Chapter 3: A Dagger in the Dark

Lila wasted no time hitching Astacus to the small wagon and quickly loaded it with the bolts of cloth that were waiting by the front door to take to town. Sandra was not in the common room while Lila was loading, and if she were lucky, she’d be able to get on the road before her mother noticed she was there. Then she would not have to explain where she had been.

Just as she was stuffing the last bolt of cloth under her arm, Sandra appeared at the bottom of the stairs. Her face hardened when she saw Lila.

“I thought you would have been on your way to town already,” Sandra sniffed disdainfully.

“I—well I’m on my way now,” Lila said, a little more venom in her voice than she had intended.

Sandra’s eyes narrowed, but it seemed that the prospect of being rid of Lila for the night was enough to keep her from becoming very angry. She swept over to her rocking chair and picked up her half-finished knitting.

“Tell Thomas I want him home for a visit. It’s been much too long since we’ve seen him.”

“I’ll let him know,” Lila said, trying to prevent a bolt of cloth from falling out of her arms. “I’ll be going now, then.”

Sandra ignored her by way of reply, so Lila awkwardly hobbled out the door, closing it behind her with a foot. When she was finished loading the wagon, she set Astacus at an easy canter toward town.

The trip was uneventful and familiar; Lila had gone this way many times in bringing the goods to market, with her father at first and then after his death by herself. She finally reached the town by the time the sun was hanging halfway to the horizon and made her way to the docks where she would sell the cloth to the merchants there.

She had a hard time keeping focus while the merchants bartered and discussed prices. She was preoccupied by the strange occurrences of the day, and her stomach twisted in knots worrying that someone would see those lights coming out of her palms again.

The sun was just setting when she had finished, so she started to make her way to the doctor’s clinic, where Thomas was apprenticing. She barely paid any heed to the trip; Astacus knew the way well. Her mind was still churning with anxiety.

She came out of her reverie when she sensed movement out of the corner of her eye, but it was just the lamplighters scurrying from post to post. It was then that she realized just how dark it was. Thick, murky clouds intermittently swept over the moon, one moment illuminating the night and the next casting it in inky blackness.

The quickest path to the doctor’s involved a cut through a rather dimly lit alley, and Astacus was there before Lila realized it. With all her anxiety at those lights coming back in the dark, she thought it almost better to take another route. But she had allowed the horse to follow their routine, and it was too late to change it now.

Lila clenched her hands into fists in her skirts. There were no windows on the sides of the buildings here, and only one lonely torch flickered fitfully against the wind at the mouth of the alley. Lila closed her eyes and hoped she could keep the light from coming back; the problem was she didn’t know how it worked in the first place.

She was so intent on keeping the light at bay that she didn’t hear the footfalls behind her until it was too late. A dark shape launched itself out of the shadows and hit her squarely, knocking her out of her seat on the wagon. She hit the ground hard, her head reverberating against the cobblestones with a sickening thud. Dazed, she struggled to breathe as the large shape pressed down on top of her. A stray beam of moonlight glinted off a blade held inches from her face.

“Give me your money and you won’t get hurt,” A male voice reeking of ale rasped above her, turning Lila’s attention to the face behind the dagger, now revealed by the shifting moonlight.

He was a young man perhaps a few years older than Elizabeth, with brown hair and eyes. She would have thought him handsome if not for the situation he had put her in. He moved onto his knees but kept the dagger to her neck as his other hand moved down her side, presumably looking for her belt purse.

Panicking, Lila used the new space between them to get her legs up, and kicked out with all her strength, sending the man flying back and smashing into the wagon’s wheel. Astacus whinnied loudly as he struggled in vain against the bonds keeping him secured to the wagon. He knew his mistress was in danger, and would have trampled this man if he could have.

Lila scrambled to her feet, but the man dove at her again and pulled her against him, enveloping her in a tight, one-armed grip. The other came up to her neck with the dagger again. She struggled to get free but her arms were pinned to her sides, and the man pushed the dagger against her neck, stilling her.

“Just give me your money and I’ll let you go,” He croaked, slightly winded.

“My family needs this money for the winter,” Lila managed, sounding much braver than she felt. But then she began to feel eerily calm.

“Yeah? Well I need it more. I haven’t eaten in days.”

“You found enough money to buy yourself some ale,” Lila observed, surprised that her voice was still so strong.

“This isn’t up for discussion,” He growled. “You either give me the money or I slit your throat. Understand?”

He reached for her purse again with the arm holding her, and luckily he loosed his grip enough for her to wrench her right arm free. She elbowed him hard in the stomach and he doubled over. With him still caught unawares, she grabbed his other hand and pulled the dagger away from her, then pitched forward into a handless summersault. The man came with her as she flipped forward and he landed hard on his back on the cold paving stones, cushioning her fall as she landed on top of him. She bounded up into a crouch and before he even had a chance to breathe, she had twisted his arm around, using his death grip on the handle and his own hand to plunge the dagger into his heart.

When Lila realized what she had done, she let his hand go with a start. The man gasped with the sudden shock of pain and looked up at her with wide dark eyes. He carefully removed his hand from the dagger, letting it jut out of his chest as his hand flopped lifelessly to his side.

She could see now that he had been telling the truth of his recent struggle with hunger. Judging by his somewhat gaunt features and loose clothing, the starvation had come upon him suddenly.

The man managed to find the strength to reach up and grab Lila’s wrist.

“Please,” he gasped, “don’t leave me here to die. I don’t want to die alone, even if it means having to be with my murderer.” He laughed madly, but cut short with a grimace of pain.

Lila couldn’t suppress a shiver. Murderer again.

