"What's the hold up?" I asked as I noticed a road block ahead of us. "Is she going to pull through?"

"I dunno," Tina said. "She's hurt pretty bad."

"How did she lose that arm?" Nocs asked.

"A boulder fell on it," I said. "She had to cut it off."

"Well, the blood's all crammed up in her shoulder," Nocs said. "I managed to get her breathing, but she needs a f.u.c.king miracle to get back in shape."

"Yeah, a f.u.c.king miracle," Tina echoed.

It disconcerted me to hear such a young girl swear so much. I ignored that however. I had more pressing matters to deal with, educating a child was nowhere near my list of priorities.

"Do you think she can walk?" I asked.

"She won't even wake up," the old man said. "Yeh gotta get her to a doctor, or a mage, and fast."

"A doctor?" I asked. "I thought these were outlawed in this part of the continent."

"Aye," the old man answered. "But yer in luck, I might just know someone who can help her."

I thought about it for a minute. A detour wouldn't do me any good. I could easily highjack the cart and take us straight to Elsa's estate. I wasn't sure, however, that Elsa would agree to help Raiya. After all, the Aether Spring was a well-kept secret only she chose to share with others.

"Where's this doctor you speak of?" I asked.

"In the city," Tina replied. "It's his son we're visiting."

That was it. I couldn't risk taking Raiya in there. There were too many eyes in Merinsk. Besides, my face was plastered all over the city. If I got too close, I'd risk being exposed. I'd even put these good people in danger.

"So, what'll it be?" the old man asked.

"No can do," I said. "Listen, there's a road block up ahead. Take the reins and act normal." I turned to Tina and looked her straight in the eyes. "Can you keep my friend safe for me?"

She nodded. "I'll protect her with my life;" she said, beaming up. "Yeh can leave it up to me!" She said in a strange imitation of her adoptive father.

"Where're yeh going?" Nocs asked.

"I can't be seen with you," I gravely said. "Just take my friend past the checkpoint. I'll meet up with you along the road. Don't get into the city yet. I'll take her off your hands before you do."

"I knew it!" the old man yelled. "Yeh've gotten yerself in trouble with them custodians, havencha?"

"Something like that," I replied. "Just keep an eye on her. Hide her under potato sacks or whatever. Just don't let the guards see her. They'll kill you if you do."

"What in the name of five h.e.l.ls have yeh gotten us mixed into young'un?" Nocs asked.

"Just…" I scratched my head in frustration. "Just get past the checkpoint, will you? I can't run fast with her on my shoulders."

The old man gave me a grave, reprimanding look. He let out a long sigh, cast a glance at the unconscious witch, then nodded. "I'll take 'er past the f.u.c.king checkpoint," he said. "Don't ask anymore of me then. Agreed?"

I nodded. "Thanks old man."

I jumped off the cart and disappeared in the meadows surrounding the road. I kept a close watch of the cart as it moved toward the guards up ahead. I made sure I crouched and ran as low as humanly possible. While the sun set behind us, it cast its blinding orange hues at the guards' faces. That, in turn, helped me hide from their line of sight.

I reached the checkpoint before the cart did. There were six guards standing behind a wooden barrier. As soon as they caught sight of the cart, two of them advanced and raised their hands for the driver to slow down. Nocs stopped right before the barrier, and the two guards walked beside him.

"Good evening gentlemen," Nocs said. "What can I do yeh for?"

"What's your business in the city?" one of the guards asked. He was a tall burly man, a beast walking on two. His s.h.i.+eld was bigger than the old man.

"We're visiting my son," the old man said. "He lost his wife and little one in those d.a.m.n bombings."

"Have you seen any suspicious people on the road?" the other guard asked.

"Suspicious how?" Nocs asked. "I've seen a lotta people on my way 'ere. Some were bandits, others were just travelers like myself."

"Have you met a one-eyed freak?" the burly guard asked. "He's tall and carries a long sword. There's a price on his head, fifty Galleons. If you give us any information that leads to his capture, there are ten Galleons for you."

"That's a lotta gold for one man," Nocs said after a long whistle.

"Papa Nocs, is that the man we saw back in the woods?" Tina's head popped out from the back of the cart.

"Shut yer trap!" Nocs barked at her. It was too late though, the guards had already picked up on what she said.

"What is she on about?" the burly guard asked. "What did the man look like little one?"

Nocs cast a dark look at Tina, who ignored him with a humph. The old man looked away, and his eyes met mine. I was hiding behind the guards, whose attention was solely devoted to the little girl now. I saw greed in the old man's eyes. He was about to give me up.

"He asked us for a ride," Tina told the guards. "He looked beaten up. There was a lot of blood on his s.h.i.+rt. Papa whipped the horse and we rode off. He tried to catch us, but he was injured I guess. He couldn't run fast."

