Dark Again

Chapter 6~ Damien

Well, I didn't have to worry long about what she would do now that we were alone, because she whipped out a dagger and leveled it at me. 

"Get up," she said in that voice like a long drink of water on a hot day. Nice, but so so cold. 

"Where are we going?" I asked. Her gaze sharpened on me, sizing me up. Her head cocked to the right, like it didn't make sense for me to question her. She shook it off. 

"Don't ask questions. Get up."

I did as she said. What else was I supposed to do? She was ready to skewer me. There was no point in arguing. Heh, get it? Point, she has a knife? 

My humor gets worse when I'm in dangerous situations.

I almost slipped in the trolls' blood getting out of the clearing. She steered me by knife-point for what must have been hours, until it started getting dark. 

"Sit there and don't move, or I may be forced to take drastic measures."

But I had noticed something, and whatever pops into my head tends to come out my mouth. "Or what? You'll kill me? Your master said they wanted me. And aren't they already mad at you?"

"Shut your mouth!" she snapped. "It's none of your business. You're just a job."

"Now we both know that isn't true." I met her gaze. "I'm a person. I have a soul, just like you." I risked putting my hand on her leg. Honestly, I thought she was going to cut me hand off and feed it to me for supper. But no, she just jerked away after a moment and started to collect a pile of wood and leaves. I was the one who had been laying on those most of the day, so I knew that there was no way she could make a fire with those damp leaves.

"That won't wor--"

"Naset," she said to the pile of dead foliage. Immediately, a spark grew and glowed and the fire started to consume the pile. "You were saying?" she raised her eyebrows at me. "Now. Do you want to freeze your rear off over there, or do you want to brave sitting by me?"

"Depends. Where's your knife?" She laughed, a sound that warmed me to my toes. There was a rustle in the bush behind me. Her face turned to stone in a moment. Suddenly, there was a knife in her hand. Without making a sound, she raised one finger to her lips, yelling at me with her eyes to be quiet. Something shiny flew over my shoulder into the bush. 

The girl got to her feet and paced to the bush, she brushed it aside and held up the now dead rabbit. 

"Dinner's on, scaredy boy," she grinned.