Categories > Original > Fantasy > Dark Blood
The river was freezing. They must have found a shallow, kinder part of the river at their last camp, for this one had much more current and was much deeper. Either way, it was cold and Zuri wanted nothing more than to get out. She quickly wrung out her hair and scrambled from the icy current, pulling her tunic over her head quickly. After warming up a bit she pulled the tunic off and pulled on her undergarments, followed by her pants and finally the tunic again. She quickly replaced her sheathed blades in their designated places and pulled on her boots. As she walked back to the camp where Gavan waited, she pulled her hair over her shoulder and combed through it with her fingers, thoughts wavering between present and past.
A day and a night had passed and it felt as though they were no closer to reaching the end of the forest than when they began. They had another night to stay followed by half a day’s travel before they finally would reach the plains that lay beyond the edge of the wood. No matter how well they paced themselves it seemed they would never make it.
“Nearly ready?” Zuri glanced at Gavan as he sipped some water from his canteen.
“Nearly. Thanks for packing up.” She replied as she tied her hair into a braid. “Think you can make it through the day?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Gavan looked slightly surprised.
“You haven’t slept for two nights. We’re going to push our pace hard today so we pass the next stop and go straight to the one after.” She shrugged. “Just thought it might be a little hard on you.”
“I’ll be fine.” Gavan said with what he must have thought was a reassuring smile. Zuri sighed and nodded, picking up her stuff then dropping it again. She turned and stared out towards the path, as still as the forest. “Zee? What’s-”
“Shh,” Zuri held her hand up for silence, not turning to look at Gavan, then dropped it and grabbed a dagger from her hip sheath followed by one from the sheath on the inside of her boot.
“What’s-” But Zuri vanished before he could finish his sentence.
At the edge of the path, she gazed in the direction they had come from. She had heard voices, several voices, and had a feeling they did not belong to anyone very friendly. Before too long the silhouettes of about half a dozen men came into her line of vision. She tightened her grip on her daggers, hoping for some action. She hadn’t been in a fight for several months now and was antsy to do so.
“Who are they, do you think?” Gavan had appeared out of nowhere. Or, rather, Zuri had been too focused on the six approaching men to notice the one kneeling directly beside her. Such a matter could end up in a dangerous situation if she let it happen again.
“Hell, Gav, don’t do that!” She hissed. “I could have slit your throat!”
“Sorry.” He gave her a sheepish grin then looked to where the half-dozen men approached. “Who are they, though?” She caught a glimpse of sliver and realized he had taken out his daggers as well. At least he understood the severity of the situation. /]‘Why do I think of him like a child I have to protect?’[/ She wondered as she watched the group of six. Perhaps it was because she had not seen the more dangerous side of him before the beginning of the week? Whatever the reason, she needed to realize he was a grown man of twenty-five years and could take care of himself.
“Do not move until I give you the signal.” Zuri muttered as she inched closer to the path.
“The usual signal?” Gavan asked for clarification. A nod from Zuri was his only answer before she tucked her blades in the back of her pants within the ability to grab them and walked into the middle of the path.
The group of men froze in mid-step and stared at the slender red-haired woman that had just walked into their course. They all considered her for a moment before one of them spoke.
“Who are you, miss? Where did you come from?” He stood towards the front, making Zuri assume he was the highest in rank. They looked to be in uniform, though all wore cloaks so without close inspection the uniforms wouldn’t have been observed. She smiled sweetly at him and gave a slight inclination of her head.
“My name, kind sir, is Zuri. And as for where I came from, I would say it is quite obvious. I came out from the cover of the thicker part of the wood.” She grinned wickedly and enjoyed seeing the unease flow through the group of men before her.
“Why are you traveling through these woods, Miss Zuri, for they are haunted and very dangerous.” The leader spoke to her again, more confident now.
“The same reason as you, sirs. I search for something.” A nervous shuffle flowed through the group. The leader took a step closer to Zuri and scowled.
“How do you know we search for something?” He asked incredulously. “And what is it /]you[/ seek?”
“No one travels these woods without purpose of finding something or making way to the plains on the opposite side. From the looks of you sirs, I expect you are not planning a long journey through the plains, therefore you must be searching for something, or perhaps… someone?” She cocked an eyebrow and gave them another wicked grin as the leader drew his sword. Zuri took a step back and pulled her daggers out in the same instant. “Come now, one could get hurt with such things,” she growled as the man pointed his sword at her.
“Drop the blades, miss, now,” he snarled as the sound of five other blades being drawn followed the threat. Zuri unclenched her hands and winced at the sound of her daggers hitting the dirt path. At least they were not as dim-witted as she had thought them to be.
“So I am right to assume you are looking for someone?” She asked giving Gav the signal to get ready.
“We are, and we have found her.” The leader snarled, thrusting his sword at Zuri.
