“We have to find some way to rescue Taig,” he told her.
Tara sat up. She had to get her thoughts in order. “Where are the others?”
“They’re asleep in another tent,” he replied. “Under guard, of course.”
“And we’re under guard, too, I guess,” she remarked.
He nodded. “I had a good look around while you were asleep. There must be a hundred people surrounding us. I don’t know how we’d even get out of this tent, and even if we got away, they would track us down.”
Tara drove herself to her feet. “There must be some way.”
She peered through the tent opening. The aurora had faded, and clouds blocked out the stars. Pitch dark surrounded the tent on all sides. Tara couldn’t make out anybody beyond the door. “How could you see where they were?”
He snorted. “Ursidreans can’t see as well in the dark as Lycaon, but we can hear and smell as well as you can, maybe better. There are five over there and another six over there. I can hear another bunch moving around beyond those trees, and they’ve definitely stepped up their activity since you woke up. They’re guarding us. Make no mistake about that.”
She dropped down on her haunches. “Then it really is hopeless. We couldn’t get past them to free Taig, and we couldn’t get the others out, either. We’re stuck. They’ll probably kill us all.”
“No,” he replied. “Lilith explained it to us. Taig is supposed to be a price we pay to join these people. She said everyone who ever joined the Outliers paid the same price.”
Tara groaned. “They must be some kind of deviant.”
“I don’t know how they developed,” he replied, “but that Lilith is a demon. She said she came to the Outliers with her brother. She had a twin from her mother, and the Outliers sacrificed him so she could stay.”
“How awful!” Tara whispered.
“Do you want to know the most awful part about it?” he asked. “They were barely old enough to walk when it happened. She said her brother’s sacrifice is one of her earliest memories, and after they killed him, she sat down with the others and shared the feast. They ate him, just like they plan to do with Taig.”
Overwhelming fear and horror threatened to knock her off her feet. She would pass out if she stayed in one place a moment longer. She jumped to her feet and paced around the room. “We’ve got to get out of here. These people are evil. I don’t know what they are, but they can’t be people like us. They must be some kind of animal, or maybe they’re alien like the Romarie that brought our mothers to Angondra.”
Allen shook his head. “I think they’ve just lived in isolation so long they’ve developed these awful rituals. Lycaon hunters eat the hearts of the animals you hunt to take their strength into yourselves. It’s not that much of a stretch to do the same thing with people.”
“It’s not anywhere near the same thing!” she shot back.
“I didn’t say it was the same,” he countered. “I said it’s not that difficult to understand how they could develop a custom like this. They haven’t had contact with the rest of Angondra in centuries. The other factions had to deal with each other, in war, in peace negotiations, and they formed alliances with some factions while they fought others. They never existed in isolation like this. They couldn’t have developed something like this without the others finding out.”
“If that’s true,” Tara replied, “maybe the Aqinas have weird customs like that, too. Maybe that’s why no one ever comes back from there. They get eaten.”
Allen chuckled, but he shook his head again. “My mother has seen the Aqinas, and she says they are peaceful and civilized.”
“I sure hope you’re right,” Tara murmured. “I hope our parents aren’t trying to negotiate with people like these Outliers.”
Chapter 5
A flurry of activity and babble of voices startled them from outside. Figures crossed the tent doorway headed toward the trees where Taig remained tied. Tara started forward, but Allen held her back. “Not yet.”
“We have to,” she insisted. “We have to move now or we’ll be too late. We don’t have time to stand around talking about this. They’ll be on their way to kill him soon.”
Before she could answer, a tiny light bobbed in the darkness. It danced across the ground and grew stronger and nearer, until it floated into the tent. “Aeifa! Ari! What are you doing here?”
Ari and Aeifa hurried into the tent with Reina on their heels. Aeifa didn’t answer, but nodded over her shoulder. Lilith entered behind her with another lantern in her hand. She surveyed the friends. “There. You’re all together now.”
Tara glared at her. “Leave us alone. You’re going to kill my brother and eat him, so don’t come around trying to be friendly. I swear I’ll spend the rest of my life searching for a way to pay you back for this. If it’s the last thing I do, I’ll kill you for this.”
Lilith returned her gaze with distant detachment. Then she nodded. “I understand. Believe me, I understand how you feel.”
“You couldn’t understand how I feel,” Tara snapped. “You’re a zombie. You’re dead to the Angondran race. You might as well be dead from the neck up, and I’ll never have anything more to do with you.”
Lilith waited until she finished. When she spoke, she kept her voice low. “They killed my brother, too.”
“And you enjoyed that, didn’t you?” Tara hissed. “Was he as delicious as Taig?”
Lilith winced. “I don’t remember.”
Tara threw up her hands and spun away. “Get out of here. Don’t show your face to me again.”
Lilith didn’t move. “I came here to tell you I’ll get you out of here if you only listen to me.”
Tara spun back around the other way. “What?”
“I’ll get you out,” Lilith replied. “I’ll help you get Taig and get away.”
The others exchanged glances. “Why would you do that?”
