Underground Alliance12

Chapter 12-Corbin Put in Place by Rhyna
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As Talyn and Corbin walked out of the clearing, Saria sank to the ground. Rhyn quickly moved beside her, dropping to the ground and looking at her anxiously. "Are you alright?" Rhyn asked worriedly.

Saria took a few calming breaths, "I think so." She replied in a soft voice. "To think that I've spent each day hating that man, when he really didn't want to participate, and then to find out that he was the one that helped me escape." Again she paused for a moment before continuing. "It's just a lot to absorb in such a short time."

"Well, that and you finally got back with Corbin again." Rhyn added on with a grin.

Saria blushed and nodded. "Yes, that is something I've been dreaming of ever since I was separated from him." She then looked at Rhyna with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "What's going on between you and… Talyn was it?"

Rhyna just nodded and could feel the heat rising on her face. "What are you talking about?" Rhyn said, not looking at her.

Saria let out a soft giggle. "You know full well what I'm talking about. I saw the way he was looking at you."

With a curious look now, Rhyn met Saria's gaze. "What do you mean you saw how he was looking at me? He doesn't look at me any different than how he does at anyone else." She assured her.

"Only when he knows someone is watching him." Saria retorted in an all too innocent voice. "And I saw your face when he came into the clearing. It wasn't too obvious, but you couldn't take your eyes off of him." Saria smiled to herself, ‘Him having his shirt off probably helped a little too.’

Rhyna just sighed and shook her head. "Honestly, Talyn's never looked at me any differently than how he'd look at a little sister." ‘Even if sometimes I wish he would, but she doesn't need to know that,’ she thought quietly. "There is honestly nothing going on between us."

"Right…" Saria said, letting the subject go for the moment. But she continued to look at Rhyn with a curious gaze, which caused them both to burst into laughter. "How did you two manage to get involved with Corbin, anyway?" Saria asked.

Rhyn smirked. "Talyn and Corbin kind of ran into each other in the forest just a few moments after we had met Victor who had just barely disappeared into the trees. It was shortly after that that Victor showed up again. We've been working together, well some being forced into it more than others, ever since."

"I can guess who the enforcer was." Rhyn nodded and grinned. "But you must tell me, what else can Victor do since he's a vampire?"

"Well," Rhyn quickly searched through all of the stories she had been told growing up, but she wasn't too sure how accurate they were, so instead she decided to improvise. "I don't know very much about them. In fact, I didn't even believe that they were real until I met Victor. But from what I've seen, they have an amazing sense of smell, sight, and hearing. They can move at incredibly high speeds, have insanely fast reflexes, and have a certain strange ability to get people, especially those of the opposite gender, to do what they wish." She silently added, Victor takes full advantage of that ability certain far too much. "They also heal almost instantly..."

Saria's mouth was open slightly as Rhyna's voice trailed off. Rhyn tilted her head as she thought, ‘Last time, when we released him, his injuries healed instantly. But this time, he was still cut and bloody when he left.’ Rhyn's eyebrows drew together as her mind began turning faster. ‘What did they do to him while I was gone? It couldn't have been too obvious, but then I was a little preoccupied with keeping Saria from stabbing him again. When those two get back, they aren't getting away until I get an answer from them.’ An idea suddenly came to mind that brought an impish grin to her face. ‘As a matter of fact, I won't let them get away until they answer my questions.’

Seeing Rhyn's grin, Saria was instantly wary. "What?"

"Do you want to help me with something?" Rhyn asked, her plan instantly unfolding in her head.

"Dare I ask what you need help with?"

Cocking her head to the side, Rhyn paused. "I just need to ask Talyn and Corbin a few questions, and I want to make sure that they don't try to get away in an attempt to avoid answering them." Saria wasn't too keen on whatever idea Rhyn had in mind, and Rhyn could read it on her face. "Oh, it's nothing too terrible. It'll be fun and as soon as they tell me what I want to know, we'll let them go."

Rhyn smiled sweetly at Saria until she sighed and agreed to help her. "Perfect." Rhyn said excitedly. "Now, we'll need to set it up along that path. They'll be coming back that way soon, so we need to work fast."


Rhyn's excitement was contagious, and Saria was soon almost as excited as Rhyn. "Alright, just tell me what to do." The two then worked quickly, then laid in wait until they heard Talyn and Corbin coming up the path.
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When Talyn and Corbin reached the river, Corbin eyed the younger man. "Are all assassins this scrawny, or are you just the runt of the family?"

