The dogs continued to bark, but every human fell silent. Klintr stayed on the ground, dogs walking all over him. Alrek gestured to Banki, who leaned down and picked the man up by the shirt and yanked his arms behind him. While Geirr fetched a rope, Alrek walked over to Natalie.
“Are you all right?” he asked in a low voice, looking her over. She was trembling and naked but for a wool blanket, but she nodded her head.
“I am all right,” she said. Alrek sighed with relief and pulled her into a brief but tight hug. With her in his arms, his heart finally started to stop pounding, and Natalie squeezed back, clinging to his chest. He was reassuringly solid in a world where strange men broke down walls and tried to kidnap her.
“Where is Oddi?” Alrek kept one arm protectively around her even as he looked around. Natalie took a shuddering breath.
“I put one of his eyes out,” she said, still sickened by it. Alrek looked down at her in surprise.
“Good job.”
Natalie shook her head, trying to burrow farther into his arm. Banki approached, his expression grim.
“Klintr is bound,” he said. “Where is the other one?”
“Somewhere nearby,” Alrek said. “Natalie put his eye out.”
Banki snorted. “Impressive. I wouldn’t have expected that.” To Natalie’s amazement, he looked at her with a glimmer of respect. She had to shake her head again. Vikings.
Alrek turned, pulling Natalie back toward the house. “Come on. You should at least get dressed.”
The rest of the men still stood around the door, and stayed respectfully silent as they approached. They glanced up at Natalie fearfully, like she was about to attack them instead of clinging naked onto a man’s arm.
“She has a way with animals,” Geirr murmured. “Those dogs obeyed her command like she raised them from pups.”
Natalie opened her mouth to protest, but Alrek clapped a hand over it.
“Yes. She does. Anyone else who plans to break into my house in the middle of the night and kidnap her had better say so now, so I can kill all of you at once. We wouldn’t want to have to set the dogs on you later.”
There was much shuffling and mumbling as everyone made it very clear that they were extremely happy to have Natalie around. Delighted, in fact. Nobody had any intentions of bothering her, whatsoever. Natalie glared up at Alrek, making a what the hell is wrong with you? face.
The men began to disperse, and Alrek pulled Natalie into the house. He closed the door behind him, though there wasn’t much point when there was a gaping hole in the wall. Natalie hastily pulled on the red under tunic and started trying to cover the hole with a blanket.
“More building work,” Alrek sighed. “Just what we needed.”
“The place needs a real floor, anyway,” Natalie said. “I don’t know how you keep anything clean.”
Alrek snorted and sat down on the bed. “All right. A real floor and real hearth where you can cook food for yourself. And a bigger bed, while we’re at it.”
Natalie sat down next to him. “You still sound like I’m going to be here for a while.”
“Do you intend to leave?” he asked. Natalie looked up at his serious dark eyes and suddenly discovered that she didn’t. She actually wanted to stay here, in this place with this man.
Parting her lips, she quietly said, “No.”
Alrek smiled, and leaned down to kiss her.
Chapter 8
Weeks later, the long-awaited travelers arrived from the north. The population of the budding village doubled overnight. As Alrek had promised, there was even a few women among them. Somehow or other, all the sordid details of Natalie’s situation and how she had gotten there was known to every other female instantaneously.
Natalie shied away from them. She could see them whispering amongst themselves. The men had barely accepted her. Hell, they’d wanted to kill her at first. The women probably wouldn’t react much better.
Instead, one of them cheerfully appeared in Alrek’s door and asked her to bring her washing down to the river with them. Surprised, Natalie agreed.
The rest of the women were already on the riverbank, rubbing tunics and smocks against wooden washboards and happily chattering. As soon as Natalie appeared, they erupted into eager greetings.
“I’m Ásta,” one said eagerly, and another introduced herself as Evja and after that, Natalie could hardly understand a word they said. They only ceased when she begged them to slow down.
“We’ve been told you came from a strange place, and know little of our ways,” Evja said conversationally. Natalie blushed, but nodded her head. “Well, we can teach you. We all need to work together away from home like this, anyway.”
Everyone else nodded in agreement. “We’ll need all the hands we can get, with all these men,” said another women, whom Natalie thought was named Holma.
“And you live with Alrek?” Ásta asked. That made Natalie blush an even deeper shade of red, but none of the other women seemed to care.
One of the women, Randvé, set down her washing and looked straight at her. “Has Alrek spoke of wedding you?”
Natalie shook her head. “He’s not mentioned it.”
There was a chorus of disapproving hmms.
“We’ll have to do something about that,” Randvé said.
“I have no dowry and no family,” Natalie said, frowning. “I have nothing of value to bring to him.” She didn’t say it, but this had become her biggest worry. If Alrek were to decide to turn her out, there would be nothing she could do.
“But you have no father to pay the bride price to,” Ásta said slyly. “He’s getting you for free. It’s only fair.”
