Healers' Call

The Truth Always Finds a Way

Valda slumped against the river bank, sweat trickling off her brow. She'd tried to focus on damming the river and seeing how long she could hold back the water. It was a laborious task that took all her concentration and energy.

Spots danced in her eyes and she was breathing heavily, little white clouds appearing with every puff of her breath. Despite the wintry morning, she was toasty warm even after discarding her jacket.

A twig snapped from above her and she looked upwards expecting to see the helmet clad face of Boyd. He was later than she'd been expecting.

But no face appeared.

She grabbed her jacket and quickly shrugged it on, despite her damp skin. With nimble fingers, she scaled the river bank, thankful it hadn't rained during the night. Rain always turned the packed earth into a sea of mud, which made climbing impossible.

Popping her head up, she went to say hi to Boyd, but the words froze in her throat.

She stared down the blade pointed at her head to the two figures stood above her. Cloth covered both their faces, but whilst the one carried a sword, the other had an arrow already notched, pointing in her direction.

"Now don't do anything stupid." Came the gruff voice from the man holding the sword.

Valda barely had time to contemplate her plan before she threw herself into action.

Her hands let go of the bank and she skidded down, feeling the hard earth catch on her hands. A whistle rang passed her ear, and she realised with dread how close she'd come to having an arrow lodged in her cheek.

Her feet hit the dried river bed with a loud thud, jarring her knees and making her wince as she stumbled away.

"After her, you ninnyhammer!"

The sound of boots hitting the ground behind her had Valda looking over her shoulder, her eyes widening as she realised the archer had followed her. She looked around wildly for her other attacker, spotting the hulking figure running above her on the edges of the banking.

Whilst a part of her was concentrating on running for her life, another was wondering why the archer hadn't stayed on the bank. It would have been the better shot after all.

Shaking her head, she pushed the silly thought from her mind. Focus, Valda chided herself. Now was not the time to wonder at the intelligence of her pursuers.

The mud beside her exploded as an arrow embedded itself in the mud. Risking a look, she glanced back to see the archer pulling another arrow from his quiver.

Not giving him time, she held out her hand and pushed the water towards him, watching as the force knocked him back.

She didn't stop to see how long he remained down. Pushing her legs harder, she jumped over mud and rocks, still hearing the other man somewhere above her. She could no longer see him, but she could hear him swearing and spluttering as he tried to match her speed.

Her feet splashed in the river as the sides narrowed in on her, the earth now towering over her head. There wasn't much further she could go unless she wanted to walk through the fast current, and that would only slow her down.

She began frantically looking ahead, trying to see a place to climb, but there was none. She would lose precious time if she tried to scale the bank as she'd done before.

Splashing behind her made her falter, and she glanced back, fear skating through her. The archer was back, minus his bow, but just as determined to catch her. He'd lost the material covering his face during his little bath in the river, and Valda almost froze as she recognised his features.