All Things Impossible: Heartstealer, page 16
She hugged him again, knives and all. "I know, me too."
Jakkobb smiled tightly. He towered over her, loomed even. "You look well - for being kidnapped."
She nodded. "Yes, sir. I'm well." She looked around. "Kelin! Oh, and - and, uh, Mora, right? Have you all been following me this whole time?"
The knight nodded. "What did you expect? Oh, and your sword looks like its normal glory, what happened to the spell?"
She patted the weapon's hilt. "The spell just sort of broke, sir."
He raised both his eyebrows. "I'll save that scolding for later, and your ears will burn off from it. Now, where is he?"
She glanced back at the forest. "I don't know. He was out hunting when Thistle showed."
Kelin pointed. "Wait. He had gone off by himself and you didn't run away? When you had a horse?"
"She was a prisoner, and I've seen the things that those bastards do to their captives," Mora said. "She wouldn't dare-"
"You don't know Der," Kelin replied. "Her name is said 'dare' for that very reason."
"I remember you as a prisoner," Thistle inserted softly. "You didn't break when you should have." He looked directly at her.
"The chemmen?" Der shook her head. "What else was I supposed to do?"
"Right," Kelin snapped. "So, why didn't you run when you had the chance? That's not like you."
She dropped her eyes. "I agreed to help him."
"What?" Jakkobb snapped to attention.
"Then why did you go with Thistle?" Mora asked.
She cast a meaningful look at the chemman. "I tried to explain, but I'm sure you know by now how he doesn't like extra talk. So, he killed the horse to prove his point, and thus I went with him."
Thistle shook his head. "The horse panicked and attacked me." He thrust out his arm to show a blood-ringed hole in the sleeve.
"It wouldn't have done that if you hadn't of sneaked up like you always do!"
He raised both his eyebrows. "I wasn't sure if you'd been bewitched or not. Jakkobb mentioned that the target had some magical ability. I watched the camp, you were alone and you weren't trying to escape. I didn't know that you'd made a deal with the devil."
The knight frowned. "Why did you agree to help him, Der? What could have convinced you? Did he magic you?"
"No! I agreed because he needs it. Look, I didn't agree until after I came to know him, a little. He's got a good reason. And no, no magic."
"There's something very wrong about that man, and you know that." His eyes slid toward the depthless darkness of the forest.
"I know, I know. But, he's not evil, kind of like Thistle isn't."
Jakkobb raised both of his eyebrows exactly like her dad did at home before she found herself drowning in trouble.
She ducked away from the expression and waved her arms over her head. "Can we talk about something else instead? I don't want to defend him. Uh, so, Mora, I've been thinking that perhaps we started sour with the theft and all and-"
"Der!" The knight's voice cracked like a whip. He shook his head. "Break camp, we're leaving, now."
Der gripped her fists and squared her shoulders. "But, I can't go, sir. Not after I promised. Look, we could all-"
He glared at her with the anger of a thousand suns. "Der, what is he?"
A voice shot out of the darkness, "Very angry." The wind picked up, and Tom's dark form suddenly stood outside the ring of firelight. His jaw was set and his arms were crossed and not a muscle on him moved; he could have been a statue. His hair and clothes whipped sharply in the growing breeze. His eyes glowed with their unnatural emerald brilliance.
The group around the campfire jumped. Der felt her hand go to her hilt of its own will as she rose. "This isn't good." Behind her, Spike whinnied and bucked and charged forward, nostrils flaring and dinner plate hooves rearing.
Tom cocked his head to the side, eyes wandering around the campsite and locking on Thistle. "A true chemman."
"I told you!" Der pointed.
"Ah, that makes sense now. I didn't know what else had been there."
Der pointed. "Hey! You said you didn't think they existed."
"I lied." He looked at her through a veil of disgust.
Spike pawed the ground with his front hooves and whinnied again. He flashed his teeth viciously between Jakkobb and Tom. An 'O' formed on the captain's mouth. He drew his axe.
Tom glared coldly. "What's with the horse?" Then he shook his head. "That doesn't matter." He unfolded his arms and stepped forward. "I demand her, and a horse to replace the one you killed." His eyes dragged themselves back to Spike. "And not that one."
