Once the thieves had left the ravine, they split up to cover more ground in search of their missing companion. Crow scoured the northern side of the camp, while Alistair took the west, and Simon took the east. He hoped that he was right that Rikki hadn’t made it too far before they went to look for her. His stomach churned anxiously as he looked through the trees around him for her. No luck yet. The longer he searched without finding her, the more he felt convinced that something had gone wrong.

He rested his right hand tensely on the hilt of his dagger as he continued to look for the thief. If anything happened to Rikki, he didn’t know what he would do. Even though he didn’t love her like he loved Penelope, he still cared for her more deeply than anyone else. She had been his most unwavering supporter when he had become the leader of their group, and she was his most trustworthy confidant in the few things he had chosen to share with her. He couldn’t imagine going on in the war without her by his side.

[i]I shouldn’t have slept in,[/i] he gritted his teeth in frustration. [i]If I had only gotten up earlier, I would have had time to warn her.[/i] With an increasing sense of urgency, he hastened his pace, hoping he wasn’t too late to find her.

After a while of searching, he was starting to consider heading back to camp to see if the others had had better luck. After all, he was only covering one part of the forest when Rikki could have traveled through any area near the ravine. He slowed to a stop and looked around one last time before he let out his breath in a sigh and turned to go back to the hideout.

However, he didn’t get far before a distant scream made him freeze in his tracks.

[i]Rikki.[/i] Heart hammering, Crow spun around on his heel and raced towards the sound of her voice as fast as his legs would carry him. He didn’t slow down until he saw a group of people through the tree line. There were five of them in all. Four knights chased after a single woman who appeared to be running with a slight limp, and they were closing in fast.

“Raven!” Crow called out, using Rikki’s nickname since, like him, she preferred to keep her real name a secret kept only among people she trusted.

Rikki’s eyes were round with a mixture of panic and surprise as she saw him running towards her, and she sprinted a little faster in her eagerness to reach him. However, her leg wasn’t able to keep up with the sudden change in pace. Before she got to him, she let out a startled cry as her leg gave out and she dropped to the ground.

Crow muttered a curse under his breath and forced himself to run even faster as he strained to reach her before the knights who were now whooping like men on a hunt as they gained ground on the wounded thief. Managing to get to Rikki before the others, he drew his daggers and stood over her protectively, glaring at the knights with as much venom as he could muster. They slowed to a stop, laughing amongst themselves as if they found him amusing.

“Go back to the camp,” Crow said quietly, glancing down at his fallen companion. “I’ll handle them.”

“No,” she shook her head, stumbling hurriedly to her feet. “There are four of them, Crow. You can’t—”

“I said,” he interrupted, shooting her a stern look. “Get going. I’ll hold them off and meet you there.”

“But—”

“Go!” Crow snapped at her this time, and she flinched. After a moment’s hesitation, she gave a reluctant nod and turned to run into the woods, leaving him to deal with the knights by himself.

Now alone, the thief took a second to look over the enemies in front of him. Being so heavily outnumbered, he had no chance to win in a fight. If he wanted to escape with his life, he was going to need a different approach.

“Look at that,” the sound of a familiar voice made him stiffen, and he scanned their faces to see none other than Penelope’s brother, Layth standing in the center of the group. The knight smirked at him mockingly, “It only took three days of searching to draw you out. If only the barons had let me head the patrols earlier, then maybe we wouldn’t have had so much trouble.”

“You really think you’re something special, don’t you?” Crow sneered. “I hate to disappoint, but this is the closest you’re going to get to catching me.” Without wasting another second, he threw his daggers at two of the knights’ legs on either side of Layth. They cried out as the blades sank into their thighs, and in the next moment, the thief turned to sprint back into the woods.

“Get him!” Layth called out furiously from behind. “I want that criminal dead.”

The sound of footsteps followed, and Crow glanced back over his should to see that Layth and the only other able-bodied knight were giving chase. He smirked to himself, [i]This will be easy.[/i] Knowing the forests of the outer villages better than the knights could ever hope to learn them, he didn’t doubt that he could slip away from them without a problem.

Instead of heading directly towards the thieves’ hideout, he turned to run westward to lead the knights away from their actual camp. He effortlessly weaved through the trees in an attempt to leave a confusing trail for Layth to follow as he put more distance between them. It didn’t take long for the knights to start falling behind. Burdened with armor and having no familiarity with their surroundings, they simply couldn’t keep up with an agile thief in the woods of his homeland.

It was just starting to look like Crow had won, when an unexpected wave of dizziness struck him out of nowhere. He stumbled, tripping on a hole in the ground as he struggled to keep up his pace. [i]Damn it,[/i] he thought, squinting to stay focused in the midst of the darkness that threatened to overtake his vision. [i]Not now![/i]

Unfortunately, sheer willpower wasn’t enough to beat the illness inside of him. Before long, he began to grow too tired to keep up his speed, and he fell back. He peered over her shoulder once more to see that the knights were gaining ground again—or at least, it looked they were. It was hard to tell when everything was spinning.

Suddenly, he felt his breath leave him as a heavy arm shoved him against the nearest tree. Between his fatigue and the force of the blow, his leg buckled beneath him, and he dropped to the ground, panting as he tried to catch his breath and not lose consciousness.

“What was that about not catching you?” Layth chuckled and stepped forward, drawing his sword. “I’m going to bring your head to the barons.”

Crow looked up at him, heart racing as he tried to make his tired mind focus to come up with a way out of the situation. There had to be a way out. He clenched his hands into fists at his sides, only to find that his body was moving sluggishly from the fatigue. He couldn’t keep running or he would just pass out like last time. Heart sinking, he realized he was trapped. There was no way to escape. He closed his eyes, [i]Sorry, Rikki. I don’t think I’m going to make it back after all…[/i]

“Wait.”

Crow blinked in surprise and turned to look at the other knight, who had just spoken up. The man eyed Layth, whose sword was cocked back to swing, before he went on, “These thieves have been stealing from our battalion for a while, right? Maybe we could use this one to our advantage.”

“What do you mean?” Layth frowned but didn’t lower his blade.

“What if they still have some of the supplies they stole from us?” the knight went on, excitement growing in his voice as he pieced a plan together. “If we get this thief to tell us where those supplies are, we can get back what was taken from us.”

Layth paused, seeming to think it over, “The barons would be pleased… Fine. We’ll take him back to camp,” he turned to Crow with a cruel smirk. “Don’t think you’re getting off easy. By the time I’m finished with you, you’ll wish I had killed you here instead.”

“Lovely,” Crow muttered, still obstinate despite the dizziness that continued to threaten to make him lose consciousness. “I can’t wait.”

Layth just snorted in response and turned back to his comrade, “Help me with the thief. I don’t want to give him any opportunities to escape.”

[i]I couldn’t escape if I tried,[/i] Crow thought dryly as the two knights moved to restrain him by either arm. They hauled him to his feet began to guide him forcefully towards their camp.