Chapter 10

Bandits

“Hey Nova.” a rough voice whispered near the bandit's ear, “There’s someone coming.”

Nova turned around to face the black haired hilden. Purple veins ran up his dark face stopping when they got to his hairline. His green eyes flickered about, “How many?” she asked creeping toward the road.

“Three.” he croaked, “They’re gonna come ‘round the corner soon.”

Nova pushed her tangled red hair from her face, “Get the others.” she whispered crouching down to wait.

She heard it before she saw it. The horses hooves kicked away rocks that tumbled into the underbrush. When it turned the corner she saw them. There were two twin fire hounds one riding the other walking. The one walking had a nasty scar across his cheek. The other looked tense. A third man walked on the side closest to her. He looked human, light skin tone and short black hair.

She smirked, “This is gonna be a piece of cake.” she thought to herself.

The caravan was beautiful, the finest one they’d seen in a while. It probably cost more than the dragon scales they had sold last week. A good catch by any thief’s standards. The horses could be sold as well, after their shoes were taken off and traded of course. The bushes rustled near her head and four others appeared at her side.

Two were blue scaled scides who were always happy to loot unexpecting peoples. Max, the hilden, held a dagger in one hand. The last person in her group was a wye, his smooth reptilian face staring at hers, “Ready?” she asked her comrades.

They all nodded and burst from the trees, weapons drawn. The horses stopped, rearing up in surprise but stayed on the road. To her surprise the travelers didn’t even flinch. She shrugged it off and pointed at the wye and scides, who went around the back to loot the caravan, “Empty your pockets.” she barked.

Even more to her surprise the human started laughing, “I don’t think so.” he said, and for a moment she thought she saw his eyes flash red.

Seconds later Max had a dagger pressed to his throat. A smile crept across the human’s face, it almost managed to reach his eyes. A shiver ran down her spine, “Empty your pockets or I’ll slit your throat.” Max growled.

The human was a good few inches taller than him and looked down at him raising an eyebrow, “Caspian,” the fire hound with the scar started, “You mind ending this?” Nova drew her sword regretting her words.

§

Caspian needed to relieve some stress and, what better way than punching out some bandits robbing them of a dead man’s items, “It would be my pleasure.” he responded letting the surge of adrenaline rush through him.

He grabbed the knife that was pressed to his neck and ripped it from the hilden’s hand. Then spun around and punched him in the stomach. He knocked him out with a fist to the jaw. The girl was calling for the others who were ransacking the caravan. Two of the unfortunate souls came at Caspian while the other one went for Resh.

Caspian’s smile grew as the scaly bandits raced toward him, weapons drawn. He dropped to one knee and shifted his shoulder forward just before one of them could chop off his head. The thief tumbled over his head. Before he could stand Caspian had his sword in hand. He knocked the scide in the head with the hilt and quickly stood to block the other foe’s attack.

He was off balance for a moment and his opponent saw it as his chance to strike. His sword came for Caspian’s ribs. He dodged backward at the last minute, the blade slicing through the space where he had been seconds earlier. It was then his opponent’s turn to become unbalanced. Caspian sliced his leg causing him to tumble to the ground. He kicked him in the head, knocking him out.

Resh was still fighting the other bandit. Kye sat watching the fight as if it was a school play. Resh seemed to be unhurt while the thief looked like he had been in a house fire. A blast of flames flew from his hands setting the wye’s measly amount of hair on fire. He screamed trying to put it out before it burnt his skin. Resh rushed forward and knocked him out with a right hook.

Caspian turned, something was wrong, “Where’s the girl?” Kye asked.

§

“That was a bad idea.” Nova thought to herself as she pushed a branch out of her face, “This is a bad idea.” she stopped climbing the tree about halfway up and unhitched her bow from her back.

It was an elven longbow specifically crafted for her. Her parents had made it, they had told her that she was going to be the best hunter in all of Fen. It was mostly black, her father had carved in flowers and leaves on the sides. She doubted this was the kind of hunting they expected her to be doing with it.

She knocked the arrow and drew the string back. Which one first? She pointed the arrowhead towards the human, “You first.” she took a breath and let it go.

