The Goddess's Hero

Allies

Skye's POV

"To drag you out."

The Draconian smirked and I sensed several pulls of mana surround me. Different options ran through my skull as things happened as if in slow motion.They wouldn't care if I kept this one as a hostage. He means nothing. Quickly, I slit his throat and enchanted his body to look like me as I ran toward the nearest source of mana.

Finding a Draconian woman watching my doppelgänger, I wrapped one hand around her throat successfully blocking her airway. With my other hand, I commandeered a short sword hanging at her side. To my surprise, she was not shocked nor attempting to resist. Her red eyes simply stared in front of her. Daring not to speak in case her comrades heard, I wrote one word in the dirt beside her.

Linus.

Her keen eyes noticed it instantly. After a few moments, I thought of killing her. She obviously wasn't going to give me the information I wanted. Her peers still hadn't noticed me, so I had the element of surprise. At least for the moment. I tightened my grip on my new short sword.

Then, suddenly, she leaned down and drew a question mark in the dirt. I felt like slapping myself. You idiot! Nikolai had taught me the languages of the races and I stupidly, ignorantly, thought that because one Draconian could speak the human tongue, they all could.

Breathing deeply to calm myself, I hurriedly wrote Linus' name in her language. Her eyes widened slightly and then they turned into a thoughtful expression. She leaned down and asked a simple question.

You kill him?

I didn't like lying.

Yes.

You cannot.

I wanted to write, "Watch me." But I didn't. She knew more about her Chieftain than I did. I feel it is always best to acquire as much information on your enemy as you can. That way you can take the easiest route to destroying them. So, I asked her instead,

Why?

He sees all. He sees before things happen, he acts before he thinks, he has unholy levels of pressured mana at his disposal. You will not get close to his throne.

A yell alerted us that my time for surprise had ended. We looked toward the clearing and their dead comrades' body lay in a crumpled heap. I let go of the dark elf's throat and grasped her waist. She didn't try to make a sound as I quickly threw her over my shoulders and ran further into the forest.

Attempting to assuage their position from their incredibly stealthy footfalls was an impossible feat. The only way to know where they were was to use my own mana. They know this land better than I do. They are more practiced in mana usage. They are faster than me. Unless some sort of miracle happens, I'm going to be caught.

After running several miles into the dark dense forest, I noticed myself slowing down. Damn it! I couldn't hold the girl and keep running like I was. I could drop her and maybe have a chance of getting away unscathed.

However, I needed the information she seemed willing to give. I could stop and fight them. The dense trees surrounding me shot that idea in the knee. I wouldn't be able to maneuver the way I had to. I could climb up a tree, wait for them to come underneath me, and then drop down taking two or so with me. Climbing up with a woman on your shoulder? Not going to happen.

Suddenly, my skin prickled and I threw the Draconian on the ground while whipping out her shortsword. The poisoned dart clanked against my blade and fell to the forest floor. I swiped my new sword to the right as I heard the twang of a bow. Both pieces of the newly shortened arrow dropped to the ground. Suddenly the forest lit up, blinding me and I covered my eyes. A strong kick to my gut had me doubling over. Two personages grabbed a hold of my arms and a third silhouette came into view. He took my weapon and punched my gut. It hurt but I didn't want to show weakness here. He then knelt at my level.