Hey friends! So sorry it's been so long since I updated! My computer died and then we went camping and I had no internet. I hope you guys haven't lost interest because of the wait! I'll stop babbling so you guys can read! The gang belongs to Flanagan, here we go! Chapter 6!
Gilan pressed his back against the tree, his heart racing and his mind whirling. He had no clue what those men were talking about but he knew they had to be lying. There was no way Halt would attack someone without cause. He just wasn't like that. Gilan glared at the leader and Jason.
"I don't know what lies you're trying to feed me, but it won't work," he growled, his pain beginning to get the better of him, "Halt wouldn't hurt anyone without cause."
"He did, and we'll convince you of it one way or another," the leader snapped, glaring at Gilan, "your pertinent attitude won't protect you for long. You will see the truth soon enough."
Gilan shrank back involuntarily as Jason stepped forward, "Halt is a cruel and violent man. You'll see soon enough."
"He's not," Gilan shot back, glaring daggers at the men.
Jason lifted a hand to strike Gilan, but the leader stopped him.
"He doesn't understand yet, Jason," the man admonished his bully-boy, "give him time," he sighed at Gilan, "you know Halt is a fierce warrior, and he's capable of damaging people more than you know."
Gilan spat at the man, "you are delusional."
The leader calmly wiped his face, then slapped Gilan, "I will forgive your disrespect for now, but you will learn to understand. Rangers are dangerous people who need to be defeated. Since we have inferior skills with blades, the easiest way to defeat them is with the mind."
"I am one of them, you won't turn me away," Gilan snapped, raising his chin slightly, "Halt will find me."
The leader sighed and stood to his feet, tossing the knife to Jason and nodding, "do it. We need to get a move on. He won't listen to us."
Jason smiled maliciously and knelt next to Gilan, "this will prick a little," he smirked, digging the knife into Gilan's arm.
***Line Break***
Crowley stoked the fire, staring sadly into the dying embers. They needed to find Gilan. David had already lost all hope of finding his son, and Crowley himself was starting to doubt the sensibility of continuing to search. Ronan's report had come too late. They wouldn't find the missing apprentice until his captors wanted them to. The only person who had refused to give up was Halt. The Hibernian born Arulen Ranger, had continued to search high and low for his apprentice. Crowley, being Halt's best friend, had refused to leave him out on his own, despite the narrowing odds of finding the boy alive. Neither ranger wanted to face losing their own, but it was worse for Halt. Crowley knew that his friend had been torturing himself with the 'what ifs' of the whole situation. Even know, the scruffy ranger was out scouting the area for any sign of the captors. Or of Gilan himself. Halt was wearing himself thin, trying to find the boy.
"Where are you?" Crowley muttered, pulling out his maps and looking again for anywhere they might have missed.
He sighed as he saw all the many red marks on the searched areas. Then he noticed a tiny scrawl out of the corner of his eye. Gorlan Ruins. His mind flashed back to Ronan's report. The suspected involvement of Morgarath. Everything clicked into place and Crowley leapt to his feet.
"Halt!" he called, flying to his feet and running for Cropper, kicking the full coffeepot over in his haste, "Halt, I've got it!"
Halt and Abelard came crashing through the underbrush, almost running headlong into his friend, "what? What did you find?"
Crowley brandished the maps above his head triumphantly, "Gorlan!"
"What about it?" Halt demanded irritably, taking the maps from the red-head.
Crowley shook his head, "I'll explain as we ride," he spun cropper and spurred him quickly into a canter, hearing Halt join him, Crowley quickly explained his theory, "listen. Remember how there was an underground part of the Gorlan jail that the miners were unable to take down without casualties. So, Duncan just told them to leave it alone."
Halt nodded, "yes, I remember, they tried anyways and almost got several tens of men killed."
Crowley grinned, "Ronan said that he and Gilan suspected Morgarath's involvement, Right?" he didn't wait for an answer, "right, so, if you were Mogarath, where would you hide your enemy captive?"
"In jail," everything clicked and Halt spurred Abelard faster, "they're taking him to the ruins!"
"Exactly!" Crowley exclaimed, "it makes since-"
"It's the only place we haven't looked, "Halt finished, excitement and hope lacing his words.
Crowley could feel the adrenaline and anxiety coursing from Halt, but realized that some of it was coming from his as well. They raced through the woods, weaving in and out of trees, ducking under branches and jumping over fallen trees. They sped through clearing after clearing until Abelard suddenly stopped short. A thin scream reached their ears and then was cut short. Halt's face drained of color and he spun his horse towards the noise. Crowley spurred Cropper after his friend and felt his heart start to sink as a pit of dread settled in his stomach.
***Line Break***
Gilan bounced along on the back of the horse, trying to get screams of the man they had left behind out of his head. He had been of similar build and look to Gilan so they left him tied to a tree with the apprentice's blood all over him. There had already been predators circling the camp when they left. It hadn't taken long. The man had screamed several times before finally going quiet. Gilan knew it meant he was dead. He hoped someone would find him. They had put the man in Gilan's cloak and hung his oak leaf around the man's neck. Tears ran down Gilan's face. The pain and fear of the last few days were finally catching up with him. His body throbbed and ached all over and his broken bones screamed with every jolt of movement from the horse. He wanted Halt. He longed for his mentor to come racing through the trees and save him. He couldn't get himself out of this and he knew it. He heard a loud, mournful cry from the direction they had just left. It sounded familiar, but his brain was to clouded with pain and worry to identify it. The horses pulled to a stop and Gilan was pulled from the back and laid on the ground. His newly bandaged arm throbbed painfully.
"Boss," he heard a voice above him, "I think the kid's getting really bad. he needs some kid of medical attention if we don't want him to die on us. We need him, he can't die."
"I'm aware of that Wesley," Boss' voice snapped, "but now that we have those damned rangers off our tails we can actually pay some attention to him."
The two voices continued to bicker but they faded away as the men walked off. Gilan, even in his pained and deprived state, realized that the only two rangers the men could possibly be talking about were Halt and Crowley. Which meant they were close. The shout of grief that had echoed through the forest suddenly surfaced in his head and Gilan knew who it was. Halt. That meant Halt was nearby. Which meant that Halt thought he was dead. At the thought of his mentor, Gilan's head cleared and he knew what he needed to do.
***Line Break***
Crowley stared in shock at the body tied to the tree. Halt screamed in grief and anger, raced forward and chased away the wolf pack that was making a meal of it. The signature cloak identified the body as a ranger. The face was carved to near unrecognizable lengths from the wolves claws. In all aspects it looked like Gilan. The blood matted blond hair. The lanky body. Everything. But it couldn't be. It couldn't.
Crowley caught a glint of metal near a tree. As if in a trance, the red-head slowly dismounted and crossed over to it. He knelt on the ground and lifted a small silver chain with a bronze oak leaf attached to it. He flipped it over and read the small initials that had been hand pounded into the back of the leaf. GD. Gilan Davidson. Crowley was unable to tear himself away from the small insignia even when Halt came barreling back into the clearing.
Halt stopped dead when he saw Crowley knelt at the base of the tree, holding something. It glinted in the sun and caught Halt's eye. An overwhelming sense of horror and terror threatened to overwhelm him. It couldn't be Gilan. There was no way his apprentice was gone. There was no way. But he was.
*dodges bullets and arrows shot my way* I'm sorry! Halt had to believe Gilan was dead for at least a little while. It's vital for the story I promise! Meanwhile, what's Gilan gonna do now? Halt thinks he's dead and there's no one coming to his rescue! What will he possibly do?! Can't wait to publish again! It will probably happen either late tonight or tomorrow sometime. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
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