Mercenary Little Death Bringer (19 page)

He screamed in pain and punched me in the
face again, this time clearly as hard as he could. “That was dirty
and you know it,” he growled as he pulled his twig back into his
pants, “Now I’m going to make you pay.” He straddled my hips and
wrapped his hands around my throat, choking me.

I clawed at his hands and punched him in the
sides and arms, but he held on, refusing to let me go. My vision
started to blur and my ears began to ring as I lost consciousness
for the last time.

“Marin!” I heard Favian yell.

I closed my eyes and prayed that he was okay.
I hadn’t wanted to die, but hallucinating hearing the sound of his
voice was at least a small and strange happiness.

The man’s hands were removed from my throat
and I was able to gasp in some air. I took in large, burning gulps
of air and opened my eyes to find the cloaked man fighting with
Lawrence. Why was the cloaked man fighting him? I didn’t need to
stick around to find out. I stood up and limped as quickly as I
could out the gate and started down the road. I glanced back to see
the cloaked man fighting hand to hand with Lawrence and starting to
lose.

“Come back here!” Lawrence yelled and then
started running from the cloaked man after me. The cloaked man was
dripping blood down his left arm to the ground, but he used his
right arm and threw a dagger into Lawrence’s back. Lawrence
staggered forward and then fell to the ground, dead. I turned back
around and ran as fast as I could to get away from the cloaked man.
I didn’t know who he was or why he suddenly decided to kill
Lawrence, but I couldn’t stay around to find out if he wanted me
dead or alive.

I had to slow due to my wounds and the
cloaked man appeared in front of me. I stepped up to him and
grabbed his money pouch. He stayed perfectly still and watched as I
opened it and pulled out my bracelet. “This is mine,” I said with
as much steel in my voice as I could.

“I know,” said Favian’s voice.

I looked around, searching for him and then
the cloaked man took off his hood and I stared in utter disbelief
at the face of my best friend. “You? You’re the cloaked man?”

He started to put the cloak around me, but I
shied away from him. He frowned at me. “Marin, I had to play the
part so I could find out where they were bringing you. If I hadn’t
gone along with the plan I wouldn’t have known where to find
you.”

“You left me down in that dungeon for four
days!” I screamed at him. “I haven’t had any food or water and I
was almost raped and murdered!”

“Put on the cloak,” Favian said. I was still
pissed at him, but I took it and put it on, wrapping it around my
body to cover myself. Favian said, “It’s still the first day. I
only pretended to leave the castle so he wouldn’t expect me to come
back and save you. That medallion only knocks you out for an hour
at a time.”

“Why did you take the bracelet?”

“I didn’t want one of the other mercenaries
to take it. I took it for safe keeping.”

Tears streamed down my face and I asked, “Why
didn’t you just kill them?”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered as he grabbed me in
a hug. “I am so sorry he hurt you. I couldn’t kill the three of
them. If I could have I would have, I swear it. I am so sorry I
failed you and allowed you to get hurt.”

I pulled back from him, locking the emotions
down to get back to what mattered. I saw blood on his arm and
frowned. “You’re injured.”

He shrugged. “I have medicine in my saddle
bags. You are the worst of us. We need to get you to a healer right
away.”

He put his arm around my waist and we walked
slowly down the road. “You weren’t supposed to come. You were
supposed to stay back at the Academy and regroup,” I whispered.

“If I had done that I never would have found
you. This castle is hidden very well and is over fifty miles from
home.”

“How did we travel that far if I was only
knocked out for one hour each time the medallion was pressed on me?
I don’t remember fainting that much.”

“They used it on you as soon as you started
to stir so you wouldn’t even have been conscious yet,” he said. He
stopped and whistled loudly, calling for the horses. “I wanted to
slit their throats every night, but the one with the scar was the
only one who knew the way and he refused to tell us. I had to keep
quiet.”

“Why did you tackle me that day I tried to
get away?” I asked softly.

“They were ready to kill you then. I had to
neutralize the situation and tackling you and knocking you out was
the only way to keep you alive.”

