She’d done that? How? She didn’t know, but she took advantage of the break and tried to scramble away. She didn’t make it very far. There were more than a dozen men, all dressed in weird types of armor, surrounding her and the big blond man. Even if Nalik somehow found her, how was he supposed to help her get out of this?
Without getting himself—or her—killed?
Someone lifted her from the ground and almost tossed her back toward the blond man. He caught her and laughed. “I’ll be having a bit of fun tonight, boys. What do you wager?”
“I’ll wager I’ll cut off your balls and feed them to you.” Cass didn’t know where the courage to say it came from—or foolishness, for that matter—but this man was not going to be touching her. Not if she could help it.
She was no man’s plaything.
“Spirit in there, huh?” He grabbed her again, and with his men surrounding her the way they were she couldn’t get away. He lifted her until they were eye to eye. “You’re going to be quite a bit of fun, aren’t you?”
He put her back down on her feet. “Twiln, take the girl to my tent. I have matters that need seeing to, then I shall get to know my little flower here a bit better. See that she’s well cared for.” He looked at her and grinned, a rather breathtaking grin. “Girl, I shall be with you later. Best be prepared.”
Chapter 20
Every sign that his Rajni had left had been stopped half a mile southeast of where he’d left her. He’d been able to track her that far by following the prints her shoes made in the soft earth. But once she hit a grassy field he’d lost her trail. Nalik refused to let himself panic. She knew to head east; the damned prognosticator had made certain of that. He would just continue in that direction until he found her scent again.
He was not stopping until he found his Rajni, of course. Why had she continued walking? Hadn’t she realized he’d be looking for her and she should have stayed near the cave’s entrance? Was she injured?
He found what he suspected was a Druid’s nest fifteen minutes later, on the edge of a field of grain. Weeds were cut and destroyed, leaving a flattened mess of grass visible to the discerning eye.
A Druid—or a female with Druidic tendencies—had definitely rested in that spot. He lifted some of the vegetation to his face, sniffed. It confirmed what he had suspected. The plants were saturated with the scent of his Rajni.
His Rajni and some other kind of creature. A scent Nalik could not yet identify. But he would.
Whomever had taken his Rajni would soon feel the blade of the sword Nalik carried.
A vow of passivity meant little when his female was threatened.
He found signs that many feet had passed over the ground near where his female had rested. Why had she rested in the midst of the afternoon, to the point of building a full scale Druid nest? He doubted she even realized she had the need or ability to build such a thing. She probably hadn’t had much call to do so in the Gaian realm.
Was she injured? Was she in that much of a need to rest so that the soil and vegetation could heal her? She wasn’t stupid—he knew that for a fact—so why would she bed down in the midst of an open field, in broad daylight, knowing that threats could exist to her?
She had to be hurt. But how badly? Would he be able to heal a human girl?
He honestly didn’t have a damned clue.
He flew east as fast as he could, hoping Sebastos had guided her correctly. If she was out there, he’d find her. He flew over the small range of hills and saw smoke in the distance.
Cooking fires, and quite a few of them, was his best bet. Almost completely due east of their cave. He would start there.
***
They’d tied her hands and feet and tossed her inside a huge canvas tent, laughing while they did it. And their hands had been a bit too happy with her body for her liking. But no one had truly hurt her. What were they intending to do to her? With her?
Her chest still hurt, but the not as badly as it had before. The vines had helped her, more than she would have normally thought possible. But this place was like nothing she had ever imagined.
What was she supposed to say to people if she ever returned home? Yeah, I was taken to the land of the goddess, found out I’m a magical being called a Druid—yeah, like the old Celtic guys—kidnapped by some big blond god-looking dude, and kept in a tent, most likely intended for the slave market.
Who would believe it?
A rush of homesickness hit her so hard she fought to keep from crying. She wanted Em and Mal so badly right then. But she’d settle for Nalik.
Where was he? Had he realized she was missing yet?
The first thing she needed to be worried about was getting herself untied. She couldn’t help herself at all tied up like a sacrificial virgin. She needed something sharp to cut through the rope. It felt like some type of natural fiber, not like nylon or something like that. She didn’t know if that would make much of a difference, but at least she was thinking instead of panicking like she wanted to.
She wasn’t the one in her family who had adventures. That was Rand, or Mitch, or even Becca or Jade. It was never Cass. She was the one who stayed home planting flowers, for heaven’s sake. She read books about plants, not kidnappers and slavers. She so didn’t feel up to this. She took a quick inventory of the tent. There weren’t any sharp objects within easy reach. But there was a small dagger type thing over what appeared to be a bed of some sort, some kind of cross between a hammock and a cot. If she could get up there to it, she might be able to work with it.
At least they’d tied her hands in front. She might be able to get her feet untied—if she was lucky. She couldn’t do anything but try.
