Tauren Tale

Chapter 14: Sanja

Her expression defiant, Sanja refused to take her eyes off of the rogue. “Get the pack,” she whispered to her brother. “We're leaving.”

“If you don't put the manacles on yourself,” Theodore said. “Then the beast will do it for you. And he's not going to be gentle about it.”

Jorga dashed around Sanja, his arms outstretched.

“No! Don't!” she screamed.

The boy shouted, “You leave my sister alone; you big, meany!”

In a single motion, Theodore took one of the daggers from his hip, slashed the boy, and slid the knife back into its scabbard. His eyes, like his expression, never shifted.

A bloodied Jorga stumbled backwards, his eyes wide. He did not cry out.

Sanja grabbed the calf and pulled him back, away from the Gilnean. “Are you okay?” she whispered. “Let me see your arm.”

He didn't resist. Jorga wasn't rag-doll limp, but he seemed too stunned to react. The black fur of his left arm was damp with blood. It didn't gush, but it certainly did ooze.

Theodore had slashed him from the back of his wrist to his elbow. The wound was deep, but oblique; it had peeled back a couple inches of skin without penetrating too deeply into the muscle itself.

In the back of her mind, Sanja wondered if Theodore had done that intentionally, or if the blade had simply glanced off the bone. Is he going to try and sell Jorga as well? she wondered. If so, he was obviously not worried about the condition he was in.

She peeled away the boy's unbuttoned vest and wrapped it gently around his forearm. She made sure it was just tight enough to hold the wound closed, but not so tight as to cut off circulation to his hand.

“I'm waiting,” Theodore said, a touch of frustration in his voice.

“I need you to hold it here. Keep some pressure on it,” she whispered to Jorga. He complied meekly. “How do you feel?”

“It hurts,” he whimpered. There were tears in his eyes, but he was not sobbing.

“I bet it does.” She wanted to hug him, but was afraid to move his arm. She kissed him gently on the forehead. “You were very brave, but let me take care of this. Then I'll get you all fixed up. I promise.”

Sanja stood and turned slowly to face the smaller man. Her blood was boiling, but she refused to let rage make decisions for her. What are my options?she asked herself. Run? Fight? Beg? Negotiate? Go quietly?

She had always said that she'd rather die than become a slave like Elizabeth, but it was no longer just about herself. What would happen to Jorga if she wasn't here to tend to his wounds? The injury didn't look life-threatening, but could he care for himself without her? Kazbo would be back in a few days, but would the tiny man have enough sense to tend the wound properly?

Kazbo! she thought. If the rogue took her back to Nijel's Point, then the Gnome could turn him into a sheep...

No, it was a terrible plan, she admonished herself. That left Jorga behind and counted on the little mage standing up to Theodore. Even if he could beat the rogue in a fight, which she doubted, it would just look like a robbery to the villagers. With her in shackles and him an outlaw, they'd never get out of town alive.

Always play to your strengths, she heard in her head. Her father had said that so many times before, that it amazed her that it wasn't her first thought.

What are my strengths? Stamina, strength, and self-control, she decided.

Although she was certain that she could run farther than Theodore, she could never run faster than him; and she could not abandon her brother. Strength would do her little good, also. The beast was stronger, and he was the real problem. She had to stop thinking about the puny human and focus on the beast. He was the one calling the shots.