Will (Book 2)

by S. F. Burgess

  “Shut up!” Will snapped at Adian before turning to the other older man. “Barrows, is it?” The man nodded reluctantly, glancing at Adian. “Barrows, I can see cord hanging out of your pocket. Tie the others’ hands behind their backs,” Will ordered.

  Still on his knees, Barrows shuffled to comply. When he was done, Will turned to Moylan.

  “Bring the young one here,” he ordered.

  “His name is Sol,” Davlin said quietly.

  “Be quiet!” Will ordered, pushing his sword a little further into Davlin’s back, ignoring the man’s hiss of pain.

  Moylan pulled Sol to his feet and dragged him forward.

  The young man looked at Davlin with confusion and distress as he passed. “We were brothers, bound by secrets and blood. What happened?”

  “Do as you are told and you may live to find out,” Davlin replied.

  Will glanced at Eleanor. “Show Moylan how to tie this man’s ankles and put a slip cord around his neck, so that if he struggles, he will strangle himself,” Will ordered. “Then put him in the back of our cart, where there is more room.”

  Is taking them with us wise? Eleanor asked.

  Will shrugged. I just want to get them off the track and into the forest, then find out what's going on. We need to know how they found Davlin, who they are and what they want. Davlin's right: we can’t ask those questions in the middle of the road. It might not be the main track, but a witness could stumble across us at any time.

  As they waited for Moylan and Eleanor to load the bound man into the back of the cart, the hostile silence was shattered by a pained moan. Will knew better than to take his eyes off his captives, but he could hear the huffing and groaning as Mickle struggled to his feet.

  “What is going on?” Mickle demanded, walking unsteadily towards them.

  “I will explain when we get moving,” Will said, hearing his dislike for the belligerent swine in his voice.

  “I am in charge here!” Mickle spat. “Explain, now!”

  “No, and if you have any tactical sense at all, Mickle, you will do as I am telling you,” Will retorted. “Get on the cart; I will explain later,” he ordered, in no mood to play Twenty Questions with the ignorant man.

  “How dare you?” Mickle spluttered. “I do not care if you are an Avatar, I will not stand for this! I am in charge.”

  Behind him, their two captives stared, their eyes wide in surprise and shock. Damn you, Mickle! Will’s plan to find out what was going on, who these men where and what they knew, and then cut them loose, had evaporated. What do we do now? As a group they were simply not equipped to hold prisoners.

  Mickle was glaring at him, expecting a response, oblivious to the repercussions of his thoughtless comment. Adian and Barrows were exchanging meaning-laden looks. Things were about to get messy.

  “Well?” Mickle demanded.

  Giving Will a contemptuous glance over his shoulder and ignoring the sword at his back, Davlin took a quick sidestep and elbowed Mickle in the face. The sickening crunch as his nose broke made Will wince. Mickle’s eyes rolled back in his head and blood oozed through the hands he had instinctively raised. Then his knees gave way and he collapsed, miraculously not pushing the arrow further into his shoulder.

  “That was unnecessary,” Will said, angry that the situation had been taken out of his control.

  “Not from where I was standing,” Davlin murmured, meeting Will’s angry look.

  Moylan and Eleanor came back round the cart just as Mickle started making a wet spluttering noise to match his soggy, burbling breathing.

  “Get Mickle in the cart,” Will ordered, nodding in the direction of the injured man. “Make sure he is in a position where he will not choke on his own blood.”

  “Should we remove the arrow?” Moylan asked.

  Will shook his head. “No. It will help to stop the flow of blood until I am able to deal with his wound.”

  As carefully as they were able, Moylan doing most of the lifting, they carried Mickle out of sight round the cart. Will’s mind began presenting the problems he was going to have trying to heal Mickle. The nerve damage alone could be extensive.

