CHAPTER 3

There were too many things to think about at once. Keeping her breathing shallow, so that she wasn't heard and didn't hyperventilate herself. Checking her weapons cache as she ran, noticing a missing dagger and feeling a sharp spike of fear for an instant until she found its twin, still safely tucked away. Weaving across the leaves to hide her trail, but still trying not to make any sound. Leaping across the uneven ground, the promise of a faster escape balance by the danger of catching a foot on a protruding root and twisting her ankle. Next to that, simply not running headfirst into the trees didn't seem like much at all.

Deal saw a cropping of bushes that might provide a hiding place for a few moments' rest, and ducked into it. She was exhausted from running all night, and nearly passed out at soon as was out of sight, but she forced herself to stay awake. Things were far worse than they'd seemed just a day before. The last of her family was dead, she'd been captured by a troupe of... of something, but if they were led by a trog and worked the Sidhe magic, they couldn't be trusted. And now she had learned that Ranchut was in the woods.

She'd heard stories about him, of course. He was human, that was the story, though he was rumored to have traded his soul to the dark powers long ago.But his deeds were so monstrous that it was hard to believe he'd ever had a mother, ever been a child.

A twig snapped to her left, and Deal's head wheeled around. She peered carefully through the brush, and saw a single figure stalking through the woods. Her breath caught in her throat; she groped for her daggers, still something seemed wrong. She couldn't see above the tracker's waist, but they were wearing soft shoes, not boiled leater; her dagger could cut through the ankle and incapacitate them, and she could finish once the tracker was down... but her mind was still buzzing that something was amiss. Just as her breath tensed and she was moving to strike, she realized it: the tracker was moving away from the trog's camp, further into the woods. If he was one of Ranchut's men, he was horribly lost.

Struggling to keep her balance, she edged forward yet again, but she was too off-balance and she tumbled over, and when she looked up the tracker was cocking a pistol in her face.

It was one of the trog's men, the one who had first found her, what was his name? She didn't think he recognized her, because he still looked about to shoot her. He smiled, appearantly pround that he had discovered her. Why didn't he remember her? He took final aim, he was going to fire... "Jorgran!" she shouted. That was his name, Jorgran. "It's me, Deal... don't shoot!"

A confused look crossed Jorgran's face; he seemed to be making up his mind. Then he lowered his weapon. "Deal. I'm sorry. I... didn't recognize you."

She sighed. "At least you didn't cut me this time." She looked him over, puzzled. "Where is your sword?"

"I traded with Shera. Now keep quiet, we can't afford to be found." He glanced behind her into the woods. "Damn... too late. Get down."

Deal scrambled back into her hiding place and Jorgran struggled to follow. They could only see one of Ranchut's men, but Melinda's vision had shown far more. The others could not be far behind.

Jorgran fumbled with the pistol. "I can't get a clean shot from back here," he whispered. Deal cringed; he didn't know the way of silent speaking. She'd have to show him.

She leaned close to his hear, her mouth almost touching, and breathed the words soundlessly. "Don't use the gun. There are others around, they'll surely hear you."

Jorgran was impressed with the child's cleverness. Although he hadn't heard anything, he knew exactly what she had said to him. He leaned close to her and mouthed back, "Then what can we do? If we keep hiding, they're sure to find us." And when that happens, I'll leave you for Ranchut's dogs as surely as Trevor is ugly, he added mentally.

Deal started, and for a moment Jorgran was afraid she knew. But he was being foolish; she was only afraid, and with good reason. Ranchut's tracker was closer, and though he didn't have one of the Tallhounds with him, Ranchut never hunted without them.

Deal slid one of her knives from its sheath. It had a curved blade and was balanced wrong for throwing, but it was sharp enough to take half a man's head off with one draw, and a man with half a head was no danger to them at all. She passed the knife to Jorgran.

"Get behind him. I'll distract him, and you can jump up and take him down." Jorgran nodded and slinked off to her left.

Deal probed the ground in front of her, searching, but keeping her eyes on the tracker. He was poorly armed, she could see; only a crossbow. As he got closer, she saw the winch key hanging from his belt, and what looked to be two more bows protruding from the pack on his back. He was a loader, then, part of a team. Why would Ranchut split his units? It made no sense.

The man got closer, dropping to the ground and examining the signs of Jorgran and Deal's passage earlier. Deal found what she'd been looking for, though, and as the man stood up a rock sailed through the air and flattened the man's nose. Blood exploded from it, but before he could cry out Jorgran had lept up and covered his mouth with one hand, sawing her knife cleanly across his neck with the other. A red river flowed down the man's chest and she saw Jorgran's animal grin, the thrill of a captured kill shining in his eyes. For a moment, she felt proud, part of a family again.

Then she saw another tracker, behind Jorgran, and gestured wildly. Jorgran turned, and mouthed "Now what?" Deal pointed at the fallen man's crossbow.

Jorgran's wild grin flashed again, and he tossed the knife back to her. She caught it easily, slipping her child's fingers into the wraparound grip. Jorgran sighted the new tracker with the crossbow, but the man saw them just as Jorgran fired and gave a shout. Jorgran's shot pierced his left shoulder, but the man cried out and glanced down, exposing his neck. One of Deal's knives sailed through the air and buried itself in his windpipe, silencing him and dropping him in one motion.

Jorgran turned to her. "How in hell did you throw that? He's at least twenty paces off," he stammered, not bothering to conceal his voice anymore.

Deal shrugged. "I had to." She saw the the man at her feet was not quite dead, and dropped quickly, using the force of her fall to drive a punch to his wounded throat. The iron grip of her knife bruised the clean wound on his throat, and he fell silent. Jorgran was clearly impressed.

