Rangers of the Dark

by Michelle Hart

  He revealed the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

  Chapter Eight

  Jennifer was completely out of breath. Either from trying to run from the barbarians or from the perfect example of a man standing before her. His bounding muscles under his tunic, his brown short hair and nicely groomed beard made her heart skip.

  Arkan reached out his hand and she took it out of instinct. She felt a spark jump between them but that quickly turned to nausea as she stood up. The smell of blood mixed with dirty corpses was a sickening recipe.

  “Are you all right?” Arkan asked.

  Jennifer looked down at herself. She had a couple scratches but was otherwise fine. “I think I'll be okay.”

  Arkan stowed his bow behind his back and his eyes traveled up and down Jennifer's slim body. “My name is Arkan.”

  Jennifer blushed. The only man to ever look at her like that had been Hugo. “I'm Jennifer.”

  “It's nice to meet you. We should get out of here.”

  Realization hit Jennifer. “We need to get back there. My parents are in trouble.”

  Arkan didn't get a chance to reply. Jennifer darted back the way to her village.

  Arkan followed and called out ahead. “We need to be careful. There could be barbarians around.”

  Jennifer could barely hear Arkan over the blood pulsing in her ears. She had to get to her parents. She had to make sure they were okay.

  Arkan and Jennifer made it to the outskirts of the village. Smoke from burned-down homes filled the sky. The place was quiet. The fight was over.

  Jennifer ran straight for her house. She opened the front door expecting to see her mother and father standing there.

  But the place was empty.

  “Mother, are you in here?”

  No response.

  Jennifer went through each room and found nothing.

  Arkan entered behind her with his bow drawn. “Looks like nobody is here.”

  “My mother was in the middle of a fight when I ran away.” Jennifer fell to her knees with tears hitting the ground. “Why did I run away? How could I be so stupid? My mother needed my help. And now she's gone.”

  Arkan inspected his surroundings. “There definitely was a fight here. A small amount of blood was spilled. Most likely your mother was injured.” Arkan put a hand on Jennifer's shoulder. “The barbarian tribes don't always kill. They sometimes take slaves.”

  Jennifer wiped her eyes and looked up at Arkan. “You think she might be alive?”

  “I'd bet my life on it.”

  Jennifer got up and swayed for a moment. Arkan steadied her. “I need to find my father too.”

  She left her home and began turning over corpses. Every dead body was a neighbor or a friend. She broke down crying. But her father was nowhere to be found.

  Arkan left her alone to meet with the Rangers. They stood at the edge of the village, cleaning their weapons.

  “Everyone all right?”

  Garel nodded. “No injuries.”

  Belim slapped his big belly. “Unless you count my empty stomach. When are we going to eat?”

  Arkan laughed. “You all deserve a big feast after this.”

  “Who's the woman?” Farondil asked.

  Arkan looked behind him at Jennifer crying over one of the bodies of the villagers. “Found her in the forest. Name's Jennfier. Two barbarians had her cornered.”

  Jennifer approached the group of rangers. The forest was spinning behind them. Her legs were weak and could barely hold her up. “We need to go after them. They took my parents.”

  “We can't just yet,” Arkan replied. “We have no idea how many barbarians lie across the river. We need to see the King for reinforcements.”

  She tried to protest but her heart was pounding in her chest. Jennifer's eyes rolled into the back of her head as she dropped to the ground.

  Chapter Nine

  The heat of a fire shocked Jennifer awake. She found herself in the Dark Forest laying next to a campfire surrounded by the Rangers in the middle of the night.

  Arkan hovered over her holding a bowl. “Don't try to get up.”

  Jennifer felt so weak. “What happened?”

  “You fainted.” Arkan took a spoon of soup. “Eat this. You need to regain your strength.”

  Jennifer let Arkan feed her. The soup was thick with meat and vegetables. Jennifer savored every bite. “This is so good.”

  “You can thank Belim for the food.”

  Jennifer looked past Arkan but didn't know who Belim was. “Thank you for the soup.”

  Belim let out a rumbling laugh. “There's more where that came from.”

  Arkan pointed to the rest of the rangers. “Jennifer I'd like you to meet the Rangers of the Dark Forest: Garel, Farondil, and Demorac.”

  Each Ranger nodded as Jennifer's eyes fell on them. They looked like a rough bunch to her.

  Jennifer looked up to Arkan. “I need to thank you for saving my life.”

  Arkan shook his head. “It was nothing.”

  Jennifer remembered the two barbarians looming over her. The sense of dread she felt was like nothing she ever felt before. “If you didn't come along, I'd be dead...or worse.”

  Arkan sat down next to Garel and served himself his own bowl of soup. “You should get some rest.”

