Chapter 31 Vines of Blood
I held my breath, biting my tongue. I wanted to close my eyes tight, pretend I’m not here, but that’d be the same as a death wish. Stiff as a statue, I listened to their footsteps and voices gradually growing louder. Gradually approaching. My hand rested on my rope dart.
Keep your head on, Liliana. You’ve been training for this!
“You think they’ll come?” a man asked.
The other scoffed, “Please. You know their rep, especially that damned callous captain. They’ll come runnin’, and we’ll be ready.”
“Yeah, it’s their callous captain I’m worried about. What if—”
“Hey!” the dominant one snapped. “Boss said to scout, not yap! Just keep your eyes peeled and mouth shut.”
“Pfft. There you go again, acting like you’re the right hand…” the other grumbled.
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s split up.” With that, the set of footsteps split. One of them getting too close for comfort.
Shit.
A sigh came from the approaching bandit. He grumbled under his breath, “What a waste of time. I can’t believe this…”
My gaze darted from side to side, looking for anything to help me out of here. Only one thing came to mind: the stacked barrels I was using for cover.
A risky shot, but…
I glanced toward where the other bandit went—straight to from where I came. All I could do was pray that I didn’t leave behind footprints, and that he wouldn’t spot Snowdrift’s white fur in the forest.
His footsteps grew louder. It was now or never.
I kicked the lowest barrel, testing its weight and purposely making noise.
The closest bandit froze and then strode down the alley, barking, “Who’s there?” His eyebrows lifted when he saw me. “Huh? You’re that—”
With a kick to the second stacked barrel, the rest came tumbling down. The man’s yell cut short when the barrels crashed onto him, knocking him in the head. He went limp as blood ran down his forehead, making the faintest groan of pain.
The other bandit shouted something, racing over. I ran in the opposite direction, weaving through the maze of alleys. Sprinting for my life, I rushed across the clearing, past the burnt bodies, heading for the tavern. A sudden whistle and strike hit the side of Jackson’s helmet, jarring my head and making me stumble. The object stabbed into the wooden wall ahead of me—an arrow.
“HOLD IT!” he shouted. I froze, slowly turning around. His bow and arrow were aimed at my head.
He didn’t check on his partner!?
Cursing under my breath, I untied my rope dart and swung it out my side. It whistled, taking the shape of a silver circle. My head still throbbed. If not for this helmet, that graze against metal would’ve gone straight through my skull.
The bandit’s aim went from my head to my chest, muttering, “I’m surprised you came back. Gave you quite the wound last time. Resilient bastard, aren’t ya?” He smirked. “Want vengeance for your buddies, eh?”
He’s the one who hurt Erik!
My hands tightened around the rope, heat building in my chest.
The man frowned, squinting at the helmet’s visor. “…Hold on. You’re smaller… You’re not the same knight from earlier, are you? Ha! Did you know he ran for the hills with his tail between his legs? Some knight he was.”
“You shut your mouth!” I barked.
The bandit gawked. “A woman?”
I swung the dart down; the rope looped around my heel until I kicked toward him. As fast as his arrow, the rope dart wrapped around his bow. He gasped when it was yanked from his hands and thrown to the side.
His shock turned into a scowl as he unsheathed the dagger on his hip. He pointed at me, growling, “Sneaky harlot. How about you take off that helmet so that I can cut up your face?”
“No thanks,” I muttered. My gaze fell on his dagger, and my throat tightened.
I’ve never hurt someone before. Not on purpose. I’ve never made anyone bleed.
The bandit charged me, roaring his battle cry. My body moved on its own, delivering another kick shot from my dart rope, slashing the back of his hand. He yelped, dropping his dagger. The man snarled, clutching his hand as blood streamed down his wrist.
“Damn you!” His growl turned into a yelp when my shot kick stabbed deep into his thigh, dropping him to knee when I yanked the bloody dart back to me. He groaned in pain, blood gushing from the wound.
He shouldn’t be able to chase me now.
The bandit’s gaze slid from me to past my shoulder; his scowl stretched into a smirk. I gasped as arms wrapped around my neck from behind, squeezing the air from my throat. My smaller body squirmed in his chokehold. My dart fell from my hand, but the rope still dangled from my hip.
“That fucking hurt!” he snapped.
“What happened to you?” the other grunted, struggling to stand.
“This bastard dropped barrels on my head!”
I futilely gasped for air, yanking on his thick arm as he tried to pry off Jackson’s helmet. Bits of my bright ginger hair slipped through as my vision darkened.
“Liliana…” A woman’s faraway voice echoed in my head, “…his feet!”
My green eyes darted down, and I stomped on my capturer’s foot. He hollered in pain and grunted when I jabbed my elbow into his chest. I fell to the ground, wheezing and coughing.
“You little—!” he growled, reaching for my neck again. I rolled over, and with a battle cry I swung my rope dart, slashing his eye. He screamed in pain, stumbling back. I scrambled to my feet and raced off.
“Agh… m—my eye, she got my eye!” he cried.
“SHIT! FUCKING CATCH HER!” the other roared, leaping to his feet and instantly yelping, falling to his knees and clutching his thigh—cloth soaked red.
I sprinted to the forest, still gasping for air. Snowdrift was peeking beyond the foliage and immediately ran to my side. Swinging myself onto his saddle, I croaked, “Go! Go!” Snowdrift neighed and ran faster than he’s ever had before, getting back onto the road.
With slow gasps, I finally caught my breath and glanced over my shoulder. No one was following us, but I could still see the string of smoke rising near the dam.
That has to be their camp. I have to report this, no matter what! …Hopefully the captain won’t be too mad at me.
Throughout the chaos, a thought hadn't crossed my mind until now. The woman’s voice I heard, helping me fight back. Her voice sounded familiar. There was only one explanation.
Robin finally spoke to me.