The Legend Of Black Eyes

I helped the old man to his feet. "We have to get out of here," I told him. "I shouldn"t have accepted your hospitality in the first place."

"What about your friend?" Morrison asked. "Are you going to leave her here? What about Wanda?"

At that moment, the backdoor of the tavern sprung open. Wanda ran out, tears streaming down her cheeks. She threw herself on Morrison and almost knocked him off his feet.

"I was so worried," she said between sobs. "I thought they would…"

"They almost did," I cut in. "And you have to get out of here if you don"t want them to finish the job they started."

Wanda, noticing the two bodies lying on the ground, started shivering. "What did you do?" she asked me.

"I did what had to be done," I replied dryly. "We have to move. Where"s Zoey?"

"They took her," she said.

"Took her?" I asked. "Where?"

"They…" she couldn"t control her sniffs and tears. Morrison took a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to the helpless girl. "They said they"ll take her as warranty. That was before they took him out here and… and…" She started crying and wailing again.

"We have to get out of here, now!" I urged them. "The guards were probably too stunned by what I pulled off earlier. They"ll come back soon, and in greater number. I"d like us to be gone when that happens."

"What of my business?" Morrison asked.

"It"s either your life of your business," I said.

"My business is my life, you fool!" Morrison cried out.

I was getting nowhere. I knew the old man wouldn"t give up that easily, but I couldn"t let him throw his life away for a stupid blunder. He should never have invited us. I should never have accepted it either. I found myself blaming Zoey for all of this. I had to blame someone other than myself I guess, but who was I kidding? Only that n.o.ble man was to blame in all of this.

"I"ll get you back here," I told Morrison. "You have my word. I don"t know what I will do about it yet, but you"ll have your business, and your life back. Now can we get out of here?"

Wanda gave Morrison the most helpless look she could muster. At least one of them agreed that we shouldn"t stay here for long. Reluctantly, Morrison nodded.

"I"ll go get my things," he said.

"There"s no time," I interrupted. "I"ll get them for you when everything settles back down."

Morrison gave me that hurt look that meant I did something to betray his trust and good will. Nothing else could have hurt me more than that look, or so I believed at least. I wanted to leave the village the moment the others told me there was nowhere for us to stay. I knew that getting others involved would only mean their doom. n.o.body was safe with me around anyway.  

"I have a plan," I lied to Morrison. I had to get him to cooperate and listen to reason. "Bodrick"s men will come back. If they don"t kill you, they"ll torture you or leave you to rot in jail. The villagers here don"t seem concerned with what happened to you. Do you really want to throw your life away? Let"s retreat, we"ll get them for this, I promise."

Morrison looked at his tavern, then at me, then at his tavern again. He finally nodded and followed me.

We retreated into the woods. I reached out to Nag through psionic communication and filled him in. We found him waiting for us where the trees were the thickest. He led us through the dark forest and into a well-hidden cave. The bounty hunter was already asleep when we arrived.

Nag offered Wanda the blanket she had smuggled for him earlier. She tugged herself in and closed her eyes. I didn"t think she"d go to sleep yet. An innocent girl like her wouldn"t get over the sight of two dead bodies easily. We sat near the cave"s entrance, watching for any suspicious movement by the trees. Morrison joined us soon after.

"They probably took Zoey to the mayor"s house," he said.

"What"s in the mayor"s house?" I asked.

"I don"t think you"ll believe me even if I told you," he whispered.

"Why did you wait until we got here to tell me this?" I asked.

"You can"t trust the walls," Morrison said. "I don"t want to get in trouble."

"You are already in trouble," I said. "Those men wanted to kill you."

"And I would"ve gladly died to them," Morrison said. "You don"t understand…"

"Do you think she"s still there now?" Nag asked.

"I don"t know," Morison replied. "Most probably, yes. They won"t do anything to her just yet. Not until you show up, or the festival ends." He was looking at me, quite vehemently.

"Where"s Zoey?" another voice joined in our conversation. Peg Leg woke up.

"Go back to sleep," I barked at the bounty hunter. "You"re probably still drunk."

"I thought you went in there to save them," he said.

"When I got there, they had already taken her. There was nothing I could do. We had to retreat."