The calmness suddenly gone, she struggled to keep herself from shaking as she took a deep breath. What had she done?

“I—I have to go get help. I have to leave you to get the doctor,” She stuttered.

“No,” He grunted. “No, if you go, you’ll never come back. Please. It won’t be much longer,” He smiled morbidly. “I promise.”

“I won’t let you die! I’ll be right back with the doctor. You can hang on until then.” She wondered why she was trying to convince him when she didn’t really believe it herself.

She pulled at his hand, trying to get away. His grip tightened painfully.

He gritted his teeth. “Please.”

She didn’t want to leave him but there was no choice. If she didn’t get help soon, he’d die.

You are reading story The Book of Sevorech, Book One of the Guardians of Lajen Saga at novel35.com

“Help!” She screamed into the still night. “Somebody help me!”

The barking of dogs was the only answer at first, but then she heard a soft rustling behind her. She turned to see a figure silhouetted by the fitful torch at the mouth of the alley. She called out, but there was no answer.

She finally managed to pry the man’s hand off her wrist. “What’s your name?” She asked distractedly.

He smiled slightly. “David.”

“Well David, I’m going to talk that person into getting the doctor for you. I’ll be right back. Don’t die while I’m gone.”

That sent him back into his insane laughter, but it quickly turned into a gurgling cough instead. She ran to the shadowed shape as shivers ran up her spine. That was the laughter of a man who knew he was already dead.

As she neared the form she could tell it was a woman wrapped tightly in a shawl. She stood hugging herself tightly.

Lila recognized her once she was close enough. “Rachael!”

Rachael Selby was a year older than Lila, and she and her brother Jonah, who was Lila’s age, had been Lila and Thomas’ friends since they were children. Aside from Thomas, they all worked at the local manor now, Lila and Jonah in the fields and Rachael in the manor house.

“Lila!” Rachael exclaimed, clutching Lila’s arm, her hazel eyes wide. “Oh dear Lord, if my mother knew I was out this late, she’d skin me alive!”

“Why are you out this late?”

“I don’t know!” Rachael squeaked. “I just had an urge to go for a walk. What happened?” She asked, looking over Lila’s shoulder.

“A man got hurt. I need you to go to the doctor’s and get Thomas and Master Newell, and hurry.”

Without another word, Rachael turned and sprinted down the street. Lila ran back to David when he let out a particularly agonized moan. Not knowing what else to do, she knelt beside him and took up one of his hands in hers.

“The doctor’s on his way. It won’t be much longer.”

He squeezed her hand weakly. “Thank you. I forgive you, for this,” He gestured vaguely toward the dagger in his chest. “I’d just like to know how you did that.”

She tried to smile but faltered. “I’d like to know myself,” She muttered.

It seemed an eternity before voices and footsteps finally echoed down from the street crossing the alley. She heaved a sigh of relief as five people came into view: Rachael led Thomas, the doctor, and two other men, all of whom where illuminated by a torch held by the doctor.

“What happened?” Master Newell asked sharply as he gestured to two sleepy-eyed men who were only half-dressed to pick up David.

“I don’t know,” Lila admitted.

“Lila?” Thomas asked incredulously as he ran up to her.

“Thomas, I—”

“Are you all right?” He asked sharply as he helped her to her feet. He was fully dressed and looked alert despite the late hour.

David was reluctant to let go of her hand, but as the men lifted him from the ground he settled on screaming at the top of his lungs instead.

“Gentle, you fools!” Master Newell admonished as he shook a finger at them. “Do you want to make it worse?”

The two murmured their apologies as they shifted the man in their hold, only getting more screams from him.

Thomas turned Lila toward him, looking her up and down in the torchlight.

“Why is there blood on your neck?” He asked sharply.

A year younger than Lila, her brother already stood taller than she did. He had grown since she had last seen him, not only becoming taller but also broader in the shoulders and more muscular. His grip on her arm confirmed that. His shaggy dark brown hair shifted in the slight night breeze as his blue eyes locked on hers. She assumed her eyes had not changed from their normal azure, since he only seemed concerned about her wounds. She would rather not have to explain it to Thomas; she would have enough of that as it was.

Lila hadn’t realized she was bleeding, so she didn’t offer an explanation, but Thomas didn’t wait for one, either. He quickly examined her, making her wince when his hands found the back of her head where the cobblestones had met it. He turned the back of her head toward him gently as he examined the wound. Finally, he allowed her to turn her face toward him and brought her into a close embrace.

“It is good to see you again Lila, even under such mysterious circumstances.”

She struggled to keep from shaking as he hugged her. It would have been so easy to break down in his arms but she forced herself to remain strong. No matter how much he resembled him, Thomas was her younger brother, not her father.

“It is good to see you again as well.”

Thomas pushed her out to arm’s length. “Your wounds aren’t serious, but you have a lot of explaining to do. But we’ll worry about that later—we should catch up with the others.”

Lila managed a nod and allowed Thomas to guide her with an arm around her shoulders as they ran to catch up with the hobbling procession ahead of them.

***

You can find story with these keywords: The Book of Sevorech, Book One of the Guardians of Lajen Saga, Read The Book of Sevorech, Book One of the Guardians of Lajen Saga, The Book of Sevorech, Book One of the Guardians of Lajen Saga novel, The Book of Sevorech, Book One of the Guardians of Lajen Saga book, The Book of Sevorech, Book One of the Guardians of Lajen Saga story, The Book of Sevorech, Book One of the Guardians of Lajen Saga full, The Book of Sevorech, Book One of the Guardians of Lajen Saga Latest Chapter