Chapter 21

I flashed in and out of consciousness, not sure where I was or what state I was in. I could feel the sensation of being carried, but I was so fatigued I could barely move. I had been fed something to drink and the effects of the poisons seemed to have been lessened by it. The next time I had come back into consciousness, I felt like my body was burning up; I had never felt a fever such as this and I struggled to try and get some help, but my body would not move. I could hear arguing on the other side of the door, but I could not make out the words. I tried to focus, to hear what was being said, but I felt my energy waning. Soon, I was once in the sweet embrace of sleep, but every time I closed my eyes, the same horrible scene played over and over. I watched Ruben’s final moments again and again, and my will to go on lessened each time it happened. The next time I had a semblance of awareness, there were three or four people trying to hold me down onto the bed. There were screams for help and it felt as if there were even more hands trying to keep me on the bed. My entire body felt as if molten metal was coursing through my veins, burning me up from the inside out. Someone forced a liquid down my throat and soon I was off in the embrace of sleep once more.

As I awoke from my repeating nightmare, I felt more aware of my surroundings this time. I was surprised to find myself restrained to the bed, with multiple thick leather straps wrapped around my body. They looked to be at least six inches wide and an inch thick, but what surprised me is how many there were. Seven were holding me down to the bed, from my chest to my ankles, spaced every few inches. Unlike before, things felt different, I seemed more at peace and aware. I looked around and realized that I was in my bedroom, which put me a bit at ease. Testing my bonds, I strained against the ones across my chest, wondering why they were there. I was amazed as I felt them give way a bit and heard the leather straining against the pressure. I eased back and saw that I had indeed caused some stretching of the leather, as the sections that bent over the bed now were looser. The smells of food began to fill my senses and my stomach growled at the familiar scents. I could hear some movement downstairs, as well as some people outside. The clarity with which I could hear fluctuated as I attempted to focus it, but there was something different.

I heard a scream come from outside, my thoughts drifted to the ‘old one’ and possible retaliation for the multiple defeats he had suffered. I felt a surge of adrenaline and used all my strength to get free. The leather across my chest groaned at the force I put against it, until it finally gave with a snap. Soon, the next two snapped as well, freeing my arms, and allowing me to sit up. I was shocked at the strength I had displayed, but I had no time to waste, I grabbed the next strap down at the middle and pulled. In less than a minute, it too snapped, and in a few more moments I was free. I was happy to find I was at least semi-dressed and went to open the door, nearly ripping it off its hinges with the force I unintentionally used to open it. I ran down the stairs, and nearly tripped over my feet at the speed in which I went down them. I steadied myself, as I tried to regain my balance and make my way outside, this time ripping the door off its hinges. My commotion caused everyone to focus their attention on me, and I was able to see what had caused the scream. Apparently, Lillian had been helping Trina in the garden and accidentally dumped a bucket of water on her.

Violet had an irritated look as she asked, “Davik, what in the seven hells are you doing out of bed? Did you have to rip the poor door off its hinges?”

“I heard a scream and thought that someone was in trouble. So, I broke the straps, nearly ripped my door off, almost broke my neck going down the stairs and succeeded in ripping off this door. Would someone kindly tell me what exactly is happening to me?”

Celka appeared out of nowhere to check me out. I carefully placed the door against the wall to prevent her accidentally bumping into it. She pulled me down on one knee, before starting to check my tongue and ears, my eyes and my reflexes before giving a slight nod. She guided me to the dining room, and soon nearly everyone was seated at the table. I was surprised to see Kafe was there as well, along with his mother and sister. Of course, Trent and Ruben were not where they should have been.

Celka took a deep breath and asked, “How much do you remember, Davik? About what happened that night?”

I looked to Violet and Ilane, giving a glance to Kafe, in an unspoken question. Both nodded, telling me to go ahead and not leave anything out due to him being there.

