Shawna looked at Ariel, a depressing cast to her face. "You're right. I'm so sorry, Ariel. I swear I'll come back for you."
"We need to figure out a plan. They're not going to leave us alone much longer." Christal saw the last of the weary men secured. The mountain men went over to tend to the horses, removing saddles and packs as the Slave-master kept an eye on the captives. He knew the women would not be a problem. The abduction was going smoothly.
"Christal, you and I have to be cooking dinner tonight, " Shawna said. "We need our hands free. Act a little worse for wear so they don't know how strong you are, I'll do the same. We need to give Mike a chance to bolt. Ariel, keep Lucien distracted. He's the one Mike's nervous about. I think he'll try if Lucien isn't paying too much attention to him and they untie his hands for dinner. I know they haven't done that before, but I think they're testing us. They might want to see how worn down the guys are. I think they're actually counting on Mike to escape."
"When will I know to run?" Christal asked Shawna. She was getting a little nervous.
"I guess when I yell 'Now!' and I take off." Shawna needed Christal's participation. "We'll make it, Christal, just run like hell."
"When you take off I'll distract them as much as I can. With any luck, the guys will figure out what I'm doing and help." Ariel was making her own plans on how best to help her friends. She briefly thought about the hopeful role Mike would play in this. She knew he would be caught and punished. She sadly thought it didn't upset her as much as it should have. He betrayed her. She was realizing how shallow his feelings for her were by his reaction and words about the episode earlier in the day.
Lucien came back to Ariel. "Can you cook tonight?"
"I don't think so, Lucien, I can't even stand," Ariel said miserably. "Please ask someone else. Teri and Paula look whipped, too. Maybe Shawna, I don't know about Christa," she said, playing her part in the escape.
Lucien talked to Nicholas and Justin and it was agreed Shawna and Christal would prepare supper. Next, he went over to the Slave-master. He spoke quietly with him a minute and came back to Ariel.
He sat her on his lap. Ariel was getting used to this. It seemed he couldn't get her near enough to him. In a weird way, she was comforted by this. Lucien untied her hands and studied her chafed wrists. He reached into the pack behind him and pulled out a small jar. "Hold up your wrists, little one," he ordered. Nervously she did as he asked . He reached into the jar and rubbed an ointment on the raw skin. Ariel sniffed her wrist. "I smell tea tree oil. Is the sticky stuff aloe?"
Lucien looked at her, a little bewildered. "Yes. It's in a beeswax base. I'm surprised you recognized it."
"I study plants. I'm getting a degree in botany." She realized what she'd said and her eyes filled with tears. "I've worked so hard for it."
"Oh, Ariel. You'll be very happy with us then. People who know the secrets of the woods are greatly respected in our settlement." Lucien was proud his woman would be such an asset to the Clan.
As Shawna and Christal prepared to serve supper, the Slave-master did indeed untie the men's hands. Dave looked up gratefully and thanked him. Mike looked calculating.
Shawna briefly blocked him from the others as she handed him his plate. "Got your back, Mike," she whispered and winked at him. She knew she was encouraging him to escape for her own plan to work. He'd be caught. The small thought of remorse passed quickly as she waited for the right moment.
When she handed Allen his plate, she said, "You gotta' help me Allen. I'm going to run after Mike takes off. You have to try to keep the Slave-master busy." He nodded and passed the information on to Ed and Doug. He'd been expecting his beautiful, long distance track star to attempt to run. It was what she did best.
Mike looked over at Ariel. She was talking to Lucien, in his lap as always. Good. The bastard will have to dump her on the ground to get to me.
Mike tensed. He waited for the Slave-master to walk over to Justin and ask him something. Mike jumped to his feet and took off. Nicholas rolled his eyes and rose to his feet. "What a surprise," he said sarcastically.
"Bring him back," Lucien said calmly. He didn't sound overly concerned. Justin, Nicholas and Damon went after Mike. Shawna noticed Mike had plowed straight ahead. She figured Mike had enough of a head start to lure the men away from the area. Shawna figured the stream was to the left and whispered to Christal, "Go to the right. Get ready." She looked around. Nathan was holding Teri and calming Paula. Ariel had Lucien trapped beneath her and the Slave-master was busy re-binding the other men's wrists.
