by Joanna White
Somehow, he knew that I was a Hunter. He remembered my eyes and there was something else he was hiding, something he was refusing to think about in front of me. He wasn’t going to reveal my secret, though, and he was saddened deeply by this, but I didn’t understand why.
After all, I was only a Hunter.
I turned back to Hindah.
“Oh, there is one more thing.” He smiled widely.
Just as he said that, Novarch burst through the trees, holding Averella in his iron-strong grip, a dagger to her throat.
“Lower your sword, Jared,” Hindah snapped.
I hesitated.
“You’re fast, but Novarch is just as fast as you are.” Hindah traced his finger along the smooth edge of his Inquiri blade.
Averella shot me an apologetic look, and I somehow knew that she felt guilty, and she also looked confused by Hindah’s comment.
I gazed into her eyes and placed my sword on the rough ground.
“Now kick it over here, along with any other weapons you’re hiding,” Hindah said.
I slipped two more daggers out of my belt and then kicked them all, along with my Inquiri blade, over by Hindah.
“Have you ever wondered, dear Averella, why his sword is different from the other prisoners?” Hindah asked her.
He was going to tell her. As his eyes met mine, he knew that I knew.
I inched my foot forward.
I wouldn’t try that, Jared. You just stay right where you are, and you don’t say a word, or Novarch here will slice her throat open before you can get to her, Hindah said in my thoughts.
I kept my face impassive and said nothing.
“Well?” Hindah glanced at Averella expectantly.
“It’s an Inquiri blade,” she snapped at him. He walked over to her and she winced when he gently touched her cheek.
I clenched my fists but didn’t move.
“And?”
“It’s a blade that only Hunters or people with Hunter potential can use.” Her voice was strained, and she spoke through clenched teeth.
“Very good.” He patted her cheek roughly. She jerked her head to the side, but Hindah walked away so that he faced both her and me.
“So, why, dear girl, do you think he has one?” He enjoyed this.
Hindah had me trapped, enjoying the pain this would cause us both, enjoying Averella’s squirming, her trembling hands, and her scared, yet determined and confused expression.
“Because he has Hunter potential.” The words were a gasp. She still clenched her teeth and stared into my eyes as if they would help her hold back tears she didn’t want to shed in front of the Hunters. “And now you’re going to take him, so he can be one of you,” she finished in a rush. She sagged and looked…defeated.
I hated it. Averella was the one who was always strong, always believed that things could get better. She believed in hope, not defeat.
Hindah laughed and the others joined in. She looked at them confusingly, then back at me as if I could offer an explanation.
“Oh, girl! How foolish! You’re wrong!” Hindah shook his head with a dark chuckle. She glanced at him in confusion. “He already is one of us!”
Her expression faltered and slowly, as his words sank into her, her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “No!” she yelled back, her determination washing back over her features. “He isn’t! He—"
“Go on, girl. Look into his eyes and listen as he tells you the truth.” Hindah nodded to Novarch who shoved her and then she was in my arms once again. Hindah had Vinmir in the trees, with an arrow aimed right for her. He never missed his targets unless he wanted to, so I was still trapped. Becx and Gurnarch, as well as Kellarch and Ysogi were nearby—there were too many of them and nothing I could do.
Meeting Averella’s eyes, pain rippled through my chest, which only worsened at the hope in her gaze.
I swallowed deeply, and she saw the agony written all over my expression, and slowly, the hope left hers.
“Tell me it’s not true,” she whispered, tears glistening in her eyes.
“I can’t do that.” My voice held pain and regret that I hoped she could hear.
She slowly shook her head and the strength that kept her together slowly shattered and tears fell down her face. I couldn’t feel anything else from her except the flashes of the pain she was feeling, which only doubled the agony that I felt.
Hindah laughed.
I reached out to her, trying to pull her into my arms, but she winced and backed away from me.
“You lied. Everything you said…” she started.
“Averella, no—”
“Stay away from me!” She stared at me in fear and backed away from me.
“Now, we’ll be nice and let you get a head start before we hunt you, girl,” Hindah snapped.
