10 Chapter 10

"Could you shut up?"

My humming stops abruptly. "No need to be so rude about it."

"No need for you to be humming." Maverick retorts

I glare at him. "Are we going to stop soon? The horses are getting tired and, quite frankly, so am I."

Maverick sighs but, soon after, brings his horse to a stop.

"It doesn't seem fair on them," I say while lifting the saddle from my horses sweaty back. "Are we working them too hard?"

Maverick raises an eyebrow. "They're bred for this sort of work."

I shrug. "I guess, but we've had to change their diet. It's gone from fresh hay to forest grass, maybe the odd apple if their lucky. It doesn't seem fair."

"Life's not fair," Maverick snaps automatically, but I see him cast a wary glance at the horses. "Maybe we could head into a town and stock up. There's one nearby. We're close to the docks now, it shouldn't take us long to get what we need and be on our way. We would probably have had to anyway at some point."

My face breaks into a smile. Maverick does not return my grin, but I'm just relieved he listened.

"I'm going to get some firewood, can you set up the tents?"

Before I can answer, he has stalked off into the darkness of the forest.

I begin putting the rickety pieces together.

"Thank you so much, Kamala," I mutter to myself, "Oh it was no problem really. Besides you asked so nicely I could hardly refuse. Miserable Klipren." I stab the last rod into the ground on the last word with so much force it almost snaps in two.

"Did you just call me a miserable fool in Valren?"

I spin around. "No."

Maverick glares at me and drops the wood onto the ground. "I'm fairly certain you did."

"You didn't strike me as a linguistic," I scowl.

"I'm many things," he says.

I roll my eyes. "Oh, please. Besides, who even speaks that old language anymore?"

"You apparently," he replies.

"I'm the princess," I exclaim, "something that comes with the title is the need for learning where our language is derived from. That doesn't explain why you know it."

"My mother was insistent," he says, "Carlos has probably forgotten it by now, but I haven't."

I nod and go back to the tents.

"Princess?" Maverick asks after a minute. "Do you really think I'm a fool?"

I don't even turn around. "Absolutely. A miserable, incompetent fool."

***

We get the fire started and sit around it eating cold meat and bread beneath the starlight.

I lean back and stare up at the sky. It's peaceful, and I can feel myself relax slightly. I turn my palm to the sky and let a few green sparks fly into the night. I'm not concentrating much, just letting them float away and vanish.

"Do you even realise what you're doing?" Maverick wonders

"Not really," I say softly. "It's not my choice."

"What are talking about?" Maverick asks, sitting up to face me.

I open my mouth to reply, but the words won't come. "That's not something I tell my enemies."

A mean smile crosses his face. "Or maybe you can't explain it. Maybe you're so clueless, you can't even begin to explain how your magic works."

"Maybe I don't have a death wish!" I retort, fury coursing though my veins.

"That makes no sense," he replies.

"Yes it does. I tell you about my powers and you have all the knowledge to take me down."

"I don't need to know about your magic to take you down," Maverick laughs.

"Is that so?"

"How many times have I almost killed you?" He asks

I smirk. "About the same amount of times you've failed."

He scowls back, "I knew I should have let you die."

"I wish you had."

Silence descends on us then. As thick and heavy as smoke. The weight of my words, leaving an uncomfortable feeling.

"Can you get more firewood?" Maverick asks me eventually.

I say he can get it himself, but the exhausted, worn out look in his eyes stops me and I find myself disappearing into the depths of the forest.

I shouldn't let Maverick get to me. He is vile and selfish and cruel. I know that. But with every cutting, crude remark, it hurts more rather than less.

I begin loading up wood into my arms and stagger back the the campsite. I drop the sticks into the flames and watch as they are engulfed, heat buffeting out at me. I look up to where Maverick should be sitting, but he has vanished.

"Unbelievable," I mutter to myself, "let me go get the wood, then disappear by the time I get back."

I turn my head to stare at the trees, looking for an indication of where Maverick has gone, but the darkness obscures anything outside of the fire's orange glow.

