Leija would want Amara to fight, to survive, for as long as she could until she could escape. Six men surrounded her and they watched her constantly. Amara knew that there would be no escape for her.
Chapter Two
Kaichen raced upon the back of his horse as he entered into a canyon that ran parallel to the warriors that held the woman captive. He knew that he was running out of time. He needed to find a defensive position where he could take down at least four of the men before they determined which direction his arrows came from.
He held his horse’s mane tightly within his grasp and he knew that the animal responded to the urgency that pounded through his body. Kaichen did not wait for the horse to draw to a stop.
He leapt from the animal’s back and began to climb the face of the rock set before him. If he did not make it to the top of the ledge before the warriors started past, then he knew that all was lost. He could not face six men upon the open land that lie ahead of them and hope to win.
Kaichen climbed as if he had been born to do so and perhaps he had. The people that lived upon the land of canyon, mesa and red rock and stone had long ago dwelled within the cavern walls.
Their legends said that the great waters had receded as the world gave birth to red rock and canyon floor, caverns and caves had been created which sheltered their people. Kaichen had climbed with ease from the time that he could first walk until now.
His skill only grew with time and he was able to position in a way that would be impossible for others. His breath did not hitch in his chest and his body did not grow tired from the strain of holding his position as he braced one foot against a rock wall and the other behind him.
He did not feel fear over the sheer height of his position. Height gave him the advantage and that was all that he had at his disposal.
A sigh escaped his chest, but even this was done with single-minded purpose. Kaichen released his breath as he caught sight of his target. It did not occur to him to feel thankful that he was not too late.
Emotion did not enter into his mind at all, not when the warrior’s blood that lived inside of him flooded through his body. He decided to take out the lead warrior first and those closest to him next.
Kaichen knew that the woman could be killed by his actions. But he reasoned that if he did not act, she would certainly die.
He allowed his eyes to lose focus and then he called the target to him just as he had been trained. If Azin could see his student in action then he would know only pride. Kaichen let his arrow fly and quickly notched another.
His movements were smooth and fluid and he did not give in to the temptation to check that his targets had fallen. Instead, he focused on the next man that would die. He aimed for the largest part of their bodies as they walked forward.
The first three men took arrows directly to their chests. The forth man moved out of place as he searched for the threat. But he was too late, Kaichen’s arrow found his throat.
The man gasped as he held both hands to the wound and stumbled forward. Kaichen did not spare another arrow to ease the man’s suffering as he aimed at the fifth man.
Kaichen’s hands were steady though he had just slaughtered four men. The fifth man had his full attention. The sixth man had run for cover even as the first arrows flew.
Kaichen saw that he had made a mistake. The man that he sought to kill held a knife to the girl’s throat as he turned to face the rock wall. Even from this distance, Kaichen could see that the man sought to bargain for the girl’s life. He did not hesitate.
Kaichen let his arrow fly even as the young woman shifted out of the man’s grasp. The man screamed in agony as an arrow pierced his eye. The woman’s hair whipped around them as his fingers tightened upon her arms and then fell loose.
Kaichen turned his attention to the sixth man.
Already the man had made it to the canyon wall and taken shelter. The woman stood, frozen in place, as the men that had not died writhed in agony from their wounds. Kaichen slid down from his exposed position and carefully descended the rock wall.
The woman had fallen to her knees and he glanced around as he searched for movement. Somewhere nearby their enemy had taken cover and Kaichen did not think for a moment that they were out of danger.
“Get down!” Kaichen yelled to the woman though she did not even glance his way.
It was possible that she did not understand his words or perhaps she simply did not hear him. The man with the wound to his eye continued to scream in agony. Kaichen threw his body over the woman just as a spear flew toward them.
“Will you come with me willingly?” He spoke to her even though she continued to stare with eyes that were wide with fear.
His spear was upon his back, but as he crouched over the woman’s still form he turned and faced the sixth warrior.
Kaichen knew at once that he had made a mistake that could prove fatal. He had sought to take out the leader with his first arrow. But somehow he had mistaken the actions of the first man as those of a leader.
The man that approached him with a battle-hardened gaze challenged him with the ferocity of a wild animal. Kaichen held a spear but the fury of the other man let him know that such a weapon would have to be hurled with great force to stop his opponent.
Kaichen did not doubt his own strength, but he had witnessed the madness that overcame men when they fought for their lives. Anger gave men strength. Kaichen called his own anger forth as the man charged him and he only hoped that it would be enough.
As the man ran forward a hail of arrows pierced the ground around them. Kaichen’s heart lurched in his chest as his limbs started to tremble. Antuk!
There was very little that could put fear into his heart, but Antuk’s aim had caused greater men than him to gasp in fear. The warrior facing him screamed in agony as one of the arrows pierced his thigh.
An arrow passed to the right of Kaichen’s ear and he tasted death for a moment as he took cover. The warrior screamed a vile curse as he shook his fist in their direction.
Kaichen huddled against a cavern wall as he dragged the woman away. She broke free for a moment and he saw that she scrambled to grab a long stick from the ground. Perhaps she sought to arm herself.