"Now!" she shouted. Christal, bless her, took off like the hounds of hell were chasing her. She veered to the right as she left the alcove. Shawna heard commotion from the clearing but didn't turn to see what was happening. There was enough moonlight through the trees to enable her to set a good pace. Tripping was not an option.
This was an unexpected surprise. Lucien tried to stand and found he had a clinging, kicking Ariel to contend with. She was shouting as loud as she could to try to cover the sound of her friends. Maybe the Vampires wouldn't be able to tell the direction they had run. "Run! Run, Shawna!" she screamed.
Nathan was trying to get Teri and Paula to settle down. They were screaming and crying in distress at the disruption around them. Paula was frantic without Damon to console her.
The men kicked out and tried to trip the Slave-master. Doug and Allen got to their feet. Doug hit the Slave-master with his dinner plate fisted in his bound hands and the remaining food went flying. The Slave-master, barely stunned, got out his whip and started lashing the men back to a seated position. By the time he finished, all of them, except Dave, bore red, raised welts on their faces and arms. They sat back defeated, and hoped they'd lasted long enough from the painful thrashing they'd received to give Shawna time to put enough distance between herself and the camp.
Dave looked around when the commotion started. When Mike took off, he shrugged. He thought Mike was stupid for trying it after already being whipped once. Dave wanted no part of that. Lucien was taller than Dave's six feet-three and the marks he left on Mike's back looked painful. Some of the Vampires took after Mike. Dave looked down to his plate and continued to eat until the Slave-master made him put his dinner down and retied his hands. Then Shawna and Christal took off. Ariel started screaming and fighting Lucien. That can't be good, Dave thought. Paula and Teri started shrieking and it hurt Dave's ears. He wanted to tell his former girlfriend to stop, but he decided to be quiet and not draw attention to himself. Now the other three guys were attacking the Slave-master. Dave kinda' liked the guy and hoped he wouldn't be hurt.
He was amazed when the older man started whipping his friends. They were right next to Dave, but the Slave-master never missed. He never hit Dave once. Dave was in awe as the Slave-master drew back his arm and the black leather flicked through the air. Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! It was a steady beat until his friends sat back down.
Lucien lifted Ariel off her feet. He stared straight in her eyes and said, "That was a foolish thing for you to do. I'm going to put you back down and if you've moved an inch before I get back you will see a side of me you will find very unpleasant!" It was the first time she had ever heard him raise his voice. She saw a brief flash of his fangs.
The look in his deep blue eyes terrified her. This is going to be bad, she thought, real bad. Please run Shawna.
The Slave-master stood at the entrance to the alcove, facing the remaining captives. He glanced at Lucien and Nathan. "I'm good. I'll send the others after you when they get back with Mike."
Lucien, the stronger of the two, took off after Shawna. Nathan tracked Christal.
A few minutes later Nicholas, Justin and Damon returned with a thrashing, bound and gagged Mike. Not realizing what happened after they left, they had been toying with Mike in the woods, letting him think he was getting away. The men dumped him on the ground and kicked him.
"You move or bat an eyelash and I'll beat the crap out of you," the S
lave-master said. His voice was so menacing Mike complied immediately.
The Slave-master told the remaining Clan what had happened after they left. All three looked totally pissed as they headed after the escaping women. Nicholas headed to the right after Christal. He knew her legs wouldn't carry her too far after the strain of the long ride.
Justin and Damon followed after Lucien and Shawna. Justin was not as optimistic about a quick capture, remembering how his dark beauty could run through the woods.
Nathan was already heading back to the campsite with a sobbing, kicking Christal under his arm. When he met up with Nicholas, he passed her to him. "This is going to be a long night."
"No shit." Nicholas slung Christal over his shoulder, her small fists pounding his back. Her shirt had ridden up and the globes of her butt shown white in the moonlight. Smack! He spanked her. She started sobbing harder and stopped her assault. "I'm sorry!" she wailed. Smack! "Oooh," she sobbed. Her ass cheeks showed two red hand prints and she screamed again. Damn, it hurt! First it was a sting, like a big bee then heat radiated out from the palm print. Smack! "Please, Nicholas! I'm so sorry! Please don't spank me again, I'm sorry!" she repeated gulping for air. He stormed back to the campsite.
