Without a second thought he pulled out his knife and sliced through the rope around Isobel’s wrist. He heard her let out a sigh of relief as she brought her arms forward to rub the chafed skin. When he remembered about the satchel he had packed on the rear of Thor, he reached to the side and felt around in the bag, finding what he was looking for.
Right before the battle began, he had taken off his cloak and stuffed in the bag haphazardly. Now he was grateful he had decided to bring it because he was now shivering too. The cloak was one of his larger ones, big enough to wrap around both of them.
“Lean back,” he said near her ear. He felt her stiffen but she did as he said. He whipped the cloak around his shoulders then brought the edges up and around the woman, cocooning her in his arms. The only thing he couldn’t cover on her was her feet, which were covered by a pair of socks, but soaked through.
The horse swayed back and forth on its path home. Jakar could feel Isobel’s shivers ease, not totally stopping. The heat from her body and his was warming the inside of the cloak. Her body relaxed against his as they rode on in silence. It would take them about an hour and a half to reach the castle. He was hoping they would outride the black clouds that were following them very closely. He didn’t want either one of them to die from pneumonia, at least not until he was able to question the woman sitting in front of him who was stirring feelings in him that he didn’t understand. She was an enemy, or so he thought, but there was only one way to find out and that wouldn’t happen until they reached home.
Chapter 4
Isobel had never been as cold in all her life as she sat on top of the beast she was forced to ride. Her feet were completely numb and no longer had any feeling in them. The tremors that had raked her body earlier had tapered off some but not all the way. She could feel the man sitting behind her with every step the horse took. Her back rubbed against his chest and his arms were wrapped around her, holding the cloak closed.
She had time to think about what the hell had happened to her back there. How in the hell did she even get to this place? She was in her room at Ackergill Tower moments before she felt something pull her through the mirror. Everything around her had gone black until she felt herself land on her back in the rain and mud. Whatever was happening to her had to be a dream. It wasn’t possible for something like that to happen. Maybe if she pinched herself hard enough she would wake up. She pinched the sensitive skin underneath her arm until she had tears in her eyes.
Nope, didn’t do any good, she was still on the damn horse! It could possibly be one of those nightmares where you think you really are in the dream and have a hard time waking up from it. Yes! That’s what it was! She would wake up soon and find herself in the warm bed at Ackergill Tower.
The rest of the ride was pretty miserable for her, the man, and the poor horse. The rain had started to fall heavily again just as they crossed over a wooden draw bridge. The sound of the horse’s hooves sounded loudly as they clopped over the wood. They must have made it to their destination. She hadn’t been able to get a good look at the outside of the structure the horse entered because she had her face buried in the cloak to get away from the sting of the cold rain.
Once inside though, she uncovered her head and took it all in. The walls of the castle rose twenty feet above her and had ramparts lining the walls with arrow slits every couple of feet. Men walked back and forth on the ramparts as they stood guard over the castle and its people. People milled around the courtyard and took notice of them as the horse clopped through on the stone ground. Several waved while others bowed as they passed by. The horse continued on until it reached what she assumed was the Keep. The size of it dwarfed Ackergill Tower. The building stood several stories tall and had towers at each corner which rose even higher than the Keep with their pointed roofs. To the left of the front tower, a stable sat empty of any animals but had workers pitching hay or cleaning stalls.
The man behind her pulled the horse to a stop directly in front of a set huge wooden doors. An older man ran up to the horse and took its reins, holding it still as the man dismounted. He grabbed her roughly around the waist and pulled her off the beast.
“My Lord Jakar, the others?” The old man’s face searched the younger’s face.
“Following behind us with the wounded and dead. Make sure you rub him down good and give him an extra helping of oats. He’s earned it today.”
Isobel watched the exchange until he took hold of her arm once again. He walked into the Keep with her in tow. She had to trot alongside him as he walked faster than she could keep up with. His fingers were digging into her arm as she tried to pull away but it was no use, she was hopelessly stuck.
“You’re hurting my arm!”
Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest. He refused to answer her anymore, so she had no idea what was going to happen to her. They rounded a corner and headed up stone stairs that curved gently. They must be in a tower. She tried to glance out one of the slits in the wall as they walked by and the only thing she could tell was that she was definitely going up. They reached the top of the stairs and went down a long hallway. The sound of his boots hitting the wooden floor broke up the silence that surrounded them in the empty hall.
When they came to the door that he wanted, he pushed the heavy door open and pulled her inside, finally letting her go. She tripped on the rug that covered a portion of the floor, nearly landing on her face if he hadn’t caught her by the waist. He set her back on her feet and stepped away.
“Why have you brought me here?” she asked him when he walked away. “I didn’t do anything wrong!” She was growing more and more furious with her situation. Not only did she not know where she was, but now, her captor wasn’t even speaking. She needed to find a way out of here and somehow get back home.
