Arissa's Fate (Redemption Trilogy) (5 page)

Chapter Eleven

             
The Captain was dead.

Arissa couldn’t believe it.
For a few moments, all she could do was stand and stare at the blank, bloodied face of the Captain. The icy blue eyes were empty, gazing into the air above him, his jaw slack and slightly agape.

She couldn’t lie to herself and think that she was sorry to see him lying on the cold ground, lifeless. Maybe it was her vengeance talking, but she was glad that he could no longer hurt the lives of innocent people. The man had done truly terrible things and she had been beside him the whole time. Secrets strong enough to cripple their weak society were now useless, dead. Arissa was the only one left who knew about them and making it public knowledge about just how crooked and underhanded the Captain had been would only cause riots, drama and catastrophes that she didn’t care to be a part of. It was worth letting people think he was a good man, just to spare herself from the torture that she would be dragged through. At this point, she really didn’t trust herself to be anywhere around the peo
ple that she used to work with because at the moment she wanted to murder all of them.

Still, she couldn’t resist roughly nudging his shoulder with the toe of her boot as she stepped around the body. Feeling glee over his death was not something she would normally be proud of, but being hunted for the past several months changed more in herself than she cared to admit.

Breaking out of her series of vindictive thoughts, she quickly focused on the scene, knowing she had to keep moving. Those thieves had to have seen her and a woman alone in the forest would be too much of a temptation for anyone from the Varkland mountains to ignore. They would be trailing her at any moment.

Arissa’s eyes immediately fell to
the shredded hole in the Captain’s blue uniform. A large blood stain had already soaked into the fabric over his chest, similar to the first man she had found.

Who had shot the Captain? Everyone from his troop had still been around their camp when she had bolted. It w
as highly unlikely that any other soldiers were in the mountains. That only left one possibility.

It took everything in her not to scream out his name, hoping he was still within earshot, but knowing that doing so would also attract anyone else in the area.

She mounted the horse again, her brain scrambling rapidly. There were so many questions whirling in her mind, none of them making sense and she had little chance of figuring them out until she found him.

Trying to track was nearly pointless. They were on the same path that a hundred different horses had walked in the recent past and the ground was too hard to depict a clear print anyway. Arissa was positive that she had seen him, struggling to keep up as he walked behind the soldiers’
horses, but when the Captain had caught her and they had joined the group again, he was gone. The Captain had been proud of whatever plan he had had, which must have been circling around behind her, knowing full well that she would see him with them. After they were out of sight, they must have left him somewhere. Still, it didn’t make any sense and she didn’t try to figure it out. It only distracted her.

Growing more frustrated and anxious, Arissa found it more difficult to breathe every second. He had to have shot the Captain, it was the only logical answer. That meant he was armed, so he could defend himself for a while longer. Realizing that she hadn’t even heard the shot that had ended the Captain’s life, Arissa figured it had happened during the attack at the camp, the explosion drowning out the gunshot.

She was nearly about to turn the high-strung horse around and begin tracking back down the mountain, knowing that was where he would be moving to as quickly as possible. Just before she did, her expert tracker eyes caught a sign.

Dismounting the horse yet again, her heart beat faster as she rushed to the smooth, white tree she had seen. Holding her hand up to the stained bark, she had to bite her lip hard to keep her emotions completely at bay.

A vivid bloodstain in the clear shape of a handprint was smeared on the otherwise flawless tree. Quickly surveying the area, it was at the appropriate angle to have successfully shot the Captain, given the way his body sprawled on the forest floor.

Whatever had happened, the two men had
exchanged fire and both had been accurate. Arissa found herself literally praying aloud that Captain Lovett would be the only still body she would find and as for far as she could see into the trees, he was.

Now that she was aware, a noticeable blood trail was visible. She found clear drips on leaves and more smudged marks on trees and rocks. There was plenty of broken branches and upset undergrowth. Arissa knew he was better than that to leave such obvious signs. He must he hurt worse than she suspected, only interested in finding cover.

The soldier horse was reluctant to follow Arissa into the thick brush and narrow trees, but her patience and energy were at an all time low and she dragged the horse along with her, fervently wishing she still had Raze. That horse would go anywhere for her and she silently vowed that she would locate him again. She hoped that he was alright.

Suddenly, Arissa stopped to listen around her and she was shocked to hear a loud thrashing sound to her right. Her heart soared for a moment, thinking that she would see him for the first time in months, just on the other side of that thick bush.

Pausing for one moment to untangle her ankle from the thickets she was among, it was all the time it took for a looming hulk to charge from the green growth and clasp Arissa into a tight, gripping lock. In an instant, her arms were locked behind her and she saw another strange man advancing from where she had heard the noise.

