The Blood in Our Veins

Chapter Twenty Eight - Traitor Among Us

- SINDRI'S POV -

It had been four days since I had awoken. Dimitri and Tristan were taking every chance they got to train me in weapons. Dimitri often used the shortsword while I favored the war staff. We would go at it for hours, me usually striking many hard blows, laughing at how he could never even scratch me. Still, he always pressed onward, insisting that I needed more practice. I had a feeling that the practice was more for him than for me. This was one of those long days.

Dimitri had been acting strange since around two days before. He began hitting harder, the arc of his blade getting closer and closer to my flesh. I knew that something inside him had moved beyond training. It seemed more like a sense of... duty. Pride. I swung my staff toward Dimitri's leg. It connected with a loud smack. I lept back as his sword attempted to slice me in the same place.

"Come on!" I cried. "You have to try harder than that!" He made a swift stabbing motion, but I easily slid out of the way and cracked my staff over his head. He growled and lunged at me. I flipped backwards as gracefully as the breeze. His sword flew upward and bit into my staff. I slammed the wooden weapon across his shoulder, but the staff had been weakened. It snapped in two. 

"Time!" I called, holding up the pieces as proof. "Busted staff." Dimitri stood next to me.

"You did good. Remember that in actual battle, you won't have time to get a new weapon." he advised. I nodded once in thanks. Tristan was just about to toss me another staff.My back was turned to the ridge when it hit. A sharp, instantaneous pain rippled through the center of my back. My eyes widened as I recognized what had burrowed itself inside me. An arrowhead. I silently, slowly, lowered myself to the ground. I didn't crumple. I wasn't that weak anymore.

Dimitri called out to my brother, shock and horror coating his voice. But I could have sworn I had heard something else, something deeper. I carefully stood and calmly walked to the outer edge of the ring. When Tristan did nothing, I sighed, the sound slightly bubbly due to the blood filling my mouth.

"Do you mind getting me to Tara?" I asked quietly. After holding up so strong, everything suddenly seemed to move in slow motion. I fell against Tristan, and from him, to the ground. There were shouts of alarm as people realized that there was a thin shaft protruding from my back. Sounds became muffled as seconds passed, but I remained mute, determined not to let even the smallest whimper escape my lips.

Vaguely, I realized that I had been lifted onto a litter and was being carried off somewhere. I held my breath as Tara snapped the arrowshaft and pulled the iron tip from me. Before she could heal the wound itself, Dimitri entered and asked for a moment alone with me, to apologize for his carelessness. His wish was granted. He knelt next to the chair I sat in.

"I'm sorry, Sindri. Truly, I am. May I see it? The cut? I was told it wasn't deep, but I want to make sure." I nodded, allowing my trusted friend to examine the damage that had been done. He shuffled over to the place behind me. I bent forward, careful not to arch my back too much. He gasped.

"What?" I asked.

"It seems that a fracture of the arrowhead has become lodged in you." he explained. "I'll make this quick." I listened to the sound of him unsheathing his dagger. I bit my lip when I felt the blade slid into the wound. It rested there for a moment, then withdrew. A warm, sticky liquid slid down my spine. Something cool to the touch sat in its path, then wiped away the blood. There was a soft click as he put away his weapon.

"There. Done. I'll call Tara and the others." he announced. I stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"May I see the piece you pulled from me?" I asked. He shivered with disgust.

"Trust me. You don't want to."  Then he left to fetch his daughter. I lifted the arrowhead from a nearby table and closely examined it. There wasn't even a scratch, let alone a missing fragment. My brother thought that the arrow was shot from the ridge. I didn't think so. The feathered balance on the end of the shaft looked familiar. I just had to remember where I had seen it.

Images of a wagon flashed through my mind. A longbow sat in a flat, rectangular box. Picking up the broken shaft, I stood and slowly made my way to the exit. Tara stopped me, saying that she had to heal me first. I shook my head. I needed the truth. Tristan looked at me carefully.

"Where is he? Where's Dimirti?" I demanded. He pointed to the tent next to us.

"He's packing for a hunting trip." he explained. "One of his friends from town is getting here soon." I ran to Dimitri's supposed location, Grabbing him by the shoulder, I dragged him outside to the others.

Facing him, I looked into his eyes. A trace of fear flashed behind them. "Do you mind explaining how a Dark Bond works?" I asked.

"The maker collects blood from the victim. They drink part of it, then use one of the four elements to see and control the owner of the blood." he explained. "Why?"

I ignored his question. "Can the person continue the Bond after they run out of blood?" I asked. He shook his head. I smiled and shoved him into the middle of us, so that there was no escape. "Then you aren't going anywhere." Everyone looked confused but Dimitri and I. He looked around desperatley, attempting to find a way out.

"Give me your dagger." I ordered. At first he didn't, but then submitted. I stared at the weapon, not sure how it worked. Then I saw a drop of blood fall from the hilt. I grinned and flicked the flat of the blade. It spun off and fell to the ground, revealing a hollow hilt. I tipped it, and watched as crimson liquid flowed out over my hand. My suspicions were correct. I pulled a single, iron-tipped arrow from the quiver strapped to Dimitri's back. I lifted the arrow that had struck me. Side-by-side, the two were exactly alike, except for the fact that one was missing an arrowhead. Everyone stared at me in disbelief. They all knew that the evidence was indisputable. Dimitri had betrayed us.

Wild-eyed, the man lunged, tearing the hilt from my hand. He snatched the blade from the dirt and took off. He leaped onto his ready horse and bolted, leaving us in the dust. The others began to run after him, but I stopped them with a word.

"Don't bother. He's gone." Although no one wanted to accept it, we all knew it was true. Tears streamed down Tara's face. I knelt down and hugged the small girl to me. I pulled back and smiled. "Do you still want to fix me up?" I asked. She nodded and began to heal me. I could physically feel my skin pulling back together again. I sighed and stood.

Everyone watched me carefully, though their sadness was clear. "Well. That sucked."

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