It took longer than she wanted to get her left foot free; but after at least half an hour of tugging and wiggling the ropes around, she was able to slide her foot free. It wasn’t much, but at least it was a small victory. She scrambled up on the bed and tried to balance herself when it swung. She fell off twice, but got back up there. She yanked the dagger down. It fell beneath the bed, and it took precious time to pull it back out.
She cut her arm slightly, but she finally managed to jam the knife hilt between two extremely heavy black boots. It was slightly unstable, but she should be able to saw through the rope.
Five minutes, and close to twenty small cuts and knicks on her fingers had her hands free. She grabbed some sort of sheet off the bed and cut it into strips. She wrapped the strips around the worst of the bleeding.
What was she supposed to do now?
Search. Find what she could, then get out of that tent. She rifled through the papers on the small desk. She didn’t recognize a thing, or even the language, written on the papers. But there was a small pouch of coins and an envelope with little gel filled balls. The kind exactly like the one Theo had shown her months ago. Portkeys.
She took them, feeling only a small stab of guilt. She’d been raised not to steal.
But she had never been threatened with slavery before, either. Theo had told her how to use the portkeys. It was just a matter of squeezing them until they burst. The magic would do the rest. Easy enough in theory.
If it came down to it, she’d take a wild guess and squeeze away.
She shoved the envelope into her pocket. As soon as Nalik found her, they could leave. Go home.
But first she had to get out of the tent.
***
A military camp. And he could smell her blood, close. Nalik circled overhead, taking stock of what he was up against. Tried to spot his female.
He tried to get a head count for the number of males in the camp, and his best estimate was close to one hundred men. No females or children. The tents were ragged, but one stood out. It was larger than the rest, and the others were centered around it. A barrier to any threat that might attack their leader.
But where was that leader, and where was Cassandra?
He dove straight down to that tent. He landed on the top of the tent just as a circle of
males approached.
A large blond male walked at the center of the group, laughing and tossing back what Nalik suspected was liquor. A celebration, then. That could be a good thing—it could provide the distraction he needed.
Cassandra’s scent was strong now, and he knew she was inside the tent.
Chapter 21
But how in Three Hells was he supposed to get her out of there? It wasn’t like he could walk right into the camp and get her out.
Or could he?
It wasn’t like these men—of whatever Kind they were—could kill him. No, it was Cassandra who would be most vulnerable no matter what he planned.
He studied the man who would be his biggest threat. He didn’t look that much different than any of the Dardaptoans Nalik had known in the past seven hundred years. To be honest, he half reminded him of Iavius.
The way this blond male laughed and walked brought back many memories of his own brother. Iavius had been blond, too. Had laughed like that, too. An arrogance just like that, too.
This male had a great respect from his warriors. That was evident in the way this male interacted with his followers.
Would he be as respectful with those who opposed him?
It was time for Nalik to find out. He’d never really been one for subtlety. He shifted into the body of a huge raptor—similar to the largest eagle species in Gaia—and cawed as loud as he could.
He circled the camp in concentric flight, ensuring that his shadow passed directly over the blond male’s head several times. When the male had stopped to look up, Nalik pulled himself short and headed straight at the male.
He stopped directly in front of the male, and about six feet above the earth. He shifted into his male form. He clothed himself in basic black, save for a blood red cape. His sword was visible for every eye to see, though he did not touch it.
“Your plantling?” Was all the blond male said, after taking a moment to study Nalik.
“You have her.”
“Tripped over her in the midst of a field.”
“I shall be taking her home now.”
“Forget you the spoils of victory? The joy of the find? The female that I found is a quite comely young one and reminds me of one I once knew. I am not so inclined to just give her over. Without enjoying her first, at least.”
“That shall not be happening. Where is she?”
He knew exactly where she was. He could feel her every breath, after all. Nalik knew she watched, knew she waited for him.
His Rajni needed his protection, and this was what he was born to do. He would not fail.
The blond pulled his own sword from the scabbard. “You wish her returned to you? Fight me for the honor, then. Show me you can use that sword you carry.”
“I’d die a thousand times over for my Rajni. The honor is mine.” Nalik bowed at the waist, keeping his gaze on his opponent.
With only a thought he had the tent flying off of its stakes and the canvas blowing one hundred feet west of where they stood eyeing each other.
The blond started to step back, but caught himself. He raised his blade in arrogant challenge. “I shall have fun with you, then. Tell me, your name?”
“The name is Black. Or Frankenstein, if you’re so inclined.” Nalik knew Cassandra saw him. He’d heard her gasp out his name when the tent had flown over her head. He jerked his head toward the east, knowing she would understand his order.
She scurried toward the edge of the camp. No one was close enough to stop her. Or maybe they didn’t dare.
He waited until she was clear of the main circle before raising his blade toward the blond. “If you can defeat me I have no doubt you and your men will find her again. For now, she is fine where she is at. I believe we have much to discuss between us.”
The male accepted the challenge and the sound of blade on blade rang out in the suddenly still air.
