Part 2: Chapter 58

The air left Kedo's chest in a giant whoosh as he fell flat on his back.  His eyelids fluttered as he tried to clear his blurry vision, to no avail.  The ache in his side, a constant reminder of how close he had come to his death bed, burned with reawakened fury.  He groaned as he pushed himself up again, facing Emeric. 

The older Rogue stood over Kedo triumphantly, yet his face was marked with concern.

"Are you sure you want to continue.  You're still healing up."  Emeric stated with brotherly concern.  Kedo shook his head, not trusting himself to speak.  He was still trying to draw air back into his tight, complaining lungs.  "I'm fine."  He managed after Emeric shot him a stubborn glare. 

Emeric frowned, the look of discontent plastered on his face, almost permanently.

"Fine, but let's just take it easy, alright?" 

Kedo frowned, "I've been taking it easy for the past month.  I'm sick of it." Emeric saw the turmoil behind the younger Rogue's eyes.  The training wasn't just to get some exercise and to move his recuperating limbs.  Kedo hated the feeling of being useless.  Even more after the attack on the village...Over the past few weeks, after Kedo recovered, Emeric started training him just as his father had trained him. 

They started at the basics, but Kedo was a good learner and practiced whenever he got  chance.  He'd practice the sword patterns on his own in the forest after going for a jog with weighted armor to build his stamina and strength. The afternoons were set apart for archery and hand to hand combat where Kedo now found himself. 

He was good.  Emeric was impressed, although he rarely admitted it, not wanting Kedo to become arrogant.  But, Kedo couldn't beat Emeric no matter how hard he tried.  He had a small build and physique.  Even though he was in his growth spurt, he was still tiny.

"Alright come at me.  Try and get me on the ground."  Emeric instructed.

Kedo poised himself, readying for the attack.  He moved forward, holding his arms up to protect his face from any blow that Emeric might throw, yet he remained aware in case Emeric swept his feet out from under him again.

Emeric attacked first, sending a spurt of blows at Kedo's head.

Kedo's physique aided him as he made blinding moves, too fast for Emeric to track. Although the Ex-Dome fighter's moves were nearly too fast to follow, Kedo dodged each one and easily evaded the deadly attacks.

Emeric lunged at Kedo, a move that had succeeded previously, resulting with Kedo sprawled out on the floor, but Kedo saw the attack coming. 

He sidestepped and shoved Emeric past him.  Before the older Rogue could turn to face his opponent once more, Kedo leapt onto Emeric's back, wrapping his legs around the taller Rogue's waist.  In his mind he saw himself elegantly tackling Emeric to the ground, earing himself the victory...Things didn't go as planned. 

Emeric didn't so much as stagger under the sudden weight...Kedo simply lacked the body mass to force Emeric down.  Kedo wrapped his arm around Emeric's neck, strangling him with the crook of his elbow.  The move was effective and one of Emeric's favorites. Kedo had suffered defeat from the move on more occasions than he could recall.  He swelled with pride to be using the attack on his mentor.

Emeric pulled at Kedo's arm, but what the younger Etreshian lacked in size, he made up for in strength.  His grip held and Emeric could feel his vision fading.  Before Emeric lost consciousness, he gripped both of Kedo's upper arms and tilted himself forward, all it took was one well measured jerk for Kedo to topple heals over head. Once again sprawled on the ground in front of Emeric.  

"Damn it."  Kedo swore as he slammed a fist into the ground.  He reluctantly got to his feet.

"Oh stop gloating." He reprimanded Emeric.  The older Etreshian grinned, "You almost had me there. Well done." 

Kedo appreciated the praise, but he knew that it would take a lot of work before he would reach Emeric's level of dexterity in combat.

Emeric gazed at the sun's position in the sky, shocked by the amount of time that had passed. "Well, I think we should call it a day."

Kedo looked up at Emeric almost pleadingly. 16 years of age and he still managed to make puppy eyes. "But Aire said that I could start getting active..." The words trailed to an end when Kedo say the dark, saddened look that fell over Emeric.

"I don't care what she said. I'm calling quits now. Besides, I've got chores to do." Emeric's voice hinted the pain inside. Kedo lowered his gaze, guilty that he had brought up the memory that Emeric so desperately wanted gone.

"I'm sorry, I didn't..." Kedo stopped, not sure what he wanted to say. He always messed up when he spoke and found it better to remain silent.

Emeric shrugged, "It's not your fault. She chose him, not me. I guess destiny, if you want to call it that, had other plans for us." Emeric spoke softly, his head lowered.

A few seconds later he squared his shoulders and held his head high. "But what happened did indeed happen, so all we can do is move on, right?"

