Iron and Wood #Wattys2017

Chapter Four

The last of the light had disappeared by the time the horse came to a halt, panting, on the bank of a river. The smooth black water was quiet compared to the wind rustling through the trees, and even the crickets seemed to have given up their song. An owl hooted softly.  The horse's hooves thudded on the slippery banks, as Shal reluctantly let it lower it's head to drink.

She was distinctly aware of the girl's breathing, and the smell of her skin and hair—sweet from soaps and shampoos.  Shal shook her head, checking over her shoulder for pursuers.   She had never been this close with a human she did not intend to kill.

Shal realized this as the girl raised a shaking hand to wipe her eyes, and then hugged herself, her face concealed.  A sick taste came into the Templar's mouth.

Ella started as a cloud of bats flapped through the branches, banking up towards the inky sky. Shal shook herself back into alertness. She nudged the horse down to walk through the water, erasing their scent. 

They followed the river downstream, until the water grew deeper and faster. Shal allowed the horse to clamber up onto the other side.

Here the trees were thinner in girth, but their branches and vines were so tightly entwined Shal did not know how she would navigate them in the dark. She reluctantly dismounted, peering into the shadows.

"Are we going to stop?" Ella asked tiredly.  Her voice, though quiet, was like a shout in the silence of the woods. 

Shal felt increasingly annoyed. She stretched out her hand in front of her, feeling it connect with a branch it was too dark to see.

She had ridden before in the woods by moonlight or torchlight, or on her own two legs become a stalking shadow in dark city streets, but this was something else entirely. They were enveloped by darkness, like a blindfold.

The forest was even blacker than the riverbank, and Shal took every step slowly, testing the place each step landed for roots or holes. The horse was making even more difficult progress. Eventually they came to another clearing, or at least a small break in the wall of trees.

"Here," Shal whispered, feeling along the horse's neck until her hand found Ella's. The girl's hand was smaller and softer than Shal had somehow anticipated, and she ignored the chill that ran down her spine as they touched.

She lifted the girl down to the ground, and squinting in the darkness, Shal was surprised at just how short Ella was. The girl just barely reached her shoulder, and looked even smaller wrapped in the cloak. Other than her silhouette, there was nothing Shal could make out.

"Is this the part where you tell me I'm safe now, like the heroes in the sagas do when they rescue maidens from towers?"  

"Stop shouting," Shal shushed her. "We're not safe. The Imperial trackers have definitely been mobilized by now."

"I was being sarcastic," Ella said, only a little quieter. Her voice was small, but she was clearly forcing it to be authoritative.  "I suppose you have a plan, Templar?"

"What kind of plan?" Shal took hold of the horse's reins. Stretching out her other hand in front of her, she found a branch and tied him to it.

"Of where to go," Ella said from where Shal had left her.

"I know where we're going." Shal felt more and more annoyed by the second. "Quiet down."

"Which is where?" Ella demanded, a little louder.

"Your grandfather's hall in Haugr," Shal retorted in the same tone. "Asbrandheim."

"So my father did send you," Ella said with a sigh of relief. "Holda told me the Turning was fixed. Even if it wasn't..."

"He claimed Lord Asbrandr would reward me with a fortune for your safe deliverance," Shal informed her, still standing by the horse.

"Oh."

Ella was quiet for a moment.

"So?" Shal asked tersely. "He does have the money, yes?"

"Yes."

"Well, what is it then?"

"...Nothing." Ella said.

Shal felt like pressing the issue, but did not.

"You need to sleep, don't you?" Shal rummaged in her bag and pulled out a blanket, throwing it at the girl. "Lie down on my cloak and go to sleep for a few hours."

"Don't you want it back?" Ella asked.

"I'll be fine. Maybe the cold will help me stay awake."

"You're not going to sleep?"

"No, I'm not."

It was not so chilly a night, but goose-bumps were starting to appear on Shal's arms under her armour. She saw Ella's dark form shrug and curl up among the roots of a tree, wrapping herself in the cloak and blanket.

Shal sat down against a tree with full view of her and the way back, trying to conservatively sip the pig's blood. A Templar did not need to sleep if they had access to a steady supply of blood—human blood. Shal hoped the animal's blood would keep her going until... what?

She could still smell Ella on her, pulsing with life. The blood coursed beneath her skin, exuding warmth from every pore.

Shal took another sip, swilling the blood around in her mouth before swallowing it. How long would it be until she found a human she could bite?

This is the most idiotic thing I have ever done.

Ella was breathing softly.  Shal opted to look above her instead, into the plain, black sky.