“Oi! Do not go about thrusting at me, sir. I happen to be a lady.” She grinned then kicked the sword from his hand and caught it, turning the tables as quickly as they had been set. “Now, how about we discuss your return to your master empty handed?” The other five men shifted closer to where Zuri held the blade to their leader. “No? I didn’t expect so. Well then, guess we shall do it my way.” With a small jab she closed the distance between the tip of the sword and the lead man’s throat, relishing in the sound of the metal meeting soft tissue. Pulling the sword out of its fleshy sheath and ignoring the body that dropped to her feet, Zuri gave Gavan the signal he had been waiting for.
The remaining five officials came at Zuri the second their leader’s body hit the ground. An instant later Gavan was at her side. A nod to his partner and they both dove into the fight ahead of them. The sounds of metal hitting metal, metal hitting flesh and metal hitting wood were the only things filling this forest, and Zuri intended to make it last as long as she could. It was the thrill of the fight that kept her doing it, not the need to kill.
She shoved the official she was currently fighting backwards, wincing as she felt blood leak from the scratch he had managed on her right cheek. Blocking his blows she backed him towards where Gavan fought two men near the bodies of their fallen comrades. A swipe of her blade just under his thrust hit home and he dropped to the ground with a thud. Pity, he was the best she had fought so far. She hadn’t the time to think about that, though, for one of the two men Gavan had been fighting broke away and came at her.
The man swung his blade at her and seemed shocked when it clashed against Zuri’s blade. Seemed the poor fellow had made the mistake of thinking she was not aware of his attack. Taking advantage of his shock, she slid her blade down his then, with a flick of her wrist, cut off the tip of his finger. Not what she had been aiming for, but he had moved at the last minute. Yelping in pain, her opponent switched hands, now holding his sword with his left. Perfect. He would be less agile with the sword now, making her part of the fight much simpler.
Her lack of respect for the man proved to be dangerous. It seemed, unfortunately, that he was, if anything, better with his left hand. Stronger, as well, for Zuri held her sword with both hands and he measured her talent with his left alone. She dodged several thrusts that got by simply on her own miscalculations. He was, by far, the best she had ever fought. She stopped a swing at her neck with her blade and with as much force as she could muster slammed the two blades against a tree, she and her opponent following.
Gasping for air Zuri calculated how much longer this fight would take if she didn’t do something in that moment to end it. At this rate it would take a lot longer than she could risk if they were to get out of the forest when they had planned. She came to her conclusion and punched the man in the face, throwing him off balance so he stumbled and fell to the ground. Zuri flipped his sword into the air and caught it, then held hers against his throat. She heard Gavan grunt in pain followed by the sound of a body hitting the ground, but she couldn’t risk looking to see if it was Gavan or the man he fought.
“Why did you hunt us down?” She demanded of the man now under the tip of her sword. “And I will know if you are lying, so do not try it.”
“We-we were charged with finding you and your partner for the crimes of breaking and entering as well as thievery.” He gasped. Zuri studied him and shook her head. Lies screamed from his eyes. She scraped the blade across his throat hard enough so it would bleed.
“Try again. Why did you hunt us down?” Her eyes were cold, showing no sign of sympathy and at that moment the man gazing back at her from the ground knew he was about to die.
“Your father,” he whispered. “He paid us to find and kill you.” Zuri’s body went cold with fear. Her father? How had he known- that didn’t matter. What mattered was that he knew she was alive and wanted to make sure it didn’t remain so. She gritted her teeth and shifted the position of the sword then and put her weight on the hilt, listening as it slid through the man’s heart. She straightened and twisted the hilt between her palms then pulled it from his chest with a loud squelching sound.
“Zee? You okay?” Concern laced Gavan’s words and as she turned to face him she realized why.
Wiping the tears from her cheeks Zuri nodded. “Fine, you?”
The disbelieving Gavan nodded. “Yeah, found some coins on them. Got myself a sword and,” he handed her her daggers. “Grabbed these for you.” He appeared unscathed but upon closer inspection she was able to see the blackened areas where the opponents’ blades penetrated. She knew for a fact she hadn’t made it through without injury, in fact she expected a few were pretty profound.
“Let us get ourselves cleaned up, patched up and get back on the road.” She suggested as she stooped and grabbed the sheath to her sword from the leader. Gavan nodded, though watched her closely as they walked side by side into the wood and back to their camp.
Daybreak found the two travelers finally coming to a place to rest. The adrenaline from the fight flowed through their veins most of the night and refused to allow them rest. Taking advantage of such circumstances, Zuri insisted they make up for lost time. Stopping only twice to re-bandage and clean their battle wounds, they made it to the last rest stop before leaving the forest just as the sun began to peer through the branches of the trees stretching above them. As they finally settled into their blankets to gain the rest they had surely earned, the only thing Zuri could think about was the words the last of the men she had killed had spoken. Her own father, whom she hadn’t seen since she was fifteen years of age, wanted her dead. She grunted in pain as she rolled onto her side, feeling safe with Gavan on watch. Her father was looking for her, again.