“I was in the back garden, I had just spoken to Trina and Liza, and was about to go to the workshop to talk to my apprentices. Ilane ran up and said that Violet had gone missing, explaining Lillian’s visit and the aftermath. I collected my things, and Trent said that he would accompany me. We made our way to the clinic and got permission from the guards to look at the back room to see if we could pick up a trail. It took a little while, but we were able to piece together what had happened. Someone Violet knew had entered the back door, and had tried to convince her to leave, resorting to force. The trail went back towards the house and out the exit nearby we use to bring in our wood. We returned and the guard that is usually stationed there was down on the ground with his throat slit. The tracks showed that Violet had used the distraction of the guard to get free and take off into the woods. Ruben appeared and asked what had happened, we apprised him of the situation. He offered to come with us, but I asked him to stay at the house to help protect you, as Clive was still injured.”

Ilane spoke up then, “Ruben did come in and let us know what you had told him, he stayed a bit, then asked where Kafe was. I said that he had been at his friend Jon’s house, but he was worried that he, too, may have been taken.”

I nodded and continued, “Trent and I entered the woods and followed the tracks as fast as we could. We both had our weapons readied and did our best to limit the noise we made, so that we could maintain the element of surprise. When the tracks diverged, we had to pick one to follow, and I decided on Violet’s as she was the one I was most worried about. As we went, I realized she had gone to our spot, and followed her tracks until they led into a small lake. Trent and I looked around the entire lake until we found one another at the top of the ridge that fed a waterfall into the one below. We figured that Violet had run down the small river leading east to hide her tracks and stay ahead of her kidnapper. As we were talking about what to do next, a sword pierced Trent’s chest, right through his heart. The assailant twisted the blade before pulling it out, and I turned to see that it was Ruben.”

A collective gasp filled the room, and everyone looked to Violet to confirm. Tears were falling from her face as she slowly nodded, before becoming overcome with emotion and seeking solace in her mother’s arms. Ilane was crying at this point, but the look of shock and disbelief on Kafe’s face was hard to see.

“He then explained that a man he referred to ‘the old one’ had commanded that Ruben kill me, should I return from my trip, or his family would slowly be tortured and killed as he watched. I believe ‘the old one’ to be the Blackheart person who was responsible for Liza’s kidnapping and the attack we suffered during our return.

“Ruben feared this man so much, he risked destroying his family, and killing me just to escape Blackheart’s wrath. His plan was to get Violet somewhere and lay a trap for me. Violet would have been fed a potion that would have removed her memories for that whole day, so she would not remember her father’s betrayal. He would then claim that he found her unconscious in the woods, and that there was no sign of me.

“We then began to battle one another, and I used an opportunity to flourish my sword and cut his forearm. While he was distracted, I dove into the water and tried to get some distance between us. I knew that he was tired, having returned to the clinic after chasing Violet, then catching up to us near his house and again at the lake.

“Once I crossed the river, I ran along it to hide my tracks until I saw a branch low and strong enough to get onto. I then made my way south and was lucky that he continued onward past where I had left the river. I got my bearings and decided to head to where we had been harvesting Teaka wood. Once there, I made a pit trap out of one of the holes that the guys had removed a stump from. I used branches and my knife to make spikes and filled the pit with them. “Then with branches, dirt and leaves, I covered the pit and made it look like everything else. I made my tracks seem like I had run clean through that area into the woods beyond. I then hid near some prepared logs to make sure that my trap had worked. I was lucky and watched as he fell and heard his scream of pain, before I ran off again, this time towards the nearby road. Once there, I started to move along, not too fast, to mask my track with the fresh ones.

“Once I heard him approaching, I jumped into the woods and took off running. I had no clue where I was going but I ended up coming across the entrance to an abandoned mine. About a foot past the rocky entrance, the hole disappeared into oblivion. I hid in the tree line and waited for him to arrive and follow my tracks to the entrance. I had made sure to walk back along them before getting into the trees.

“I waited until I believed he was distracted and then tried to end things quickly, but he was not as badly off as I had hoped. We traded blows and he ended up cutting my leg. It burned like fire and he told me he had laced the blade with Wolf’s Bane. He had hoped to make it deadly, but Lillian had taken all the supply from the clinic. He ended up disarming me and kicking my sword into the mine.