I sigh and bend down to rummage through the satchel, withdrawing one of the small fire torches, and dipping it into the flames. It catches immediately and I turn back into the woods.

It is dark, cold, but I walk on, scooping wood under one arm and holding the torch with the other. Dead leaves crunch underfoot and I can hear the sound of animals rustling around me.

My arms are full and I head back the way I came. My head is turned to the sky, watching the stars as I walk. I'm not paying attention and I stumble, my foot catching on a rock.

An object whizzes past my head, I hear it, but when I stand up there is nothing there. I circle around the cluster of trees, the feeling of eyes watching me. I am almost back where I started when my gaze lands on the tree. It looks normal, except there is a small hole straight through it. I walk past it deeper into the forest. I stay low, the flaming torch scanning the ground for what could have made the hollow space. My gaze is drawn to a shimmer amongst the leaves and I pick up a small iron object.

It it is the size and shape of my index finger, but I have never seen anything like it. I go back to the tree and line the object up with the hole.

It's a perfect fit.

Something is very, very wrong. My pace increases and I run on. Then a sound echos throughout the woods, an unnerving, excruciatingly loud bang. It shocks me to my core and I cover my ears, I've never heard anything like it. Instinct brings my knees to the ground, but too late I realise my mistake. The fire torch I was holding has landed in the leaves, catching immediately and forming a ring of flames around me.

My head turns and I see another metal cylinder, half implemented in a tree nearby. The fire has risen to knee height, catching on bushes, an unbearable heat radiating from it. Fear grips me and suddenly I find myself screaming.

"Maverick!"

I shout again, and through the smoke, he appears.

"Thank Skrechs!" I gasp as he nears. "I think someone's trying to kill me."

Maverick stares back at me. "No kidding."

I frown at his demeanour. "Seriously, I'll tell you everything, but you have to get me out of here."

He takes a number of steps back before vaulting over the flames.

"Impressive," I say dryly, "but now we're both stuck in here."

Maverick doesn't even blink.

"Are you going to help?" I ask

"No."

My stomach drops. "We're working together, Maverick. You have to help me-" I hesitate before continuing, "otherwise we won't make it out alive."

"You aren't going to."

I back up slightly and grit my teeth. "You have got to be joking?"

"I'm not laughing."

"And neither am I," I exclaim. "Are you seriously going to try this again?"

"I already did." Maverick reaches behind his back and reveals a long metal object.

"What's that?"

"It's called a plistl. A specially crafted machine that shoots metal bullets."

I tighten my grip on the bullet in my hand and my gaze is drawn to the tree it shot through. "Right."

Everything feels out of focus, like I'm watching the moment behind a screen.

I'm scared. Not like when he first kidnapped Frida and I, or tried to poison us, or when I fought against him for my life. During those moments I was frightened, but more than that, I was angry. This time, I don't feel the usual red fury. I'm simply afraid.

Maverick lowers his voice, speaking very slowly as if to make sure I understand. "I'm going to kill you."

I take several more steps back. "You tried before, and failed. Why are you even bothering?"

He raises the plistl and smirks.

I struggle up an argument. "I thought we had a deal," I cry. "Travel to Valeria, save Frida, save Carlos, let you and him carry on with your miserable lives."

I almost roll my eyes at myself. I'm looking down the barrel of a deadly machine and have the nerve to insult him.

"I just needed you to help me escape," Maverick tells me. "You're useless now. Completely worthless."

'Too young, too naïve, too worthless.'

I stare at him, searching for a shred of hope, but his eyes are dead, cold. The flames casting his face in an orange glow.

"Goodbye, Kamala."

I hear the shot, the ringing in my ears is deafening. I wait for the pain, the silence. Instead there is a terrified gasp and I open my eyes to see a violet shield framing half of my body.

Maverick is frozen, shocked. I feel the same. For once I've actually achieved something. It isn't some unplanned, mad blast. Controlled by some strong emotion. This is powerful, directed. It may have been accidental, but it feels purposeful. I can feel the power rushing through me, my fear has morphed into something helpful.

