As Silver's knee pushed roughly on the bandit's back, Jarek could on grunt in reply to the death threat. Tying the last knot, the hooded figure nodded approvingly and faced the other men. Jarek's crew were all deftly tied together using the rope from the tree, and the other three men with Silver were all awaiting orders.

Silver bobbed his head in recognition. "Nice of you to drop in Conall. You took your time getting here, you know."

His stout belly jiggled as the mayor came to shake Silver's hand, "Uh, well next you disappear into the night without so much as, uh, a word, we will be sure to show up more promptly."

Silver chuckled. Of course his friend was right. "Fair enough. How did you know I was out here?" The Guardian recalled that Ethyn had been trying to tell him something when they were tied to the tree. Having cut off the boy's words, it was possible that he had missed an important message about help.

Aristos broke in and confirmed the Guardian's thoughts, "I ran into your little friend in the woods while coming back from a hunt. The boy was sword-drawn and ready-for-action. Ethyn told me what was going on and asked for help. I told him to go home, and I would get a few men to go after you. Obviously he did not listen." There was no judgment in Aristo's voice. He had seen enough of Ethyn around his house to know the boy simply wanted to help his friend.

"Not waiting around for help and acting alone? He takes after someone else around here, I'm sure," Conall added with a smirk and a sidelong glance.

The hunter rolled his eyes at the mayor's words. "So I roused Conall," Aristos continued, "And he sent me to get Aiden while he prepared the horses."

Silver looked toward the burly soldier. "Thank you for the assistance."

Aiden saluted with two fingers, "Always happy to join a noble fight. I do not get to do that often anymore."

"Thank you all, really. That was about to be a sticky situation." Silver acknowledged his own limitations. Even if the Guardian had prevailed, Ethyn would have likely been frightened by what he saw.

"Now, uh, what is this I hear about a 'demon beast'?" Conall asked, amused.

Silver's voice became low, "I will explain later. But it just became a great ally."

Aiden cleared his throat awkwardly. "You know, you should really be thanking Ethyn. We would not be here without him." The trainer was more than a little proud of the young boy's pluck.

"Of course. Now where did he get off to?" Silver called playfully into the darkness, "Come out, Buddy! The mean men won't hurt us now. You are safe!"

When no answer came, Silver looked toward the direction he has seen Ethyn leave, and his heart sank. The snow had streaks of red in it. 'No! What happened?'

"That young 'un went crawling off into da trees. Looked a bit weak, I'd say." Ruadh sat helplessly on the ground and shrugged. The scarred bandit had seen the young boy stumble and attempt run. If the man had any sympathy, he might have felt bad for the child, but he was too busy feeling bad for himself.

"Better chase after that runt of yours," Jarek jeered, his words twisting like a knife. "You never know what else might pick up his scent."

It took every ounce of self-control not to kick Jarek where the sun does not shine. "Don't let them out of your sight," Silver ordered. Turning quickly, he leapt toward the trees and picked up the trail. The blood was fresh, and there was a lot of it. Silver could not believe he had not noticed the boy was wounded. Had it happened during the fight? 'Where are you?' he wondered, but was careful to stay alert.

After another minute of tracking, Silver spotted his young friend. Ethyn lay prone under a large tree. His body was caked in cold mud and snow with his cheek pressed up against a tree root like a pillow. The had on only one boot, while the other foot rested in a pool of ever growing blood. 'The knife in his shoe!' Silver realized as he hit himself in the forehead in frustration. He had forced the boy to take off the boot even though Ethyn had been worried he would be cut. 'This is my fault.'

Silver rolled the boy onto his back. The Guardian's hands rushed to staunch the bleeding by tearing a strip from his tunic and wrapping the injury. The cut across Ethyn's foot was deep and from the amount of liquid flowing, something major had been hit. Already he could feel the cloth growing wet, but there was nothing more he could do out in the forest.

Having tended the wound, the Guardian called the boy's name. "Ethyn, we have got to get out of here," he echoed the boy's words from earlier in the night. "Ethyn?"

No response came. Silver placed his hand on his friend's chest as a new fear gripped his heart. Ethyn was not breathing. 'A foot wound should not cause this!'

Silver shook the boy violently. "Ethyn!" he yelled. After a moment, Ethyn heaved a large rasping breath. Silver nearly cried with relief. He wrapped the boy up in his small brown cloak and ran him back to the others. Ethyn did not react to his touch.

Conall's face was white as a sheet when he saw the limp body in Silver's arms. "What happened?"

"He has sliced his foot very badly. He needs help. I need one of the horses."

The mayor did not ask how Silver knew about the horses. The Guardian always seemed to know things he should not. "Of course. We'll get these brigands and all the supplies back to town until we decide what to do with them." Conall pointed. "You will find the horses a few hundred paces that way. Uh, good luck, Silver."

Silver did not respond. He gathered up the bundle tightly in his arms and ran full speed. It was not the first time he'd had to flee with a child in his arms, he realized grimly.

'Everyone I care for gets put in danger.'

The Guardian's footsteps were light and swift. He looked down at Ethyn's bandaged foot. The cloth was soaked and dripping a deep red. Silver could feel the boy's heart beating slowly. He had to hurry. Finally, he came upon the horses grazing. The closest was a sturdy beige mare. Silver hoisted Ethyn onto the horse and threw himself into the saddle. The horse looked quizzically at the pair, but didn't protest.

"I know we are a lot to carry, but I would appreciate your speed." Silver gave a gruff laugh, "What am I doing talking to a horse?"

The mare seemed to understand him, as she quickly turned and set off in the direction of home. Silver barely needed to guide her, for which he was grateful. Ethyn's face was ashen and looked wraithlike in the soft glow of the snow's winter light. The Guardian tried to lessen the roughness of the ride by cradling Ethyn gently, but he realized that the boy was unconscious and did not know the difference.

Instead, Silver wrapped his Guardian's cloak tightly around them both. The redheaded boy at last stopped shivering and seemed to relax slightly. Not wanting to waste the respite, the man pushed the horse to an even greater speed.

As they neared the final path, Silver had to take the reins and lead the horse to his own cottage. The mare was slightly put-off not to be able to go to her nice warm stable, but again, she did not protest. Silver leapt off the horse with his precious cargo, only pausing a moment to tie off the horse before heading inside.

Bursting through the door without ceremony, Silver placed the boy on his bed and checked him over. His blood loss was extreme, but he was still alive. The Guardian passed to his own bedroom and rifled through his sack. At last, he found the vial of liquid fire and rushed back to his patient. The room was already lit from the glow of the vial, but Silver quickly set a lamp ablaze. Ethyn looked even worse in the warm yellow glow, his skin almost transparent. The small rise and fall of his chest were the only sign of life.

The hooded figure unwrapped the foot and cringed. He grabbed the vial and uncorked it. The small popping sound caused Ethyn's eyes to slit. Silver smiled at his small friend, forgetting that the boy could not see him.

"It's going to be ok," the cloaked man comforted gently. "But this will likely hurt."

Without another word, the Guardian let one drop fall on the wound as a blinding light filled the room.