Consequences

  The first thing he saw was smoke. The walk back to Elizabeth’s cottage had taken longer than Maxwell expected.

  He followed the stream back to the clearing, stopping for another drink before continuing on.

  He’d noticed the smoke as was nearing the cottage, though it wasn’t until he got closer that he saw the extent of the fire.

  The cottage had been set ablaze, he’d run inside and called out to either Elizabeth or Rei. Neither responded.

  The flames lapped at his face, though his night spent in the goblin’s nest had made him adept to the heat.

  In moments the smoke would suffocate him and he’d be forced to abandon whoever was still inside. He called out one more time but still no answer.

  The smoke made it difficult to see anything, he stumbled over furniture and nearly fell.

  He was just about to leave when he saw the smash kitchen table. Lying on the ground was Rei, who looked as though she’d been attacked way before the fire had started.

  He ran through the flames and picked her up and carried her on his back to safety.

  If Elizabeth had still been inside, he’d been too late. The roof came crumbling down and flames exploded from the windows, engulfing the cottage in smoke and fire.

  Maxwell wasn’t considered with what had started the fire as much as he was concerned with trying to revive Rei.

  Her ribs had been cracked and her back was swollen. She had small pieces of the kitchen table sticking out of her along with marks on her neck, the signs of strangulation.

  He’d need to give her CPR just for her to breathe. He worried there was too much smoke in her lungs. 

  It wasn’t until his third attempt that she started coughing before falling back into unconscious.

  He carefully picked her up and carried her away from the burning cottage. He knew of a healer who owed him a favor.

  The journey to Freya’s hut was even more difficult than before. He needed to stop every few minutes to make sure Rei was still breathing.

  When they’d finally made it to Freya’s hut, he burst the door in a scene that gave Maxwell the feeling of deja vu. 

  Freya once again was in shock, at seeing him burst through her door, carrying another injured person.

  “Maximus, what’s going on?!”

  “Please, Freya, you’ve got to save her!”

  She sprang to her feet again and ran over to see what she could do.

  Rei was too big for her to lift with her foot, so she instructed Maxwell to lay her down in the bed of moss.

  Just like before, she ran her foot over Rei’s body, stopping at her chest.

  Having found where all the damage was, she sat down cross legged and began to sing the melody that would heal all of Rei’s injuries.

  She was taking longer than she had before. Then again, Rei’s injuries were more serious than Edwin’s.

  By the time she’d finished singing, the sun had already set. Maxwell had sat patiently by Rei’s side, the entire time.

  He couldn’t understand why he’d tried so hard to save her life. Just hours ago he’d thought of dealing with her like he had with Buros.

  What did her life mean to him? She had been nothing but a tool, a means to an end. That’s what he’d thought, wasn’t it?

  Yet when he looked at her lying there about to be consumed by the flames, he’d saved her. Had he always planned on saving her?

  Was she still integral to his quest for world domination? Yes, she had to be, why else had he saved her?

  She was his tool after all, his tool to be discarded when he saw fit. How dare someone harm what belonged to him?

  He’d find this person and personally rip their entrails from their body and use them to hang their body on the highest point in all of Arion, as a warning to anyone who’d even think of laying a hand on what was his.

  As the night went on, Maxwell was able to calm himself. It was now obvious to him that Elizabeth had been taken by whoever had beaten Rei.

  This person had no doubt been following them since they left Dulciena. 

  Most likely a skilled tracker, to have been able to followed them through the fog and clearly a strong fighter.

  They seemed to have only struck Rei once, the impact sent her flying through the kitchen table.

  It was terrifying to image there was a person this strong roaming this world.

  Even more terrifying that she was apart of Dulciena‘s royal family.

  Maxwell retrieved the strand of red hair that he’d found on Rei’s body.

  “So, Elaine, you’re the one who thinks its okay to break what isn’t yours. I’ll need to teach you the consequences of your actions.”