The Dark Path (36 page)

“He's so big,” she said softly as if to herself. “I never noticed till he stood up.” She shook her head and came back to herself. “Sir, please sit back down and rest. I'll fix you something to eat. Would stew be alright?” The thought of eating meat made him feel sick and that combined with the dizziness almost overwhelmed him. He managed to control himself though.

“Do you have some simple bread and cheese?” he asked in what he hoped was a polite tone.

“Duncan doesn't eat meat, Sally,” Anouk said gently.

“Oh! I'm sorry, Sir. I'll go find the bread. I believe we have some yellow cheese. It may be a bit hard though.” She kept mumbling to herself as she walked off toward the other room. Duncan turned to Anouk.

“You didn't have to bandage me up. I thank you though. I'm afraid I can't stay long. Those Eremian soldiers were hunting for me I believe. Why else would Eremians be here?” He shook his head. It still felt a bit foggy.

“The Eremians have occupied the Island Kingdom for years now. They must have came after you left.” Anouk hung her head.

“Why would they occupy this place? It's of no importance to the empire. I would have thought they would still be licking their wounds from the Artorian war.” He looked back to her and noticed she had tears in her eyes. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders. “What happened?”

“The Eremians.” She shook her head and held back tears. Duncan held her till she pulled back away from him.

“You would think I would be over it by now.” She didn't meet his gaze.

“Three years ago the Eremians came to my father's lumber mill. They told him they wanted all his wood for free. He told them they would pay him like everyone else or they would get nothing.” She stared down at the floor and grew quiet for a time. Duncan heard her quiet tears hit the wood floor. He waited calmly.

“They tortured him. When he still wouldn't bow down, they...” She grew quiet again. When next she spoke, it was in a whisper. “They hurt me. In front of him. It was just me and Papa for years. Mother died when I was very little. He finally broke when they... hurt, me. They killed him and then took turns with me till they left me for dead.”

She stopped talking and Duncan reached out and wrapped her up in his large arms again. She sobbed against his chest. He didn't say a thing to her. He just kept running his hand down her short brown hair. She sobbed into his arms. She didn't know why she had told him that. Sally was the only other person she had told that to. Now he would hate her. He would call her a filthy whore and throw her away. She tried to pull away from him so she could hide but he merely held her. She relaxed finally. It felt so good to have his arms around her. She finally felt safe. She wondered if this was what love felt like. She brought her right hand up and slowly began to trace the tattoos that she had found covered Duncan's body. From his wrists to his face. His hands were the only part of him not covered by the strange symbols and patterns. She could only imagine what they stood for or why he had them. When they had pulled the arrows out of his back, the skin had started sealing back up before their eyes. He still lost a lot of blood but his back was nearly healed by now she knew. She shook her head. Who was this man? His voice brought her back to herself.

“Would you like to come meet my Mother and Father?” His voice was very quiet. She looked up and met his deep blue eyes with her hazel ones.

“I would like that very much.”

“Pack up some supplies then. We will have to leave tonight.” He hugged her once more and kissed her gently upon the forehead. She blushed. The spot he had kissed felt warm long after his lips had left it. He walked over to his pack that rested by the door and removed a shirt like the one he had worn earlier. He pulled it on and looked around for his pants.

“We washed them,” she said as she figured out what he was looking for. “They will be dry soon.” He nodded and went back into his pack. He pulled out a pair of pants made from the same material as his shirt. He turned his back to her and dropped the towel. He was unashamed. He pulled the soft pants on quickly and carried the towel into the other room. She followed him into the kitchen. Sally was busying herself over the cook-fire. She had a pot of stew heating and was placing various herbs and spices into the pot between tastings. Duncan cleared his throat and she stood up so quickly she almost hit her head on the hearth.

“I found some food for you, Sir. It's on the table here.” She saw that he held the towel and she rushed over to him. “Here, I'll take that for you.” She took the towel and rushed out the back door and out of sight.