He was not certain, but she also could not know that Antuk would not stop his volley of arrows once he was caught in his own battle rage. Even now Kaichen could hear Antuk’s fear-inspiring war cry as it echoed through the many caverns.
The sound caused the hair on the back of his neck to stand on end. There was no cry quite like Antuk’s battle cry.
Kaichen grabbed the woman by the ankle and pulled. He heard her cry out as her fingertips grazed the stick that she sought. She glanced back at him once and he caught sight of her stricken gaze.
Her eyes were an odd shade that caused him to loosen his hold on her small ankle momentarily. She seized the opportunity to grab hold of the stick even as he renewed his efforts to pull her out of danger.
Amara reached toward her flute as blind panic caused her to react instinctively. In her panic, she did not see, she did not hear and she could not fully comprehend all that had occurred.
The man that pulled her toward him might well have been another enemy. For all she knew he was bent on killing her as well. His grasp was firm and unyielding. She could not say why he had let her loose only a moment ago, but now he held on to her with a rock hard grasp.
“Be still.” Kaichen murmured to the woman as he looked into the shadowed canyons behind them.
He did not see the wounded man that had run away, but that did not mean that his enemy did not have an arrow aimed at his heart even now. Kaichen stood and immediately ducked down as an arrow flew through the air directly where his head had been.
“Antuk!” Kaichen bellowed his friend’s name. He could tell by the feathers on the back of the arrow that it belonged to Antuk and he shook his head in disbelief as he realized that his friend had almost hit him again. “Stop!”
Kaichen
carefully raised his head and looked up at the ledge where his friend stood, fully exposed. He scowled as Antuk raised his bow above his head and shook it back and forth. Kaichen motioned for Antuk to lie flat against the ground.
He had not seen a bow upon the other man’s back, but perhaps he had managed to grab a weapon during the time when Kaichen had been distracted.
The woman in his arms trembled violently. He saw that she shivered even though the sun was now almost directly above them. The weather was so dry that his eyes felt gritty and his mouth tasted of sand. Kaichen controlled his breathing and called calmness back to his heart.
“We must go.” Kaichen held on to the woman’s arm as she stumbled to her feet.
He placed her behind him and waited. When nothing happened he moved cautiously out into the open.
Kaichen urged the woman to follow him as he ran. He felt her stumble and he saw that she clutched her side, but she did not release the long stick that she carried.
Kaichen did not want to have to carry the woman, but if she did not hurry, he would do so. He jerked her toward him and put his arm around her waist. His eyes peered into every shadow as they moved.
He expected the other warrior to emerge at any moment. When they finally made it back to the place where he had left his horse Kaichen allowed himself a moment to breathe. He released the woman’s arm as she went limp.
He turned to calm his horse and only the sound of her footsteps caused him to turn back. She was fleet of foot and faster than he thought possible as she ran away from him. Kaichen caught up to her quickly but she had still begun to outdistance him and might have escaped if not for his quick footsteps.
“I did not save your life only to have you killed by the man that escaped.” Kaichen could see that the woman did not understand his words. She shuddered as she avoided his gaze and tried to pull away from his body where it touched hers. He held on to her wrist but gave her the distance that she sought.
“I will not harm you.”
Kaichen found it highly frustrating that he had to explain himself to the very woman that he had risked all to save.
“Come with me. We must go.” Kaichen motioned to the horse as the woman bulked once more.
A sound from behind him drew his attention and Kaichen stilled. The woman must have sensed the danger confronting them as she instantly froze.
She gave no further hesitation when Kaichen motioned for her to stay behind him. Without any display of effort Kaichen mounted his horse and pulled the woman up behind him.
He needed to be able to have access to his weapons if a threat still existed. He watched the shadows for a moment and waited.
A trilling whistle caused his horse to twitch his ears and Kaichen’s shoulders relaxed slightly. Antuk stood in the deepest shadow with his donkey. Kaichen rode up to him without hesitation and motioned for him to follow.
The woman did not cling to his waist and she tried her best to keep distance between their bodies. The horse bulked at the shift of weight upon his back.
Kaichen kept his thighs pressed into his horse as he turned and grabbed the woman around the waist. She shrieked as he plucked her from the horse’s back and swung her onto his lap.
Kaichen grimaced as he heard her cry out in pain and he realized that she had suffered an injury. He should have thought of that before roughly lifting her to sit in front of him, but his only thought had been calming his horse and preventing the animal from balking in fear.
Antuk threw Kaichen an admonishing gaze that only ignited his fury. Antuk had almost been the death of him and now his friend thought to scold him for mistakenly mistreating the woman? Kaichen growled and could have cursed as the woman shivered in response.
He would have explained but he thought that it was best that they ride far and fast from the place where a wounded enemy rested. Kaichen wanted to go back and follow the man’s tracks until he found him.
He wanted to eliminate the threat the man posed at all costs. But he could not leave the skittish woman alone with Antuk and he could not trust Antuk to remain behind. He spared one thought for the injured men that had ceased their screaming. It was not his way to leave men to die upon the desert sands, but they had chosen their own path by taking the woman captive and he did not have pity in his heart for them. There was nothing else that he could do except to see that those in his care remained alive.
