14. NEAR MISSES

The Cruentus warrior raised one of her massive blades while dropping the other and ran towards Marcus with the intention of running him through.

In that same moment, Marcus felt a cold wet hand reach up from behind him and slide over the skin on the back of his hand. He turned quickly to see what was there. In the pond he saw a water nymph with a finger to her lips, urging him to be silent. Then she grabbed the collar of his black armor with more strength than he could resist and pulled him under. It was only a fraction of a second later that he saw a silver blade pierce the water's surface several times over, barely missing his flesh. It was the Cruentus warrior, desperately trying to injure him before he sunk too deep.

For a moment he was grateful for the nymph's help and soon, more nymphs came and swirled around him, pulling him further under. They were singing their lovely lullabies once more, trying to enchant him. It was then that Marcus felt a sensation he could hardly remember. His lungs were burning. He could no longer hold his breath indefinitely and he desperately needed oxygen to sustain his life. He began to fight against the nymphs, struggling to break free so that he could reach the surface for a breath of air. He didn't care that the Cruentus woman was waiting for him above. He just wanted to breathe.

The nymphs continued to drag his body under and he could see that they were headed towards some sort of underwater cave. He felt himself going light. His body became fatigued and he stopped struggling. He almost felt slightly peaceful. Then everything went dark.

Marcus coughed and spluttered the water out of his lungs. His body was soaked as he lay on the earth near the water's edge. He couldn't remember how he got there. The same water nymph that had pulled him under had her body half out of the water and was looking at him.

"What happened?" Marcus tried to speak through his burning throat.

"We pulled you into an underwater tunnel that exited into another pool of water further away from the red headed warrior. We saved you." Her voice was so soft and enchanting.

Marcus tried to sit up but felt a dizzy rush to his head. He laid back down and whispered "Thank you."

The nymph smiled and as quickly as she came, she slid back into the pool behind her and disappeared from Marcus' view.

He took a few more moments to rest but knew that he had to start moving. Even if he was at a different pool of water, he wasn't very far from where the Cruentus battle was occurring. He could still hear shouts and cries of terror in the distance and he could still see the smoke in the air. He picked himself up and tried to steady his weak muscles. He began to walk, again having to search for the green light in the sky. There were so many trees overheard that it was difficult to see but he thought he caught a glimpse of a green flash. He began to run towards a clearing, hoping to get a better view of the underworld's sky. As he reached the edge of the clearing he saw a Cruentus man leaning over the dead body of a Piceus who he had just killed. His fingers were bathed in the blood of his victim and he looked absolutely terrifying.

Marcus slowly took a step back but as he did so his foot snapped a twig. The Cruentus man whipped his head around and looked directly at Marcus. He snarled and leapt to his feet. Marcus quickly turned around and began to run as fast as he possibly could. He heard the Cruentus man behind him shouting to his comrades to join the chase. This was the time that Marcus missed having his vampire speed. Luckily, the people of the underworld ran at the same pace as a human would.

Marcus looked around desperately for another pool of water but the route he had taken in haste was completely dry. His body was still weak and sore from his near-drowning experience but he forced himself to move as quickly as he could. Suddenly he came upon a field of enormous boulders. He darted through the maze of them in hopes to shake his enemies off of his trail. He knew he couldn't run much further so when he was sure they were not close enough to see, he scrambled under the base of a large boulder that was also shrouded by some bushes. His body ached and he tried to breathe quietly.

He heard his enemies draw closer to his hidden location. He held as perfectly still as he could. They slowed their approach when they were close to him.

"Spread out!" He recognized the voice of the man from the clearing. "He's here somewhere."

The Cruentus party separated and everything seemed to go quiet which relieved Marcus. Then he heard the slow and steady beat of hooves slapping the ground. Whoever was on horse was getting very close to Marcus. His body tensed and he pushed his back harder into the boulder, willing it to become soft so that he could somehow sink into it. The boulder refused any such entry.

Then Marcus saw the hooves of a white horse from under the bushes. His eyes slowly made their way up the body of the magnificent steed to the Cruentus rider who was now staring him down.

"Rune." Marcus whispered in disbelief. His previous captive looked so different now that he had been cleaned up and was dressed like the royalty that he was. The two of them locked eyes for a brief moment until a voice close by called out.

"Rune! Do you see anything?" It was the man from the clearing.

Rune looked at him and then looked back down at Marcus, so pathetic and small against the boulder. He studied the man who had promised to kill him only a few days before. He saw the black hair that he had been bred and taught to hate. Rune turned his face back to the other Cruentus. "No, I see nothing."

"Well then keep moving!" The man shouted in a gruff voice.

Rune nodded to him and after the man walked away, he looked back down at Marcus and silently pointed to a corner of the sky. Marcus looked up to follow the direction he was pointing at with his eyes and he recognized the green flame. Rune had just saved him again.

Marcus mouthed the words "thank you" and Rune nodded and rode off in a different direction. He waited a moment more to make sure the other Cruentus had left the area. Then he crawled out of his hiding spot and ran after the green light of Equestria.