“Besides,” Randvé said primly, “Alrek is my brother, and I won’t have him fathering children out of wedlock. He’ll do it if I tell him that I’ll send a message back to mother about what he’s up to.”
Natalie snorted. “With that hanging over his head, I’m sure he’ll give in.”
“He will if he knows what’s good for him,” his sister said darkly. The women laughed, and Natalie slowly began to relax. They had welcomed her with open arms, and more kindness than she had ever expected.
Maybe life here wouldn’t be so bad.
***
Next to a floodlight in Ireland, a golden necklace lay abandoned on the ground next to a dirty cleaning rag. Nobody was to be seen, but if there had been an observer, they would have sworn that the ornament grew fainter and fainter as the sun rose, until there was nothing left but the cloth and an empty pit.
Loki stood above the excavation, watching all that proceeded but unseen by anyone. He held the necklace carelessly in one hand, pouting. He was so bored. It would be a long time before this cycle ended, bringing about the twilight of the gods, and in the meantime, he had nothing to do. Even his latest attempt at causing chaos had not done much.
He’d sent that woman back, hoping to cause a panic among the Norsemen and the Gaels, so he could watch them tear themselves apart in their paranoia. Instead, the dratted woman had foiled the fight before it started. How was he supposed to know she could command the animals?
Loki tossed the necklace up and down in one hand. He would just have to try again. He’d gone through the trouble of making the dwarves craft this necklace. He’d better get some entertainment from it.
Suddenly, a wide smile cracked his face. He had an even better idea. Taking the necklace in both hands he snapped it, the golden discs falling into his palms. With a gleeful laugh, he tossed them into the sky. The discs quickly flew out of his sight, destined for corners of the world even he couldn’t predict.
Folding his hands behind him and whistling happily, he casually went on his way. Nobody knew what would happen next.
THE END
In the Time of the Caveman
Samantha Leal
Copyright ©2015 by Samantha Leal. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical
means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
1.
Melissa sat looking out across the runway and sipped her coffee slowly. She had waited for a moment like this for her entire life, and now the pressure of being on the verge of launching herself into an important discovery was starting to weigh heavy. Deep down, she knew she was ready for it, but there was still a small, nagging doubt at the back of her mind. What if she missed something? What if she did something wrong that lost some important information? What if Jake continued to distract her?
She looked down at her watch and saw that she still had three hours before their flight was due to leave. She had gotten to the airport ridiculously early so she wouldn’t find herself flapping around at the last minute and risk getting caught in traffic. Melissa was always prepared, but she didn’t feel like there would ever be enough time to prepare for this. Her whole career had been building up to it, and now she was on her way to discover something no one else in the world had ever seen. As she thought about how fortunate she was, a smile slowly unfolded across her face. She could do it. And she would do it well.
“Mel!” a voice called from a distance.
She spun around on the leather coffee house chair and scanned the crowd of fellow travelers placing orders, swimming around duty-free shops and having pre-flight drinks to calm their nerves. She saw his hand in the air before she saw his face, but nonetheless she knew it was him. Jake stood tall and proud as he marched through the crowd to reach her, and Melissa stood up reluctantly to greet him.
“How’s it going?” he asked as he slung his backpack down to the floor by her table.
“Great,” Melissa smiled, unsure of what else to say.
“So I guess this is kind of weird,” Jake shrugged. “The two of us, heading off for a fortnight of fun in France.”
He wiggled his eyebrows and grinned. Melissa found herself wanting to wince.
“Yeah,” she smiled. “It is a little strange…” She looked down at the floor and decided to go back to her seat. Tension between her and Jake had been mounting since the Christmas party when they’d both gotten obscenely drunk and ended up getting to know each other a little too well in the lab’s stock cupboard. Melissa liked Jake a lot at first until she found out he had a fiancé at home. Now Melissa tried to avoid him at all costs and thought of him like the love rat that he was. She didn’t need someone like him in her life, and she was almost free until the original archaeologist planned for this expedition crashed his car and broke his leg, rendering him unable to travel. So now it was just the two of them traveling the eight-hour journey from JFK to Charles de Gaulle, and Melissa couldn’t wait to finally meet up with the rest of the crew so things weren’t so one-on-one.
“Guess I’ll get a drink then,” Jake said as he rooted for his wallet and crossed over to the counter.
Melissa watched him. Since the night they had sex in the laboratory, she knew that he had broken up with his fiancé, but she still couldn’t consider him a good choice for a boyfriend. There was something about him that made her skin crawl.
Melissa reached into her purse and pulled out her journal. She had been making notes and references ever since the cave was discovered, and she wanted to do nothing on the flight except continue recording her ideas and research theories. She had always been the type of girl to put her personal life on hold while she pursued her career, and her present situation was no exception. She would have to push Jake and their predicament to the very back of her mind while she threw herself into the excavation and investigation. This cave was still a secret to the world and what was down there no one truly knew.
