The Sins of the Father

Chapter Five

"My fellow valkyries, I apologize for disturbing your rest." Lucius called out, causing the crowd to go quiet. "The girl before you was found spying on our camp, having been sheltered and allowed to remain nearby by our trainee, Stephen." All eyes turned to Stephen, who stood quietly on the far side of the training yard. His eyes were red from crying, but his face was calm, focused not on the gawking valkyries but on Alexis.

Alexis was on her knees, being held there by two of the senior warriors. Her red hair was unkempt, and there was a new bruise on her cheek, but she glared fiercely at any valkyrie that dared make eye contact with her. One of her guards had a bite mark on his wrist. Did she know that they meant to kill her? Surely she did.

"What more can we expect." Cafos' bitter voice rose up from the crowd. "A betrayal from the only human among us? What a shock."

"Be silent, Cafos." Lucius rebuked him. "The girl came with intent to poison his mind, and he fell victim to her charms. Rest assured that her influence will be summarily corrected."

"You're Cafos??" Alexis's voice sent a rush of murmurs through the crowd. "You're pretty for a meathead." Her comment was rewarded by a blow to the head, and she growled. Cafos' gaze flew to Stephen, who tightened his jaw as he recognized what thoughts must be running through his head.

"If I've poisoned his mind, I don't think he wants the antidote." Alexis continued. "And you think by killing me you'll get him back on your side? You're a f-" Again she was struck, this time with enough force to make her yelp with pain.

"Keep her quiet." Lucius snapped. "In the interest of keeping our camp, and more importantly our young ones safe, this intruder must be executed." He nodded to Haliel, who drew his sword and approached her. Stephen's teeth clenched until he felt they might crack, his heart hammering in his chest as the elder stepped forward to execute his only friend.

As Haliel lifted his sword, Stephen blinked through space, snatching Alexis from the arms of her guards and teleporting into the woods.

Alexis gasped as he stumbled into a tree, momentarily disoriented as he set her on her feet. "Cutting it a little close, aren't you??"

"Shh." Stephen hissed. "Run."

"Only if you run with me." She hissed back. Stephen hesitated, then grabbed her hand and led the way.

He could hear the enraged cries from his people, his family, as he fled with her deeper into the woods. Alexis kept pace with him for a while, but eventually she began to lag, her breathing growing harsh. Stephen took the opportunity to pull her behind the trunk of a tree, guiding her to sit on the ground.

"You okay?" He asked breathlessly. His stamina was quite impressive, but even he couldn't run forever, and teleporting multiple times in quick succession took its toll. Alexis prodded at her bruised cheek, gave him a thumbs-up.

"They knocked me around a bit, but I'm fine."

"Good." Steve lowered himself to his knees in front of her, checking her over in the dim light. His heart was still pounding in his chest, adrenaline racing through his veins, but he wasn't sick with fright anymore.

"We need to get you out of these woods." He told her quietly. "Far away from here, and you need to spend the next few days as out of sight as you can. From the air, anyway. They'll be searching for you." Alexis took a deep breath, then let it out.

"Alright." She braced a hand against the tree, staggering upright again. "Not killers, huh?" Stephen grimaced and took her hand again.

"...I didn't think they were."

The two of them stayed as quiet as possible as they worked their way through the woods, eventually slowing to a walk to conserve Alexis's energy. The woods were silent, as if the nighttime creatures knew they were in danger. At one point, Stephen spotted a valkyrie flying overhead, and had them both hide until he was sure they hadn't been spotted. He had never been afraid of them before, but tonight...