Author's Note: Was my last update really in 2011? Yikes...I'll...um... try not to do that again...

Chapter 11

Glittering in the morning sun, the golden puzzle box sparkled as the drow turned it in his hand.

"I thought you said that thing was worthless." The assassin remarked.

A secretive smile played along the drow's lips. "Even worthless things can be valuable."

Artemis scowled causing the drow to laugh. Lifting the puzzle box higher Jarlaxle said, "The rat believes it is safe. Our deal has been completed, and he has returned to his fellow vermin intact." Pocketing the golden box, he turned to Artemis. "Now all we have to do is follow the poor fool back to his den and collect the real artifact." The assassin nodded having expected as much. He was surprised that the rat had taken the drow at his word. It was well know that a drow only bargained when the gain far outweighed the loss. If the rat thought he had successfully cheated the drow, he was fool.

True to his word, Jarlaxle reclaimed his tent before following the rat. Perhaps, had the drow left his prized tent they might have saved themselves a good deal of trouble.

"Perfect." Jarlaxle spat, crouching beside the body of the rat. "He's dead." Annoyance flashed across his darkly handsome face. Artemis knelt beside the drow, resting his hand on his knee.

Noting the blood that ran from the rats' mouth, ears, nose, and eyes, the assassin commented, "It's the same as the others." Jarlaxle nodded, his expression tight. He didn't like this. There was no reason for the rat's death. Not only did this put a serious knot in the drow's plan, but the eerie similarity of the deaths disturbed him.

"And…Anna is gone." Artemis stated looking around. Jarlaxle glanced at the assassin wondering if he realized that he had said 'Anna' instead of 'the girl'. Following Artemis' gaze, the drow confirmed that Anna was indeed missing. He had not foreseen this, and there were few things that the wily drow didn't foresee.

Artemis circled the area, "No signs that she was taken." He said. Leaning down he noticed tracts. A small smile crept across his face. "It appears she decided not to wait for us." He said, smiling at a trail of crushed plants.

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Shaking uncontrollably, Anna fell to her knees. She had no idea how long or how far she had walked before the panic took hold of her. Wrapping her arms around herself, she tried to calm down. She knew what was happening. She had seen it countless times in the eyes of shell-shocked boys brought from the trenches. The terror, pain, and helplessness of the past few hours crashed down on her. She knew she should get up and keep moving. A sob caught in her throat...and go where? She was totally alone in this strange world. She felt so lost. Even in the Great War she had people around her. Fellow nurses and doctors. The countless boys torn apart by the war; strangers, yes, but many of them were her own countrymen or allies. She had felt fear. She had felt sorrow and desperation, but she had never felt alone. Not like this. Even at the worst of times, she had never been alone. Abandoned.

The silent forest only increased Anna's worries. As she push herself into a sitting position she realized how much her body ached. Lifting a hand to her face, she gingerly touched the cut on her swollen cheek. Was it black and blue? Probably. Pulling back the long skirt she looked at her legs. The entire right leg was black and blue. The left ankle was bright red and swelling rapidly. She knew it wasn't broken, but the swelling worried her. She needed to get the swelling to go down. Looking around, all she could see was trees. She tried standing up. Pain shot up both legs. Gasping she collapsed onto the grass. How had she walked like this? Anna frowned, thinking about her actions. Why had she reacted to the rat's death like she had? She wasn't a cruel or vindictive person. So why had she been indifferent to the rat's suffering? It wasn't like her. She knew people reacted to extreme situations in unexpected ways. Is that what had happened to her?

She needed to get up. Maybe there was stream nearby that she could soak her ankle in. Soon the swelling would make it impossible for her to walk. She wondered if she had hit her head, her thoughts were becoming hazy and unfocused. She was feeling dizzy and disoriented as well. Could she have a concussion?

A sharp screech came from behind her. Anna jerked around and scanned the woods. Nothing. The screech came again; louder, closer this time. Stumbling to her feet, she tried to run. Her legs immediately gave out and she fell to the ground. Something grabbed her. Anna panicked, blindly striking out at her attacker. She bit and scratched trying to break free. No good. She couldn't break the hold. She struggled wildly. She couldn't breathe. Why couldn't she breathe? You're going into shock a voice in the back of her told her. She drew in ragged breaths as she struggled in the iron grip. Then, her world went black.