She stared at me and the betrayal etched across her expression felt like a stab wound to my chest.
“We’re letting her go?” Malik asked.
“For now,” Hindah said.
I was still frozen; I had no idea where to go or what to do.
“You should have told her sooner. You should have just done what you were supposed to do, Jared, and none of this would have happened.” Hindah glared at me.
I narrowed my eyes at him and couldn’t see past the hate I felt toward him and what he had done, what he had caused.
Deep inside, I knew it was me who had caused it.
I dove for my blade and sliced toward him as he released his tattoos and they swarmed around me. Dodging a rock that Becx threw at me, I knew Kehlarch was taking away my heat, but I didn’t feel cold, I didn’t feel anything. I saw my eyes mirrored in Hindah’s thoughts: they were pitch black.
Hindah’s tattoos were sending waves of pain coursing through me, but I didn’t feel it. There was nothing he could do that compared to the pain inside my chest, compared to what I had just lost.
Gurnarch surrounded me by fire, as Hindah pushed more, intensifying the pain his tattoos sent into me. I leapt up as high as I could, vaulting over the flames, and charged for Hindah again. Swinging my sword, I deflected an arrow from Vinmir as I jumped. I didn’t see Becx, or the earth he sent flying at me. It hit me hard into the ground and he pressed it against me, crushing my body so hard I couldn’t breathe.
Kehlarch drew the rest of the heat from my body, leaving just enough to keep me alive, as Becx pressed the earth harder against me. Hindah dug his tattoos into my mind and yanked out images of Averella, hurting me the only way he knew would work.
I coughed, and blood splattered on the ground and I tasted it in my mouth, but still felt nothing. Pushing against the earth enough to slide out, I flew to my feet.
Averella’s face appeared in front of me, instead of Hindah and the others, making it difficult to concentrate. Somehow, I knew that Hindah was doing it.
I didn’t sense Novarch, until he danced around behind me, using his insane strength to slam me into a tree. I collapsed to my knees as Hindah pressed as hard as he could with the tattoos, making my vision blur.
Novarch kicked me with inhuman strength, making me gasp for air as I coughed up blood.
“Enough! Let him go. He’ll be dead within hours anyway,” Hindah said.
I didn’t understand what he meant until I felt Vinmir’s thoughts, and he smiled, glaring at me.
He had poisoned the arrows he gave to Malik to shoot Runx and me.
Hindah’s tattoos became a part of him again and all the pain in my head stopped, except for the pain of knowing I had lost Averella.
“Crawl, Jared! Go after your girl in a pathetic attempt to get her back!” Novarch hissed at me, twisting my left arm behind my back. It cracked my shoulder and the older stitches from when Malik had cut my shoulder open ripped apart. I cursed at him in anger and fury as Hindah knelt by my ear.
“You don’t belong to us anymore, and now the prisoners will never take you back! You belong nowhere, you belong to no one. You are nothing!” He hissed as he shoved me forward.
I forced myself to stand and walk aimlessly through the woods. Coughing wracked through my body, but I stumbled forward, bracing myself on the trunk of a tree. I took a staggered step and forced myself to continue onward until the coughing consumed my body and wrenched me to my knees. Pain flared inside my ribs where the arrow had pierced me. Fire raged inside my veins, and couldn’t move, couldn’t think. I pictured Averella’s face in my mind and crawled until my muscles wouldn’t move anymore.
When I woke, everything blurred at first—dark and twisted shapes. Finally, my eyes cleared to see Municx kneeling above me.
“You’ve been poisoned by Lequenx. It spreads through your blood, slowly shutting down all your organs, and eventually reaches your heart, which is why you cough up blood when your body begins to shut down. I’ve given you some Tisi leaves boiled in water, which will slow the Lequenx from spreading throughout your body. You should be able to move and fight for another day before the Lequenx completely fights off the Tisi leaves and starts to work through your body again. You need to get to Lehlax; he knows the antidote to it. He used to work with herbs and medicines in his village. He can save you. He’s your only option,” Municx explained.
