2

"Take it. Honestly Chloris, if you don't take this mission I will be forced to suspend you from you duties until further notice."

Chloris looked down. She wouldn't mind if Rand did that. She didn't like her duties as a warrior of the city. That would be all the inspiration she needed to go and live a quiet life somewhere else.

"I know what you're thinking; it won't happen. I will be prepared to take drastic measures to make sure you don't run away. You don't want that do you?"

"You can't assign a guard battalion to me!" Chloris' usually calm voice rose in alarm.

"Can and will. Chloris," he paused, sweeping long black hair away from his face, "this mission, is vitally important. Only you can carry this burden. You know this because of what you are."

Chloris clenched both fists tight to her sides and stared hard into the wall behind Rand's face. Why did he, of all people have to keep reminding her?

"Your skills are best served in battle and I am reluctant to let you go-"

"Then send someone else."

"But," he continued without hesitation, "however I look at it you are the only one that can go. All your abilities will need to be used to get the artifact to where it is needed."

"My abilities," Chloris scoffed, "are second rate compared to others of my kind as you so respectfully call them. The powers in my bloodstream are not pure. They are tainted. I am weak. Compared to others of my race I am nothing but a child. And you know this as well."

"But, compared to most you are abnormally skilled." Rand's eyes flashed. "Listen to me, I'm arguing with one of my soldiers. My order should be enough. You're spoiled Chloris."

"I do try."

"Take it. That's an order, not a request." Rand spun on his heal and called as he walked stiffly away, "You know what will happen if you don't."

If Rand only knew what had happened to her. Would he have sent her on this mission if he knew that this had happened?

Chloris had been right to suspect an attack. Her foresight was unclear because of the taint in her blood, but she had seen an attack.

Chloris' cheek stung. The slap had landed hard. She looked with loathing at the woman that had caused her so much grief; her mother.

Chloris wouldn't cry, she hadn't cried since she was a small infant; instead she had learned to hate.

Her mother shrank from her gaze. "You monster!" she cried, "go cast your horrific gaze on someone else!"

Chloris drew her tall, willowy frame up and stared straight into her mother's eyes. The woman's pupils contracted with fear. Chloris' gray eye flashed red.

"If I am such a monster," Chloris said calmly in her multi-toned voice, "you would have cast me out long ago. Unless you were too afraid."

Her cowering mother trembled and looked away. "As I thought." Chloris spun on her heal and strode out of the cottage door. Little did she know that it would be the last time she would ever see her mother again.

Sometimes Chloris cursed her mother for bringing her into the world, other times she cursed her mothers influence on her blood- inheritance. If it hadn't been for her Chloris would have had all the abilities of her father's bloodline. Instead she had inherited her mother's human blood. Her mother had ruined her life. If she had been born to another of her father's kind she would have been accepted by his race. Instead she was hated by both. She was the curse nobody wanted. Except Rand…

Chloris shook her head. Rand would loose faith in her if he saw her now, on her back, pinned to the ground by two daggers, only two, rain pouring over her, drenching her clothes and black hair, pasting them to her skin. She closed her eyes, waiting for what was to come. He wouldn't kill her, she knew. If he wanted to, he could have murdered her from a distance, not putting himself in danger.

"If you promise not to move, I might tell you what I'm going to do." Once again the man's voice caught her off guard.

Chloris sighed. "If I lie?"

"You won't move anyway."

Chloris' eyes opened in surprise. "How so?"

In response he removed both daggers and then hauled her roughly against a tree. Grimly he bound her against the tree, then, for good measure he put the daggers back into their original position. "You won't move now, will you?"

Chloris cursed, her voice becoming louder and multi-toned with anger. Her steal gray eye flashed red, as she prepared to call upon her power…

"I wouldn't do that."

"How would you know?"

"Fine, do it and discover why for yourself. And," he continued, "it won't do you any good if you raise your voice, only I will be able to hear you."

Chloris' anger flared, and then sputtered. "Wha… what?" Then she felt it. Her throat constricted, her breathing grew short, her heart beating became irregular, and her vision began to blur. She tried to push her body's reactions to the back of her mind, but even this simple power was unavailable to her. In response her reactions became worse. Her hearing was becoming fuzzy…

"I told you so."

