The Elf King (8 page)

Finally they gave up. Their
fingertips were red and aching from the constant friction from the
rope. Qenn lay next to his brother and thought about at least
removing the gags from their mouths. He was just about to notion
the idea to Tane when the wagon came to a halt.

Qenn quickly slid away from
Tane, both of them keeping their eyes just barely opened. It would
be best if they were found still unconscious, they thought. Grunts
and inaudible words were exchanged outside for a second, and then
the back of the wagon was being opened with a loud
groan.

“
Get up!”

The thieves were dragging
Qenn and Tane to the back of the wagon by their ankles. With one
strong motion, the two brothers were tossed from the wood bed and
into the soft grass next to the trail. One of the men disappeared
into the woods while the other unpacked cooking implements and food
stuffs. Tane and Qenn moved themselves around into sitting
positions, with only menacing looks from their guard. As the other
man reappeared, they began to prepare something to eat.

Tane looked around. They
were still in the woods, but it wasn’t as overgrown as before. The
air was much cooler, fresher. He knew they were close to the Krune.
The sounds of water-birds close at hand ensured it. How much they
had traveled and in what direction, he could only guess. But with
the company he was keeping, he guessed they were heading into
Skadar Port.

Qenn was thinking much the
same thing as he watched the two thieves fill their plates with
meat and bread, drinking heavily from their glass bottles. His
fingertips were red and raw, but still he tried to free his hands
from the rope when he thought it wouldn’t be noticed. Every minute
was valuable when escape was necessary.

“
This is the deal,” the
taller thief began with a mean glare towards the brothers, “we’re
going to free your mouths so you can eat. Whatever sound you make
then, will be your last.”

“
Clear?” the other thief
added with a look that made certain the brothers knew there would
be no negotiation.

Tane and Qenn nodded
reluctantly. The two men stared at the brothers for a second more,
until they were sure, then began to untie the cloth from behind
their heads. Using a large sharp knife with a red stained handle,
the smaller man began cutting loose the rope that bound their hands
to their feet, allowing Tane and Qenn to sufficiently feed
themselves while keeping their hands bound together. The brothers
were handed a chunk of meat and a piece of bread as their captors
sat across from them and watched closely, eating as
well.

It was on the tip of Tane’s
tongue to ask the men why they were bothering to feed them, and he
almost spoke as much before he remembered what it would cost him.
The question however wouldn’t leave him. He thought about all the
possibilities that the two thieves would have for them, and why it
would be important for them to have kept their strength. In the
end, he decided that they would probably be sold to someone as
slave or made to fight. Either way, he was grateful for the food
and would think of a way to make his captors pay for allowing him
to eat.

The two shabby men sat
across from Tane and Qenn and ate and drank like two mad animals.
Their dirty clothes became even more-so as neither one of them made
an effort to clean up whey they were finished. They spoke to one
another in hushed tones, always looking at their prisoners,
watchful of their movements. Once it appeared that an argument
broke out between them, but was either misunderstood, or settled
immediately with words. As they drank the last of their bottles,
the chains in the wagon began to thrash again, louder and stronger.
Being close to the wagon this time, the two brothers could make out
muffled screams.

Tane and Qenn both stopped
eating and looked into the wagon. Their captors seemed less than
worried about keeping it a secret now, as they slowly finished
their bottles and tossed them aside carelessly as the noise in the
wagon kept on.

“
Don’t mind that noise,”
the smaller thief said, moving to the edge of the wagon, peeking
inside. “We caught ourselves a witch.”

“
She used her magic and
killed a sorcerer. There was nothing left of him.” The other man
laughed hard and smashed his bottle into the ground next to them,
shattering the glass. “And you two thought we were
dangerous!”

The man in the wagon joined
in on the joke as he removed the chains and the sack. Tane and Qenn
strained their necks hoping to get a good look at what they had
bound, but the smaller man was in the way, and the other approached
them.

Holding a glass bottle out
to them, the man said, “This will be the last to drink for a while,
so have at it. We need you two to be healthy.”

Tane hesitated for a
moment, and then took the bottle. He was already thirsty, and to
have to wait even longer wasn’t worth the risk. With an uneasy
glance to his brother, he began to drink. When he was finished, he
handed the bottle to Qenn.

Just as he grabbed the
bottle, a loud groan came from the man in the wagon and he was sent
flying back into the carriage wall with an audible thud. His cohort
was in the wagon instantly and now Qenn could see a struggle with a
young woman whose flaming red hair was instantly captivating. He
quickly positioned his body to see even more when Tane slumped to
the ground next to him. His eyes were closed.
Poisoned!
Qenn quickly grabbed a
piece of the broken bottle and stashed it into his
pocket.

“
Get her!” The small thief
yelled. The woman grunted with the gag in her mouth, and fought as
well as someone bound with chains. The wagon tossed and swayed with
the quarrel. A few minutes later, the woman screamed and things
went calm.

“
Next time you wake up,
girl, it will be with someone who won’t be as pleasant as
us!”

“
Tie her down tight this
time!” The taller thief growled. “I don’t care if she
bruises!”

“
She’s no good to us
damaged,” his companion hissed back.

“
And we’re no good to her
alive,” the other scowled in return.

As the scuffling died, the
cursing men prepared to exit the wagon. Qenn spilled a little of
the drink on his chin then dropped the bottle at his side and laid
next to Tane, closing his eyes. He would let them take him without
a fight, he decided. Once Tane was awake and free, things would be
different.

As the two men retied
Qenn’s hands then hoisted him up and tossed him into the wagon, his
thoughts stayed on the red haired woman tied in the
sack.