She flipped open her laptop and opened a document she received the previous week. It said CONFIDENTIAL across the top and was only viewable to her by password. She still couldn’t believe what it said. She scanned the document again…
An underground cave-like structure has been discovered in the Dordogne region of Southwest France by farmers working in the area. Early reports suggest the presence of prehistoric paintings similar to those of the Lascaux Caves in the same region. The Lascaux Caves have been sealed to researchers and all visitors since the discovery of fungi which began destroying the paintings, rendering them irreparable. If this recent discovery of a new structure is what it appears to be, this may be one of the most significant pre-historic discoveries of all time…
Her heart was beating fast in her chest as she looked at the initial snapshots captured by the farmers on their cellphones as they loitered at the opening to the cave. It was an incredible sight, even for someone like Melissa who had spent her whole life studying similar images. She knew this was something big, and she couldn’t wait to get there.
2.
The flight across the Atlantic went without incident except Jake making a cringe-worthy suggestion that maybe they should join the mile-high club. Melissa had flashed him a fake smile and turned her shoulder to block him out as she read through her notes and jotted down some other things that came to mind.
Jake had never been on a serious expedition before, and it was becoming more obvious with each passing moment. His inexperience oozed from him and his questions to Melissa were both irrelevant and irritating. When he finally drank enough vodka to send him off into a soundless sleep, Melissa closed her journal and picked up the headphones. She hadn’t had the time to watch a movie for years, and she was determined to take advantage of the opportunity while she knew Jake couldn’t hassle her.
As she flipped through the endless choices of horror, action and comedies she finally settled on an innocent-looking rom-com and made herself comfortable. If she didn’t have real love in her life, she could always live it through someone else’s fictional ideal. She smiled and wrapped the airline blanket around her as she settled into her seat. By the time the movie finished, they would pretty much be there and the next phase of their journey would begin… A three-hour train ride from Paris to Bordeaux.
Charles de Gaulle was hectic and stressful as Melissa and Jake waited for their bags. Exhaustion coursed through her and all she wanted to do was climb into bed.
“Come on, Mel,” Jake chirped as he raced ahead towards the taxi rank, “I don’t want to miss this goddam train.”
Melissa cursed him under her breath as she tried to keep up with him, mentally ripping him to shreds for not helping her with the heavy backpack she had slung over her shoulder.
Some gentleman you are, she thought. Not that I would expect anything less!
She couldn’t believe her terrible luck in having her first world discovery tarnished by Jake’s presence. If only another, more experienced archaeologist were by her side, they would have had an interesting and productive time. But now Melissa was going to be stuck carrying dead-weight Jake, explaining every aspect of the excavation to him and avoiding his lustful advances. The thought of going there again made her stomach churn. She was so angry with him for lying to her and taking advantage when she was drunk but also at herself for lowering her standards. She always knew Jake had a crush on her, and she could have avoided it. She should have known better than to trust a man like him. Someone so cocky and confident, it was more than arrogance. It was pure nastiness.
They jumped into the cab and swung out into the busy French traffic. It wasn’t far to the station but Jake still sat on edge, acting like they were going to miss it even though they had over an hour to spare.
He’s overcompensating now for his lack of capability, Melissa mused. It’s going to take a hell of a lot more than this, Jake…
After they paid the driver and made their way through the bustling station to the platform, Melissa threw her backpack down on the floor and sat down on top of it. She had been qualified in her field for almost six years, and she hadn’t roughed it like this since her student days when she and her friends had gone traveling across Europe. As she waited for the train to arrive, she f
elt a rush of nostalgia. She remembered trekking through the Italian Alps, inter-railing across France, Italy and Austria, and all of the people they had met along the way. It had been the most free and liberating time of her life, and she had never dreamed then that one day she would be back there working on something as high profile and important as this expedition.
“Here we go,” Jake broke her train of thought.
She looked up at him and was surprised to see him holding out his hand to help her to her feet. She reluctantly accepted and they stood side by side as the train heaved to a halt and they joined the rush to board.
They were the only two in their cabin room and Melissa kicked her feet up onto the opposite seat so Jake couldn’t be in her eye line. She sat by the window and watched the intense green of the French countryside roll by. It was lovely to be back in such a beautiful country and experiencing the culture once more.
“Where are the rest of the crew meeting us?” Jake asked. This was his first relevant question since they had met at the airport.
“At the hotel in Bordeaux,” Melissa replied. “We’re meeting the excavation leader there, and he’s going to debrief us all before we head over to the site in the morning.”
“And then what?”
“What do you mean?” She looked up from her notebook and his eyes locked with hers.
“I mean, what do we just sit in our rooms and wait for morning to come?”
“That’s entirely up to you,” Melissa said sarcastically.
“Maybe we should head out and check out the town?” Jake asked with enthusiasm.
DECKER: MC ROMANCE (Forsaken Riders MC Romance Book 9) Page 16
