Nature and Blight

by Matt Rogers

  Chapter 40: For Love

  The Pursuit (Lazy River)

  They reunited quickly. It was foreordained. They were always on the lookout for escape routes, rendezvous points, places to assemble if they were separated. The ones who abandoned ship arrived first. They were wet, tired and not in the least amused. No words were spoken for they were unnecessary. All knew what needed done. They set up a perimeter, huddled down and waited. They didn’t wait long.

  Two more entered warily. They were amongst their own but acted accordingly. Rushing in could be a deadly mistake. Surprising an Elvin-sentry mortal in consequence. They were then five. They again waited for the others, the last two; a pair to make them whole. When they didn’t arrive a plan was enacted. Three remained behind, two left in search of two others.

  He’d been surprised when the steed bolted. They had everything under control. The ambush set with precision, the outcome a foregone conclusion. Everything was perfect. And then it wasn’t. His horse took flight without warning, galloping with incredible speed through the tree-line. He thought of leaping but discounted the option. Wherever he looked nature was present. To jump would involve peril; a broken limb or possible loss of life. He held on and waited for the opportunity. It came with a grove. He was off without effort, one moment mounted, the next afoot, wondering why the creature had spooked, wondering where the other was. He left to find the rendezvous holding an uneasy thought, one he’d never felt before; worried for her safety.

  She’d been amazed at the perfection of attack. Everything coordinated and running smoothly, the enemy in a crossfire from opposing shorelines, the reserves moving in from behind to end the debate. Everything was going according to plan. And then it didn’t. The beast she rode upon startled, shivered and sprinted. She had no option, she rode without control aware the horse below obeyed something else, something she knew not, something she could not overcome. She did as he’d done. At a clearing she separated herself from the beast, her last view of the creature was its hindquarters as it raced away at breakneck speed. She wondered what had gotten into the mare. She began making her way to the rendezvous. She began thinking of something else. It gave her pause. She wondered if he was okay.

  The two sent to locate the others followed a simple direction. They knew which side of the river their brethren were on when the animals went berserk. They followed a straight route. They ventured off the beaten path for they did not wish to encounter others. They were on a mission which hadn’t been fulfilled. They would search for the two but not forever. With the setting of the sun a new order would take place, another leader emerge and the quest begun anew. They preferred a full complement, knew their quarry and were without arrogance; the party of Savage was best met with superior numbers at hand.

  He was ever aware of his surroundings, always on guard of encountering a foe. He made steady if not impressive progress. He could be forgiven. His mind ever disobeying, ever changing thought without his notice, ever imagining things he wished were real.

  She moved through the underbrush without a sound, one with the world, a world she wished to alter. He was forever in her thoughts. She understood more fully the reason for the forbidden; love was indeed a troubling thing. Every part of her was on edge, aware of everything, conscious of only one. She prayed he lived. She was thinking on his vision when something caught her attention, something unseen yet present, something she knew all too well; a presence she wished to know better.

  They were silent. Birds took no flight for they knew not they were there. Animals in the underbrush were themselves startled when suddenly, as if out of nothing, two appeared. Intent. Resolute. Unwavering. They scoured everything in their path, left nothing disturbed yet searched for what was. They knew who they were sent to find; their leader and the other, the other who was a master in her own right. Time was running short, the sun sinking lower yet still they pushed on. They knew whom they were up against. They wished to have the best at their side when they met their fate. Slicer and the one with no name were, indeed, two without equal.

  He spotted her first. He paused for he sensed something different, something familiar; something pleasant. Every being held a presence, an aroma, a sense of who they were. Hers was ingrained in his mind, etched in his being, a part of who he was and what he wished to become. She came into view not with a flurry but in the abstract. At first unrecognizable through the leaves, indistinguishable from the plants, one with the land; invisible to those who knew not her inner being.

  She didn’t move. She could feel the attention, knew the gaze upon her yet unaware of its location. She closed her eyes and let the world inside. The fragrance, the sound, the gentle wind. All were recognized, discarded as normal, common, unimportant. Except one. She opened her eyes and saw, for the first time, the reflection of her own wants, the duplication of her own needs in the eyes of one who could not look away.

  They were nearly finished. The light almost gone and with it, the search for their kind. They were of the same mind, signaled the end with fingers designed to deliver death. They were about to turn around when they heard it. It wasn’t much. A slight disturbance. It was all they needed. They moved closer to investigate.

  He couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was everything. The look she returned indicated she felt the same. Time stopped. Nature waited. Everything stood still and he did what he desired, what he could not resist, what he wished not to deny.

  She watched as he approached, her heart in her throat, her pulse rapid as the hummingbird. Fate had decided their lives for them, of that there could be no doubt, for they were ever drawn to the other. She waited, he appeared, and their world changed forever.

  What they witnessed was treason. The two watched as two others, those of their kind, those of their partnership, chose each other. It could not be allowed. The rule was iron clad; join with the Guild and join with no other. There was no alternative. It was the one law unchangeable to all. The one law above all; the Guild was their spouse, their partner, their life. The shocking scene, one assassin embracing another was unsettling to say the least. The fact it was their leader and one without a name was even more startling. It may have been what caused the remarkable.

  He heard it first; an intake of breath from one who watched. He knew what it meant. She knew also. They moved as one to counter the knowledge, both drawing weapons with the thought of ending the life of whoever was witness to their crime. It was no use. Whoever it was, however many there were, it didn’t matter, they’d gotten away before Slicer or she without a name could act. The deed was done. The game altered again. The two who could not live apart were now bound by their decision. They knew only of two things at that moment, two truths which were as concrete in fact as though written in stone. The first; an Elvin had seen them because none but their kind could remain unseen while seeing all. The second; they were outlaws. Walking dead. Those who challenged the Guild could not live, could not remain alive for to do so was to thwart the very thing which set the assassins apart; they lived solely for Death.