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Pain shooting up her leg jarred Anna back to consciousness. She winced at the sharp pain, and slowly opened her eyes.

"Ah good, you're awake." A familiar voice remarked.

Jarlaxle?! Relief flooded Anna. Grabbing him, she sobbed in relief.

"And I had feared my arrival might not be well received." Jarlaxle said dryly. Anna looked up at the drow's face. The words died on the tip of her tongue as she took in his expression. Jarlaxle was angry. Really angry. It was the first time she had seen him show any real emotion. Was he angry at her? No. He was looking at her bruised face she realized in surprise. She started when he lightly touched her swelled cheek. "A shame the rat is already dead." He said.

"You came back." She croaked.

"Did you think I would not?" Jarlaxle asked. Pushing the clothing away from her leg, he gently probed the injured ankle. Anna yelped in pain. Reaching into his cloak the dark elf pulled out a small vial of liquid. Holding to her lips, he said, "Drink." Obediently downing the vial, Anna grimaced and asked, "What was that?"

Artemis crouched opposite the drow, "You ask what a drow gave you to drink after downing the entire contents?" He asked her in disbelief. Anna looked at the assassin. Why would Jarlaxle give her something harmful? The feel of the elf's hand moving up her calf drew her attention. Shoving the hand away before it crawled any further up her leg, Anna assured him, "My leg is fine." Had he no decency whatsoever?

To her surprise, Anna realized the pain in her ankle was already starting to recede. She tried moving the foot a little. The pain was definitely less. He must have given her a painkiller. Amazing. She wondered what kind of painkiller he had given her. She had never seen one that worked so quickly or so well.

"What did you give me?" She asked, experimentally rotating her foot. "The pain is already going away! I wish we had some of this for the hospitals." Though even if they had, with supplies being what they were it wouldn't have lasted long.

"Can you stand?" The dark elf asked, ignoring her question. The pain was almost gone, but the swelling would still be problem. "I'm not sure." She said. Placing a hand under her elbow, Jarlaxle helped her to her feet. Shifting the weight slowly from one foot to the other, "I think I'm okay." She said in surprise. Jarlaxle removed his hand from her elbow and waited to see if she could stand on her own. Anna took a few tentative steps.

"Come." Jarlaxle said, extending a hand.

"Where are we going?" She asked taking the proffered hand. The drow smiled, "To retrieve the artifact."

Anna frowned, "I thought you already had the artifact?" Jarlaxle looked at her askance. "The golden box you sold me for." She reminded him sourly. Really, had he forgotten so soon? The drow flashed a smile, "We have yet to collect the real artifact." He told her.

The golden bracelet weighed heavily in her pocket. Maybe the bracelet wasn't the artifact he was looking for, though she had a bad feeling that she was wrong. "And where would the real artifact be?" She asked.

"The rat's nest." He answered cheerfully.

The rats nest? As in where the other ratmen lived? Anna had seen enough ratmen to last her a life time. Pulling her hand out of his, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the golden bracelet. Holding it out, she asked, "Is this what you're looking for?" Both the drow and the assassin stared. Jarlaxle reached out to take it.

Anna pulled it back out of reach, "I'll give it to you as long as there are no more rats." Jarlaxle smiled and promised, "No more rats."

Artemis wondered if she would actually believe the drow. Anna handed over the artifact. Apparently so.

Jarlaxle turned the bracelet over in his hand and then reached into his cloak to pull out the puzzle box. Artemis knew he shouldn't ask, but he found himself asking anyways, "What is it?" Jarlaxle looked at him and smiled, "A key." Don't ask, don't ask, "A key to what?" the assassin asked. Jarlaxle's smile widened, "I have no idea." Artemis scowled. You would think by now that he would know better than to hope for a straight answer. Trying to get a straight answer from the dark elf was like trying to get the stench out of an orc, useless.

"Maybe the journal could tell us something." Anna suggested.

Jarlaxle nodded and then announced, "I'm famished." The assassin waited for the drow to elaborate. "If memory serves there is a tavern a short distance from here. We can break our fast and see what answers we may find." The elf finished.

The walk to the tavern, though not far, turned out to more difficult than Anna expected and by the time they arrived she was glad to sit down. Although the pain was gone she felt drained and more than a little worse for the wear.

