Collecting the Pieces of the Shandhi Sword (Book 2 of Mark Series)

Chapter 25

I folded my arms across my chest and glared at Samuel with a raised eyebrow. Even if I couldn't talk, my questions were clear: what was going on, and why was he here?

Samuel chuckled and cleared his throat while he shifted on his feet but didn't answer my question. He looked at me and then at the creature, Korra, as she was called, with a raised eyebrow. "Should I take the stuff off of her?" he asked and raised an eyebrow.

Korra gave him a deadpanned look, and I bit back a smirk when he cleared his throat and shifted on his feet. "Well, how else are we going to talk to her?" she asked and raised an eyebrow. "Take it off."

Samuel sighed and nodded before he turned his gaze to me, his eyes not hidden by the glasses that he normally wore.

Everything about him seemed to have changed, except for his eye and hair color. Gone was the lanky nerd that seemed to be afraid of everything, including his own shadow but was too curious, or stupid, to know when he needed to back off or get closer and was replaced by a warrior, a fighter who should have known how to take care of himself against that creature.

I bristled and gritted my teeth before I narrowed my eyes. Anger swirled through my body, and all I wanted to do was punch him in the nose and break it because he could have made it so that my mate and Malena were not injured.

Samuel shifted on his feet and didn't mutter the spell that let me talk. A blush appeared on his face, and he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Ya..." he said and cleared his throat. "I was too much into character to do anything to make sure that they weren't injured." He cleared his throat again. "I was already punished by those that I serve, for it was against their rules."

"You can break his nose, if you want," Korra said, and I pulled my gaze off of him and onto the creature. She grinned and showed a row of sharp teeth. "No one will do anything to you, and it is your right."

I glanced at Samuel, and he hesitated but nodded.

"I do kind of deserve it," he said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, again. He cleared his throat and shifted on his feet. "Just don't use your full Werewolf strength, please? I don't need to be unconscious since we have a lot to cover and little time to cover everything."

I tried to huff and nodded. I walked over to him and grabbed him by the shirt, and a small smirk appeared on my lips when his heart skipped a beat. I punched him square in the nose and was satisfied when I heard the sickening crunch, indicating that I had successfully broken it.

Samuel's head went back at the force of my punch, and he would have been on the ground if I hadn't had a hold of his shirt. A groan of pain escaped his tight lips, and he scrunched his face as if he had eaten a lemon. Blood poured from his nose, and he grabbed it with one hand. "Ya, that was painful."

I shrugged and bit back a smirk. I felt satisfied, happy that I was able to let out some of the pent up anger I felt for him, but I would have rather been able to beat the shit out of him for almost ruining the quest.

Samuel kept a hold of his nose and shook his head as if to clear the fog from his head. "I guess you want to do a lot more than that, huh?" he asked, and I nodded. "I think I can stand on my own," he said. "You can let me go."

I let go of his shirt and pursed my lips, making sure that he was steady on his feet before I took a step back. I placed my hands behind my back and waited for him to do his thing. I had no idea what he needed to do, and I prayed that it wouldn't take long.

Samuel groaned and clutched his nose. "Ya," he said. "I deserved that, and so much more." He cleared his throat and muttered something under his breath, and I watched with hidden interest to see that his hand glowed before he released his nose to show that it wasn't bleeding and wasn't broken.

"You should have let it bleed," Korra said, unamused. "Or let it at least heal on its own." She looked at me and grinned. "Punch him again. I know you want to."

I shook my head, no, and looked at Samuel with a raised eyebrow. Silently, because I could still not speak, I asked him if he would do his thing so that I would be able to talk with the two of them and get answers.

Samuel sighed but nodded. His hands glowed a golden color before his eyes glowed the same color. He started to say some stuff in a different language, and I hesitantly looked at Korra to see if it was alright.

Korra offered me a fanged grin and nodded. "It's fine," she said, soothingly, which unnerved me a bit. "Look back at him, for you need to see what he is doing, and you do need to focus on him and not on me."

I pursed my lips and turned to look at him. I watched him take a step toward me, and my whole body grew tense. I was rooted in one spot while he walked closer and closer to me. My heart pounded hard in my chest, and my adrenaline spiked, for I was not able to move even if I wanted to.

When he was close enough, Samuel touched my forehead and chest. He looked me straight in the eyes and something before he blew in my face, and...

...I gasped.