Nightshade

"You are injured. I will not take you with me."

"That's not up for discussion."

"Yes, it is."

We measured each other with glances. Under any other circumstance, I would have backed down. But not now. Finally, it was he who turned away and began pacing the room like a trapped animal. I waited. If there was one thing I had learned, it was that he was as stubborn as I was. And I wasn't wrong, he actually tried again.

"I have already put you in enough danger. You're right - I need your help, but I won't let something like this," he pointed to my arm, "happen again."

I sighed, "You are not responsible for me, Legolas."

"But I put you in this situation in the first place. If it hadn't been for me, then…"

" Isn't that what I've always argued before?"

He shrugged and continued his rambling.

"I have agreed to help you. But I can only do that if you let me," I tried again, but in a softer voice. This seemed to work, because he stopped. And before I could make any further effort, he said softly, "I don't want anything to happen to you."

Somehow I was touched by how uncertain he looked. But it wasn't until I met his gaze and he couldn't meet mine that I realized he wasn't trying to manipulate me. I was experiencing a premiere, or at least I thought I was. This one time he seemed to mean what he said, this one time he revealed to me his real motive. Or was he just damn cleverly exploiting my weakness for him? Was he that good an actor?

I didn't know what to say. So I responded the way I knew best: prickly. "I'll be fine."

The moment of uncertainty was over, and Legolas briefly ran his hand over his eyes. "If you can't help it, then come with me."

Silence enveloped us and I felt guilty. It was irrational, for I was still sure that I had been in the right. Nevertheless, his concerns could not be dismissed either: I was hurt, and if our pursuers turned us in again, I wouldn't get far. Nevertheless, just the idea of sitting here alone and not knowing what was happening was almost unbearable. I had to come along. That was out of the question.

Embarrassed, I cleared my throat. "Thank you."

An ironic smile appeared on Legolas' face, and I was overcome with the feeling that, although he had accepted his fate, the last word had not yet been spoken.

"I will arm myself now, and you rest in the meantime. When I return, we should develop a strategy. Think about it while I'm gone."

I looked at him suspiciously. "Do you seriously think I'll just let you go after we talk?"

"If you don't want to die at the first chance, you have no choice."

Again, he had a point. If he was armed, our chances were far better. But still: I didn't trust him. "Promise you won't leave me here alone."

Surrendered, he raised his arms. "I promise."

"Did you cross your fingers?"

Legolas raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Oh, nothing."

Without another comment, he threw the bundle over his shoulder and headed for the door. Just before he did so, he stopped again and gave me a look - assessive, and if I wasn't mistaken, there was some wariness in him as well. Then he pushed down the handle and disappeared into the darkness of the hallway.

At first I stayed where I was, pondering Legolas' promise. Had it been right to let him go? Would he come back, or leave me sitting here until doomsday?

After a while I could stand it no longer and got up. I was supposed to rest, but that was easier said than done. Inside I was as stirred up as the sea in bad weather. Why hadn't Legolas' friend been more specific? Even if he had been followed, he could have just kept his voice down. No one would have overheard.

How were we supposed to find anything with nothing more than a rough indication of direction? The harbor was large, and as I assessed the situation, the thing on which all our efforts were focused was probably quite small and insignificant.

And another thought fueled my suspicion: What if it had been the intention of our pursuers that we hear this message? What if they were already waiting for us there?

It was just a guess and I was aware that quite a few variables did not fit into the picture.

After all, they had already had us in their power once. If they had wanted to kill us, the opportunity would already have been there.

But the longer I thought about it, the more it seemed to me as if the gunman in front of the mausoleum who had hit me in the arm had hesitated for a moment before pulling the trigger. Had he been instructed to wound me but not kill me? That made us an easy target if in doubt, because Legolas would not leave me behind if attacked.

I paced back and forth, then stepped to the window. When we had escaped from the van, it had already seemed too easy, and now that feeling finally made sense: they had let us go. Not without a fight, to be sure, so we wouldn't be suspicious, but the bottom line was that so far it must have gone exactly the way our pursuers had thought it would. The question now was what they hoped to achieve and whether the attack on the mausoleum had really only been a trick. Were we still one step ahead of them? Or were we behaving exactly as they expected us to?

I took one deep breath and rubbed my temples. A headache was eating into them, making it harder to think with each passing minute. Legolas had been right: it would be wiser if I didn't go. But I could just as easily be wrong. And as much as the thought of ending up in the grasp of our pursuers frightened me, I was even more uncomfortable when I thought about staying alone. Didn't people always say that four eyes saw more than two?

I put my hand to the glass and touched the trace of a raindrop running down the glass on the other side. As I did so, a movement in the shadows of the night caught my eye. I squinted my eyes.

A small red dot glowed and then went out again. Someone was smoking down there, in a pole position to observe the building complex. Legolas had said that it was abandoned. So why would anyone be watching him?

Following an impulse, I pressed myself against the wall next to the window and fished for the cable of the lamp. I quickly turned it off and waited a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Then I peered back down.

Sure enough, there was a shadow leaning against the opposite house entrance, staring in my direction.