Riding Back, Scene v1

They stepped outside into the cloudy autumn morning. Five horses were prepared and waiting with the rest of the squad. “Kismet, you’ll be riding with her. Everyone mount up. We’re heading out.”

Kismet helped Isella onto the saddle before sitting behind her. The squad trotted east out of Koln. As soon as they were on the road, Sara broke the silence. “So Lucas, is this really Isella?”

He nodded silently, his face full of confusion. He still couldn’t believe it himself. “Did you know she was helping the Kival like this?” continued Sara.

“A little over a year ago, I heard that my family was attacked by a group of bandits when they were visiting my aunt. Once my parents regained consciousness from the attack, Isella was missing. We never knew what happened to her, and never received any demands for ransom. I looked for her ever since, searching for any leads on where she may be, but it all seemed so hopeless. With every month that went by, I feared that she was dead.”

Lucas looked at Isella. Her face appeared sunken, her body famished. Her bony body showed signs of severe exhaustion and strain. Even though it had only been a year, it looked as though it had been five. A strange sense of guilt gnawed at Lucas. “Was this my fault?” he asked himself. “If only I weren’t always away for training…”

By mid afternoon, they reached the other side of Jastor’s Pass. They found a stream off the side of the road to take a break and let the horses drink. Lucas sat beside Isella, hesitantly, and offered her some jerky. She leaned over and took a bite without a word, carefully avoiding any eye contact. “Why have you never told me anything, after all this time?” asked Lucas.

Isella didn’t answer. She continued to chew on the jerky, squeezing out every bit of flavor she could. Lucas grew irritated. “Why couldn’t you at least let me know you were still alive? Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been?”

She held back her tears and remained silent. She wanted to tell him, she always had, but she couldn’t. Telling him would only have made things worse.

She rose to her feet and began walking off. “Where do you think you’re going?” asked Devin.

“I need to pee.”

Devin waved her off. “You can go behind that tree.”

Isella gave one look back before slipping behind the tree. She crept through the brush, keeping out of sight. She moved quickly, but silently, a skill she quickly picked up over the past year. Glancing back, it seemed no one noticed her escape as she slithered behind one tree to the next, deeper into the woods. “If I make it deep enough,” she thought to herself, “there’s no way they’ll find me in this place.” Her confidence grew as she continued deeper for another minute, until a sharp pain stabbed into the side of her leg. With a cry of pain, she looked down at the long ice needle that pierced her leg.

“Did you honestly think you could run away that easily?” slithered Nakita’s voice, with a tinge of amusement. She flicked another needle into Isella’s other leg, causing her to fall to the floor. “What a fool you are.”

“Nakita, let’s go,” called Devin.

Nakita ripped the needles from Isella’s legs. The punctures began to leak a small trail of blood down her legs. Nakita tossed one of the needles away and tossed the second in her hand. She placed the point against Isella’s shoulder. Its cold tip stung sharply against her skin as it pierced her tunic. Nakita glared at the Kival. “Get up and let’s go.”



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