The Death Bridge

"Wait…please…", Riggar begged.

Raven looked at him coldly. "Now why would I do that?", she asked, her voice cold and firm. "You did not wait! Why should I?", she said, her voice echoing in the cold air.

Riggar started to panic, seeing the unforgiving, dark brown eyes staring right at him.

The white-haired man stood up from where he had been lying. He stumbled and looked around him. He saw men lying on the snow, some were dead and some were just lying where they fell, dazed. He lifted his eyes towards the light and saw Raven standing with her one hand extended and the other holding an arrow. He had heard her words. He slowly walked closer and suddenly a mountain rose in front of him. The big man let out a grunt as he stood up, his legs unsteady.

"What in the warld just happened?", he asked when he saw the white-haired man.

The white-haired man pointed behind the big man.

"She's going to kill your friend", he said.

"What!?", the big man asked and swirled around. " 'at greasy, sneaky son of a motherless goat is nae my friend", the big man said as he let out a low growl.

"Please, I….I-I have information…c-c-concerning the scholar….a-and…a-and Brongr…please…", Riggar begged.

"Who is Brongr?", Raven asked.

"That'll be me lass ", she heard a voice say.

She turned her head and saw the big man and the white-haired man approaching. Her eyes met the big man's emerald green ones. She saw him direct his gaze towards Riggar.

"Then let's hear what information ye could provide us with", he said as he stopped walking.

"I-I…Let me go and I'll tell you…", Riggar bargained.

Raven gave a step forward and Riggar winced in pain.

"Well, since you've got nothing to say, I think I'll kill you now", she said.

"Alright! Alright!...I-I...Brongr…If you could make this woman spare me…there's a c.h.e.s.t...lots of gold…its all the money I stashed away over the years…I….I'll tell you where it's hidden…just get this woman away from me…", Riggar pleaded.

The big man looked at Riggar and then at Raven.

"Well, I don't thenk he's got anythin' for me", he said and turned his head towards the white-haired man. "I wonder what he'll offer ye", he said.

Riggar heard the big man's words and gulped. "Well, I-I know where you're bag with all the scrolls are that you had with you the night we captured you", he quickly said to the white-haired man.

The white-haired man jerked his head up.

"Where are they? My scrolls? Tell me!", he said as he took a step towards Riggar.

"Let me go first", Riggar demanded through gritted teeth. He felt as if his body is being crushed by the unseen force that held him up against the tree. He tasted the faint metallic taste of blood in his mouth.

"Let him go", the white-haired man said to Raven as he stepped closer to her.

"No. He dies. Whether he gives you information or not. He's got nothing that I want but his life", Raven answered coldly.

The big man looked at Raven, then at the white-haired man and then back at Raven.

"Lass, maybe you shouldn't kill him just yet. Let this lad have his scrolls…they seem to be important…", he said to Raven.

The white-haired man gave a few more steps closer and was standing right beside Raven."Let him go…I need to know where my scrolls are", he said in a low voice.

"I said I'm not letting him go", she bawled, swinging the arrow in her hand at the white-haired man.

The arrowhead severed a few strands of white hair. The big man stood stunned, watching the hair fall.

"Oh, you shouldn't have done that lass", he said, his eyes big.

Raven glanced at the white-haired man and saw anger flash across his face. She ignored him and clutched the arrow tightly in her fist, her eyes fixed on the man in front of her that was struggling to get free from her grip. The white-haired man felt anger rise in his mind and he reached out to grab Raven's outstretched hand.

"Let him go!", he bawled, but before he could touch her, he found himself in the air, and felt a strange force crushing the bones in his neck one by one.

The big man gave a few steps back when he saw the cold anger on Raven's face. He wanted to make her stop, but he didn't know how and felt powerless.

A bit further away from the group, one of Riggar's men had finally composed himself and stood up. Seeing Riggar pressed against the tree, he started looking for his bow.

"Get up you idiots!", he said as he passed the men that were lying on the snow.

One by one they got up, gathering their weapons. From his position in the air, Riggar noticed his men gathering their weapons. He glanced down and saw the utter fury on Raven's face as she was choking the white-haired man. Her face was turned to the side and Riggar realised she could spot his men at any moment.

"You know…I should've let them kill you first…", he said, trying to get Raven's attention.

Raven turned her head back towards Riggar.

"Yes, maybe you should've killed me instea- ah!"

Raven's sentence was cut short when she gasped sharply at the sudden pain in her side. She dropped both the white-haired man and Riggar. She looked down and saw an arrowhead sticking out of her side. Touching her side with her free hand, she dropped down on one knee, looking at the blood streaming through her closed fingers.

"You'd better pray to die from…that…than from what I'm going to…do…to you…", Riggar uttered through gritted teeth as he stood up.

He walked closer and with his hand around Raven's throat, pulled up to her feet. But he made his last mistake.

Before he could realise it, Raven had stabbed him in the c.h.e.s.t with the arrow that she had in her hand. His grip around her throat weakened and he tasted blood in his mouth. She twisted the arrow, pushing it deeper into his flesh. Blood streamed from his mouth as a shocked expression appeared on his face. He saw the cold, brown eyes in front of him start to glow. They became two pools of pure gold as they stared into his own eyes. He felt his life draining away.

Pure light surrounded Raven, getting brighter with each second passing. The white-haired man held his hand in front of his eyes and struggled to get up. The big man squinted as he retreated step by step. Riggar's men felt uneasy at the bright light and wanted to flee but stood frozen, their eyes wide.

But then a sudden wave of pure golden light send them all flying once more. Raven felt her strength leave her body along with the light. Everything became dark and blurred around her.

"Raven…Raven…oh, Raven…come to us…Raven…come…Raven…", she heard faint whispers, calling out to her, saying her name over and over.

She felt the world around her spinning faster and faster.

She saw a faint big figure far away from her, stumbling around. Every sound became muffled and the only clear sound she heard was the whispers, calling out to her, chanting her name over and over.

And then she felt the cold darkness consume her as her vision turned black…