His Darling

His Darling | 9

                                                     CHAPTER NINE.

I fell, unable to keep my balance, my arm receiving my crashing weight and tearing against the hardness of the road. Ignoring the flaring burn, I rolled on my back quickly, unsteadily dragging myself again from the girl who'd been pointing an arrow at me.

My hands met dirt and sharp rocks. And my hand encircled around one of the rocks almost instinctively to defend myself. But, suddenly, the girl was on me, arm and arrow drawing. The noise in the background only made me assume the worst. I could hear the clanking of metal against metal, the screams and shouts like nails dragging across a chalkboard. The girl smiled wickedly like she was enjoying herself. "Politics," she said. "Nothing personal. Even though this is rather fun."

I cried out and threw the spiky rock at her face, not before she moved her aiming unbelievably fast and shot an arrow right through my forearm, forcing me to let go of the heavy stone in my hand as the shock registered raw and vigorous. I screamed, jerking my injured arm, appalled, not really knowing if it was pain I was experiencing or the hit rush of adrenaline.The arrow was stuck in the dirt and my face scrunched up in pain or frustration--I didn't know. Blood burst out and streamed down my arm.

I looked up the girl through watering eyes to find that she had drawn another arrow.

"Farewell," she said, and her fingers loosened--

Then she barely gasped, and fell to her knees, her eyes wide, staring into mine. I saw a familiar sword pierce through her chest, blood dripping from it and falling on my pants.

She tried to say something, but her mouth was full of blood. She coughed and blood sprayed out, spotting my face. My stomach did flips and I fought the urge to puke. I stared as she fell face first to the ground beside me.

I blinked hard and was grabbed and pulled to my feet. It was Xander. Bloody and dirty. He swore when he saw my arm.

I should've felt pain. I know it. But all I was going through was a strange exhilarating sensation, annoyance, and sickness. When I looked down my hands were shaking violently. "I'll just yank it out," I mumbled, grabbing the arrow.

"No!" Xander stopped me before I could do anything else. He looked at me like I was out of my mind. "Are you fücking nuts? Don't ever do that. Come on, we gotta leave."

"Then let's go." I attempted to walk but everything began to blur and spin. I blinked and shook my head to clear it, gave another couple of steps to see the world tilt. I was falling. That's when I felt Xander take hold of me and lift me up carefully.

"Just leave me," I said when he began to walk. "Let me die."

The silence that followed compared to the chaos minutes ago was overwhelming. "Don't be so dramatic." His arms tightened around me.

"I should kïll you right now,"

The rush in my veins was beginning to subside and I was becoming aware of my arm. For instance, I felt a hot pressure that only got worse as seconds passed by. My eyes flickered downward to find my sweater soaked in warm fresh blood.

A sharp sudden pain shot through my arm. A gasp escaped my lips. I felt my body jerk and I cried out as my eyes watered. "Xander--"

"I know," he said in a voice tinged with worry, and I realized he knew all along that this would happen. His arms loosened around me as he placed me in the backseat of the car.

He shut the door and opened the one to the driver's seat.

The pain was unbearable. My face was wet with tears and sweat. I shut my eyes tightly as the car hummed to life.