An Axe in the Flames

Despondency

"One day's march from setting up camp outside of the archer's range," Minnow said as he walked around triumphantly, his chin in the air and wild eyes darting between the girls.

Pela was still unconscious, her deep breathing creating puffs of white fog around her face. There was a crispness to the air that burned the lungs, while the skies were painted the deep gray from the present snowstorm. Her body lay straightened but limp on a hastily made litter that sat on the carpeted ground. It was fairly warm inside Minnow's elaborate tent compared to the outside, but Anese still shivered. Something seemed very off with the man, namely the fact that he would hold his arms to his side and pretend that his hands were mouths and make them talk. She had never seen this kind of behavior before, but as alarming as it was to watch, she felt he was dangerous. Hanging on by a thread before he goes crazy kind of dangerous.

Anese sat next to the litter and stroked Pela's hair, not because it calmed her unconscious friend but because Anese was terrified. Draxx and Amery had been taken off, and Pela was unresponsive for some reason. She was alone and could only imagine what a deprived liege Lord like Minnow could want. Minnow walked around behind her and made a sound like he was hissing. Holding his hands up like he was imitating snakes, he began to talk again.

"One day, after a celebrated night of entertainment."

That was the right hand supposedly speaking, though all the words came from Minnow's mouth.

"We should offer our new friend a part in the games."

The left hand this time, as the right hand nodded. Minnow just watched and moved his eyes toward each hand that was speaking. He smiled grimly at Anese as he leaned down toward her.

"I think she would love that. Though we will have to pry her from the threads of the unconscious Pela." The actual Minnow said.

She spun around to face him but quickly tempered herself, "What games? What will you do with Pela? Just turn her in and over to the madman?"

Minnow smiled, and there seemed to be venom behind it; his eyes were wide, but there was a distance to the gaze. His right hand came up and slightly bobbed back and forth in front of Anese's face.

"You won't be a big part of the games, just a surprise addition when it looks like things might be dulling."

The voice was quite different from what Minnow used when speaking as himself. It was sultry and thick and dripped with hanging S sounds.

"What about Pela? I don't care about me, but what about her?" She blurted out as she scooted closer to her friend, her swollen lip slurring her speech.

"Hmmm, truly undecided. We won't play with her tonight, though she can watch. We'll bring her into battle tomorrow, leading from the front." The left hand said.

"Leading from the front? What do you mean?" Anese whimpered.

Minnow smiled again, and cold chills ran down her spine as she cowered closer to Pela, "She'll be at the forefront of my army, riding a Fire Snake. We'll let the Emerald army decide how valuable she is and ensure that Lucan also shows up."

She looked down at Pela, her eyes fluttering beneath her closed lids, and shook her head, "You can't give her to him. He'll kill her."

Minnow's right hand darted towards Anese's face and stopped only a hair short, "What he does is what he will if he is the one I believe him to be."

The one he believes him to be? What did that mean? She stared down at the closed eyelids of Pela and thought for a moment. What had happened to her friend in the prisoner cart? One minute, she was wide-eyed and watching the commotion; the next, she was unconscious but fervently dreaming as her eyelids fluttered every few seconds.