Kai sensed activity just beyond the alcove. The brush suddenly came alive from every direction. Straight ahead, a gangly man with dirty brown hair appeared, brandishing a bow.
Aric took him out with single arrow to the throat. He fell forward, and his lifeless form slumped across a shrub.
Kai spotted a large bandage on the man's backside. He inched forward, sniffing a familiar scent. They'd met before. Zeno. The one-cheeked man wouldn't bother them again.
He turned to his partner to acknowledge the small victory, and hissed. Aric was gone. Kai leapt the few feet to the alcove where they'd stored their weapons. It was empty.
Has Aric picked up everything and relocated? There hadn't been time. In a matter of seconds, he'd vanished.
Kai glanced back at the pitifully thin body of Zeno. Dagen had sacrificed the poor sod as a decoy. The death had drawn Kai's attention away for just enough time.
The frightening part was how quietly they'd nabbed Aric. It would have taken at least three men of their stature to capture the tall warrior. He doubted Dagen himself was among them.
Stepping backwards, hissing, Kai's mind reeled. He had to figure out his next move. And Dagen's.
* * * *
Darting around the underbrush and then back inside the cave, Kai searched for some sign of where or how Aric had been taken without him hearing anything. There was nothing. No sign of the attacking clan or of his lover.
His heart pounded wildly. Fear for Aric and for the fate of his clan was like a blanket that weighed him down. The incessant fog filtering in from the damp woods only made him feel worse.
He returned to the spot outside where Aric had vanished and covered the area completely, nose to the ground. To the left, he caught the distinct smell of his lover, and others. Then he saw an opening covered by dead brush hanging from the stone wall and stopped immediately to investigate. Leaning forward, his nose within inches of the fissure, he inhaled deeply. The unmistakable reek of human stink hit him, and he backed away, sneezing.
Gathering himself, he stepped forward again and took another breath. Yes, he smelled Aric. Aric's blood.
His own blood ran cold. What the fuck have they done? He sat back on his haunches. If they'd harmed Aric, he'd see that each and every one of the renegade clan paid with their lives.
Knowing he had to do something fast, he pushed his apprehension aside and eased into the hidden passageway of another cavern. The smell of unwashed men became instantly stronger. The pungency made his nose wrinkle, and again he wondered how they'd gotten close enough without him sensing them.
A drop of blood caught his attention, and he bent to sniff it. Aric's for sure. He fought back his anger.
The passageway was tight, even for his narrow cat shoulders. It must have been a struggle to get Aric through. He assumed the men who'd grabbed him were as malnourished and thin as Zeno, so they'd have had a much easier time of it, but the weight of his lover would have sorely taxed them.
He crept ahead as quickly as he could, the darkness thick around him, the human scent cloying. Yet he was relieved to be on the trail.
A sudden turn in the tunnel slowed him. He stopped and peered around the bend, looking for an ambush. There was nothing, just more of the dark, damp passage ahead.
He slunk forward, belly to the ground. Turning a corner, he suddenly saw light ahead. Only the subdued light of the foggy day filtering in from some distance away, but enough to guide him the last two dozen paces. He stopped and put his nose to the ground, sniffing. The odour of the men he was after was there.
Turning his head, he caught the faintest hint of sound. Then voices rang out, angry, snarling male voices, coming from outside.
"Fuck you. I ain't carryin’ no unconscious lummox like him.” A deep growl punctuated the statement, followed by the sound of a sharp slap.
"You'll fuckin’ do what I tell you, or you'll be sorry. Remember Pearl."
It was so silent, so deathly still, that for a moment, Kai thought they'd moved on. Then he heard the soft snarl. “Yeah, I remember my Pearl."
"Dagen showed you what happens when you disobey him."
"He didn't need to go using my Pearl like he did. She was a good female. Bastard."
"You better shut the fuck up. Dagen hears talk like that, you'll be joining your precious Pearl sooner than you want to."
