Chapter 27.

  Shadow Boxing

  By the time Theodren and Reina were returning to their camp, the sun was already halfway through its descent, casting long shadows through the forest for Reina to experiment with. All told, they had returned with a doe and two rabbits. Reina had managed to trap them with her shadows, surprising Theodren with how quickly she adapted to her newfound abilities. While not perfect, she could just barely grab onto small things as long as they were touching the same shadow she was.

  Focused as she was on the shadows dancing around her, she did not hear the voices coming from their camp or notice that Theodren had stopped, nearly running into his back. She peeked around the side of her large companion to see six men, all armed and rugged, amongst their packs, laughing and joking as they dug through what remained of the duo's belongings.

  Theodren emerged from the brush, clearing his throat loudly for their attention. All six of the men turned at the sound, eyes locking on the towering man for a moment before turning to the slender blonde woman and the child in her arms. “You’re in the wrong camp.” growled Theodren, staring down each man individually before moving to the next. The soul of each man appeared before his mind’s eye, each a collection of dim hues, muted by years of vagrancy and unnecessary violence.

  “Finder’s keepers I'm afraid.” came a drawl from the sixth man near the back of the crowd of ruffians. Theodren’s eyes narrowed on him. Lean and dark, his hair was a greasy brown, slicked to the side in an attempt to cover an increasingly obvious bald spot, paired with an equally greasy mustache that curled above a smirk which spoke to a confidence more befitting a fox than a man.

  “Found your little camp here while the boys and I were looking for a place to rest our troubled heads, didn't we lads?” Chuckling agreement rose from the other five ruffians, converging on their leader as he strutted toward Theodren. Confidence in the superiority of their numbers kept any fear from the face of the bandit leader as he stood only a couple feet from Theodren’s towering form. “Seemed a shame just to leave it here unused when it could bring much needed relief to the boys and me!” justified the greasy bandit with a grin.

  Anger smoldered in Theodren’s chest as the understanding that he was supposed to be intimidated by the smaller man set in. He sighed, seeking a breath to control his ire. Fighting this many men would require using his Vitae, and while he was confident in his own ability, brawling against this many men while also defending Reina and Theviana and making sure that no one escaped to tell the tale of his strange power, was a gambit he wasn’t willing to risk. “We don’t want any trouble, just give us our horses and we will be gone.” He grumbled.

  The greasy bandit cocked his head to the side as if surprised at his answer. “What a reasonable fellow you are! And here I thought I’d have to take you down a notch.” From beside him Reina snorted derisively, shooting the bandit a haughty look of disdain.

  Annoyance flashed across his face for a moment before a cruel smile slithered across his face. “In fact, leave us the woman, and we’ll let you take both horses. The boy’s and I have a little more relieving to do that she could be of great help with.” A deep sickly pink and red of lust and violence filled the souls of the bandits who chuckled at their leaders suggestion, some of them already making lewd gestures toward the pretty woman at Theodren’s side. The anger that smoldered in his chest erupted into an inferno of rage.

  Smiling, he placed his hand on the greasy bandit’s shoulder, who taking it as a gesture of agreement, grinned even wider. Theodren’s large hand clamped down on the man’s shoulder. “I’m going to hit you now.” Growled Theodren.

  “What does -” CRACK! Theodren held the bandit in place, good and steady for the fist that plowed through the bandit’s face, pulverizing bone and cartilage alike.

  The ruffian fell to the ground with a gurgle, all guile and grins forgotten as his face slammed into the dirt. Theodren pulled Retribution from his sleeve as he roared a challenge to the five remaining men who looked on in shock. “Everybody listen up! I’m handing out judgement one at a time.” He pointed the hammer at the nearest bandit who drew his own sword in response. “So get in line and wait your turn.”

  Theodren’s eyes were locked on the taller gangly bandit closest to him, when the smiling face of baby Theviana was suddenly thrust in front of his face. He blinked, in the moment of tension, Reina had snuck under his guard to stand before him. Holding the baby above her head and up to his face, she heard the whispers of rage in his soul come to a halt as he beheld the cherubic face of his Goddaughter.

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  “Hold this please.” She said calmly, depositing Theviana on Theodren’s chest as he scrambled to hold her securely, Retribution slithering back up his sleeve. “You’re being very rude. These gentlemen just wanted to play!” Shadows surrounding the camp grew longer, bending and reaching out toward the bandits in an unnatural display. A wicked grin lit up Reina’s face as she assumed a ready stance.