"What the hell do you think you were doing?" he demanded as he put her down. "You have no idea where you are. You could have fallen and knocked yourself unconscious. There are animals in the forest, Christal. Animals with bigger fangs than I have!" He was furious at the thought she could have been hurt. He was angry with himself for wasting time in the woods with Mike when his Christal needed him. He reached out and pulled her tight against him, clinging to the reassurance she was safe.
Shawna kept them chasing her for almost an hour. She'd found the stream but had headed the wrong way, confused by all the twists and turns of the day.
Lucien's keen night vision and sense of smell kept him on her trail. He was impressed by her speed in the unfamiliar landscape. When he passed a broken branch jutting out into the middle of the path she had taken, he smelled blood. It must have snagged her leg as she passed by.
Justin and Damon caught up with him as he reached the stream. Justin noted nervously that if she'd correctly gone downstream, she could have found the deserted campsite.
She'd gone into the water to try to hide her direction. It might have worked if she hadn't cut her leg. Justin sniffed the air, turned left and bellowed. There was no way to hide the scent of fresh, streaming blood from a Vampire.
Justin was going crazy with the thought his Shawna was injured. As he ran upstream, he vowed to keep as tight a hold on her as Nathan did with Teri. "Shawna, stop!" he yelled. "I know you're hurt. Stop! You're going the wrong way."
Shawna was exhausted. The ride had not affected her as badly as the others, but the constant mental blocking and long day after so little sleep were taking their toll. She was now down to a sluggish jog. She realized before she heard Justin shout that she'd made the wrong decision at the stream. She was trying to decide if she should try to loop around the trees and head back the right way or just keep going and hope she'd get lucky. She knew at least three of the Vampires were behind her. That meant Mike was caught, probably Christal by now, too.
She ripped a piece of the shirt's hem to bandage the gash in her calf. It was long but not too deep. It still hurt like hell. Her arms and legs were scratched. Her bare feet were bruised and cut from the rocks on the stream bottom. Her hair was a mass of tangles, twigs and leaves. The soaked shirt from the fall in the cold stream was causing shivers to wrack through her body. She'd bruised her knee on a rock when she fell and she felt a sharp pain when she pulled herself back up. She didn't think she had ever been this miserable in her whole life.
Chest heaving with exhaustion, Shawna jogged a few more steps on her aching feet and stopped. She started crying softly and turned around, slowly walking toward Justin's voice. Shawna was defeated. She had used all her strength and pride to make this attempt. She knew she would not try again. If there was to be another endeavor to escape, she would remain behind with the rest of the captives.
It took another few minutes before she saw him. He slowed to a walk as she approached. Shawna walked up to him and put her head on his chest. His arms went around her in a hug. "Oh, Shawna, you're so cold, baby," he crooned to her. He took off his buckskin shirt and wrapped it around her. He sat her down on a nearby log and checked the cut on her leg then decided it didn't look too bad. He bent down and licked the wound. It stopped bleeding and the skin started knitting back together. She gave staggered sobs and held onto his shoulders as he checked her feet, shaking his head sadly.
Lucien and Damon watched for a few minutes in silence, then turned and started walking back to camp leaving Justin to take care of his woman.
Justin swung Shawna up into his arms, cradled her head against his shoulder and followed Lucien and Damon. "I knew you were going to try. I don't know who planned this Shawna, but I'm sure Christal or Ariel would have tried to talk you into it. You were the only logical choice out of the women, with your speed. You are amazing to watch when you run, baby."
Shawna started crying harder, tears soaking Justin's shirt. "I'm sorry, Justin. It was my idea. I don't want Christal and Ariel getting into trouble. I convinced them to help."
"You came back. You turned around and came back. You can't get involved with whatever Nicholas and Lucien plan for their women. It's our way. We take care of our own concerning pleasure and the punishment necessary to keep you safe."
