by Daul, Amanda
Running footsteps suddenly echoed through the tunnel, approaching them. Her voice spoke even faster. “Do you have any idea where they went?”
Shaking his head, he struggled to stand, Arissa still clutching his arm to help support him. “I know they have already brought him to Ravl, Tragen and Jasvil. They are not going to repeat their own tracks. That only leaves one place left that they would trust.”
“Varkland. But that’s going into the mountains!”
“That’s the only reasonable place left for them to go. Even they are running out of places to run to. Nobody expected you to survive this long on your own.”
“This isn’t my fault and I have others to worry about besides myself. This will all be over soon.”
The running footsteps had slowed nearly to a walk outside the door. Arissa gripped Karson’s blood soaked hand once, already getting up to move. He called after her, quietly as possible, “There’s an exit on your left. You can double back and find the nearest gate. I made sure it isn’t being watched.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, but she had already turned the corner in the dark hall, suddenly running faster than she thought she was able.
Before she even had time to process the situation, Arissa came upon a still body at her feet, right in an open door. Karson was right, he had made sure it wasn’t being guarded.
Arissa was nearly out the door when she stopped, thinking quickly. The reason she had come here was to find out where they would be taking him to next, but now that she knew the information, she suddenly felt a strange draw back to the reformatories. Perhaps there was something else here that she needed to know. Everybody guarding the city would be in a mad hurry to conceal the walls and if she didn’t leave now, she might never get the chance to.
Surely the General and every other guard in the area already knew of her capture, but it didn’t make sense for them to try to kill her, when they had accidentally hit Karson instead. If she was under arrest, they needed her for the trials that would be held. The only ones who would be trying to kill her were the endless number of troops that were no doubt trailing her all over the land, but even then, they would stop at the blockades of the cities.
She didn’t have time to think about it any longer. If there was something she should be finding out about the reformatories, it would have to wait. Right now, she needed to find the camp within the Varkland mountains. After they were reunited, she could come back if necessary.
Chapter Seven
Three days passed before Arissa arrived at the base of the intimidating mountain ranges astride Raze. In all the time since she had left there had not been a single whisper of another human around her. There had hardly been a day when she hadn’t seen, or at least heard, the huntsmen prowling the forests looking for her. Now there wasn’t as much as a fresh track. The thought unsettled her, making her even more paranoid and alert.
With so much ground to cover, Arissa suddenly felt completely overwhelmed. Alone, it was almost impossible to investigate every plane and canyon of the mountain. Before rushing into what could very well be a trap, she needed to stop and make a plan.
Varkland was the isolated, most dangerous city in the territory, located nearly on the peak of the mountain that reached high above Arissa now. It had been officially abandoned as a functioning city years ago, although many people still chose to live there. However, they were either fugitives that were in hiding or people who had run away from the battles that had claimed most of the land in recent attacks. Cowards and thieves and traitors lived there. In Varkland, there was no law, no rules, only the single goal to survive.
Why the General had chosen this derelict city, Arissa couldn’t imagine. The militia never stepped foot near it, but then again, it was the last place she wanted to travel to. Perhaps that’s why they chose it, to discourage her. If that was the case, then they didn’t know the first thing about her, after all.
Karson’s words echoed back into her mind, informing her that even the leaders who were trying to keep ahead of her were running out of places to hide. That was both good and bad news.
The good news was that it meant they would soon be getting desperate. They thought that somebody would have been able to capture her by now, but failed. Given her past that some considered sketchy and her present situation, Arissa was a major threat to the militia. They would be anxious for her to finally be imprisoned and would probably stop at nothing to make it happen. Doing so, they would become careless, especially since most of the army is made up of recent recruits and untrained greenhorns.
At the same time, it was bad news because they had an advantage over her. They held hostage one of the few things that meant anything to Arissa and they knew that. Using him as leverage against her was the smartest thing they could have done...and the stupidest. Now, Arissa would stop at nothing until she regained what she had lost and exacted her revenge on the General that she loathed.
The leader of the military had taken over what had been left to the land after the destruction and war years ago. A mass amount of the human population had been killed or banished, leaving only small villages and settlements. The man responsible now, whose name was undisclosed, thought of himself as ruler to what was left of the forsaken land, focusing solely on building the world back up to his standards. That meant that all people were treated as worthless peasants, the lone purpose of their lives was to act on his word immediately. In addition, they were to spread the word of his great leadership to the other areas of surrounding land that had not been as fortunate as to regain the government that had been lost. The people who lived there, ultimately known as the Lost Ones, struggled for survival without the knowledge or means necessary to survive in their parts of the world. With what little was left to the countries and territories that had once been their homes, they only had one option besides dying of starvation. Only when they agreed to spend their lives serving the General and his army would they be accepted to move into the cities that Arissa knew so well. Even with the empty promise of basic staples of survival, when the Lost Ones arrived most ended up being executed simply because of where they had come from or the accent of their voices or the color of their hair. The General was very selective when it came to who he allowed in his armies and cities.
