The Marksman [The Talent of Three: Book 1]

23 ••• Kayne

The centaur's hooves slam into the ground with surprising grace, his muscles tense and powerful, racing them through the forest and to the river's edge, where he claimed Kayne to be.

Atheris and Chip sit on his back, a surprise that left them both utterly bewildered and exhilarated simultaneously, for centaurs are noble and dignified creatures, unlikely to stoop so low as to allow a human to ride them.

"How close are we?" Atheris yells to the centaur from behind Chip.

"We are not too far, young Archer," the centaur replies. "He is held in a place close to here!"

Slightly mollified, Atheris does not demand a clearer answer. She consents herself to trusting the centaur to take them to Kayne.

•••

The centaur stops. "He is here."

"Um...where?" Chip asks.

"There," the centaur says, pointing at a tree.

"That's a tree."

"He is there."

Atheris's stomach flips. "You don't mean he is the tree?!"

"No, silly human! The roots! Look at the roots!"

Atheris's eyes fall to the base of the tree. "Oh!"

"Is he...alive?" Chip asks, sounding nervous.

"He is alive," the centaur says. "The tree has kept him alive and strong."

Atheris hesitates for just a moment. Then she creeps forward and kneels beside Kayne.

Kayne is ensnared in the roots of the tree. He sits cross-legged at the tree's base, his eyes closed, the roots growing over him, encircling his waist, wrists, and ankles. Smaller roots are wound around his body. His hair looks slightly green.

"Um...how do we get him out of here?" Atheris asks. Chip shrugs.

"Give me your knife, Archer," the centaur says.

"Why?" Chip asks sharply.

The centaur gives him a withering look. "I must persuade the tree to release him. I will need a knife."

"Persuade?" Atheris asks.

The centaur says nothing but offers a mysterious smile. Atheris gets the feeling the centaur means to tell her to watch with that smile. He kneels like he did to allow Atheris and Chip to get on his back. He takes the knife from Atheris's outstretched hand and lowers it toward the roots.

"Release him," the centaur whispers quietly.

The roots slowly, to Atheris's amazement, begin to uncurl from Kayne's body. They fall away from his wrists and ankles, unwinding themselves from his waist. Atheris's jaw drops and Chip pokes her until she closes it.

The centaur puts a hand to Kayne's forehead. "Wake."

Instantly, Kayne's eyes snap open. He looks confused for a moment. Then he catches sight of Atheris and Chip and a smile spreads on his face. "Oh, hey guys!"