by Auriane Bell
Mairin frowned. The next thing that occurred to her was the alarming brightness in her room. Reluctantly she realised that the source of light wasn’t the eagerly anticipated dawn but a few candles that were resting on her table. Her own candle had been lit again and kept company with a candle stick that was holding three more of them. It had been foolish to help the villain to even more light.
A quick look to her right showed her that the door was slightly ajar. Was he still in her room? With the candles remaining here he had to be, unless he had brought even more of them. Mairin let her gaze wander over the room. The curtain had been drawn back a little, but not far enough for her to see the bed. Perhaps he was there, discovering her diversion. Unfortunately it seemed that against her hopes the other girls had missed their chance to report her runaway. Mairin suppressed a disappointed sigh. When it really mattered, one couldn’t even rely on the long-known enemy to do their worst.
The silence that lay over Sunflower Garden tonight bore no peace for her. Mairin’s senses were strained and her heart was beating heavily. She was convinced that the sound of her heart alone had to be sufficient to draw the evildoer’s attention to her.
When Mairin finally perceived the dreadful noise that gave her certainty of the villain’s imminent attack, it felt to her like being pushed over the edge of a bottomless pit.
The silent scrunching of heavy leather boots resounded again at the far end of the cupboard. Had he been there all the time? A thousand thoughts raced through her mind, making her head spin. She hardly dared to gaze past her feet and when she finally did she looked right into the staring eyes of her nightmare.
“Good morning.. hehehehe.” His voice was cold and calm. “Thought I wouldn’t find you here, eh? Mighty clever plan, it was. Almost had me fooled.”
Mairin was quailing, unable to let go of the scream that had crept into her throat. Only a moment later the intruder’s head was gone and big hands reached for her. Mairin started kicking after the attacker without a particular target and accidentally pushed her suitcase off the wardrobe. Her enemy was hit and grunted angrily but his hands almost immediately returned to fish for her. Desperate Mairin gazed down the cupboard, considering to take a shortcut down, but even if she didn’t hurt herself in the fall, there was no way that she would be able to escape.
Horrified Mairin watched the man pull himself further up and even though she continued to try to kick after his hands and even managed to land a few blows he ignored her attacks and eventually got hold of one of her legs.
“Let go!” she grinded out.
Like a raging lioness Mairin continued to struggle but his grip remained firm. The blanket she was resting on made it even easier for him to pull her close and a moment later, he had successfully dragged her off the wardrobe. With one hand on her mouth and with the other squeezing her wrists together, he mercilessly pushed her across the room.
Nearing the table, Mairin desperately tried to break free and reach it with her legs. She would rather make them both burn to death than bear with what he was going to do to her. But not even this last wish was granted to her. The brute had foreseen her actions and drawn her away just in time. Instead of knocking over her target she only accomplished to move one of the chairs.
In her despair Mairin tried her best to inflict pain upon her attacker and more than once attempted to bite or kick him or give him a dig with her elbow. Whatever she did, it seemed to be in vain and if anything to motivate the villain more. When he let go of her hands to draw back the curtain she swiftly turned and managed to scratch his face with her fingernails.
“What a playful little kitten you are…hehehehe.”
The hateful laughter extinguished every sense of triumph it had given her. Before she knew it, her attacker had restrained her again and fiercely pushed her backwards. However, instead of the anticipated pain of hitting the wooden floor she experienced an unexpectedly soft landing. Sheer dismay struck Mairin when it dawned to her that they had reached her bed.
