The Warrior Elf (81 page)

Kevin laughed. “I imagine Ainsley would agree with her on that.”

“She does. The two of them have been spending a lot of time together since Fenway closed the kitchen.”

“Doesn’t Ainsley still wait on the customers?”

Rhianna nodded. “But she’s not needed until lunchtime, and since they’re not serving food, they don’t have many customers for lunch. They’re still busy at night though.”

“Do you think he’ll start serving meals again?”

“Only if he can find a cook. Ainsley wants to get Blair in there, but I can’t see her leaving the chapel.”

“I don’t know. She might, and judging by the few times I’ve eaten her food, she’d be good.”

“I’ve eaten a lot of her food, and Fenway’s business would be booming if she was cooking there, but she’s loyal. The sisters took care of her when she needed it. She won’t leave them easily.”

“Well, the one who took care of her was Theresa, and she’s gone now. Anyway, time will tell.”

After they finished eating, Kevin walked Rhianna and Nikki to the stable where Corin was waiting.

“Are you coming out later?” Rhianna asked as she mounted the unicorn.

“After dinner.”

“Then we’ll wait for you before we go for a walk.” Rhianna snapped her fingers to get Nikki’s attention. “Come on, girl. Let’s go see Shelley.”

~ ~ ~ ~

As the day wore on, Shana felt worse and worse. She’d gone to Rhianna’s training session, but had been so jittery Rhianna made her stop for fear she’d hurt herself. Shana blamed it on a headache and left the practice field. She wasn’t lying about her head. It was bad enough she could barely prepare lunch. Laryn became so concerned she took her to Sister Agnes.

When they reached the chapel, Sister Agnes examined Shana and insisted she lie down for a while. “I’ll bring you some tea that will take care of your headache, but while I’m fixing it, I want you to close your eyes and try to relax.”

Shana closed her eyes and tried not to think. She let her mind drift as her body relaxed. After a few minutes, she realized she had to tell Myron everything. It was the only way she’d ever get any peace. She’d go see him just as soon as her head quit hurting. She knew she’d be in trouble for spying, and Myron could do whatever he wanted to with her, but she would beg him to find some way to save her parents. They were innocent in all of this, just like Rhianna and Landis, and she’d do whatever she could to save them.

When Sister Agnes came back with the tea, Shana leaned up and drank it down.

“Lie back and close your eyes for a minute,” Sister Agnes said, “and your headache will soon be gone.” She spread a blanket over Shana and pulled the door to as she left the room. Then she went to the front parlor where Laryn was waiting.

When Sister Agnes walked in, Laryn stood up and asked, “What’s wrong with her?”

“I have no idea,” Sister Agnes said as she sank down on the couch. When she saw how worried Laryn looked, she shook her head. “I didn’t mean it like that. Come on, sit down.” After Laryn sat back down, Sister Agnes explained. “I know what’s wrong with her physically. She needs sleep. That’s where the headache’s coming from. I doubt she’s slept more than a couple of hours in several days.” Sister Agnes paused. “What I meant is I don’t know what’s bothering her. She’s awfully upset and nervous about something, but she’s not saying what. I couldn’t get her to open up to me. Do you think she’ll talk to you?”

Laryn shook her head. “I’ve been trying to find out what’s worrying her for two days now. All I could get out of her was that her head hurts. If she was willing to talk to me, I think she would have by now.”

“Does she have any close friends? Anyone she confides in?”

“Not that I know of. She’s been a bit of a loner ever since her parents left.”

Sister Agnes thought for a moment and shook her head. “If she won’t talk to us, we can’t do anything to help with the big problem, but I can do something about the headache. The tea I gave her will put her to sleep and keep her sleeping for around eight hours. When she wakes up, I’ll get some food in her and send her right back to sleep. Maybe she’ll be able to figure out how to handle whatever’s bothering her once she gets some rest.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Meanwhile, the assassins were getting in position. Correll had seen Saryn fall out of the tree when Rhianna’s knife hit him, so he found a good spot on the ground between a bush and a large tree. He figured he could fire through the bush, and if he missed, or if the elf translocated, he’d duck down behind the bush and hide. He had three arrows that had been dipped in the opium sap, but he wasn’t sure the opium would knock the elf out, which was another reason he opted for a spot where he could hide. He didn’t want to give her a target if that stuff didn’t work.