Emeric started walking off, but a voice met his ears...He stopped, not sure whether it was the urgency in the voice, or just simply the fact that Hunter had had the nerve to call him. He turned to where the voice had come from, and sure enough, there he stood...Emeric's cousin.

Emeric sighed and turned a side ways glance at Kedo. Wish me luck. Kedo seemed as mortified about the situation as Emeric felt. "Good luck." He whispered.

*****

Emeric reached Hunter, although he tried, he couldn't quite manage keeping the irritation from his voice. "What is it?" he questioned.

Hunter's face portrayed discomfort, but he cleared his throat and hastily got to the point.

"Your father wants to see us. He says it's serious."

Emeric wanted to give a negligible answer, but his pride wouldn't allow it.  He simply nodded and followed Hunter who swiftly strode to the main tent.

With their settlement destroyed, and the Elites on their tail, Rayhan had ordered a retreat.  They were steadily making their way towards the coast, camping at daily intervals to rest those who were still recovering from injuries...

The flap of the tent was splayed open and Emeric could see his father in the midst of a heated discussion with fellow council members.  Hunter cleared his throat on their arrival, alerting Rayhan of their presence.

Emeric could distinctly see the relief seep into his father.  He gestured the two young men to the side and instantly got to the point.

"I'm sending you two on a rescue mission."

Emeric and Hunter shared uncomfortable looks but the distress in Rayhan's voice urged them to put youthful conflict behind them.

"Who are we rescuing?" Emeric asked before Hunter got the chance.

Rayhan gazed around, checking that they couldn't be overheard.

"One of our scouts didn't report in this morning.  We gave it a few hours, but punctuality is a very strict habit of them. If one hasn't returned, something happened."

Emeric and Hunter both knew the rules of scouts, having been on scouting missions themselves.  Something was evidently wrong.

They dressed in the appropriate clothing, the typical hood and scarf  that hid their features and they were both given a hawk.

As they set into the forest, they both stayed silent, at first because their nerves didn't allow for a conversation, but later because they both felt the thick tension that hung in the air.

"You know," Hunter started, his voice uncertain, "I never meant for her to like me.  I was simply offering to help." 

It was a form of repenting, but Emeric wasn't sure how to reply.  "Yeah well, Aire chose you, so there's nothing I can do now."

The guilt sat heavily on Hunter. "I'm sorry Emeric.  I really am.  But I was wondering if things could perhaps go back to the way they were."

Emeric stopped walking, "Hunter, in all honesty, you're just making things worse by walking on egg shells around me."  Emeric tried to keep his cool, but he could feel the heat rise to his face.

"Yeah sure, I liked Aire, but I don't know if it could ever go as far as to call it love.  It hurt, when she chose you, but I can't let my greed keep her away from what she wants.  Even if it isn't a life with me. What you two have is real...Aire and I... we just weren't meant to be."

Hunter was shocked, so much that words failed him long enough for Emeric to set off at a walk once more.

"Emeric,". Hunter called, jogging to catch up with him.  Emeric turned to the older Rogue, not sure what to expect.  Hunter gripped his shoulder, "Thank you." 

The enotion in his voice was so heavy that those two simple words were enough for Emeric to understand the full weight of the distress Hunter had experienced over the past few weeks.

They tried to follow the general path that the scout seemed to have followed, but the man had been trained in unseen movement and his prints were scarce. However, when they were about 6 kilometres into the woods a strange sight met Emeric's gaze.

The leaves on the forest floor was disturbed.  An evident sign of a struggle.

Emeric hastily walked closer, but halted when he saw blood.

"Hunter."  He said the name wearily.

Hunter leaned over his shoulder and peered down at the red liquid drained on the ground.

They shared a look. 'We could be in more trouble than we thought.'

"Take a look around." Hunter instructed.

They set off in two different directions looking for more signs that could lead to the missing scout. 

Emeric was on his knees, examining footprints when a cry of alarm caught him by surprise.  The horrid sound of metal pots clanging together sounded an alarm. 

"Emeric!"  Hunter's voice broke through the woods. 

Emeric's blood ran cold as he raced through the trees towards the noise.

Emeric whistled three short bursts, calling the hawk back...it didn't come.  Emeric felt uncomfortable fear gnaw at him. 

Through the trees Emeric spotted Hunter hanging upside down by his ankle.  A thick rope trap was tied around his foot...a wolf trapped in a snare.

Emeric spotted the man a second to late.  He emerged from the trees behind Hunter with a fluid movement of his arm, easing it back before whipping it forward.

Too late, Emeric felt the agonising sting as metal cut into flesh.  He staggered back and gazed down at the thin blade in his shoulder and then back at the man in the woods...

They were in over their heads...the fact became even clearer when Emeric felt his mind starting to fade...it became evident...the balde hadn't been thrown to kill him...it had been coated with a sedative...he was falling unconscious...