“Did I say something wrong?”

“She's just shy around new people.” Duncan nodded as he walked to the table. He worried that maybe the small chair wouldn't hold his weight so he picked up the bread and cheese and walked out to the front porch to sit. Anouk followed him with two mugs of what smelled like cider. He nodded his thanks as she handed him a mug and sat beside him. He ate in silence for a time before she spoke.

“What did you do to those soldiers? They outnumbered you by far.” She didn't look at him. Her eyes were looking at the place in the woods that she knew, from the amount of blood they had washed off Duncan, held a very gory scene.

“I killed them,” he said quietly. He stared off for a short time too then went back to eating and sipping the cider.

“How? You only had a dagger. No one could have killed twenty armed soldiers with an eating knife.” She looked at him now. He didn't meet her gaze.

“I killed them with my hands. Some quickly, some not so quickly. I'm glad you didn't see it.” He took another sip of cider. “This is good,” he said as he nodded to indicate the cider.

“Yes the cider is good. Sally's husband George makes it. He should get back soon. Stop avoiding the question though. How did you do what you did back there?” Her voice held a stern tone. She wanted to know how he had done it. Her father hadn't been able to beat half the number this man had just taken out in a short time, with his bare hands no less.

“Maybe this will help you understand.” He reached down and picked up a stone that was about the size of her fist. He wrapped his large hand around the stone and squeezed. She heard a cracking sound and when he opened his hand only dust poured out. She gasped.

“Magic.” She looked at him again. “You're a mage!” He shook his head and looked down at the ground.

“No, I am not a mage. I only know one spell. A simple spell someone taught me years ago. Someone I need to go see very soon, even though he may kill me for what I have done.” She saw that he had tears in his eyes. She scooted closer and placed her hand upon his shoulder.

“Do you want to talk about it?” She could tell that he carried a large burden on his shoulders. She could feel it now. He sat for a long time without saying anything. Though he didn't remove her hand.

“I killed the woman he loved more than life itself.” He looked directly into her eyes. “Because I wasn't strong enough, she died, a woman that was pure of heart, a woman that called me friend. I should have ended my life that day as well. Instead I ran away in fear of what I had done.” He hung his head in his hands. “I just wasn't strong enough.” He sobbed quietly. She stood and walked over before him. This time she held him while he cried. She held his head to her breast and stroked his hair. He cried quietly for a long time before he pushed her away and dried his eyes upon his shirt. “You shouldn't go with me really. I'll just get you killed. Everyone I care for gets killed because of me.” He didn't look up at her. She placed her hand under his chin and pulled his face up to look at her.

“I'm going with you. You have no choice in the matter. You saved my life from those soldiers. There is nothing keeping me here anymore.” She waited till he nodded then she took his empty mug of cider and walked back into the cottage. Sally stood in the kitchen making herself look busy. She turned when Anouk walked in and sighed in relief when she saw that she was alone.

“George will be here soon,” she said with a worried look.

“We'll be gone soon. All you did was help him. George shouldn't get mad over that.” Anouk wrinkled her brow in worry.

“You don't know George. I hope you are right though.” Sally was wringing a dry towel over and over in her hands.

“Did he hit you again?” Anouk asked directly.

“No. He accidentally pushed me and I fell off the porch. That's all. I was in his way. I should have watched where I was going.” She didn't meet Anouk's glare.

“Hun, he has no reason to hit you. And you shouldn't let him. He only treats you this way when no one else is around.”

“He didn't mean to. I was just in the way,” she repeated. Her hands wringing the towel harder.

“I'll talk to him.” Duncan's deep voice filled the room. “He won't hurt you again.” Sally looked up, her eyes filled with fear.

“No! It was my fault! I was in the way! You don't have to talk to him! Please! Just go!” She looked from Duncan to Anouk. Her expression was like that of a trapped rabbit.

