by AJ Adams
He just shrugged. “No point.”
“Don’t mess with the meat?”
He was removing the shackles. “Exactly. Come on, Ylva, it’s a short walk from here. Stay with me.”
A short walk. Right. We were following a river again. After an hour or so, the dense dark pines gave way to lighter trees with leaves. Another hour, and turf gave way to grass. There was also birdsong, and I spotted squirrels, dancing about the branches.
All of a sudden, I felt lighter. It must have been the sight of the sun, finally shining down on us again after being hidden in the trees for weeks on end. The Beasts seemed cheery, too, chatting as they walked on instead of looking around warily with their knives in hand.
“First thing I’m doing is going for a swim,” Siv was talking to Rune and looking cheerful for once. “And fish for dinner!”
“We need to build another ship.”
“Come on! We’re almost home. Lighten up!”
Rune nodded. “Sure.”
So we were almost there, at Beastville. My stomach roiled. This was it. In a few hours we’d be put on the block. They’d strip us, set us up to be pawed by the buyers, and then they’d collar us. If the Beasts followed the practices of the Citizens, they’d brand us, too.
Siv sensed my horror. He glanced at me and said to Rune, “You’re bidding for the flame-haired witch?”
“Go suck Odin’s spear!”
Rune just talked over me. “It’s going to be difficult to manage. I think we’ll do it cart by cart.”
“Good idea. I’ll go talk to Brant.”
Siv loped off, and pretty soon the Beasts were all talking.
“I want that little one with the big tits.”
“I want one that can cook.”
“I’ll settle for one who fucks.”
Rune reached out and took my wrist. “You stay with me.”
I wanted to tell him I’d fight, that I would not be a slave, not ever. But the words stuck in my throat. I was terrified again.
The Beasts were laughing, joking, anticipating the market. I stumbled along, Rune’s hand on my wrist as firm as a shackle. I’m not sure how far we walked, but after another hour the river broadened, splitting into wide shallow streams. A deep quarry sat on the side. I’d never seen one but I recognised a mine from hearing descriptions. Maybe they’d set us digging here. It looked like a giant open grave.
As Rune pulled me along, we began moving sharply downhill. There was a gust of wind that sent a salty tang into the air. The trees thinned and then we were looking down on a village, dozens of log cabins set by a rolling deep grey sea.
“Home,” Rune sighed. He sounded quiet instead of jubilant, but the other Beasts were speeding up, happy to be home.
The carts rolled onto the centre field, and were arranged in a circle, just like camp. A dozen of the Beasts whooped and ran straight for the ocean, diving in and splashing about. The others were running around, checking the cabins and sheds.
“All clear and untouched!” Siv yelled.
So they’d left nobody at home. That was odd. Especially as the Citizens had said the Beasts numbered in the thousands. Then it hit me: there were no women. None, not even one.
“We divide the spoils now,” Rune ordered. “Conclave! Everyone gather round!”
He pushed me to the ground, “Sit, stay and keep quiet,” he said. “We’ll go home shortly.”
So he was planning on keeping me, just like he’d said. From his calm tone, it looked like he wasn’t planning anything nasty. I breathed again. Fears of stripping and branding receded.
The Beasts divided the remaining food quickly. Clearly this was a known thing, because there was no debate or arguing. There wasn’t a lot left, either.
“Now, we do this cart by cart,” Rune was giving orders. “Those of us who don’t get one this time get first pick next time.”
“And the muskets?” Siv asked.
“We get settled, and in a few days we start to practice,” Rune answered. “After that, it’s one per man, with spares to be put away for emergencies.”
“That’s fair!”
They opened the first cart, and Mina tumbled out. She stood there, looking at the sea, not believing her eyes. “This isn’t Haven!”
Lizbeth, Tawny, Hildegard and the rest of her friends followed. They were dumbstruck. I didn’t speak; there was nothing to say. It was too late.
“We choose,” Rune announced. “If there’s more than one bid, straws decide who wins.”