The string vibrated as the arrow was released into the sky. Time seemed to slow as she knocked another arrow, and watched as the one she just fired raced towards him. She blinked. He was holding the arrow in his right hand. “Did he just catch the arrow?” He was looking right at her, a very unfunny grin on his face, “He just caught the arrow.” she let the other one go.

It was headed straight for his torso. Her eyes widened as the arrow stopped just before it pierced his clothes. His left hand gripped the arrow, “Lose something?” he called waving the arrow through the air.

She knocked another arrow and let it fly. Her aim was off though, and it landed at his feet. He didn’t even flinch. A shiver ran down her spine as his smile disappeared and was replaced by a glare, “Your friends are fine. We’re going to leave now, if you shoot at us again I will personally hunt you down and kill you. I suggest that you find a new career.” he nodded to the twin in front who whipped the reins moving them forward at a canter.

§

They walked in silence, Caspian kept a watchful eye on the trees. Resh had switched places with Kye and was now steering the horses, “Do you guys mind if I go get some sleep?” Caspian asked suddenly, stifling a yawn.

“Not at all.” Kye responded quickly.

“Okay.” Caspian quit walking and waited until the caravan passed him then climbed inside.

Kye turned his attention back to the road. He was itching to tell his brother what Caspian told him but didn't want to tell him while he was still awake. Several minutes passed. Kye shuffled nervously, “Spit it out already.” Resh laughed at his twin’s surprise, “I‘ve known you your whole life, you get fidgety when you want to say something.” Kye smiled.

“Sorry, I was just waiting till the right time.”

“No need to apologise, just tell me already.” he looked down at him, concerned.

“Well, Caspian told me something sort of worrying.” Resh raised an eyebrow, “He can’t remember things.” before he could start questioning him Kye spoke, “He told me that he could only remember bits and pieces ever since the storm. He said that something was missing but, he didn’t know what.”

“Did he say anything else?” he asked.

“No, he didn’t really want to share it in the first place.”

“A demon with memory loss. What have we gotten ourselves into Kye?” Resh said shaking his head.

“A mess?” Kye smirked.

“It was a rhetorical question.”

“I know.” he said laughing, “We could always leave.”

They fell silent again both of them thinking over other possibilities, “We’ve gone over this a lot and I still don’t think that's the right thing to do. I don’t think he would hurt us purposefully and I want to help him.”

“Me too. I just don’t know how. He doesn’t want our help.”

“Well he hasn’t run away which he could easily do. I know I wouldn’t chase him. So he must have some reason for staying with us.”

§

Inside the caravan Caspian was struggling to sleep. His body and mind were tired but he just couldn’t find a way to fall asleep. So he listened to the twins talk outside. He wasn’t surprised when Kye told Resh what he had said. Wasn’t worried. For the first time in a long time, he felt like he could trust someone. When they mentioned leaving him he didn’t mind. He knew it would be better for them and probably keep them alive longer.

Rolling over on the hard cot he thought about what he had said. He knew something was missing. It wasn’t just a “feeling” he had. He could sense his brain trying to repair itself. It was a strange stinging that echoed through his mind. His healing was being blocked by something. A wall or barrier had been put up and he couldn’t get passed it. But, maybe he could get around it.

Magic was a tricky thing and he knew that if used properly it could very powerful. Powerful enough to obstruct his healing and block off his memories. He knew if his healing was able to take down the barrier he would be able to remember more. He just didn’t know if he wanted to. He knew he wasn’t a good person. Nothing pleasant ever came from being with him. So what good would he get from remembering everything?

He sighed. “Whatever happens happens.” he thought to himself. He closed his eyes and forced himself to fall asleep. He dreamt of unhappy times.

He was in a dark room a heavy chain wrapped tightly around his neck. His clothes were torn and his skin was coated in blood and dirt. A steel door stood in front of him. A dim light shone through thick bars. A completely barred door was to his left. Even though he was dreaming he could still smell the room. It was rancid and there was a trace of blood in the air.