Fire and Ice trotted up to us and Fire
whinnied happily when she smelled me. I rubbed her nose and smiled.
“Hey girl.” Favian released me, making sure I was leaning on Fire
and then got his medicines and bandages from the saddle bags. “Let
me help,” I said as I sat down next to him on the road and helped
him wrap the wound on his upper arm.

He sat still until I finished and then
demanded to inspect me for injuries. I couldn’t help the blush on
my cheeks as I was forced to expose my naked body to him, but he
was fast and it was over quickly. “You have bruises where he kicked
and punched you, but nothing serious.”

“I could have told you that,” I said as I
wrapped the cloak around myself again.

“I have extra clothes,” he said as he reached
inside the saddle bags on Fire and handed me a set of clothes. “I
figured yours would be dirty and you would want a change.”

“How did you get both horses here? You
weren’t riding either of them.”

“I had them following behind us in the forest
where they wouldn’t be seen.”

“When did you train them to be able to do
that?” I asked in shock.

He shrugged. “A little hwile ago.”

He turned around and I quickly changed into
my clothes, grunting with the movements, but happy not to be naked
anymore. “Done.”

Favian turned around and said, “We should get
mounted and start home. I’m sure you want to get back as soon as
possible.” I nodded my head and tried to mount Fire, but was in too
much pain. Favian pulled me backwards gently and tapped the center
of the saddle. “Fire, lower please.”

Fire dropped her front legs and then her back
until she was lying down on the ground. “I didn’t know she could do
that either,” I said in shock.

“I taught her that last spring when you hurt
your back, but you were too stubborn to let me show you.”

I climbed onto her back and clucked. She
stood up and started walking. Favian mounted Ice and we headed
South at an incredibly slow walk. Unfortunately that was the
fastest I could go with bruised ribs and even at a slow walk my
ribs hurt with every step.

We rode until the sun set and then made camp
in the woods a mile from the road. I didn’t have my sleeping bag so
I was forced to share Favian’s, but with the last few days I’d had,
I was more than happy to.

He wrapped his arms around me, being sure to
avoid my bruised parts and sang an Elvish lullaby to me, one which
mother used to sing to us. I sighed deeply when he finished and
whispered, “Thank you.”

“For singing?”

“For coming for me.”

“I told you I would.”

I rolled over and stared into his eyes. “I
know, but it was incredibly dangerous for you to play one of them.
If they’d seen your face they would have immediately known who you
were. You put your life in danger and I have no way to repay
you.”

He smoothed back my hair and said, “You being
alive is payment enough.”

The tears I’d repressed the days before all
escaped and Favian held me as I cried. “I’m sorry I threatened
you,” I said once I was done crying.

Favian laughed. “That was a very impressive
threat. If I hadn’t known you couldn’t get out of the binds I would
have been worried you would have killed me before you knew who I
was.”

I touched the sapphire bracelet and then
settled against him. “Father must be furious right now.”

Favian laughed. “Mother is probably
threatening Macon and tearing apart the countryside in search of
us.”

“Macon didn’t know you came after me?”

He shook his head. “No, they saw me get
stabbed and then I disappeared into the crowd.”

“Did you really get stabbed?” I asked him. He
lifted his shirt and I cringed at the hastily sewn wound. “You need
to get that looked at.”

“I know. There’s a town half a day from here.
I’ll go to the healer in that town. Now, go to sleep.”

I closed my eyes and relaxed against him as
he started singing softly again. Just before I fell asleep I heard
him whisper, “I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”

I would have argued, but it was the best
thing he’d said all day.

The trip home seemed to take a month, but
that was probably because it had felt like the time was shorter
since I was knocked out a lot. We found the town and ate until I
felt like I was going to pop and then stayed in a room with a large
soft bed. We passed all of the unfamiliar trails and I vowed to
travel this way again so that I would become familiar with it and
know how to get home should it happen again.

When we finally made it to the Academy we
found the doors open and chaos inside. Everyone stopped moving as
soon as they saw Favian and me ride in.

