Unleashed Fury (BloodRunes: Book 1) (23 page)

The man gave her a grudging nod but
impudently insisted, “We will want to see these reports for
ourselves and have time to have our own people look into it before
we could possibly decide on the proper action to take. He is a
noble after all.”

The rest of the Council members were nodding
their heads in agreement, and Jezebel again had to douse her anger.
I really must find a way to work around having the whole Council
agree on actions that I should be able to just command at will
.
She was glad now that she had had Devon take it into his own hands
to bring Gryffon in rather than having left it to the
authorities.

“Fine,” she told them, trying her best to
sound nonchalant. “While you all are talking about taking care of
the country, I will put my people to work on actually locating the
fugitives and really taking care of it. And if anyone would like to
hear my personal accounts of the illicit contact that Layna had as
well, I would be happy to tell you. I saw her with my own eyes
speaking with him in low voices over pieces of paper that I later
noticed to be suspiciously like delicate documents that I had had
on my desk while she was cleaning, which would suddenly show up in
a different spot than where I left them.” She wracked her brain for
another piece of seemingly damning evidence that she could use
against the girl, but couldn't on the spot think of another so she
said, “Well, the list goes on and on, like I said, I trusted them
and only now am beginning to put the pieces together to find what
was going on right under my own roof.”

The Council discussed this revelation for
some time while Jezebel took a seat and tuned them out. Their
insignificant talk did not concern her. Eventually their dull
brains would come around to the realization that she was right. She
let her thoughts drift instead to what she would do with Gryffon
once Devon found him. It would be wonderful to get that little
whore charged as well, but even bringing her in for questioning
Jezebel had high hopes that perhaps she'd simply keel over from
fright – like they said happened to sheep when they were being
chased by wolves. She remembered her face during the short little
trial over the book incident. She shifted her weight slightly in
her chair to cover the grin that was threatening to spread over her
face as she thought of it. She did so hope that he was able to find
the girl too.
But Gryffon...oh, Gryffon would be such a
treat…

CHAPTER
17

Layna and Gryffon waved good-bye to Megan and
Carolyn as they disappeared into the swarm of ladies that had
converged on them the moment they stepped into the Golden Girl's
lobby for their happy home-coming.

The two had barely stepped back onto the
street, when suddenly a group of men separated themselves from the
crowd, intent on her and Gryffon. Layna sent a frightened look
towards Gryffon and he pushed her roughly into an alley.

“Run!” he commanded. She shook her head at
him, silently begging him not to ask her to leave him. “Go!” He
gave her a stern look. She gave in, turning on her heel and
fleeing. Tears sprung to her eyes.

Shouts rang out behind her as they came upon
Gryffon. “Get him, men!” one of them yelled. “He's the one all
right.” Layna stopped running and turned, horrified at the scene
she saw behind her.

A man was fighting with Gryffon, who held him
by the hair and was landing blow after blow on his bloodied face.
Though Gryffon had the upper hand, there were too many of them.
Layna raised her arm towards him in a futile attempt to stave off
the blow she saw coming from behind, but her warning shout was lost
amongst the din.

Gryffon fell and was roughly kicked in the
side by the man who he had been punching. The man spat out a
mouthful of blood onto Gryffon's now-limp form.

Before she could sprint back to his side,
they had him slung over a horse. They rode off with him into the
crowd, scattering people as they went.

“No, no, no,” moaned Layna as she pushed her
way through the people who stood around, looking dumbly between her
and the wake of the retreating horse. She glared around at them,
and cried out, “Why didn't you stop them? Why didn't anybody stop
them?!” People simply watched her outburst, or hurried off to avoid
being caught in the scuffle.

She raced through the streets, making her way
to Mila's house. Her breath came in ragged bursts as she sprinted,
the cool air biting at her lungs. She came up short as she rounded
a corner and saw that there were several men standing outside the
house she shared with Mila.