Her captor's voice cut through the fog in her body. Suddenly, the illusion snapped. Her body slowly came back to normal, and she could dimly grasp what was happening to her.

"You're controlling my mind." The multi-tones of her voice were gone. Her voice sounded slurred and forced.

A grim laugh from her captor. "Now you have no choice but to listen to what I have to tell you." He could see her eye dimming from its red cast back to its steal gray. "But first, as I said before you gave me all that trouble I have to get rid of your two tag-a-longs."

Suddenly Chloris' sight sharpened as if of its own will and she knew he was controlling her again. It sped towards her companions at a dizzying rate through the rain. They were still there. They hadn't moved. Chloris registered that all that had happened must have happened in only a few minutes if not seconds.

Suddenly the front-most companion toppled off of his horse, blood pooling from his throat where, it appeared, one of her crossbow bolts had struck him. He was dead. The other of her companions wheeled his horse and set off at a full gallop back down the trail from which they had come. To Chloris' surprise he wasn't killed. His murder wasn't even attempted.

Just as suddenly as it had happened her sight returned to normal. The man was returning, her crossbow in hand. He removed both daggers and cut her bonds, catching Chloris just as she sagged to the ground.

Merrick smiled. His captive was drained from the manipulation of her mind. It didn't matter. She would sleep for a day or two, and that would give him enough time to get her away and set the scene for those that would come for her.

He leaned her against the tree to which she had been bound, tying her hands just incase she woke early, and went to go find her horse. He brought the animal back and tied it to a low branch where it could get to grass easily. Then he left again.

He searched the body of her fallen companion. Hidden within his cloak was a vial of powder, undoubtedly poison, smiling her pocketed that, along with his weapons.

He returned to Chloris a moment later. He hauled her up onto the horse easily, then untied it and mounted behind her. Without hesitation Merrick galloped away from the site, cutting through the woods and heading northeast.

"What's wrong with you Chloris? I would have expected more! Shoot!"

Chloris' right eye was sore. "I don't know if I want to Rand," she said sheepishly, lowering her crossbow.

"It's not a matter of what you want Chloris- it's what I'm ordering to do. Soldiers follow orders," Rand roared, "shoot!'

"I'm not a soldier," Chloris mumbled.

"What did you say Chloris, maybe you should speak up so that everyone in the training yard can hear?"

Chloris rolled her eyes. Rand's temper was short. With a sigh she looked at the sky in a careless manner and yelled, "I said, incase no one heard the first time, that I am not one to take orders. I am not a soldier!" She looked back down at Rand's face in delight, waiting for an explosion.

Rand looked like he wanted to punch her. He stood fuming for a moment before he met her eyes calmly. "Fine. Two can play the same game." He turned and called over his shoulder for his attendant to bring a crossbow and bolts.

"What are you doing?" she cried, shocked that he had calmed down so quickly.

"Playing your game," he repeated stubbornly, meeting her eyes again.

Chloris took an involuntary step back. Not many people met her mismatched eyes unless she made them to. Yet, he met her's with a challenge and full confidence. She wasn't used to it.

"What are you going to do to play my game then?"

As an answer he leveled the bow and loosed a bolt, hitting the center of the target without taking time to aim. He tossed his head. "You aren't going to lose to me are you?" he asked mischievously.

Chloris sighed, knowing what she was walking into. She considered losing face with all the people in the yard and refusing his obvious challenge. Then, resigning herself, she raised her crossbow and nocked a bolt. "I don't take losing well." She carefully took aim and fired, then nocked another and fired again, and another. All of her bolts clustered neatly around Rand's bolt.

"See," he said, the victory plain in his face, "if you try you do well."

"Not nearly as well as if let me use my left side."

Rand scratched his neck. "Back to this again?" He sighed. "I thought we were over this. To become a strong fighter, you need to be able to use both sides of your body equally well. I know you would have split my arrow and every arrow after that if I would have allowed you to use your eye. But," he rolled his eyes and laughed, "I don't want you to go back to only being able to use your left hand or side for everything. You don't want that do you? You depend on that eye of yours too much."