The Beasts nodded. “It’s fair!” Brant called out.
“First, I choose her,” Rune said, pointing at me. “Anyone else bidding?”
Siv stared at me, and then shrugged. “Who’d want a witch?” he murmured.
Rune was gazing at the others, none of whom looked keen. “Then she’s mine.”
And that was it. I felt a rush of relief, but Mina was looking around, panic in her eyes. “Where are we? What is this?”
“You’re being sold,” I told her.
She stared at me. “Liar!”
“Who bids for the baker’s daughter?” Rune called out.
Two of the Beasts, partnered up. “We bid, and we share.” They were so alike, I suspected they were brothers.
Another Beast said loudly. “I bid, too!”
“But wait!” Mina was red-faced, shouting. “You can’t do this!”
Tawny was crying, and the others were looking as if they were going to run. The Beasts gathered closer, and the atmosphere sharpened.
“Don’t fight this,” I said quietly to Tawny. “It’s too late now to make a stand. Try and control the situation. Get a Beast you like to bid for you.”
But she wasn’t listening. “Mina,” she wailed. “What’s going on? You said we were going to Haven!”
Straws were produced. The brothers pulled the long one first go, chuckling with glee. “She’s ours!”
“No! No-no-no-no!” Mina was screaming. “You can’t do this! I want to go to Haven!”
As they dragged her off, Tawny ducked and ran. They caught her in a heartbeat, laughing as she struggled and cried. “I want to go home! I want to go home!”
They were ripping at her skirt, crying, “Who wants this one?” I could see this was turning really ugly.
I should have left well alone, but I couldn’t. I was up on my feet and yelling, “Stop that!”
“Wynne, no!” Rune was reaching for me.
“Cowards!” I was yelling so loudly that the Beasts actually shut up. “Leave her alone!”
Rune pulled me away. “Quiet, Wynne.”
“Quiet yourself, you pig’s dick!”
But Rune is Rune. He threw me into the empty cart, shutting the doors before I could rally.
“All right, who bids for this one?” He tugged Tawny away from the Beasts, “Keep everything on, girl. Just stand up so we know who you are,” and then he went on, auctioning her as if nothing had happened. “She can cook, and she’s a good worker.”
I sat in the cart, peering out between the slats, completely powerless. Brant took Tawny and Siv took Lizbeth. Citizen after Citizen was paraded, bid on and sent off. They didn’t try to steer events. They just stood there and wept, the weak-minded idiots.
By the time they were done, it was getting late. The Beasts scattered, and Rune disappeared, too. I sat in the cart, my anger feeding on itself. I could hear cries, laughter and wails, and to me it sounded like that first night all over again, when the Beasts had gone wild. I was helpless, and it enraged me.
By the time Rune came for me, the sun was dipping towards the horizon, and my anger was volcanic. “We will kill you when you sleep!” I was trembling with rage and fear. “We will poison your food!”
“You might, but they won’t,” Rune said. “Come on, Wynne. You don’t want to spend the night in the cart. There’s a storm coming.”
“I’ll fight!”
He stood back. “I can shut you in the cart, or you can come and fight indoors
.”
I went with him. “I won’t give in!”
“Which is why I’m not turning my back on you.”
His home was like his bedroll: set away from the others. It was a simple place, a log cabin made up of a single room. There was a fireplace, a sofa, two big chests, and behind a curtain, a large wooden bed, set in an alcove. The sofa was heaped with cushions and the bed, too, so it was comfortable, and the fire was blasting out heat.
Rune handed me a large towel. “The rain-barrel is at the back, and the privy, too. Go clean up.”
“No chains?”
For once his eyes were gentle. “There’s nowhere to run, Ylva.”
He’d won. He’d carried us all the way across the continent, through the wild forest and into the northern vastness. I was lost. I stood there, and I wanted to cry.
“There’s a good fire and food,” Rune was speaking softly. “Go wash, and then come and fight with me.”
Afraid I’d cry right in front of him, I went.