“I have dealt with his kind before. I swear to you that I will talk to him and he will never hit you again.” He walked into the room and smiled. “That stew smells good. Anouk, You should eat some before we go. You will need a full belly as we will be walking all night.” He walked past her and stood before Sally. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder and watched as she flinched. He squeezed very gently and whispered into her ear. She looked up at him then burst out laughing. He winked at Anouk then walked out the back to get his leather pants off the line. After he left, Sally sat down at the table as her laughter slowly died down.

“What did he say to you?” Anouk asked as she filled a small bowl with stew.

“It's secret,” Sally said giggling.

“Oh, now you have to tell me!”

“Sorry hun, I can't.” She fought to keep from laughing.

“Okay, Okay. You win.” Anouk made herself busy eating and Duncan came back in shortly wearing his leather pants again. He had on his boots again as well. He walked through the kitchen and she heard him rustle through his pack. He came back and sat his pack down by the table. He took one of Sally's hands and opened it. She looked up questioningly but he didn't say a word. He just placed something in her hand and whispered in her ear once more. She smiled and Anouk could see that she was trying to hold in her laughter. He stood up and turned to Anouk.

“Eat two bowls at least. I'll be out back chopping some firewood.” He turned to go but Anouk reached out and stopped him.

“You should rest. Not even an hour ago you didn't know who you were. You're not in any kind of shape to chop wood.” He smiled at her. That just made her more mad. He didn't need to aggravate his wounds.

“That reminds me. These bandages are itchy.” He pulled his shirt off and before she could stop him he flexed the muscles in his chest and back. The bandages tore off with a loud ripping sound. He gathered them up from the ground and wrapped them up to place them in his pack. As he bent over, Anouk and Sally gasped as they saw his back was fully healed, though there were scars where the arrows had been. It could have been her imagination but she thought she saw the tattoos on his back glow a faint blue before he pulled his shirt back on. He walked out of the kitchen, whistling a foreign tune. It wasn't long before they heard the sound of splitting wood. Anouk just shook her head. What had she gotten herself into? Anouk and Sally talked awhile as Anouk put a small travel pack together. She would have liked to go home but she really didn't have much there. She spent most of her time with Sally. After they finished the pack, the two of them walked out back to watch Duncan. They both gasped as they stepped out the door. Duncan wasn't using an axe. He set the piece of wood up as anyone would do, but then he moved his hand down rapidly, the side of it contacting the wood as if his hand were the axe. The wood split cleanly and he stacked the pieces and set up a new one.

“How does he do that?” Sally whispered to Anouk.

“I don't know. I've never seen anything like that before.

“It's just a matter of knowing where to hit the wood,” Duncan said. Sally blushed that he had heard her whisper. “Here, I'll show you. The force doesn't matter. You just have to find the right spot.” He placed his hand on the log before him and closed his eyes. He slowly lifted his hand and lightning fast brought down his index finger onto the top of the log. Anouk winced as she thought she heard his finger snap. Sally gasped as the log fell perfectly in half. He held up the finger and bent it. He looked to Anouk and winked.

“See. Just a matter of knowing where to strike. I've seen seven year old children that could do this.” Sally opened her mouth to say something but a loud crash sounded from the kitchen followed by loud cursing in a male voice. Sally grew pale and rushed into the kitchen. They heard the shouting continue and then a loud slapping sound. At that, Duncan walked calmly through the door. George looked up just in time to see a large hand reach out and pick him up by the neck. Duncan carried him out the front door and slammed him up against the nearest tree. George choked and sputtered in confusion. Duncan leaned close to his ear and whispered a long time. Finally he let George go. George fell a foot to the ground and lay on his hands and knees coughing. Duncan stood calmly waiting. Eventually, George stood up. His face was pure red. The veins stood out in his forehead. He took a swing at Duncan. Duncan met the man's fist with his own. A loud crack like the logs had made echoed around the clearing. George screamed in pain and fell to the ground clutching his hand.