Everything was slow, and I was extremely groggy; my hands wouldn’t move as fast as I wanted. I tried sitting up and Municx helped me lean against a tree.
“You’re still feeling the effects of the Lequenx. As the Tisi leaves fights it off, you’ll feel groggy and disoriented, probably dizzy and fatigued. When you start to feel stronger, that’s when you know the Tisi leaves are working. They’ll last for about a day or so until the Lequenx fights them off and burns off their effects in your body.”
I nodded, trying to understand what he was saying. “You—" I coughed. “You knew.” It wasn’t a question.
He nodded. “None of the other prisoners have seen your face up close or even noticed your eyes, but I have. That’s how I knew when you went undercover.”
“Why help me?” I asked him.
“Stay safe and remember to find Lehlax; you don’t have much time and he can save you.” Municx stood up and disappeared through the trees.
I tried standing, but fatigue slammed into me and my knees gave out. My stomach lurched, and I felt like vomiting, but nothing would come up. As I knelt there, I dry heaved into the ground for several minutes before the nausea stopped. Turning to lean against a boulder, I panted and breathed hard.
I needed to get water, but I had left my pack and my Inquiri blade with the Hunters. Municx had said I only had one day before I had to find Lehlax. If I didn’t leave now, I never would find him. Would he even help me?
I didn’t care whether he did or not, but it was worth a try. At first, I used the boulder to help me stand and, once I was steady enough to stay upright, I staggered forward. Heading north, I hoped that I could catch them on their way from the lake. If not, I would have to head east and hope I would somehow catch up to them.
I had to make sure Averella made it to them safely. As I tried looking through the trees to sense anyone, I cursed when I realized that I couldn’t. It was about an hour before I came to the river. By the time I reached it, I was no longer dizzy, and the fatigue was gone. The Tisi leaves were obviously working. I was still exhausted, though, and I needed water to replenish my strength so that I would last longer. That also made me realize that my shoulder was still dislocated.
Fortunately, I found a pack filled with a few supplies, and a canteen half-filled with water. It would be enough for now. I savored a drink, letting the water course through me and give me strength. In the end, I poured some on my broken shoulder, hoping it would heal the broken bone and the cut as well. Within minutes, both wounds were healed. As I took another drink, I stretched out with my powers, looking through the woods. There were a few people about five miles or so ahead of me, about a mile away from the river. I couldn’t tell who it was, but I decided to head that way. There were no more weapons to be found because they had all been looted earlier, but I wouldn’t need one.
The only ones I would fight would be the Hunters if I ran into them. Shaking my head, I focused on the task at hand, instead of darker thoughts.
I ran as fast as I could and within a minute I had almost reached the group of people. Slowing to a walk, I sensed who it was. I recognized Sine and Axe first. Because I was still slightly tired, I wasn’t able to sense their thoughts or who else was with them. The instant I stepped in between two thin trees, they turned as they heard me.
Sine glared at me and grabbed his sword. Axe held his woodcutter's ax up as well.
I assumed they had heard already.
“Lehlax found Averella earlier. She was so upset and exhausted but refused to try and get some rest, so we had to take her someplace where she could relax and Lehlax gave her some tea that put her to sleep. She told us what happened, what you did,” Sine said in a menacing tone. He glared at me.
“She’s safe?”
He nodded. “But you’re crazy if you think we’re going to tell you where she is.”
I swallowed but nodded. “I know.”
He swung his sword around in place once, still glaring at me. “Well?”
“I’m unarmed.” I slowly reached around for my pack.
He tensed.
I tossed it onto the ground and kicked it by him but kept the canteen with me.
Axe whispered, “The arrow,” and nodded at me. He clearly didn’t know that I had enhanced hearing.
Sine creased his eyebrows and stared at my chest. I had forgotten I didn’t have a shirt on after Lehlax had ripped mine in half. The veins were dark blue and black around the wound and it had spread to my chest, in between my ribs, and slivered outward.
“You were poisoned, too?” Sine asked me.
