章節 46: Chapter 46: "Down by the River"
"General," are you sure you want to do this?" Lohan asked.
"Yes," Ryas answered.
Nomens were not allowed in the realm of Men, but they were bold enough to set up a breeding camp right on the western borders of the Northern Kingdom. Ryas doubted that King Taeyer knew nothing of this. It's not possible with a town this size for him to not know of its existence. His eyes scoured the tents, and he could see only Nobles and their guards. It would be best to attack while they were all in bed. "Get everyone ready," he took one more glance then trotted forward on his horse. "Have the soldiers surround the camp. No one escapes," Ryas instructed.
The Nomens were caught entirely off guard when Ryas and his soldiers tore through their town. They rounded up all the Males and killed those who resisted — then swept through all the tents and taverns looking for every single female. Lohan had all the females gathered in a single file line across from the kneeling males, and a pile of corpses laid off to the side.
Zehan and Ryas rode passed the women, who cried and clung onto one another.
"Do you see her here, General?" Zehan asked.
"No," and stopped his horse. "Whose in charge here?" Ryas asked.
An older Nomen, whose chin resembled a crescent moon, answered, "I am," he sneered. "The women here are our mates by choice. What do you want, Geneoshi?"
"I'm looking for a woman with long black hair."
The Nomen chuckled, "Do you know how many women come through this camp?"
"Answer the question," Ryas inched his horse closer. "There's a Male, a human with light hair with her," Ryas got off his horse now. "Choose your next words carefully. I have very little patience today." It's too late to separate the women now, they were breed and bounded to their Nomen mate. As much as he wanted to kill every Male Nomen here, Zehan would not allow him to destroy an entire town without a good reason.
The Nomen's lips turn down as he spoke, "A Woman and Man matching those descriptions were brought here by a Kreato General, but they escaped last night. Not before they killed him."
Ryas paused. The Man why didn't he sell her? Ryas pushed back a chill that rose from his gut. "Let's go, we don't need to be here anymore," his eyes scanned the surrounding areas. Off in the horizon, a giant forest stretched across the hillsides. That's where they would have headed.
"What should we do with them?" Lohan asked.
"Leave them for now," Ryas mounted his horse again. "Zehan, come," and he took off.
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Yuliah's scream pierced through the crisp air as her body plunged into the freezing river. Why the hell did she do that! Now they're both going to drown. Ryas taught her how to swim, but she'd only done it once, in a quiet spring — not a raging river.
Blood pumped through her body as she kicked and flapped her arms, trying to break for the surface and finally did gasping for air.
"Hey!" Ward screamed. "Grab my hand," he fought the current. "You'll drown the currents too strong."
Yuliah turned to see him swimming hard towards her. "Ward! Help me!" She kicked rigorously.
"You're going to fucken bring me to my death!" Ward shouted.
Yuliah was too busy kicking hard against the currents stretching for Ward's hand to reply to his insults. Thousands of ice-cold needles pricked at her flesh and strength zapped away. No, she would not give up and kicked with everything she had, but it made little progress.
Instead, she drifted sideways. Great! As the current took her downstream and fast. Under then up again, Yuliah's head bobbed, and she gulped mouthfuls of muddy water. The force of the currents thrashed against her body, sending her spinning in circles. Yuliah was exhausted by this time.
As the currents pushed her further away from Ward, Yuliah's eyes caught sight of a large rock sticking out from the river ahead. She kicked and clawed sideways until she smashed into the hard rock. Yuliah's forehead collides into the rigid side, followed by a flash of light. It stopped her from being swept further down, and the roaring river quieted. Warmth gushed down her face, then nose, a coppery smell, and a ringing filled both ears.
Ward scream for Yuliah as he rushed passed. Suddenly he caught hold of Yuliah's arm, and she was being pulled through the river again. He yelled something, but his words were inaudible. Yuliah's ears hummed, and a sharp pain throbbed inside her head, turning the world into a hazy dream.
