drawing his gun, he waited with baited breath.
 
The fireworks abated allowing them to be slightly hidden by shadows.
 
A man wearing a plain black mask appeared around the bend.
 
He too had a drawn gun.

“Step away from her, now,” the intruder demanded.

“I don’t believe so.”

“I do not wish to repeat myself,” the man practically growled.
 

“Stop,” Kala weakly interrupted the two and placed a hand on her forehead.
 

“Kala, are you all right?” The two men questioned simultaneously.

“No, now please be quiet.
 
I think my head is going to explode.”

“Identify yourself,” Gabe demanded in a softer voice in deference to the victim.

“Southerby, and you?”

“Hawkescliffe.
 
Shall we perform the unmasking now?”
 
Both men made to holster their weapons before removing their masks.
 

“Justin, I think I may need some assistance rejoining our party.”

“Of course,” Gabe watched the other man carefully as he moved closer to Kala.
 
Gabe refused to give up his position, forcing Southerby to go around to the other side of the bench.
 

“What exactly were you doing running up the path?”
 
Hawkescliffe demanded of the other man.
 
Both he and Southerby each grabbed one of Kala’s arm.
 
“Help her sit up very slowly.
 
She fainted a moment ago.”

“Fainted?” Gabe merely nodded and the two helped Kala into an upright position.
 
She slowly turned and scooted down the bench so that she could use her arms to brace herself on either side.

“What were you doing?”
 

“Chasing someone.”

“Sure you were,” Gabe sounded skeptical.

“You can choose not to believe me.”

“What were you doing here?” Kala asked weakly.

“I saw you sneak off and I followed you.”

“Did you watch me change my clothes?” She asked feeling disconcerted at the thought.

“Not after I realized what you were doing.
 
But then afterwards I followed you here.
 
Kala you are playing with fire.”

“I wanted to help,” she started to shake her head, but stopped as the pounding intensified.
 
“Justin, there is something you should know.”

“What’s that?”

“The explosion blinded me.”

“Are you certain?”

“Very.
 
I couldn’t even see the rest of the fireworks.”
 

“How many fingers am I holding up?” Justin questioned her.

“I.
 
Don’t.
 
Know,” she enunciated every word very carefully.
 
The last word she accompanied with a stomp of her sandaled foot.
 
A sharp stone penetrated the sole of her shoe.
 
“Ow,” she leaned over to grab her foot and instead had to hold her head steady as the pounding increased ten-fold.

“What’s wrong?” Gabe asked.

“Just being a hoyden.
 
Nothing to concern yourself over,” she answered as she removed the stone.
 

“This is ridiculous,” Southerby said as he swung her up in his arms.
 
“You two can continue your sparring match later.
 
I’m taking her home.”
 

Gabe returned to the site of the explosion.
 
Nothing remained to indicate who might be responsible.
 
He still couldn’t grasp the fact that she had no sight.
 
How could she have gotten herself involved in something like this?
 
By being Kala, what other explanation could there be?
 
She acted before thinking anything through most times.
 
He felt somewhat guilty.
 
She had been reporting about his actions and he could see where someone might see them as suspicious.
 
However, she should have stayed out of it as everyone had told her to, he justified.

He suddenly realized Kala and Justin were rather far up the path and hurried to catch up with them.
 

“I will have Dr. McGregor come by to look at you.”

“Don’t go to any unnecessary trouble.”

Gabe counted to ten before responding.
 
“It is no trouble.
 
I will be by later.
 
You have some questions to answer.”
 
When the box where the other two couples sat came into sight, he told Southerby to take her on to the carriage.
 
Gabe stalked over to the others.
 

“You look as if a storm cloud is hovering over you.
 
What has Kala done to make you so angry?” Dru asked on a sigh.

“Kala has had a bit of an accident.
 
I’m sending Dr. McGregor to your house.
 
I will be there shortly.
 
Don’t leave her alone with anyone, including Southerby.
 
He is taking her to the carriage.”

“What has happened to her?” Tessa asked concerned.

“Perhaps we should find out for ourselves,” Dru interjected, as she and Tessa quickly left the box leaving Richard and Derek behind.
 

Gabe quickly filled the men in on what had happened.

“Damn, I knew she would get herself hurt or worse.
 
Why couldn’t she have just gone home once the letter came?”

“What letter?” Gabe queried.

“I wrote Papa.
 
Dru told me that Papa wrote a letter to Mikala informing her she needed to return home at once.
 
I’m not quite sure how he worded it, but I am sure he forgot all about it ten minutes after he sent it off.”

“I wrote him as well and knowing your father, he told her that when he should have come and retrieved her.
 
Derek, I have great respect for your father, but he should have taken her in hand years ago.”
 

“Now Mikala has dug in her heels even more, hating being told what to do by all of us.
 
When are you two going to learn that it has to be her idea?” Richard challenged.
 
“You two are as much to blame for what has befallen her as she is.
 
Now, you are both welcome to my house as long as you can behave yourselves.
 
I will not have my wife upset in her condition, do you understand?”

“Yes, sir,” both men mumbled, sounding very much like scolded children.