She pressed her palm on his back. The spine formed a shallow canal between muscles that bunched and intersected, running from huge shoulders to a waist which tapered to the small of his back, where diminutive swords lay crisscrossed. But Clara was unafraid. His treatment of her was that of someone that did not know, could not know, kindness, concern... care. How could one show compassion when one had never known it? And the males of the Band would include him but would not be nurturers.
She lay her head in the middle of his back, feeling the rise and fall of his chest. Silently lending her compassion to him, wanting him to know that she forgave him his treatment, that he understood he had a friend.
He felt her heat emanate into his body, seeping from the point of contact. It slid to his extremities. With a low groan he turned in one smooth motion and grabbed her upper arms, his hands completely encircling them and drew her to him until their chests were crushed together.
Clara felt him pull her against him in a spine-tingling rush of desire that swept over her in a heated wash and was powerless to remind herself that this must not happen, that he was not of the sphere. The fragment raged about them waiting to take the unprotected. His own Band sought them even now. Instead, she fell into his embrace like a woman lost, a bottle in the ocean, swept to sea.
Matthew put a hand underneath her chin, cupping it loosely, his fingertips moving up the length of it, gliding until they swept beyond her temple, carving pathways through her hair. He fisted it tightly and she gasped. He held her there and gazed into her eyes. He did not want to force her but he could not seem to help his actions, resisting as long as he could. He felt that his whole life had been but preparation for this moment with this woman. All intellect lost before her.
Matthew let the question fill his eyes, she saw it and gave a very slight nod and he bent his head and pressed his lips to hers.
Clara was shocked by the softness of his kiss. For all his size and mannerisms she thought his kiss would be an onslaught. But it was not. It was soft, a velvet feather. With pressure and movement, his lips lifted, sought, connected and explored. When he took her lower lip in his teeth capturing it there, he nibbled on it then sucked it into his mouth softly, his tongue explored the inside of her mouth delicately then with increasing passion and Clara was lost in it, her body afire. Clinging to his shoulders like a lifeline, she gave back what she got, pressing her body harder into his, her hands sliding up around his neck.
Matthew was desperate for more of her touch and when her hands dug into his shoulders as she began to move up to encircle his neck, he lifted her right off the ground and she held onto him. His kisses rained down like rose petals on her throat... her neck, everywhere skin was, he worshiped it with his mouth.
She felt him move her until her back was against the very tree that she had cowered against earlier. The rough bark biting slightly as his body covered hers completely. Those large hands pressed her body against his, one hand exploring her ribcage and waist and the other holding her against the trunk.
Matthew became aware of far-off noises and broke off his attentions...his breath coming in quick gasps. His senses sharpening, he looked down on her. Clara's eyes were swimming pools of turquoise in a face flushed a deep pink, the marks of abuse fading and in their place lips that were swollen from kisses instead of fists.
Damn.
He wanted her, it sung in his body like a finely tuned instrument. But his senses had roared to life and that meant threats were near. Ignoring his Band's directives could not negate those deeply honed instincts that he had been born with.
“What?” Clara asked, languid and drowsy in his embrace.
“Someone draws near,” Matthew said, gently lowering her down, his arms around her, pulling her tight against his chest, his hand stroking her hair, his eyes scanning the distance.
He heard horses but not Band. Fragment? He pushed Clara behind him and said, “Stay behind me, no matter what occurs, do not leave my side.”
Clara felt sick, it was too many things, one on top of the other. She put her hand on the tree but met his gaze, nodding.
Satisfied, Matthew turned away from her. Releasing his daggers from the small of his back, his hands swinging around to the front of his body, his stance widening as the thundering of the horses hooves neared. Matthew lowered into a crouching stance.
Clara watched Matthew move in front of her and take the small swords from their sheathing, a singing metal sound as they briefly connected making her ears ring. She did finally hear the approaching horses and knew that her life would be changing yet again. She badly wished to move up behind Matthew, out of sight and hidden behind him.
