Redemption

Chapter Two

Alastair and his horse both were about ready to drop. He knew he couldn't push the horse much further and it was getting so damn cold...he tried to use what was left of his strength to create a magical barrier against the cold and it helped, but not much. Without shelter, they would both die in this blizzard. Alastair was nearly in a panic; he didn't know where to go, he was lost, he'd never been this far north before. He heard the thundering sound of his pursuer's hooves over the frozen tundra. He hadn't thought they would chase him this far..

Arrows flew past his head and he ducked down, swearing, tears leaking from his eyes. He couldn't disappoint his mother and die out here; she would never know what happened and he would never be able to save her and Alex if he died here. He hunkered down over his horse and pulled her hard to the right, heading towards the trees. It was a bad decision, one made in a panic; an arrow sunk into the Alastair's leg, pinning him to the horse who fell and pinned his other leg. The horse screamed as it fell, drowning out Alastair's cry. He'd never felt pain like this before.

The seven men chasing them shot him with another arrow that hit him high on the right shoulder. It wasn't fatal thankfully, but it took the air out of him and he laid there, the cold seeping into his bones as the men dismounted their horses near him. Alastair stared at the sky in disbelief; this couldn't be how it ended...

Niko raised his bow, pulling the string back and letting the arrow fly over the tundra where it sliced through the ice skull of the wraith he had been hunting. It fell to the ground and Niko jogged over the distance, his white stained leather made him blend into the snowy backdrop. He reached the corpse and gathered the ice like body of the wraith, packing it into his bag which he slung across his body. He'd gotten three of them and couldn't carry anymore; he would have to come back another day but as it stood, three entire corpses of Ice Wraiths would fetch a pretty price. He started heading back to the cabin when he saw a scene unfolding in the small valley between the hills. A man and his horse were falling down onto the snow, seven other riders closed in.

Niko crouched down and Isa flew off to circle above them. He heard her in his mind, describing the scene to him, "The man on the ground has been shot twice and his horse is wounded as well. The other men are...speaking amongst themselves. It's not pretty."

Niko waited and felt her indignation spark, "They are Vitris soldiers..."

Niko's anger flared dangerously in his chest as he thought to Isa, "Who is the man?"

"I am unsure. But they are going to kill him. What do we do, Niko?" Isa asked him calmly.

Niko didn't want to get involved, but he couldn't let some random stranger be killed in front of him, it wasn't right. Not when he had the capability to help. He stood up slowly, and aimed his bow, pulling back the string, the arrow already knocked. He let out a slow breath and releases the arrow. The arrow flew from his bow with lightning speed, the strength of the draw was so massive Niko was the only one capable of drawing back the bow which had been custom forged with carbon and steel and enchanted never to break. The arrow hit the first man and flew straight through him, embedding itself into a tree at the edge of the forest, twenty feet behind him. Niko fires two more arrows, killing two more before the remaining men spot him as he began to head down the rise.

Alastair gasped as he saw the first man fall, he had been astonished at the velocity the arrow had gone through the man. Two others fell as Alastair saw the man and his incredulity rose; how was the man firing with such velocity at such a distance? Theoretically that would be impossible; the drawback on the bow he was using would have to be beyond the physical strength of any man. But as Alastair watched, he stranger in white drew the bow back like it was nothing as he slid down the hillside, snow and ice tumbling down before his feet.