Chapter 25: Lyanna
This has got to be the most stupid thing I've ever done in my whole entire life. Why did I let my guard down? How on Earth could I have been so careless and stupid?
"Don't move or I will tear a lovely big gaping hole in your neck. It will sound like a very pretty whistle when you breathe." The hunter hissed and I raised an eyebrow, there wasn't enough venom in his words to make me believe he will carry out what he says he will be doing.
"Whistle. I'd love to hear you whistle." I chuckled slightly and replied; only to distract them from the footsteps I've being hearing. Silence and a warm trickle of blood running down my throat was my only response. Well, I guess hunters don't have much humor. I could hear the tension in those footsteps and slightly rustle of leaves as if brushed by soft wings. There was no doubt that it was Phynix. I glanced around me, and sensed at least ten to twenty hunters nearby, and a rather sinister feeling settled over me as I expanded my sense further. Somewhere just beyond my eyeshot, there was two particularly interesting prescenses. One filled with surprise and hatred and one was filled with such coldness that it sends a shiver down my spine.
"Scared now, are you?"
'So he wants me to be scared… Well, I will let him have his fun, it might buy us all some time...' I thought and prayed to whoever might have been listening, that Phynix would have the intelligence to run away from here and stay hidden.
"Actually, I have to admit I kind of am... But, why are you here?" I let my voice shrink down to a small whisper and let my body go limp as if giving up. Both hunters are about an inch taller than me so with the most innocent and frightened expression I can manage, I stared up at them with my eyes wide and watery like I was on the verge of tears.
Apparently, they don't have a soft spot for wide eyes or innocent expressions so I sighed softly and did the one thing that I utterly detest. Be a weakling. Yet, as I glanced at Elwynn's unconscious form and Phynix's presence just behind one of the trees, waiting to strike, I figured that it didn't matter what, I just needed to distract them all for one second. That was all I needed to break free and being weak was the only way. I let all parts of my body loosen up and sagged against the hunter, closing my eyes and let out a small whine that sounded more like an angry moan than a whine to me. But gladly, the hunter holding the knife just loosens up for a bit and then I dared to ask again.
"L-look, I won't fight you two. C-can I just sit down, please?" I stammered softly and immediately glued my eyes to the ground, my left hand curling around the handle of my dagger that was sheathed at my thigh.
"Alright, I suppose it won't do any harm." He lowered the knife and discarded it, then twisted both of my arms behind my back; I gritted my teeth as another wave of pain blossomed as I pulled me down with him. Something about Phynix changed, there was still an air of panic and determination around her but it seems like she had calmed down a little and was waiting for a chance to strike. I gave a small sigh of relief and strangely enough, the hunter's grip relaxed just a little that I could possibly elbow him in the stomach. He probably took that sigh as a sign of defeat. Meanwhile, perhaps I could find out why they're here, but that will take a lot of coaxing and I haven't forgotten about the ten or so hunters surrounding us.
The hunter above me looked like the cold and harsh type, no point in asking him however, the one holding me. I dare a small glance at my captor, and was greeted by and a sharp-angled face with tousled brown hair and large silver eyes that seemed to hold many secrets. He looked at me for a few seconds, then looked away, his cheeks just reddening slightly.
"Oh." I purposely let out a small squeak.
"Oh?" He replied in a deep voice.
"Nothing… I was just wondering how you found us so quickly." I wasn't so sure of my pretentious voice this time, it sound more like a demand then a question out of a scared girl's mouth. His chest heaved a bit before a knife sliced the right side of my throat, colliding with the knife already there. A steady stream of blood flowed down my throat. My cheek merely twitched as I registered the pain, watching impassively as it strained the grass scarlet. Looking over at the hunter who threw it, I noticed he was a fair distance away to have thrown it so accurately. Perhaps, one of them is somewhat worthy of my respect.
"Next time it will be your face. You're hopeless, Syth. Get off and stand guard instead." He grabbed Syth and tossed him away. He produced a rough rope and tied me to the tree with a dead knot at the back of the tree, out of my reach.
"As of your question. I will answer it. We found you so quick because we rely on our 'hidden ones'." Just as he finished speaking, another bright and a rather familiar voice rang out into the tensed clearing. If I hadn't have been sitting in a pool of my own blood with my throat sliced open, my left shoulder dislocated, my right arm broken and to top it all off, surrounded by plenty of people who wanted something from me, I would have seriously told somebody to 'kill me now.'
Ashe Blaze Emberheart has arrived.