In his hand, he gripped a long, curved
blade that had very clear signs that it was in recent combat. Nobody spoke a word, none were needed. The second man was already raising his arm to ram the blade forward on her. Her arms were locked even tighter and her foot was still snagged in the root so that she couldn’t even use her feet to defend herself.

Yet another gunshot exploded through the air and the man holding her from behind collapsed, momentarily knocking her off balance with him. The timing could not have been better, as the second man narrowly missed stabb
ing her. The blade barely grazed the edge of her arm, slicing neatly through her cloak and just touching her skin enough so that she could feel a rush of pain shoot through her.

Arissa attempted to snatch the blade from his hand, but she had already fallen too far off balance to catch it. Befo
re she could right herself, a third man entered her peripheral. She threw her arms out instinctively to block another attack, but she was surprised when the third man held the rifle in his hands high in the air, bringing it down hard into the throat of the man with the knife. With a sickening, choking sound, he collapsed into a writhing heap.

Not bothering to look up or even question what had happened, Arissa struggled to free herself from the
thicket where the two men who had attacked her lay. Feeling disoriented and confused, her eyes darted behind her and saw the horse she had been forced to let go of. In an attempt to flee, the horse’s equipment had snagged on a tree limb and now the bay mare stood, stuck and helpless.

Suddenly remembering the third man, Arissa whirled, her dark eyes wide with terror and adrenaline. He stood no more than five paces before her, completely covered in a dark, billowing cloak, the hood drawn low over his eyes. His shoulders heaved, as if winded and didn’t move an inch while Arissa pulled herself to her full height.
The binding around her wrists had loosened enough that she simply slipped it off over her hands.

Not knowing who the stranger was, she braced herself for another attack, regretfully feeling the small part of her that dared to hope. She shoved it down, under the pain and torture and resentment she felt. Feeling unnerved by the figure’s lack of movement, she suddenly reached down for her knife.

Her knife was gone. She had forgotten that she had used it to kill one of the men at the camp. Now she was totally defenceless.

Finally, he reached up and gripped the edge of his hood. Feeling her heart racing, pounding viciously in her ears, Arissa choked down her air, her muscles bunched and tensed to spring.

The hood fell from his face, completely revealing his identity and immediately, Arissa felt herself crumpling inside. For a moment, she felt everything and nothing at the same time. Neither her mind nor her body could comprehend what was happening, but in the next moment, a smile struck over her dampened face.

His expression seeme
d to match what she was feeling exactly and when he returned her look of relief and sorrow and joy and defiance, Arissa clapped her hand over her mouth, hardly able to control her emotions.

He took a haggard step toward her and all within a split second, Arissa could tell how different he looked. He looked worn and tired, as if he had literally been to hell and back. Multiple bruises and cuts marred his face
, and his hair was a lot longer than she remembered, but it was still him. It was who she had been searching for months to find and he was here now. And he was alive.

“
Cayl,” she gasped, raggedly when she met his weak and trembling embrace.

Chapter Twelve

Escaping the Varkland mountains had not been as difficult as it was finding a settlement that lacked security enough for them to sneak through without being recognized. There had been no hesitation in descending the treacherous mountains on the nervous bay horse, but the same feeling of tension and paranoia that Arissa had been feeling for weeks still lingered. She never let go of his hand once during the entire journey to the village they were in now, and she was sure that her heart rate would never again return to a normal pace. Several times she had to close her eyes for a moment and concentrate, thinking hard enough to make sure that she wasn’t just dreaming.

The village they
were in was not so much a city as a small clearing with several burned and dilapidated buildings. Only a handful of people were around, obviously travellers stopping to take shelter, like Arissa and Cayl. The most they had for a guard was one older man with a machete standing at the top of the path that lead to the spaced building. He grumbled in an unintelligible speech and, after they showed him that they held no military grade weapons, he waved them past.

They both felt as if they’d been shell-shocked, not exactly knowing what to say or do. Arissa now realized that a part of her had been convinced she would never see him again and now she felt utterly shocked.

Staying hidden beneath their cloak hoods, they chose the farthest building away, hidden deep under the collapsed, burnt rubble of the frame that used to be a building. A cheap wall had been tacked against the one pre-existing wall, creating a natural shelter. It was better than nothing and the other travellers didn’t pay any attention to them.

Arissa waited for Cayl to dismount the horse first, grimacing as she watched him stumble when his feet met the even ground. She followed suit, quickly sweeping the equipment from the horse, except the bridle, which she knotted the reins together to form a makeshift lead rope. She tied the horse to
a tree, in reach of grass and they both ducked inside the shabby canopy, all without a word.