“Just as he was about to kill me, a wolf burst out from the woods to attack him. This was not been the first time this wolf had appeared, and it was the second time the wolf attacked someone about to injure me. Ruben dropped his sword and I tossed it into the mine while he tried to pry the wolf off his arm. He was about to kill it with a knife, but I was able to knock it away by throwing my own. He punched the wolf on the head, causing it to release his arm, and then kicked it in the ribs. It ran off into the woods, and Ruben went to collect his knife from where it fell. I tackled him, trying to stop him from getting the knife and hopefully turn the tide - if need be, to roll us into the mine. He fell, but landed on his side, allowing him to grab the knife and thrust it into my bad shoulder. He said he wished he didn’t have to do this, but that once again he had no choice. He said he got the knife from ‘the old one’ and that it was laced with curare.”

I saw recognition flash on both Lillian and Celka’s eyes, I glanced at Liza and she too appeared to know what I was going to say next.

“I realized that my blood was now mixed with both poisons and hoped there was enough left to find that spark that had helped me the last time. Instead, I found a raging inferno, and when I touched it, it filled my body with heat and energy. The tremor that had threatened to take me disappeared and I easily stood, ignoring the wound to my leg. I pulled the knife from my shoulder and tossed it into the mine. He started to run. I closed the distance between us quickly, and he tossed my knife at me, out of fear. I caught it, put it away and grabbed Ruben by the neck, lifting him as easily as one can lift a small child. I felt the urge to tear him apart limb by limb, for what he had done to everyone, but I thought of Violet and could not do it. Despite all he did, he was still her father, and if I killed him, she would never forgive me. I dropped him to the ground, telling him he would return to Cartha to pay for his crimes, but he had other plans. He gave me a final message, asking me to watch over his family, before tossing himself into the mine. I reached him in time to clasp his arm, but the fire that had given me strength was dying. I did all I could, but he broke himself free of my grip and fell. I am sorry I could not save him.”

I looked around the room as I finished, and everyone was in tears, I found that I, too, was crying. It was hard to go through all that again, but everyone deserved to know everything that had transpired.

“He has said that his business is to be given to me, he has told me there are documents back at the shop that will ensure his final wishes are met. Violet, I will need you to accompany me to retrieve them, as only I know where they are, and I may destroy something if I attempt to touch it.”

Everyone chuckled at that and, given the state of the back door, I was not wrong to worry. Still, there was some information I needed to get, especially about the changes that had occurred.

“So, is anyone going to tell me, what happened after my collapse and why I seem to be different? It feels like when I touched that fire inside me, just without the heat, and it seems to be all the time.”

Lillian and Celka shared a brief glance before Celka answered. “Davik, you have been in that bed for two weeks. Violet had come to get us, a few hours after Ruben had left: she was worried something had happened. She said that Ruben had been the one to take her from the clinic, but that she got away and waited until she thought it was safe to return. All of us decided to go as a group to find you, but as we were leaving, Lillian returned. She had gone to check the clinic and stop by her house to get some things she felt she would need when you returned. She also had a few soldiers in tow. Given that Clive was injured, we welcomed the help.

“Clive directed us towards the lake where we found Trent. Ilane and some soldiers stayed to help collect and care for his remains. Clive was not sure which way you went, but Violet and Lillian figured you would have gone down the smaller river to try and escape. Clive picked up your tracks leading to the clearing where your apprentices had been collecting wood. We saw the trap you laid and the tracks leading towards the road. Ingenious way to try and slow your pursuer by the way.

“We saw the blood trail Ruben left and followed that. When we reached the mine, we saw you unconscious near the entrance, your arm dangling over the edge. We searched for any sign of Ruben, but all we found, save for wolf tracks that we found very unusual, were tracks leading into the mine ... Your account of things clears up the confusion, but begs the question, why is that wolf showing up to protect you?”