Jakkobb grabbed Der's shoulder while he pointed the axe at Tom. "That's not happening. Vampire." Kelin, Mora and Thalon gasped collectively. Thistle rose smoothly to his feet.
Thalon stabbed his finger toward Tom. "I knew you were wrong! You're a funny shade of gray!" His storm-reader eyes picked up on the subtler shades of gray that human eyes could not distinguish.
Tom smiled widely, fangs gleaming in the full moonlight. "Yes, she is coming with me. You see, she promised me and therefore, she's mine."
Jakkobb squeezed her shoulder with his gauntlet covered, shovel sized hands. "Ow! Ow! Look, we could all travel together!"
"No!" Tom and Jakkobb snapped.
The vampire sneered. "I know your do-gooder ilk; you're not to be trusted." He leveled a finger from the knight to Kelin.
"And me, Tom," Der stepped in line of his finger.
He blinked. "What?"
"You don't trust me either."
He snorted and stamped his foot against the ground. "Well, of course, that's so obvious I didn't think I'd have to say it."
"But, if you don't trust me, why do you expect me to keep my word?" Her brow furrowed intellectually.
He curled his lips back, revealing his shiny white fangs. "Because you're a stupid, oath abiding little brat!"
"That means, in some fashion, you do trust me."
He choked the air in front of him with his hands. "No, it does not! Shut up! Just remember that you promised me!"
"Der!" the captain yelled. "Why the hell did you do that?"
She shrugged. "Well, sir, he promised not to hurt me in return."
Tom whispered, "But, I didn't promise anything about your friends."
She ripped the Pallens sword from its sheath. "You bastard!"
His wicked smile reflected in the moonlight and he bowed. "Remember, you can't hurt me."
Mora raised a finger to Der. The tattoos along her hands began to slither and move. "We've been out here chasing you all this time to rescue you! I mean, we thought, like me - you were..."
Her jaw dropped. "I...I..."
Kelin finally wrenched his gaze away from Tom. "Der, you always do this!"
"Don't put me on trial!" she hollered back.
Sparks crackled between Mora's fingers. "We're all going to d-"
"SHUT UP THE LOT OF YOU!" Jakkobb ordered in his parade ground voice. "Thalon, stop trying to sneak around! Morana, stop casting that! Der, you are in more trouble than you ever have been before!"
She bit her lip. "Um, does this include the time we were in Zaz-"
"Yes!"
Tom, his gaze hammered only on Der, extended his hand. "You promised, and if you don't come with me right now, I shall consider your word broken and then I'm free to break mine."
She took a tiny half step forward.
"Derora!" Jakkobb shouted.
"I promised," she said, "and he promised me my safety."
"Der, he's undead!"
"And Thistle's a chemman." She glanced over to where he had been standing quietly throughout the exchange. "We've been through this before."
"I'm alive." Thistle's eyes never left the vampire. "Have you forgotten the undead cultists so soon?" His hands lay conspicuously empty at his sides.
She took another half step. "This is about saving a dying girl's life, not about vampires."
"Der, no! Don't go!" Thalon drew his knives and hopped between her and Tom.
She shook her head at the boy, and glanced back to Jakkobb. "I don't think I'm wrong, sir. He's really doing this to-"
"Der, stop it," Tom ordered softly. "I don't need myself justified to them. Now, take my hand."
Thalon lunged with his knives leading. Tom snatched Der's arm and kicked the boy in the chest at the same time. The child flew screaming over the campfire. The vampire sprang into the air, and hauled Der along with him by her arm.
Der stared down at the rapidly shrinking camp beneath her. She heard Tom snort from behind her ear while locking his arms around her waist. "I'm amazed. You were actually going to come with me. You are stupid."
"Well, I promised."
"You don't always have to keep promises, you know."
She sighed and shrugged. "And now my friends are upset at me, again. I hope Thalon's going to be alright. You've made an enemy of his father."
"That doesn't bother me."
"I know, but Thistle is not a man to cross."
