The Rogue

XXXXV

I know, I know. Just when you think we got rid of Maxen, he comes back like lice. There is a reason for all, dear friends! XD

*Faye*

I did just what Rian told me. After vigorously scraping a few strips of flint off the rock, I turned it off and scraped it with the pocket knife from my backpack. The pile of pine needles caught much quicker than I thought, considering I didn't really know what I was doing. Once the pine needles caught, nature took care of the rest. The flames crept up the nearest tree and spread like wildfire. Well, I supposed that was literal.

Now that my part of the job was complete, I started jogging away from the blaze and heat. People were beginning to rouse from their cottages. The louder they got, the quicker I moved. Rian would be furious if I got caught by someone after he gave me clear instructions not to. The defiant part of me wanted to make sure his side of the plan would go through. I was nervous for him. Calvin was older, stronger, and more experienced. Even though Rian had assured me of his capabilities, I detected his own anxiety.

I stopped about two hundred yards away from the village and hid myself behind a tree. The flames were devouring a second tree now, and the brightness emanating from the fire made it hard for my weak eyes to see what the people around it were doing it. Did they have a fire department nearby? I hoped they did. The swiftness of the flames were starting to worry me. If things didn't settle soon, the fire might start inching towards their homes. I would feel guilt for the rest of my life if the cottages were burned down.

There was a ruckus of shouting that caught my attention. Rian must have made his move. My right foot began tapping the earth to let out some of my tension. What was taking so long? If Calvin hurt Rian...I wasn't sure what I would do, but it would be very ugly. It might considerably shorten my young human life and remind me of my vulnerable mortality, at any rate.

"Faye."

The voice was so quiet I almost didn't hear it over the fire and the voices. When the giant boulder of a man stepped into my line of sight, however, I became very aware of his presence. I accidentally groaned. Not this again.

"What are you doing here?" Maxen demanded. He was ten or so yards away now, rapidly closing the distance. "Calvin will kill you if he finds out you're here."

"Calvin? Are you on his side now?"

He halted. "I'm on no one's side."

"As far as I'm concerned, he isn't going to know I'm here unless you tell him."

"Well, I'm not going to leave you out here by yourself."

Insulted, I folded my arms across my chest. "I wandered around the forest for awhile by myself before. I can do it a bit longer until Rian comes to find me."

"Rian seems to be a little preoccupied at the moment. His lack of concern for your whereabouts should worry you, Faye."

"Your abundance for concern worries me, Maxen."

"Be glad someone cares." He began coming towards me again, and I knew he would throw me over his shoulder if I didn't distract him.

"So, why are you here?" I asked. "Did you find out they kicked Rian out of the pack?"

"I wasn't informed of that until I got here. Michelle called me to say she needed me to pick her up. When I came to retrieve her, I was greeted by Calvin." His emerald eyes were still visible to me in the dark as they rolled.

"Speaking of which, did she tell you why she was in Whitewater territory?"

"I haven't exactly had time to interrogate her. Calvin wanted to discuss a business proposition with me, so I've been a little busy."