Once we rounded the corner I relaxed somewhat. I hoped Tim could handle the mad canine on his own for a few moments. "Why does she keep a dog like that?"

Kol shrugged. "I think it has something to do with her son who went away. When he married, his wife did not like Fluffers – for good reason – so he told Mrs. Gerber that she could either keep the dog or get rid of it since he was going to live in another town with his new wife. Poor Mrs. Gerber decided to keep the dog instead of being left alone."

I looked down at the cobbles under my feet and muttered a simple, "Oh."

We walked slowly down the narrow side street for a little ways farther when I noticed Kol kept glancing back over his shoulder. When I looked back as well, I could not see anything. Kol noticed me turn and slid his hand into mine. "I'm so sorry, Ebb." He whispered.

Confused I went along with him as he quickened his pace. "What do you mean? Shouldn't we be returning to the cart now? I think we have gone far enough."

I looked back over my shoulder again and this time I saw them. A group of five men were creeping out of a tiny space between buildings that we had passed moments ago. I had not paid any attention to what was in the dark shadows as we passed and now our way back to the cart was cut off. My breathing hitched and my heart sped up its pace. The men were skulking along behind us. They had not yet made a move to attack and I fooled myself into thinking that they were not intent of doing us harm. The second time I turned to look back at them I saw a wiry man with a scraggly blonde ponytail give the other four a signal. The group stopped their skulking and charged.

Kol had not dared glance back since the men emerged from the shadows and now he squeezed my hand tightly. "Run!" He commanded and I was quick to obey. Together we dashed away down the narrow street. I could not see anywhere the path we were on crossed a main road. The only place to turn was into one of the narrow alleys between the buildings which would do no good.

I could hear the heavy footsteps of our pursuers and I could tell they were gaining on us. My fear lent speed to my feet as I ran alongside Kol. I could tell that he was running slower to accommodate me. His legs were longer and I was sure that if he did not have me in tow then he could have easily outrun the men. I imagined that I could feel their breath on the back of my neck and tried to run faster. Kol resolutely clung to my hand so tightly that my knuckles were aching and I was glad. I was not alone and that added a tiny bit of comfort.

"There," I gasped. Ahead of us was a road on which I could see people walking about. If we could make it just a bit farther than we would be safe.

"Come on, mates. We caught a right couple of duckies here." One of the men behind us called. His voice was much too close for my liking.

I kept my eyes focused ahead and dared not look back again and lose my footing. That's when I saw three more men step out from another space between buildings, effectively cutting off our path to the main road. Kol and I slowed down at the appearance of the new group of men, but we could not stay where we were. "Come on, this way." Kol pulled me sharply to the right and we began running between the buildings. It was more difficult in the small space that was littered with debris. Kol was gracefully leaping over broken crates and piles of trash carelessly while I was carefully watching where I placed my feet as we ran. A few times my feet caught on rubbish, but somehow I kept going.

The men were behind us in a moment, now a group of eight. If they caught us we were done for. "I'm so sorry, Ebb." Kol said again as if it was his fault the men were chasing us.

"Apologize once we escape!" I rasped at him right before we turned down another narrow path and then another in an attempt to lose the gang behind us. My breath was scraping through my throat with each ragged breath.

The men were shouting threats behind us as they followed. "Look at you, pretty girly; come on and lets have us a chat.

"You can't run forever, you two!"

"I'll bet you have a nice bit of money on you. Care to give it to us?"

"I'll skin you alive when I catch you, boy, and then take your pretty friend all for myself."

"We're going to catch you!"

The men laughed amongst themselves at their threats and continued to make horrible promises about what they would do when they caught us. I didn't know how much longer I could run. My legs were beginning to become less sure and more wobbly as I dodged around the trash before me. Kol was nearly dragging me behind him now, but he refused to let me go. All the while the men were slowly gaining on us. Then we turned again in the twisted maze that was between the buildings.

It was the wrong turn. Kol slammed his fist against the stone wall that blocked one end of the way. Knowing we were trapped the men slowed and one by one turned the corner to completely block us in. I leaned my head against the wall and felt tears on my face as each breath ripped up my throat. I was going to die and that was probably not the worst thing that the men would do to me. I decided that Kol was bad luck and I should have never gone with him on this foolish "adventure". Curse the men, curse Kol, and curse my own stupidity.

Kol defensively stood in front of me and looked to prepare for a fight, but there was no way he could take on eight men. He was also winded from our frantic run. Now that we had stopped my legs could barely support me and I could feel them shake with fear and exertion. The wiry blonde man stepped to the front of the group. He seemed to be the leader. His lips pressed together in a thin smile and his beady eyes took in his prey. "All that running just to end up here, poor little duckies," He leered.

"It would be smart for you all to turn and forget you saw us." Kol growled.

The men laughed. The leader pulled a wicked looking knife from his belt. "Look here, men. This little lad is trying to be brave for his lady. Should we show him how bravery is rewarded in these parts?"

Kol did not back down and the man advanced on him holding the knife. I placed a hand on Kol's shoulder. I did not want to see him fight this man for he would surely lose. "Kol, don't," I whispered.