  “What about the King? Those barbarians might have my parents. I need to save them.”

  Arkan nodded. “I will be leaving soon to meet with the King Uzmar. I was worried about you and just wanted to make sure you were safe before I set off.”

  Jennifer blushed. She didn't know why this stranger cared so much about her wellbeing but she kind of liked it.

  Arkan finished his soup and threw the bowl into the dirt. He stood up and hooked his bow behind his back. “The King awaits me, Brothers. Wish me luck.”

  “I'd like to come along,” Jennifer said.

  “The King only meets with Arkan,” Farondil replied.

  “I'm sorry Jennifer, but I don't think the King would see me if you came along,”

  Jennifer slumped on her log. She felt so utterly helpless. Her parents were out there somewhere as slaves of the barbarian tribes.

  Arkan looked at his group a last time before heading into the Dark Forest. “Take care of her.”

  Farondil nodded.

  Chapter Ten

  The Castle of Danzar with it's tall towers stood on a hill overlooking the entire kingdom. A wall surrounded the fortress with one gate as an entrance.

  Arkan exited the Dark Forest and came upon the King's Path, a dirt road that ran through the kingdom and led directly to the castle. Various merchants in carriages pulled by horses were coming and going in the night. No one had any idea that the barbarian tribes had just attacked Icebor.

  The gate to the castle was open and protected by four guards. They were dressed in red armor and held spears to their sides. Arkan stopped before the gate and was approached by one guard.

  “What business do you have here?”

  Arkan bowed slightly. “I'm a Ranger of the Dark Forest and I have business with King Uzmar.”

  The guard was new and didn't recognize Arkan. He looked to one of the senior guards and they nodded at him. The young guard stepped out of the way and let Arkan in.

  He walked into the castle and went straight to the royal throne room. The large double doors stretched to the ceiling and was guarded by another few guards.

  Arkan bowed before them. “I have business with King Uzmar.”

  “King Uzmar has been asked not to be disturbed,” a guard said.

  “I'm sorry, but this is urgent.”

  The guards looked at each other and shrugged. The two big doors swung inwards, revealing the lavish red room. A dark red carpet led straight to a throne made of gold. Candelabras were situated underneath tall stained-glass windows that lined the walls.

  A guard whispered, “Good luck,” to Arkan as he passed.

  King Uzmar with his gray hair and beard sat on
his throne, his head hung low asleep. The day had been long and the night was late.

  Arkan didn't know how Uzmar would react to being woken up. He got down on one knee and cleared his throat loudly.

  The King didn't even stir.

  Arkan cleared his throat louder.

  Uzmar's head bobbed up once and then settled back into sleep.

  Arkan cursed to himself. “King Uzmar, I have come to report,” he said with a full voice.

  King Uzmar shot awake and his eyes darted around. He wiped the drool from his mouth and his vision settled on Arkan.

  “Arkan, a Ranger of the Dark Forest. What are you doing here at this late hour?”

  “I have news to report, your majesty.”

  Uzmar shifted in his seat and scratched his beard. “Go ahead.”

  Arkan didn't want waste any more time. “The barbarian tribes attacked Icebor today.”

  King Uzmar jumped out of his seat. “What!”

  Arkan had never heard the King with so much emotion before. He gulped before continuing, “The Rangers and I arrived after they had raided most of the village already. We took out any leftovers and I came straight here.”

  That wasn't entirely true. Arkan had taken a long break around the campfire to make sure that Jennifer was all right. But getting to the King sooner wouldn't have changed anything. The barbarians had gone back across the river and over the hills. They wouldn't attack again so soon. Not when the Kingdom would be on its guard.

  “And how many dead?” Uzmar asked.

  Arkan lost his train of thought as the image of Jennifer with her long dark hair entered his mind. Her beauty had truly taken his breath away.

  “How many dead, Arkan?”

  He snapped back to reality. “I'm sorry, my lord.” Arkan bowed his head. “Most of the village was killed. We saved a woman who claims that some were taken prisoner by the barbarians.”

  King Uzmar sat back down in his throne and rubbed his beard. “All of Icebor?”

  Arkan nodded and let the news sink in. “I'd like permission to go across the river and rescue any prisoners.”

  “And what makes you think that they're still alive?”

  Arkan didn't quite know how to answer that. Before meeting Jennifer he would've assumed they were already dead. The barbarians weren't known for keeping prisoners. Jennifer believed that they were still alive.

  That was good enough for Arkan.

  “Your Majesty, the prisoners might be dead or they might be slaves. I think it's worth the risk. A small group of my rangers could get in and out before the barbarians even know it.

  The King stared into Arkan's eyes for what seemed like an eternity. “If some villagers from Icebor are truly still alive, then what king would I be if I left them to suffer? Take a group of rangers over the hills and get back my people.”