“Is that…?”

“Look at her face.”

“Did he…?”

Gossip began immediately and I really wished
my face wasn’t so black and blue and beat up looking. Macon ran
from his office to us and asked, “Where the hell have you
been?”

“Kidnapped, almost raped and almost murdered.
Then saved by Favian and a long trip back here,” I answered.

“I need you in my office now and I want a
full detailed report,” Macon said.

I tried to dismount, but my ribs were still
sore. I patted my saddle horn and said, “Fire, lower please.” Fire
laid down and Favian helped me out of the saddle.

“What happened to you?” Micah asked.

“I got punched in the face a few times and
kicked in the ribs,” I replied. “I feel great though.”

“I’m glad to see you’re alive.”

“Someone send word to the elves for me,”
Favian asked as he pushed me through the crowd that had
gathered.

“Three cheers for Favian and Marin!” Master
Martin yelled.

Everyone in the Academy yelled. “Hip hip
hooray! Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray!”

I smiled as best as I could with my hurting
face and Favian and I walked inside Macon’s office. He immediately
inspected me over and then Favian as well. “I have been worried out
of my mind. What the hell happened? Why didn’t you use your call?
And where the hell did you go Favian?”

“It all started with a medallion,” I
began.

Two hours later we had covered every second
of my journey with my black out moments filled in by Favian. I left
out the parts of the conversation where Lawrence had tried to
convince me that I wasn’t human. For some reason I didn’t think
Macon needed to know that. Favian told him the medallion was
spelled to hurt whoever touched it and that it had been lost during
the fight, but we both knew that wasn’t exactly true.

Macon sat in silence for a few moments as he
absorbed everything that we’d told him. “Well you’ve surely been
tested to your limit,” he commented, “I only wish things had gone
according to plan.”

“Nothing ever goes according to plan,” I said
cheerfully.

“You should go get checked out by the
healer.”

“I’m fine,” I started to say, but Macon gave
me the look and I stood up. “Yes, Sir.”

Favian and I headed slowly towards the
healer’s quarters and I tried my best to ignore the stares of the
other students. “Why are you embarrassed?” Favian asked me as we
walked.

“I just don’t like all the attention,
especially when you’re the one who saved me. I would have died if I
had been alone. Now everything must think I’m pathetic.”

“They do not think you’re pathetic. On the
contrary, they think you’re incredible,” he said, “Not everyone
could face their kidnapper and survive to get out.”

I gestured to my face. “I didn’t survive very
well.”

“You just need more practice,” he said.

He stopped me just outside the healer’s door
and turned me to face him. “I think you’re incredible Marin. You
endured a lot and fought as hard as you could. I’m proud of you,”
he said with a strange smile.

“Now I’m even more embarrassed,” I muttered
as I walked into the healer’s door.

“Marin!” the healer said happily, “I’m so
glad to see you alive. Sit on the table.”

I sat down and he began examining me. “Well
you seem to be healing well, but you really need a few days of bed
rest.”

“Yes, sir.”

He stared at me in shock. “You’re agreeing to
bed rest?”

“For the first time I don’t have any where I
have to be or any training that needs to be done. I am looking
forward to bed rest.”

He clutched his heart. “Oh dear I think I’m
going to have a heart attack.”

Favian patted his shoulder. “She learned a
little about herself on this adventure. I think she’s actually
turning into an adult.”

“Oh no! An adult? How awful!” the healer
teased.

I laughed and then groaned in pain. “Okay, no
laughing.”

The healer mixed up a tea of herbs and
medicines and forced me to drink the disgusting drink. “This will
help with your internal issues and will ease your pain. Now, go on
and…”

“We’re being attacked!” Micah yelled as he
burst inside.

“By who?” Favian asked as he drew his
sword.

“Ogres,” Micah said, “Hundreds of them.”

I jumped down from the table and patted the
healer. “Looks like bed rest will have to wait.”

“There’s the Marin I know,” he said with a
wide smile, “Go kick some ogre butt.”

“You are in no shape to fight,” Favian
argued.