The Blood in Our Veins

Chapter Fourteen - A Well-Earned Rest

I continued to mourn the loss of my powers. The shackles' unforgiving tug was seen as a punishment in my eyes, for I was unable to help my friends and family. I was only another mouth to feed. A burden, as Dimitri had so rightfully named me. My ears perked up. Wagon wheels? We had abandoned the wagon long ago.

"Sindri!" a distant voice called. Tristan? It was my imagination again. I was sure of it. I looked over to Farnoff. He didn't return my gaze. Attached to his horse's saddle was the chain of my right hand. Markus was at my left. They kept their distance from me, therefore pulling the restraints painfully taut. I shifted my gaze back to the ground.

"Sindri!" the voice called again, louder. Other heads turned. If it wasn't me... A jet black blur shot around the curve in the road. I felt nauseated. It couldn't be. He didn't care what happened to me. I knew that we were as good as enemies, but I couldn't help but worry. He was my opposite, after all. And horribly outnumbered.

I didn't worry for long. He was kicking ass. Bodies flew this way and that. Blood showered upon all of us. I lost all sense as panic set in. My only thought was to get to safety. There was a single place that  I could think of that offered this. The Palace. I could just see its towers in the valley below. If I ran fast enough, I could probably get there in about an hour.

My legs pounded against the dirt. Wind whipped against my face. A scream of terror sounded behind me. I stopped and turned to face it. My brother held Markus in the air, a knife at his throat.  "No!" I screamed. "Don't kill him!" Tristan ignored me. I watched horrified as my brother prepared to drop the man upon the weapon.

I internally debated whether or not to tell Tristan the truth. At the moment, I couldn't think of a way to say it without giving Markus a death sentence. "He holds my power!" I finally cried. My twin looked to me in total shock. I immediatley took advantage of the situation. I snapped the chain to my left over my head and used it to pull the knife away from him. The other one wrapped around his legs and tripped him. Markus fell to the ground. The chain wrapped around him and yanked him closer to me.

Only a few seconds had passed. Markus stared at me. "Whoa." I ignored him as I watched Dimitri and the others ride toward us. Turning to Markus, I placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Good luck." I said simply. Before anyone could react, I mock saluted Dimitri and ran into the woods. The shadows enveloped me completely. The brush whipped my face and arms. I sprinted as fast as I possibly could, which, admittedly wasn't very fast. My chains were surprisingly heavy. Dragging them wasn't an easy task. The sounds of pursuit met my ears. Four paws thundered behind me. I veered sharply to the left and lept into the glimmering cold of a slow-moving river. Hiding in the weeds below the surface, I watched a panther's distorted image waver. He transformed back into a human and a muffled curse met my waterlogged ears.

Something slimy slid over my foot and latched onto my ankle. I opened my mouth in a silent gasp and a single bubble escaped. I watched in horror as it slowly bobbed to the surface. I heard it pop quietly. Tristan's eyes snapped downward. I moved deeper, creating a slight disturbance on the surface. He smirked. In a flash, his hand wrapped around my arm and yanked me above the surface.

"Argh!" I cried. "Did you ever learn to knock?" Tristan raised an eyebrow. "If you'll excuse me, I have business to take care of with the creature currently eating my foot." To prove my point, I lifted it above the water, revealing an enormous fish that was attempting to swallow my leg. Its dull brown scales were the perfect camoflage for the environment. Long, sharp spines protruded from its back, similar to fins.  Only half of it was visible to us.

My eyes widened. "I don't think he wants to be kept waiting." I tried to wriggle free, but my brother had gotten considerably stronger since the last time we had met. He chuckled.

"You think I'm going to let you go after all that?" he laughed lightly. "I don't think so." I needed a way out of this. Using my free arm, I pointed behind him.

"Look! The assassins!" I yelled. Tristan's hold didn't loosen.

"Look! A forest fire!" Nothing.

"Look! An ambush!" Absolutley no response.

"Look! Its the FREAKING APOCALYPSE!" He didn't even flinch. I looked around then sighed. "I'm not getting out of this, am I?" Tristan shook his head. There was a long moment of silence.

"Hey Tristan?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

"Can you get this thing off my foot?"

He smiled and kicked it. It fell away immediatley. "You couldn't have done that earlier?" I grumbled sourly.

"Come on Sindri. Let's head back to the others." Tristan suggested. I took his hand in mine and let him lead me to the treeline. The chains clanked together as I dragged them across the ground. He glanced back at them. "We really have to get rid of those." I glared at him with a look that said 'what do you think I've been doing for the past week?'

Once we arrived at the wagon, Dimitri stared at me like I was an alien species. "What happened?" he asked, shocked.

"Are you talking about the fact that I'm soaked or that there's a hideous bite mark around my leg?" I asked sarcastically.

"I'm talking about the fact that you lost your powers." he said simply.

"Pfft. I have no idea what you're talking about." I denied. He raised an eyebrow. After a moment I sighed. "How'd you know?" I groaned. Grace gasped.

"They're gone? That's impossible." she said in disbelief. Dimitri shrugged his shoulders.

"I can't pick up anything on her, but this man is blinding me." he said. Dimitri's power was to see that of others. I spoke up immediatley.

"Markus has the ability to drain powers. It is not an experience I would reccomend." I said thoughtfully.

"WHAT?" Tristan roared. "HOW DARE YOU!" He raged forward, clenching his fist. "GIVE IT BACK TO HER! NOW!"

"I can't."