The back had a screen. For the first time since Brighthelme, I stripped and washed in luxurious privacy. There was soap, too, and so I washed my hair and scrubbed every inch of me until I was squeaky clean.
The soap helped give me back a bit of my courage. While I came out feeling renewed, my tunic didn’t do so well. It finally came apart, disintegrating in my hands. I stood there for ages, looking at the last thing I had from my life, the ragged lace collar, wondering what was going to happen now.
A few hundred paces away, the path up the mountains beckoned. I could follow the river up, and then I’d have to hope to come across a white marker that would lead me to Haven. It would take a lifetime to find my way.
I thought about the forest, running with Beasts in pursuit, as well as bears, human and animal, wolves and other unspeakable creatures. I looked out at the rapidly gathering night. There was a rattle of thunder, followed by a gust of wind and a sprinkling of icy rain. I decided I needed information, clothes, shoes, and supplies before making a break for it. I wrapped myself in the towel and scooted inside.
Rune was sitting by the fire, drinking warm wine from a mug, and sorting through a pile of wraps. I recognise Guild treasures when I see them. It looked like the wool warehouse had been raided before being burned to the ground.
“There’s enough here to make something warm for indoors,” he said. “But this is no good in the wet. You’d better wear leathers like the rest of us. They’ll keep you warm and dry.”
“I’m not staying.”
As I spoke lightning flashed and thunder rolled. I jumped and ended up next to Rune. He took my hand and pulled me down to sit next to him.
“So you said,” he was completely calm. “But you’re not going anywhere in this weather, Ylva. Have some wine.”
I sat and had some wine. It was warm, sweet and spiced. Delicious, and far better than the watery stuff at the tavern in Caern. There’d been no wine, or demon’s brew as they call it, in the Vale. There was stew on the fire, too. I could see vegetables, chestnuts and flakes of smoked meat. Again, a million times better than eating with the chickens.
Rune was rolling out my things. He put the skirt aside and was about to throw the collar on the fire.
“Don’t!” I had my hand on his wrist.
“It’s a rag.”
“That tunic was my mother’s. It’s all I’ve left from home.”
He blinked, those blue eyes gazing into mine. Then he pressed the collar into my hand. “You have memories, and the others are here,” he said gently.
That didn’t sound so good. The memories were shitty, and the Citizens loathed me. In fact, they were probably deciding this was all my fault.
Rune was stroking my hair and tugging at the towel. “Let me look at you, Ylva.”
“You’ve looked at me all over, every night for weeks.”
But I wasn’t fighting it. No point because I knew what was coming next. With Rune, it was a no-brainer.
He ran a hand over my tits, and grinned, “Let’s go to bed.”
Chapter Ten
The bed was the comfiest I’d ever been in: a firm mattress and real feather pillows. I sank into it and decided I’d found heaven on earth. Rune lay next to me, hands running over my back, before tracing along my waist and hips.
It was nice to be inside, warm and private. For the first time, I realised that I’d become used to him. He still had the piercing blue eyes, and the sharp nose and lips were the same, too, as was the imposing chest, but he wasn’t scaring me anymore. The inked muscles were familiar, comforting even, and he smelled of soap. The eyes reminded me of the sky on a summer’s day. The focused look meant he was intent, not cruel, and the serpents and skull were decoration, not some menacing evil.
For the first time, though, I inventoried him from top to toe. From the rippling muscles everywhere, Rune was built for trouble and by the scars, he’d been in the wars. The cut on his arm from the fight with the bears had healed, but there were older marks from more serious wounds: a curved one in his waist, a thick welt on the back of his thigh, and what looked like a spear cut on one of his calves.
Speaking of which, “You know that the Citizens can pay for mercenaries, right?”
“Hmmm.” He was stroking my breasts, running his thumbs over my nipples. “I don’t think so. Not for a while.”
Right. He’d raided their riches and burned down their warehouses.
“They can get credit. They’ll be furious when they go to Haven and find you didn’t stop by.”
“Maybe.”