The man grumbled, his footsteps shuffled closer, kicking dirt, scraping gravel, and then receded. “If you hadn't fuckin’ hit this one so hard, he'd still be able to walk on his own."
"Fuck you! We better get outta here, that cat is liable to find the way any second,” the second voice spat. “The others'll be along soon. Pick him up and quit your damn arguin'."
Kai listened carefully, heard a grunt and a moan, then more footsteps heading away from the cave. He snuck forward, careful to be as silent as possible. He peered out and saw the forest. The fog had finally begun to lift, promising a bright, sunny day.
Behind him came the voices of more men. He couldn't make out their words, but he knew if he stayed where he was, he'd be discovered at any moment. Taking a deep breath, he raced for the nearest cover, a boulder ten feet away.
Once he got behind it, he crouched low and waited for those still inside the cave to emerge. He wanted to have some idea of how many he'd be up against. Aric's life might depend on the knowledge he garnered.
Concern for Aric forced its way once more to the forefront of his thoughts. How badly is he hurt?
A scraping sound from the cave's entrance brought his focus back to his surroundings, and he peered at the black hole of the entryway.
A human head appeared at about waist level, the man's body obviously bent almost double. Long, greasy looking strands of dark hair hung over the man's eyes. Sunken cheeks and bony shoulders added to the starved look, and for an instant Kai felt sorry for the group. It isn't the clan that's at fault, it's their leader, Dagen.
The man emerged, peering suspiciously around, and was followed by another equally emaciated creature. They were naked, so must have been in cat form for at least part of their journey. Either that or the clan was in worse shape than he'd thought.
"Where'd the cat go?” asked the first dark haired man out of the cave. He continued to peer into the underbrush around them, his nervousness obvious.
The other nudged him and said, “Couldn't we just tell Dagen he got killed by one of them arrows?"
"Idiot! Dagen would want proof. You got a body we can show him?"
"Fuck!” the man growled, and followed when the first one moved further away from the cave. “Maybe we can say we tossed the body over a cliff or something."
The first man whirled on the fool and snarled, “Listen, you moron, if Dagen wants proof of the guy being dead, are you going to climb down some fucking cliff where there's no body, then climb back up with another idiotic story?"
Blinking, the man replied, “Uh, I didn't think of that."
"Well, maybe you better start using your head for something else besides holding your ears up."
"Sorry, Lath, I'll shut up and do what you tell me.” The fellow crouched and darted to the side.
He wasn't one of the brainier members of the clan. It was also apparent that Dagen wasn't well thought of by any of his followers.
The two men moved off, trailing those who'd taken Aric. Perhaps they assumed he'd be after them.
Kai gave them a few minutes to get well on their way before taking up their trail. Two men dead, four ahead of him—he wondered if those were all the able-bodied fighters Dagen had. If they'd dragged both Feth and Sable along, that made almost equal odds if it came to a battle while they were on the trail.
Climbing to his feet, he sniffed the footprints of the two men who'd just departed and wrinkled his nose. Unwashed bodies truly did stink, he thought. He loped after them silently. A plan slowly formed.
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Chapter Six
The rough terrain opened onto a small meadow K
ai hadn't visited in a very long time. It was on the northern edge of his domain and held little game because of its nearness to the human city of Newburgen and the wide cliff that dropped to the sea to the north. Kai had kept his clan as far away from the humans as he could. It seemed Dagen wasn't as careful.
The small group of men, along with two prisoners, trudged about fifty feet ahead of him, towards a small encampment with rough-looking shelters. A third prisoner was being dragged between two of the men. The one Kai assumed was Dagen walked in front of everyone.
He was tall, perhaps as tall as Kai himself. His long, oily hair was black and streaked with grey. He turned back to say something to the others that didn't carry, allowing Kai to see the sharp, angular features that defined his face and the angry, red claw mark on his left cheek. My doing. Kai smiled.
More muscular than any of his clan, Dagen apparently ate whatever food there was. His clothes, vest and pants were similar to the clothing Kai's clan wore.
Where did this guy come from?