But if there were to be a fight, she would be in the way so she stood where she was, vulnerability her burden to carry.
****
Charles and Clarence waited until the two savages were gone and the others back inside the gate then followed them after some discussion.
“She is not here, you heard those savages. She has escaped...”
“Or been taken,” Clarence said.
Charles nodded.
“We follow them then. Where they lead, we shall follow and the Princess will be there.”
Charles palmed his jaw thoughtfully. “They went to the trouble to acquire her and then she slips between their fingers?” his fingers clenched, then splaying, he shook his head. Something was amiss. The savages seemed far too astute and instinctual to allow such a thing.
“Agreed, but our path is laid before us, Charles. Whatever may have happened, it matters not. She is still in danger, true?”
“Yes,” Charles replied.
They followed, the savages' stealthy tracks a challenge to navigate but they did, for Clara.
****
Queen Ada sent Henry ahead to the huge complex which was surrounded by an intimidating natural fence made of the huge timbers that were so prevalent in this strange place.
It had not been without argument.
“Queen Ada, I implore you, that we behave in a friendly and peaceful way, not lurking about as if we mean harm.”
“We do mean harm, Henry. I do not wish to 'make peace' with the savages. I wish to take what is mine, return to the sphere and have the betrothal go forward so that we may ally the kingdoms,” she said to Henry as if he were a simpleton.
He sighed, she was stupidly stubborn. “My Queen,” she smiled at him without warmth, “I will spy for you but I do not feel it is to our benefit.”
“Duly noted. Now go,” she said, uncapping her wine flask.
Henry eyed the flask and tried again, “Queen Ada,” she narrowed her eyes on him, “what of food? When was the last time you took a meal? Some cheese perhaps?” she glowered at him and he unflinchingly held her gaze.
“Fine,” she made a disgusted noise in her throat. “You, guard,” she barked.
The guard which dragged the load that was the Queen, jumped on his mount at her tone, turning quickly. “Yes, my Queen?”
She spoke to him but looked directly at Henry, “Ready some cheese with grapes,” she spat the last word sarcastically. Henry was sure it was for his benefit. “So this worrisome nagging will discontinue.”
“Post haste, my Queen,” he said.
Henry could hear him rustling for the food.
“Satisfied?” she said, her question both a challenge and a statement.
“Yes.”
“Yes, what?”
“Yes, my Queen,” Henry said with resignation.
She smiled at his discomfiture. Whatever made others uncomfortable seemed to please her, he thought.
She was a hateful example of humanity.
He turned away and left her and the other guards in the deepest part of the woods, making his way toward a fence constructed of huge logs that had their tops sharpened to dangerous points.
As he approached, he became aware of raised voices. He crouched down behind wild ferns with serrated fronds that rose about in all directions, the low branches o
f the evergreen trees almost caressing their tops; he could not be seen. Yet one of the huge savages turned in his direction, his nostrils flaring, his hand hovering over the hilt of a dirk that hung at his hip.
But a short man with a barrel chest and a bald head of a certain age gained his attention and he was distracted. However, it was what they said that made the breath still in Henry's body.
“...but know this, I want that Princess back here, standing in front of me, unharmed. Do you understand?”
More words were exchanged, snippets heard but not in their entirety. Somehow, they had kidnapped the Princess, then lost her? To whom? Henry was more mystified than ever. This was no longer a simple acquisition mission. They had grossly underestimated the sophistication of the savages. Wrongly assumed a state of primitiveness that was unfounded. He closed his eyes for a moment, despairing. Gaining Clara for the sphere was now no longer a directive by the Queen.
She was their last hope, their greatest chance for a future without tyranny.
****
Jabez watched the Queen's First Guard make his stealthy departure from yonder foliage. Taking his leave, he was certain, to explain the surprise of what he had also heard.