Chloris' eyes fluttered. She should have listened to Rand and not used her left side for anything at all, even taking his advice and wearing an eye-patch. She rolled over, preparing to go back to sleep.

She sat bolt upright.

Chloris wasn't in her bed. Her eyes darted around.

She was propped against a tree on the side of a small clearing. Her hands were bound, her hair was unwashed, and her skin was muddy and scratched. She rolled over, trying to feel with her back where the globe was. It was gone! She began to breathe hard, groping for her dagger frantically. It too was gone.

Chloris' felt a sudden stab in her stomach. She curled up on her side quivering. What had happened came in a flood. The capture and the killing of her companions, the manipulation of her mind…

Chloris became nauseated. Before she knew it she was on her knees retching in the grass.

A cool hand on her back.

She heaved once more, and then looked up. It was the man. Involuntarily, she shrugged off his hand and cringed away against the tree, eyes flicking back and forth nervously.

Instead of calming her or striking at her, he simply turned away and started talking. "You've slept for roughly one and a half days. The sleep and the sickness are a result of having your mind manipulated. The reactions are usually the worst the first time it happens. I have a few questions to ask you when you calm down, and I'm sure you have a few to ask me, not that I'll answer them. Once more if you calm down I'll let you wash your face and hair in the creek at the other end of the clearing, then you can eat some food and have a drink, fair?"

His careless tone surprised Chloris. He treated her as if nothing had happened in the previous days. He treated her as if she was a clueless, obedient puppy, the kind that wouldn't question orders. She hated orders. That kind of treatment irked her.

She opened her mouth to utter a curse and a retort, when he turned back towards her. "I see your temper is back to normal," he said just as carelessly.

Chloris was taken aback. She looked up into his face. He met her eyes. Her temper immediately abated. She didn't like when people met her eyes, but she didn't look away.

Her captor had white blonde hair and dark brown eyes. He looked to be in his late twenties. He was both tall and muscular. He had an intimidating manner with an air of silent power. Despite the heat he wore a heavy cloak of black that covered his neck and clothes. She searched his face, and then let her eyes wander. They lingered for a time on the thick black gauntlets he wore. No skin, but that on his face could be seen. She immediately pushed the facts to the back of her mind to summon later. He was probably dressed that way for the task of capturing her in the dark.

Her eyes traveled back up to his face and she became aware that he had been aware of her watching him. He shook his head slightly, and instantly she dismissed the thought- or had he dismissed it for her? Her frustration began to mount again. Chloris began to run her hands through her tangled hair with her nervous energy. Or tried, her hands were bound. She sighed heavily. It was troublesome to have to worry about what she was thinking all the time, and to wonder if the thought had been put there!

The man chuckled.

Chloris looked up again quickly, and then looked away when he caught her eye. If he knew her thoughts, then he could see her movements and her intentions then counter them, she had no way to escape. The possibilities were grim.

She let her analytical thinking take over. She could stay for a while, befriend this person or whatever, and when he lost vigilance she could run away. That was a weak prospect; this person was the professional type that viewed kidnapping like a job. She could go along with what he wanted then kill him later; but again this seemed unlikely. She doubted that she could combat with him. Or…. she closed her eyes…..or, she could kill herself. The globe certainly wouldn't get to its destination, but the information she carried would die with her, it wouldn't get to the enemy. This was grim, but it seemed to be the best option.

A soft tap on her forehead.

Chloris opened her eyes and instinctively swatted the hand away.

"Those thoughts aren't wise, and it tires me so to try to keep up with you. You should really just go and wash up."

Chloris didn't even bother to get frustrated or bewildered. She was gradually getting used to this man's behavior. With some effort she stood and took some time to steady her uneasy feet. He cut the thick rope that bound her hands. Then, slowly, she stumbled towards the sound of the creek. She was relieved he didn't help her or follow her. She needed some time away from this man's alarming abilities.

Merrick watched her go. When her back was turned, he self-consciously tugged his cloak tighter up onto his neck and began to gather wood for a fire. He would savor his time by the fire for now, but soon search parties would be out.

He leaned back against a tree. Thoughtfully, he stirred the flames.