  As Moylan, Eleanor and Mickle disappeared from view, Barrows, whose hands they had yet to secure, decided to take advantage of Will’s distraction and launched himself at Will and Davlin. Caught by surprise, they were both knocked to the ground. Will moved his blade just in time to avoid skewering Davlin, but found his weapon, right arm and legs trapped under Davlin’s body. He raised his left arm to protect his head as a speeding fist arched towards it, a glint of metal flashing a dire warning. Knuckle duster! Will thought as fear ripped through him. When the first punch glanced off his forearm, Barrows sent three powerful jabs into Will’s ribs. Sharp pain radiated out, his breath coming in quick pants. Will automatically curled his left arm defensively around his side, which left him wide open to the blow to the head that pushed reality out of focus. Why has Davlin not got off me? Why is he not helping me?

  Time jumped. One moment he was lying on the ground, the world spinning around him. Then he blinked, and he was propped up on his knees, something sharp digging into his neck, rough hands holding him and Eleanor staring in horror at something over his shoulder. There was movement, more rough handling, and then black nothing crushed him down.

  The orange-tinted darkness shimmered around him. Pain and noise filled his head. He tried to open his eyes. The left one seemed stuck, his eyelashes matted together. Blood? The right eye gave him only blurry darkness, with the occasion burst of moving orange light. He tried to put his last few memories into order, but gave up as his pounding headache got stronger. He winced as Eleanor’s energy string stabbed him.

  Will? Are you okay? she asked, an edge of panic to her tone.

  I’ll live, Will answered, beginning to feel more alert, trying to assess the state he was in. Exhaustion weighted him down and his energy level was minimal, yet it still pulsed and flared, totally out of his control. Where had his energy gone? Had he unknowingly released it at someone? These questions were doing nothing to help him fix the situation. Pushing his fear aside, he focused on calming his mind and tried to build back the concentration needed to regulate the whirlwind of violent forces within him.

  Eleanor took a deep breath. I’m so sorry, Will, you weren’t well. Your energy was all over the place. I drained it down just to stop you accidently hurting us… or yourself. Barrows must have hit you very hard…

  Will smiled, letting Eleanor feel some of his affection and gratitude. You did the right thing. He was using a primitive ‘knuckle duster’. I’m lucky he didn’t crack my skull in two, Will replied, relieved when Eleanor seem to accept this reason for his loss of control with nothing more than worried sympathy. Are you okay? he added.

  Yes, I’m fine. A knuckle duster? That explains a lot, she said, struggling to hide her fear. Moylan tried to fight back, but went down rather quickly. I guess if they were punching him with metal wrapped round their fists it would have that effect.

  What happened? Will asked. What’s going on? Awareness of his surroundings was coming back to him; his tightly bound hands were going numb. He was lying on them, causing them to dig into his back. His ankles were also lashed together, his head ached miserably and everything was fuzzy and dark. He could feel a rolling, bouncing, rocking motion, which indicated he was tied up in the back of one of the carts.

  Barrows attacked you, and Davlin helped him. It was either surrender or watch them kill you. The reward money for us is the same dead or alive, apparently. Will could hear the misery and pain in her voice. I couldn’t watch you die, Will. And they were too close to you for me to blast them.

  Davlin helped them? Will said, bitter fury slithering through his mind.

  Yes. But I think he has a plan. A lot of what he’s told them is lies, or half-truths. He’s not told them I’m an Avatar, for one thing. And we’re not heading towards the camp, we’re just heading into the forest; he said he could make
the other Avatars come to them, Eleanor said. I contacted Freddie, and they arrived about an hour ago. They’re running parallel to us, out of sight. Conlan doesn’t think Davlin betrayed us—he’s willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

  I’m not so sure Davlin deserves our trust, Will muttered. We need to be ready. How badly is Moylan injured? How’s your energy level after the spiders? Where’s Mickle? Will struggled to haul his body into a sitting position, ignoring the pull of his bruised ribs.

  I’ve been listening to Davlin and Adian talk; I think we can trust him. My energy level is fine now. I don’t know about Mickle and Moylan—they’re in the cart with you.

  Where are you? Will asked, confused.

  I’m in the other cart, with Davlin and Adian. Your cart’s being driven by Barrows and Sol. I’m going to go now, because you really need to speak to Amelia, Eleanor said, and she pulled her energy free with unusual care.

