5. Chapter 5
Chapter five
The elf with the knife was taking my attention right now, despite the thump of footsteps coming from behind me.
Which I hoped was Kali appearing to save the day.
If not, I was double fucked, and not in the fun way.
“What are you doing with that?” Knife-Wielding Elf snapped, looking past me.
“Dynlan,” Kali growled, and something in me eased, despite the flashy stabby bit close to my body. She had a black engraved box tucked under her arm. “I’m taking this. You can walk away, or I’m ready to engage.”
“Oh, so you’re throwing proposals to everyone now?” I joked, a nervous reflex because, well, what else was I supposed to do? I brought a spoon to a knife fight.
“I’m not giving this to you,” they said. “I’ve bet my whole fortune on this.”
I lifted my hands, spoon in one. “I mean, it feels like a flimsy bet to have a box you can’t open.”
Dynlan glared at me, moving the knife around a bit, too close for comfort.
“No,” Kali said, her voice low and deadly.
One moment, Dynlan lunged for me with the knife, the next, Kali’s hand darted past me to twist their wrist. The knife fell to the ground, and I managed to pull myself together enough to kick it away.
Kali darted for the knife before Dynlan could react.
“I’ve got the knife, I’ve got the box, and you’ve got a whole lot of problems on your hands if you don’t run,” she said, lifting the knife from the ground. The box was still snugly tucked under her arm.
Given that without the knife, they were a lot less threatening, I crossed my arms and stood in front of Kali. Granted, I probably wasn’t looking all that forbidding after being held at knifepoint.
“Is the box really worth it?” I asked. “I’ve been interrogated by her before. She’s scary.”
Dynlan glanced between us, and their brow furrowed. Truthfully, I didn’t think they looked a lot like me. Maybe similar build and brown hair, but they had cranky eyes and looked like they sucked on a lemon. I didn’t have that lemonish expression, did I? Maybe when I woke up in the morning?
“How could you have confused us?” I asked Kali, who stepped up next to me and sighed.
“Blame the shitty drawing I received,” Kali said with a shrug. “So, what’ll it be, Dynlan? I’ll just say, I’m incredibly good with a knife.”
A sensual shiver rolled down my spine at the memory of what Kali had done to me with those knives. The whole encounter had been scorching. Though, this was probably not the right time for a stroll down memory lane.
Dynlan spat, then glanced between us, then their gaze locked in on the knife.
Their shoulders tensed, and I braced myself for them to lunge in our direction. They were smaller than me, enough that I could easily grapple.
Except, then they pivoted around and burst forward in the opposite direction, back toward their campsite.
I frowned. “Did they just bolt?”
“We did give them an ultimatum,” Kali said with a shrug and took a few steps backward from the way we came. “Trust me, these situations turn out anticlimactic a lot more frequently than you think.”
“I expected a bit more blood and carnage with all the mercenary talk.” I held up my hands. “Though I’m happy for less mess.”
“If I can’t have it, no one will,” Dynlan roared, rushing toward us again. This time they held something shiny in their hands.
Probably not good news.
“Go,” Kali called back, and together we bolted forward.
They flung the shiny sphere in our direction, and it landed a few feet behind us.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Oh no.
I kept pace with Kali as we raced away as fast as we could muster.
The sound hit me first, a massive boom that shook the surrounding trees. Then the acrid scent of smoke filled the air, traveling our way, making my eyes sting. I choked down a few bad breaths of it, peppery and tear-inducing, and spluttered, even as I continued to run, keeping pace with Kali.
We raced down the path we’d traveled before, moving hard and fast, all sawed breaths and mechanical motion. Where Dynlan had gone, I hadn’t the slightest, but he wasn’t my main concern at this point. My feet thump, thump, thumped on the forest floor, leaves and twigs kicking up all around us.
When I glanced back, one of the trees had caught on fire, and I swore. If this fucker had started a forest fire, I’d be furious. Worry filtered through me fast and fierce. Socks was still missing, most likely in these woods. What if she was innocently asleep?
“This direction,” Kali called, the box still tucked under her arm. She’d pocketed the knife at some point during our run, miraculously not fumbling or pausing to place it in a sheath. That came with the territory after years of practice. I’d probably stab myself if I tried.
Kali took us down a different path, this time in a more westerly direction, and I focused on the winding path.