"They took her?" Peg Leg asked. "Hey old man!" he turned to Morrison. "Did they take her to the mayor"s house?"

Morrison looked down.

"What"s in the mayor"s house?" Nag and I asked.

Peg Leg scoffed. "Look at you two," he said. His lips curled into a powerless kind of smile. "An hour ago you were criticizing my ignorance, yet you know nothing of this land"s customs. What do you think the festival"s for, huh?"

"Selling flowers and food?" I said.

"They won"t understand," Morrison cut in. "Drop it!"

"Tomorrow"s the last day!" Peg Leg screamed. "You want them to abandon their friend just like that?"

"He didn"t accept Lord Bodrick"s offer," Morrison interjected. "They took the next best thing."

"Hold on!" I yelled at the two. "Care to explain in words we can understand?"

"It"d be better if I showed you," Peg Leg said. "Let"s go to the mayor"s house." He disappeared inside the cave and came back holding his short sword.

"You mean now?" I asked.

In a second, the bounty hunter reached me, put both hands around my neck and slammed me against the cave"s entrance.

"You left her there to die," he said. "You were acting all high and mighty not just an hour ago. Look at you now, cowering in a cave like a rat!"

I pushed the bounty hunter away. He still reeked of alcohol.

"I didn"t leave anyone," I said. "I still don"t know what you"re talking about. But fine, let"s go see what the fuss is all about."

Nag put a hand on my shoulder. "Are you sure about this?" his mind reached out to mine.

"He looks like the chivalrous type to me," I said. "He"d do anything to save a damsel in distress. It"s not a trap."Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.

"Are you sure though?" Nag asked.

"When am I ever sure when things concern me?" I said. "I"m curious about this thing they say they"ll do to Zoey. I can"t leave her there either. I promised to get her to safety. I don"t want her curses to add up to what I already have."

"I"m coming with you then," he said.

"Oi, you two!" Peg Leg called out to us. "What are you ogling at each other for?"

"You protect them. We owe it to them." I said then urged the bounty hunter to lead the way.

***

We heard guards yell out orders to each other as we approached the village. Peg Leg was better at sneaking around that I"d given him credit for. After all, I only spotted him because I could sense the presence of others, and because I was in an edgy mood after my encounter with Bodrick"s son.

Peg Leg took me around the village"s main entrance and between small houses. We reached the mayor"s house without being spotted. I could have done this alone, but I didn"t think I could"ve snuck inside the building by myself. I didn"t know about all the secret doors and entrances it had. Peg Leg did, and he took me through a small flap door through which we slid to the bas.e.m.e.nt.

"They deliver wheat through here," he whispered to me. "I used to sneak in here to see the mayor"s daughter, bless her soul."

"Daughter?" I asked.

"It"s a long story," he said. "You"ll understand when you see."

The bounty hunter led me through some dark corridors. I was surprised not to see any servants running around, or whispering in hushed tones about the master of the estate. Large mansions like this one are always teeming with gossiping maids who love nothing more than laugh at their master"s misery.

Something was off, and I was in the dark. I followed the bounty hunter.

"I a.s.sume you know the place pretty well, since you knew the mayor"s daughter and all," I whispered to him.

"Something like that," he whispered back. "Now keep your mouth shut, we"re almost there."

He was completely different from the man I threatened with a knife not too long ago. His eyes spoke of conviction. We soon reached another flap and the bounty hunter asked me to crawl inside. I raised a questioning eyebrow.

"You don"t want to be watching my a.s.s, while the interesting parts happen down below," he said. "I can find my way around, but you won"t know even if I showed you."

I wished I could sense if people were lying or telling the truth. I could only sense their presence though, and I sensed at least five people on the floor below us. At best, the bounty hunter wasn"t leading me to a trap.

"What is this thing for anyway?" I asked.

"They vent the smoke out of it," he said. "Nothing will burn today anyway, but you have to see for yourself to believe. Get in!"

What the h.e.l.l have I gotten myself into again?

I crawled inside the vent and the bounty hunter closed it behind me. I tried to turn and protest but the thing was too tight to turn around into. I still didn"t know why I followed a drunk all the way here, but he was at least good at sneaking around. It was that, or he had already delivered me to very people who wanted my head.