The Dagger

Nathaniel tilted his head, then took another step and sat beside her. "How do you feel today?"

She blinked, and her one hand wandered to her stomach. "Nauseous. Anxious. Angry. Confused. I... I didn't get to tell you yet, because so much happened at once. It was inside the carriage, right before the attack, I... I think I tried to kill him."

Nathaniel gave his best to hide his surprise. Besides his wife, there was just one other person inside the carriage, so there was no use asking who she meant. It made sense, in a way. She always said that she would kill her cousin. Still, he'd assumed it would take more than the opportunity for Katherine to resort to violence. "You think? Or you did?"

"I..." Katherine blinked rapidly. There were no tears in her eyes, only a frown forming on her forehead. "I think I did. Yes, I did. I was so angry and annoyed that I just lashed out at him. I hit him right in the chest, again and again. I know how to fight now. The dagger should have pierced his heart... but it failed."

She looked at her hands, as if wondering if those were the same that wielded the dagger before, then she suddenly snapped her eyes up at him. "The dagger melted! I'm so sorry! It was such a beautiful gift, and I just destroyed it without a thought!"

"Don't worry about it." He pulled her in his arms and held her there. She breathed rapidly, thanks to the adrenaline catching up with her again. After a few seconds, she leaned against him. He smiled lightly. "The dagger was meant to be used. I can always get you a new blade but never a new you. Remember that."

With a humming of acknowledgment, she took a deep breath before she suddenly pushed his shoulders. "I - I think I need to -"

Breaking free, she frantically searched for a bucket, but the closest thing she found was her shoes. Out of choices, she grabbed one and leaned over it, heaving. The smell of sweat did the rest.

When she came up again, Nathaniel dapped her forehead and mouth with a handkerchief. "I guess I can buy you a new shoe as well."

If not for the foul taste in her mouth, Katherine might have laughed. Instead, she found a bag of water to rinse her mouth and then leaned against her husband's side.

"Maybe I was a bit rash," Nathaniel mumbled. "Shall I bring our prisoner somewhere else first until you decide what we will do with him?"

Her eyes downcast, Katherine shook her head no. "They are already gathered outside. I can hear them. And the children... they are victims as well. I wonder, do I even have the right to decide his sentence on my own?"

"I know you can and want to carry the burden of sentencing him, but I doubt the children should do the same." Opposite to his stern words, his hands traveled down her spine in gentle and soothing strokes. "Though if you want to, you can ask for their opinion. Be aware that some still believe he helped them, fed them, and gave them a home. Not all will agree with a sentence at all."

A sad little laugh escaped her lips. "I was like that as well, but they have not seen what I have seen him do. I'm biased in the other direction now. I hate him. However... nearly killing him also cleared my head somewhat. He surely is dangerous and deserves a heavy punishment. But lately, I wonder if I want him dead only out of fear of what he might do if he is not."

Glancing up, she searched for understanding in Nathaniel's eyes. The man nodded, and she continued after she sorted her thoughts. "You see, I'm not that brave at all. I only want to be brave. That is why I am always first to act out and stand in for the right thing. But with him, I couldn't. I just... couldn't do it. I still feel guilty for it, and hence responsible for his deeds. Maybe I could have stopped him before he became such a monster."

"Maybe," Nathaniel acknowledged softly. "Or maybe you would have earned his ire and made him retaliate as it happened in the end. If you'd succeeded in foiling his plans, you could be one of the corpses on his road. I doubt he would have let you live to tell the tale."

She shook her head. "No. No, I don't think he will kill me anymore. Maybe if it was as you said and I went against him sooner, but even then, I'm not sure. I don't know why, but something changed when I was away. It's almost as if he got obsessed if that makes any sense."

Remembering the last days, Katherine fiddled with her hands. "He acted even stranger than usual. All the way here, he tried to talk to me, influence me, and make me react in any way possible - as if this was his sole source of joy. He even laughed when I stabbed him. Even with the liquid metal burning his skin. He's crazy, this much is for sure."

Suddenly, Nathaniel furrowed his brows. A foreboding feeling rose in his gut. "You said that he liquified the metal, yes?"

"Huh? Yes, he did. Didn't you see it on his chest when you dragged him here? It's still there. It burned him quite a bit, and I really hope it hurts like hell. Why?"

"Because I now see why Dellinger was suspicious." Nathaniel's lips pressed into a thin line as he stood up. A new restlessness gnawed on his bones. "He was right. Your cousin is here out of his free will - or close to that, anyway."

"What?! Why would he do that? That's suicide!" Protectively, Katherine's hand touched her belly, but she shifted it right after. Over the last few days, she'd trained to not make suspicious movements when Ethan was close. Instinct was a dangerous thing if the opponent was observant enough, and she wasn't even sure if Ethan was still unaware.

"I don't know why he does it." The tent was not big enough to walk up and down, so Nathaniel sat down again and took Katherine's hand in his. "He came here in chains. But if he can liquify metal, he could have escaped at any given time. I've never heard of a mage with fire hot enough to turn metal into liquid instantly, so we were not prepared. Now that I think about it, the liquid also should have burned deeper into his body than it did."

"He experimented," Katherine whispered. "I know that they most likely work together, but Ethan's... what he called 'research'... is different from what the organization does. He always aimed to enhance the impact of his magic by learning more about the materials he would burn. Especially... especially the human body."

She made a face as if close to retching again. Burns was one of the wound types she could treat easily - because she'd done so many times. When she could breathe again, determination and repulsion had settled in her eyes. "I can imagine he learned something about metal as well. If he is here out of his free will, we have to be very careful. We either have to take him down fast - with your magic, if necessary - or play humane until we have him somewhere confined. Though he is not the type for suicide missions, he might burn the camp to the ground if he feels threatened enough. That could cost us many lives."

"So, what will you do?" Since this was his wife's quest, Nathaniel buried his own opinion and prepared for whatever her decision was.

"I..." She seemed twisted, her slim brows locking together. "I don't want you to do it. I don't want a fast and painless death. He deserves to suffer, and maybe not die at all. Anyway, I want to be the one to do it. It might be more dangerous and tedious, but please help me with this."

The tension washed from Nathaniel's shoulders as he pressed her hand. "Of course, I will."