SONGS AND TRAILS (Book 1)

CHAPTER 14

They didn't know how and when but by the time they turned to the woods they saw Arabella come back with dark blood all over her hands walking, holding the head of the illusionist. Her eyes were as dark as her expression.

"Put this on Master Clint's wound." Bella told Daya handing over a vile with dark heavy liquid in it and it looked similar to the blood that leaked from the head she was holding. "It's the antidote to the poison." she finished when she saw Daya's hesitation.

Arabella then didn't utter a word but instead got to her knees in the middle of the tracks and took out her dagger while Caldor recovered from his wound at the back.

"Ms. Heydar!" Caldor carried himself to her. "What the hell! Why did you do that?"

"It likes blood." she started gauging out the eyes from the head.

Some of them gagged in disgust.

"What are you doing?" Caldor put his hand on her shoulder to stop her.

She pulled away from him and glared at him dangerously. "Don't touch me!" she warned.

Caldor was taken aback by that. He knew why she was upset with him. She had begged him not to go through the mountain but he'd ignored her. It was her way of saying this was all his fault.

He got up from her.

"We need a fire. We need a lot of wood to keep burning all night long." Bella said as she continued her gauging of its four eyes carefully.

"Won't they find us easily with a fire going?" one of them asked but Bella just glared at her and turned back to her busy work.

"I think I'm gonna..." Mia ran into a bush and threw up. It wasn't as pleasing to watch Bella gauge eyes out of the illusionist's baby head.

"Unless you want to watch me do this and end up like her, go get wood." Bella ordered. Rai was already leaving to do just that. "Don't break anything from the trees. Pick it up from the ground. It's supposed to be dry.... and don't..."

"Hey! Stop ordering us around." Eron snapped.

"I have to, apparently because when I'm nice someone might just bring over another baby for us to travel with." Bella told him.

"It's not funny. Marie might die." he told her.

"Don't cats have nine lives, she'll survive."

"Stop being such a bitch!"

Bella got on her feet. "Being a bitch is agreeing to come up here in the first place, being a bitch is picking up that damned baby, being a bitch Eron..." she held her gaze at him, "...is you standing there when I specifically told you to go get us some wood."

"You pathetic...."

"This is not the time." Daya snapped as she put a bunch down. "We're going to die here if we keep fighting."

"She's the one testing my patience." Eron defended.

"What patience, Eron?" she got back at her knees to continue with her work, "The only patience that you have is eating you alive to the fact that you were wrong."

"Excuse me!"

"It's better to admit than to die, my prince." She mocked under her breath.

"Why don't you say that straight to my face?" he challenged but she didn't even look at him. "You can't, can you? You aren't even able to stand your ground much less defend yourself. That's what brought us here in the first place."

She remained quiet and it irritated him. He wanted to take it out on her but she seemed calm ignoring him all the while.

Daya grinned at that. "Maybe you should just get wood like she said, Eron."