Centuries

Chapter 16

The Darkling disappeared after we made small talk for a minute or two. The clouds grew darker and it began to rain lightly. The wind was picking up as well. I briefly left my post to put on a warmer jacket. When I took it out of the bag I kept stored underneath my cot I felt the amplifier send a rush of power through me.

I snuck through the back of the tent to not wake anyone up and headed back to my post. When I got there the Darkling was waiting for me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked
"We need to go investigate the land mines and disabled them before another patrol gets to that area." he explained

I raised an eyebrow
"I just got in trouble for leaving camp. I'm not going to sneak out again."

"You got in trouble for disobeying my orders this time you'll be disobeying General Janazain's."

"Fine but I get to sleep all day tomorrow."
I said grudgingly

"Deal."

The Darkling brought a lantern with us and a match to light it once we were out of sight. We hiked to the general area where we were earlier and the Darkling showed me how to disable them. Although it was simple I was still nervous about messing something up.

I made sure that my gun was loaded and ready since the odds of having to fight were high. I was used to it at this point, I knew that the Darkling was planning another attack that would hopefully go better than last time that didn't change much now.

The Darkling and I worked for a few hours in silence. I was beginning to wonder if we'd gotten lucky and nobody would see us. I knew camps around the border were more dangerous, which was why the king always sent more grisha here. It made me worry more for Zoya.

She had never hidden her powers, she was used to her power making her safe that she probably didn't know how dangerous it could be. It wasn't even the drüskelle that made it so dangerous. It was our own people's unease or even hatred towards us that made it dangerous.

When we were finally finished the light rain had stopped and the sun was starting to rise. We were about a mile away from the camp when I heard low voices speaking in fijerdan. I looked to the Darkling to see if he heard them too.

"I can understand fijerdan, I'll go investigate, be sure to stay far enough behind me that you aren't caught if something goes wrong." whispered the Darkling

I nodded in agreement and followed him. The dense pine trees and bushes made for good cover to hide. I could see three drüskelle talking amongst themselves. I couldn't understand them but that was only because I knew very little fijerdan. I kept an eye on the Darkling who was hidden behind a bush. I saw movement from the other side of the bush.

One of them trailed away from the group. Did they hear us? I positioned myself to be more hidden. A branch snapped diverting the fijerdan's attention to my hiding spot.
The Darkling rustled the bush he was behind which diverted the fijerdan's attention to him instead.

The Darkling pulled out a pistol and shot the fijerdan before he could see the Darkling. Unfortunately that got the attention of the other two. One of them shot up a flare which meant others would be here within minutes.

I ran from my hiding spot to help the Darkling. One of the drüskelle pulled handcuffs off his belt and with his other hand lunged at the Darkling. They were targeting him which meant they must've known he was grisha although he hadn't used his powers. I heard footsteps from my right. The other fijerdans were here.

The Darkling seemed to have the other two fijerdans handled so I tried to create a distraction. I used the cut to make a tree fall in front of some of the fijerdans. It didn't do as much as I had hoped. I heard the Darkling cry out in pain and ran towards him. One of the drüskelle managed to get the handcuffs around one of his wrists. I saw blood around his hand and realized the handcuffs must've been the same kind  we had found in the forest when I first got here.

That meant his power was dampened. I had to do something before he was hurt more. It was too dangerous for me to use my gun or the cut, I waited until the Darkling was facing away from me and the two fijerdans were facing enough in my direction to blind them. I summoned a burst of light.

Both of the fijerdans yelled something. I couldn't understand them but it was safe to say that they were saying something along the lines of being blinded. I rushed to the Darkling's side and fumbled with the cuff on his wrist. It burned and my hands were bleeding but I got it off.

"Behind you!" the Darkling shouted
I forgot about the rest of the fijerdans. I barely had time to process the gunshots. The Darkling shoved me behind the nearest bush. His movements were slowed from the grisha cuffs and he stumbled awkwardly behind the bush.

I looked to the Darkling to ask what he thought we should do next and noticed blood soaking through his jacket. He'd been shot.

A fijerdan found us behind the little cover we had. The Darkling was either unconscious or barely conscious so I wasn't worried about hiding my power anymore. He probably already saw it anyways. I summoned a burst of light and blinded him. He shouted orders for everyone else to leave. I needed to get myself and the Darkling out of here before they came back.

"Why didn't you tell me you were grisha." the Darkling asked softly
"That's not important right now you just got shot."
I said while applying pressure to the wound. I shook him gently to keep him conscious.

"Can you move? We need to get back to camp."

The Darkling nodded. He relied heavily on me to help him get back to the camp. I'd give up on being subtle so I summoned the smallest amount of light to help us see. The base was only a mile away but our progress was slow and it took us almost an hour to get there.

"We need a Healer!"
I yelled once we were back at the camp. Two Healers came forward and questioned me about what happened. One of them explained to me that the Darkling would be fine in a few days.

"If you just let him die that would solve a lot of our problems."
A voice said from behind me once I was alone. It was Zoya.

"You know it's not that simple."

"It's more simple than you think," Zoya replied, "someone reported seeing a burst of light before you got here. Someone is going to find out soon."

"I'll find an excuse, I have it handled."
I wished I believed myself.