"It's not a good idea for assassins to be large, it makes us more clumsy, and it's harder to fit into the smaller places when we need to disappear quickly." Talyn shot back instantly. "Actually, the leaner we are, the better. But that doesn't mean we can't overpower someone larger than us."

"Right, I'd like to see you try."

Talyn just smirked, and then quickly got back into the river. The cold water felt good on their wounds as they both let the water's gentle currents work out the knots from the past few days.

"So Talyn, how long have you and Rhyn been together?" Corbin asked.

"We've been partners ever since she came to my village. I was the one who invited her to come and live with us, so I was the one that got to teach her and help keep her out of trouble."

"So you two are really close then?" Corbin asked with a small smile on his face.

"Not in the way you're hinting at, but yeah, I guess that you could say that." Talyn fought back the heat that was threatening to fill his face.

Corbin laughed out loud. "Just keep telling yourself that, kid."

‘Corbin doesn't know what he's talking about. We've always been together, and that's how it will always be unless something happens to one of us. But as long as I'm here, I'll do my best to take care of her.’ Deciding it best to change the subject, Talyn asked, "Hey, how much longer until that stew of yours is ready? The thought of a warm meal getting burned just about kills me."

"I almost forgot." Corbin quickly walked out of the river and dried off before getting dressed. Talyn was only a few steps behind him.

The two made their way back to the clearing in quick, soft steps. They were just feet outside of the clearing when Talyn noticed the sun glint oddly off of something near the ground. He stepped closer to see what it was. His eyes grew wide as he recognized the wire knotted loosely, ready to release at the slightest movement.

"Corb…" Talyn started to cry out, but it came too late. He watched in horror as the wire released, and the two of them were both pulled into the air by their ankles, which was quickly followed by the sounds of two girls laughing and coming closer.

"It worked Rhyn," Saria said as the two stepped out from behind two trees a few feet away. "It really worked."

"Of course it did." Rhyn said with a devilish glint in her eyes. "Now," Rhyn turned to look both men in the eyes. "I have a few questions for the two of you, and you're not getting down until you answer them truthfully. Saria is supporting this, Corbin, so don't either of you think of cutting yourselves down." The glares that were sent her way confirmed that they were planning just that.

"What do you want to know?" Talyn asked as he removed his hand from one of his daggers.

"Why didn't Victor heal when the silver bindings were removed?" Rhyn looked meaningfully at Talyn, knowing that he would tell her what he knew.

Talyn looked away, not wanting to tell her what Corbin had done. He felt guilty that he hadn't done anything to stop him, but there was little to nothing he could do at the time. He glanced at Corbin who didn't even look the least bit repentant.

"Talyn?" Rhyn asked again.

He didn't meet her gaze, which stung Rhyn in her chest the longer he continued to avoid her gaze. "Corbin placed something in him while you were gone." Corbin quickly glared at Talyn for ratting on him. "From what little I saw of it, it looked like a small silver disk."

"Thanks for watching my back, Talyn." Corbin growled.

Rhyn's eyes were furious. ‘What is his problem? Victor rescued Saria from the emperor, saved him from the soldiers, and even after Corbin tortured him, he still agreed to help him find Saria. Now she's here, and look what he still continues to do! You are in so much trouble! Stupid, stupid man!’

Rhyn reached up and cut the wire holding Talyn above the ground. He dropped gracefully, flipping over so he landed crouched on the ground. "I'm sorry Rhyn." He muttered as he came to his feet.

"I'm just glad that you told me." She then walked calmly over to where Corbin was still hanging. She cut through his wire too, and waited patiently for him to get to his feet before she connected her right fist with the left side of his face. "How could you?" she demanded, while Corbin was too stunned to move. She drew back her left fist, aimed for his abdomen, and felt her fist connect with his ribs before Corbin regained his senses enough to grab her wrists so she couldn't hit him anymore.

"I can't strike a woman, so I'm asking you to stop this now." Corbin said in a dangerously soft voice. Rhyn tried to twist out of his grip, but his hold only got tighter.

"Release my wrists." She said in a voice equally smooth and foreboding.

"As soon as you promise not to hit me again."

"Release me now, or you'll wish you had." If looks could kill, Corbin's spirit would have been writhing in pain, his body non-existent.

"You know my condition." Corbin replied, ignoring her glare.

"Corbin," Talyn called out to him from the far side of the path. He had rarely seen Rhyn this upset, and knew that it was not going to end well for him. "I'd listen to her if I were you." Corbin spared a look at Talyn, but didn't heed his warning.