The interior was dark, the only light seeping
in was from the early dawn light shining through the cracks of the walls. A damp chill had settled into Arissa’s bones while on the mountain and even though the temperature was noticeably warmer now, she still felt the aching cold.

Cayl moved differently than she remembered, Arissa noticed, as he slowly made his way across the room clut
tered with broken pieces of wood and broken glass. He was thinner, too, lacking a bit of the muscle tone he always carried before. Arissa didn't doubt that she was thinner and paler than she had been three months ago, as well. Stress, lack of sleep and not eating properly was really beginning to take its toll on them both.

Arissa almost felt awkward, unsure how to speak or act to him. It was a relief to have him back again, of course, but after so much time apart, it was difficult to adjust so quickly back again. She had no idea what he had been through in the last months, hesitant of whether or not she should advance to him or give him space. His eyes were shifty, almost as if he was thinking the exact same thoughts that she was.

“You were bleeding,” she heard herself say. After the attack he had saved her from in the mountains, she had been too shocked and disoriented to remember, but suddenly, now it dawned on her.

“
I’m alright. It’s just a graze,” he said, quietly. His voice was a lot rougher and gravelly than it had been. Immediately, he tossed the trailing billows of his cloak over his shoulder, wincing noticeably, and revealed a red, saturated bullet wound, just above his left hip.

Her heart sank at the sight of it, unable to take her eyes from the grotesque sight. He kept one hand pressed firmly against the wound, but it was obvious he was in a lot of pain.

Arissa suddenly thought of her own wound that she had been trying to ignore and instantly, she knew something in her expression gave it away. Cayl didn’t hesitate to close the small gap between them, taking her arm gently and pulling away the fabric of the torn cloak. She felt her muscles spasm before she could hide it and revealed a long, thin slice across the back of her arm, near her elbow. A dried trail of blood had dripped down nearly the entire length of her arm.

“
You’re hurt, too,” he stated, meeting her tired gaze with his own hazy eyes.

“
I’ll survive until we can get back to Daer.”

A snap of fire burst into his eyes for a moment at the mention of their homeland. His hand still lingered on her arm, but Arissa could feel a slight tremble in his touch.

“You can’t possibly be thinking of going back? After what happened, going back now...we would just be handing ourselves over to the firing squad.”

“
Don’t tell me that you’ve forgotten what we had to leave behind,” Arissa’s voice wasn’t nearly as stable as she wanted. She was very close to crumpling and giving in to her emotions, even against her strongest attempts to push it away.

Cayl let his hand drop from her arm, once again clutching his wound. His face was twisted in agony.
“Of course not. I’m just saying that we can’t go back yet.”

“
We can’t spend the rest of our lives running, Cayl! That’s all I’ve done my entire life and I’m tired of it!”

Arissa could plainly see how difficult it was for him to remain even slightly composed. All she wanted to do was let go of the distant feeling that had settled between them and hold onto him, never having to let go again. Memories of their life before wanted to stream through her mind, but she stopped them, knowing she couldn’t succumb to that right now.

For a moment, a familiar feeling of connection hit her, when she stepped forward to support him, while he slowly lowered himself to the floor of the shack. It was a familiar feeling to her, suddenly no longer feeling the need for words, as if he could already read what she feeling.

Obviously
he was injured a lot worse than he let on. Now was not the time to discuss their plan to escape the General’s clutches. Now was the time to finally allow herself feel relief for the first time that day and let it sink in that she was
finally
with Cayl again.

He began shaking worse than he had been
, and Arissa rearranged their cloaks so that it formed a partial blanket at least. She was too choked up to speak and too worried and frightened to do anything else.

Letting herself slowly slide to the ground beside him, Arissa was careful of both of their injuries. She felt a wave of warmth suddenly wash through her when his quivering hand caught hers, holding it close to him.

Unable to sleep, Arissa spent the coming hours huddled against the man she had longed for so severely for so long. He drifted in and out of consciousness, confirming Arissa’s suspicions that his wound was much worse than either of them thought.

His body became hotter
as well, signalling a fever. As he slept and trembled through the rest of the night, he never let go of her hand.

For the first time in a very long time, Arissa finally let her tears of anger and frustration, sorrow and worry flow freely. She was tired of remaining strong for so many years, unable to ever let go of her emotions. Cayl had been the only one she could express herself with, and now that she found him, she had to find a way to keep him alive.

“I love you,” the words escaped her lips so softly she couldn’t even hear them herself. He responded with a quick, fluttering squeeze of her hand. Arissa let her head rest gently against his shoulder, feeling a new flood of tears dampen her eyes.