Note from Author: Sorry about the delay in posting school was a priority. I am posting several chapters at once they are kind of short like chapter one. I hope you enjoy them let me know what you think.

Chapter 4

"Are you hurt?" Elise asked as she approached D. Her voice held little of the concern she actually felt. After all if she had not hired him he would not have been placed in such a spot.

"It's hardly worth noting," D said his returning his pristine blade to the sheath on his back. "We should get moving. It will take us a two day run to reach the next town without a horse."

Elise tried not to think about the run as she returned to her mutilated horse. She had put many upgrades in the biomechanical mount. This was not the reason she paused to stroke its blood soaked mane before collecting her belongings. It had been a present on from her Father on her sixteenth birthday. It was hard to believe that was three years ago.

Whispering a soft goodbye, she stood. Strapping her saddle to her back, she turned to see D standing with his saddle in a similar position. With a deep breath, the pair began their run toward the next village.

"Can we please stop?" Elise asked. Her breathing was labored and a light sheen was evident on the pale skin of her face and throat.

"It will take us longer to reach the village," D answered. He showed none of the signs of fatigue that plagued Elise.

The pair had been running nonstop since the incident last night. Elise was in excellent condition even by dhampir standards, but she was no match for D. He was a machine.

"I need to rest, or you'll be dragging my body into the village," Elise said.

She bent over putting her hands on her knees to steady herself. She could never remember being this tired in her life. It was probably due to the sun beating down on her from above. She usually tried to avoid the mid day heat. She had never had a problem with heat syndrome, but she felt dangerously close to her first episode.

Trudging over to the small clump of trees Elise dropped the useless saddle from her back and laid down in the shade of an alder tree. The ground felt like a cool bed calling her to sleep. It had been three days since the last time she had slept and the exertions she was undergoing did little to help her resist the summons. Through a force of will, she managed to hold exhaustion at bay.

Joining her D dropped the saddle for his last steed next to Elise's and leaned against an ash tree. By all accounts, these trees had no business in the middle of the frontier. They belonged to colder, more northern regions, and yet through the ingenuity of the nobles they stood here thriving.

"Tell me D, why did you come looking for me?" Elise asked. She didn't expect and answer. She just needed a distraction to stop sleep from claiming her. "I know I couldn't have been easy to find. Why didn't you just keep the ring or sell it? It would have been far easier."

True to form, D showed no sign of answering the questions put to him. Elise was soon fighting back the dreams that threatened to claim her when D's smooth baritone called her back to reality.

"Your mother paid me well for my efforts. As far as finding you, it was a simple matter if you know what to look for."

A small smile played at the corner of Elise's mouth. "I don't suppose you would tell me what to look for."

"Are you rested enough?" D asked ignoring Elise's comment.

Disregarding the screams of discomfort from her muscles Elise stood. She was about to grab her saddle from where it lay, but it was snatched from her grasping hand. She looked at D with annoyance and little jealousy. He now had one saddle slung across his back and the other tucked safely under his arm.

"Give me one of those," Elise objected. D started forward. "It's going to take you longer to draw your sword. You'll be of no use to me dead. Not to mention, you'll be unable to collect your payment if you are unable to complete your task," she argued.

Stopping, D handed Elise her saddle and belongings. Once she secured them in place, again she began to wish she had simply allowed him to keep it. Setting the pace a little slower than before, D continued on the trail with Elise a few paces behind him.