Outtakes from MLTF (Part 4 of 5)

Today and tomorrow will wrap up the chapter from Magic Lost, Trouble Found that didn't make it into the final version. It features Karl Cradok, the crime lord of Mermeia, and more of Quentin. In streamlining the book, my editor and I decided that the Karl/Quentin subplot had to go. But both Karl & Quentin are still in reserves as characters to be included in future books. Karl's a slippery one, and Quentin's known for getting into everything -- so who knows where they'll turn up? ; ) Enjoy!

After a half an hour or so, nothing had jumped out of the dark and tried to kill us or merely eat us. You'd think that would have made me feel better about our situation, but it didn't. It was too quiet.

Janek held a hand up and stopped. "If Karl's posting guards or setting traps, this is where they would start."

"And they aren't always of the two-legged variety," I added more for Phaelan's benefit than anyone else's. This was his first trip to The Ruins. I hoped it wouldn't be a repeat of last night.

"I'd like to take a few men and scout ahead," Janek told Eiliesor.

The Guardian gestured to two of his men, the dark-haired one from Tam's place, and a shorter, swarthy Guardian I hadn't met. "Riston. Feroc. Go with Chief Watcher Tawl."

They disappeared into the trees. Phaelan and two of his crewmen moved back into the shadows to keep an eye on the way we had come. I drew my sword and poked at what looked like a fallen log to make sure it was a fallen log. Satisfied that it was, I sat down. I was learning to take my rest when and where I found it. I could be alert and sit at the same time.

Eiliesor dimmed his lightglobe until the glow from it was no more than a handful of fireflies. It was just the two of us in the almost dark--and a pair of crickets that considering we were in The Ruins, were probably a lot bigger and meaner than they sounded.

We heard something else out there. It wasn't The Ruins' normal residents. These were two-legged visitors. A nice change of pace. I casually got to my feet. One of my swords was already out, and I added a long dagger for good measure. Mychael silently cleared his blade from its scabbard. Phaelan and his two crewmen stayed where they were and waited. I guess the Guardian and I would be playing bait.

It looked like all of Karl's boys weren't in hiding. They were just waiting for better odds. They all knew Janek and his watchers. When they left to scout ahead, they deemed the rest of us easier pickings. To them, I was just a woman. And in the dark, Mychael and Phaelan were just a couple of elves. If luck was with us, and their numbers weren't against us, we should be able to give them a nasty surprise.

I never thought I'd be glad to see Karl Cradok's bashers, but considering what I knew lived in The Ruins, Karl's boys were definitely the lesser of a whole lot of evil. When they stepped out of the trees, they looked relieved to see us, too. But that didn't make them any less inclined to kill us--well, at least some of us. I wondered if Karl wanted me alive. But just because they might not want to kill me immediately didn't mean I was going to return the favor.

The fight was quick and nasty. They were humans, so their night vision wasn't the best. Elven eyes were only marginally better in the dark. So we all made do with what we had. Mychael fought like he didn't need eyes. He killed efficiently and in complete silence. Glad he was on my side.

I was neither efficient, nor silent, but that didn't make my efforts any less effective.

Apparently there were more than a few of Karl's boys wandering in the woods. Phaelan and his two crewmen hadn't joined us yet. I could hear them about thirty yards away. Phaelan was morally opposed to quiet, too--as well as fighting fair. Another Benares family trait.

Two bashers came at me at once. I put the mud I was standing in to good use. Let's see if they could fight by smell. The first handful found its mark, but the second flew wide. The one I missed came at me in a straight attack. I beat aside his blade with the flat of my dagger. He knocked my blade out of my hand with a cudgel. Then he closed distance.

Up close and personal isn't my favorite way to fight. Most of the time, my attacker is bigger and stronger than me; and having a pair of arms the size of my legs squeezing the air out of me limits my options. I still had my long dagger, but it was squashed to my side along with the arm that was holding it. The other I had managed to get up to my chest. It was crushed there, but then, it didn't need to go far. I went limp. An advantage of being a woman. An advantage, because most men will think going limp means you've either fainted or given up. Fortunately, Karl's boy was most men. He loosened his grip and looked down at me. My hand was at the base of his throat--as was the switchblade strapped to my forearm. He never saw it coming.

The other basher had cleared his eyes of most of the mud, but was still spitting out the rest, and looked as if slitting my throat was the nicest thing he wanted to do.

He died with that expression on his face. He fell forward slowly, a dark shape protruding from between his shoulder blades. Janek was standing twenty paces behind him, I'd imagine with one less throwing knife in his personal arsenal.

The rest of Karl's men had made themselves scarce, and weren't being quiet about their retreat. From the sounds of things, they were getting out of The Ruins by the quickest way possible. I found myself wishing I could join them.

Janek retrieved his dagger. "I leave you for five minutes, and you attract every living man within a mile radius."

"Unfortunately, they're all trying to kill me," I shot back. "What did you find?"

Janek's expression was grim. "All the dead men within a mile radius."