Chapter 22
Nalik knew the other male was toying with him, and he pulled his own blows. Matched for match, they were probably equally as strong a warrior as the other. And he sensed that the other male held just as many of the magical arts as he. But this male was most likely born with his powers, whereas Nalik’s were thrust upon them.
Would that make a difference?
“Riders come!”
He heard the warning but it mattered little to him. Had Cassandra had opportunity to escape the camp? He would hold this man on the line like a mouse as long as it took for his female to flee. The earth rumbled again.
Weeds sprung up around the man’s legs, pulling him to the side. More vines wrapped around Nalik’s opponent’s sword arm.
Cassandra watched, then. Nalik fought the urge to laugh. She had depth inside her, probably more than she even knew.
“Your little plantling is quite strong.” The big bastard hacked at the vines with his hampered arm. The vines wouldn’t hold the man for long. “She older than she looks?”
Nalik put the end of his sword under the man’s chin. He had him, and they both knew it. “Younger. Girl is just a bit past twenty.”
“You into children, then?”
“She’s full grown, and my mate. No one shall separate us.”
“You so sure about that?”
“More than anything else in any world.” And he meant it. He would never be letting her out of his sight. He may not actually claim her as a Rajni, but for the rest of her days he would make damned certain she was safe. “I’ll die to protect, and I’ll live to care for.”
“Then you best finish up with me here, because those Woldhan bastards coming over the hill where your little flower hides aren’t even a third as nice as I.” The big blond bastard dropped his sword to the ground. Surrendered, though both men knew there was no real fight between them. “Best get to her and quickly.”
“You help me protect her and you shall have my loyalty and my sword for all of my days.” And after the display he’d just put on the other male had to recognize what that meant. The blond male nodded. He held out a hand, in the embrace of Dardaptoan warriors of old. Nalik clamped his own hand on the male’s arm. Here was a worthy ally, a male Nalik could respect.
They just knew. Like recognized like.
And Nalik had fought Woldhan mercenaries before. He wasn’t eager to repeat that with Cassandra in their path.
“I am Jushua. Best go to her then. I have enough portkeys in my tent to get my men to safety. I can hold it open for you and your female. If you make haste.”
Nalik took to the sky.
***
Cass heard the sounds of riders coming, and the first thought in her head was that it sounded like another earthquake. She was close enough to the camp to hear the sentries calling out warnings. She could still see Nalik where he and the big blond man fought. She saw when the other man threw down his sword. Did that mean Nalik won?
It didn’t matter; she could see the group of men on horseback coming in the distance behind the rocks she hid on. There were hundreds of them, and they didn’t look friendly. Cass did the only thing she could think of—she ran back toward the camp she’d just escaped.
Nalik landed in front of her, turning back into a man before she could react. She hadn’t seen him flying overhead. He wrapped her in his arms and ran with her over the rocks and grasses, down the hill back toward the camp. What was he doing? Weren’t they supposed to be going away from the camp?
She tried to ask, but they were moving far too fast. The motion-sickness that had always plagued her threatened to rear its ugly head. She swallowed it down—she would not get sick while he was carrying her. That would be so wrong.
He finally stopped moving when they reached the largest tent in the camp. A crowd of men were gathered around a growing red haze. He sat her back on her feet and pointed to the red. “Portkey.”
“To where?” There must have been more in the tent she hadn’t found.
“I don’t have a damned clue. We’re hitching a ride with the blond wonder and his crew.
” His hand on her shoulder was tight, but reassuring. Cass had never been happier to see him. “Stay close to me, no matter what.”
“Ok, but Nalik…” She wound her fingers around the pocket of his tunic. She wasn’t letting go of him again. Not until they were home.
“Yes?” Impatience was all she heard. “Spit it out.”
She stepped closer to make absolutely sure she wasn’t overheard, though the sound of the approaching riders—whatever kind of people they were—was thunderous. “I have two dozen portkeys in my pocket.”
He stared down at her for the longest time. Then he surprised her by grinning. He leaned down and kissed her neck. Cass shivered, despite the threats surrounding them. Why had he done that? He whispered so low that she barely heard him. “Keep that little secret to yourself. We don’t know where we’re going, or who we can trust. You stay with me at all times.”
“Stuck to you like glue.” She wasn’t letting go of the darned man until they got to where they needed to go. Then she’d reevaluate how she was feeling about him. Something between them had changed. She didn’t know what; hopefully she’d get a chance to find out.
The red ether was growing and the riders were getting closer. Cass could hear the shouting behind her. The sentries still standing guard at the edges of the camp were yelling, running toward the center. They took up a guard position behind Cass and Nalik and some of the other men. The riders were shouting, and flaming arrows were striking the tents. Cass fought a scream. This was even greater proof that the riders meant more harm than good.
It was something out of a bad horror movie, the kind her cousin Rand loved to watch when they were kids. Only this was far more real, far more terrifying. Her fingers tightened on Nalik’s tunic, though she refused to let herself look like a pitiful weakling in need of a big handsome man to save her.
Even if that was what she actually was. She had no illusions about herself. Not in this place.
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