Rune wasn’t worried, and that intrigued me. He was clever, he knew what the Citizens might do, and yet the thought of mercenaries, some armed with muskets, perhaps appearing in a Citizen ship, wasn’t worrying him.
“This isn’t an island. The Citizens can hug the coast and make it here.”
“Yes. It would take two weeks.”
“Then why—”
Rune dipped his head and kissed me. His lips were warm and soft, exploring sweetly. The light touch surged through me, lighting a fire in my belly. My arms were wound around his neck, my tongue flickering against his. His hands were sweeping over my back, pulling me tightly against him. There was a light growling; it was me.
His cock was pushing against me, hot and hard. I writhed against it, feeling him quiver. My clit was thumping, the wetness pooling quickly.
He was stroking my face. “Lick my cock.”
He’d had me every night for more than a month, on my back, on my front, on my side, me on top, him on top, up the bum and every other way. This was the one thing we hadn’t done. I touched the rim with a fingertip, intrigued and nervous. But he smelled of soap, so I dipped my head, and licked. The flesh was hard but the skin soft. I licked again, my tongue flickering lightly. He was gasping, his breath exploding from him as I teased.
That power rushed through me again, just as it had when he got me to rub him. His hands were on my shoulders, his fingers in my hair. He was quivering, his cock heating as I licked and laved.
“Suck.”
He was stroking my hair and face as he guided his erection into my mouth. The tip was super soft, the ridge firm, and the shaft swelling. I sucked, hearing his breath quicken. My body was tightening, the heat pooling between my legs.
His hand was on mine. “Rub my balls.”
The moment my fingertips ran over the tight skin, he was plunging into my mouth, groaning. This cock hit the back of my throat, choking me. Suddenly I couldn’t breathe. I remembered watching Lizbeth throw up in that field.
I got scared and pulled away. “No! Wait! Stop!”
“Wynne, calm down.” His hands were hard on my body, his eyes fierce.
I got ready to smack him one. “No!”
He flipped on top of me, using his weight. I felt his hardness against me, his breath light again. “We’ll go slow,” he soothed. “Come on now, Ylva.”
“Or what? You’ll beat me?”
His fingers were tigh
t on my shoulders. “No, of course not.”
Of course not. That was new. I stared at him, wondering what game he was playing. “I thought Siv would beat me if I gave you trouble?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t mean it.”
“Oh no?”
He was grinning. “He’d have a go, he doesn’t like you much, but it wouldn’t do a damn thing, Wynne. Except for maybe guarantee you’d have his balls.”
Rune, chief of the Beasts, respected me. That gave me a rush.
He was having one, too, because his cock was twitching, hot and ready. “You lie quietly,” he soothed. “You told me sucking freaked you out,” so he remembered Lizbeth, too. “We won’t do that again until you ask me.”
“That will be never!”
His hands were running down my arms. “We’ll see.” He was kissing my neck, his mouth moving slowly down to my collarbones. I’ve always been ticklish, and it gave me delicious shivers.
He was solid, and I thought he’d trick me.
“Rune, don’t,” I begged.
“Wynne, this will be good.” His eyes were soft. “Trust me.”
Trust him. There was no reason to. He was a Beast, and he was holding me against my will, far from home. But despite all the threats, and the opportunities, he’d been careful. If I was honest, it had been good, even that first time when I’d been terrified.
“When I first took you, you screamed with pleasure,” he murmured.
Sometimes I think he can read my mind.
“You’ll soon be screaming again,” he whispered.
He was licking my collarbone again. He was on top of me, completely relaxed, his hardness between my thighs. Seeing he wasn’t rushing to do something sneaky, I sank into the delicious shivers, enjoying the throbbing between my legs.
He sucked my nipples, his hands cupping the soft curve of my breasts. As he moved down, trailing kisses on my belly, his thumbs caressed the stiff peaks. Now my breath was punching out of me. My body was tightening happily, and I was arching suggestively, hoping he’d forget whatever he was up to and just fuck me silly.
