The Heroes of Armagh

3: Levi’s story

Levi was breathing heavily but there were nowhere to hide. He had to keep running down the forest road.

He hadn't expected the hounds. He couldn't just hide from them, they would be able to sniff him out. That's why he had to run and he hated running.

The dogs barks rang through the forest and he could hear the footfall of the horses, he knew his persecutors wasn't far away. If he didn't find somewhere to hide soon they would catch up to him and what would happen then. He didn't like thinking about.

But he knew he was taking chances, even with his abilities there was always a possibility of getting caught. That was the life of a thief, he had accepted that a long time ago.

Then Levi spotted a very dense bush, which had a fallen tree in front of it and when he could hear his persecutors closing in, he knew that this was his best bet. He just had to hope the hounds didn't catch his scent.

He slid under the bush, pushing himself flat to the ground. The he blended into the surroundings quite literally. It would not be possible to see him now unless you knew he was there or if you literally stood on top of him.

He could hear the hounds, they were nearly on top of him now and he tried to relax. He was breathing slowly and even, not to give himself away. The ground was cold and damp and there was a rock pressing into his hip, but he didn't dare move.

"Remember he can make himself invisible, so you will probably not be able to see him. Watch the dogs closely, they can smell him". The commander looked around at the other men whom all nodded.

Levi had hoped they didn't know. It would have been a lot easier to hide if they had been unaware of his abilities. Now his only hope was for the hounds not to sniff him out.

Unluckily for him, one of the hounds stopped right in front of him and started growling and the commander yelled. "Check that bush, I think that hound has sniffed out a thief".

For a moment he regretted sneaking into the castle to steal the famous diamond or actually he only regretted being to sure of himself and getting himself seen.

When the soldiers bent down and lifted the bush, he knew they would be able to see him. So he made himself visible and sent them a surprised smile. "Well hello again, funny running into you guys here".

They grabbed his arms and yanked him up on his feet. One of them rummaged through his pockets, easily finding the diamond.

He got his hands latched together and they tied him with a long rope to the back of a saddle. Then they got on the horses and started riding back towards the castle.

Levi stumbled several times and he had a hard time keeping up with the horses sharp trot. His lungs were screaming for air and his legs were getting numb, but the idea of getting dragged after the horse if he fell gave him extra energi.

When they reached the castle, they untied him from the horse and dragged him down into the dungeon, throwing him into a dark cell. The room was empty except for some mouldy straw in a corner and the stone walls were slick with moisture.

He rubbed his wrists, they were red and raw where the robe had been.he was contemplating what to do now. If he didn't get out of there, he would probably get hanged for the theft.

He checked the dank walls for loose stones. You never knew if some prior occupant had been making an escape tunnel or if one loose stone could lead to more, but all he found was a dead rat in the straw.

As he sat down, his back against the wall, he sighed in defeat. There didn't seem to be any way out, so all he could do now was wait and see what would happen to him.

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Levi no longer knew how many days had passed in the small windowless cell. It was impossible to distinguish day from night. The only break in the dark loneliness was when the small hatch in the bottom of the door was opened and someone pushed in a bowl of watery soup, some stale bread and a mug of dirty water.

When the door was suddenly flung open he got a shock. Two men stepped in silently and grabbed him, pulling him with them from the cell. Even the dim light of the dungeon hurt his eyes after the long time in almost total darkness.

Levi wondered if this was it. Was he going to die ? Would they drag him into the courtyard and hang him ? But when they opened a door and pulled him through. It didn't lead outside, but into something resembling a smithy.

The sweat sprang from his forehead and it didn't get better when they dragged him to a open fireplace, and he felt a pang of panic. Were they going to burn him alive ?

"Hold him completely still". A big red bearded man in a leather apron, probably the resident blacksmith, came out from behind an oven and walked over sweating profoundly.

Suddenly Levi realised what was going to happen. They would brand him as a thief. He felt the fear roll over him and suddenly he felt cold in the hot room, the small hairs on his neck standing on ends.

He tried to get free, but the two men was really big and strong and he was in kind of exhausted and in bad shape after his time in the cell.

The smithy came over and ripped the right sleeve of his shirt, exposing his bare arm. He moved something around in the fireplace and said. "Flip his arm".

The soldier holding his right arm turned it so the backside was up, holding him steady.

When the smithy walked over with the branding iron, Levi turned his face away and closed his eyes. His whole body was shaking slightly with fear for the burning hot iron, it felt like his skin was shying away from the heat.

The pain was actually only really bad the moment the iron touched him, but the sound of his flesh bubbling up and the smell of the burning flesh, kind of like crackling pork, made his stomach churn and suddenly he was happy that he hadn't eaten much.

Halfway unconscious from the fear and the pain, he was dragged back to the cell by the soldiers. They threw him on the floor and left him, now forever marked by the six-pointed star of the thief on his wrist.