She whipped back around the side of the
building and plastered herself against it, breathing hard. Quietly
she made her way around the back, and carefully climbed up the side
of the house. She cracked open a window after peeking inside.

“All's clear up here,” said a voice at the
top of the stairs, and heavy steps descended. Layna held her breath
until the boots thudded onto the stone floor at the bottom, and
then she heaved herself through the window. She tiptoed to the
doorway so she could hear what was being said downstairs.

“Where is she?” demanded another voice, and
Layna shuddered as she recognized it as Devon's.

Mila's calm voice answered sweetly. “Why, I
don't believe I know who you're talking about.” Layna heard a loud
thwack of flesh against flesh and a faint grunt.

“Oh I think you do know, Mila,” said Devon.
“And I think you're going to tell me because you know what will
happen if you don't.”

Layna heard Mila spit at the man and inwardly
cringed for her.

Devon paused, obviously angered by the insult
as he growled, “You shouldn't have done that.”

Layna heard a dull thud, a sharp intake of
breath, and then a moan as something heavy hit the floor.

Devon barked an order to the rest of the men,
“Burn it. Burn it to the ground.”

Footsteps banged into motion and Layna heard
furniture being overturned and liquid splashing on the ground
before the front door slammed shut. Layna listened carefully for
any sounds that anyone was still inside, but heard only the faint
crackling of a fire.

She carefully made her way to the stairs and
peered down them, scanning the room for the men. Her breath caught
in her throat as she leaned farther out and caught sight of a foot
lying sideways on the ground.

As she bounded down the stairs towards Mila's
sprawled body, she broke into tears. The woman lay on her back, a
puddle of blood slowly seeping out from a knife wound in her chest.
Mila gasped for breath and smiled weakly at Layna.

“Well,” she wheezed, pausing as a fit of
coughing overtook her. A dribble of blood started at the corner of
her mouth. “That was not a very polite visit.” Layna held her hand
over her mouth, blinking away tears. She reached her other hand
towards Mila in an effort to do something, preparing to reach for
the power despite her lack of training.

Mila saw her pain, and even in her own agony
tried to soothe her. “Hush, child, it simply was my time. Please
don't bother trying to heal me, unfortunately the little snake has
good aim. You can't do anything. Not yet, anyway.” She smiled, a
bright red stream flowing down her cheek. “Don't worry about me,
I'm off to a better place...” Her voice faded out, and her head
fell limply to the side as the life left her.

Layna sank to her knees in anguish beside
her, oblivious to the fire which had started raging around her. She
let out a long wail, weeping for the loss of a friend and an
innocent person.
It’s all my fault, she never would have been in
danger if it hadn’t have been for me. And Gryffon…
She rocked
back and forth, her hands over her face, sobbing uncontrollably.
Flames started to lick at her dress and her sleeve caught fire,
painfully jolting her back to reality.

She stood unsteadily and took hold of Mila's
arms gently, trying to drag her outside, out of the fire, but she
could not. Even if she could get her outside somehow, what would
she do with her?

Layna stood amongst the roaring flames in
indecision, not wanting Mila to bear the injustice of having the
burning house crumble around her. The table caught on fire as
flames licked the oil that had been poured there, and Layna was
reminded of a funeral pyre. She gathered her wits about her and
gave Mila a parting kiss on the cheek before struggling to lift her
body from the floor to the burning tabletop.

Once Mila's body was up on the table, Layna
carefully arranged it, folding her arms on her chest. Taking a deep
breath, Layna opened herself to the power. They had not had time to
get very far in training her talent, but she knew enough that she
could manipulate the fire. She very carefully imagined dipping her
fingertips into the stream of power, and siphoned off a tiny
amount. She used this to focus the flames on the table to
incinerate Mila's body in a proper cremation. Tears flowed freely
as she watched her friend and mentor slowly burn until all that was
left was a pile of ashes on the table. Layna gathered these up in a
jar that had so far escaped damage, and vowed to spread them
somewhere that Mila would have liked.