"Lyanna, I'm sorry I'm late I was doing some hunting." His voice was overly bright and a note of doubt rose to the surface of my thoughts. The hunter above me snickered.
"Lyanna?" Worry starting to weave it's way into his voice, his sapphire-blue eyes glinted as he stepped into the clearing, sweeping the scene in one glance. Then his eyes shifted to me, then my neck, then to the pool of blood. He didn't say a single word but from the tense muscles straining underneath his t-shirt and the grim set of his mouth, nothing needed to be said. He marched to the hunter above and delivered a swift uppercut, effectively smashing his jaw before he could even blink.
"I'm sorry." He mumbled as he untied the rope and his eyes widened at my dislocated and broken arms and shoulders and that was when the chaos started. Phynix stepped out into the clearing and the hunters instantly jumped on her and Ashe rushed to her aid, leaving me with five extremely angry looking hunters.
"Hello." I grinned and touch my ankle, gaining the agility and swiftness of a wolf. I ducked as two of them rushed at me, dropping into a swift roundhouse kick then thrusting my foot up into their guts. Hearing the satisfying crunch of broken bones, I scanned around for the others only to see them turning tail and running for the hills in fright.
A muffled yelp, suspiciously coming from Phynix leaked out of the mob of hunters. I approached them stealthily, the dagger in my left hand and leaping high into the air I let out a roar of pure fury and sliced one of the hunter's head off. Silence followed as I landed on my feet, the head rolling slowly away. The hunters backed away, fear written on each of their faces and in one pair of eyes, I could see the reflection of my silver-green ones, blazing with fury. Ashe had slashes on his face and legs but otherwise is fine, Phynix, apart from looking like she had just seen a ghost, was also fine.
"Well, well, well. Looks like we will have to carry this head home." I turned around and caught sight of a young man standing by the tree, the head just around his foot. His eyes, they were just purely black and a manic grin was spread onto his face like seeing the head of a fellow hunter is the best things ever. This was no ordinary hunter; there was nothing human about him.
The speed of which he moved amazed me as he seemed to flicker before appearing beside me he touched my throat with one finger it came away scarlet and he grinned. "Beware, little hunter. The danger's closer than you think." He whispered into my ear and I tensed. With a single flick of his wrist, they disappeared. Every one of them, including the head.
"Huh?" Elwynn's squeaky voice made us all turned our heads, and then when she saw me she immediately fainted. Sighing, I rubbed my throat and winced as I spoke, "Ashe Blaze Emberheart, where in the world have you been?"
"I was looking for Phynix." His reply was without doubt but then he looked at me, "However, that's not the major problem. You have a sliced throat and a dislocated shoulder and broken arm. We need Elwynn awake."
"Can you please wake her up, Phynix? I need to stop the bleeding."
"Alright." Phynix sighed slightly and turned away.
Turning back to my human form, the pain started to register and I would've collapsed face-flat onto the grass if Ashe hasn't caught me. He ripped a strip from his t-shirt and wrapped it gently around my throat.
"I'm sorry." He looked down at me and touched me gently on the cheek; I couldn't lie or say that I his touch evoked no emotion. Even through the pain, his touch was featherlike. Somehow, that reminded me the time when I fell down and my mother cradled me in her lap yet even so I couldn't get rid of the sinister words that gave me the same message. I shook my head silently and focused my gaze on the shadowed trees around us. I don't how long before the darkness finally gave me peace, it could be a few minutes or a few hours, but for once I would like to surrender to the empty darkness then to fight.
I was alone; I could tell by the empty air surrounding me, but I knew they were not far away, I could still sense their presence. They were obviously attempting not to wake me, but even the slightest rustle would alert me and keep me awake. A million questions and one questions were running around in my mind making no sense what-so-ever, no matter how I looked at it. I don't know how they found us so quickly, I made sure all tracks were cover. Perhaps we didn't move fast enough? But that's not it… No one else would've known this place unless they've followed our every step.
A sudden wave of horror left me in shaking and sweating as I came to the realization that there was almost definitely someone spying on us. Yet, I don't know who and right now, I cannot trust anyone.
"Phynix, I need you to prepare for a truth spell. Assuming you have one, that it." The voice that spoke was calm and hard, I wish I felt that way but I can't lie to myself. That is just pathetic, I won't lie. I will admit, I'm terrified of what will happen next, but I need to know if anyone is hiding any secrets.
I think I'm going to like writing this mysterious hunter character when he reappears later... Yes... He will be back... "I VILL BE BACK!" -Good ol' Arnie Shwatza-impossible-to-spell-last-name. Read and review please! =owo=