Rhyn just cocked her head to the side, with a look that said 'too bad', drew her leg back, and kicked forward, hard, taking advantage of every man's weakness. A gasp came out of Corbin as he doubled over and fell to the ground gasping for breath. Rhyn forced herself to walk away then. "Humph, serves you right, you jerk." A groan from the ground was all the response Corbin could muster. Rhyn then turned her back on the others and walked back into the clearing. Talyn quickly followed her, hoping to calm her down.

Saria just looked after her stunned. She shook her head and moved over to Corbin, who was still on the ground, but was now beginning to breathe normally. "Corbin," She knelt down beside him. He raised his head to look at her, but dropped in to the ground again, he still hurt. "Here, let's get you back into the clearing."

Corbin groaned at the thought of moving, but nodded his head. He did have to finish dinner after all. ‘Not that I feel like making anything for those two at the moment,’ he grumbled to himself. Corbin nodded his head, and struggled to a sitting position. Saria hugged him from behind and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before pulling one of his arms around her shoulders and helping him to his feet.

Corbin sent a cold glare at the two assassins as they passed them. Saria helped Corbin over to the fire where their meal was cooking. She helped him sit down near enough the fire that he didn't have to move too much to add the finishing touches to the stew. The two sat and talked quietly until it was finished. Corbin had half a mind not to tell the other two that the meal was ready, but he was in no hurry to have a repeat of what had just happened. "Would you tell the others that the stew is ready?" Corbin asked Saria. The thought of moving too much still made him wince.

"Of course." Saria kissed him again softly before she stood and walked over to Talyn and Rhyn. Talyn had his arm around Rhyn's shoulders, talking softly to her. At the sound of her approach, they both drew apart and turned to look at her. "Corbin says that the stew is ready."

"Alright," Talyn answered, "We'll be there in a moment." He got to his feet and Rhyn quickly followed. Saria nodded and walked swiftly back to Corbin.

"Rhyn, you may be a bad liar, but remind me never to get on your bad side." Talyn said as they walked over to the fire. Rhyna just smiled and gave him a gentle push. The two started laughing as they walked over to the fire.

The two sat on the opposite side of the fire and Saria handed them each of bowl of hot stew. There was an uncomfortable silence which was only broken by the sounds of them eating.

Saria sat her bowl down with a sigh of frustration. "Alright you three, I've had just about enough of this." She looked at each of them in turn. "What's happened has happened, and you all need to let it go. Besides," She looked around the group again. "If we want to make it back to the city before dark, we need to leave as soon as possible."

"What city?" Talyn asked, excitement lighting up his face.

"The one that's only a few miles that way." Saria replied, gesturing in the general direction behind them.

"We should get going then." Corbin said as he got to his feet. "Anyone else want anymore food?" They all shook their heads, and Corbin dumped what little remained in a small hole in the ground. He then scrubbed the pot clean and packed it away again.

When they were all packed, Saria took the lead, who was followed closely behind by Corbin. Rhyna was next in line, and Talyn brought up the rear.

Seeing the terrain they had to cover, Talyn walked closely by Rhyn so she would have something to grab onto when her lack of balance decided to assert itself. Sure enough, only a few steps onto the path, and Talyn had to reach out and catch her when an errant tree root had tried to knock her over. He couldn't help but laugh; Rhyn glared at him, but couldn't keep the grin off her face.

The rest of their journey was much the same, and it only took them another hour or two before they came to the gates of the city. Saria paused as they stepped out of the trees to make sure that the gates were clear. She was in no hurry to be caught and sent back to the emperor. The others stepped out, and sounds of relief came from all around her. They were all very happy to finally be out of that maze of a forest.

Seeing that the gate was clear, they all walked up and through the gate. The guards eyed them, but paid them little mind. The sun was close to setting, so they decided to look for an inn to stay in for the night. They looked through a few of the closer inns to the city wall, but there were mostly soldiers of the emperor in those, so they steered clear of those, thinking best not to press their luck. They finally found one that was nearby the market street that was relatively free of soldiers or those that knowingly worked for the emperor.

Corbin paid for two rooms and four meals while Talyn and the others sat down at a free table. They were all grateful when the smells of their meal reached them, and each quickly devoured their meal. Saria and Rhyn finished first, and excused themselves. Talyn and Corbin lingered a little longer before they too went up to their own room and fell asleep almost as soon as their heads hit their pillows.