Fasil found a spot a hundred feet from the bush where Correll was waiting. He ducked behind a stack of lumber between the shed and the garden. As long as he stayed down, he wasn’t visible from either the garden or the house. If Rhianna went to the shed he might have a problem, but as long as he kept the lumber between them, she wouldn’t be able to see him, and he wasn’t worried about anyone else showing up back there. The only other woman he’d seen out back over the past few weeks had been the one who owned the house, and the few times he’d seen her, she’d been with Rhianna.

Amos had liberated a buggy from Fenway’s barn. He knew Fenway and his daughter would both be at the tavern, so no one would notice anything was missing until long after they were done. He didn’t know about anyone else, but as soon as Rolan collected the elf, he was leaving. No way he wanted to be anywhere around when Myron found out someone had taken his elf.

Bruno was in the buggy with Amos. They were parked inside the woods a hundred yards from Rhianna’s gardens. They were close enough Correll could carry the elf to the buggy, but far enough away not to be spotted.

Bruno had some extra opium sap with him in case it didn’t work as well on the elf as it had on the farmer, but he hoped he wouldn’t need it. Even if he didn’t use any extra, he was afraid he wouldn’t have enough to keep the elf unconscious if Rolan waited until morning to pick her up. He’d already decided if she was still with them at sunset, he’d have to push his luck and go back to the chapel garden to see if he could collect some more sap. He really hoped that wouldn’t be necessary. He wanted to get this mess over with and the elf off their hands before they all got caught - or worse.

~ ~ ~ ~

Shelley knew Nikki would be coming home with Rhianna, so she was waiting right inside the front door when they got there. As soon as Rhianna let Nikki in, Shelley grabbed the pup around the neck and buried her face in Nikki’s fur. “Ooh, Nikki,” she sighed. “I’ve missed you so much!”

While Shelley nuzzled Nikki’s neck, Rhianna went upstairs to change into some old clothes. By the time she came back down, Shelley and Nikki were in the front parlor playing tug-of-war with a piece of rope Doreen had given them. At the moment Nikki was winning and Shelley was all giggles as Nikki pulled her around the room.

“I’m heading out back,” Rhianna said to Neisha, who was sitting off to the side sewing a new dress for Shelley. “Want me to take Nikki with me?”

Neisha smiled and shook her head. “They’re fine. I’ll keep an eye on them.”

“Just let Nikki out the back door when she wants out. She’ll find me.”

Neisha nodded, still smiling as she watched her daughter play with a dog who was as tall as she was.

As Rhianna went down the hall, she stuck her head in Doreen’s office to say hi. “I’m going out back for a while unless there’s something you want me to do.”

Doreen shook her head. “I want to enter these last few charges in my ledger and then I’m done. I’ll be out there before long.”

“You want to work in the garden?”

Doreen shrugged. “That or build something. I’ve been in here long enough. If I don’t do something physical, I’m going to get irritable. I can feel it coming.”

Rhianna laughed and headed outside. She stopped by the shed to pick up the wheelbarrow, her gloves, and the small tools she used for weeding.

As Rhianna settled down to work in the garden, Correll slipped an arrow out of his quiver and got ready to shoot. He carefully shifted around until he was on his knees and then positioned his bow so the arrow poked through the top of the bush. As he slowly pulled back to fire, the back door of the house opened and Nikki rushed out. When Rhianna heard the door slam shut, she stood up and turned towards the house.

Correll smiled to himself. He couldn’t ask for his target to be in a more perfect position. He pulled back a little bit more and fired his arrow right as Nikki leapt up to greet Rhianna, but as Nikki jumped, Rhianna heard the faint twang of the bowstring as it was released. She was gone before the arrow cleared the bush.

The arrow grazed the top of Nikki’s shoulder, and with a terrified yelp, she fell to the ground and whimpered.

Shelley, who had followed Nikki through the back door, saw Nikki jerk and fall to the ground. She screamed as she ran towards the wounded and frightened pup. She fell down beside Nikki and held her tight as her tears mixed with the blood from Nikki’s shoulder.

Meanwhile, Rhianna wasn’t in the archer’s sight anymore. She’d translocated twenty feet away. Before her feet were set, she had a knife in each hand, scanning for the archer.