Lilith shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. The important thing is to make sure you get out and make it back to the inhabited territories.”
“How will we do that?” Allen asked.
“It shouldn’t be too hard.” Lilith looked down at their feet and back up to their faces. “You’re Lycaon. You can run back before anybody knows you’re gone.”
Ari snorted. “That’s not likely to happen. There are guards crawling all over this camp. They’re all around this tent and all around Taig. How are we going to get past them?”
“And don’t forget Reina,” Aeifa added. “The boys can’t run as fast as we can, but at least they can run. Reina can’t. She’d never be able to keep up with us.”
Taman frowned. “We can’t trust her, anyway. She’s trying to trick us by offering us a chance to escape. I don’t believe a word she says. She’s the one who did this to Taig. She’s the worst of the bunch.”
A sad smile played on Lilith’s lips. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you the truth. Just take this chance and go while you can.”
Tara crossed her arms over her chest. “None of us is going anywhere on your word until you explain why you’re doing this. None of us has any reason to trust you.”
Lilith cocked her head the other way. “It’s her.”
The whole group gasped. “Aeifa, why her?”
Lilith studied Aeifa. “She reminds me of my mother. She sort of looks like her, with that light colored hair and her eyes. I don’t remember much about my life before I came to the Outliers, but I remember what she looked like.” Lilith shook her head. “I haven’t thought about this for years. I suppose it’s you showing up here that made me think of it.”
“What does that have to do with letting us go?” Tara asked.
“We’ve sacrificed dozens of people, that I can remember,” Lilith replied. “I’ve never seen anybody react the way you did. Or maybe I just didn’t notice the way they reacted. I noticed the way you reacted, though. I never really thought about it before. The O
utliers’ customs always seemed normal to me. It’s all I’ve ever known. But when I saw how upset you got about Taig, I started thinking about my mother. I thought maybe she would react that way if she knew about my brother Ledo.”
Tara frowned. “I thought you didn’t care. I thought you didn’t feel anything.”
Lilith lowered her eyes to the ground. “I guess I didn’t.”
“Why should we believe you can feel anything now?” Ari asked.
“I don’t feel anything now,” Lilith told him. “But I guess I don’t want to see what happened to Ledo happen to Taig. I couldn’t do anything for Ledo then, but I can do something for Taig now.”
Tara couldn’t control her shaking hands. “Come with us, Lilith. Get away from these horrible people. You can go back to the Avitras and find your parents.”
Lilith shook her head. “I’ll help you get away, but I won’t go. The Outliers are my people now. I’ve been with them all my life. I can’t change now.”
“Don’t be so sure,” Allen told her. “You helping us proves you’re still alive. You don’t have to stay here.”
Lilith turned away. “I can’t leave. Now come on. I’ll show you how to get away.”
“How are we going to get us past the guards?” Ari asked.
Lilith shrugged. “I drugged them. They won’t wake up any time soon.”
Before anyone could argue with her, she slipped out of the tent into the night, leaving the friends no choice but to follow her. Allen went first. He cocked his ears to hear the soft fall of her feet in the grass. Tara hung close behind him until they found the torches surrounding Taig. Sure enough, a dozen guards lay asleep on the ground. They didn’t stir when the group approached.
Taig’s chin hung down on his chest, and a bruise darkened the side of his face where Lilith hit him with her stick. Reina stepped on dry stick, and Taig’s head shot up with a start. “Who’s there?”
Tara ran to his side, but she dared not touch him. “We’re here, Taig. We’re getting out of here.”
His eyes raced from one side to the other. He yanked at his bonds when he saw Lilith. Blood trickled down his wrists. “Don’t let her come near me.”
Lilith laughed in his face. Her bright teeth shone in the torchlight. “I’m sacrificing a lot more than you think by letting you go. Don’t tempt me to keep you here after all.”
“What do you mean?” Tara asked.
“Don’t you know?” Lilith waved her hand. “I guess you wouldn’t know. The designated gets to pitch the chosen before the sacrifice.”
Tara blinked. “You’re not making sense. What are you saying?”
Lilith smacked her lips. “This is like explaining everything to children. One person gets picked to conduct the sacrificial ritual. Old Ponchy gave me the honor of designating me, and I got to choose who we would sacrifice. I chose him.” She nodded toward Taig. “If I’m going to pitch someone, I might as well pick the best one, and he looked the best to me.”
Aeifa made a disgusted face. “Are you telling us that, after you groped Taig the way you did, you’re going to finish him off before you kill him? You’re going to have sex with him.”
A groan escaped Taig, and the Ursidreans shifted from one foot to the other.
Lilith darted forward. She pressed her body against Taig and ran her tongue up the side of his face. He jerked and struggled, but he couldn’t get away. Lilith bit his ear. Then she stepped back with a cruel laugh. “You love it, don’t you? You wish I could pitch you, just once, don’t you? Wouldn’t you love to get into me, just once before you kick off for the outer stratosphere? Wouldn’t you love to die shooting your strength into me? You know you would.” She laughed at her own joke, but her voice rang hollow in the trees.
