POV: Leo
The bandit leader's knife stopped an inch from Kael's throat.
Not because he changed his mind. Because I made the sword vibrate so violently in Kael's hand that when she instinctively raised it to block, the blade deflected his attack.
"What the—?!" The scarred bandit stumbled backward.
"RUN!" I screamed in Kael's mind.
She didn't need to be told twice. She bolted through a gap in the circle of bandits, legs pumping as fast as they could go.
"GET HER!" Scarface roared.
We crashed through bushes and jumped over fallen logs. Behind us, heavy footsteps and angry shouts echoed through the forest.
"I thought you were keeping watch!" Kael gasped.
"I DID keep watch! I woke you up, didn't I?!"
"With bandits ALREADY surrounding us!"
"Well, excuse me for not having perfect radar! I'm doing my best here!"
An arrow zipped past Kael's ear.
"THEY HAVE BOWS?!" she shrieked.
"Apparently! Keep zigzagging! Harder to hit a moving target!"
Kael zagged when she should have zigged and crashed face-first into a low-hanging branch.
"OW!"
"Not THAT kind of zigzagging!"
She scrambled up and kept running, blood dripping from her nose. My metaphorical heart—or whatever swords have—ached seeing her hurt. When did I start caring so much about this clumsy girl?
The bandits were gaining. These guys knew the forest better than we did.
Then, through the trees ahead, I sensed something. Voices. Lots of them. And the clanking of armor.
"Kael! There are people ahead! Maybe we can get help!"
She burst through the tree line into a clearing—and immediately wished she hadn't.
Twenty armored knights stood there, surrounding a fancy carriage. Royal knights, based on the crest on their shields.
And nailed to a tree right next to us was a poster. A wanted poster.
With Kael's face on it.
"Oh no," I whispered.
A knight spotted us immediately. "THERE! That's the girl! The thief!"
Every single knight drew their weapons.
Kael froze like a deer. Behind her, the bandits were still coming. In front, twenty knights blocked the way. We were trapped.
"Well," I said, trying to stay calm. "This is exciting!"
"EXCITING?!" Kael's mental voice went up about three octaves. "WE'RE ABOUT TO DIE!"
"Details, details."
The knight captain stepped forward, hand on his sword. "Kael of Riversbend, you are charged with theft of a sacred artifact and the attempted murder of Sir Gareth the Noble. Surrender now!"
"ATTEMPTED MURDER?!" Kael shouted out loud. "HE LEFT ME TO DIE!"
"Lies will only make your sentence worse, girl."
The bandits burst into the clearing behind us, then skidded to a halt when they saw the knights.
"Official business," Scarface said quickly, trying to look innocent. "We were just... um... helping you capture this dangerous criminal?"
The knight captain's eyes narrowed. "You're the Iron Jackals gang. You're wanted too."
Scarface cursed.
Now everyone was pointing weapons at everyone else. Knights at Kael. Knights at bandits. Bandits at knights. It was a complete mess.
"Any brilliant ideas?" Kael whispered desperately.
I thought fast. "The carriage. If we can get to it, maybe we can use it as cover or—"
"SEIZE THEM ALL!" the captain commanded.
Everything exploded into chaos.
Knights charged. Bandits fought back. And Kael? She did the only thing she could—she ran straight for the carriage.
"Duck!" I yelled.
She ducked. A sword whooshed over her head.
"Jump!"
She jumped over a fallen bandit.
"Left!"
She dodged left, avoiding a spear thrust.
We were almost at the carriage when the door suddenly flew open.
A girl about Kael's age stuck her head out. She had fancy clothes and perfectly brushed hair—obviously noble-born. Her eyes went wide.
"You!" she shouted. "You're the thief from the posters!"
"I'M NOT A THIEF!" Kael yelled back, exhausted and frustrated.
"Then why is everyone chasing you?"
"LONG STORY!"
An arrow embedded itself in the carriage door, right between them. Both girls screamed.
"Get in!" the noble girl suddenly grabbed Kael's arm. "Quickly!"
"What?!"
"I SAID GET IN!"
She yanked Kael into the carriage with surprising strength. The door slammed shut behind us.
"Driver! GO! NOW!" the girl shouted.
"But Lady Mara, the knights—"
"I'll explain later! DRIVE!"
The carriage lurched forward. Through the window, I could see confused knights and bandits all mixed together in a giant brawl, too busy fighting each other to chase us.
