Aleck slowly pulled his dagger out from his bag and held it close to his side, hiding it from the woods around them.
He took a deep breath and called out, "Who's there?"
"Took you soo much courage to say that I bet." A voice commented dryly from behind him.
Aleck spun around and plunged the knife down in one quick fluid motion.
Just as quickly his arm was twisted back and the knife ripped from his hand.
"I'd ssssuggesssst you not try that again but I feel like you probably will. Won't you? Aleck the princccce." A hissing voice broke the silence that had engulfed the surrounding woods.
Aleck gritted his teeth in pain and anger and attempted to break away from the iron grip on his arm.
"Sssssssstop sssssstruggling." they hissed.
Aleck chuckled darkly, "I don't think that'll be possible till you let me go." he growled.
There was silence for a few seconds then Aleck heard a voice in his ear, "Fine. But we're taking the girl with us."
"No!" Aleck yelled, remembering Kate and turning just in time to see arms carry her away into the darkness, "No! No, Kate!! Let her go!!" he struggled even more fiercely against his captor but to no avail.
Kate was swept away in the darkness silently, and when his captor finally let Aleck go, Aleck had no idea where to start looking.
"No!" he yelled, spinning around and lunging at the place where the thing that had held him had been.
There was a hiss and he plunged in to empty space, tumbling and falling through endless darkness.
When he finally came to a stop, he simply moaned, unconscious and unmoving, at the bottom of Harpden Valley.
Two eyes gleamed in the darkness, watching the young man for signs of movement. When the dark, cloaked figure was sure that Aleck was unconscious, it slipped away, fading into the darkness.
"Isssss it done, sssssslave?" a hiss resounded from the darkness, loud in the silence.
"Yes, master." A deep, growling voice emanated from the depths of the hood in answer.
"Excccccellent." the hiss sounded pleased. "Return to camp." It commanded.
The cloaked figure nodded and slipped away.
Out of the tree above the figure's previous position, a king cobra hung from a branch, watching after the figure.
It hissed, pleased.
YOU ARE READING
Rider's Daughter
FantasyKate is a fourteen-year-old mute girl who has one of the last dragon riders for a father, a father who is also a king. A king who is slowly losing his sanity and strength. As he seeks to destroy the humans, Kate must prevent the war and protect her...