  Will’s head swam, blurry shades of light and dark moving across his vision, eventually coalescing into the contents of the cart, and two bodies lying on either side of him. They were partially illuminated by the rocking orange light of a lantern hung on a bracket by the driver’s seat. Moylan was still, his eyes closed, his face clearly bruised and bloodied even in the shadows. Mickle was awake, his breathing harsh, wet and strained. He was lying on his front, the arrow still protruding from his back, and he glowered at Will as if his current situation were the fault of someone other than himself. He also appeared to have been gagged; Will gave silent thanks to whoever had thought that was a good idea.

  Will slowly looked round. They were bouncing and jolting through the forest, and the night around them was suspiciously quiet. If their captors had been smart they would have noticed this. Concentrating, Will felt the faint prickle he got when someone was watching him, and he wondered how close by their rescue was. Tentatively, unsure about his ability to sustain it, Will sent an energy string out, seeking the dry, soft, gentle warmth that was Amelia.

  Will! Are you okay? I tried to reach you earlier but you didn’t stir. Eleanor said you were hit… Amelia’s frantic greeting roared through his brain along with her worry and love for him. It was stronger emotion than he could handle in his current state, and to preserve his delicate consciousness, he pulled his energy back to the edge of their connection.

  Amelia, please can you calm down a little? I’m a bit fragile right now, Will said softly, pushing his own calm out through Amelia’s mind. He felt her attempts to control what she was feeling.

  Sorry, she whispered. I was just so worried about you. What happened?

  Will sighed. I got sucker punched… again. I’m okay though… I imagine it looks far worse than it is. It just rattled my brains, but I’m feeling better already.

  You’re not going to have any brains left to rattle if you keep this up, Amelia admonished gently, using humour to hide the burst of terror Will had felt.

  Will smiled. This is true—and I didn’t have that many to begin with!

  Amelia giggled. Their conversation was interrupted by shouting from the front of the cart.

  “Enough of this!” Barrows yelled across to the other cart. “Davlin, where are we going? I see no sign of more Avatars.”

  “And if you keep yelling like that, you never will,” Davlin snapped back. Will heard the angry snarl that Barrows bit off. “It is just a little further, by the edge of the river,” Davlin said, his soft tone just audible.

  Retaining Amelia’s energy, Will reached out to Eleanor, including her in their conversation, mostly because it would be quicker to get answers speaking to both of them, but also because Amelia was less likely to have a meltdown in front of Eleanor, and her strong emotions were more than he could deal with in his current state.

  We’re going towards a river? Will asked.

  Told you Davlin was still on our side, Eleanor said, and Will’s mind filled with an image of her smug smile. Even if he was an assassin to the Lords of Mydren.

  Eleanor’s comment had been so calm, so matter of fact, that it was several seconds before it sank in.

  Davlin was what? Will spluttered.

  From the conversation he’s been having with Adian, it appears he was the commander of a group knew as ‘Noctic Feltor’… Eleanor explained.

  Night Paws, Will translated.

  Yep! Eleanor agreed. These Night Paws seem to be the Lords’ assassins, used to keep control of the wealthier population and to infiltrate factions and rebellions, destroying them from the inside out. They’re spies and killers. Adian referred to himself as ‘the lethally sharp edge of the Lords’ power’—which sounds a little pompous to me. Davlin said they were ‘invisible thugs’.

  Invisible indeed, Amelia said softly. Neither Conlan nor the other Protectors have ever heard of them. So Davlin was sent to infiltrate our group and kill us all in our sleep?

  No… well, maybe at first, Eleanor admitted. But if that was still his plan, he would have done it by now—he’s had plenty of opportunity. Davlin was sent to infiltrate a group who were smuggling deserting Protectors out of Katadep. But once he got accepted into the group, he met Elroy…

  … who told him about us, and Davlin decided to go after ‘bigger fish’, Will finished for her.

  You think, somewhere along the way, he decided to switch allegiances? Amelia asked with just a hint of desperate hope.