Her panicked mind took over then, and she
bolted upstairs, banging open drawers to hastily put together what
few possessions she had. She flung open the window she had come in
through, and glanced outside to make sure no one was watching. Once
it was clear, she threw the bags down and then climbed down
herself. She raced to the stables and thanked the Three that Axe
and Fly were still there. Carolyn and Megan had wanted to walk this
morning. She readied the horses in record time, putting their bags
on Axe before hopping up onto Fly herself, and leading both out the
back.

She paused just outside the gate and stood
there for a long moment, watching as the flames engulfed the house
that Layna had begun to think of as her home.
Poor Mila
.
Layna's vision blurred as fresh tears welled up and her throat
closed. She choked back the whimper that threatened to escape, and
clung tightly to the jar of ashes. Smoke was pouring out of the
windows, and the sounds of shattering glass filled the air.
Thunderous crashes sounded as the roof rafters starting giving way.
A black cloud of smoke rose to the cloudy sky above, a dark mar on
the white horizon.

Layna watched in agony as the flames engulfed
the house, and then jumped as suddenly a bright flash surprised
her, causing her to step back involuntarily. A wisp of light came
through with the smoke, rising slowly towards the heavens. Layna
watched the light ascend and felt a calm spread over her, allowing
her paralyzed mind to slowly creak back into motion. She realized
with a panic that the streets were beginning to fill with shouting
people as news of the fire spread. Layna took a step, and
hesitated, indecision halting her once more. A voice seemed to
whisper in the wind,
Go
, and Layna burst into motion.

She didn't know what else to do, so she led
Fly towards the outskirts of the city, slowing to go through the
side gates. She held her breath, praying for the gate guard not to
stop her. He simply nodded at her crossing, however, and she nodded
back tensely. She led the horses slowly for a good distance,
forcing the appearance of calm, before allowing her terror to
overtake her, and she gave them the reins.

They galloped off into the wilderness as
Layna cried hysterically, dropping the reins altogether and
allowing Fly to take her where he pleased. She was lost in a flurry
of wild thoughts as panic totally overcame reason, the cold wind
biting at her neck as it whipped her hair wildly around her in
Fly’s swift flight.

In a short while, the horses slowed to a
trot, and then a walk. Fly lowered his head as he sniffed around on
the ground, pawing through the snow to try and find some food to
forage. Axe had followed them as well, being battle trained as he
was, and Layna sighed in relief at that small piece of good
fortune.

Her breathing slowly became more even, and
she forced her mind to pull herself together and think rationally.
She had just let the horses go where they pleased, and now she was
out in the middle of the woods on her own. The sun was getting
lower and the temperature, though heading towards spring, was still
dangerously cold at night. Layna prodded her thoughts in the
direction of making a shelter and a fire and nothing else.

She hopped off Fly and tethered him loosely
where he had been grazing, and then went to find wood. Luckily, the
snow in the forest was thinner because of the trees and Layna was
able to gather together an adequate pile of relatively dry wood.
She put her hand over the pile and whispered the word that Mila had
taught her, staving off a tear that threatened to form in her eye
at the memory, and carefully reached for the power. A tiny flame
burst into being within the pile, and soon her small fire was
solidly burning. A far cry from the first time she had tried to
make a fire she thought proudly.

She yanked her thoughts away from the painful
direction they were once again trying to pull her in, and set about
to find a bunch of pine boughs to lay on to sleep. As she was
searching, she found a bunch of small rocks and she gathered these
as well, setting them on the edge of the fire to warm. Soon she had
enough boughs to make a relatively comfortable bed and she went to
Fly's saddlebag. Inside, there was a portable water bag that
Gryffon had thought of to always carry with them in case they
needed water but couldn't get close enough to it themselves. She
unhooked it and shook it out, the oiled leather forming a large
bowl shape, and she stuffed it full of snow. She sat down with it
next to the fire, holding it close to melt the snow while warming
her hands as well.