Taig fought against his bonds and whined in terror. The others stared at the two in shock. In the end, Lilith turned away. She pulled a metal dagger from her waist and slashed the thongs holding Taig’s wrists. He slumped and almost fell, but Tara ducked under his arm and held him up.
Lilith sniffed at him. “He won’t be running anywhere the way he is. The guards will catch you before the sun gets up.”
“I’ll run out of here,” Taig replied. “I’ll run ‘til I drop.”
“We’ll get him out of here,” Tara told Lilith. “Don’t you worry about that. We’ll get him out if we have to carry him the whole way.”
“You’ll have to,” Lilith replied. “You’ll have to get over that pass in a hurry if you want to get away with your lives. If the Outliers catch you, they won’t bother to bring you back for a second chance.”
“We’ll make it,” Ari exclaimed.
“What about Reina?” Aeifa asked.
“One of us could carry her,” Allen suggested.
“Who could carry her?” Aeifa asked. “You two boys can only just run fast enough to keep up. You couldn’t add a weight like that and expect them to make it out.”
“I would carry her myself,” Tara replied, “but I’ll probably have to carry Taig.”
Taig pushed her away. He took one unsteady step before he caught his balance. “No one’s carrying me. I can run. You see if I don’t keep up with the rest of you.”
Ari spoke up. “Then I’ll carry Reina. Now come on. We don’t have a lot of time.”
“We’ll be back in Ursidrean territory before sunset,” Allen exclaimed.
Lilith shook her head. “You can’t go back to Ursidrean territory. The Outliers will find you if you go that way.”
“What other way is there?” Tara asked.
Lilith pointed up the pass where they first encountered the Outliers. “When you get to the top of the pass, turn west. Follow that ridge and don’t drop down for anything. It will curve around to the south.”
Allen frowned and stroked his chin. “I noticed that curve of mountains when we passed them last time. They reminded me of something.”
“It’s the Western Divide,” Lilith replied. “It’s the border between Avitras territory and Ursidrean territory.”
Taman’s eyes lit up. “Then we’re home. Once we find the Divide, we can follow it back to Harbeiz.”
Lilith stuck her knife in her belt. “Don’t bother running away at all if you’re going to go that way. You might not trust me, but you’re as good as dead if you go anywhere near Ursidrean territory. The Outliers know you were searching for it, and that’s where they’ll look for you. Follow the Divide until it curves around to run north-south. Then drop down into Avitras territory.”
Ari stiffened. “The Avitras? We can’t go to them. They’ll kill us.”
“We don’t know that,” Tara told him.
“They’ll take you prisoner as soon as you cross the border,” Lilith went on. “They’ll take you to their Alpha.”
“Piwaka?” Aeifa asked.
“He’s an old man,” Lilith replied, “but he favors peace. He’ll listen to you, and he’ll make sure nothing happens to you.”
“You said Piwaka is your father,” Tara countered.
Lilith fixed her with a fierce stare. “He is. Tell him and my mother I sent you.”
“When we tell them where you are,” Allen told her, “they’ll want to get you back.”
She smiled. “That’s exactly why I’m not going with you. I would have to explain what happened to Ledo.”
Tara stared at her. Then she turned away. “I understand. You don’t want to face them after what you did.”
“I didn’t do anything,” Lilith replied. “I was a little child, barely able to understand what was happening. If I hadn’t taken part in the feast, the Outliers would have killed me, too. They would have left me to die in the wilderness where they found me.”
“You still haven’t explained how you wound up out here in the first place,” Ari pointed out.
“That’s because I don’t remember.” Lilith moved away. “Now get on your way. These men won’t stay asleep forever. Get running, and don�
��t let me see you around here again.”
No one hesitated to be told twice. Tara ran into the trees. Then she paused to make sure Taig could keep up. He trotted at her side, and they picked up speed along the path toward the stream. Taman and Allen came behind at their steady pace. Ari grinned at Reina, who gave him a playful smack on the arm. Then he hitched her up on his back and set off running with the others. He couldn’t run as fast as he usually did, but he kept pace with the Ursidreans, and Aeifa ran behind him in case he needed help.
Taig stumbled once in the tangled undergrowth. Then he found his footing. In a little while, he ran at Tara’s side the way they used to in their own home territory. The wind cooled Tara’s cheeks, and her nose caught the exotic scents of forest all around. She could almost believe they were back home again and none of this ever happened.
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Taken for the Alien Prince PREVIEW
Chapter One
Layla could only remember running. She was barefoot and the ground beneath her feet was cold and damp, sticks and rocks occasionally digging into the soft flesh and low brush clawing at her as if trying to stop her. Everything around her was hazy. The color seemed to have washed out of the world and left behind only shades of brown and rust and grey. She felt like she was running through water, moving slowly no matter how hard she fought to go faster.
Chilling air whipped at her face and she felt the first few stinging raindrops of a storm cut at her skin. She didn't know where she was going or how she had gotten there, and as she ran, the trees seemed to blur and blend into one another, making it impossible for her to orient herself.
Angondra Holiday Special Page 76