The reason Arissa knew as much as she did was because she had once been a part of it, becoming one of the most crucial figures in the General’s efforts in building his cities, sifting through his choice of people as if they were cattle. And it was directly connected to why she was being hunted now.
Distracted by her hateful thoughts of the General that she hated so much, Arissa still had not been able to decide on a solid plan. She and Raze still stood on the worn bridle path that was covered in horse tracks leading between the trees and over the knoll that started the long, treacherous journey into the mountains.
Feeling weakened and disoriented by her thoughts and before she could decide on whether or not to follow the path, Raze suddenly tossed his head in the air. He seemed oddly focused on another trail that was leading slightly askew of the one they stood on. Fresh imprints of shod horse hooves could be seen easily in the dirt. Only military horses wore shoes.
A hopeful smile lit Arissa’s face. “He’s here, Raze.”
Chapter Eight
The trail was steep and treacherous, making slow process of the climb. Several times Arissa dismounted the stallion, allowing him to find his own way to the top of a rocky incline or a patch of narrow trees. She would follow behind the horse until he stopped for her again.
There were no other signs to follow except for the shod marks in the dirt. It was hard keeping them in sight, disappearing when the terrain became rocky or covered in grass. Somehow, Raze seemed to know what they were doing and repeatedly smelled the air and ground. Arissa trusted that he knew which paths to follow.
It was impossible to even tell what time of day it was. The canopy of overhead trees was so thick, hardly any light came through. Even before th
ey had entered the forests, the clouds had begun covering the vast skies. Lately, Arissa had felt more comfortable in the dark than anything. It had been one of her only comforts in the past months. If she couldn’t see them, they couldn’t see her.
Arissa had never been to the actual city of Varkland and she had been hoping she would never have to. Before becoming a wanted fugitive, most of her work for the General had been mainly stationed in Daer and Vailwood. That was before her name had been cast into the accusations of murder and forced her to run in order to save her own life as well as the lives of the people she was closest to.
When they stopped on a small, flat space of ground to rest for a moment, Arissa was nearly startled when she looked behind them for the first time. She had no idea they had climbed as high as they had, being able to finally see above the tall trees. Beyond the mist that was beginning to settle, the grey masses of destruction stretched out farther than Arissa cared to see. Nothing lived or grew there anymore. It had once been alive with cities and people and the wild animals that lived in the forests that no longer existed. Not since the war had destroyed everything.
It was too depressing to look at any longer and, more so by the minute, Arissa was growing to hate the world around her. She didn’t care about how bitterly unfair it was, but she couldn’t stand the thought of living in a world anymore where a man as horrible as the General was in control. Just because he had the lone survivor of the last battle that had concluded the war, he thought that entitled him to own the world. It made her sick to even think about it.
She continued the rest of the way on foot, the loyal stallion close behind her. The ground had turned back to packed dirt, soft enough to identify the imprint of the horseshoes. Everything around them still looked the same and she soon found herself wondering how much farther through the mountains they had to travel before they arrived in Varkland. The dull light from the overcast sky remained the same, disheartening.
Despite the chilly air, Arissa could feel her skin becoming damp with skin. Her heavy cloak made hard work on trekking the mountain and her leather boots were beginning to make walking more difficult that it had been. Her black pants had been made of tough strips of salvaged fabric from several of the factories in the area that were no long operable.
Arissa began to lithely pull herself over a fallen tree with broken off branches when Raze suddenly reared beside her. An ear-splitting whinny sounded out throughout the valley from the dark horse.
“Shh!” she hissed quickly to the horse, without thinking. His front hooves struck the ground hard, only a few feet from her, but his eyes were wide and frightened.
Arissa’s swift instincts immediately kicked in, her sharp eyes scanning the forest around them. Something had startled the stallion and now anybody in a ten mile radius knew that they were there.
Directly on the path above them, less than a ten minute trek away, was an abrupt dip into the edge of the mountain. It was so sudden and there didn’t seem to be any gaps in the forest leading away from it. She would bet anything that was where Varkland was located. There was no way of knowing what kind of security had been set up by the military. Coming to Varkland was their last option as well as hers, there had to be something set up ahead of time.
In the next moment, a gunshot split the air, ringing through the mountains even louder than Raze’s piercing shriek had.
A squeal and a spray of dirt later, the black horse had spun and galloped down the path they had just climbed, and disappeared out of sight.
As much as it pained her, Arissa didn’t have time to worry about her horse. She was focused on trying to see where the gunshot had sounded from. With light, silent footsteps, she ran through the trees, continuing towards the settlement that waited for her. She was only over the next knoll when her heart leapt into her throat.
On the ground directly ahead of her was a body, face down. All she noticed was familiar brown leather jacket that the man wore. She knew that jacket, it was one that she had seen hundreds of times before.
No, no, no, she kept repeating to herself. Her muscles felt numb as she tried to run towards the body, but her legs were becoming increasingly weak.
