Forever Green

~14~ Intercepted

Theiden lengthened his strides to close the gap between himself and the witch. Questions about Helaine and Kivirra were swirling in his head, and he needed to say something.

Helaine was dead. Dead. He was struck with the renewed realization of the fact, and it left a sour taste in his mouth. Why her? What if it had been Em instead? He couldn't bear to think of the alternative. Helaine was gone, now, just like Malisse...

Theiden shook his head, dislodging a few raindrops from the hood of his cloak, and fell into step beside Lenesa. The witch gave no indication that she noticed his presence, but when he opened his mouth to speak, she interrupted.

"Did I not tell you that you must keep as silent as possible?" she said, the words coming out in a low, heated rush. "That was one of the terms you agreed upon to accompany me. Mindless chatter on our way back does not count as silence."

Stunned, Theiden closed his mouth. Then opened it again with a retaliating surge of annoyance. Who was she, to order him around?

"Not a word," Lenesa hissed. This time, Theiden obeyed. It was something in her body language, the way she had glanced around before speaking, that made him think they might not be alone in the forest.

Theiden scowled and focused on the uneven path before him. Though his eyes were downcast, his other senses were alert. In the ten years since he had left the military to become a hunter, he had learned to listen to the forest on his hunts. Now, his ears strained for the rustle of leaves in the bushes or the snap of a branch that would clue him in to the presence of others nearby.

But the only sounds were his footfalls and steady breathing, and there was nothing but the smell of fresh rain on the breeze. Again, his mind began to return to thoughts of home, and he clenched his jaw and tried to force the worries down. It had been too long since he had seen his daughter. How was his mother managing to care for her in the city, all by themselves? An elderly woman and a young girl wouldn't be able to manage for long. Once they ran out of money and food, what would they be forced to do to survive? He needed to escape the witch, one way or another, and soon.

They had almost made it back to the crossing at the gorge when Theiden finally heard something rustling in the undergrowth to his right. He tensed, hand instinctively going to where he would have kept his knife, only for his fingers to grasp thin air. Lenesa was walking a few paces ahead with Shwei at her side, seemingly oblivious to the approaching creature as it burst forth from the bushes—

It was a rabbit.

A harmless, tiny rabbit. Theiden let out a breath, irritation and relief warring within him. The furry creature twitched its nose at him and hopped past to the shelter of another shrubbery. Theiden watched it go, surprised to realize he actually felt jealous of the animal. At least it was free to go where it pleased. Unlike himself, who was stuck with the witch for stars-knew-how-long.

Theiden pulled his cloak tighter around him and started after Lenesa again. By now, the witch had disappeared around a curve in the path up ahead. When he turned the corner, however, the witch was not there.

Something else was, though. The familiar features flashed in Theiden's mind with alarm, dredging up memories from just the previous night. Again, he saw that sinister smile and those terrifying blank eyes, and the shrill cry for murder echoed in his ears.

A heartbeat passed, and Theiden blinked, realizing that this creature was somehow different. The eyes were a vivid black and glittering like gemstones, and there was no staff garishly adorned with a human skull, or a ragged black cloak. Instead, the faun before him was covered in a roughly-woven brown tunic that fell just to its upper thighs. Its face was angular, androgynous, and alarmingly attractive.