Chapter 30

Her eyelids fluttered at a loud noise which made her head hurt.
"Emma!"
She wanted to tell him to keep it down because she needed to get some sleep. That thought caused a snowball of memories to flash through her mind. His voice telling her he loved her, whispering naughty things to her as they made love, comforting her, laughing with her.

His voice filled with fear and anxiety.

She didn't want to hear him sound scared, she wanted him to laugh and tell her once more how much he loved her. It was that need which caused her to fight against the lethargy stealing her away.
"That's it, Angel. Don't you dare leave me!"
She noticed the smoke no longer burned her eyes and throat, but her lungs were too damaged to pull in anything more than a small breath.

"Hang on, Emma. It should get easier to breathe in a moment." She felt the rush of magic and managed to force her eyelids open. The first thing she noticed was the pale shimmer of a barrier surrounding them, holding back the smoke, the second thing was the soft swirls of sparkling light curling over and through her body. With each motion, the pain in her lungs and throat lessened, until finally, she could breathe easily. Strong arms lifted Emma and held her close to Aedan's chest as his lips pressed against her forehead. She closed her eyes and let herself be comforted by Aedan's presence and the warmth of his body.

They entered a small grubby kitchen, where Aedan put Emma down, before moving to a thick, scarred wooden table, with a few rough wooden chairs surrounding it. Seated at the table were two men - a dwarf, bald and branded with thick black tattoos across his upper face, and a tall, heavy-set human with blonde greasy hair that stuck to his forehead. Emma guessed this was the man who'd dealt her the incapacitating blow. As different as these men looked, they had a couple of things in common; firstly, they were both tied to chairs and secondly, they both had a blade pressed to their throats. Zevran stood behind the dwarf and Leliana behind the human.

"Start talking," Aedan barked. "Who are you and why did you kidnap Emma?" The dwarf's upper lip curled back in a sneer but he said nothing. Aedan's hand slammed down on the table, making Emma jump. "Talk!" The dwarf spat but the projectile fell short of its target and landed with a splat on the table.
Emma wrinkled her nose. "Ewww, that's just nasty."
Aedan planted both hands on the table and leaned forward, his face intent, his voice low, menace coating each word. "Talk and you'll have a quick and painless death; remain silent and I leave you to the mercy of the assassins behind you."

A cool smile played over Leliana's lips. "Mercy? I don't know what that is. Do you, Zev?"
In answer, the Elven assassin tightened his grip on the dagger, nicking the flesh so that a trickle of blood rolled down the dwarf's throat. "No, though I've heard the word many times when my victims beg for it." He tilted his head to the side. "I wonder if I will beat my record, which stands at eighteen hours."
The dwarf stuttered. "Wha...what do you mean?" Zevran laughed, sounding slightly maniacal as he transferred the sharp blade to the dwarf's trembling thigh and slid it towards the groin. "I mean that I managed to keep a man alive for eighteen hours. Unfortunately, the sight of his cock and balls being cut off was just too much for his heart."

The captured men were sweating profusely now, and Emma saw Alistair and Aedan flinch at the image painted by Zevran's statement. The human was the first to break. "It was Klack's idea! He said we could make a pretty penny if we took one of Alistair's friends."
The dwarf snarled. "Shut up, Rit, ya damn fool."
But once he'd started, it seemed no amount of threats could stop Rit. "We were gonna grab the old bird at first, but then that one," he tilted his head in the direction of Emma, "came out of the shop alone and it seemed too good a chance to pass up."

Wynne's face had taken on a dangerous expression; without any warning, she swung her staff and slammed it into Rit's stomach, knocking the air out of his lungs. "What the fuck was that for?" he finally managed to gasp.
Wynne glared at him. "Perhaps you'll think twice before referring to someone as an old bird."
Emma burst out laughing; damn, Wynne was a feisty woman.

Aedan, however, wasn't smiling as he questioned the men further. "How do you know Alistair, and why would you think you could make any money by grabbing one of us?"
Rit glanced over to Alistair. "We heard what was said at Goldanna's place, about you being a prince."
Alistair's face went white with anger and he took a step forward. "My sister was involved with this?"
Klack shook his head. "Nah, we were in the back, collecting our washing when you all walked in."
Aedan leaned his hip against the table. "What about the child who lured Emma away; where does he fit in all this?"
The dwarf shrugged. "One of Goldanna's kids; he figured his mum was owed some money if she had a rich brother, so he was willing to help out."
Alistair made a distressed noise. Emma walked over to him. "This isn't your fault, it's theirs." She pointed to the two men. "They're greedy bastards who thought they could make some easy money. I'm betting these two idiots have tried something like this before. If it hadn't been me, they would have targeted some other poor sod, who might not have had such great friends to help her out."

Klack and Rit shifted slightly as their eyes slid sideways exchanging a telling glance. Catching the movement, Emma stormed over to them. "How many other people have you hurt?"
Leliana grabbed Rit's greasy hair and jerked hard. "Answer her!"
The man let out a squeal of pain before he started rambling. "We didn't mean to hurt anyone, but some of them struggled and fought back..."
The dwarf snarled, "Shut your bloody mouth, you stupid asswipe."
But what they left unsaid was easy enough to fill in. Emma felt nauseous knowing the men had killed some of their victims. She took a few steps back, no longer comfortable standing near them.

Aedan glanced out the window, noted the full moon then looked back to the dwarf and human. "Cut their ropes and give them their weapons." The two criminals stared at Aedan as if he'd gone mad.
"What? You just going to let us walk away?"
Aedan's deep blue eyes were cold as ice and filled with contempt. "I would sooner cut off my arm than let scum like you run free." He walked to the door and pushed it open. "However, I won't fight unarmed men. If you take me down, then you're free to leave."
A gleam of hope lit their features as they picked up their weapons and went outside.

Emma understood Aedan's sense of honour, even applauded it, but she wasn't feeling particularly friendly to the bastards who had knocked her out and kidnapped her, and she sure as hell didn't think they deserved the chance to fight for their freedom. However, when she pictured the alternative, which she assumed would be cutting their throats while they were tied and defenceless, she understood Aedan's reasoning a little better.

As she watched everyone file through the door, it occurred to her that she should be the one to take the men down, seeing as she was the injured party. She dashed outside to talk to Aedan, but the two men were already circling him, preparing for combat. She gritted her teeth and stepped back, knowing that distracting Aedan as he focused on the fight ahead could prove fatal.