To his surprise he found the door ajar. He opened it swiftly yet without making a sound. His first look fell on the candles, the second past the curtain on a far less pleasant scene. The girl was lying on her bed, an intruder standing next to her. Adrijan was alarmed by the blinking of a blade. Before he could do something, the ruffian proved his skills with it. In one slice the bodice of the girl’s dress was cut open. There wouldn’t be a second. With three large steps the immortal’s servant crossed the room, tore the brute away from her and kneed him in the guts. The knife slipped out of the villain’s hand and fell to the ground. He was groaning and squirming with pain. Adrijan forced himself to calm down when he realised how much he enjoyed seeing the man suffer. He turned around to check if the girl was alright. She was cowering on the bed surrounded by clothes, the bedspread drawn around her shoulders. Her hair was dishevelled, her eyes looked empty and there was no sign that she had recognised him. Had he come in time to prevent the worst? The pain of having to see her like that while knowing that it was partially his fault almost let him forget about the situation he was in. To his misfortune the evildoer had recovered from the surprise attack far more quickly than he had expected and made use of Adrijan’s distraction.
He hardly managed to evade the knife in time when he came at him.
A series of attacks followed, each of which the immortal’s servant saw coming and therefore managed to dodge with ease. Adrijan noticed with satisfaction that the playful manner in which he avoided the blade irritated his opponent and drove him mad with rage. Then all of a sudden the villain ceased his attacks and withdrew to the door. For a second Adrijan thought he had given up but following the villain’s gaze he realised his real intentions. Adrijan had already started to move before the man sent his knife flying towards Mairin, aware that there was only one way to protect her. Adrijan hoped that he had calculated right and that this moment wouldn’t be his last.
Then the knife hit his upper arm. It was less painful than he remembered being stabbed. Even so it took him a few moments to recover. The villain though seized the chance to come at him again, looking ready to bash his head in – with his fists if need be. Adrijan lost his temper. With his right hand he pulled the knife out of his arm, stepped aside to avoid the clumsy attack, grabbed the stumbling villain at his collar and dragged him along to the other side of the curtain. In his rage he didn’t even mind the pain that was inflicted upon him by putting a strain on the wounded limb. There, behind the curtain, hidden from the girl, he pulled the man close, stabbing him from behind. The man gurgled, using part of his remaining strength to curse at Mairin and weakly pushed away from Adrijan. Disgusted, more by the man than his own deed, the immortal’s servant held fast to the knife and allowed his opponent to stumble forward. The blade came free and Adrijan no longer hesitated to finish the vicious man off by slitting his throat.
“No more,” he whispered bitterly. Adrijan picked up the woollen blanket he had discovered next to the wardrobe and used it to cover up the corpse. Lastly he tossed the knife to the ground. It ended up stuck in the wood, nailing the blanket to the floor.
“Are you alright? Hey, are you alright?” The voice sounded vaguely familiar.
It was hard for her to focus.
What had happened?
She was scared.
“If we stay here much longer we won’t be able to get away.”
She felt a slight draft around her chest and she came to realise that her hands were hurting. Almost automatically Mairin lightened her grip and the bedspread slipped off her shoulders. Oblivious to her company she glanced down her body and noticed that her dress and underskirt were torn down to her belly. When she spotted the fine cut following her breast bone she finally remembered. Mairin made haste to cover herself.
“That’s a good idea but your fear is quite unnecessary, I assure you. You do remember I’m a catholic priest, right? Just relax. I’ll get you out of here.”
Mairin looked at him. Was it really Father Adrijan? There wa
s so much blood on his overcoat. Was it his? As composed as he seemed she thought it impossible. Mairin forced herself to nod and slowly got up from the bed pulling the blanket with her. She flinched when Adrijan stepped closer to help her and was glad when he decided to give her more space.
“Can you walk?”
She felt shaky but to her surprise her legs followed her command.
“Come, this way, follow quietly.”
The sound of his voice was soothing but Mairin was aware that it was the kind of calmness that the priest might have also used to steady a horse. Her saviour didn’t seem to realise that the fact that he was carrying the intruder’s candle stick made her feel even more ill at ease but she didn’t care to tell him.
“Thanks,” she mumbled and for a moment she thought to have seen a sad smile flash over his face. Adrijan stopped at the end of the hallway to point out their goal.
“Down there. There’s the tradesmen’s entrance.”
