1 The Distant Man
Chapter 4
~*~Disclaimer: I don't own any of this. ~*~
Alanna groggily sat up, she was under some blankets and a fire was going, with a strange man poking it up. "Who are you? And why did you shoot Faile?" She started to stand up when he motioned not to.
"You need to sit back down, that lump won't go down any faster." Alanna touched her head, where a large lump had risen, what a headache she had! "You may call me Dreamdancer."
"Dreamdancer?" Alanna asked questioningly. "What kind of name is that?" This man was very strange, first he shot Faile, and then asked about what she had done to her, and then knocked her out and gave her advice on how to get rid of the lump? What was up with this? This guy had to take a reality check.
He looked at her sharply. "Don't make fun of my name, Lioness."
"Lioness?"
His mouth twisted sardonically. "You don't know your spirit name? Come on, they don't teach you anything?
She looked confused. "I don't get it."
"Dreamdancer is my spirit name. I can find people who ordinarily can't be found. Faile is my sister. She is a Hawk, a proud hunter looking for her enemy." He shifted slightly on his seat before continuing. "I did not shoot her, Lioness. That was her enemy, the Shadowlost."
"Great merciful Goddess! I am so confused." She did indeed look so.
"Well, Faile said that she was breaking out of the convent. I figured she would stay here because this is my cave. This is all my stuff. I stay here when I'm not on the run."
"On the run? From what?"
"From the Shadowlost. We do not know who he is. We speak of him when we are sure no one is listening. The Shadowlost does not have a soul. He is pure evil, waiting to capture souls to do his bidding. He is not quite, well, human. There is an elite force fighting him. We are called the Nightrunners. We are an undercover force, who track his followers and bring them to rest. He, the Shadowlost, wants to conquer the world."
"How does one become part of this force?" Alanna pulled up the covers around her face; it was quite cold in here.
"You need training. You must have the Gift, which I see you do a quite powerful one. Although you do not use it as much as you should. You must be able to ride, shoot, fence, and use your Gift as well as any other man."
"You don't discriminate against women?" This was unbelievable. A powerful group that did not discriminate. What a deal.
"No, not exactly. We don't send out women on field jobs as much as men. But we do let women in. They become spies mostly. They are taken and trained and put in places where we use women to be on the look out. In taverns, on the street, in the palace, anywhere we might need them. You might do though, you just might do. We don't take just anyone, you know.
" I can do it. I'm not afraid of anything. The Shadowlost won't stand a chance against me. I am strong."
"Are you sure? Once you commit you can't back out. This is a formidable enemy you are up against. If you commit and fail to make it through the training, we will have to kill you." He looked deep into her eyes, seeing her and nobody else. "You'll do, you'll do quite nicely, Lioness. Another very important detail is that you can never call anybody anything but his or her spirit name. You cannot know their real name. You know Faile's real name. You can never betray her. Do you understand?"
"I do." Alanna licked her lips; this was a big commitment. "I'll do it. I am going to beat this Shadowlost. It is my destiny."
He laughed then, but it didn't touch his eyes. His eyes were cold, like a winter's heart. "Of course it is Lioness, now go back to sleep. And Lioness,"
"Yes?"
"I apologize for knocking you out, I didn't know if you were a friend or an enemy. And Faile is going to be fine. The arrow missed anything vital."
Alanna sighed and lay back down. It had been a long day. A long and very complicated day.
A/N Do you like it? Do you hate it? Please review. I want at least 3 reviews before I keep writing the next chapter. Flame me please!
Chapter 4
~*~Disclaimer: I don't own any of this. ~*~
Alanna groggily sat up, she was under some blankets and a fire was going, with a strange man poking it up. "Who are you? And why did you shoot Faile?" She started to stand up when he motioned not to.
"You need to sit back down, that lump won't go down any faster." Alanna touched her head, where a large lump had risen, what a headache she had! "You may call me Dreamdancer."
"Dreamdancer?" Alanna asked questioningly. "What kind of name is that?" This man was very strange, first he shot Faile, and then asked about what she had done to her, and then knocked her out and gave her advice on how to get rid of the lump? What was up with this? This guy had to take a reality check.
He looked at her sharply. "Don't make fun of my name, Lioness."
"Lioness?"
His mouth twisted sardonically. "You don't know your spirit name? Come on, they don't teach you anything?
She looked confused. "I don't get it."
"Dreamdancer is my spirit name. I can find people who ordinarily can't be found. Faile is my sister. She is a Hawk, a proud hunter looking for her enemy." He shifted slightly on his seat before continuing. "I did not shoot her, Lioness. That was her enemy, the Shadowlost."
"Great merciful Goddess! I am so confused." She did indeed look so.
"Well, Faile said that she was breaking out of the convent. I figured she would stay here because this is my cave. This is all my stuff. I stay here when I'm not on the run."
"On the run? From what?"
"From the Shadowlost. We do not know who he is. We speak of him when we are sure no one is listening. The Shadowlost does not have a soul. He is pure evil, waiting to capture souls to do his bidding. He is not quite, well, human. There is an elite force fighting him. We are called the Nightrunners. We are an undercover force, who track his followers and bring them to rest. He, the Shadowlost, wants to conquer the world."
"How does one become part of this force?" Alanna pulled up the covers around her face; it was quite cold in here.
"You need training. You must have the Gift, which I see you do a quite powerful one. Although you do not use it as much as you should. You must be able to ride, shoot, fence, and use your Gift as well as any other man."
"You don't discriminate against women?" This was unbelievable. A powerful group that did not discriminate. What a deal.
"No, not exactly. We don't send out women on field jobs as much as men. But we do let women in. They become spies mostly. They are taken and trained and put in places where we use women to be on the look out. In taverns, on the street, in the palace, anywhere we might need them. You might do though, you just might do. We don't take just anyone, you know.
" I can do it. I'm not afraid of anything. The Shadowlost won't stand a chance against me. I am strong."
"Are you sure? Once you commit you can't back out. This is a formidable enemy you are up against. If you commit and fail to make it through the training, we will have to kill you." He looked deep into her eyes, seeing her and nobody else. "You'll do, you'll do quite nicely, Lioness. Another very important detail is that you can never call anybody anything but his or her spirit name. You cannot know their real name. You know Faile's real name. You can never betray her. Do you understand?"
"I do." Alanna licked her lips; this was a big commitment. "I'll do it. I am going to beat this Shadowlost. It is my destiny."
He laughed then, but it didn't touch his eyes. His eyes were cold, like a winter's heart. "Of course it is Lioness, now go back to sleep. And Lioness,"
"Yes?"
"I apologize for knocking you out, I didn't know if you were a friend or an enemy. And Faile is going to be fine. The arrow missed anything vital."
Alanna sighed and lay back down. It had been a long day. A long and very complicated day.
A/N Do you like it? Do you hate it? Please review. I want at least 3 reviews before I keep writing the next chapter. Flame me please!