Collar of Slaves: 1 Raiders cont by Shandria Katz

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She looked at him and jerked her head to the inn remaining calm. He nodded in understanding and leapt up running to the inn. Weary worn, the horse collapsed in the yard snorting for breath.

"Father! Father!" he called.

Vahlia looked over the man who was still breathing. She leaned in close to examine the arrows. Something within her told her to check carefully.

Not everything was forgotten then.

"Still...Rex...Still" she whispered calmly.

Her hand slipped under the leather jerkin finding one of the arrows plunged into the left shoulder. Her fingers slipped down to the head of the arrow and she felt around the wound. Her fingers felt the warmth of blood leaking from the wound alittle too freely. The skin was hot to the touch and clammy with blood and sweat. Gently she pulled on the haft and the man moaned in agony. More importantly, she was horrified by her discovery. He must have been shot before he escaped.

A shadow fell over her as the master knelt beside her. "We need to remove those things," he said to her concern in his voice. His apron stained from the morning's cooking still lingered of the cinnamon spice. His normal jolly expression was shadowed by the sight before him.

Why torture yourself? You could do nothing for him.

Vahlia shook her head knowing the arrows would do far more damage being pulled out. She tried to find the word. "Nadra! Est Stellir...barbed thorn." Removing her hand from the wound and crooking one blooded finger.

"Barbed arrowheads??"

Vahlia nodded while wiping the blood upon her tunic. She looked back to the road towards the village and fear crept into her dream self knowing what was to come. The road was empty, the breeze was still, the fields were silent.



Waking in pain, Vahlia struggled in the cocoon of blankets. "Easy...easy there," Siobhan's voice comforted her from behind her. "You are safe."

"Questionable," Justin stated further behind and lower.

Siobhan must have her on the horse while Justin must be on foot. Her head spun in pain lancing down behind her eyes into her head like a spear. She felt weighted down like stone and the body screamed in pain.

"We are still being followed...I just do not understand this." Justin sighed in frustration.

"Perhaps we need to change direction and make them think they are chasing their own party," Hector called from ahead.

"Justin, check the maps...find us a place we can defend in case our ruse does not work yet looks as if we are heading for the borderlands again." Siobhan suggested.

She heard a rustle that wracked her head with another pain as must as their voices did. "We can take to the east towards the ruins of Milith then make it look we headed back north."

"Milith?" Hector questioned.

"An old fortification town from the age of the Legions," Justin judiciously sighed. "A civilization that was brought to ruin by civil war in their crown city, followed by plague and then destroyed by the nations they had conquered. Some of the few treasures from their age survive today are the trade tongue, some of their structures which are marvels to see, and their libraries of knowledge.