Mercenary Little Death Bringer Read Online Free PDF Page B

now,” Favian
said as he steered Ice off of the road and we made our way through
the trees to find a suitable camping spot. Luckily there wasn’t
much brush so the horses were able to walk easily into the forest.
We stopped about a mile from the road at a spot just wide enough
for our horses and us to sleep. I dismounted and grabbed the small
water skin off of Favian’s pack to fill with water. “What are you
doing?” he asked.
    I looked at the water skin and then at him.
“Getting water obviously. I can hear a stream nearby.”
    “You can’t go off alone,” he said
adamantly.
    I glared at him. “I can protect myself,
Favian. I have been going off in the forest alone since I was
six.”
    “Someone tried to kidnap you, Marin. It’s not
safe for you to wander off alone.”
    I thrust the water skin at him angrily. “Then
you go get water while I unsaddle the horses.” He clenched his jaw,
but walked in the direction of the stream. Elves could be so
stubborn sometimes that it was infuriating. I removed Fire’s bridle
and saddle and she shook all over, shaking dust from her coat. Ice
nudged my shoulder, impatient to be unsaddled as well. “Easy boy.
I’m working on it.” I set Fire’s stuff on one side of the clearing
and then unbridled and unsaddled Ice and set his stuff on the other
side. “You two be nice and don’t wander too far. And Fire, don’t
bite your brother anymore. Favian gets upset at me when he finds
the teeth marks in Ice’s coat.”
    Fire bobbed her head and then she and Ice
trotted off into the forest in search of drink and food for
themselves. The horses couldn’t truly understand me, but they were
trained extremely well and understood us better than most horses
did. Elves were animal gurus and could train them to do just about
anything. Favian and I had raised them since they were born and
trained them together. Irritably Ice was better trained than Fire,
but I still loved her. The main thing they were trained to do in
these situations was not to wander too far and to come galloping at
our call.
    I made sure the clearing was empty of rocks
and then shook out my bedroll and laid on it a moment to ensure it
was comfortable. I opened the food pack on Favian’s saddle to see
what the chef had given us, keeping my fingers crossed for
something good. Sadly there was no meat since the Elves were
herbivores so I was stuck with bread and leaves from plants which
were supposed to be highly nutritious. I dug deeper and was excited
to find a piece of berry cake, but left it in the bag, not wanting
to eat it if it was for Favian only.
    I sat on top of my bedroll chewing on the
bread when Favian made it back. “Still in one piece,” I told him
sarcastically. He didn’t look like he thought it was funny and
simply tossed me the water skin. I took a swig from it and then
tossed him back the half of the bread I didn’t eat. Elven food was
fortified with special ingredients which made it very filling and
healthy so you could survive a long time on a little bit of food.
“Good night,” I said as I climbed into my bedroll.
    “I accidentally dropped the necklace in the
river,” he said around his mouthfuls. “It was swept away too fast
for me to grab.”
    “Tragic,” I said.
    “Can you help me tie yours back on?” he
asked.
    He could tie the necklace himself, but he was
trying to make amends. It wasn’t fair of me to be mean to him so I
opened my bedroll and sat on my bent legs. He walked over to me and
then sat down just in front of me, facing me. I took the necklace
from his hand and put it around his neck, trying to ignore the
closeness of our faces and the scent of his body.
    I hadn’t realized how upset I was until I
tried to tie the necklace and couldn’t because my hands were
shaking too much. I tried again to tie it and dropped it. “Dammit,”
I said angrily. I reached down to pick it up, but he grabbed my
hands and held them inside of his.
    “Everything’s going to be alright. I