The sneer melted away however, replaced with what Owen could only describe as abject terror. He risked a glance behind him, expecting Maria to be in the doorway surrounded by flames or something equally hideous. But it was only him standing there that the man seemed so afraid of. Owen stood taller and held out his hand, hoping beyond hope one of his accidental spells flew out, the nastier the better. Nothing happened but still the man shook his head as if he’d seen a ghost and cowered back a step.
“No, no, no,” he pleaded as if Owen had the gun. “Not you, not you again.”
In that split second his gun faltered and Ariana lunged under it, grabbing onto his waist and knocking him to the ground.
“Bloody hell, yes, that’s my Riri,” he hollered. No longer scared and trembling, but a ferocious warrior.
The words had barely left his mouth when the big farmer lout smashed his fist into his face, knocking him backwards. The farmhand swirled around almost gracefully on his tree trunk legs and snatched up Ariana by her hair, pulling her off the bald man. She managed to kick out and send the gun skittering across the floor, landing near a pile of soggy bread.
From his position on the floor, Owen saw Maria drag herself into the doorway. She clung to the frame and nodded at him. She was too weak to talk but he didn’t need her to say the words. She’d removed the wards. The bald man knew it, too. He screamed as he tried to crawl away.
“Please no, please no. It was all a mistake. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” He didn’t seem to care at all about the gun anymore, just tried to get away as he sobbed and begged.
Owen reached around for Maria, to pull her into the house and finish this. She shoved him and collapsed to the ground, rolling away outside. Ariana gasped and lunged to help her, but the farmhand grabbed her by the back of her gown and tossed her into the wall like a ragdoll.
“What’s the matter with you?” the farmhand asked the bald man. “Get up and fight. Can’t you feel the wards are gone?” He sent a weak jolt of something at Owen.
It wasn’t much, a tiny sizzle as if he’d been brushed with something hot. But seeing Ariana crash into the wall, not knowing if Maria was beyond repair outside the door, seeing that wicked, hateful bald man continue to blubber and scrabble away like a rat, made Owen’s mind go blank.
He felt nothing for a moment. It was as if he floated on the lake at his house, not a care in the world. The room seemed to shift, causing him to roll onto his side where he lay. He heard a scream. Not the bald man this time. Ariana.
He shook himself and sat up. Both the bald man and his mountainous lackey lay motionless on the floor. Ariana pulled herself to her knees and looked around. The men stayed still.
“What did you do?” she asked, stunned.
“I don’t know,” he answered honestly. He still had that calm, floating feeling. “Did you see anything?”
She shook her head and crawled over to the farmhand. “You made some sounds. There was a cracking noise, like a tree about to fall over. Then… I don’t know.” She prodded the big oaf and then hurried over to the bald man. “They’re dead.” She looked as blank as he felt.
“Good,” he said. In his heart, he knew they needed to be. Especially the one.
She scooted over to sit beside him on the floor, took his hand, and started to cry.
***
Owen pulled her close and patted her back. He felt himself slowly coming back to reality. The strange calming feeling drifted away like the clouds he might have been looking at if he really had been floating on his lake back home. He forced himself to look at the men lying on the other side of the room. Men he’d killed, though he didn’t know how. No horror or revulsion overtook him. Just a deep sense that what he’d done was right, as deep as the hatred he’d felt when he first clapped eyes on the bald man.
“Did he act like he knew me?” he asked Ariana. She was winding down to a few sniffles every few seconds, no more wracking sobs.
She gulped and nodded, looking up at him curiously. “Yes. Not only like he knew you but he was scared to death of you.”
“Maybe he could see the future as well as travel to it,” Owen said a little too smugly. She elbowed him and he defended himself against her unspoken recrimination. “They were going to kill you.”
“But they didn’t.” Her voice quavered and she sniffed.
“Because I stopped them!” He meant to say more but pressed his lips shut. He didn’t want to have a silly argument over something so serious. “You’re right. I’m not proud. I’m sorry.”
“Oh, Owen, you don’t have to be sorry.” She started to cry again in earnest, staring at the two bodies. “I’m sorry for being so…” she trailed off and he laughed mirthlessly. Everything had changed but they were still acting the same. Right or wrong, it was comforting.
He turned her away from the two men, toward the open door. They both seemed to remember Maria at the same time.
“God, Maria,” Ariana squeaked. He jumped to his feet and hurled himself out the door.
She lay curled up under an overgrown shrub, fast asleep and snoring softly.
“I’ve never once seen her sleep since she met me at the village,” he said, moving a clump of tangled hair off her cheek. “She exhausted herself finding you and getting us here, and then getting rid of that blackguard’s wards.”
“How did she find me? How did you get here?”
They both looked around but saw