Dagen paused, still facing the others, and Kai drew close enough to gaze intently at him, intrigued. The renegade might have been handsome before the disfiguring scar, but an angry snarl seemed permanently plastered on his face.
The two who'd followed Kai from the cave now had the pleasure of dragging the still unconscious Aric between them. Feth and Sable, both with their hands tied behind them, were bullied along by anyone else who wanted a free swat or a free feel of Sable's luscious curves.
Working closer, Kai got to within several feet of the group and sensed that his lover wasn't as ‘unconscious’ as his kidnappers thought. Hopefully no one else would notice. In human form it was easy to miss such signs, and they all travelled in that guise. Kai was the only cat at the moment, and he was glad of it. He moved around them, positioning himself several yards ahead so he could observe them more fully.
"Let me go!” The sudden outburst came from Sable.
She'd been silent up until then, walking behind Dagen, next to her brother, who looked much like her with his midnight black hair and sharply chiselled features. They were both scruffy looking and unwashed, Feth more so than Sable, but at least they both had clothing, rough though it was. Worn trousers and a ragged shirt that might have been blue at some point covered Feth, and Sable's leather leggings looked as if they'd belonged to a much bigger woman before she'd inherited them. The shirt barely closed over her bosom though, and Kai had a hard time keeping his eyes off the gaping holes between the straining buttons. Neither wore shoes, and Kai assumed that was true of most of the clan.
Kai's anger flared, barely under control.
"You can't keep us like this forever, Dagen,” she raved, pulling at the bindings holding her hands behind her.
Dagen led them past Kai's hiding place and into the centre of the camp, where he halted the small group. He took a step towards Sable. He raised his hand and, as quick as lightning, brought it down, striking her face. “Bitch,” he snarled and raised his hand again. “You'll do exactly what you're told or you and this brother of yours will find yourselves dancing off the end of a rope for my amusement."
The second blow knocked her off her feet. She landed with a dull thud a yard from the brute. The right side of her face turned a bright red and she glared at him.
Even from his hiding spot, Kai saw the flash of anger in her eyes. He prayed she'd guard her tongue, at least until he got close enough to rescue them all.
His heart in his throat, he turned and looked at Aric. His captors had made no effort to save him from more cuts and bruising. They'd simply each grabbed an arm and dragged him along between them. Kai knew he was alert. When Dagen had struck Sable, Aric had tensed, only for a moment, but Kai had seen it.
'Hold, my love, don't give yourself away.'
He crept closer, careful to keep himself hidden in the brush but near enough to see beyond the small group. The rough lean-tos in the shelter of the trees looked almost peaceful. He spotted two kits peering towards the incoming group. The youngsters were skeletally thin and seemed to have little energy for running or playing and simply crouched at the base of a large evergreen tree. Beyond them, two women sat by a fire pit that had no fire. An elderly male had risen to his feet and taken several faltering steps towards them until he stopped only a few feet away. Kai would have cried out with rage if he'd been anywhere else. The man was barely able to stand and hobble, yet he'd raised a spear in defence of the small group. His blind eyes shone white against the tanned skin of his wrinkled face.
Ignoring the emaciated old man defending the clan, Dagen stepped away from Sable and growled to the two holding Aric, “Come on, drag that one in. Might get some fun out of him before we move in and take over the rest of his clan."
He turned and leaned down, taking hold of Sable's arm, hauling her up. Her brother took an angry step forward, but another male grabbed him roughly, pulling him back. Tied, he was helpless.
Dagen headed across the open field, Sable in tow. She seemed to know it was useless to fight and stumbled after him. The other man followed, dragging Feth.
Kai wondered if she sensed him. He hoped so. I sense when she's near. Hopefully, she has the same intuition.
He knew he couldn't just race across the open ground, so he quickly circled it. Coming to a large patch of ferns behind one of the two ragged-looking lean-tos, he hunkered down.
"He come to yet?” Dagen and the other man reappeared without their prisoners and strode to where Aric had been dropped in the dirt.