The Princess had fallen out of their grasp and she was being reacquired somewhere in this vast wilderness.
Jabez moved quietly away toward their camp. He had seen the savages scanning the area constantly, as if they may know they were observed, which was impossible. He thought upon their strange size, the gills, that only fish should have. Their way of movement was lithe and graceful, but deadly. They would be fierce fighters.
Jabez could envision this.
His heart raced with the anticipation of coming against them. The Prince's guard would prevail, there were simply too many for the savages to gain advantage.
They would surrender or die.
He hurried back to tell the Prince all that he knew.
****
Matthew's body trembled, adrenaline coursing through him, the female at his back. A new purpose drilled through his body which was almost painful. It was more than pure desire, he wished to share something more, something intrinsically powerful.
Life.
Now that epiphany was threatened.
Horses slowed and came into view... it was the fragment, and they were many. Matthew's heart sped, he could feel Clara's fear behind him. The need to cover her with his protection choked him, singing through him, unlike anything he had ever experienced.
His eyes traveled the group of twelve and one female, Evelyn. Her eyes pleading with him, her hair a matted mess, one eye swollen shut.
Rage surged through Matthew. They would die. Or he would die making them sorry.
Then his eyes landed on one male, then another, whom he recognized. The decade past had not dimmed in his memory.
Margaret’s attackers.
The large male of the fragment dismounted, keeping his gaze locked on Matthew. “Well, what do we have here?” he said, his eyes flicking behind Matthew then to Clara.
Clara looked at the girl, obviously abused and knew instantly that it was Evelyn. She looked upon each cruel face and saw no mercy, only evil intent. She knew that look, she knew it very well. The fragment looked upon them as the Queen looked upon her. As Prince Frederic did. Good Guardian, this was a horror.
“Ralph, does this breeder look familiar to you?”
“Aye, he does, healthier though...” Claude chuckled.
Matthew eyed them both, calculating his dagger thrusts as they bantered back and forth. His mind was already gutting them like the swine they were.
Suddenly, from the other direction, horses approached. Matthew knew the gait, the cadence of those horses:
The Band... his brothers.
Matthew straightened as Bracus, Jack, Jacob, James and Philip came into sight. Their steeds' sides heaved, glistening sweat wrapping the horses' bodies.
Clara could not believe her eyes; the Band. She dared to hope.
Bracus laid his eyes on Matthew, then Clara behind him. What was happening here? He saw the fragment, still with Evelyn and realized the Band's surprise entrance into the heart of the fragment foothold had been for naught. They had not been there. Having taken Evelyn, they had then led a hunting party. She had yet to be taken to their stronghold. Then his eyes touched on Clara again.
What was Clara doing out of the clan?
Bracus' heart was hammering so hard in his chest he thought it may escape. He drunk in the sight of her, she was beginning to heal from the beating but looked as if she had traveled hard, her hair falling about her in a riot of burnished copper, shining in the sun which lit the meadow they found themselves in. Her eyes widened at the sight of them, scared and trembling, on the verge of shock.
Bracus shook off the reason as to why Matthew and Clara found themselves here instead of inside the safety of the clan. One disaster at a time. And right now, his priority was Evelyn. He glanced at Matthew, their eyes meeting, an uncanny understanding flowed between the two. Matthew nodded acknowledgment of Bracus' unspoken directive.
Matthew would protect Clara. The Band would concentrate on the fragment.
The Band stood behind Bracus, fluidly dismounting as a single unit. They had no time to tie the horses down. But then neither did the fragment, who had also dismounted.
Ralph tied the girl to the reins of the horse, let the hellion try to escape. She had needed quite a spot of discipline for them to come to an understanding. She'd be a fine breeder when she came of age, he thought, licking his lips. He looked into her upturned face and should have known what was coming next as she reared her head back and spat at him, much of which landed directly in his face.