“What did you hope to gain by spying on me?” He rounded on her demanding an answer.
Totally confused by his question, she was left speechless. “I…I wasn’t spying on you. I told you that already!” With her hands on her hips, glared back him.
“You lie! You had no other reason to be out there in the middle of a battle. Tuloch told you to stay behind, didn’t he?” He looked down at her.
“I don’t know who this Tuloch is, I don’t know who you are, and I don’t know where the hell I am! I want to be let go!”
“That’s not going to happen until we get to the bottom of your story.” The anger in his voice seemed to have lowered. He backed up from her and began to undo the armor on his chest.
“W…what…what are you doing?” She was afraid he had other ideas about how to get the information he wanted from her.
He gave her a wicked grin before he answered her. “What does it look like I am doing?” He continued to strip off the armor then the rest of his clothing in front of her.
Isobel felt the heat rush to her face as she watched him do a striptease. This was the first time she able to get a really good look at him and what she saw set her juices flowing. His jet black hair was cut short and she guessed he kept it short to keep it from falling into his face as he fought his enemies. His chiseled, angular face had a straight nose that fit his face perfectly and his mouth was graced with full, luscious lips that she could imagine on her body. His chin was covered with a small goatee that was neatly trimmed, even if his face was covered in mud. His eyes had her pinned to the spot. They were the lightest blue eyes she had ever seen and reminded her of the crystal blue waters of the Caribbean.
Her breath caught in her throat when he stripped off his dirty shirt and tossed it aside. His chest was covered with well-developed, defined muscles that tapered down to his narrow waist. Only a small amount of the same colored hair as his head, grew from his chest, leaving his nipples bare. Each time he moved the muscles in his chest would contract and flex. She hated to compare him to Daniel, but this man would make Daniel look like a wimp. His arms had to bigger in circumference than her hands would be able to span around and his hands, which had be
en cruel to her arms, looked just as strong as the rest of him. But, she wondered how gentle those hands could become if they were running over her body.
“Like what you see?”
The sound of his voice jarred her from her stupor. She had been staring at him like a little school girl caught staring at her new crush.
“No, I don’t,” she lied.
What was she supposed to do? It was awkward being in the same room with this stranger as he took off his clothes, about to do God knows what to her. He laughed at her futile attempt to lie to his face. The deep, rough sound of it gave her chills down her spine. It was the kind of laugh she could never get tired of hearing.
Just as she was about to say something else, the door to the room swung open and in walked an older woman. She carried something in her arms but she couldn’t tell what it was.
“Ah Jakar! You made it back alive!” the old woman said. “A might dirty but at least alive!”
Isobel was surprised when Jakar, at she knew his name now, walked up to the old woman and placed a kiss on her forehead.
“Nana, you know I always return. This time I have returned with a guest.” He looked in her direction as Nana finally noticed her standing there watching them.
“I see that. Who is she?”
That wicked smile spread across his face again. “I caught her spying on the battlefield. I was about to find out what she knows, right after I have my bath.” He walked away from Nana to sit on a low stool to take off his mud-covered boots.
“Stop saying that! I wasn’t spying. Please help me. He is holding me here against my will.” Isobel went to the old woman to plead with her. Maybe another woman would be more sympathetic to her situation.
But as she approached the woman, Nana’s eyes grew wide and a smile played at the corners of her lips. Nana’s eyes skimmed over her face then took in her clothes.
“Jakar, do you know who this is?” Nana asked in voice barely above a whisper.
“She is one of Tuloch’s spies.” he said as if he was uninterested in Isobel for the moment.
Nana rushed over to Jakar and grabbed his hand, forcing him to look at her. “No, Jakar. She’s the one.”
She was the one what? Nana was looking at her as if she had three heads and was foaming at the mouth. Jakar stopped moving to look at her too. But whatever Nana saw, he didn’t.
“Rubbish, Nana. That tale is nothing but superstition and an old wise tale. Nothing more.”
“You are wrong, my boy,” Nana said. It was strange to hear her call him a boy because by the looks of him, he definitely wasn’t a boy anymore.
“Would someone please tell me what’s going on?” Isobel asked the pair.
“Nana, would you please leave us alone?” He kissed her forehead again.
The old woman huffed and puffed at his demand but gave in. “It is her, Jakar. I swear by it.”
“We will talk about this later. Right now I want to bathe and I am sure our guest would like to do the same.” He escorted her to the door then opened it so that she could exit. “Good night,” he said as he closed the door.
Isobel saw the old woman look around Jakar’s massive form to get another look at her right before the door closed on her. This woman knew something about her but Jakar wasn’t willing to listen. Well, he had another thing coming!
“I demand to know what Nana meant by I am the one? What does she know about me?” She was rooted to the spot.