Kael and the noble girl—Lady Mara—stared at each other, both breathing hard.
"Why did you help me?" Kael finally asked.
Mara grinned. "Because I'm BORED. Nothing exciting ever happens on these stupid trips to the capital. Plus, anyone who makes that many people angry must have a good story."
"You're insane."
"Probably! Now tell me everything. Start with why you supposedly stole a sacred artifact."
Kael looked at me—well, at the sword. I sensed her hesitation.
"Should I tell her?" she asked in her mind.
"Do we have a choice? She just saved us."
Kael took a deep breath. "Okay. But you have to promise not to freak out."
"I never freak out," Mara said confidently.
"The sword talks."
"What?"
"The sword. It talks. To me. In my head. His name is Leo, he used to be human, and he's been trapped as a sword for about a hundred years."
Mara blinked. Once. Twice. Then she started laughing. "Oh, that's BRILLIANT! What a creative excuse! 'My sword made me do it!' I love it!"
"I'm serious!"
"Sure you are." Mara wiped tears from her eyes. "Okay, what's the REAL story?"
"That IS the real story!"
"Kael," I said. "I don't think she believes you."
"No kidding!"
"Say something out loud. Prove it."
"Can I?"
"Might as well try. We're already in a runaway carriage with a crazy noble girl. What's the worst that could happen?"
Kael held me up. "Leo, can you... I don't know... glow or something?"
I focused hard. The blade began to emit that soft blue light.
Mara stopped laughing. "That's... that's just magic. Enchanted swords exist."
"Tell her something only she would know," I suggested. "Something I could sense about her."
I focused on Mara, pushing my awareness outward. There—around her neck, hidden under her fancy dress, a simple leather cord with a wooden charm.
"Tell her she's wearing a good luck charm under her dress," I said. "Handmade. Someone important gave it to her."
Kael repeated my words.
Mara's face went pale. Her hand flew to her neck. "How... how did you know that?"
"I told you. The sword talks."
For a long moment, Mara just stared. Then she reached out slowly and touched my blade. "Hello? Mr. Sword? Can you hear me?"
"She can't hear me," I told Kael. "Only you can. It's because you're my wielder."
Kael explained this. Mara looked disappointed.
"So you're connected to the sword? Bonded?"
"I guess? It happened when I grabbed it in a collapsing cave."
"That's AMAZING!" Mara bounced in her seat. "I've read about legendary weapons in books! They're supposed to choose their wielders! And you got chosen!"
"I didn't ASK to get chosen," Kael muttered. "I just wanted to survive."
"Wait until my father hears about this! He collects stories about ancient artifacts and—" Mara stopped suddenly. "Oh. Right. You're wanted by Sir Gareth."
"Yeah."
"My father works with Sir Gareth sometimes. They're both on the King's council."
Kael's face fell. "So you're going to turn me in."
Mara bit her lip, thinking hard. Finally, she shook her head. "No."
"No?"
"I don't like Sir Gareth. He's mean to servants and acts like he's better than everyone. If he says you're a thief, then I believe you're probably innocent."
"Thank you," Kael whispered.
"But," Mara continued, "we have a problem. Those posters are everywhere. Every town, every village. By now, the whole kingdom is looking for you. Sir Gareth offered a huge reward."
"How huge?"
"Five hundred gold pieces."
I whistled—mentally, since swords can't actually whistle. "That's a fortune."
Kael's hands shook. "Everyone will be hunting me. Bounty hunters. Mercenaries. Even normal people who need the money."
"Essentially, yes," Mara said gently. "I'm sorry."
Kael looked down at me. I could feel her despair through our connection. This was too much. Too overwhelming for one girl to handle.
"We'll figure it out," I told her firmly. "Together. Remember?"
"Together," she echoed quietly.
The carriage suddenly jerked to a stop.
"Why are we stopping?" Mara called to the driver.
"Roadblock, my lady! Knights ahead!"
All three of us—me included, somehow—peered out the window.
A full squadron of royal knights blocked the road. And standing at the front, arms crossed and smiling victoriously, was Sir Gareth.
He'd been waiting for us.
"Good evening, Lady Mara," he called out pleasantly. "I believe you have something that belongs to me in your carriage. Hand over the thief and the sword, and we can all go home peacefully."
Mara looked at Kael. Kael looked at me.
"Now would be a REALLY good time for one of your brilliant plans," Kael said in her mind.
I searched desperately for an answer.
And found absolutely nothing.
We were trapped. Again.