by AJ Adams
“They’ll take a boat and sail round,” Mina assured her.
“But mine may not have enough money!” Definitely Tawny. “We’re not Guild like you!”
“With all the fighting recently, my family lost a lot of money,” Lizbeth worried. “Yours too, Mina!”
I tried to bang on the sides of the cart to get their attention, but the noise was either muffled or they were deaf.
“The people at Haven will help,” Mina sounded awfully certain of herself. “They’ll earn a fee for mediating, so it won’t matter if our families are late. We’re Guild, Lizbeth, so we have credit. And Tawny, you’re a Citizen, so your family can borrow the money.”
“They’ll have to sell land, or next year’s harvest,” Tawny was panicking. “But prices are terrible at the moment. What if they can’t?”
“Maybe we should have fought.” Lizbeth was having second thoughts too. “Like Wynne said.”
“Nonsense!” Mina was snappy, unused to having her pronouncements questioned. “Who’d listen to that slut?”
“Nobody will want to pay for her,” Lizbeth said thoughtfully.
“She’ll stay with the Beasts, which is exactly what she deserves!” Mina snapped.
“Right, absolutely!” Tawny crawled.
“Well, she got one thing right.” Lizbeth was unrepentant. “I’m going to talk to Turid. He at least will be give me something to eat, and he won’t pass me over if I ask him not to.”
“I’m going to ask Brant,” Tawny said quickly.
They went off and I was alone again. I was trying to stay strong, but between you and me, I was getting very, very scared. Rune was going to make sure I didn’t escape. He’d beaten me at every turn, outwitting me easily, and he was totally focused on getting the Beasts the slaves they wanted. There was no way he’d risk me mucking that up. In fact, he’d probably leave me in this cart until we got to wherever the Beasts lived.
I was aching from having walked all day, still covered in dried blood that got the flies excited, and now I was looking at weeks of being tied up and bounced about in a cart. I was already thirsty, and the gag was making me drool. I wasn’t sure if I’d make it. So you see why I was afraid.
I didn’t cry, although I was tempted, and after a while I was glad of it because the doors opened. Rune, snakes writhing everywhere, had found time to bathe. He climbed in and hunkered next to me.
“There’s food,” he said quietly. “And a pool where you can wash.”
I was staring at him, wondering if he was being nasty by telling me what I was missing or making an offer.
“You keep quiet,” Rune continued. “No fighting, no yelling and no talking to the girls.”
Shut up or stay locked up. It was a proposal. I nodded. I’d be super good, and I’d tell one of the girls in the morning what the Beasts were planning. All I had to do was go for a wee when Rune was busy. He was always running around, so tomorrow would be no different.
I swear he knew what I was thinking! “No trouble,” he repeated. “There are plenty of people who think you need slapping down, so don’t push your luck.”
I tried to look meek.
Rune was thinking again. “Listen, Wynne. With us, cheating is punished. A promise is binding.”
The breath caught in my throat, and I was back in the square, being tied to the whipping post. Rune knew, I’m sure he did, because he nodded. “Quite. Don’t invite trouble, Wynne. You’ve had enough of that.”
For a moment I weakened. I really was exhausted. My body was aching, too, and the flies were buzzing.
“Come on,” he was rolling me on my side and loosening the gag. “There’s good stew, and we found some chestnuts.”
I had other priorities. “You mentioned the river?”
There was a deep pool, just fifty paces upstream, and it was beautiful. The water was clear and freezing cold. I stood in it, my sore, bleeding feet instantly going deliciously numb. Rune sat on the grass, watching me as I splashed about. I didn’t care. He’d seen it all before, so I was immune from the blue gaze. I didn’t care either that the rest of me was freezing, because I was getting clean. It was wonderful. I washed the gore off me, floated out, and fell flat on my face.
“You overdid the walk.” Rune was picking me up. “Your feet are bleeding.”
“I’m good.” Except my feet and legs were throbbing. I wanted to whine about the burning ache, but I didn’t want him to know. So I buried my face in his neck, mumbling, “I like being carried, that’s all.”