The cleared dirt trail led us through carved areas where the tall, dense trees loomed all around.
More freewhills burst into sound, and some forest critters shook the bushes, some of them going the same direction we were, which was away from the problems Dynlan had caused.
Ultimately, throwing a bomb was ineffective too, as not only had we escaped with the box, but they’d caused destruction in a hissy fit. Some elves needed to take a second and think.
I cast another glance back. In the far distance, smoke clouded where we’d come from, but it didn’t seem to be spreading at a rapid pace. Up ahead, the low murmur of a creek snagged my attention.
“Figured we’d put some space between us,” Kali said as we slowed down close to the creek. “The water boundary will slow things down if it does catch, but it rained recently, so it’s unlikely his foolish move will cause a full forest fire.”
When we stopped at the creek, I heaved in breaths, my legs burning from the sudden burst of running.
I was meant for slow and steady movement, not sprints.
I grabbed my water bag and filled it up.
Then, I crouched next to the creek and scooped handfuls into my mouth, splashing some over my sweaty face.
The coolness was bliss on my skin after the full-on dash through the woods, and I basked in that and our sawed out breaths mingling with the babble of the brook.
“Well, we’ve got the box,” Kali commented, crouching beside me at the stream. “So all that’s left is finding your pagwai.”
I wrinkled my nose. “In the mad dash, I gave up on looking for prints.”
“Prints aren’t the only ways to track,” Kali said. “Thankfully, this is in my domain. We’re still in the northern sector of the woods, and chances are, if we follow the water here, we’ll find where the animals cluster.”
I wrinkled my nose. “This isn’t the only stream, I’m sure.”
“You start with one. Tributaries and cross streams are easier to follow than blindly ambling through,” she said with a confidence I’d already come to trust. Despite our differences, I found myself enjoying my time with her more and more with each passing hour.
We’d found the box, and we’d hopefully find Socks, but I didn’t want our journey to end there.
I took a few more seconds to catch my breath before rising. I’d made the offer to her though. All I could do was make it once more when we found Socks. Fate would have to handle the rest.
Kali waited, poised to move. She glanced around the trees like she clocked details I wasn’t aware of.
I could gauge a lot about foraging, herbalism, and more in that vein, but I was rubbish at this whole tracking business.
At home, Socks always ended up scampering back when she went on her jaunts.
This was new territory, as she had no…place to scamper back to that was in this area.
“This way.” Kali headed east along the bank. The constant hum of the stream beside us was soothing as we trekked along, the air quieter in the wake of the mad rush we’d gone through. The occasional bird call or rustle in the bushes infiltrated, but it was part of the forest’s normal melody.
“What do pagwai like to eat?” she asked as we moseyed along the stream.
“Well, they’re a big fan of jewelberries, which is how I ended up finding Socks in the first place,” I said.
“Little rascal was climbing up my bushes, helping herself to as much as she wanted. When I caught her in the act, she didn’t rush away.
No, she cast me an uninterested glance and kept on eating, ignoring the fact I loomed over her. ”
Kali snorted. “Sounds like a sassy little thing.”
“She’s the best.” I beamed. “I don’t do well by myself, so she was a huge comfort after my parents moved outside of the commune. Honestly, it still feels odd there without them in the mess.”
“We’ll find her,” Kali promised, her gaze meeting mine. “This is the sort of thing I’m good at.”
“I’m seeing that.” I jerked a thumb at the box. “Though, Dynlan seemed to be a bit scattered in approach as well.”
“They’ve been that way the whole time,” Kali muttered. “Stories traveled of them rushing through towns, knocking over stalls at the market. With the way you were haphazardly bumbling around, I thought you might be them.”
“Well, I’m not exactly sad you kidnapped me,” I teased, meeting her gaze. She offered a soft smile, one that seemed secret based on their sharp features.
“Best time I’ve had in a long while,” she murmured.
I arched a brow. “Surely, you’re rolling in bed partners. It’s not like you’re limited to the commune like I am. And while people fuck on the commune, things can get a bit messy when everyone’s slept with everyone else.”
Kali snorted. “When you’re a mercenary, there isn’t always the luxury. You don’t get to know people well, and even though you can find a good lay at a bar, there’s the concern they might be related in some way to your mark and could slit your throat. So I often don’t take the chance.”
I wrinkled my nose. “That sounds lonely.”