A Soul For Trouble

Chapter 3

The sound of humming interrupted Arden's dreams. It was too early for the drunks to be singing, but the off-key notes continued to invade her thoughts. "Shut up," she muttered in her mind.

"But it's time for you to get up," a deep voice replied. "He grows impatient."

Her heart rose into her throat. She bolted from her bed. That same strange voice came from the old man seconds before he died.

A warm hand grasped her shoulder, and she screamed.

"Quiet, or you'll have the entire Ranellian Army after us."

The bright sunlight blinded her eyes, but she knew that voice, too. His musical accent was unmistakable. The stranger with the wolf. She swung her arms and knocked him away from her. Then the back of her hand connected with something hard, sending tremors of pain up her arm.

"Oh, you should see the look on his face," the deep voice said with giddy amusement.

Arden stumbled to her feet and backed away until she felt the rough bark of a tree behind her. Where the hell was she? Colors swirled in front of her eyes, forming incoherent blobs.

"Trouble, relax. I'm not going to hurt you."

"What did you do to me?"

"Besides save your life? Nothing much."

Her fingers clawed at the tree trunk, and she wondered if she could climb high into the branches until her mind cleared. "Why can't I see anything?"

"It takes a while for the transition to be complete."

"Transition?" A cold tongue licked her hand. She yanked it away.

He sighed a few feet away from her. "Even Cinder's trying to calm you down. Will you please just sit and be patient while I explain what happened?"

The coarse fur prickled her skin through her thin skirt as the wolf leaned against her, effectively pinning her to the tree. The blobs of color began to solidify. She slid down the trunk and pulled her knees up to her chest. How did she get into this mess?

"Finally, you're showing some common sense."

"Where are we?" She looked up at the vibrant reds and yellows above her.

"In the woods, about four hours east of Wallus."

"Why did you kidnap me?" Browns, blacks, and greens began to take the shape of a crouching man in front of her. She pulled her knees tighter to her chest. Until she could see clearly, she couldn't even fathom an escape from her captor.

"Did you want me to leave you in a burning building full of undead?"

Her breath hitched. Memories of the night flooded her consciousness. She'd joined the crazy old man at his table when he grabbed her hand and started speaking in a strange voice. Then he fell over dead, a knife sticking out of his back. "You killed him," she gasped.

"Nonsense. I was his protector."

She tried to rise to her feet, but a low growl stopped her. Perfect. I'm out in the middle of the woods with a murderer and his wolf. What's he going to do? Feed me to it when he's done?

Laughter echoed in her mind. "Cinder doesn't like human flesh."

Her muscles tensed, and she looked around for the source of the voice. "Who else is here?"

His face slowly came into focus. It could have been a handsome face if the frown hadn't etched creases into his cheeks and forehead. Dark auburn hair framed it, providing stark contrast to eyes the color of evergreens. "It's just me, you, and Cinder."