Rune was magic. He had basil ointment and bandages all set out by his bedroll.
“Keep off your feet for five days, and you’ll be fine,” he was binding them up, his big hands surprisingly gentle. “No kicking, either.”
“I only kick people I don’t like.”
“Then stay away from Siv.” He produced a draught. “This will help keep infection away.”
It was herbal, bitter and after taking it, the rest was a blur. I have a vague memory of him putting my rags out to dry, of food, and of being rolled in a blanket. This time we were camping near a fire, its flames dispelling the cold air.
“It’s a mistake, letting her out.” The voice drifted over me.
“She needed to clean up.”
“You should’ve drowned her.”
“Shut up, Siv.” It was said without heat. “Go find that girl you like.”
“We’re not passing over, remember? Your brilliant plan.”
“There’s always arm wrestling.”
I drifted a while, and then the blanket shifted. It was pitch dark and the fire had burned down. There were a million stars in the sky. All around us, Beasts were sleeping.
Rune wrapped himself around me, his body hard and warm against mine. I knew what was on his mind, because his cock was solid, too. I couldn’t see his hands, but I thought I heard the chink of chains.
“Don’t mess with the meat.” It just came out but it got his attention. “I’m fragile. If you tie me up, I’m going to break bones.”
“Serves you right.” He spoke calmly but he wasn’t trying to chain me. “I told you to stay in the cart. If you’d kept your promise, you wouldn’t have had to walk.”
And Tawny would be alone in the forest, dead maybe. Or eaten by bears. “Is Tawny okay?”
His hand was running over my breasts, warm and callused. “She’s alive. And unlike you, she’s staying quietly in the cart.”
At that point I should’ve made my pitch again, to get him to let me go to Haven, but I was distracted by the warm, sweeping hands caressing me. His lips were on my neck, his fingers teasing my nipples. It was weird, but I realised I wasn’t afraid, not at all, because I knew he wouldn’t hurt me.
“Say you’re mine,” he murmured.
“Won’t!”
At that, he laughed. “You will, Ylva.”
“Don’t bet on it.” But the words were without anger because he was nipping at my neck, a touch I was beginning to love because it sent delicious shivers running through me.
I let him get on with it and drifted. His hands were all over me, gentle on my skin. Soon the heat was rushing through me, the familiar throbbing starting up. The ache in the rest of me receded. I shifted a little closer, arching into him.
“Just lie quietly, Wynne.”
“You’re always saying that.” But actually, I wanted to be quiet. It was nice, being stroked so sweetly, being warm and getting comfier. So the protest was a token one.
Rune was moving my knees apart, sliding his hardness over my warming centre, his cock performing its magic again. I was curling into him, making it easier for him to rub that massive erection between my legs. His breath was in my ear, feeding the ripples of delight.
He took my hand, moving it to rest against his shaft. “Stroke it,” he was moving my fingers over his cock, “like this.”
Ullr’s balls in a basket, what a kick! As I touched him with just a fingertip, his breath quickened and his body flexed against mine
. I felt the soft tip, exploring down to the firm rim, and he was moaning in my ear and gripping me tightly. It was the biggest power rush ever.
I teased, running my nails ever so lightly over the swollen flesh, and then feeling the softness of his balls.
“Gah.” Rune bit my shoulder, his teeth nipping at my skin. “Ah!”
He was enjoying himself. I was, too. I tantalised him, rubbing and stroking, totally absorbed in his gasps and moans. His flexing and groaning was powering my own lust. I was soaking wet, thinking of the deliciousness to come.
“Fuck me, Rune.”
I thought I’d said it in my head, but the whisper jolted him into action. His hand came over mine, guiding his hardness into me. As he slid in deep, piercing me sweetly, my body began to shake. All those shivers built up, washing through me in pulsing waves. I was trembling so much that I had to hold on to his arms, flexing hard against him, my legs spasming and quivering as that hot thick cock began thrusting.