On their way further downstairs and through another corridor Mairin could make out faint voices in the house. Without a doubt, the noise they had made had at last woken someone. Even so the immortal’s servant kept rushing her. She couldn’t quite grasp the need for it. Wouldn’t they obey his commands?
Hastily they sneaked down the last few stairs to their goal until Adrijan stopped so abruptly that Mairin almost bumped into him. A tall man that had been cloaked by the darkness had appeared in front of them.
The immortal’s servant seemed ready to jump at him but after a few words in German had been exchanged he relaxed. Mairin tried to understand what they were saying but their pace and pronunciation made it difficult for her to follow the conversation. Eventually they finished talking and Adrijan gave the man an encouraging pat on the back.
Mairin was filled with relief when he handed the candle stick to the stranger and they finally stepped outside, leaving everything behind. Her companion continued walking quickly, every now and then looking over his shoulder, probably to assure himself that she was still following him. The more distance they put between them and Sunflower Garden the better Mairin started to feel. Surrounded by the darkness and the cold night air they proceeded along a small path that was unknown to her, like most of the world outside the boarding school. Even though she was still suffering from the events of the night Mairin was overwhelmed by her sudden freedom. There was only one thing that was bothering her. “Be careful,” Adrijan had told the man before they had left. Were they in any danger?
The candle was still burning, illuminating the image of Virgin Mary. With a silent sigh Adrijan sank down on the bench near the wayside shrine. His arm was pulsating and he was feeling slightly dizzy. Apparently the adrenaline was wearing off. His sudden weakness made him wonder if he would have enough strength to go on. Maybe he should’ve asked Walther for help back at Sunflower Garden but he was aware that such a task as stalling their pursuers would already prove difficult enough. The girl was standing close to the shrine observing him curiously. He would have to do his best not to worry her too much. Obviously she had gone through a lot and it was his duty to get her out of here. If he wanted to succeed he couldn’t afford turning her into more of a nervous wreck than she already was. Nonetheless, he required her assistance.
“Mairin?” Again he had made her flinch. “It’s alright,” he said, attempting to calm her. “I need your help. Could you please check the saddle bag for a small red box with a white cross on it? And don’t worry, he won’t bite.”
Adrijan gestured towards the grazing horse with a slight movement of his head and tried to put an encouraging smile on his face. Once the girl had her back turned to him, looking for the desired item, Adrijan started to take off his coat. It took all of his willpower to suppress a scream when he finally managed to free his arm from the sleeve. A silent moan escaped his lips and due to the pain he decided that the rest of the coat could remain where it was. Adrijan was annoyed at himself for having hesitated back in Mairin’s room. He should have killed the scumbag at once upon discovering him there. And he shouldn’t have been so foolish as to pull out the knife. Adrijan took a deep breath. The cold night air rushed into his lungs and made him realise that this wasn’t the right time for regrets. For the girl’s sake he was hoping that his feelings weren’t written all over his face and if they were that she would not notice them in the dark. By the time Mairin finally presented the first-aid kit to him the pain had become so bad that he had started to wish that he hadn’t thrown himself between the knife and her. He regretted the thought the moment it entered his mind and discarded it at once.
“Thank you,” he whispered, put the box on his knees and opened it with his right hand. First he took out the mobile phone and checked for unanswered calls. There weren’t any. Without paying much attention to Mairin’s puzzlement he attempted to call the immortal and was annoyed when he was forwarded to the voicemail inbox. After three more tries he decided to give in. Frustrated he impatiently listened to the recorded message.
“Dear caller, as you know, this is the immortal’s ahem ahem – MY – voicemail. I don’t give a damn if you leave a message or not, but if you do, do wait for the Beep! Oh, and be aware that I might not be in the mood for listening to your crap. Toodeloo!”
Adrijan frowned and forced himself to talk.
“Hey Viv, I’m on my way to the border with the girl. Bleeding though. Knife wound. Please send support if you can and return my call.”