“You demand nothing from me!” he roared at her. “Sit in that chair.” He pointed to the one that sat alone and away from the fire burning in the fireplace.
When she didn’t move, he marched over to her causing her to back up until the back of her knees hit something hard and unmoving.
“I would suggest that you go sit in that chair and not say another word.” His breath was warm on her face as he spoke. A little voice inside her told her she needed to do this one thing for now. Later, she would be able to figure out how to get out of here.
She tried to stomp on over to the chair, but her wet socks only made a slapping noise on the wooden floor. It was actually a relief to sit in a chair after being up on the horse with Jakar. Her rear end was sore and the inside of her thighs were chapped from the wet clothes rubbing on her skin as the horse walked.
“Was that so hard to do?” He looked her directly in the eye.
She swallowed nervously as she stared into those ice blue eyes. She felt hypnotized by him as she sat there not moving until she felt something scratchy wrap around her wrist. She tore her eyes away from his to see what it was and was shocked to see that he was tying her to the chair.
“Wait. What are you?” She fought to get her arm free but she didn’t have chance. He had her other arm pinned to the arm of the chair and was tying that one too.
“I have to go take a bath. Did you really expect me to leave you lose in the room while I did so? Or perhaps, you would like to join me?” He ran a finger down her cheek.
“I’d rather die!” she spit back.
“We’ll see about that, little one. We will see. I am going to enjoy my bath and when I am done I will help you bathe.”
He didn’t give her time to response to his comment. There was no way in hell she was going to let that man touch her, much less help her bathe. She would fight him all the way.
The sound of splashing water reached her ears. Her eyes were on the door, waiting for him to come through it again. As she waited she tried to think of ways she might be able to escape and find her way back to the spot where he found her. She looked around the room for anything she might be able to use to cut the ropes binding her arms to the chair. He didn’t bother to tie her feet, so that meant she could still partially stand and move about the room. She felt ridiculous when she did it but it was her only hope for now.
The room was so big, it would take her a long time to search everything and she knew she didn’t have the time for that. When she had first entered the room she hadn’t bothered to look around. Now, the first thing that caught her attention was the huge bed. It looked so inviting and warm but dangerous. The covers were a mess and the pillows thrown carelessly about and it took a lot of will power to rip her eyes away from the bed. The rest of the room was filled with pieces of furniture she had only seen in antique shops back home. A gigantic armoire stood against one wall and had to be nine feet tall. A desk made out of the same kind of wood as the armoire was pushed up to the large bay window that overlooked the courtyard. The fireplace was one of the largest she had ever seen with its mantle resting above it. She could see without a doubt if she went to stand in it, she would be able to stand straight and still have room above her head. It did its job though of warming the room. A table with four chairs sat on the opposite of the bed in the middle of the room and figured Jakar must eat a lot of his meals in his room. Distracted with her surroundings, she didn’t hear the door to the bathroom open up.
“I see you succeeded in moving yourself even while you are tied to a chair.”
His voice scared the crap out of her, making her jump. She turned to face him and wished she hadn’t when she saw him. He was bare chested and wore a pair of black tight pants that showed off the muscles in his legs. Droplets of water trailed down his chest to his stomach then disappear into his waistband. He was towel drying his hair that was now free from any dirt or mud. She had to admit, he cleaned up very nicely even if she did hate him.
“Your turn,” he told her and walked over to where she had scooted to.
“Oh hell no!” She struggled to scoot farther away, however she was stopped in her tracks.
“Isobel,” he said her name for the first time. “I am weary and ready to get in my bed. We can do this the hard way or the easy way. Which will it be?”
She saw the threat in his eyes but she couldn’t help to challenge him. He couldn’t be serious about bathing her. “I can bathe myself, thank you.”
“It’s the hard way I guess!” He picked her up, chair and all t
hen walked to the bathroom.
“Put me down, you big goon!” She kicked her legs.
He did put her down after they were in the bathroom. He untied her arms then turned around to run the water into the tub sitting in the middle of the room. A small fireplace heated the small the room, making it comfortable to take a bath.
“Strip,” he said.
“No.”
He let out an exasperated breath. “Strip or I will do it for you.”
By now she knew he was a man of his word. Just when she thought he wouldn’t possibly do something he threatened, he would do it.
“I will not take off my clothes in front of a strange man!” She folded her arms across her chest.
“Oh, so you take your clothes off for men you know? Well, you know my name so that means you know me. Strip!”
“N…” she went to reply then suddenly shut her mouth when he advanced on her. “I’ll do it!” she squeaked to keep him away. She pulled off the wet socks and threw them at his bare feet. Next, she pulled her shirt up over her head and did the same thing with it. She stood there in her bra with her cheeks burning. She hesitated before removing her sweat pants. Once she removed those she would be totally exposed to his roaming eyes.
Through the Looking Glass Page 4