Screams and shouts surrounded his cell. The sound of what he hoped was dripping water echoed through a corridor outside the door. Drip, drip, drip. It was rhythmic, one drip every other second. It was enough to make any sane man snap. The screaming stopped abruptly and footsteps replaced it. They were getting closer and Caspian could smell freshly spilt blood and hot sweat. A name entered his mind. The Thrasher. He knew those footsteps, they belonged to that name.

“This isn’t a dream it’s a memory.” he thought with a sickening horror. The footsteps were getting closer and his heart was beating rapidly. For some reason though he felt like smiling. His lips parted, drawing into a smile. Fangs were revealed to the light. He realised his eyes were red as well. They were reflected in a puddle of blood at his feet.

His heart beat faster, he wasn’t in control of his own body, but he could hear and feel all that was happening around him. The door opened quickly light from a torch spreading into the room. A man Caspian knew was The Thrasher walked inside, he was a burken. Much to Caspian’s dislike he was shirtless and only wore torn shorts. His blue skin was soaked in sweat and blood. He gripped a tool box in his right hand.

Caspian’s body lunged at him, arms reaching for his large mass. The chain around his neck stopped him and jerked him back against the wall, “Hehehe,” his laugh was drawn out and his voice was deep, ”Subject, you never learn do you?” the burken smiled, showing off his missing teeth.

Caspian coughed gasping for breath, “Subject?” The Thrasher was speaking again, “We’re gonna have some fun today ain’t we?” he sat down on a stool that Caspian hadn’t noticed was by the door and opened his tool box, “He said I could have as long as I wanted with you today. How do ya feel about that?” a growl escaped his throat, “Hehehe.” he laughed again while pulling out a folded metal bar.

He flicked it out and Caspian dodged its razor sharp tip. The Thrasher smiled, “Let’s just get you strapped in.” he shoved the bar forward, straight at his chest.

The room was too small for him to move and he screamed mentally as the spike went through him. His body convulsed and pain spread throughout his torso. He still couldn’t remove the smile that was plastered on his face though, “Still smiling?” he sounded annoyed, “Well let’s turn that smile upside down.” he reached behind him and closed the door.

The light from the lantern spread throughout the room. Caspian clawed at the bar but, it held firm. Warm blood ran down his leg pooling on the floor. The burken was digging through his bag, “Where are they!?” he shouted.

Several seconds passed. Caspian’s head was spinning, his healing couldn’t work unless the bar was removed. The Thrasher was standing, thick handcuffs in his hands. Caspian reached for him and tried to summon a dagger but all that appeared was black smoke that fell through his fingers, “Hehehehe you never do learn.” the large man stepped toward him.

Caspian punched at his stomach unwilling to go down that easily. He caught his arm and twisted it until a pop sound by his ear. His shoulder erupted in pain but, still he smiled. The burken put the cuff on that wrist and tightened it as far as he could. Caspian was breathing hard. His ragged breaths spitting out blood. Faster than a snake The Thrasher had his other arm.

He cuffed his hands behind his back and smiled, “Now for my favorite part.” he removed a butchers knife from his bag and stepped toward him. Caspian tried to wake up, tried to escape but it was all futile. He burken placed the cold steel on his face, “Stop smiling!” he shouted slowly pushing the blade into his skin.

It was a dull pain at first. One Caspian had become accustomed to, but as it got closer to his bone it hurt more. Still, he smiled. The burken’s eyes were filled with rage. Caspian’s head was snapped to one side and The Thrasher leaned in close to his ear. The blade was removed and the burken’s hot breath warmed his neck, “Why are you still smiling?” he growled.

A sharp pain burst in his stomach. The knife was removed and the crazed burken started sawing at his left arm. Caspian saw stars. He felt his concentration slipping then being pulled back in by his healing. His head pounded and his ears rang. A river of blood was running down his legs. He coughed again and his smile grew. Words that weren’t his were spoken from a mouth that he didn’t recognize, “Is that all you got?” The Thrasher stopped.

“What did you just say?” Caspian’s cuts healed quickly. His broken shoulder’s pain left first, then his other arm and finally his stomach and face. The bar was still stuck in his chest but he couldn’t feel it anymore, his whole chest had gone numb, “Subject?!” the burken glanced over his healing body and rage contorted his face, “Stop healing!”

Caspian’s eyes closed but his smile remained until the pain was over.