  Arkan nodded and slammed his fist to his chest. He twisted around on his toes and left the throne room.

  Convincing the King to go after the barbarians was the easy part.

  Actually rescuing any prisoners was going to be a lot harder than Arkan made it out to seem.

  Chapter Eleven

  Jennifer woke up to the sun peeking through the forest trees. The campfire had died during the night and only a wisp of smoke remained.

  She sat up and was surprised to see Arkan sleeping so close to her. She watched him sleep, his chest lifting up and down. He wasn't like anyone she'd ever met before.

  “Did you sleep all right?” Arkan asked, rubbing his eyes.

  Jennifer didn't even realize he had woken. She flushed with embarrassment, not knowing if Arkan had noticed her staring at him. “Not as comfortable as my bed back home but it was okay.”

  Arkan sat up and stretched his arms over his head. Jennifer watched his large biceps strain against his green tunic.

  The other rangers woke up at the same time, stirring in their beds of leaves on the ground. Sleeping in their tents wasn't the safest when barbarians were out there.

  “What did King Uzmar say?” Jennifer asked.

  The rest of the group perked up at the question. They wanted to know the answer too.

  Arkan looked at his Rangers and stepped around the dead fire. “The King gave us permission to go over the hills and rescue the prisoners. We should set out in an hour or so.”

  “After breakfast of course,” Belim added.

  “After breakfast,” he replied.

  Farondil ignited the fire with a spark from a piece of flint. Belim cracked two eggs over a pan and they began sizzling.

  Arkan leaned over Jennifer. “May I speak to you alone?”

  Jennifer nodded and followed Arkan into the forest. They came to a spot next to a tree with a scarred trunk. They were just far enough away from the camp to be out of earshot.

  Arkan turned to Jennifer. “You should return to your village and wait for us there.”

  “You've got to be insane if you think that I'm going to let you go after my parents without me.”

  Arkan put his hand on Jennifer's shoulder. “This is a dangerous mission. We might not all come back alive. You'll be safer at Icebor.”

  Jennifer shrugged off his hand. “There's nothing left for me back at Icebor. I don't care how dangerous it's going to be. My parents are out there...”

  Arkan interrupted Jennifer with a kiss. He believed it was the only way to keep her from talking anymore.

  Jennifer's eyes shot open at the shock of what just happened but she quickly settled into his lips. He smelled like a man and that only excited her more. His arms wrapped around her and his hands pressed against her back. Their tongues danced lightly together and Jennifer moaned.

  Arkan broke away and began walking back to the camp. “I'll let you come with us.”

  Jennifer stood there, dazed and confused. She'd never felt anything like that before. Her whole body tingled from her nipples all the way down to her toes.

  She returned back to the camp to the smell of cooked eggs. The Rangers sat around the fire and ate their breakfast in silence. The impending mission was a lot to think about even for a group as experienced as the Rangers of the Dark Forest.

  They knew they might not all come back from this.

  Belim handed Jennifer a plate with a big smile. “Made special just for you.”

  “Thank you so much,” she replied. She sat down next to Arkan and took a bite of eggs. The flavors lit a fire in her mouth. Her eyes grew big and she realized how hungry she actually was. Her plate was clean in seconds.

  Arkan stood up and poured water on the fire. “Gear up,” he ordered the group.

  Each Ranger gathered their weapons while Belim packed the provisions.

  Farondil looked at Jennifer who was just standing there. “She's not coming with us.”

  Jennifer stood her ground. “Oh yes I am.”

  “Arkan, this is not a mission to bring little girls with.”

  Arkan nodded. “I agree with you, Farondil. But she has made it clear that she will follow us no matter what.”

  Jennifer nodded to Farondil.

  “Then we tie her to a tree and leave her until we get back,” Farondil replied.

  Her blood boiled in her veins. “You wouldn't dare,” Jennifer said.

  Arkan shook his head. “Jennifer will come with us and I'll be responsible for her. My decision is final.”

  Farondil knew better than to argue any further.

  Garel approached Jennifer. “You're going to need a weapon.” He handed her a silver dagger.

  She gripped the cold steel in her hand and remembered her mother handing her a knife in the kitchen. She couldn't be a little girl anymore. She'd have to protect herself.

  Garel showed her some quick moved with the dagger. Jennifer mirrored his movements, pretending to slash her enemy's throat. The thought of killing another human being was foreign to Jennifer but she'd have to come to terms with that soon enough.

  “All right, Rangers. Let's show those barbarians who the Rangers
of the Dark Forest are,” Arkan announced.

  The Rangers cheered together.

  Jennifer stowed the dagger in her belt and joined Arkan's side as the Rangers set off.