I drop the shield and turn a steely glare on Maverick. "Surprise, surprise. You failed again."

He falters slightly, but manages to swing the plistl at me head. I duck and kick out with my leg, knocking him back. Maverick continues to throw punches at me, but it's different. He isn't making any sarcastic comments, even his technique has changed.

"Goodbye, Kamala." His words echo in my head and I realise what is wrong with them.

There is a shout behind me and I spin around to see a second figure land inside the fiery ring, a hood pulled low over his face.

Taking advantage of the distraction, the first man clubs me around the side of the head and I hit the dirt, pain coursing through me. Through my foggy vision, I can see two shapes above me, engaged in an intense fight. My head is muddled and the side of my face has a trickle of blood running down it, flames lick at my head and I force myself upwards. It takes all of my strength not to fall again.

"I could use some help here." One of the men says.

"Why would she help you?" The other protests

My eyes flick back and forth, I am more confused than ever. They look identical.

"Stop!" I exclaim.

As if shocked such a loud noise could come from me, they both halt, fists still raised in defence.

"I'm Maverick." The first man says, "he's an imposter, sent from the Alkardan King no doubt."

"You tried to kill me."

He pauses. "I know, but we have bigger problems right now."

I turn to the second, waiting for an explanation.

"I don't care either way, Princess. He'd be doing me a favour taking you out."

"See!" The first cries, "I'm Maverick, Kamala."

I smile and approach the first. "Thank you for making this so easy."

In a single second, I raise my fist and smash it into the side of his face.

He reels backwards and from behind me I can hear Maverick suppress a laugh.

I spin around and raise my eyebrow at him. "Did I just make you laugh? Has my greatness really reached those lengths?"

Maverick glares. "I think you need your head checked out, Princess."

"And that is how I knew who was who," I say. "You've never called me Kamala."

"And I don't plan on it."

The man on the ground whimpers and I crouch down to level with him.

"Who sent you?" I ask

"I'm not telling you anything," he replies

Maverick scoffs. "Then we'll leave you hear to burn."

The man's confidence dies. "It was the Alkardan king."

"Does he know we're here?" I ask in alarm.

"No. We split into groups, but I got lost from mine."

"How do you look like Maverick?" I wonder.

The man smirks. "It's new technology, like the plistl. Alkarda is very advanced, you know?"

I roll my eyes. "What else do you know?"

"Nothing!" He cries, "now would you please help me, I think I broke my ankle."

"Poor you," Maverick mutters.

I straighten up and turn to him. "What do we do? We can't just leave him here to die."

"Can't we?"

I hit him lightly on the arm and scowl. "No, we can't."

Maverick opens his mouth to reply, but a flash of panic covers his face. "Look out!"

I jump backwards as the man swipes at me. He has the plistl and points it at us.

"I'm going to kill you," he sneers

"Could you kill her first?" Maverick asks, "it would seriously save me a lot of hassle."

I can't tell if he's joking or not.

The man smirks and points it at Maverick. "I wasn't actually going to kill Kamala, I just had to utilise her so we could bring her back to the castle."

Maverick stares back at him, completely still.

"But if I kill you first," the man continues, "then she will be a lot easier to take."

Maverick doesn't waste a second of time. He vaults out of the way and forces the man off his feet.

I am paralysed watching the two of them fight, until the man crashes into me, knocking the air out of my lungs. I struggle to my feet, unable to catch my breath, smoke filling my lungs. Across from me, Maverick slams into a tree, crumpling against it. The man laughs at him, the plistl aimed at his chest.

"I suppose this means I win."

I don't think. My body lurches forward, blocking Maverick, palms outstretched.

The shot rings out and, like before, it's deafening. But it's also useless. A gasp sounds behind me and I smile. The shield is back, redder than before, filled with anger. Relief fills me, I wasn't sure it would work, but it has.

Then I look past it and my blood runs cold. The man's body lies on the floor, blood pooling from beneath his shirt.

Like red anger.