Abducted [W&W Book 3]

Chapter 6

Soon the smoke began to thin and Ildri could see where she was going.  She wondered how her rescuer could navigate so well in the smoke.  Her astonishment doubled when they came to a horse.

"You have a horse?" she asked, wondering why he had dragged her on foot for so long.

"I do now," he agreed shortly and he helped her climb onto the creatures back.  Ildri felt nervous but did not complain as she watched him free the horse's reins.  Once again, Ildri noticed the discord between his aged appearance and his quick movements.  And his face did not look as worn as the night before, although she supposed that it could be the light that made him seem less fearful. 

He skilfully mounted the horse, seating himself behind her.  He grabbed the reins and the horse began to move.  She sat as far forward as she could so that she did not need to lean on him, but had no choice once they picked up speed.

They rode for a few minutes in silence until Ildri could barely endure it.  There was so much unsaid.  She asked the first question that came to her mind, inane though it might be.  "Where's your wolf?"

His answer was curt.  "He's a half wolf.  And he'll frighten this horse so I sent him farther off."

"Oh."

After another silence Ildri spoke again.  "Thank you for saving me."

"Don't expect me to save you from your foolhardiness again," he said.

The day had been long and trying and Ildri's temper leapt to her rescue.  He needed to understand that what she had done was perfectly justifiable.  She had a good reason, sort of.  "I thought that you would kill me!" she announced, silently omitting how the captain's had influenced her decision.  He had looked like someone who would protect her.  She should have known better that appearances could be deceiving.

He laughed shortly.  "I hadn't hurt you yet, had I?  I also told you that I was taking you to the king, which is still where we are going.  If you're as innocent as you pretend, you should have no fear of that."

"You killed Saul!" she accused.  "I had good reason to be afraid of you!"

"If you had your eyes open last night, you might have noticed that it was your sweet and beloved Saul who tried to stab me first.  I had no plans to kill him initially, but I was hardly going to let that traitor take me out.  But that's not why you were so afraid, was it?  It's because you decided I was a monster."

"How should I have known what you might do?  I saw you kill someone!"

"I'll grant you that, although it was in self defense.  Regardless, you were foolish to throw yourself at the mercy of unknown soldiers.  Most especially that group of unknown soldiers.  You clearly do not have a bit of sense.  But I've gained some information.  I did not know that they were already mobilizing to that extent.  I must get to the capital quickly."

Ildri felt indignant after the insults.  "If you were me, you wouldn't have trusted you either.  And I still don't know anything about you!  You could be a spy or any sort of villain, for all I know.  I don't even know your name."

"You can call me Ty, Ildri of Wildwood."

"Is that even your real name?" she asked.

"Of course not," he laughed.  Ildri scowled.  She just would not talk to him then.  She would be silent until it drove him mad.  If he was not already.  That would teach him.

The only noise was the sound of the horse's hooves hitting the packed earth.  Ildri's nervousness faded and with every sound her exhaustion increased.  She closed her eyes for just a second.