Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice or any of its characters
Rain poured down on Halt as he sat by the river, watching the muddy water race on. Not caring whether about what was happening, Halt left his cowl down. It only took a matter of seconds before he was drenched. Still not moving, Halt became increasingly aware of a presence behind him. Not that he cared much, maybe he'd get lucky and they'd put a crossbow bolt through his chest. Nothing happened and eventually Halt stood up, holding back shivers.
"Are you here to kill me?" he asked calmly as he turned around. It was hard to see the figure in the sheet of rain coming down. All Halt could tell was that the man was wearing dark clothing and had an impressive build.
"Where is he?" the man asked in a deep voice. Halt huffed and wiped his nose with a sleeve. He knew the stranger was inquiring about Conlan.
"Where've you been? He jumped, landed with a splat," Halt growled, barely keeping his voice calm. Fury danced in his eyes. Oh how he wanted to just jump in the river and be carried away, maybe he'd drown in the swift current.
"You're Halt?" the figure said, as if getting confirmation.
"If you're going to put an arrow through me I'd prefer it be now," Halt answered, getting rather agitated.
Without warning the stranger darted forward and sliced at Halt with a wicked looking blade. Instincts kicking in, Halt leaned back so the blade whizzed past him. Halt grabbed his saxe knife by the hilt, ready to fight back. What better way to get your anger out than stab somebody?
The stranger leaped at him again and Halt was barely in time to keep the blade from slicing his head off. He felt the tip graze his neck as he pushed back on the weapon, making the attacker take a step back. Ducking to avoid a swing by Halt, the man rammed his weapon upwards, succeeding in driving the knife into Halt. With a cruel smile, the man went to withdraw his knife. Before he could though, something sharp pierced his neck and his body went limp, falling to the ground where it was then kicked into the rushing water of the river.
Halt felt the pain flaring through his being, the origin where the knife was lodged in his stomach. There wasn't much bleeding as the knife acted as a plug but there was enough to be worried about. Drawing his cloak around himself and doing his best to ignore it, Halt started the slow and painful trek back to the castle. But not to find Lucas, or any other healer for that matter.
Crowley climbed the steps to the tower in a hurry. After getting somebody to clear Conlan's body from the courtyard, he'd begun his search for Halt. He knew his friend had left the castle but as the rain began to come down in torrents, the commandant suspected Halt may have come back. First he'd checked his friend's apartment, and then Pauline's and even went to Chubbs' kitchen to see if Halt was after wine. He found Halt in none of those places and drew a conclusion that the Ranger was ready to go like Conlan. By the time he'd reached the top of the stairs, Crowley was perhaps prepared for the worse. Opening the wooden door in haste, he burst onto the tower's top. The heavy downpour had turned into a drizzle by now. There was a sodden figure leaning on the crenel where Conlan had jumped from. Halt's head was down so he was looking at his hands that were clasped together.
"I'm not going to jump," Halt said before Crowley had a chance to speak. There was something wrong, Crowley could tell. A certain pain in his friend's voice and he was positive it wasn't from his recent losses. Crowley looked closer and saw that Halt seemed to be tense, like he was flexing, only he wasn't.
"Need anything?" Crowley asked as he started forward, something was definitely wrong.
"Conlan, Pauline, a nice drink would be good as well," Halt muttered in a forced voice. "I know you're behind me," he added and Crowley stopped his advance.
"I can't get you any of that," Crowley answered. "You're going to get sick if you stay out here. Let's go inside," Crowley said. Halt shook his head.
"No, I'm staying here," Halt argued in his strained manner. "Just go Crowley." That seemed to be his favorite line for the past few days. Only this time Crowley didn't listen. Taking a few more steps forward, Crowley laid a hand on Halt's shoulder.
"Halt, I'm not even going to try and convince you I know what you're going through because I don't. I feel Pauline's loss but not as much as you and I know that. But just listen. I wouldn't blame you if you jumped off this tower right now. I know that you want to be run through with a sword but it's not going to be like this forever," Crowley said. Halt gave a short laugh.
"No, it's going to be over soon," he answered as he straightened. Still avoiding looking at Crowley, Halt scratched an itch on his chin.
"What's going on?" Crowley demanded as he realized Halt's breathing was a bit ragged and shallow. He also realized how drained of color Halt was.
"Nothing," Halt answered and Crowley forced him to turn around.
From Halt's abdomen down he was soaked in thick red blood. The knife's hilt poked out of his stomach and Crowley had to jump into action as Halt began to crumple.
"What the hell happened Halt?" Crowley demanded as he caught Halt's full weight and struggled to keep him standing.
"It's over Crowley," Halt mumbled before everything went black.
All right, that was terrible...and short...don't know if I should just end it here because I've come down with a lack of ideas, please review.