The Warrior's Pet(73)

"Unbelievable."

She glanced up at the not too distant wall to see the warrior there on watch. The few men still inside the city walls were positioned so that it looked like the regular watch was on the stone embankment. Even Ismat had taken up a position to add to their visible numbers. The females and children were inside attempting to keep their mind off of the coming battle. The Toufik females and children no doubt doing the same in their wing. Giselle debated going to seek out her Toufik friend to keep her mind from straying to Kagan in worry.

"Giselle." Jolana startled her with her breathless interruption.

"What is it?"

"The children were playing Hunt." Jolana said twisting her hands. Hunt was apparently like Hide and Seek. "We cannot find Sabin."

"Oh okay. I'll help you look. Maybe he found a really good hiding spot."

Giselle wandered the manor calling for Sabin, but the longer she spent searching the more she began to fill with dread. It was getting late, Sabin would've come out by now.

A horrible thought struck her. What if he decided to approach the warriors in the forest? They were his people after all. Little Sabin had no clue all the plans that were about to take place, but he did know the Scelus Cadi army was out there somewhere in the woods.

"Jolana stay here I will go find him."

The thought of the boy out there with the imminent battle had Giselle worrying her lip. That very same army had murdered Sabin's entire village. The idea of that mob getting their hands on the sweet boy had Giselle sick to her stomach.

Giselle moved with purpose to one of the few gates in the city wall that a child his size or person her size could open on their own. Giselle stood still when she saw that it was ajar. The boy had left it open so he could get back in, but in doing so he'd left them all at risk. Giselle peered out and was horrified to see the moving figure of something small heading for the tree line. Her hand flew to her mouth.

She needed to call Kagan, Dagaa, or any of the warriors, but they'd all stowed their comms till after the EMP blast that should be coming any time now. She would have to retrieve the boy on her own and high tail it back. Giselle slipped out and shut the door glad that she had a code to get back in once she retrieved Sabin.

Giselle ran across the field. This side of the city hadn't been dug up, so she didn't have to fear falling into a pit during her moonlit sprint. She almost made it when frustratingly Sabin's shadow disappeared in amongst the dark trees.

Giselle reached the edge of the woods and called out. She was glad the Scelus Cadi had turned off the awful cloaking pulse otherwise she wouldn't be able to hear a thing. They probably felt concealed by the trees. Fools!

"Sabin where are you?"

The little booger couldn't have gone that far so quickly in the thick undergrowth of the trees. Giselle pushed forward hesitantly calling for Sabin. Giselle's foot caught a rock sending her stumbling through the dense brush. Giselle righted herself only to see her worst nightmare. Illuminated in a pale blue artificial light were a dozen Scelus Cadi warriors garbed in red.



Dagaa

Dagaa almost cursed out loud as he watched Giselle land in the middle of one of the many small camps of Scelus Cadi warriors.

With the help of Stone, his Toufik brother in arms, Dagaa had been scouting out and identifying the locations of the various enemy camps. They were on the hunt for which group held Vigdis quo Carnager. Dagaa was downright amazed at the stealth the Toufik exhibited moving through the underbrush. He felt like a liability plodding along, even though among Cadi warriors he was no slouch at this game.

They had just identified this group when Stone saw Sabin moving in. It was a simple thing to capture the boy and silence him quick, but neither of them spotted Giselle till it was too late.

"Of course the brave female warrior came after the child." Dagaa thought as he shook his head. "Kagan is going to lose his mind."

Stone passed Sabin off to one of the other Toufik males who quickly spirited him out of danger while the two of them crouched and watched to see what the Scelus Cadi warriors would do with Giselle.

The warriors all jumped up ready for a fight only to see it was a small cloaked figure that had stumbled on their camp. One warrior roughly yanked Giselle towards them, assuming she was wayward child, but her hood fell back exposing her pale face and long golden hair. For a moment the enemy was stunned.

"Hey isn't that Daimio Vigdis' pet? The one that was stolen." One of the warriors exclaimed rather loudly.

The fools knew not to light fires that might be seen, but none thought to keep their voice down.

"It is. Contact Madhava."

Dagaa listened, crouched in the brush, as the warrior talked to his commander over the comm. Dagaa smiled over at Stone. Perhaps Giselle stumbling into the forest wasn't all bad. The warrior was instructed to bring Giselle to where Madhava and Vigdis were camped. Dagaa would only be too happy to follow.