/]‘Some things never change.’ [/
A day and a night had passed and it felt as though they were no closer to reaching the end of the forest than when they began. They had another night to stay followed by half a day’s travel before they finally would reach the plains that lay beyond the edge of the wood. No matter how well they paced themselves it seemed they would never make it.
“Nearly ready?” Zuri glanced at Gavan as he sipped some water from his canteen.
“Nearly. Thanks for packing up.” She replied as she tied her hair into a braid. “Think you can make it through the day?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Gavan looked slightly surprised.
“You haven’t slept for two nights. We’re going to push our pace hard today so we pass the next stop and go straight to the one after.” She shrugged. “Just thought it might be a little hard on you.”
“I’ll be fine.” Gavan said with what he must have thought was a reassuring smile. Zuri sighed and nodded, picking up her stuff then dropping it again. She turned and stared out towards the path, as still as the forest. “Zee? What’s-”
“Shh,” Zuri held her hand up for silence, not turning to look at Gavan, then dropped it and grabbed a dagger from her hip sheath followed by one from the sheath on the inside of her boot.
“What’s-” But Zuri vanished before he could finish his sentence.
At the edge of the path, she gazed in the direction they had come from. She had heard voices, several voices, and had a feeling they did not belong to anyone very friendly. Before too long the silhouettes of about half a dozen men came into her line of vision. She tightened her grip on her daggers, hoping for some action. She hadn’t been in a fight for several months now and was antsy to do so.
“Who are they, do you think?” Gavan had appeared out of nowhere. Or, rather, Zuri had been too focused on the six approaching men to notice the one kneeling directly beside her. Such a matter could end up in a dangerous situation if she let it happen again.
“Hell, Gav, don’t do that!” She hissed. “I could have slit your throat!”
“Sorry.” He gave her a sheepish grin then looked to where the half-dozen men approached. “Who are they, though?” She caught a glimpse of sliver and realized he had taken out his daggers as well. At least he understood the severity of the situation. /]‘Why do I think of him like a child I have to protect?’[/ She wondered as she watched the group of six. Perhaps it was because she had not seen the more dangerous side of him before the beginning of the week? Whatever the reason, she needed to realize he was a grown man of twenty-five years and could take care of himself.
“Do not move until I give you the signal.” Zuri muttered as she inched closer to the path.
“The usual signal?” Gavan asked for clarification. A nod from Zuri was his only answer before she tucked her blades in the back of her pants within the ability to grab them and walked into the middle of the path.
The group of men froze in mid-step and stared at the slender red-haired woman that had just walked into their course. They all considered her for a moment before one of them spoke.
“Who are you, miss? Where did you come from?” He stood towards the front, making Zuri assume he was the highest in rank. They looked to be in uniform, though all wore cloaks so without close inspection the uniforms wouldn’t have been observed. She smiled sweetly at him and gave a slight inclination of her head.
“My name, kind sir, is Zuri. And as for where I came from, I would say it is quite obvious. I came out from the cover of the thicker part of the wood.” She grinned wickedly and enjoyed seeing the unease flow through the group of men before her.
“Why are you traveling through these woods, Miss Zuri, for they are haunted and very dangerous.” The leader spoke to her again, more confident now.
“The same reason as you, sirs. I search for something.” A nervous shuffle flowed through the group. The leader took a step closer to Zuri and scowled.
“How do you know we search for something?” He asked incredulously. “And what is it /]you[/ seek?”
“No one travels these woods without purpose of finding something or making way to the plains on the opposite side. From the looks of you sirs, I expect you are not planning a long journey through the plains, therefore you must be searching for something, or perhaps… someone?” She cocked an eyebrow and gave them another wicked grin as the leader drew his sword. Zuri took a step back and pulled her daggers out in the same instant. “Come now, one could get hurt with such things,” she growled as the man pointed his sword at her.
“Drop the blades, miss, now,” he snarled as the sound of five other blades being drawn followed the threat. Zuri unclenched her hands and winced at the sound of her daggers hitting the dirt path. At least they were not as dim-witted as she had thought them to be.
“So I am right to assume you are looking for someone?” She asked giving Gav the signal to get ready.
“We are, and we have found her.” The leader snarled, thrusting his sword at Zuri.
“Oi! Do not go about thrusting at me, sir. I happen to be a lady.” She grinned then kicked the sword from his hand and caught it, turning the tables as quickly as they had been set. “Now, how about we discuss your return to your master empty handed?” The other five men shifted closer to where Zuri held the blade to their leader. “No? I didn’t expect so. Well then, guess we shall do it my way.” With a small jab she closed the distance between the tip of the sword and the lead man’s throat, relishing in the sound of the metal meeting soft tissue. Pulling the sword out of its fleshy sheath and ignoring the body that dropped to her feet, Zuri gave Gavan the signal he had been waiting for.