In the distance, a faint voice shouted, "YULIAH." Who called her name? Ward doesn't know her real name, and he stood too close, for it to be him. "YULIAH," it came again. Her feet trudged across the muddy river, as Ward lugged Yuliah towards the shoreline. "YULIAH," the voice, it cut through her heart. She knew it well. With the little strength, left Yuliah shoved Ward away and flung around, then waded into the river.
"What are you doing! Come on," Ward jumped into the river after her, his fingers took hold of her arm and yanked backed. "Before you get swept away again," he plucked Yuliah from the river, then hoisted her over his shoulder and slogged towards the shore.
Yuliah lifted her head as Ward carried her away. Maybe death was close, or she hit her head too hard, but across the River stood Ryas with a group of Men. He wore different clothes, but she knew his face, stance, and body. Her heart raced, "RYAS," Yuliah screamed out and reached towards him, but Ward carried her further away. "Wa-ard," her fists slammed down on his back. "Nooo... stooop," she hit him again, but her head and lids were heavy now. She took one last glance at Ryas before her eyes closed. It must be an illusion.
"Ryas?" Ward had a puzzled look on his face as he trotted off towards the forest. A streak of silver caught his eye, and he bent down to look at it, "Oh look a spear!" he shouted, then picked it up and ran into the forest with Yuliah.
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Inside the forest Ryas, his soldiers, along with Zehan, and Lohan found animal tracks scattered around, then headed towards a cluster of gnarled trees. "Stay alert. These are Fenrir tracks," Ryas warned them. The Fenrir beasts were just as temperamental as their masters. These woods would not be a good place to run into any. They followed the tracks through the dense forest until it doubled back.
"The tracks they've turned back," Lohan pointed.
"Keep moving ahead. Whatever the Fenrir was chasing, they must have lost its scent and headed back," Ryas signaled for his horse to speed up.
They were getting close to the edge of the forest when a Woman's voice cut through the silence in the woods. Ryas knew that voice and dashed ahead.
Rage swept through his body, and fear twisted his gut into knots when he reached the riverbank. His fists clenched so tight that his knuckles whiten as he watched Yuliah struggle against a Man across the river. "Bring me a bow!" he shouted.
"We didn't bring them with us, General," Lohan answered. "All we have are the long spears."
"Give it to me," Ryas' voice turned cold, and his eyes narrowed.
Lohan handed him the spear, and he jumped from his horse. With the spear in hand, he ran then released his Ethereal Spirit and launched it across the river right towards the man with golden hair. The man plunged into the river after Yuliah, and the spear skidded across the river and into the ground behind him. Ryas never missed before. His body locked up and anger swelled up inside. He could see Yuliah clearly from across the river. "FUCK," he turned back to Lohan. "Give me another one!" By the time Lohan brought him another spear the Man carried Yuliah off into the forest but not before picking up the spear Ryas had thrown at him.
He called her name, she heard him, she even looked up and reached for him. His throat swelled. What did he do? That Man took Yuliah away, and he couldn't do a thing but watch. A warm haze wrapped around his mind and Ryas tried to shake it, but his heart wrenched when he realized that Man still had Yuliah. He didn't sell her to the Nomens, which meant he wanted her.
Ryas tore his armor off, dropping it to the ground. If that Man as much as touches a hair on her head, he would kill him. The current was strong, but he could do it, by using his Ethereal Spirit, he could swim across the river. He had to get to her.
Lohan looked at his Brother, "Do something. We just waged war against the Nomens, and General Ryas is ready to throw himself into the river for that woman."
Zehan looked over at his General, still removing his armor. Ryas had a troubled look, for the first time, one he'd never seen before. The Geneoshi were more stubborn than any man or race he'd encounter. His General would not listen easily. "General, we can't cross here. We'll go further down the river and cross together."
The King's voice pulled him back from his thoughts, "Take my armor and horse," Ryas addressed his Captains instead. Then escort the King further down the river. "I'm crossing here. I'll see you on the other side, Zehan," he tied the sword belt tightly around his waist and waded into the river. He'd gone waist deep before he released his Ethereal Spirit and dove under the surface.
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