Amara trembled as the horse plodded along at a steady pace. The man behind her growled a few more times, but he did not speak. She wanted to turn and look at her new captor, but she could not force her body to heed her commands.
The pain in her side caused her to moan in agony. Each time the horse stepped she felt her side jar with shattering pain. Perhaps she would die after all. Perhaps there was no more reason to fight what was inevitable.
Over the last few days Amara had wished for death. Especially at night, in the dark, when loneliness and despair overwhelmed her.
The only thing that stopped Amara from throwing herself from the horse as it picked up pace was the strong arms that held her securely.
Amara could not explain the desperate feeling that swamped her when she considered all that she had lost. It was an emotion deeper than despair. Deeper than mere pain. It was the loss of spirit and soul altogether.
Yet, when the man pressed close as the horse began to run Amara was jarred from her dark thoughts.
She gasped as tears gathered and slid from her eyes. Her side hurt unbearably and she could not inhale without experiencing a sharp lancing pain. A shrill sound erupted, catching her attention.
Kaichen drew his mount to a stop and turned to glare at Antuk. His friend’s piercing whistle was unnecessary. He had felt the change in the woman as she gasped in pain.
He would not have urged the animals on relentlessly if not for his instinctive need to get away from the place of death and battle.
The woman slumped within his arms and Kaichen caught her as she fell. His large hand encompassed both of hers as he grabbed hold of the stick that the woman carried. Even as she slid against him he realized that it was not a stick that she clung to, but an instrument of some kind.
Kaichen saw that a string was looped around the instrument so that it could be slung over one shoulder. He placed it behind his back, near his bow as he cradled the woman in his arms.
Antuk laid out a blanket without being asked and Kaichen slid from his horse and gently put the woman down.
“You hurt her.” Antuk accused with a frown as he fell to his knees beside the woman.
Kaichen did not speak.
He could not reason with Antuk when his friend became upset. Kaichen looked down at the young woman and he saw that she was even more fragile than he had thought. Her arms and legs were well toned but even as she had fallen into an unnatural sleep she clutched her ribs. Kaichen’s fingers went to her ribs and she moaned.
He did not feel anything protruding from the skin and he heaved a sigh of relief, which Antuk imitated. Kaichen quickly used his hunting knife to cut through one of the skins that he carried with him.
He pulled the woman to a sitting position even as her eyelids fluttered. Kaichen did not wait for permission as she pressed one part of the skin to the woman’s torso and quickly wrapped it around her. Each time that his hands brushed the feminine swells of her body, Kaichen felt his fingers burn but he forced himself to ignore the natural response to a woman’s closeness.
He lifted her arms one by one, as he wrapped her ribs tightly and then tied the skin together by inserting a loop of sinew through a hole that he made at the top and bottom of the wrap. It would have to do. He could not delay any further. Already they could have placed themselves in more danger by rescuing a captive from warriors armed to kill.
“Look at this.” Antuk held up a boa.
It was a weapon that Kaichen was familiar with but preferred not to use. The weapon was made of sinew and weighted down at both ends by stones that were evenly matched. He could throw t
he boa with accuracy and take down a fleeing enemy.
Kaichen did not enjoy taking another man’s life but he understood that at times it was necessary. In this case, he simply could not continue to watch as the woman was beaten and abused. He knew that it was possible that she had also been raped.
He saw no sign of blood upon her thighs as he glanced at her. The relief that he felt was overwhelming, though he had no reason for his unusual response. Kaichen felt the woman shift so that she could look up at him.
She pulled at her dress in an effort to cover her legs from view, almost as if she felt his eyes upon her, even though he was directly behind her and she could not see him.
Antuk studied the weapon in confusion and he tossed the boa into the air and caught it with a meaty hand even as the woman uttered a strangled cry. “What did you do to the woman?” Antuk stared at Kaichen as if the woman’s distress was his fault.
In that moment, Kaichen considered striking Antuk. He had never used violence against his friend but never before had he been more tempted to do so.
“It is you that has given her something to fear. Look at her wrists and ankles. She thinks that you mean to tie her again.”
Antuk stared at the woman’s delicate feet for so long that Kaichen almost snapped at him again. Finally, Antuk’s dark brown eyes took in the festering wounds on the woman’s wrists.
Kaichen’s eyes grew angry and hard because he knew what his friend saw. It was obvious that the woman had been tied and that her wounds had not been cared for at all. Kaichen asked Antuk to hand him the waterskin tied to his carrying pack. Antuk hesitated for a moment and then he did as he was asked.
Kaichen first placed the waterskin against the woman’s lips. He winced as he saw the condition of her bruised mouth. Kaichen had no doubt that she had been struck across the face, for her bruised skin told him much, but the delicate skin upon her lips was cracked and bleeding due to thirst.
She did not turn her face from the water and Kaichen’s respect for the woman grew as she drank from the waterskin that he held for her. He pulled the water away even as she protested.
The Last Sundancer Page 4