He half way turned his head to look back at me and it was not the Kol I knew. His face was no longer playful and happy. His eyes did not gleam in childish mischief. They were hard and cold like bits of black ice. His mouth was not on the verge of smiling like it normally was, but rather his jaw was set in grim defiance. He looked more terrifying than the thugs in that moment and I shrank back against the wall. My blood had turned cold at seeing his face. What had I gotten myself into? "It is my fault you are here and I will not let them hurt you." He murmured darkly before turning back to face his adversary.

"You think this pathetic show of bravado will save you, boy. You are probably just some poor orphan boy trying to woo this nice little lady here and get some fancy kisses from her fancy lips. I have seen your type; you've grown up on the streets and are no smarter for it. Don't you know when you are beat?" The man sneered. Kol did not answer so he went on. "You know, I think I could use a guy like you in my party. If you join with me as my lackey I won't hurt you…much. I don't make no promises for that girl though."

The men laughed at their leader's remark and he turned to laugh with them. Then in a strike as quick as a snake he turned and swiped his knife at Kol. I screamed as the blade sliced through Kol's upper arm. It would have been worse but he had been able to dodge the attack enough so the blade missed his heart. Faster than I thought possible Kol turned his deflection into an attack and twisted the man's arm cruelly so that he dropped the knife. The rest of the group tensed for attack but paused. Kol was reaching up with the hand that wasn't holding the leader down. I heard the ripping of fabric as it seemed Kol pulled away his shirt and exposed the skin of his chest. For some reason this made the men's eyes go wide and they all backed away.

"I know your faces now and none of you will escape. You have broken my laws and you will suffer." Kol threatened. Now it was him that I was afraid of. What had he done? Confusion mixed with my fear in a chaotic swirl of emotions. The leader was shouting for his men to attack but none of them dared take a step.

Kol threw away the man harshly. He turned to look up at Kol from the ground. He ready for another fight, but when he looked up his eyes went as wide as his men's and he scuffled backwards. "I-I'm sorry, sir. I did not know it was you. Honest, I didn't. I swear, please sir. Mercy, please, have mercy." He pleaded.

I stayed frozen where I was behind Kol. What was he that he had these rough men quavering?

"Run," Kol quietly commanded, his voice dripping menace. In moments we were the only two left and the men were gone.

He turned to me and I watched as his face softened and he looked more like the Kol I had met in the bell tower, but I was still wary and did not move from where I stood. When he turned completely around I could see what must have scared the men away. Kol had pulled down his shirt to expose an intricate tattoo on the right side of his chest. It was tree branches covered in spider webs all in the circle of a crescent moon. As soon as I glimpsed the black lines, Kol readjusted his shirt to hide them. One of his sleeves was bloody from where the blade had cut his arm.

"Are you hurt?" He asked me gently. He looked as if he were about to reach for me, but thought better of it. "I'm sorry, Ebb. I didn't know we would come here. I should have thought before leading you away from the cart. I'm so, so sorry."

"Who are you?" I whispered quietly. "Am I still in danger?"

He looked hurt and his face looked resigned. It was such a different expression than the one he wore but a few moments ago. "Ebb, I'm not…I didn't mean to…I'm not going to hurt you."

"Take me back."

"Ebb…" He tried to find the words but I didn't care anymore. I just wanted to get away from this place and back to open spaces filled with people where it was safe.

"Now," I snapped.

The walk back through the winding alleys seemed longer than it had been when we were running. My lungs still burned and my legs still shook. He didn't try and talk to me, or I to him. My mind was swirling with what just happened and I couldn't make sense of any of it. If he could make them turn and run with so little effort, why did we have to run? What did his tattoo mean? Why did the mere sight of it terrify eight grown men? Where did Kol learn to fight so deftly? Was he more dangerous than the bad men who chased us? Who was he?

"Your tattoo," I began, breaking the heavy silence. I did not finish the question in hopes that he would explain.

"It's something I got two years ago. It's a symbol that's well known in the lower city." His explanation explained very little and did nothing to answer any of the questions that were circling in my head.

"But what does it mean?" I pressed. "Those men ran from you when they saw it."

Kol absently scratched where the tattoo was beneath his shirt. "I wasn't sure if they would, to be honest. I only wanted to use it as a last resort since I wasn't sure they would get the message when they saw it."

"What message?" I persisted. I could not imagine what message could make people turn and flee.

"There's the cart." Kol said pointing. Tim was there waiting for us and Kol was avoiding my questions. "I will take you straight back to the square if you like or I can escort you back to where ever you are staying. Are you sure you are not hurt?"

I shook my head. Tim glanced at us when we rounded the corner again and waited while Kol helped me up onto the cart. He was extra careful with me now, as if he were dealing with something made of delicate glass. Once we were both seated on the back of the hay cart, Tim clucked his tongue and prodded the horse into motion.

Kol did not take his eyes off of me as we rolled along. It was as if he was waiting for me to break at any moment. I was still jittery from the sheer terror that I had felt but I was trying to control my fluttering heart. I was also trying to decide whether or not I was truly safe now. What just happened had thrown into sharp relief how little I knew the man sitting across from me.

So this was my first attempt ever at writing a decent chase scene. I don't really know how to write action scenes, but I think I did alright. This chapter probably did not go how anyone was expecting and may have been a bit of a shock, but there it is.