He nipped my neck, his hot lips against my skin, inked snakes writhing in front of my eyes as he held me tightly. His hands were on my breasts tweaking the taut tips, sliding down over my belly into the creamy sea. Then I was lost, gasping and shuddering as I shattered into pieces. I was bouncing on his cock, impaling myself, riding wave after wave of shimmering orgasm.
“Mine!” He was growling in my ear. “My Ylva!”
He was crushing me, his arms around my chest, hips and loins thundering against me, as he pounded into me. I heard myself moan as his cock quivered, swelled and then exploded, warm moisture pouring into me as he came in shuddering waves. It felt like heaven, setting me off again.
We were keening in harmony, throbbing against each other, skin against skin, hands clutching, my arse pounding into his loins. We moved as one, sinking into each other, sucking in air as we shuddered to a quivering halt.
The world shifted back, the sounds of the camp revving up again. There was laughter, some cat-calling, and I didn’t care. I held on to Rune, waiting for the world to stop rippling. All those emotions were washing through me again; I held on to his wrists, folding his arms around me, burrowing in his warmth.
About a million years later, I realised I was losing focus. “Look, don’t make us into slaves. It’s a miserable business.”
He was yawning. “Your people have them.”
“Which is why I know how fucking miserable it is!”
“You swear a lot. The others don’t.”
“I’m not a nice girl.”
His hands were running over my body in a friendly way. “I can see that. So you were a thrall? You don’t have a brand or marks from a collar.”
“No, but my mother was a slave, and I was, too.”
“You ran away?”
“Caern got into a war with Llanfaes. Mum got killed.” It still hurt. I blinked back tears. “I got away, and made my way to my mother’s family in the Vale.”
“But you didn’t fit in.” His fingers were on my shoulders, rubbing my scars. “Is that why they beat you?”
My bowels clenched, but I tried to sound hard. Pride, you know? “No, they whipped me for being a whore.”
He paused, the silence stretching as he thought. “They’re fools,” he said eventually. “Anyone could see you were untouched.”
So he’d noticed I’d been a virgin. “Not anymore.”
“Hmmm.” Rune was half sitting up, pulling the blanket over us.
“Look, the Citizens will want everyone back, okay?”
Rune was yawning. “Tomorrow, Wynne. Sleep now.”
“But—” I suddenly felt shackles on my feet. “No, Rune! No!”
“I need to sleep. I can’t stay awake and watch you.” He was sitting up, and for the first time I saw him up close in fairly good light. He had a massive bruise across his belly, and a cut was oozing on his lower arm. I remembered him going down under a bear.
“You’re hurt!”
He smiled. “You’ve got bruises on your throat and a cut on your neck.”
I was touching myself, feeling the sore spots I’d not noticed before.
“Lie down, Wynne, and sleep.”
“But—” I was yawning, but I wanted to put my case again.
“Shut up.” Definitely pissed off, but the arm around me was okay, and he wasn’t adding to the ankle shackles. “Sleep, Ylva.”
Me, I slept.
Chapter Nine
I didn’t get to warn the girls. I woke up at dawn to find Rune standing over me, looking uptight, my clothes in his hand. “Get dressed.”
As I scrambled into them, I spotted Brant standing over a heap of stones. I recognised it was a grave. They must have had a funeral, just like civilised people, while I was asleep.
“I’m sorry about your friend.”
Rune wasn’t warming up at all. “You travel with the injured. Try anything, and I’ll let Siv deal with you.”
He meant it; I could tell. Rune was pissed off. He was staring at the girls. “If they hadn’t cheated, if they hadn’t burnt our ship, Karl would be alive.”
He was right, so I kept quiet. I saw all the Beasts were looking angry, but they weren’t taking it out on the girls, which was a relief.
Rune let me go for a wee, but then it was uncompromising lockup, me right in the back of the cart filled with wounded Beasts.
The day before I’d been out of it, but now I was scared witless that they’d want to play with me. I saw their eyes, mentally stripping me, and I got the shakes. There was some laughing, and a definite air of anticipation, but then Rune growled, “That one’s mine. She’s not for sharing.”
