Novel Jumper

Chapter Twenty One

 "So, what's your name?" Lilia asked in a whisper as they took an incredibly roundabout way to reach the center of the town in order to avoid the returning Slaves.

The man glanced over his shoulder at her. "Matthias. But you can call me Matt. Seeing how you saved my life and everything."

"I'm Lilia. Thank you, by the way, for helping save Connor."

"Sure thing, sweetheart. I'm looking forward to fighting those bastards." The man flexed his hands and rolled his head.

"No, no, no," Lilia said apprehensively, halting in her tracks. "You understand that we can't kill them, right?"

The man stopped as well and turned to her, confused and a bit disappointed. "Why not?"

"Why not - they're people, Matt. They didn't know what they were doing any more than you knew what you were doing when you attacked me. We have to remove their necklaces." Lilia gave him an appraising look. "Seriously, where did you come from?"

"The Southern Realms," Matt said shortly.

"Oh," Lilia said, the word drawn out as she remembered all that Connor had told her about the territory. "Now I get it."
Matt rolled his eyes at her and they continued onward.

As they got closer to the town square, Lilia heard Connor shouting. "Lilia! Lilia! Wolf cub!"

"He has a nickname for you?" Matt asked teasingly. "Things are getting serious."

"Oh, for god's sake, you've known me for ten minutes!" Lilia exclaimed, exasperated. "Get off my case!"

Matt just shrugged and pressed his back against the house they were hiding next to. He peeked his head carefully around the edge and then just as slowly brought it back.

"What are they doing?" Lilia asked.

"Well, they're about to put the collar on him," Matt said conversationally.

"No!" Lilia breathed, stopping herself from screaming the word just in time. "Come on, do something! We have to help him!"

"There's nothing we can do," Matt argued. "It'll be easier to save him if we can draw him away from the camp as a slave and ambush him. Trust me, the necklaces dull your wits. All they do is sharpen your fighting skills and make you a slave to the Wizard."

Lilia pushed him out of the way so she could see Connor. He was on his knees, being held down by several Slaves who were obviously struggling with him. He yelled, a wordless cry of pure fury, as a woman approached him with one of the necklaces stretched wide.

"Please," she begged, turning back to Matt.

"You seem to be ignoring the fact that there are thirty of them and two of us," Matt pointed out, his eyebrows raised.

"You don't understand - he's done so much for me - "

"Then do him and me a favor and keep us free!" Matt snapped.

"I can't let them put that collar on him," Lilia protested, her eyes drifting to Matt's ragged neck. His fingers raised to touch the ripped skin.

"It hurts, yeah," he said quietly. "It's that kind of quiet pain that lingers constantly at the back of your mind. But we'll free him as soon as possible. He'll barely even be wounded."

Lilia shook her head and ducked it around the side of the building to see how much time they had left before Connor was enslaved.

It was too late.

"No!" she screamed, the sound muffled just in time by Matt's rough palm clamped over her mouth.

The collar slipped over Connor's head and settled around his neck, tightening. It tightened until his face turned red and he started coughing, the coughs turning to gags and soon cutting off, replaced with silence - horrible silence as Connor fell onto his side, his hands scrabbling at the choker and finally falling limp.