Finn scoffed. ‘I’m a hunter, I know the sound of every animal known to Mage-Kind.’
‘Well, what is it then?’ I snapped.
‘It’s a person,’ said Finn, fingering his dagger. ‘They were a man’s footsteps.’
My mind raced, thinking immediately of Jack.
Finn pocketed his dagger, grabbed me by the waist, and hoisted me over his shoulder; my long hair hung in a great sheet over my face, obscuring my view. I tried to shake it out of my face but was unsuccessful. Carrying both me and Shadow left Finn unable to protect himself against attackers.
‘Watch where you’re putting your hands!’ I snapped at Finn, who was holding me by the legs. I had to admit, his strength was impressive; he was holding my weight as if it were nothing.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
The footsteps drew closer. Finn spun around, searching for the intruder.
‘Show yourself!’ he demanded before throwing me to the ground. Unable to break my fall, I hit the leaf-strewn floor quite hard. Groaning, I rolled over and looked up at Finn, who was squinting through the trees.
‘There’s no one there,’ I moaned, trying to sit up without the use of my hands or feet. Shadow was still tucked under Finn’s arm.
But then I saw her; a wild looking female standing on a branch twenty feet above Finn’s head. He hadn’t seen her because he hadn’t looked up yet, but I could see her from where I lay on the forest floor.
She wore boots with brown breeches tucked into them, and a tight leather vest that barely covered her breasts. Wrapped around her wrists were fingerless leather gauntlets, and in her right hand was a bow. A mane of tangled red hair cascaded down her back, and a quiver was slung over her shoulder. I watched as the wild female put a finger to her lips, indicating that I should remain silent regarding her whereabouts. I didn’t know why, but I knew she wanted to help me.
Slowly, the woman pulled an arrow from her quiver and fitted it into her bow. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Finn looked down at me, and saw that my attention was captivated. Following my gaze, he looked into the treetops at the precise moment the red-haired archer let the arrow go.
I watched it as if in slow motion. The arrow flew through the air, its aim true. Finn did not have time to blink, let alone move out of its path.
Chapter Sixteen
Away with the Fae
Finn’s body hit the floor with a thud, muffled by the leaves on the ground. His eyes were still open despite the arrow embedded in his temple. Shadow yelped with fear and jumped into my lap, shaking severely.
I could barely talk, let alone reassure the pup. I’d just seen a man murdered before my very eyes. The most I could do was gape.
The red haired woman jumped down from the treetop, landing on the balls of her feet in a crouching position. She walked over to Finn’s body and kicked him once with the toe of her boot, making sure he was dead.
Satisfied, she turned to me, her face impassive. ‘Are you all right?’ She had a slight accent, but it was not difficult to understand her.
I nodded feebly, my mouth still wide open in shock. It took a lot of effort to form the simplest of words. ‘Th-th-thank y-you,’ I stammered.
‘Did he hurt you?’
‘Well … yes, but that was a few days ago now.’
Her eyes narrowed, and she looked down at Finn’s body. ‘Men,’ she hissed, kicking him. ‘They are all pigs.’
The woman rolled Finn’s body over and dug inside his pockets, pulling out the dagger and a small satchel of coins. She got up, walked over to me and crouched down, dagger in hand. At first, I thought she was going to cut me, but a moment later she was freeing me from the rope that bound my legs. Next, she untied my hands, and I was able to move again.
At once, I wrapped my arms around Shadow and held him close, trying to comfort the trembling ball of fur.
‘How long were you his prisoner?’ she asked.
‘He’s been chasing me for over a week,’ I admitted, rubbing my wrists until feeling came back to my fingers.
‘Did he touch you?’ she asked seriously.
‘I – what? No … nothing like that,’ I said quickly.
‘He looked like he might,’ she crossed her arms over her chest. ‘Why else would he tie you up?’
I swallowed and looked for an excuse to change the subject. ‘What’s your name?’ I asked.
‘That’s not important,’ she said, slinging her bow over her shoulder and pocketing the dagger. ‘I’m keeping this knife. Is that okay?’
I nodded. ‘Yes, of course.’
‘This money,’ she shook the pouch at me. ‘You can have this. Your compensation for his actions.’
I shook my head. ‘No, you keep that too. You deserve it.’
She threw the pouch into my lap. ‘I have no use for coin.’
‘All … all right,’ I said, pocketing the money.