The fresh pool of blood that was still growing quickly soaked up into the fabric of her pants and cloak as she knelt beside the body. She gripped her trembling fingers around the shoulder, feeling the slippery warmth of the blood against her skin. The heavy feeling of her unsettled stomach was rising quickly with regret, tears stinging her eyes when she finally saw the empty face of the man.
Chapter Nine
It wasn’t him. Somehow this man had acquired the same jacket, but it wasn’t him. She could hardly take her eyes away from the bullet wound in the man’s chest, still oozing with blood.
Without even thinking about her surroundings and how utterly exposed she was, Arissa simply sat back on her heels, burying her face in her hands. It was hard for her to draw a simple breath past her swollen throat and pounding heart. She felt her palms becoming moist with tears.
For ten seconds, her entire world had crumbled at the thought of losing him. She had honestly thought it was him lying in the pool of blood ahead of her. Her muscles were still weak and trembling, but her brain was finally telling her to move.
Her hands were sticky with blood and she felt it on her face now, as well. Attempting to wipe it off on her cloak, Arissa suddenly turned, remembering Raze. There was no sign of the stallion anywhere among the trees. Exasperated, Arissa sighed heavily. Without a horse, escaping the mountain would be nearly impossible.
She had to seriously debate what to do, while crawling under a thick cluster of bushes for concealment. The logical thing to do was to descend the mountain and return only after she had either found Raze or could find another horse to...borrow. Getting herself killed or arrested wouldn’t do anyone any good at all. But she didn’t know how much time she had until the people holding him prisoner did something drastic, something that was meant to get her attention.
No. Everything had been dragged out too long as it was, she couldn’t afford any more lost time. She would have to put aside her concern for Raze and trust in her skills and her instincts to get her back through the mountain forests.
All thoughts of terror and feelings of weakness suddenly vanished from her mind when another gunshot cracked through the air. She instinctively ducked her head, even though she was safely hidden already. The piercing noise rang out even louder than before, as if it was fired directly overhead.
Arissa was just about to dodge out from under her shelter when she heard the distinct sound of a dry twig being snapped in half by a footstep and it was within only a few feet of her, just on the other side of the bush. She froze and nearly stopped breathing, not making a single noise or movement. Through a small opening in the leaves she could see the toe of a black boot that was once polished to a shine but was now covered in dust. It was unmoving, but as Arissa listened, she could hear the approaching sounds of a whole group. Still holding her breath, she ducked her head to look higher through the gaps in the leaves. She could see the legs of horses walking by, all the same color.
This had to be them. The group that she needed to find was here. No other militia squad would be in the Varkland mountains, and apparently the thought of entering the fallen city unsettled them.
Good, Arissa thought to herself. Avoiding the city would make her job a lot easier.
After counting the legs of four horses walking by, she was about to look away from the gap in the leaves when she heard a shuffling sound. Confused, she watched through her tiny window of vision, but saw nothing. Frustrated, she nearly missed seeing a new pair of boots walk by, but these were different. These were tired and sore, dragging helplessly in the dirt with each exhausted step.
“Continue on and make camp. Keep the prisoner close,” the muffled voice from one of the soldiers spoke.
Her heart jolted in her chest and Arissa had to remind herself where she was to keep herself from leaping t
o her feet. The prisoner. It had to be him.
Either the soldiers had absolutely no idea what they were doing and were completely lost, or it was some sort of trick to capture her. All of the group had moved past her, continuing along the faint path they were on. What they didn’t seem to know was that it was basically moving in the exact direction she had just come from, the bottom of the mountain.
It took everything in her to not even peer around the corner to see if it was him. They would both die if she was captured at this point in the chase.
The fact that she was so near the most hostile and violent city in the territory was unsettling to Arissa. She hoped that the soldiers would have enough sense to make their camp out of sight. A glowing campfire in the middle of the woods was the perfect invitation for a raid by a bunch of thieving scavengers from the discarded settlement. Just what she didn’t need.
For some reason, her mind was completely blank. She couldn’t specifically think of a single plan that could possibly work, her thoughts felt so scattered and jumbled. Nerves were messing with her brain and she needed it to stop. Night was already beginning to fall, the light fading into a subtle dusk. Something had to happen before it was completely dark.
Convinced that the group was far enough out of sight and earshot, Arissa pulled herself out from her hiding place. Her muscles were beginning to stiffen, but all she could focus on was the direction the band had disappeared to.
She was just about to follow them when she felt the sudden, unmistakably cold tip of a rifle barrel being pressed between her shoulder blades.
Chapter Ten
“I knew you would be here,” a gruff, deep voice hissed in her ear. “I knew you would be naive enough to fall into my trap. If only the General wasn’t so set on killing you himself, I would love nothing more than to shoot you right now.”
Arissa knew exactly who was standing behind her, even before she slowly turned to face the man. Her eyes skimmed over the rifle barrel that was shoved directly in her face and settled on the hateful look on the man’s face.