  “Let’s play.” She leapt at the first bandit with an acrobat's grace. Landing on her hands she bent almost in half before spring boarding feet first, into the jaw of the first bandit, knocking him flat on his back. Reina landed on his chest in a casual pose, looking around nonchalantly as if her most pressing concern was the state of her nails.

  She made a show of admiring them as the rest of the bandits shook themselves from their shock and charged her as one. Reina’s hand shot out at the four approaching men, sending a shadow along the ground toward their feet.

  Two of the men tripped and one stumbled, leaving the third to approach unhindered, sword and shield at the ready. Reina winced internally at the weakness of her shadow, but she pressed on.

  The bandit swung low at her knees in an attempt to force her to move and move she did. Grabbing on to the man’s shield, she vaulted over the sword, over the man and onto the ground behind him.

  Reaching over her shoulder, she grabbed her assailant’s collar. Her right leg shot back into his, unbalancing him as she heaved and twisted, using her hip as a fulcrum to throw the first bandit into the second who approached, dagger in hand. Both men went sprawling into the dirt cursing her and eachother as they untangled themselves.

  Reina had never been so exhilarated or exhausted in her life. Her chest heaved with every breath and her heart felt ready to explode from fear and excitement. She had never fought without her thread before, and certainly not for her life.

  She had excelled at using her thread to manipulate the order of the world around her, cutting through air resistance like steel wire and pushing her physical abilities higher than anyone else. But now she felt naked. She hadn’t even retrieved her golden shears from the dirt where she had dropped them. Unwilling as she was to touch the blood on their shining blades.

  Now she fought only with her wits and an unfamiliar power. The two men she had managed to trip regained their feet, the first pulling twin daggers who’s quality was at odds with the unkempt state of the ruffian who bore them.

  “Ooh! Those are pretty!” She exclaimed, dancing out of the way of the second man’s curved saber, and straight into his companions' range. His eyes narrowed at her as he threw swift and measured jabs at the woman. Each feint and strike an effort to properly gauge her speed.

  Reina could only dodge, with each parry she tried to gain purchase on the man’s wrists. Hoping to twist or manipulate his wrists into releasing the daggers. But each attempt was a failure, punished with thin lines of red that wept down her arms.

  “Ugh! Just stay still! She shrieked at him, trying once again to snare him with a shadow. She was rewarded with a satisfying crunch. They both looked down to see the knife wielding bandit’s foot bent at an odd angle, smothered in darkness.

  His eyes shot wide at the unnatural wound. “W-WITCH!” he screamed, stumbling back on his remaining leg, causing his advancing companion with the saber to slow, a worried expression darkening his face. “RUDE!” She barked, poking the knife man hard in his chest. Darkness spread from where she touched him as he fell to the ground, knives forgotten, scrabbling at the black stain that spread through his chest.

  She scooped up the blades, dancing backward to create distance between her and the final bandit. Where the other two had run off to, she couldn’t be sure, opting to keep her eyes focused on her final opponent, who advanced with the measured steps of a veteran.

  “I’ve got your measure now witch!” Shouted the bandit, sending short swings and feints at her, deftly weaving between the shadows on the ground. “I am NOT a witch!” She shouted back, weaving between each strike, all while she searched for an opening. “I’ll have you know I’m a…” she cocked her head, searching for an appropriate title. “Well I’m not a witch!”

  A sneer covered the man’s face. “The only thing you are is dead!” He shouted, throwing a handful of dirt into Reina’s face. Her arms flew up to shield her eyes but it was too late. Her eyes closed involuntarily at the onslaught of debris. In a panic she lashed out with shadows and knives in a flurry of desperate strikes.

  Her knife found its meaty target as her shadows jerked the man from his intended path straight into her blade. Clearing the dirt from her face she blinked the world back into focus. The last bandit lay in a heap at her feet, blood pouring from a wound in his chest where he had landed on her blade. Behind him lay the dried corpse of the man who’s daggers she’d appropriated. Still on her guard she turned to see the two men, unmoving, being dragged beneath the earth by thick roots from nearby trees.

  She leveled a glare at Theodren who merely cocked an eyebrow at her in return. “Those guys were mine!” She whined, stomping over to the knife man’s corpse pulling at his belt until it came loose, sheaths and all. Prize in hand she strutted past Theodren who looked on at the carnage bemused. “I totally had them.” She stated haughtily.

  Once she was past him, Retribution emerged from the ground, crawling its way back up to its resting place on Theodren’s bicep. He chuckled as he took a last look at the final bandit's corpse. Silently thanking the vineling while he wiggled a finger at the babe in his arms. Such men were not worthy to share this world with his Godchild