The remaining five officials came at Zuri the second their leader’s body hit the ground. An instant later Gavan was at her side. A nod to his partner and they both dove into the fight ahead of them. The sounds of metal hitting metal, metal hitting flesh and metal hitting wood were the only things filling this forest, and Zuri intended to make it last as long as she could. It was the thrill of the fight that kept her doing it, not the need to kill.
She shoved the official she was currently fighting backwards, wincing as she felt blood leak from the scratch he had managed on her right cheek. Blocking his blows she backed him towards where Gavan fought two men near the bodies of their fallen comrades. A swipe of her blade just under his thrust hit home and he dropped to the ground with a thud. Pity, he was the best she had fought so far. She hadn’t the time to think about that, though, for one of the two men Gavan had been fighting broke away and came at her.
The man swung his blade at her and seemed shocked when it clashed against Zuri’s blade. Seemed the poor fellow had made the mistake of thinking she was not aware of his attack. Taking advantage of his shock, she slid her blade down his then, with a flick of her wrist, cut off the tip of his finger. Not what she had been aiming for, but he had moved at the last minute. Yelping in pain, her opponent switched hands, now holding his sword with his left. Perfect. He would be less agile with the sword now, making her part of the fight much simpler.
Her lack of respect for the man proved to be dangerous. It seemed, unfortunately, that he was, if anything, better with his left hand. Stronger, as well, for Zuri held her sword with both hands and he measured her talent with his left alone. She dodged several thrusts that got by simply on her own miscalculations. He was, by far, the best she had ever fought. She stopped a swing at her neck with her blade and with as much force as she could muster slammed the two blades against a tree, she and her opponent following.
Gasping for air Zuri calculated how much longer this fight would take if she didn’t do something in that moment to end it. At this rate it would take a lot longer than she could risk if they were to get out of the forest when they had planned. She came to her conclusion and punched the man in the face, throwing him off balance so he stumbled and fell to the ground. Zuri flipped his sword into the air and caught it, then held hers against his throat. She heard Gavan grunt in pain followed by the sound of a body hitting the ground, but she couldn’t risk looking to see if it was Gavan or the man he fought.
“Why did you hunt us down?” She demanded of the man now under the tip of her sword. “And I will know if you are lying, so do not try it.”
“We-we were charged with finding you and your partner for the crimes of breaking and entering as well as thievery.” He gasped. Zuri studied him and shook her head. Lies screamed from his eyes. She scraped the blade across his throat hard enough so it would bleed.
“Try again. Why did you hunt us down?” Her eyes were cold, showing no sign of sympathy and at that moment the man gazing back at her from the ground knew he was about to die.
“Your father,” he whispered. “He paid us to find and kill you.” Zuri’s body went cold with fear. Her father? How had he known- that didn’t matter. What mattered was that he knew she was alive and wanted to make sure it didn’t remain so. She gritted her teeth and shifted the position of the sword then and put her weight on the hilt, listening as it slid through the man’s heart. She straightened and twisted the hilt between her palms then pulled it from his chest with a loud squelching sound.
“Zee? You okay?” Concern laced Gavan’s words and as she turned to face him she realized why.
Wiping the tears from her cheeks Zuri nodded. “Fine, you?”
The disbelieving Gavan nodded. “Yeah, found some coins on them. Got myself a sword and,” he handed her her daggers. “Grabbed these for you.” He appeared unscathed but upon closer inspection she was able to see the blackened areas where the opponents’ blades penetrated. She knew for a fact she hadn’t made it through without injury, in fact she expected a few were pretty profound.
“Let us get ourselves cleaned up, patched up and get back on the road.” She suggested as she stooped and grabbed the sheath to her sword from the leader. Gavan nodded, though watched her closely as they walked side by side into the wood and back to their camp.
Daybreak found the two travelers finally coming to a place to rest. The adrenaline from the fight flowed through their veins most of the night and refused to allow them rest. Taking advantage of such circumstances, Zuri insisted they make up for lost time. Stopping only twice to re-bandage and clean their battle wounds, they made it to the last rest stop before leaving the forest just as the sun began to peer through the branches of the trees stretching above them. As they finally settled into their blankets to gain the rest they had surely earned, the only thing Zuri could think about was the words the last of the men she had killed had spoken. Her own father, whom she hadn’t seen since she was fifteen years of age, wanted her dead. She grunted in pain as she rolled onto her side, feeling safe with Gavan on watch. Her father was looking for her, again.
/]‘Some things never change.’ [/
Sign up to rate and review this story