"Neither am I. We wasted too much time talking during the past few days and they must've pushed a hard pace."
"Wait, you knew my friends were following me?"
It was Tom's turn to shrug. "I didn't verify it, but back in Malfax, the knight didn't seem like the kind to leave his friends behind."
"Aye, I knew it too. So, you're not going to let me go back?"
"No. Now, we have to outdistance them again."
Below, she could make out individual treetops below thanks to the bright moon. She squinted as she looked up at the silver glowing circle, even from here it didn't look too much bigger. She relaxed and let her arms and legs hang loose in the wind, and started to laugh.
Tom squeezed. "This isn't funny."
"But it is!" He increased the pressure a little more.
"Are you scared of anything?" He finally released his grip enough for her to breathe comfortably.
"I already told you that I'm scared of you."
"No! I mean flying! I could drop you, and I'm tempted."
"You won't let me fall." She tried to twist her head so she could see his face, but he turned it away. She sighed, and then craned her neck further. "I don't believe it."
"You're not going to trick me. They're not following us because horses don't fly."
She narrowed her eyes and stared for a little longer. Finally, she said, "I bet you a gold crown then."
Tom whipped his head around and suddenly stopped, absently catching Der's body as she kept moving forward. He held her like a sack of flour, while he stood on the air as if it were made of stone. "Horses don't fly!" he yelled at large.
"Apparently, that one can," she said conversationally as she watched Spike and Jakkobb soaring over the night sky. Spike galloped over the air as if it were a racing track with his rider perched in his saddle. Electric fire surrounded his incredibly shiny silver hooves.
Der surreptitiously pressed a toe down onto the air, but encountered no secret solid surface.
The warhorse and knight glided like determined leaves on the wind. Spike slowed to a trot and finally halted, standing on nothing but air. Jakkobb called out, "Alright, far enough."
She tilted her head to the side. "Sir, how is Spike able to do that? Amazing!"
"This isn't quite the best time, Der."
Spike raised his head. Twists of silver and golden lights appeared above his forelock. They spun around one another and coalesced. In a flash of starlight, they came together in a silver and gold alicorn.
Tom and Der both gasped. "That's not right!" She shook her head vehemently. "Unicorns are shy and petite and don't have a bastard's sense of humor!"
"The same thing is said about young ladies," Tom muttered.
Spike bowed his head low over his extended front hooves. His black hair shone exactly like the night sky, and silver pinpricks of light swirled underneath his hair.
She chuckled. "Now it makes sense. Spike, when he very obviously had no spikes on him. Heh. That's rather clever."
"No, it's not!" Tom squeezed her again. "Gods above, you are far more trouble than you're worth!"
"Then, let her go." Jakkobb's voice was calm. He shifted his weight in the saddle and glanced down. "Um. Give her up to us, I meant."
Tom lifted his lip like a growling dog. "I sincerely wish I could, but I don't have time to find another."
Another what? a voice echoed in their minds.
"Spike?" Der asked slowly. "You can talk? Sort of. Well, it suddenly makes sense why Jakkobb loses his arguments with his horse. We all thought he was just crazy."
"This isn't the time, Der," the knight intoned in a voice of steel.
Tom slid his hands around the girl's stomach. "This has been surprising to say the least, and surprises disgust me." He slowly slid away over the air without moving his feet.
We both have passengers. Do you think you can outrun me? The silver hooves sparkled with electricity.
He didn't answer. Instead, Tom and Der dropped as if through a trapdoor and then lunged forward. She felt her face stretching backward on itself as they flew. The night air grew a thousand times colder, and she had troubles taking in any breath. Treetops and clearings passed below her almost too quickly for her to realize what they were. The only thing stable in the world at the moment was Tom's arms holding her aloft. The tendrils of doubt began to whisper that perhaps she shouldn't have antagonized him so much.
She glanced over to see Spike and Jakkobb galloping as hard as the unicorn could. His legs pumped like a machine beneath him as he ran. They were gaining.
Tom suddenly rolled onto his back and Der found herself staring up at the sky and Spike's massive, electrified hooves right over her. She jerked her arms over her face. Spike flew forward over them and Tom shot off in a different direction.
