Enchanted Hearts

Chapter 8

Delilah

The pain in my foot was ever so slowly taking over my train of thought. I could barely think of anything else but the excruciating feeling coming from below. Never in my life had I felt such an intense kind of pain. It hurt so freaking much and all I wanted to do was scream and cry until it went away. I probably would have done just that if three creepy-looking emo guys were not aiming their arrows at us. Charlie was trying to stay calm, thinking about his next move. I knew we were in shit, I just wasn't sure how deep. He clearly is agitated by them and traces of fear are quite evident on his face. The Moxie in the middle lowered his bow and brought the fire light up to our faces. I had no idea how he held the stick and the bow at the same time. I flinched a little, my face half hidden behind Charlie's shoulder, who stood perfectly still. 

"Why were you running from us?" asked the guy in the middle with a smug look on his face. 

"We weren't sure who you were, so we instantly deemed you a threat." His voice was strong, surprising me and the other Moxie. 

"That's interesting because I thought that Virago were the only Moxie enemy." He tilted his head slightly to one side and looked straight at me. His eyes were dark and cold. A shiver went up my spine, but I didn't looked away. 

"She is neither my friend nor foe. I was just carrying her back to the camp. She got her foot caught in a bear trap I am presuming is yours?" Charlie said. I wasn't sure if what he said was really true, but I tried not to dwell on it too much. I wasn's sure where I stood in his life. Charlie and Roux had never tried to hurt me or Skylar before. It didn't seem like he was just going to hand me over. Not yet, anyway. If I didn't know any better he was trying to steer the subject in a different direction. He could be on our side, but I couldn't be certain. 

"Yes, we use them to catch Virago who trespass and try to spy on us. We have had a few lately, but they never get away. This one isn't going to either. You can hand her over now." Our eyes met again and I knew that he wasn't leaving without me. I felt as if I were an object who belonged to someone and not my own person with  my own life and feelings. 

"Finders keepers," was all Charlie said.

"We will take good care of her. Won't we boys?" The Moxie didn't turn around as his sidekicks agreed with him. 

"I don't really care what you plan on doing with her. She is mine!" Charlie was fuming. I couldn't believe he said that. If he was legit about that comment, I was going to kill him.

"You do realize that we could easily kill you at any time?" The blonde spoke up for the first time.

"Kill me and you could possibly be destroying the most fierce Moxie your camp has ever seen." What was going on in his brain. Maybe he really doesn't care about me.

 "A proposal, aye? You want to join our group. Hmm..." He crossed his arms and studied our faces. 

"I will work for you if I can keep the Virago as mine. Take it or leave it." Ohmigod. So many questions were racing through my head. What will this mean for me? For Charlie? What about Skylar and Roux? Was Charlie even serious? What was he planning? 

"As long as you follow by the group rules, I think it could work." He put his hand out to Charlie. It was done. I had a bad feeling about this.