Book 2 Season's Change Spring's Revenge

Part 38 Reunion

Every fiber of his being told him to run to her. Run to her and take her in his arms and never let her go again. Every fiber. He stood dumbfounded and in complete shock. He thought the storm had taken her from him. Taken her forever. It hadn't. There she was. Right there. In a fucking cage and chained but right there.

Every possible human emotion swirled around inside of him and fought for its place at the forefront of his being. Though love is by far the most powerful emotion, anger is the strongest and his was no exception. He heard himself growl. He didn't know he was capable of making such a sound or even where it came from. It hurt him to see her caged and in chains. She didn't look well, not even close to as healthy and strong as she did the last time he saw her. What had that son of a demon's whore done to his Katana? He would kill him. Kill him. Rage, powerful and bright consumed him. It made it hard for him to focus or to even think. He almost forgot his name or what it was that he was supposed to be doing. He stood and he stared for way too long. Fet bumped up against his leg and made a soft sound drawing Avriel away from his anger for a moment.

It was long enough for him to reformulate a plan. The sky was going to lighten soon he had a good hour or two before the sun would be up. That would not be enough time to drug all fifteen guards and rescue Katana and the other prisoners. Then there was the matter of what would he do with them. He needed a plan for that too. He needn't lose sight of that. From what he saw Donocain was looking after Katana, and the brute Thalion didn't go anywhere near her. He didn't even look in the direction of her cage. That had to be a good thing. It didn't change his anger or his hatred for the man, but it offered some reasonable sense of relief that the bastard didn't touch her. He couldn't touch her if he couldn't even look at her. Avriel knelt by Fet's side and Othello crawled out of his pouch onto Fet's back. Avriel listened for the sound of others around him, there was no one. "Katana is there." Their ears perked up. "She's hurt, really bad it seems. We have to get her out of there. So, change of plans." Avriel went on to explain the plan to the boys. "Stay low and stay hidden. Let's go." Avriel took the pouch off of Fet's back so he would not get caught on anything as he moved around the wagons. "Watch over each other. Othello, stay hidden once you are with Katana." They set out in different directions headed toward the camp. "Stay out of the light," was the last thing that Avriel said to them as they parted ways.

He carefully plotted his way into the camp and, by the grace of his natural hunting skills, slipped in with ease. The trick would be getting close enough to Katana to signal her and possibly her being able to sign back. He didn't know the extent of her injuries and wouldn't until he got a closer look at her. He scaled the outer wagon with ease while Fet and Othello went under theirs. He watched them as they moved to Katana's wagon. Fet went under it and after a moment Othello slipped out from under it, up the wheel, and into the cart. Luckily the tarp had not been pulled down to cover it yet as it had been on the others. Avriel watched with delight as Katana greeted Othello. He angrily assessed her injuries. There was a small cut on her cheek that was healing well. Her arm was in a sling pulling it tight to her body. She had a bandage around her ribs over her shirt. It went from just below her collarbones to just above her hips. He wondered if part of that binding was to help protect something other than an injury. He growled to himself. Did He do that to protect her? He had to wonder just how injured she was.

From a distance, she looked far more injured than she did up close. Especially once Othello was with her. She looked around for Avriel. When she found him, her eyes locked to his. Her eyes were bright and clear. She was obviously as happy to see him as he was to see her. She looked around then smiled up at him. It was perhaps one of the most beautiful sights that he had seen in recent memory. He smiled back with all of his heart. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. No one has touched me." How did she know how important that was to him? "My injuries are from my fall and the river."

Avriel nodded. "We need to get you out of there."

"I would love that but Avriel, the others?"

"I know. We will. I made a promise. Have you seen her, the girl?"

"She is untouched as well."

"Good."

"You need to proceed with the plan. Tomorrow night. Save these people, Avriel. Then get me out of this damn cage."

"I will. Othello --"

"Who?"

"The ferret. Othello. Can he stay with you? Do you need anything?"

"The key is kept on Thalion except when Donocain takes everyone out at night. I could use that key and you will need it. But how can we get it?"

"I have an idea. The sun will be up soon and we will be exposed. We must return to our camp. Can Othello stay?"

"He should be fine. He is an animal. They will not know that he is a friend too if they see him."

"True. I really must go." Fet moved out from under her wagon. "Katana..."

"I know."

Avriel cried as he made his way back to his camp. When he got there, he wrapped himself around Fet and let the tears fall. He cried for the sight of her in the cage and shackled. He cried for the sight of her injuries. He cried because he had to leave her there in that cage. But he also cried for the joy of knowing she was alive and that he could see her again, talk to her and one day tell her all that she needed to know. He and Fet climbed the nearest tree and took their rest. For the first time in many days, reverie came to Avriel the moment he closed his eyes and he found Katana there.