Adrijan ended the one-sided conversation and turned on the phone’s flash light.
“A… prayer?” The girl had observed him the whole time with her eyes slit and her head slightly inclined to the right. Adrijan nodded without showing how much her remark and her behaviour amused him.
“Something like that.”
He was surprised she didn’t comment on the bright light that obviously didn’t result from a candle. There was no time for an explanation anyway. The next item he produced from the first aid kit was a pair of bandage scissors. He handed it to Mairin with the handle pointing to her. Once she had accepted it and looked at him with the apparent question in her eyes he carefully started to explain.
“I was injured in the fight back in your room and the wound has to be treated. First the left sleeve has to be cut open. I know it’s going to be difficult, but please assist as good as you can.”
Adrijan saw that she swallowed hard. Then she looked him in the eye and stepped closer. “Hold it! Put these on first.”
Adrijan watched the girl open the packed pair of sterile gloves he had handed her and clumsily put them on while juggling the scissors around. After taking a deep breath she finally started to cut his sleeve open. The way Mairin’s hands were shaking he was glad that she wasn’t using a normal pair of scissors. With his right hand he lifted the phone a little to make things easier for her. He felt relieved when his arm was finally freed from the cloth and there was no more danger of her sticking the small blades into the wound. Quickly he put down the light and searched for the small bottle of antiseptic with his hand. There it was. He opened it with thumb and index finger, tossed the screw cap into the box and slowly poured the fluid over the injury.
“Almost done… almost done,” he kept telling himself. Most of the pain subsided a moment after and Adrijan handed the almost empty bottle to Mairin. With further instructions and the girl’s help the wound was cleaned thoroughly and then covered with antibiotic ointment and a sterile gauze pad before his arm was bandaged.
“Thanks.”
Mairin nodded and started to put everything still usable back into the first aid kit.
“You should treat your wound as well. At least apply some of the fluid in the bottle to it. Please.”
Adrijan turned off the light to make her feel less watched and took a look at his mobile. There was still no sound from the immortal. With a deep sigh he activated the key lock and put the phone into his pocket. Necessary as it had been, treating his wound had taken up a lot of time. “I’m afraid
we will have to move on as soon as you’re done. I own a cottage near the forest – if we ride Nebel half the way and walk the rest we should be able to get there around dawn.” “Mhm.”
The girl surely didn’t seem to be the talkative type. After she had put away the first aid kit and Adrijan concluded that she was done treating her wound he untied the grey, led it closer to the bench and mounted it.
“If you climb on the bench I should be able to pull you up on the horse,” he explained. The girl seemed to be reluctant to follow his plan.
“But...” she mumbled.
“There is no time for hesitating. Nebel won’t bite and neither will I.”
Adrijan tried to make it sound like a joke, while he was aware that getting closer to him was probably the last thing the girl wanted. He watched Mairin slowly climb on the bench and hoped that the use of his mobile’s flash light hadn’t alarmed the pursuers. The small wayside shrine had been chosen carefully for treating the wound since a source of light could easily be expected here. Luckily there was always someone who kept Virgin Mary from being forgotten in the dark – today it had been Adrijan himself. Carefully he reached out for Mairin and helped her get on the horse. Her constant effort not to reveal her chest and not to let go of the blanket she had still tightly wrapped around her shoulders made the process even more difficult and put an additional strain on his wounded arm. Even so Adrijan didn’t complain and when she was finally positioned, her back leaning against his healthy arm that also held the reins and with her feet tangling down the other side of the horse, he signalled Nebel to start moving.
Mairin wasn’t sure if he was a fanatic priest or a total lunatic. On second thought she considered the option that he was both. After what she had seen, she was still uncertain if the immortal’s servant was a threat to her but she was aware that Adrijan was her only chance of leaving Traumstadt behind. There was no guarantee that her life on the other side would turn out to be heavenly instead of hellish, but Mairin tried to keep her hopes up. And anyhow, beggars couldn’t be choosers.