Chapter 2
My first thought upon hitting the ground, other than registering the pain from getting the wind knocked out of me and banging the back of my head on something hard, was that I’d been horribly cheated. The gods of fate routinely enjoyed throwing new obstacles my way, obstacles that I just as routinely surmounted, but this was a new low, even for them. In fact, when I opened my eyes, I half expected to see them standing over me now, cackling in delight. Instead, the only thing in front of me was the starry night sky being cut apart by overhanging tree branches.
A shadowy figure darted out from the trees, grabbed an arm and a leg, flipped me over onto my stomach, and threw loops of rope around my wrists and ankles. I finally remembered to struggle, but only after it was too late. He’d arranged the ropes somehow so that a few quick tugs tightened the loops around my extremities while pulling them together behind my back, almost completely immobilizing me. He took a loose end of rope and hopped over to a tree nearby, twisting it around a branch to keep me tethered. Then, confident that I was secure, he crouched down and searched me for weapons.
“Who the…” I began, still getting the air back in my lungs. “Who the hell are you?” He said nothing at first, focusing instead on unbuckling my sword belt and pulling a dagger from my boot. He checked along my back, under my armpits and then between my legs, causing an ill-timed clench that trapped his hand in a spot neither of us wanted it to be. He pulled free and rocked back on his feet, watching me with a satisfied smirk.
“I’m Kieran Riose,” he said. “I’m a bounty hunter. And I’m taking you back to Pontas for theft.”
“You’ll be taking me nowhere, boy. Do you know who I am?”
He smiled, amused. “I should hope so. I don’t think I’d get paid for turning in the wrong thief.”
I cursed myself silently for that mistake. I should have protested that he had the wrong person, and played the tiny chance that he might believe me. An innocent person wonders why they’ve been captured in place of a guilty one. The guilty one just protests. Nothing left to do now but to threaten him. “Not if I kill you first.” I tugged on the ropes, but they were tight. Impressively tight. “You better hope these ropes hold, because if I get free, you’ll be regretting this moment for the rest of your life. Which will be all of ten seconds.”
“Ten seconds?” He rubbed his chin, mocking me. “I’ve known men who could kill me in three. And here I thought you were someone special.”
I nearly growled at him. "I'm a fan of the slow, painful death. Especially for amateur bounty hunters who are in way over their heads."
"Well, I'm glad I warrant special consideration from the likes of you."
“Enjoy your fun," I said, twisting about against the ropes, but finding no leeway or give. "Enjoy it like a fine wine, or a pretty girl. Because your end is close, and when the cold hands of death find you, you’ll find me there with them, laughing.”
“Dramatic.” He stood up and walked over to the horse, which had slowly wandered back toward us. “How long did it take you to come up with that?” He pulled the saddlebags off the horse, turned it around so it faced the original direction it had been running, then smacked it on the rump, sending it galloping back on its way. “Or do you just have that ready, because I might need something like that myself one day, in case I ever get captured and tied up by an amateur bounty hunter who's in way over his head.”
He unlooped the rope from around the tree and then crouched down next to me with his head cocked, listening. I would have said something to him but then I heard the same thing he did. Hoofbeats. Several of them. And they were getting closer.
"Time to move," he whispered. He grabbed an arm and a leg and heaved me off the ground, very nearly tossing me into the brush on the side of the path. Then he half-carried, half-dragged me through the forest about ten paces and dropped to the ground, hiding both of us behind a thick bush wrapped around gnarled tree trunks. We waited there for several tense moments, staying motionless while the hoof beats grew closer and closer. I hated every moment of it. Here I was, tied up and trapped, forced to stay quiet to keep one bounty hunter from snatching me from another. I wanted to explode, but I didn't, because I knew ending up in Arnum's hands would be far worse, especially after humiliating him in Harfort.
The riders galloped along the path, passing us wordlessly, then fading away into the night. Riose waited another few moments, probably to make sure no stragglers had fallen behind, then pulled the rope off my feet.
"Get up," he whispered. "We need to go."