Rage surged through him and he backhanded her hard enough that it threw her small body against his horse, who staggered a step backward, neighing nervously.
Evelyn slid down the horse's flank, landing with an indelicate plop beside one of the horse's hooves, her ears ringing and bile rising in her stomach.
Bracus roared at the Band, Evelyn's abuse untenable. They surged forward, Bracus in the lead, Philip on the far corner. He would tame the fragment's flank.
Clara watched the Band advance, their muscles flexing as they moved against the fragment in an elaborate dance choreographed of violence. Even with their superior size, they were yet outnumbered so how would they prevail?
Ralph met the large one with his dagger extended swiping forward, slashing a great swath at that broad chest. Bracus stepped into the swinging metal, meeting it with his dagger, the sound of clanging weapons lifting the birds from the trees.
Two of the fragment circled around Philip. Half a head taller than both, he brought his weapons away from his body, one dagger clockwise, the other counter. They swung in a semi-circle as one of the fragment came forward. Claude, Clara thought, wondering if he had been the one to lay hands on that small girl which lay in a crumpled heap at the feet of a horse.
Everywhere Clara looked there were males entangled with one another. The noise of fists striking flesh, the meaty sounds of impact underscored by metal which struck, churning the silence into a clashing frenzy.
Claude distracted the large male, his eyes trained on the strange gills, fully open, having a bright pink interior as they assisted...his breathing. Claude feigned a lunge and another fragment grabbed the breeder from behind, leaping on his back and looping a forearm around his neck.
This only seemed to enrage him. With a roar, Philip used the male's momentum, grabbing the forearm about his neck, he swung him over the top of his shoulder and launched him as far as he could, at the same time he felt a deep burning in his side. He looked down, seeing the hilt of an unfamiliar dagger buried within him.
Claude, of the fragment, felt an evil smile fill his face. He had him now.
Philip ignored the dagger, leaving it in place, knowing there would be more blood loss at its removal. With a war cry he launched himself at Claude, his dagger arcing above him, the shine off
the blade momentarily blinding Claude who sidestepped Philip.
Philip instinctively anticipated the avoidance maneuver and curved his body toward his opponent, slashing at his neck, downward. Then, with a vicious twist, he buried and turned the blade in one movement. Rolling to the ground the dagger pierced his side deeper as he landed, the pain turning into a roaring inferno. He lay on his back slowly turning his head to look at his opponent, who lay cooperatively bleeding out, his blood spilling like red water.
Clara watched the horror unfold before her as two of the fragment approached Matthew. Not wishing to distract him, she shrunk against the trunk of the tree making herself as small a target as possible. His blades clenched in his hands... he prowled toward them, meeting them before they got closer to where Clara stood.
Matthew was keenly aware of Clara behind him as the first male of the fragment lunged at him and he swung his head to the side as the male's blade pushed air against his face and the second male advanced. He did not turn. Hearing the movement of the second male's arm, he reflexively lashed out behind him, punching his dagger in the direction his senses were tuned to, at the same time thrusting the dagger in his right hand up and into the underside of the jaw of the first.
Clara watched blood pour out of one of the males of the fragment who were on Matthew's right side. The male who had been circling to attack from behind was nursing a slashing wound that had opened an eight inch gash from collarbone to shoulder, narrowly missing the tender flesh of the neck.
His eyes caught Clara's at the same time that two more of the fragment advanced on Matthew. The male with the wounded shoulder seemed to shake off the pain, blood running freely from the sucking hole. He came at Clara, who looked around frantically for the closest Band. She saw Philip was down and Bracus was actively working his way to the girl, two fragment were on the ground and the other Band were sorely outnumbered and fighting what remained.
No one noticed that Clara was in desperate trouble.
She whipped her head around for a weapon. The male, seeing her looking for something, smiled with grim joy and came nearer.
The SAVAGE Series, Books 1-3: The Pearl Savage, The Savage Blood and The Savage Principle Page 23
