Into the Land of Valentia

Chapter the Fifteenth

XV

"Let's get a move on!" The thief spoke again, sharper this time. 

Vivica sat there, feeling panic tear at her stomach. She couldn't fight these thieves, couldn't stop them. It became a struggle to keep her breathing even. Earlier, she had managed to quell the feelings of anxiety with assurances that the blindness would pass soon. That for the time it took hold of her, she could allow Garrett to take control of the reins. But Garrett couldn't protect her now, and this bout of vision-loss was already longer than its predecessors.

But Vivica knew she couldn't allow her emotions to control her like this, not during such a critical moment. She could remember her loss to the siren all too clearly. Then, she had not made any attempt to stop the creature. She would not let herself make that mistake again. Vivica took a deep breath to steel the best of her nerves.

One more deep breath, which dissolved a better part of the knots twisting in her stomach, and she began to construct a mental diagram of the clearing. The thief's voice had been male, and from his irritated tone she could tell that Cayden and Narick had yet to comply with any of his demands. Vivica didn't want to give the thief reason to exchange his words for weapons.

When Garrett had entered the clearing, she could recall that he hadn't taken many steps before stopping. She could assume that she had still been near the clearing's edge when Cayden had steered her to the rock. The branches which brushed against her arms confirmed her theory. 

She could also remember where she had heard the stream. The horses were there. It was all situated furthest from the entrance of the clearing. The sound of running water had grown louder as she been moved to the rock.

Vivica assessed the situation with a newfound sense of control. Being blind was new to her, but the sounds of the forest were not. The loss of vision merely forced her to shift her reliance. 

"Now!" a second thief demanded. His voice was deeper, more guttural. He sounded closer to Vivica than the first thief. While Vivica had used the silence to situate herself, the thieves had grown annoyed with their targets' lack of response. 

There was the sound of a sword sliding from its sheathe—metal against leather and brass. "I suggest you two drop your swords, you drop your slingshot, and you drop to your knees. Perhaps then we won't slice you all to pieces," Cayden said.

If there was ever a time Vivica wondered if she had a lucky star, then may have been the time. Cayden had thought of a way to let her know the number of thieves and the weapons they were carrying. Not only that, but she knew Cayden's general direction. She started to rise from the rock.

"I don't think so," said First Thief. "We have you outnumbered, and we have you trapped. This path is the only way out of the clearing. We should know: we've ambushed enough fools here."

"The only problem is that my partner and I are not fools," Cayden replied.

Vivica froze. Cayden had purposefully only mentioned one travelling partner. That could only have meant that somehow she was blocked from the thieves' sight, and Cayden was signalling some kind of surprise attack. Yet at the same time, she hadn't heard a word from Narick. 

She didn't have to wait long for her answer. There came a grunt from the thieves' direction. Cayden called out, "Garrett, bring Vivica her bow and quiver!"

Vivica lurched forwards from her position on the edge of the clearing, then faltered back a step. She didn't want to throw herself into the open before she knew what was happening. As the sounds of fighting continued, hooves thundered up and something dropped to the ground. Garrett snorted. "Quickly, Narick and Cayden have the thieves' attention but that won't last long."