  ‘Bigger fish’… Career-making fish! Bringing us in, dead or alive, would have set Davlin up for life. But we’re not dead yet, Eleanor pointed out. By pinning you down, he spared you the beating Moylan took when he fought back. And he’s not given away who I am—in fact he’s treated me as inconsequential. He knows we can contact Freddie and Amelia, so if he intended to do us harm he would have made sure neither of us was capable of calling for help. He’s even taking us to the river to give you the best chance of defending yourself, Eleanor finished.

  Will considered this. Everything Eleanor said made sense. Perhaps Davlin was truly on their side.

  I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, Amelia added, and Conlan and Freddie seem to trust him as well. They want to see how this plays out, to see what Davlin is planning. Besides, if anything goes wrong, we’ll be close enough to help.

  The carts were pulled to a stop in a clearing at the edge of the water. Without thinking about it, Will pushed out an energy string. ‘River’ was a generous term—this was little more than a wide stream—but it was fast flowing, more than adequate for his energy needs, if he could just keep his control and ignore his aching head. As carefully as he could, he allowed the water’s energy to leach into his own, slowly increasing it.

  “Barrows, get them out of the cart,” Adian ordered. “Sol, get a fire lit.”

  Barrows walked to the end of the cart, grabbed Will’s bound feet and yanked hard, pulling him flat and then over the edge to the ground. Will landed heavily on his back; winded and stunned, he lay gasping for breath. The jolt broke his concentration, causing Eleanor and Amelia to fade from his head.

  Barrows knelt and sliced through the rope at Will’s ankles, then dragged him to his feet. It was only once he was standing—numb, cold, stiff body trembling and swaying—that the idea occured to him that he should have kicked the large man in the face while he had been crouched down cutting through his ropes.

  “Frightened?” Barrows sneered at him. Will did not dignify the question with an answer, but held Barrows’s gaze until the big man turned away. Leading him by his arm, Barrows marched him to where Sol was building up a fire.

  “Sit!” he ordered, not looking at Will, who was only too happy to comply; the world spun less when he had a lower centre of gravity. Barrows returned a moment later and shoved Mickle down next to Will, then went back for Moylan, whom he dumped by the fire. Moylan groaned, his eyes opening slightly, revealing confusion and pain.

  “So, we have water and fire, and earth and air are always present. Are you sure all four elements together will subdue them?” Adian asked
, and Davlin nodded. “Very well,” Adian continued. “What else do we need to capture the other Avatars?”

  “We need a trap—a big hole. There are shovels in the cart,” Davlin told them.

  Will watched Davlin with a fatalistic curiosity as he directed Barrows and Sol to dig a deep hole and disguise it with branches and leaves. Eleanor caught his eye—she, too, looked mystified. After over an hour of digging, Barrows and Sol were tired and dirty, but the ‘trap’ was ready.

  “Now we need to set the bait. The other Avatars will come when they feel one of their number is being threatened,” Davlin said, pulling Will to his feet and dragging him down to the river’s edge. Will eyed its calm surface warily as Davlin pushed him off balance, holding him out over the water, a fist gripping his collar.

  “Your big threat is to get him wet?” Barrows asked incredulously.

  Davlin’s smile was cold and vicious. “This is the Avatar of Water. Full immersion in this river will cause his consciousness to merge with his element, forcing it to leave his body. It will kill him.”

  Will tried not to move and overbalance them. Did Davlin know how close to the truth he was getting? I really hope you’re on our side!

  “Let Will up please, Davlin. He has already washed today.” Conlan, Will thought with relief.

  Conlan walked out of the trees towards them, carefully avoiding the trap, with Freddie and Amelia flanking him. Davlin pulled Will upright and cut through his bonds.

  “Hello, Adian. I am Conlan Baydon.”

  Adian stared, glanced at Davlin, and then back to Conlan. Will could see the suspicion, surprise and understanding flittering across his face.

  “You truly have gone rogue,” Adian said to Davlin.

  “Traitor!” Barrows screamed, running at Davlin, drawn sword in hand. Eleanor ran to intercept, but before the man reached them, he collided with one of Amelia’s invisible barriers and ricocheted off. With impressive awareness of his surroundings, Barrows managed to step over the fire behind him rather than into it, but mid-stride there was a cracking rush, and the fire, given assistance by Freddie, shot up at him.