Path Of The Broken

11. Ryan's Injury-1

11

Ryan's Injury

Ryan allowed the wadded-up cloth clenched in his teeth to fall out, cursing himself for a fool once more. As it turned out, he wasn’t a great thief, no matter how much he tried. Not that he could see any other way out of what his life had become now. He hadn’t thought his life could get worse until that fool Tyron tried to rob the man in the alley and paid for it with his life. After that moment Ryan’s life had unaccountably spiralled out of control. He’d found himself living in an abandoned warehouse with the local thieves' guild. They’d taken him in and promised to teach him. Turns out so far he’d been a terrible pupil.

He watched as Ken heated the sewing needle in the fire, not ashamed of the tears that dried on his face from the fire. Ken nodded at Jyian, who picked up the wadded cloth and stuffed it back into Ryan’s mouth. Ken threaded the fishing twine back through the eye of the needle and then, using clamps to pull his flesh together, shoved the needle through his skin, pulling the twine through to knit the jagged flesh together.

Ryan’s hands clenched on the rails that ran around the edge of the shed, his knuckles going white, and screamed as Ken shoved the needle through his flesh once more. None of them paid him any heed. Jyian and Elsie helped to restrain him while Ken shoved the needle through his flesh over and over again, closing up the hole he’d made in his side.

It had been his own fault; his knife had been out, clenched in his hand, when he’d slipped on the roof of the merchant’s they’d intended to break into. His knife had ended up lodged in his side as he’d fallen from the roof onto the cobblestone courtyard below. To their credit, Jyian and Elsie had come after him, helping him back to their base rather than leaving him for the occupant to find.

Feeling like the world was dropping out from beneath him, Ryan looked up in alarm and saw the glowing cloaked man appear. He hadn’t seen his face that night in the alley when Tyron was killed, but he was certain it was the same man. Seeing him draw his blade and surge forward in a blur of speed, Ryan spat the bloody rag from his mouth to cry out a warning, pushing Ken out of the way. He screamed as the twine jerked at his skin, but was rewarded by the sight of the three desperately backing away from the stranger.

“No! Don’t kill them, please, I’ll give you anything you want.” Ryan held up his hand desperately towards the cloaked figure, who stopped and swung his head back to him.