Correll crouched down behind the bush, barely daring to breathe as he nocked another arrow. He had enough opium-tipped arrows for two more shots, but before he could shoot, he had to find his target. He tried to listen for her, but Shelley’s screams drowned out everything else. He was going to have to risk peeking through the top of the bush.

Rhianna was watching for movement, any kind of movement, and the slight shake of a couple of branches on the bush didn’t escape her attention. She didn’t let anything distract her as she waited for her target to show himself.

Correll eased back on his knees and straightened up enough to peek through the branches. He spotted Rhianna a second before her knife tore through his arm and pinned it to the tree behind him. He felt the bite of the knife and tried to bring his arm down to his side, but it wouldn’t budge. He dropped his bow and reached up with his other hand to try to dislodge the knife, but a second knife whizzed by his shoulder, grabbing a piece of his tunic and pinning it to the tree. Correll took a deep breath and held perfectly still as he stared at the elf who had yet another knife in her hand. He couldn’t hear her over the child’s screams, but he knew what she’d said. “Move again and you die.”

As soon as she heard Shelley’s scream, Doreen jumped up and ran outside. It didn’t take more than a second for it to register that Nikki was down and Rhianna was ready for battle. Doreen ran into the shed and grabbed the first thing she saw that could be used as a weapon, a shovel with a big metal head. Once she was back outside, she scanned the area, looking for any intruders. She quickly spotted a man crouched down behind the lumber she had stacked off to the side. She slowly and carefully made her way around behind him until she was within a few feet of his back. She planted her feet and raised the shovel.

Fasil was so focused on the scene playing out between Rhianna and Correll he had no idea he wasn’t alone. He was raising his bow to take aim at Rhianna when Doreen’s shovel crashed down on his head.

Neisha had been behind Doreen, but not by much, and on her way out, she grabbed the big bell sitting on the shelf Doreen had built beside the door. She began swinging the bell before she cleared the door, and she didn’t stop as she raced towards her frantic daughter.

Back in the woods, Corin raised his head and listened. The noise was coming from the house where Rhianna lived. He bolted through the woods, jumping bushes, running over small trees, and smashing through the brush. A couple of minutes later, he charged into Doreen’s backyard, planting himself between Rhianna and her attacker.

As he reared and pawed the air, Rhianna said, “Thanks, Corin, but it’s all right. I’ve got him.”

The war unicorn walked over to Correll, snorted, and nosed his bow out of his reach. Then he stepped out of Rhianna’s line of fire and stood ready to attack at the slightest provocation.

Marcus was finishing Tolliver’s roof when he heard the clang of a bell. He looked around but he didn’t see anything nearby, so he rose up above the trees to see if he could spot anything. Before he reached the treetops he heard a second bell, this time coming from behind him. Korman was alerting the castle.

He scanned the surrounding area until he realized that whatever the problem was, it was in Doreen’s backyard. As his seeing eye focused on the area, he saw Rhianna with a knife in her hand, Corin ready to fight, and someone on the ground. As he focused on the person on the ground, he saw Shelley and blood.

He had started flying in that direction when he saw Hayley run down the chapel steps. He lowered himself to the ground and asked, “Want a lift?”

Hayley frowned. “As in fly?”

Marcus nodded as he gathered her beside him and lifted both of them back up in the air.

“Let me down!” Hayley gasped as she grabbed hold of him. “I’m scared of heights!”

“Relax, we’ll be there in a moment,” Marcus said as they floated over treetops and buildings on their way out of town. “Look, over there.” Marcus pointed towards Doreen’s backyard.

When Hayley first looked, all she could see were small figures on the ground. She wasn’t sure who was who, but as they got closer, she started sorting things out. “Let me down over there.” She pointed towards Neisha and Shelley. “I’m not sure who, but someone’s hurt.” As they got closer, Hayley gasped. “It’s Nikki. She’s bleeding. Hurry, Marcus. I need to get to her.”

Hayley was all but running before Marcus could set her down on the ground. As soon as he touched down, she took off towards Nikki. As she knelt beside the pup and eased Shelley back, Shelley asked, “Is she going to die?” choking on the words.

“No, honey,” Hayley said as she put her hand over the wound on Nikki’s shoulder. “It’s only a flesh wound. She’ll be fine.”

Neisha eased her daughter out of the way. “Are you sure? She’s not acting right.”