Aric's arms were held behind him and he had a large bruise on the side of his head, but otherwise Kai thought he looked all right. He glanced around, but from where he was, he couldn't see either Sable or her brother.
"Nah, he's still dead to the world."
"Maybe his brain's addled,” said the one Kai had heard them call Lath.
"Don't matter.” Dagen took a step closer and gave Aric a kick in the ribs.
Standing over him, the scrawny leader reached inside the neck of his rough jerkin. Kai thought he was scratching, but instead he pulled out the talisman. It hung from a rough leather strap, its beautiful stone gleaming in the morning sunlight. Dagen fingered it, running his thumb over the delicate, gold filigree, then tucked it back inside his shirt.
"Yeah,” said one of the others. “Dead or alive, he's still good for bait."
"You fucking moron,” Dagen exclaimed. “Their leader wants him, alive. If he's fucking dead, he's no good to me. We can use this one to attract him. And I need their leader. I need to discover the secrets of this amulet. They remain a mystery to me."
The man looked bewildered. “Huh?"
Dagen rolled his eyes. “Drag him over to where we hung that deer last week for skinning."
Kai realised then that the pulley he'd seen on his way in might be something other than the remains of a hunting camp. It was mounted on a tree behind the small cluster of dwellings. The tree leaned dangerously to one side and the attached rope dangled over a deep ravine.
Lath and another of the men dragged Aric away from the lean-tos, heading for the pulley and the deep gully. Dagen followed them, snickering.
"All right, tie his hands with that rope. It should be strong enough to hold him."
The two men bent to their chore.
With the entire clan watching, Kai was helpless to do anything. A low growl rumbled deep in his chest, and he fought to control his anger and the growing fear. He noticed that the men tying Aric's hands kept looking around as if they expected an attack, or help, from someone. Did they somehow sense him?
Once they'd bound Aric's wrists, they stood and shuffled their feet. “Sir, are you sure about this?” the unnamed man asked.
The rest of the clan huddled in a small group, eyes wide and fear etched on every face. The stink of them was overwhelming. He counted less than twenty people, and none of them looked happy to be there. Except Dagen.
"Shut the fuck up and do what I say. Lift him up and swing him out ov
er the ravine."
"But Dagen—” began Lath.
Dagen strode forward. Before the man could finish, Dagen had backhanded him and sent him tumbling to the ground.
"Do it, now!” he screeched, spittle flying from his mouth.
Lath scrambled to his feet and jumped to help raise Aric. It took both of the scrawny men to lift him, but in only a few moments Kai watched as his lover, his mate, was swung over the ravine.
Kai mewled softly, imagining the pain Aric felt. His lover still feigned unconsciousness, which was probably the best thing. If he'd put up a struggle, Dagen might have killed him on the spot. The maniac had two other hostages to use as bait and had no way of knowing how attached Kai was to the man dangling over the chasm.
The morning sun was high in the sky. It was uncomfortably warm, and none of Dagen's clan seemed to have much energy. Once Aric was trussed, two men were put on guard duty, and the rest sprawled in the shade of the lean-tos, escaping the worst of the heat.
Kai eased his way through the brush, searching for Sable. If he could get her attention, she and Feth might be able to help him.
He needed to get to Dagen, but he had to do it carefully. If he rushed the man, his cowed followers would certainly fight back. If he could somehow get to Sable and free her, she could spread the word that help had arrived for them all. One or two people might stay loyal to Dagen, but Kai doubted many more would. They all looked tired and hungry, and the fear he'd seen in their eyes spoke volumes.
Crawling with his belly low to the ground, he found Sable and Feth sitting at the edge of the clearing, their hands still behind them, tied to two trees. Both of them had closed their eyes, resting, he assumed. He needed to make contact with Sable first. If Feth spotted him, he might shout and all would be lost.
Kai stayed camouflaged in the brush and hissed. Sable didn't stir, so he purred louder.
Her lashes fluttered open, but otherwise she didn't move. Her gaze searched the bushes, but he saw it go right past him.
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