For some reason the barmaid that came to get their order appeared nervous. Jarlaxle gave the maid his most charming smile and ordered meals for the three of them. The smiled only appeared to make matters worse as the barmaid all but ran from the table. Anna wondered what the barmaid knew that she didn't.

Studying the rough wood of the table, Anna wondered if what the dark elf had told her was the truth. Had he planned to come back for her all along? Had he known she had the artifact? Both of her companions had looked surprised when she had pulled out the bracelet but Anna no longer knew what to believe. Glancing up at Jarlaxle, she wondered again if he was indeed an Unseelie Fae. Artemis had all but told that he was. The thing was that Jarlaxle didn't fit what her grandmother had told her about the Unseelie. Anna's musing were interrupted as the barmaid dropped their meals on the table and scuttled away. Wrapping her hand around the tankard of ale she had been given Anna stared into the amber contents.

Jarlaxle watched the emotions race across Anna's face with interest. "Have you come to a conclusion?" He asked. Anna jumped and looked at him. "Conclusion?" She asked. "About whether you can trust me." The elf answered.

"I don't know." Anna said honestly. "What I learned from my grandmother doesn't fit what I have been seeing. When I originally asked if you were Seelie or Unseelie, Artemis said that you were the evil one." Anna sighed and took a sip of the ale before continuing. "But…you aren't like what my grandmother told me about the Unseelie."

"In what way?" Jarlaxle asked curiously. The elf noticed that Artemis had taken an interest in the conversion as well.

"The Unseelie take pleasure in tormenting and hurting others. Though you have scared me, you are not always cruel. You have helped me as well. Even though you sold me to that wererat, you came back. I don't know if you had planned to or you merely had a change of heart but you came back for me; if you were Unseelie that wouldn't have happened."

A wide smile stretched across the drow's face, "Ah, then I am Seelie!"

"I didn't say that!" Anna exclaimed. A bark of laughter escaped from the normally taciturn assassin.

"I am wounded!" The drow mourned.

"You don't fit either category." Anna explained. "You aren't good or kind enough to be seelie but you aren't cruel enough to be Unseelie."

The assassin snorted drawing an aggrieved look from the drow.

Commotion coming from the front door drew the trio's attention. At the sound Jarlaxle pulled his cowl forward hiding his dark features.

"I know what I saw!" The boy exclaimed, yanking his arm free from the older man's grip.

"Wererats?" The older man said doubtfully. The boy clenched his fists. "Yeah." He growled. The older man shook his head.

The boy wheeled around and stocked over to the bar. The older man, who upon closer inspection bore a strong resemblance to the boy, followed slowly behind.

"What's this all about?!" The bartender demanded as the boy dropped onto a bar stool.

"My son is convinced he saw a wererat on the way back from the city." He told the bartender causing the boy to glower at him.

"Not a wererat. There were lots of them! Twenty at least!" The boy shouted at his father. The bartender looked from the boy to his father and asked, "Did you see any?" The father shook his head. Wererats were foul beasts, but like their smaller counter parts they were scavengers and generally didn't like the daylight. "Where did you see them boy?" The bartender asked. The boy met the bartender's eyes, "I saw them at mid-day, in broad daylight, just outside the city. They were sick. Real sick." The bartender frowned, "Start from the beginning. What exactly happened?"

The boy glanced at his father and then looked back at the bartender, "I went into the city to get some supplies. Right after I crossed the bridge leaving the city I saw them." He shuddered, and continued, "I never saw one up close before so I hid behind some trees to get a better look. They were coughing something fierce, and then they just started… dying. Right there as I watched. One minute they were standing there coughing up blood and the next minute they were dead. Just fell over and died. Just like that. All of them. One after the next." The boy whispered in horror. "There was blood coming out their eyes and ears." He shivered.

Jarlaxle, Artemis and Anna all exchanged a look. "The rat's nest I assume." The assassin said in a low voice. The dark elf leaned back in his chair disturbed. It had been less than one moon rise since he had first seen the rat. What was going on?

Dread washed over Anna. There was no longer any doubt in her mind that this was connected. The deaths were too similar to the soldier to be coincidence. She needed to tell them. Leaning across the table she whispered, "There's something I need to tell you."