Der watched the world shift again as he rolled them back upright. Over to the suddenly distant side, Der saw Spike rear and spin on a single hoof, like the most graceful dancer, and the chase resumed. The warhorse's long strides ate up the distance between them.
The vampire abruptly stopped and stuck his foot out. Jakkobb crashed into it and the foot mashed him against the high cantle. Spike whinnied as the saddle's girth yanked at his skin. He ducked away and struggled to keep his rider on his back. Meanwhile, Tom and Der descended beneath the forest canopy, and started to wind their way through the maze of trees.
He finally slowed, underneath the shadow of an ancient elm. He glared at the sky and shook his foot. "Ow. What is that man's armor made of? Argh, it's definitely broken." The bones cracked faintly as they realigned.
Der gasped for breath and couldn't respond.
He chuckled to himself. "Well, well, you have a vulnerability after all."
She coughed. "Moving too fast, couldn't breathe." She remembered how cold it was and started to shiver.
"At least now I know what to do with you."
Her teeth chattered together. "No, that was actually enjoyable - under better circumstances."
He shook his head. "You're insane, child."
"M-Merely cold, at this point."
"Well, we're not stopping." He again glared darkly up at the sky while they landed. "The unicorn will find us, it's only a matter of time." He grinned. "That means we'd better not be here to be found."
"I think I rather want to be found, actually."
The vampire started to walk ahead. He stopped, and turned. "You promised me."
"I know, but they're my friends." She pointed in the general direction.
"Then I pity them. Now, shut up and let's go."
"Where are we?" She bunched her arms across her chest against the chill.
Tom whirled on her and very slowly closed a fist. "I said shut up!"
"I heard you." She pushed passed him, and looked around. "Oh, we're back here." Their campsite looked exactly the same as when she and Thistle left, dead horse and all.
Tom shouldered his pack and picked up the steel flask from the ground. He glanced upward to the sky again. "We'll have to fly to keep ahead of them now."
"You haven't tried flying up until now!"
"Because you weren't supposed to know, stupid! And that means traveling like a normal human."
"But, I found out anyway!" She glanced over her shoulder. "I'm going to try to stall you know. I want them to catch up."
Briefly, he dipped his face into his hands. "Then don't tell me that! The art of subterfuge starts with a little subtlety. Please at least try it for once in your life!"
"But, I know that you'll figure it out, so what's the point?"
His mouth hung open for a moment. He licked his lips. "Uh...false hope? Pretending that you're smarter than I am? Because that's the way things are supposed to work!"
She turned back to the dark forest with her hands on her hips. "I wasn't going to break my promise. I just hoped that we could all-"
The rumble and audible growls of angry predators split the air. Der flinched at the sudden sound. "Heh." She rubbed her forehead. "Sounds like those bears are going at it." She eyed the tree line, and rested her hand on her weapon.
Tom grabbed her around her waist as he started running.
"Hey!" She beat on his shoulder, looking to the sky. Had Spike and Jakkobb caught up with them already? She and the vampire hopped into the air as he twisted gracefully and glided with the breeze.
She wrapped her arms around the narrow trunk when she and Tom perched near the top of the oak tree. She looked down, she wouldn't be able to get her arms most of the way around the trunk at the base, but up here it was easy. "Why are we staying? Spike will find us."
"No, we're staying downwind, and not making any noise."
"Why-"
He slapped a hand against her mouth and sternly shook his head.
"Mmmf. Mm!" This time, she received most of his fist in her mouth.
So, she did the only sensible thing she could think of, and bit down as hard as she could.
He looked with all the fury of a hurricane. His eyes widened in amazement at the same time he tried to narrow them in pure anger. His whole face contorted.
With that small victory, she released her jaws and let her attention fall back to the dead horse.
From out of the long shadows of the night, they watched as five bears, running on all fours with the momentum of a rockslide, pounced on their camp. Their fur was black; their claws were easily as long or longer than Der's entire hand; and each one must have weighed four times her mass. They ripped into the horse's flesh as violently as the calvar beasts Der had seen a year ago.
