Fear of Fire and Shadow (The Fade #1) - Samantha Young Page 0,45

he hadn’t slept either. “Let’s go.” He grabbed me by the elbow and pulled me to my feet.

“You don’t need to manhandle me,” I hissed as we waved goodbye to the barkeep.

“I need to keep you close in order to protect you.” His grip loosened and moved down my arm until he slid his fingers through mine to hold my hand.

A shiver tingled down my nape. Trying not to focus too much on the heat from his touch—or the not-unpleasant sensation of it—I quipped, “I would have thought you’d be happy to see something happen to me.”

“I’d be happy if you suddenly lost the will to speak.”

I slid him a dark look, which he ignored as he led us across the backyard to the stables. There was nothing and no one in sight.

Including our horse.

“What the …” Wolfe released me as he peered into the empty stables. I walked away from him, checking around the back of the building. It was empty too.

I drew in a breath. How on earth were we going to make it back to Ryl without a horse?

A muffled thud sounded from over my shoulder.

“Wolfe—” I spun around only to find him crumpled on the ground, unconscious, a trickle of blood sliding down his temple.

Wolfe!

Standing over him were three of the dirtiest thugs I had ever seen, each holding a weapon. The tallest leered at me and his yellow teeth flashed as he bounced a mallet off the heel of his palm. The second tallest was an older man, not quite as grubby, his hand-me-down, unwashed clothing that of a gentleman’s. His large hand sat on the hilt of a sword. The third appeared to be the youngest and as he kept jabbing the air with a dagger, I thought perhaps he might be a little deranged. He had a wild look in his eyes that sent a shiver of foreboding down my spine.

I wanted to tend to Wolfe, amazed that these ignorant thugs had crept up on us. Wolfe would never live it down if his men found out how easily he had been felled … again. The fact that I was the common denominator in his failures had not escaped me.

A sound from the thugs drew my attention back to them. “What do you want?” I was proud how brave I sounded, considering my fear.

The man with the mallet quirked an eyebrow. “My, my, we are a haughty wee thing, aren’t we?”

Wolfe chose that moment to groan and my heart skipped a beat in relief.

“Aw shit, Jesper,” the older man spat, “we need to get them back to Boss before this ’un wakes up.”

“You two pick him up.” Jesper gestured to Wolfe, his eyes on me. “I’ll take care of her.”

Oh, dear haven, what the hell had Wolfe and I gotten ourselves into now?

I wanted to collapse and shriek and weep with exhaustion and fury. Didn’t these people know my friend was dying? That if I didn’t save her, then we were all doomed? That I would be doomed? I couldn’t possibly live in a world without Haydyn.

How dare they endanger her!

Just like that, something within me snapped.

As Jesper reached for me, I kicked up between his legs as hard as I could. He let out a bellow of pain and dropped to his knees. Before any of the others could make a move, I slammed my booted foot into the hand that held the mallet, and Jesper cried out as the weapon tumbled from his grip.

“Get her!” he snarled, clutching his hand to his chest.

I dove for the weapon and came up brandishing it as the two thugs crept toward me, the light of violence in their eyes.

“I’ll cut you up you, little bitch, if you don’t play nice,” the young one hissed, swiping the air with the dagger.

“She’s not to be injured!” Jesper shouted as he regained his footing.

“I won’t harm her, Jes-Jes,” the young thug singsonged. “No, she’ll like what I do to her, won’t you, pretty-pretty?”

Revulsion filled me at the idea of this insane miscreant touching me.

He didn’t know who he was trifling with.

I had a job to do.

I had to get to Alvernia, and no other son of a bitch would get in my way!

Conjuring all my strength, I pulled my elbow back and launched the mallet with all my worth at the young thug’s head. It made perfect aim, clocking him across his skull with a sickening thud. His eyes slammed shut and he fell back with a