Thirteen - Scarlette
I watched thedragon soar off, Grandmother Molle perched on his back, with wonder. She was so small, it seemed she should tumble off with each flap of his wings, but she didn’t even waver.
I stayed among the trees, hidden from notice until Ranulf became little more than a smudge of green against the pink and lavender sky. A dragon at sunset was an incredible sight.
I shouldn’t have followed them, but I couldn’t resist this chance to see him shift. After our impromptu swim in the river, I had looked away, and I hadn’t been aware of what was happening when he shifted into human form before that. I wanted a memory of seeing Ranulf become the dragon to carry home with me.
“Well, well, well.” Gideon’s voice slid through the trees and across the clearing. He stepped out of the forest about the same distance away from the path Ranulf and Grandmother Molle had used as me, but on the other side. “This is a surprise.”
He crossed the open space, stopping in front of me. “You failed to inform me this morning that your lover can transform into a dragon. And here I thought you had wanted that half silver.”
I took a step back. “I was never going to help you hunt him.”
“But you did. Even after lying to me, you kindly led the way to this clearing. I might never have discovered the truth if not for you. Now I know exactly where to find the dragon.”
Dread filled me. The healers and villagers had kept the secret for generations, and I had ruined it all because I wanted to watch him shift? Affenala save me. Affenala save Ranulf. I had to do what I could to stop the hunter. “The dragon you are hunting doesn’t exist. He is a man, not a beast.”
“He is still a dragon.”
My hand slipped into my pocket, tightening on the enchanted stick Ranulf had given me the day before. “You can’t still intend to hunt him! He’s a healer. A human. It wouldn’t be hunting; it would be murder.”
“Maybe, if anyone knew it was possible for a man to shift into a dragon. But he’s kept it secret so well, hasn’t he? Even if the villagers support your wild tale, they’ll sound like fools. Jealous fools who want to rob a mighty hunter of his prey.” Gideon stepped closer. “The dragon almost had me convinced. I was ready to move closer to the mountains and his lair. But now, I don’t need to go anywhere. He’ll come right to me.”
“You can’t kill him,” I said in desperation.
Gideon slid the large knife at his waist from its sheath. “I’ll think you find that I can. I even have the perfect bait for the trap.”
He moved too quickly for me to react, grabbing me and pinning me against his chest, his knife at my throat. I swallowed, afraid even that movement would cause metal to split skin, but unable to stop myself. Men had tried to overpower me before, but never with a weapon. Never in the middle of a forest where even a scream wouldn’t attract attention. My limited tricks for dealing with drunks weren’t enough.
Ranulf had been right. I had underestimated the hunter. But he hadn’t. The protective enchantment was still wrapped in my fingers. Gideon’s arm held me in place against his body, but I still had the freedom to pull the stick from my pocket. I didn’t, unsure what would happen if I used it with Gideon’s blade pressed against my skin. Ranulf had mentioned a shock before muscles paralyzed. If Gideon flinched . . . better to bide my time. He couldn’t hold me like this forever if he hoped to attack Ranulf.
“How will this help you?” I asked. I didn’t have to feign fear, though I wasn’t afraid for myself. “You can’t shoot a dragon while holding me.”
“I already told you. You are the bait. All I need now is to set the trap.”
He released me unexpectedly, but before I could pull the stick from my pocket, a starburst of pain exploded at my temple.
Blackness engulfed me.
I woke onmy side in the clearing. My ankles were bound, as were my wrists. I awkwardly levered myself into a sitting position and scanned my surroundings. It was dark now, the light of the moon and stars barely enough to let me make out the hunter’s form as he built his dragon trap in the middle of the clearing. I froze, but he hadn’t noticed my movement.
Slowly, carefully, I pulled my knees up to my chin and looped my arms over my legs. The hunter’s focus stayed on his current task, and a spark of hope filled me. He had bound my wrists in front. I worked on the knot at my ankles. It only took a few minutes to loosen the rope. I unwrapped my legs, but stayed where I was. I could run, but I didn’t stand a chance against Gideon if—when—he chased me. Better to wait for a moment to take him by surprise.
The enchantment was still in my pocket. I pulled it out, wanting to be ready this time. My heart beat in my throat, and I gripped the stick with white-knuckled desperation.
Gideon finished whatever he was doing. Something with ropes and nets, I thought, but I couldn’t make out the details. He swung his crossbow off his back, cocked it, and loaded a bolt into place. Then he crossed the clearing to my side. “Oh good, you are awake. I was thinking that a well-timed scream might help as the dragon flies overhead.”
“I won’t help you kill him.” My voice came out steadier than I had expected.
“If you don’t cooperate, I’ll just have to make you scream myself when the time comes.” He swung the crossbow in my direction for a moment, a smirk on his face, then went back to scanning the sky. The crossbow was no longer trained on me, and he stood only a few feet away.
