Disclaimer:  I do not own Thom or any of his families, or any other characters that you recognize from the books that I forgot to mention up here.  They were all written by the wonderful, magnificent Tamora Pierce; all rights from them go to her.  However, Aliah, Delvin, all of his henchmen, and some other things belong to me.  TO ME!!  Oops, that wasn't supposed to be capitalized; my shift key is sticking!!  Oops, that doesn't belong in a disclaimer, does it?
Reviewers!  I love you all! 

Charmgirl:  I am so glad that you like it!!  Is this the story that you were looking for?

Lady Arabian Knight:  *squeals* You like it!  You really like it!!

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Thom watched in horror as the bolt of light shot through the girl.  He had realized to late what the mage had been doing; there had been nothing that he could have done to stop it.  With an angry shout, he sprinted down the hill as the girl collapsed in a crumpled heap only a few feet from the limp body of her enemy.

He knelt beside her tiny form and placed his hands over her body.  Taking a deep breath, he gathered his magic and sent it coursing through his body.  Her arm was broken, that would need to be fixed first.  She had numerous cuts and bruises; one, on her leg, was deep to the point of showing bone. 

Five minutes later, the cuts and bruises had been diminished considerably and her arm was mended.  She would still need a sling, but she wouldn't be in any more pain.

Thom stood up stiffly and stretched; the girl's injuries had taken a lot out of him.  Apparently, they had taken a lot out of her as well, for, though she was breathing easy now, she was sleeping deeply and didn't look like she would wake up for anything anytime soon. 

Mithros, she's beautiful, Thom thought, staring down at her.  She was, if he guessed right, about seventeen years old, only a year younger than himself.  Her tiny form was well curved, full, and muscled, but lying there on the ground she looked so vulnerable.  Thom, making a quick decision, carefully scooped up the unconscious beauty and made his way over to his horse, carefully ignoring the injured men all around him.  Thom had always been able to sense a person's character, and these people had an unmistakable air of evil about them; especially the men in the dark robes. 

Once at his horse, though, Thom found himself presented with a problem: how to get the girl on the horse as well as himself.  He could seat her up there and try to hold her upright while attempting to mount, but visions of the girl tumbling off the opposite side of the horse stopped him trying that.  He could tie her to the horse, but he didn't have any rope.  Finally, Thom carefully threw the girl over his shoulder and mounted.  Once in the saddle, he pulled her down and situated her in front of him.  With one arm around her slim waist and the other holding the rein, he gave one last look at the men sprawled about and gently spurred his horse onward.

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It was an uneventful ride; the girl never stirred for the whole five hours that it took to reach Pirate's Swoop.  When Thom rode into the courtyard, it was empty, though he had rather expected that, it being lunch.  Of course, with no one around, he had to somehow find a way to get off the horse without accidentally dropping the girl.

He was still sitting in the middle of the courtyard contemplating his problem when a young man jounced into view, whistling cheerfully and tossing an apple from hand to hand.

"Aden!" Thom shouted with relief, recognizing the stable hand.  "Aden, get over her and help me."

"Thom?" Aden asked in surprise, running over to his side.  "What are you doing here?  And who is she?"

Thom shook his head.  "I don't know who she is; I found her.  Just help me off the horse, alright?"

Aden nodded and held out his arms, which Thom promptly filled with the girl's limp body. 

"Mithros, if that ain't the prettiest thing I've ever seen, knock me on the head with a rock!" Aden exclaimed, looking down at his bundle with admiration.  Thom chuckled, trying to squash the sudden flash of jealousy he felt, and dismounted. 

"Here," he said, reaching for her, suddenly itchy to have her back, "Give her to me."  Aden complied.  "And do me a favor, will you Aden?"

"Sure thing."

"Could you find my parents for me?  Tell them that I'm out here."  Aden nodded and sprinted off to find Alanna and George.

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Yeah, that was kind of a boring chapter.  But I needed it; the next one will be better, I promise.  Please review!!