Deliverance by Brittany Comeaux Page B

training session, Gavril considered the prince
to be a brutal and dishonorable warrior.
    Blaze on the other hand, was extremely
irritated to have so many people watching over him. He knew that
they still didn’t trust him, and frankly, he didn’t care if they
did or not, but having just one person, much less several people,
constantly looking over his shoulder was starting to get on his
nerves. He could not make a single move without someone grasping
the hilt of their sword, ready to draw it at the first sign of
Blaze making a break for it.
    Sigurd and the other dwarves crowded around
the training area and never gave him a peaceful moment. Blaze
glared at Sigurd as a warning for him to back off, but the dwarf
simply glared back and continued his own training.
    The terrain was extremely rough and rocky,
and Blaze could tell that he was in the mountains somewhere. He was
never told where the hideout was after he awoke, probably because
if he tried to escape, he would be unfamiliar with the area and get
lost easily. The rebels, who lived and scouted in the area on a
daily basis, would easily find him if he dared to run off.
    Since there were so many dwarves around,
Blaze concluded that he must have been in the Dwarven Mountains in
southern Cierith. He knew that the soldiers had checked the area
before, but it seemed that it hadn’t been checked thoroughly
enough. Blaze had tried for several years to discover the location
of the hideout. Now that he was actually there, he couldn’t care
less if Bogdan found out, but he wasn’t going to be the one to tell
him.
    As the day went on into the afternoon, Blaze
trained alone with several wooden dummies. He took his anger and
frustration out on several by slicing the dummies in half with each
one move, and he eventually gave a larger dummy a brutish beating
rather than using his actual skills. After slicing it several
times, he noticed several people staring at him. He stood there
awkwardly and gave a cold stare again, but it apparently only
seemed to work on the soldiers he used to order around.
    “I think you’ve had enough for today,” said
Gavril, who was the only person daring enough to approach him.
    “Get lost, old man,” Blaze barked.
    Ignoring Blaze’s comment, Gavril continued,
“Maybe you should try practicing with another fighter, rather than
destroy all of our training equipment.”
    “I work alone,” Blaze retorted and then
sheathed his sword and stormed off. Two rebels approached him as he
walked in their direction and Gavril walked up behind him.
    Gavril grabbed Blaze’s arm, pulled him
forward, and stated, “If you aren’t going to train any more, then
we will take you back to your room.”
    “Leave me alone!” shouted Blaze as he shook
Gavril’s hand off of his arm. The crowd of onlookers that were
distracted from their own training then readied their weapons at
Blaze, which agitated him more.
    He was about ready to start slashing his way
out of there when Crystal came running onto the training field and
shouted, “Everyone stop!”
    “Crystal?” Gavril replied. The crowd
dispersed as she walked onto the field. Gavril approached her and
she stopped about a foot away from him.
    “Gavril,” she whispered, “I know that we
need to keep an eye on Blaze, but we also need to gain his trust so
that he can help us. Restricting his freedom isn’t the way to get
him to trust us.”
    “What do you suggest then? We can’t let him
go freely about the hideout. He knows too much!” Gavril argued.
    “Actually, Thaddeus may have found a way for
us to do just that, but still rest easy knowing Blaze cannot give
out our secrets,” replied Crystal.
    Confused, Gavril asked, “What are you
talking about?”
    “Thaddeus has come across a spell that could
give Blaze all the freedom he wants, but that can guarantee that he
won’t get far if he tries to escape,” Crystal explained.
    “What kind of spell?” Gavril probed.
    “It’s called a tracking mark.