"It's a good thing I stabbed you when I did; if I hadn't, you'd likely have killed me."

She nodded, only half-listening, as she began digging through the man's possessions. "We have to hurry. Next time you'll have to lead your shot a little more; remember, a bolt doesn't travel as fast as a bullet."

Jorgran laughed. "Next time? We're lost. Ranchut's found us."

"That doesn't make us dead," she snarled, struggling to ready another crossbow. "If we can hold them off, I'm sure your friends will be coming for us soon. If we're lucky, we'll catch Ranchut between us, and the he'll be the lost one."

Jorgran sighed. "No one's coming, Deal, except those who mean us harm."

She snapped a bolt into place. "Then we'll have to kill them all. Do you always talk this much?" She held the crossbow out to him, and snatched his back when he took it, numbly. "If you're that afraid, you can prop him up and use him as a shield," she muttered, gesturing to the dead tracker. "Just let me finish cutting his pack off first."

As Deal worked her knife around the straps of the pack, she sent a quick glance at Jorgran. "Ditched your group, did ya?"

Jorgran scowled, "I did no such thing; I went back for a comrad."

"For your hind scout? Did you find her?"

"Parts of her. I - " Jorgran cut himself off with a curse. "They've got us!"

Deal looked up and saw a pack of Tallhounds bearing down on them. Abandoning the valuable pack that she had just managed to free, she sprang to a nearby tree, and began to scramble her way to the top. Positioning herself on a high bow where she was hidden from sight, she looked around for Jorgran. Spying him in similar position in a nearby tree, she signaled her readiness.

The two did not have long to wait. As soon as the hounds came within bow shot, Deal and Jorgran let loose. Two hounds fell to the ground with a yelp, one with a bolt through the heart, the other through the neck. While Deal worked furiously at reloading her crossbow, she heard a gun shot and another yelp. She shook her head; stupid idiot should have saved the pistol for something that really mattered. Still murmuring under her breath, Deal leaned out with her newly loaded weapon looking for a good target. As she did so, a peircing whistle broke the air. The oversized dogs immediately pulled back beyound her range.

Squinting past the covering foliage, Deal saw Ranchut stepping from the forest.

He was cloaked entirely in a rich green robe. His face was barely visible, but Deal remembered all too well his features. The handsome copper-toned face hairless except for his eyebrows which arched gracefully above eerie green eyes. Eyes that could see straight to the soul, eyes that haunted Deal's dreams. She only hoped he truly was here for the trog and his companions; she knew her only hope wast that he still believed her dead with the rest of her family.

"Ah, Jorgran, my dearest friend, it has been quite some time since last we met. Five years now is it? How nice of you -" Ranchut paused and pulled the hood of his cloak back. He tilted his bald head to the side and lifted his raven-black eyebrows in surprise. "What company you've taken to keeping. A daughter of the A'Tnari! And here I was under the sad delusion that the family was no more. How delightful to be proven wrong! Perhaps we'll yet turn their powers to the emperor's aid. Please, will you both do me the grace of joining me at my supper this evening?"

Deal took in a steadying breath. The last thing she would ever do was break bread with that monster. Stealing herself for the inevitable, she leaned out and shouted, "Sorry, I've already made other arrangements. I'm sure you understand - perhaps some other time."

Ranchut threw back his head and let out a brilliant laugh. "Enchanting youth, is she not Jorgran? Please, for your own safety I beg you to come down; I'd hate for one of my overzealous bowmen to mistake the two of you for a pair of fugitives. I'm sure Adelle remembers how unpleasant that can be, don't you child?"

Jorgran turned to look at the girl Deal... Adelle. A look of murder on his eyes. He sighed loudly, and dramatically before turning to look at Ranchut, "I assure you Ranchut, I had no idea I was travelling with an outlaw so infamous as an A'Tnari. But I'm sure we'd both be delighted to join you for supper."

Deal screamed inwardly, this cowardly bastard actually expect her to sit down with the murderer of her entire line? He couldn't be serious. She leaned out once more and shouted, "I'll join you in Hell before I join you at a meal!"

Ranchut smiled and replied, "That can be arranged, my dear. Please, I promise to let you starve if that is your desire - just come down before something...unfortunate happens."

Deal bit her lip in thought. She wished Ranchut's mind weren't so shut to her. He didn't make idle threats, that she knew all too well, but how far was he willing to go? She wished Jorgran would stop plotting ways to sell her out, or at least stop being so ardant about it. His frantic thoughts were starting to give her a real headache. She had no desire to die yet, and so she relented, "All right. I'll come down, but I won't eat."

Jorgran watched as Adelle lept from her perch, and slowly drifted to the ground, only now realizing that it was he, not Deal, who had nearly lost his life in last night's confrontation. The thought irked him.

Ranchut smiled, "Now, now my dear. You're just being showy." He turned his attention to Jorgran's perch, "And now, Jorgran, shall we be going?" Ranchut's smile only widened as Jorgran dropped from the tree and approached him, a beaten look upon his face. His smile widened as he said, "Come now, Jorgran, one might get the impression that you are less than happy to see me. Now why would that be? Unless, of course, those ugly rumors about you are true..."

Deal closed her eyes and begged Jorgran not to take the bait.

Jorgran barely lifted his head as he mumbled, "What rumors?"

Deal groaned inwardly. Idiot.

Ranchut waved his hand and laughed. "Why, the vicious rumors that you have become a Torq'ln, of course. Who would believe that brave, loyal Jorgran could do such a thing? Certainly not I."

Deal could feel Jorgran's anger rising, it was like a burning river of lava coursing through his being. She shut him out of her thoughts as she wondered how long had Ranchut and Jorgran known each other that the master hunter was able to so easily press his buttons. Ranchut was good, but not usually that good.