I pinched the indentations of the enchantment and lunged. Affenala, let this work. The tip of the stick pressed against his leg, and his whole body spasmed. I congratulated myself on not using the enchantment earlier and getting my throat slit in the process. The crossbow slid from his hand, but miraculously didn’t fire as it hit the ground. Gideon toppled over.
I grabbed the crossbow and backed up. With my hands still bound, I could barely hold the bow. When Gideon recovered, he’d knock it out of my hands in an instant. I studied him for a moment. His chest still moved. Whatever magic Ranulf had channeled into the stick hadn’t stopped his heart or lungs.
I set the crossbow down carefully and approached with the enchanted stick held out in front of me. I reached for the knife sheathed at the hunter’s waist. He twitched.
I shrieked and hit him with the enchantment once more. Then I pulled the knife free and rushed back to where I had left the crossbow. I sliced through the rope without cutting myself, and had the crossbow back in hand by the time Gideon began to move once more. My grip was surprisingly steady as I trained the weapon on him.
“I’m not bait,” I told him as he got to his feet. He moved slowly, his muscles still twitching at irregular intervals. “And you won’t be trapping any dragons here.”
I kept the crossbow aimed at his torso. I knew next to nothing about weapons, but enough soldiers and hunters had passed through the tavern over the years that I knew a person didn’t require training to do damage with a crossbow. At this distance, the bolt would even go through Gideon’s chain mail.
Not that I intended to shoot him. But I couldn’t let him think I would hesitate.
He sneered at me, but didn’t close the distance between us. I didn’t dare step closer either. His hand rested on his sword, which I had foolishly left with him. He could reach me with his weapon before I got close enough to shock him with the enchantment again. If the enchantment even had any power left.
The crossbow was my strongest defense, now.
Gideon loosened the sword in its sheath. “What’s your plan now?”
I didn’t let the crossbow waver. “Make you leave.”
“Oh?”
I took a step closer, though still well out of reach of his blade. “Start walking. The path toward Wulfkin.”
“And if I don’t? Are you really going to shoot me? Somehow, I can’t see you taking a life.”
So much for my bluff. “I don’t have to kill you. A bolt through the thigh would be sufficient. And I still have the enchantment to paralyze you. If you’d prefer, we can wait here for Ranulf’s return, but this time you’ll be the one tied up.”
It was probably the course I should have taken when I first immobilized him. But I wanted him gone from the forest. If I waited for Ranulf to return, we’d still be in the same situation. Ranulf would either have to kill the hunter in cold blood, or make him leave the forest. I refused to put him in the position of making that decision. The guilt would destroy him if he killed; the doubt would eat at him if he opted for mercy.
No, this entire situation was my fault, and I had to take responsibility. If I hadn’t wanted to see Ranulf transform . . . if I hadn’t led Gideon to the clearing . . . this was my mess, and I had to clean it up myself.
Whatever Gideon saw in my expression now, he no longer thought I was bluffing. He began to walk, but not toward the path to the village.
“Where are you going?”
“To get my pack.” He lifted a bag from the ground, shaking it at me.
He must have returned to the cottage while I was unconscious and grabbed his bag. It was nearly empty. No doubt the rope and nets strung up in the clearing had made up the bulk of his supplies. He must have always planned to lay a trap for the dragon once he discovered its lair. It explained how he thought he could bring down such a giant beast with only a crossbow and sword.
I worried about what his trap might do to Ranulf, but I had to get the hunter away before I could focus on that danger. “Fine, you have your pack, now walk.”
I followed Gideon down the path toward Wulfkin, the crossbow growing heavier with every step. For nearly an hour, I followed him, slowly letting myself fall farther and farther behind. I had lowered the bow after the first ten minutes, only jerking it back up if Gideon slowed or looked back at me. He didn’t stop walking, and eventually I had to admit that I couldn’t follow him the whole way to the village.
I might already have taken too long, leaving Ranulf to fly into the trap in the clearing. I slowed further, but Gideon hadn’t looked back for a while. How far might he go before realizing I no longer followed him? Far enough, I hoped. I was probably making another mistake. Who knew what he’d do now? But I at least had his crossbow. With only a sword, he’d have to get close to attack anyone, and a dragon could surely protect himself from such a threat. If that dragon wasn’t caught in a net.
I walked backwards for another quarter hour, straining to hear if he turned around and tried to sneak up on me. Finally, crossbow still ready in my hands, I turned around and hurried back to the clearing. I wanted to take down the ropes and nets before Ranulf returned.
It must have been past midnight by the time I reached the clearing. I was hungry, exhausted, and my head still pounded from the blow Gideon had used to knock me unconscious. Still, I wouldn’t rest until I pulled down every last bit of rope. It took a while, because I refused to set the crossbow down as I worked. I had the nets half down when I felt a gust of wind from above.
I looked up and saw Ranulf coming in to land. He spotted me, and I gestured frantically for him to land in the other half of the clearing.