Chapter 16
"Dat be enough now."
I look through the gap between my arms I don't trust it to let them down yet. I can see a Troll holding Creton's arm. It's the same one who I talked to earlier. He just saved me, even though I'm a human, or even a warlock.
"Get your filthy hands off me if you wish to live."
He's not smiling this time, his face is set in a frown and it's deepening with every word Creton says.
"Look mon, I have no problems wit de Alliance, but I have no problems getting rid of dem eider. Leave da girl alone."
This time Creton actually spits on the Troll. Of what I know, Trolls have a short fuse, but this one seems pretty calm. Just wiping the spit off his nose with his free hand he glares at the paladin, but makes no other move. I cringe, even though I'm not the target of his glare. His eyes seem to be on fire and the mere look of it makes my blood run cold. If this turns into a stare-down, I'd bet my money on the Troll.
"Since when do I take orders from the Horde?"
The Troll straightens up to his full height and I find myself crawling backwards. He's at least twice as tall as any human, how can Creton keep glaring? If it were me I'd be crying like a child right now. I look around and see that everyone else has stopped what they were doing, but nobody seems to be anxious to help out.
"Since you be on a boat filled wid dem. Now I see why da girl be so miserable. She got you for a dad."
"She's not my daughter, she's not even related. If she was, I would've drowned her the day she was born."
He sends me a nasty glare. Hours ago he led me out of Stormwind on pain of death, and now he wants to kill me? What was going on with this paladin? I can see the Troll looking at me too, sending me a look of sympathy. Even he's being nicer than Creton.
"Dat be a harsh ting to say now. Sounds like you need to cool off some. I can trow you in de ocean if you want."
At that moment Creton gets out of the Troll's grip, draws his sword and launches an attack. But the Horde member just evades, grinning like a madman. Creton tries several more attempts, but he just keeps evading, being just that little bit faster. He makes no move however to counter the attacks. But as Creton stops and starts saying things in a strange language, the Troll's eyes go wide and the crowd of onlookers gasp. A ball of light is shot towards my saviour and I scream. Rage and the feeling of helplessness tug at my soul and I close my eyes as the ball is about to collide. He was only trying to protect me! I can feel something cracking inside of me.
I can hear the sound of an explosion, but I can't see anything, a thick smoke clouding my vision. As it clears I can see Creton before me, a fair distance closer than he was before, yet…shorter. I look down; my feet aren't touching the floor. I'm floating. What is happening? Is this one of Creton's spells? Is he going to throw me overboard now, like he said he would do? I want to look behind me to see if the Troll is alright, but I find that I can't. I'm rendered motionless.
At least that's what I thought. A dark light is surrounding me and I can see my arm moving, pointing at Creton. But I can't feel it, it's like it's not even my arm. The bandage on my wrist is stained with fresh blood and I don't even feel the pain, or the moistness of the blood.
"You will NOT lay another finger on him."
The sound comes from my mouth, but I'm sure that I wasn't the one who spoke. This voice sounds hollow and angered. I think I'm possessed by something. That or I have a split personality. Creton doesn't seem to be affected by any of this. He just straightens himself and barges at me, his sword unsheathed. I want to raise my arms in defence, but they won't listen. Instead the voice speaks one word and Creton is thrown against the ships side. He attempts to stand up once, but falls back and his eyes close. Then, darkness takes hold of me as well and I can feel myself falling.
#-# Normal PoV #-#
Merrilynn falls back onto the surface of the boat. Not really knowing what to do, the Troll catches her, before letting her drop to the floor from a shorter distance. Jalane is at the girl's side in an instant, placing a hand on her forehead. The girl's skin is a sickly grey, ice cold to the touch, and her veins are dark and protruding.
"C'mon Merri, don't give up. Fight it dammit!"
"What's going on?" The Troll is also kneeled next to the girl, watching the woman with a weary eye. He didn't know if he should run or stay, but concern over the human took over.
"The shadow is consuming her."
"Say what?"
"When a warlock is overpowered by her emotions like grief, fear, pain or in this case all of them, the shadow takes over. It grants them a temporary increase in power. Normally when the problem is solved, the shadow subsides and the warlock is in full control again. But shadow is a tricky thing. If it feels that the master of the body is not strong enough, or that he doesn't want to be in control, it consumes them. Turning them into the mindless beings many tales speak of. The ones that opened the portal."
"Why is she consumed den? She doesn't seem evil."
She looks up at the Troll like he had just told a very bad joke.
"She hasn't even learned to use the shadow yet; she doesn't even know how to fight it."
"You mean she'll be turning into one of dem?"
"I don't know. I really don't know. This has never happened before."
Jalane hides her face in her hands, on the verge of crying. What was she going to do? This was only a girl. If she lost the battle they would have to kill her, before she killed them all. And that was something she really didn't wish to do. Someone taps on her shoulder and she sees the Troll, carrying the unconscious girl in his other arm.
"Where be your cabin?"
Disoriented she leads the way. As he puts the girl onto the bed, she notes that Merrilynn has gotten a little more colour. She hears a small pop and sees the Troll holding a strange glowing vial. Was he going to poison Merrilynn? The girl showed signs of recovering, no need to kill her if she still had a chance.
"What is that?"
"Sometin da brewmaster in me village cooked up mon. It takes away da pain and makes sure she can fight her battle in peace. Should make her sleep for a while."
"How long is a while?"
"A whole vial can knock out a Tauren fo a day, so I was thinkin a few drops an she'll be out fo da rest of de night. You should check er wrist though, it don't look to good."
"Thank you."
"No problem mon, she saved me life. If she wakes up, tell her unkie Troll said hey."
Outside the cabin, one eye watches the Troll leave as the other one is still focused on the cabin door. He knew him well. He was nothing but one of those nature loving shamans who believed the war would stop if both sides got in tune with each other as if they were elements. He also knew that he carried a very potent sleeping potion with him, and having had a glimpse on the state of the girl, figured he would give it to her. He had been weary of him at first, being so close to the one thing he wanted, but now it seemed the ideals of the Troll would work in his favour.
Now all he had to do was wait for the other woman to leave. She was too pretty to kill, and even though he wouldn't mind having both, he preferred one at a time. Less chance to be stabbed in the back. A lot of his friends found him disgusting or crazy, but he had a thing for humans, the female ones anyway. It must be the way they scream as he enters them. It always gave him a thrill that no Troll female could give.
He didn't have to wait long; the woman probably went for that stupid paladin. Exiting the shadows he walked up to the cabin.
"How nice…She even left da door open fo me."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some call it a fetish, others call it obsession…this Troll has both
Boy, aren't I the drama queen…
I have HAD it with beta's…I've had two so far, one of them never sent anything back and it's been 12!! Days since I sent this chapter to the other one…still haven't gotten anything back. I realise people have lives and all, but at least a little heads up would be appreciated. I consider myself patient, but things like that wear it thin… So apologies for any spelling mistakes made, except for the Troll speech.
Thank you Orannis4, Gameplaya and someone (romance is coming :p) for the reviews
Read, review, flame…ur choice