Page 100 of The Anointed's Paladin

There were other clues I saw as I ran. Hints as to what had taken her. Vines growing where they shouldn’t and, more disturbingly, the footprints of something very big and heavy.

I drew up as I reached a slope down to a beach, letting my breathing settle as I crept forward. Part of me was terrified that the trail would stop at the sea. What would I do then? We’d have no clue where she had gone.

Thankfully, I heard sounds coming through the trees—voices, the buzzing of wings, and the crackle of a fire.

I stepped forward, and the camp came into view. My stomach squeezed in relief as my eyes fell upon a cage towards the side of the camp.

Nidori was there, hunched up and her arms wrapped around herself. She was surrounded by sprites, some fluttering around but most sitting in a group a couple of paces away from a large campfire. Seated at the campfire, and looking very out of place, was an orc.

Dead. They’re all going to die,I thought grimly. As if I’d let a single one of them live after they laid hands on my wife.

The sprites were shooting the fire dirty looks. I rounded the side of the beach, staying on the stones as long as I could before I had to walk on the sand and leave footprints.

I edged soundlessly towards Nidori’s cage. What had they done to her? Why hadn’t she freed herself by now?

I heard sniffling as I came closer, and my anger intensified. Had they hurt her?

Reaching the cage, I slid an invisible finger through the bars, brushing against her knee. She jumped, head whipping up. She had been crying alot. Snot covered her chin, and her eyes were red and puffy.

“Shh. It’s me,” I whispered. “Are you hurt? Did they stop your magic?”

She shook her head. “Just…leave me here, Kaine,” she said thickly.

“No,” I said sharply.

“I don’t deserve to be free. To get what I want.” Another thick tear rolled down her cheek.

Okay, so, she didn’t seem like she was in a state to help me take out her captors.

“I’ll be right back,” I said. I’d have to take out the orc first. He was the biggest threat.

“No, Kaine. Don’t hurt them. Leave me here,” she pleaded.

I started to walk away, but she pressed her hands to the ground, and vines trapped my legs in place. “Nidori,” I hissed through gritted teeth. “What are you doing? We need to get you out of there.”

But she was shaking her head. What on earth was going on? Why did she suddenly want to go back? I wanted to draw my knives and gut everyone here, then scoop her up and carry her away, but she wasn’t letting me. Maybe I should knock her out first? I took a deep breath and wished Talon was with me. What would he do?

“Listen, sweetheart. What’s going on?” I asked hesitantly. “Why do you suddenly want to go back?”

She sniffed and looked down at something she was clutching tightly in her hand. She loosened the vines, and I fought the urge to run and start stabbing her captors. No, I couldn’t. I needed to listen to her first.

“Look,” she said, trembling as she unfurled her fingers and showed me what was clutched inside. It was about the length of her little finger and reminded me of a dried-out pea pod. It was brownish-yellow, and the fiber that made up the shell was brittle.

“They brought it with them,” she whispered, tears pouring from her eyes and dripping down her chin. “It’s…it’s…” She choked out a sob, unable to get the words out. But realisation was dawning on me. They way she held it, cradling it like an infant. It was the husk of a podling. One of the ones who had died when she had left.

White anger flooded through me, filling my ears with a buzzing static. Howdarethey? Howfucking dare they? Fuck doing this quickly. They deserved to suffer when they died. Again, I fought the urge to attack. I needed to convince her not to stop me first.

“It’s all my fault,” she said, closing her finger around the podling again. “I killed it. When I left. I’m a horrible person.”

“Bullshit,” I said, reaching through the bars and taking her hand. “Look at me.” I mean, she couldn’t see me right now, but she turned to where my voice was. “This isn’t your fault. If someone came to you and told you they were going to die unless you cut off your arm and gave it to them, you could say yes. But you wouldn't be wrong to say no. You don’t owe them anything.”

She sniffed, but she was listening. I needed her to hear me. To set down this terrible guilt she was carrying.

“It’snotyour fault they can’t survive on their own. You didn’t cause that. You didn’t make it that way. And you arenotrequired to give them anything. Especially after you’ve given so much.”

She blinked at me, her eyes swimming with tears. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

“Look. I’m going to go and…incapacitate your captors. Then I’m going to get you out of here. And we have to go find Talon, who needs our help. Got it?”

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