I nodded. “Vinmir—The archer—Gave Malik—the flying one—the poison arrows to shoot me with. Runx was just random,” I explained.
“Random?” Sine asked in a harsh tone.
I wanted to nod, but something in his tone stopped me.
“He’s dead, Hunter!” He spit on the ground at me. “It was too late to save him! The poison spread too fast through his system.”
I looked at him wide-eyed. “How long ago?”
“About half an hour.” Pain flashed in his eyes, before he composed it, and narrowed his eyes on mine again.
I nodded solemnly. “I’m—I’m sorry.” A lump formed in my throat. “Municx found me and gave me something to prolong mine. I have about five or six hours left. He said Lehlax is the only one who could help.”
“Why in the world would we help you?” Sine snapped.
“I don’t expect you to.” I kept my voice a monotone.
“Why did Municx help you? And why did he send you to Lehlax?” he asked me.
“I don’t know. He wouldn’t tell me. He just said to find Lehlax, and then he ran off. I was still weak at the time, so I couldn’t catch him to find out more.” I watched them both carefully as I spoke.
He clenched his jaw but said nothing.
“He was the one who told you to use my weakness against me, instead of killing me,” I murmured.
He looked at me in shock. “You? You were the Hunter who was edging us on? The one who told us to kill you? We had a chance to kill you right then, but we didn’t take it! And look at what you did! You got us to trust you… To treat you like family. It was just a game to you,” he said through clenched teeth.
“It was at first, but then I—I got to know all of you and—"
“Save it. We’ll take you to Lehlax and see what he says, but we’re blindfolding you first, Hunter.” He spit the last word at me.
“Not anymore,” I murmured. Axe aimed his weapon at my throat and told me not to move. I stood frozen, as Sine walked around me, tore part of his sleeve off, and wrapped it around my eyes. Instantly, I felt my power leave me and I couldn’t sense or see anything. My knees wanted to give out, but I forced myself to stay standing.
“Do you have any
rope?” Sine asked Axe.
“Sure do,” came the reply. There was some rustling around and then I felt my hands being tied behind my back, tightly, and the ropes dug into my wrists.
“Walk,” Sine hissed in my ear. He shoved me forward and I stumbled. I tried to catch my balance, but before I could, someone grabbed my arm and jerked me upright.
We walked for hours. I couldn’t tell how much time had passed, but sometime later everything seemed to get brighter. I assumed the sun had come up. It set a couple of hours following that, but we still didn’t stop. I couldn’t tell what direction we were heading either.
Eventually, my knees trembled and gave out from under me. Nausea twisted my stomach and I collapsed. My head slammed against something hard, likely a rock. As soon as my stomach lurched, bile formed in the back of my throat and I dry-heaved onto the ground. But the heaving stole my breath and I coughed. No matter how many times I tried to take a breath, it wouldn’t come.
“If Lehlax is gonna help him, we need to get him there now,” a voice that sounded like Axe’s muttered.
“Okay, come on, Jared,” Sine said in my ear, pulling me to my feet. He was the only reason I didn’t collapse again. Another cough, and blood spilled into my mouth. I assumed the Tisi leaves had burned up and now, I could literally feel the poison spreading through my body like fire. Everything else became numb, except for the fire flaring inside my blood. In that moment, I had no idea whether I was moving or lying down.
“What is going on, Sine?” a voice asked. I thought it was Lehlax.
“Jared? What’s he doing here and—" the voice cut off short with a gasp.
“He was poisoned with the same thing Runx was,” Sine said. He continued, “Municx helped him, gave him something to prolong the poison’s effects. He told him that only you could help him, Lehlax. He didn’t say why. We had barely enough time to get him here to see what you wanted to do.”
“Let the poison kill him,” someone else snapped.
“Lehlax, if we let it kill him, it would be one less Hunter to have to run away from,” Sine murmured.
“He isn’t hurting us right now and we can save him. It’s what we should do, Sine, and you know it,” Lehlax told him. “But, it’s not my choice to make. I was hurt by being lied to, yes, but not as deeply as someone else. Averella?”