I See Faeries

~chapter fourteen~

Hapless Travelers Run Away

~

"Troll," Lukas said hoarsely.

I felt immediately lightheaded, and swayed slightly in my saddle. Roman drew abreast of me and grabbed my arm, holding me upright.

"Where?" He asked the vampire. "I can smell it, but the stench seems to be coming from every direction."

Lukas was silent for a moment, and when he spoke I could hear his fear. "Straight ahead." He paused, then said slowly, "If I didn't know better, I would almost swear the beast has been waiting for us. And from the smell of things, it has friends nearby."

I likely would have fallen from my saddle at that, had the faerie not been holding my arm. His fingers tightened around my bicep, and I could almost feel how unsettled he was. As was I. This was not normal behavior for a troll. Trolls were stupid. They were big and vicious and almost impossible to kill, but they were slow, and easy to outwit. An intelligent troll was a truly terrible thing to imagine.

"What do we do?" I asked. I could hear the blood rushing in my ears, and felt dizzy with fear. I was blind in the dark, armed only with my broken blade and the small knife Roman stole. I was almost entirely reliant on my two companions for protection, and I doubted that even they could defeat an adult troll without additional help. Not in the dark, anyway, when only one third of us had sight. 

"How thick are the woods around us?" Roman asked Lukas.

"You're asking if we can outrun it," Lukas guessed. He paused. "There is enough room for the horses, but it's too dark to guide them quickly through the trees - and neither of you can see."

Roman swore vehemently.

I shivered. "So . . . what do we do?" I asked, fully aware that the longer we talked, the more danger we were in. The troll was just ahead, waiting. Trolls were not patient creatures, and I had a sinking feeling that this one would soon stop waiting and start attacking.

Lukas cleared his throat. "Wait until it's light enough for all of us to see? Unless, of course, you'd like to go on the offensive."

"I like the waiting option, personally," I said, a little too eagerly.

"This troll won't wait forever, though," Roman muttered. His hand moved up my arm until his fingers were curled protectively around my shoulder. "We have to stall, somehow. Distract it, maybe." We were all silent for a moment, before he spoke again. "Cass, do you trust me?"

Taken aback, I could only stare into the darkness to my left, imagining myself looking into his fathomless blue/black eyes. I seem to be getting that question a lot as of late. Curious that the dream woman just advised me on the subject, as well. 

I barely had to consider my reply, though. "Yes."

I heard a faint sigh of relief, then felt his leg bump against mine as his horse shifted closer. He released my shoulder before wrapping his arm around my waist, and I was suddenly lifted from my horse and set down again on his. I could feel his thighs against my hips on either side of me, and his warm, muscular chest at my back. The sensation was not at all an unpleasant one. 

"What-" I began. 

A large hand clamped over my mouth before I could finish the question, and I felt hot breath on my neck as he whispered, "Shh."

Oh, so we're being quiet now? Never mind that we were talking in conversational voices just moments ago. 

His hand didn't leave my mouth as I felt his body lean to the side, and heard him whisper something in Elvish. Lukas was somewhere ahead of us and likely didn't speak the language, so the only conclusion I could draw is that he was talking to my horse.