The burly guard cast a suspicious look at the girl, then at Nocs.

"Are you withholding information from us sir?" the smaller guard asked. "Is the little one speaking the truth?"

Nocs looked my way once more. He seemed to hesitate, and one of the guards in the distance caught up on it. He looked my way, but I was fast enough to hide.

"Speak old man," the burly guard said. "Withholding information from the custodians is a terrible offense, punishable by death. Unless you want your head chopped off, you'd better speak the truth."

Just as Nocs was about to speak, I heard neighing of horses in the distance, and the thundering of hooves against the beaten path. Everyone fell silent, and their heads turned toward the city, where the noise came from. Three riders were galloping toward us, all of them custodians. They were better equipped than the ones on the roadblock though.

Once they reached the checkpoint, all guards saluted them.

"What's the hold up in here?" one of the riders asked. He was wearing a s.h.i.+ny steel armor with the crest of the custodians on the breast plate. He didn't wear a helmet, leaving his long black hair to flow with the evening wind.

"We suspect this man here of hiding information from us," the burly guard said. "His little girl says they saw Darkstar."

The rider looked at the old man in the cart. He seemed to regard him as the lowest sc.u.m that traveled the earth, as he wrinkled his nose in disgust as soon as their eyes met. The rider drew his sword and put it against the old man's throat.

"Are you hiding Darkstar's location from us?" he asked. The tip of his sword slightly nudged the old man's throat, and a streak of blood trickled down his ragged clothes.

"N-n-no, kind sir," the old man replied. "We've seen a one-eyed man back in the woods, but that was in the morning."

"According to the little girl, he asked them for a ride," the skinny guard reported. "She says he was injured."

"Is that so?" the rider said. He dismounted and handed the reins to the skinny guard. He went toward Tina then asked her to come down. "Did the man seem dangerous to you?" he asked.

"I dunno," Tina replied. "Papa Nocs said it was no good dealing with bandits on the road. So we ran from him."

The rider guffawed. "Ran?" he asked. "You ran from Zedd Darkstar, the most wanted man in the country?"

"He was injured yeh see," Nocs interjected.

The rider looked at him with an expression of complete disdain. "Was I speaking to you?" he asked.

"N-no sir," he replied. "But-"

"YOU ONLY SPEAK WHEN YOU'RE SPOKEN TO!" the burly guard screamed.

He held Nocs by the collar and threw him off the cart. The old man landed on his back. As the wind got knocked out of him, he squealed. Tina screamed and tried to run to her adoptive father, but the rider blocked her.  

"Where do you think you're going little one?" the rider asked. "I'm not done with you yet."

"Hey!" I screamed as soon as I emerged from behind the bushes. "Looking for me?"

"Sonuvab.i.t.c.h it's Darkstar!" one of the guards near the barrier screamed.

The rider looked at Tina then at the old man. His face contorted into an expression of extreme anger. His face grew beet red, and his entire body shook. He slapped the little girl, who fell to the side with a loud squeal.

"You little b.i.t.c.h!" he screamed. "You dare lie to us?!"

When I saw a man without morals. .h.i.tting a defenseless child, something inside of me snapped. There were limits to how bad you could get, or at least that's what I convinced myself of at that moment. I saw the other guards run toward me, but my eye was focused on the hateful rider and the burly guard who had picked up Nocs and punched him in the guts.

My anger flared. Those two people were only victims of circ.u.mstances. If I hadn't met them back in the woods, Raiya would have died. They did nothing but offer a.s.sistance to a man in need and his injured friend, albeit with some initial resistance. I snapped, and I directed all my energy at the custodians before me.

My previous encounter with the bats had filled up my Fragment's energy. My plan was to take my time to a.s.similate it and make it my own. I would be a powerhouse if all the energy I sucked into the fragment was my own. I couldn't wait any longer though. Those people were in trouble because of me, I couldn't leave them to their sorry fate.

I willed the time s.h.i.+eld to activate, and stretched as far as I could. Everyone within a mile radius was instantly slowed down. The guards that were running toward me seemed to float under the influence of the spell. The rider's face was still contorted into an angry expression, which was slowly, ever so slowly, changing into one of great surprise.

I moved around them like lightning. It only took me ten seconds to deprive them all of their heads. I'd killed eight men in under ten seconds. I used the remaining one to s.n.a.t.c.h Tina off of the rider's gigantic hands, and placed her on the cart.

Then I turned toward the rider, disarmed him, and cut his left leg off. I deactivated the time s.h.i.+eld then, and all the guards fell down at once.

"You've made your last mistake, motherf.u.c.ker!" I told the rider as he fell on the beaten path, screaming his lungs out.