Dangerous Blood

Chapter 2

I scrunched up my face at the word elf, "Elf? I'm not an elf." I said and spared a glance behind me. It was in that instant I locked eyes with my mother and I saw how much fear was in her face.

"I'm not an elf?" I repeated, saying it more like a question than a fact. I looked back at Givin.

Givin turned to face the carriages parked behind him, "Are you all deaf, or did you not hear me!? I said get her!" he shouted to someone we could not see.

At his command, the doors of the other red carriage in the back opened, and out poured about thirty or so armed soldiers. They formed a semicircle around us.

I looked at the soldiers and back at the carriage in awe, forgetting for a second I was being surrounded by enemies on all four sides. How had all of them managed to fit in such a tiny space?

"Jade," my brother said from behind me, "go with them."

"Why should I go with them, even if I am an elf? Not that I believe this whole elf nonsense thing anyways." I wasn't one for giving up easily.

"For starters, we're outnumbered."

I chewed my lip thoughtfully and looked around me, "We can take them if you helped me. Do you have your war hammer?"

Jasper and I were excellent fighters. Our father had trained us before he had passed away about three years ago. He had been a famous mercenary, or so I was told.

It had actually been very essential for us both to learn how to fight. We often kept very valuable creatures on our property, creatures poachers would love to get their hands on, or, in this case, creatures the king would love to get his hands on.

I spared a glance behind me and saw my brother was indeed holding his war hammer in his right hand.

"Good, you have it, so why didn't you use it when he was killing Mr. Burrs!?"

"They're king's men. Going against them is like going against the king himself. Even if we did defeat them here, they'll just come back with more. We would be overwhelmed and then executed later for treason," Jasper answered.

"Hmm, guess you're right," I said reluctantly, then looked sharply up at Givin, "You want me alive, right?" I asked him.

"Yes," but it wasn't Givin who replied, it was the gray man.

Givin looked over at him, "Are you sure we do Tinly? One drop of elfin blood is enough to make fifty elfin steel blades. We could just bring her corpse back."

Tinly shook his head "The blood won't work unless it comes from a living source."

Givin shrugged his shoulder, "I guess we need you alive then brat."

I brought the tip of my spear up to my throat and held it there, "Then, swear that if I go with you, then you'll leave my family in peace. If you harm them in any way, then I will use this to cut my own throat, but not before I take out as many of your men as possible!"

Some of the men in the circle began laughing at me, and the rest exchange amused glances. Givin began laughing along with them, "I bet you couldn't even knock down one of my men," he said, "But if you can, then I will agree to your terms."

"Challenge excepted!" I narrowed my eyes at him, before stepping forward, and jabbing the closest soldier with the blunt end of my spear in the center of his chest, The man stumbled backward and fell to the ground. While the other men stared at there fallen comrade in shock, I used that opportunity to crouch low to the ground and sweep my spear under two other men's feet, knocking them to the ground too. I jumped back up, but this time the soldiers were ready for me.