It was nearly an hour later
when Qenn cut loose the rope around Tane’s hands. He had freed
himself only a short time after the wagon began moving again, but
with several stops, he had to be careful. The glass would cut into
their skin just as easily as it would the rope, and the lurching of
the wagon made it that much more difficult to remain safe. But he
was persistent and his efforts went undiscovered.

The sound of travel had
changed in the last few minutes now and he was aware of other
distinctive noises around them. They were not in the woods anymore,
he knew; the wagon was moving across a road more-solid; the horses’
hooves were thudding against stone; they were in a town full of
people yelling. Soon the creaking of the wagon was drown out by the
voices around them.

“
Tane,” Qenn whispered in
his brother’s ear. With a hand on Tane’s shoulder, he began to
nudge his brother awake. “Tane, wake up.”

It took a few moments for
the drug to wear off as Tane’s eyes slowly opened. Relief mirrored
in Tane’s eyes as he saw his brother, and noticed they were both
unbound. Qenn held a finger up to his lips for caution.

“
We’re in a
city.”

Tane sat upright. “What
happened?”

“
You were drugged. You’ve
been out for a few hours. But we’re free.” Qenn could barely manage
to keep his excitement down.

“
What about
her?”

Qenn shrugged. He had
thought about undoing the chains, but thought better of it. “She’s
going to be sold, or killed.”

Tane thought for a moment.
“Let’s remove her chains and wake her up. The rest will be up to
her.”

Qenn immediately began to
untie the chains wrapped around the woman’s body, being careful not
to make any noise. Once the chains were removed and set aside, Tane
helped slide the sack from her body, slowly pulling it up over her
head as Qenn sat her upright, holding her lithe form from toppling
over in the process.

As the cloth sack slid off
of her head, time paused for Qenn. He stared in awe at the most
beautiful woman he had ever seen. Instantly his heart was captured
as his eyes slowly looked her over. Her skin was light colored and
soft, though her body was firm with muscle tone. She was strong, he
knew. Her cheeks were a reddish hue, probably caused by the sack
tied about her, or from her scuffle with her captors. He stared at
her features, thinking them both delicate and robust at the same
time. Her voluptuous body was clothed in a scarlet jacket, buttoned
up to her chest, her blue undershirt ripped at the neckline where a
series of scratches tore the skin. Her pants were dark blue down to
her tall black boots. From her silky red hair, down to her muddied
boots, Qenn gazed, unable to look away.

The corners of Qenn’s lips
were tugging high as he stared, making his way back up to her face
to where a pair of light-blue eyes were waiting. Qenn barely had
time to notice her fist before it slammed into his head.

“
Let go of me!” she yelled
and backed away into a defensive crouch.

Tane was at Qenn’s side
immediately, helping his brother up, trying to calm the woman.
“Wait! We mean you no harm.”

“
What’d you do that for?”
Qenn added, confused. “We just freed you.”

The red-haired woman didn’t
budge. “Who are you?”

“
We are prisoners, like
you. And we don’t know where we are, so don’t bother asking.” Qenn
let his words spill with an edge, if only to let her know that he
wouldn’t be taken by surprise again.

The woman stared at them
for a few moments then relaxed her stance and looked around. After
assessing the situation her eyes fell onto Qenn’s. “I am sorry for
striking you.”

Qenn stiffened. “I’m
fine.”

She continued with obvious
frustration. “I have been kept in that bag for days and the men I
have seen have not been kind. But if we are in this together, then
my fight is not with you, and I am sorry. And I thank you for
freeing me. I am in your debt.”

“
There is no debt.” Tane
smiled and offered her his hand. “I’m Tane, this is my brother
Qenn.”

She shook his hand with an
iron clasp, and then did the same to Qenn. “My name is Kandish.”
She looked at the wagon door, her face turning hard again. “The
door is locked from the outside. I tried for days to break it. But
maybe the three of us might be able to.”

Qenn and Tane agreed. They
spent the next several minutes pushing and kicking at the seams,
but failed to budge the door. The wood never splintered, never
budged. In unison, they rammed their shoulders into it only to end
up sore and exhausted. With sweat coating their faces in a dull
shine, they continued for several more minutes in desperate waves
until Tane called it off, stating that they would be locked in
until someone else decided against it and they had better save what
energy they had for that moment. Tired, they sat on opposite sides
of their cage, each leaning back into the wall for
support.

Feeling slightly dizzy,
Kandish drew her legs up against her chest and wrapped her arms
around them. “Do you have any water?”

Tane and Qenn both frowned.
Kandish appeared to be much weaker than she was showing. She was in
need of a hot meal and a bath. The two brothers were thinking that
they all shared the same dire look.

Tane spoke up, looking at
Kandish. “What do you know of the men that captured us? Why do you
think they have?”

Kandish kept her head sunk
low, her long red hair masking her expression. “They will try to
use us. You two will be sold. But me...” She paused for a few
moments and brought her head up, removing the hair from her face.
Her smile was sad. “They have bigger plans for me. They are killers
and thieves and were hunting out Seers at the southern end of
Skadar Port. The price of Seers is high to the right
people.”

“
You’re a Seer?” Qenn
interrupted.

“
I am not, nor a witch, as
they have told others to raise the price for my head. About a week
ago, I came across five men in an alley hoarding off a small group
of Seer women, and changed their plans.” Her smile was bright. “The
Seers escaped and I killed two of the men before the other three
got to me. They poisoned me and tossed me in here. Once they tried
to sell me, but I killed the buyer and another one of them before
the other two captured me again. Now they keep poisoning me; they
keep my body too weak to fight them.”

Tane nodded. “That must be
what they did to us.”