Page 143 of Starside

A tree in the distance shakes as she leaps into it. I don’t even hear the snap of the bow this time.

Pain sears through the skin just below my ear. An arrow buries into the tree just behind me.

I reach up and—blood. That’s blood. A small adjustment, and it would have gone through my throat. She’s making killing shots.

Why? Is it truly for my sword?

There’s a wider tree just a few feet in front of me. I throw myself behind it, using it for cover. I pant, frost coating the inside of my lungs, burning through my chest.

I feel a thud in my spine as one of her arrows burrows in the bark behind me. It traveled far through the wood. But not all the way. Not enough to pierce me.

Another tree shakes as she moves closer.

I’m a sitting duck here. But if I move away from this protection, I’ll be wide open. The next tree is several yards up, and it’s thin. I won’t make it.

“Why?” I yell through the downpour. “I’m not your enemy.”

She’s a skilled archer. My sword would only weigh her down. Besides, she has her own blade. An elegant, small one, decidedly easier to carry. I saw her claim it during the Culling.

I’m surprised to hear her voice. It’s deep and smooth. Straight to the point. “It’s nothing personal,” she says. Another arrow strikes the bark. This one with more force. I can feel it almost reach my spine. Leaves tremble as she jumps into another tree. Closer. “Cadoc and his group caught up to me a while back. They managed to stab me before I got away. It’s infected now.”

What does that have to do with me? I want to scream.

Another arrow. This one has enough force to go right through the tree, and I lurch forward, out of the way of its point.

Another jump. “I won’t make it to the end like this. I was offered another chance. A goblet of magic without making the journey. You see … there’s a bounty on your head.”

I frown. A bounty?

I startle as another arrow pierces the tree, going all the way through and then some, its point sticking out right above my skull. If I was a little taller, it would be the end of me. She’s so close. She won’t make another mistake.

Maybe if I keep her talking … maybe if I convince her—

“I—”

She’s done speaking. There’s the rush of air as she jumps. I brace myself for an arrow through my head.

A snap sounds. Followed by a blood-curdling scream.

Hands trembling, I grip the bark and peer around it, just enough to see a body sprawled on the ground. Valen. Her bow is on the forest floor, just a few feet away—

From her arm that has been crushed by a branch so thick it might as well be a trunk. Other branches lay splintered around her.

Her limb is twisted at a gruesome angle. It’s ruined.

She keeps screaming. “No. No.” Her entire body is trembling. I take a step closer. Another, until I see her face is flushed with fever. There’s a bandage wrapped around her middle, where she must have been stabbed.

“Just kill me already,” she snarls. Her face is contorted in pain. I’m not sure why she’s on the quest. I’m not sure why she needs that cup of magic. It doesn’t matter, I suppose. We all have our reasons.

When I don’t move an inch, she thrashes like a beast. “Kill me. I’d rather a blade across my throat than to be picked apart by whatever lurks in these woods.”

I wonder if she saw the woman. I can almost hear the whisper of that long white cape, as if she has turned back around, having sensed suffering.

Valen must hear it too, because she lets out a whimper.

And I am so very, very foolish. I can almost hear Raker’s voice in my head telling me so. Because I walk over to her side, then squat. Grip the end of that massive branch crushing her arm, pinning her to the forest floor. Then, with a groan, I begin to lift.

“What are you doing?” Valen demands.