The Gift

Chapter Twelve

After a couple days of Daniel tiptoeing around me and trying very hard not to upset me, I decided to forgive him.  We ended up making a deal.  When one of us told our secret, the other would as well.  Until that time, we both dropped it and fell easily back into our friendly relationship.

A week passed quietly with no attacks.  Brandon and Daniel got more and more on edge with every passing day, waiting for somebody to attack and try to use my poison against me.

“I need to restock my plants and replace the poison that was stolen,” I informed them.

“I was wondering when you would,” Daniel responded casually.

“Let’s go,” Brandon agreed.  “I’m tired of sitting around.”

“You’re the one who insists on doing so,” I told him.

We went to the herbalist and I got the plants I needed for my poison, tucking them safely in my bag.  After that, we wandered around for a while before heading back to the inn.

“I want to try to use your bow,” Brandon told me as I started working on the poison.

“Not right now, Brandon.  I’m busy.”

“Please?”

“After I get this made, we’ll go and you can try shooting it.”

“Yay!” he clapped his hands and I shook my head at his child-like behavior.

Daniel watched silently as I made my poison.  The one that had been stolen looked almost like a paste and was designed to be put on my throwing knives.  I had a brush that I used with it when I used it to coat my knives with it.

“How many different poisons do you have?” he asked as I was putting it into a vial.

“I have poisons for every use and at least two for each use in case I know that immunity has somehow been built up to one of them.  I have poison like this one to be coated on throwing knives and arrow heads, I have poisons to be put into food and into drink, poisons that can be injected directly into your system, I have poisons that are no more than powder that can be inhaled and attack your systems from there, I have poisons that are topical and only need to made contact with flesh before giving a nasty rash.”

“What use does that one have?”

“It works very quickly and distracts your opponent from the fight.  It’s sometimes easier to get that one to make contact with skin that to get a poison into a person’s system.  Sometimes, I don’t need to kill.  If I don’t have to, I don’t like to do it.  That’s why I also have a couple that just put you to sleep instead of killing, like I used that one time.”

“A rogue that doesn’t enjoy the kill,” Brandon said.

“Can you honestly tell me that you enjoy killing people?” I asked.

“I don’t enjoy it.  Nor do I hate it.  It’s just my job.  If somebody has wronged me or somebody dear to me, though, they’d better watch out.”

“I think that’s how a lot of rogues are,” Daniel mused.  “They don’t view killing somebody as anything other than a job or a form of protection.”

“I see.”

“Are you done now?  Can we go?” Brandon asked as I placed the vial of poison in its proper place in my bag.

“Let’s go,” I smiled at his exuberance.   We took my bow and quiver of arrows and went out away from the inn a bit, into the woods.

I climbed up into a tree and sat on a branch to watch as Brandon fiddled with my bow.  It was a heavy bow that shot far and fast.  He strung the bow and grinned at the twang the string made.