Nentarli [COMPLETE]

~ Seven ~

We edged closer and we could just make out what they were saying. Kayle was swinging the rope things around his head and Merkell still had his hands raised.

"Surrender yourselves, you cannot have the girls, we will never allow it." Merkell's voice was filled with anger and a kind of power, I'd never heard a voice like it.

We creeped closer and I saw the stranger closest to us had his palms open but pointing down towards the ground. The other had his hand on the first's arm, standing very still and neither of them said a word.

"Come now, scum don't stay quiet this long, don't you have some idiotic comment to make? Tell us who sent you?"

Their focus seemed to break when they heard Kayle speak, at that moment they were thrown like sticks in the wind. Slamming back into a tree close to where Emy and I were hiding.

It seemed as though they were being held there by some invisible hands, stuck while Merkell and Kayle walked over. The stranger's faces were exposed now that their hoods had fallen back and Emy covered my mouth before I gasped. Even in the gloom of the clearing I could tell it was the guys from the party. The one nearest to us was brown haired and he was smirking. How dare he? I wanted to go slap the smirk right off his face.

Then he spoke with laboured breathing, "Now Goof... is that any way to talk to old friends... I thought you had better manners than that?"

I wasn't sure who he was talking to but Kayle stopped in his tracks, a mask of shock covered his face and the ropes fell to his sides.

Suddenly he ran forward chuckling loudly, he stopped in front of the strangers.

"Blaike, is that you?" He laughed more and clapped him on the shoulder. "And that's gotta be Kaleb," he said, moving around the tree to the other man. "Merkell, you can stop now, they are very good friends, trusted friends that mean none of us any harm!" He exclaimed and he was grinning from ear to ear.

Merkell dropped his arms and both men slumped to the ground.

Kayle grabbed each by the forearm and pulled them up, "Why did you not identify yourselves sooner? It would have saved us all a lot of bother."

They brushed themselves off and rubbed their backs.

"We tried but as soon as we appeared we were met with a strong magical force, it took all of our focus just to keep it back."

The one named Blaike explained, we still didn't know who they were but Kayle had called them friends.

"Ah, that would be my fault, I apologise but I had to be sure neither of you were a threat."

Merkell stepped forward, directly in front of the strangers, they reacted in the same way Kayle had and bowed to him. Merkell nodded in return again, like it was normal.

"No apology necessary, we understand and should have found a better way to announce ourselves."

The respect they showed to Merkell heightened my ever growing curiosity. He had to be more than just a 'very good man', in their world, there was a lot they weren't being told.

"It is done," said Merkell in a lighter tone, as though all was forgiven, "So, Blaike and Kaleb, why are you here?"

The one named Blaike seemed about to answer when Kayle interrupted him.

"Crap!" He turned to Merkell, "We have to go get Cassandra and Emily. I told them to run and hide, they could be anywhere by now."

He looked worried but Merkell was perfectly calm when he spoke.