It seemed to work because everyone shrugged and then ignored me. Even so, I had the awful feeling that if I made a fuss, they’d forget, go wild and then I’d be in real trouble. So I sat at the back, quietly, in a corner, determined to make them forget I was even there. A few minutes later the doors shut, and we were off.
And that’s how it was for thirty long days. I know exactly, because I kept careful count, making a small scratch on the cart wall every morning. While it was light, we’d travel in silence, the wounded Beasts sleeping and me being careful not to attract their attention.
At dusk I’d be left locked up while the camp was set up and the Beasts divided the girls among themselves. From what I could see, they had stopped passing over. Each Beast picked a girl, and he’d keep her for the night.
After pulling straws, they’d all run around, cooking supper and cleaning up. The girls did most of the work, the Beasts helping here and there. After supper was passed around, Beasts sharing with Citizens, Rune would collect me. I’d eat and sleep with him, and then it was back in the cart.
At night I clung to Rune, begging him to turn back, to let me go. His answer was uniform. “Quiet now, Wynne. Accept it.” But he said it softly, and he was gentle as he used me. I didn’t fight it because I was desperate to drown in the comfort of his touch. I was frightened, because every day took me further from freedom.
We travelled through the forest, sometimes following a river, and sometimes not. At first I spotted some wolves, and there were bears, real ones, and deer, lots of them, but there was less and less wildlife. As the forest deepened, there was only mist, rain and gloom as the trees loomed over us so that sunlight barely filtered through. At times there were glowing lights, and at one point I could’ve sworn I spotted a woman with wings. We had left the world and were travelling through nightmare country.
It was on one particularly misty night that I learned how the Beasts travelled. Rune was standing about in a small clearing, looking up at the trees as fog swirled around him. For a moment I thought he was looking for bears, but then I realised he was far too relaxed.
Siv loped up, looking concerned. “Anything?”
“Not yet.” There was a long pause, pregnant with meaning. “It won’t be a disaster to halt for a day. We have enough per.”
“I know, but—” Siv started.
“Hang on!” Rune stiffened.
“There we are!” He craned his neck, and then pointed past the carts. “That way!”
“Got it.” Siv was putting down three sticks, making an arrow.
I looked up at the cloudy sky and I realised how Rune was guiding us. “The stars? You find your way by the stars?”
He just nodded. “How else can you travel at sea?”
“The Citizens hug the coastline.”
Rune shrugged. “What a waste of time.”
At that point I knew I was truly lost. There was no way I could read the stars. I barely know when it’s full moon!
Apart from being expert navigators, the Beasts were incredibly strong. They marched all day, seemingly without getting tired, pushing the carts when we travelled uphill in order to spare the horses. They were never cold, not even in the dead of night when it rained. Rune kept me warm, and when he saw I was cold in the middle of the day, he gave me his blanket.
By the tenth day, the last of the wounded Beasts had healed and was walking again. Sitting in the empty cart, folded in the blanket, I got to look out, but I couldn’t get near the girls. Rune made sure the food carts stayed between us during the day and when we camped at night. It meant I wasn’t gagged, because even yelling wouldn’t carry far enough. It drove me crazy.
It wasn’t till the thirtieth day, three rows of ten scratches on the wood, that I finally got close enough to the girls to attract their attention. It was early morning, just after sunrise. I could see Mina talking to Tawny and the others, not ten steps away.
“Brant’s been really nice,” Tawny was saying. “He’s picked me every night for ten nights, too. I think he likes me.”
“Siv’s been picking me,” Lizbeth said. “He’s okay, but I want to go home! Shouldn’t we be at Haven by now?”
“I heard two Beasts saying we’re almost there,” Mina was saying. “I’m sure we’re only a day or so away now.”
Rune was talking to Brant, so I waved frantically at the girls, mouthing, “Come quick!” but Mina turned her back on me, saying loudly, “I’m so glad they’re keeping her away from us!” and the others, including Tawny, turned away with her.
At that point, I gave up. I’d done my best. From now on, they could go suck Ullr’s warty cock. I turned back to Rune and saw he’d seen me. “Go on,” I told him sourly. “Get Siv to beat me, why don’t you?”
