The Keepers of Eternity

XIV

About a half-day's ride out of the city, Blaise finally was able to relax. He had gone through enough hell in the past twenty-four hours--from trying to get that girl to stop thrashing...to finding a decent amount of rubbish to load onto his newly-acquired wagon...to remaining as secretive as possible when being inspected by those Rvyni guards whilst leaving the city. He had shifted ages so often that his head felt fuzzy.

But out here on one of the wide country roads of southern Rvyn...he finally felt at ease. There were no travelers on the more obscure paths such as the one he was on now...just him and his two horses and the princess. So close. He thought with a grin. Three weeks and then I will have the Indelina.

It felt good for things to finally fall into place.

A loud banging from the cart behind him told Blaise that the girl had finally woken from her nap. Her...induced...nap. Honestly, there was no other way for her to stay quiet other than to sedate her with a thump on the head. If she made a racket when he was passing through the city, people might start to suspect, and he couldn't let that happen less the city watch be called.

Blaise reigned in the horses, leading them slightly off of the gravel road as to not block the way in case other travelers actually did decide to come this direction. After securing the leather reigns, he hopped off of his perch at the top of the wagon and glided around to the back, where he jumped on again and pulled off the top of a particularly large crate.

The girl sat huddled inside, a profound sense of anger glistened in her wide brown eyes, and beads of sweat specked on her forehead. She looked terrible. He had to get her out of here before she died of dehydration...Thadan wouldn't be pleased if Blaise let the Heir actually die before it was time. So, he pushed over the barrel and spilled the girl onto the cluttered floor of the wagon. She immediately thrashed around like a fish out of water, but Blaise—now in his twentysomething form—was much stronger. He gathered the ropes which bound her wrists and ankles and secured them to a metal hook that he'd installed just the very night before.

"There you go." Blaise said, elated. "Much better than that box!"

Blaise took the girl's muffled screams as agreement. He sauntered to a nearby crate and pulled out a large skin of fresh water. Then he went back to the girl and removed the gag.

She said immediately: "You...little...bastard!"

Blaise tossed the skin of water onto her lap, and then crossed his arms, grinning.

She looked down at the skin and then back at Blaise. "You know I can't open it with my hands tied!"

"Exactly."

"Then untie me, you twerp!"

Blaise sat down and leaned back against some rubbish. "No."

Smoke practically hissed out of her ears. "Why? Are you afraid that I'll strangle you? Is that it?"

"No." So aggressive. He shook his head. "Because if I untie you, then you will escape, and I won't get my reward."

"You're a bounty hunter." That wasn't a question.

Blaise gritted his teeth. He hated being called that. He didn't serve anyone but himself. Still, just a few weeks ago, he had practically sworn allegiance to Thadan and Purlip... which disgusted him. He had been a complete idiot. "Let's just say that I'm trading you for something very valuable, Princess."

The girl stiffened. "Say that again."

Blaise rolled his eyes. "Princess. But I'm using it in this case just to annoy you."