Shawna muffled a sob into his shoulder. She knew there was no more she could say to help her friends.
CHAPTER 5.
THE MARKING
Lucien and Damon got back to the campsite and looked around. Teri and Paula were quietly crying, sitting on either side of Nathan. He casually stroked the top of their hands that were folded in their laps. Damon walked over to Paula and she threw herself into his arms, clinging for protection.
The Slave-master was standing, towering over the men. Mike was staring listlessly at the fire waiting for Lucien's return. Nicholas, with Ariel sobbing next to him, had Christal across his lap, naked red bottom exposed and receiving a loud slap anytime she tried to move or speak.
Lucien stormed into the alcove, grabbed Ariel's hand and pulled her to the other side of the alcove. He pulled her roughly down on his lap and held her tightly. "Not a word, girl." His tone silenced even her muffled sobs and she shuddered in his arms quietly.
Justin appeared at the entrance to the camp carrying Shawna, her head tucked into his shoulder. He sat with his back against the rocks facing Lucien and Ariel, the campfire in between them. The three scheming women were separated on opposite sides of the triangle.
Lucien stood, "Mike, Shawna, Christal, then Ariel, Doug, Allen and Ed. That order. The order of their involvement in this conspiracy. Dave, Paula and Teri will be marked, but no punishment."
The Slave-master moved to the pack he had taken from his horse. He placed a rough leather cloth on the ground and proceeded to organize metal pieces on it. He took a long metal bar with an elaborate 'L' shape on the end of it and placed it in the fire. The Vampires removed leather pouches from their packs as well. The captives were wide eyed and frightened at their determined moves.
The Slave-master went back to the leather cloth and picked up some metal objects, leather items, some tongs and a small bottle. "Not the collar." Lucien said firmly.
The big man nodded knowingly. So Mike is the one who will belong to the Indians, he thought and smiled in agreement as he put the item back down. He went back to his pack and pulled out a leather sack with colorful markings.
The Slave-master, rope in hand, grabbed Mike by his bound wrists. Mike tried to shrink back. The stronger man easily dragged Mike to the back wall of the rocky shelter. Mike started to squirm and kick at the man. He looked up and saw a metal hook on a rod that was imbedded high on the rock. The hook was about three feet from the side wall of the cliff. The Slave-master swept Mi
ke's legs out from under him with one long leg. He held Mike's bound wrists in one hand and threw one end of a rope over the rod. He pulled it forward so it lodged in the well of the hook effectively keeping it from falling off the end.
He removed four thick leather cuffs out of the leather sack. The cuffs bore the same colorful markings as the leather sack. He gave Mike a menacing look and ordered him to hold out his wrists. Mike looked at the rope hanging by his side. Miserably, he could see no advantage in becoming more uncooperative. He had no idea what they were planning to do to him after his failed escape, but he knew it would be bad. He silently offered his wrists.
The Slave-master untied the strips binding Mike's wrists and secured a thick leather cuff on each wrist. He put the other two on his ankles. All the cuffs had a strong leather loop fixed into their design. The big man tied a leather strap through the loops in the wrist cuffs, binding them together. He took one end of the rope and tied it firmly to the leather binding between Mike's wrists. Mike started to back away moaning, "No! No!" realizing his vulnerable position. The Slave-master, working quietly and efficiently, started pulling on the other end of the rope lifting Mike, stretching him so his toes could barely reach the ground. Then he secured the end to another hook embedded in the rock. Mike was already bare-chested from the previous nights' whipping, the marks looking purple and bruised.
The Slave-master walked up to the hanging man. Lucien's deep voice interrupted "Stop." He looked down at a wide-eyed Ariel. "Go over there and strip him." Ariel stared at him in disbelief. She didn't move. Lucien said in precise, clipped words, "Ariel, get up, go over and strip him."
"Why? Why do you want me to do this?" Ariel was scared, but she was also angry. "You knew we'd try to escape. How could you think we'd just let you steal our lives? This isn't right. You can't do this to people. I won't do this to him, Lucien. I've hurt him enough."
Ariel's Desire: A Novel of Vampirism and Submission Page 6
