“You know what we can do to you, man.” Dane’s voice held pure poison, as gravely as rocks rolling together. “You work for a Daryk One. You’ve seen his worst.”
Bantu grunted. “What of it? She’s mine now.”
“I want her back. And neither of you will touch her.” Dane’s hushed voice defied either man to take ownership of her.
A strange relief passed over Ketera. Dane did care. He would get her out of this jam. At the same time, part of her chafed at the idea she hadn’t thought of a way to escape this mess herself.
Rayder turned to Dane, his casualness cut in half by that red eye glow. “Fight me for her.”
Oh my Magon.
Dane glared at Rayder, body tight, muscle tension obvious. To Ketera’s amazed eyes, they took their attention off Bantu.
“Are you insane?” Dane asked his so-called friend.
Low laughter echoed from Rayder’s throat. “Some say so.”
“Bloody well get on with it,” Bantu said.
With a swiftness that made her mind spin, Dane and Rayder broke into battle. Swords clashed, the harsh clang ringing in her ears. Bantu’s laughter echoed. She flinched, squirming as she twisted in her bonds. The knife at her throat scratched her, and she cried out at the slight pain. Bantu drew the knife back from her neck, intent on the battle. The rope around her left ankle loosened. Yes! Perhaps if she just worked at it harder…
The Daryk Ones twisted, moved with a speed she’d noted while watching Dane kill the dragon back at Grimnald Castle. She’d never seen a man move so quickly on Magonia and wondered what magic worked upon these warriors.
Sweat beaded on their foreheads, muscles bulging as they shifted on their feet. Fear rose so high in her she thought she might strangle. She glanced at Bantu. He wasn’t paying the least attention to her, an eager smile on his face. An erection pressed against his trousers. Her stomach roiled.
Anger made her wrench at her ties and suddenly her feet were free. Bantu jumped and pinned her to the bed. She screamed, the sound more a yell of defiance than fear. She kicked out, caught him straight in the balls with her foot. Bantu screamed, fell off the bed and writhed. Satisfaction blended with her fear.
“Take that you…you—!” She didn’t know any really excellent curses, so she added one she’d used before. “Bastard!”
Dane and Rayder’s blades came together. A grunt came from the both of them as they surged toward the bed. Her eyes widened. Both men turned toward Bantu. Dane sprang forward, his motion a blur. A second later Bantu yelled as the sword found its mark into his chest. A growl issued from Dane’s throat.
“Bastard of a dillianas!” Dane stood over Bantu with a look so hateful that Ketera almost cringed.
“Dillianas?” Her voice rasped in her own ears.
“Never mind.” Dane turned toward her, the red in his eyes increasing. “It’s a creature we eat on Dragonia.”
She glanced at both Daryk Ones and realized something that startled her to the core. They had erections. Their cocks pushed hard and full against their breeches. Her mouth opened as she stared at Rayder’s long length. Startled, she had no words.
Rayder chuckled. “Charger, I take it you haven’t explained to Ketera what happens to Daryk Ones after a fight or battle?”
Dane glanced at Rayder. “She’s heard of battle lust.”
Rayder grunted. “Perhaps she doesn’t understand what it means exactly.”
Dane sent a glare toward the slave trader. “Shut up.”
Rayder only laughed. “A fine shot, my lady.” Rayder smiled at her, and the charm in that grin completely took her off guard. “I think even if Dane hadn’t insisted on rescuing you, you would have killed him yourself.”
“Never,” she said with defiance, trying not to glance at his cock. “Murder is a sin.”
“I never murder anyone. Anyone I kill deserves it,” Rayder said as he reached for her hand and kissed the back of it.
A rush of heat filled her face. No matter that she found Dane beyond attractive. Rayder was too. And that worried her. After all, if he was a slave trader, he was scum.
Dane threw a glare at Rayder. “Release her.”
Rayder let her go and smiled. “As you wish, old friend.”
Ketera looked down at Bantu. “Is he dead?”
Dane nodded. “Dead.”
She shivered uncontrollably, mixed emotions filling her. Anger topped the list, and she wanted to scream at Bantu for terrorizing her. One glance at Bantu’s motionless body assured her she wouldn’t have to worry. The sword stayed in his chest. She looked away quickly.
She rubbed her wrists and for the first time she took stock of Dane’s expression. Fierce anger still boiled in his eyes. Perhaps some of that ire was directed at her and not at the slaver who’d stolen her.
Rayder headed for the door. “I’ll leave you to it. I’ll get the magistrate to clean up the mess.”
“Will you get into trouble?” she asked them both.
Rayder turned back for a moment. “Never, my lady. We are Daryk Ones, protecting the innocent. We can do no wrong.”
Dane made a sound of contempt. “You are a bloody slave trader. The magistrate will arrest you.”
Rayder’s smile was carefree. “I think not. I trust you’ll be well, Ketera. See you again soon, Charger.”
Dane snorted. “Not likely.”
Rayder’s gaze, no longer red, didn’t look the least perturbed by Dane’s tone.
“Wait.” Ketera had to know something. “If you’re a slave trader, then maybe…” She swallowed hard. “Two of my friends were on the same ship with me. A passenger ship named the Hydrasoseles sank after we were hit by a huge wave. I think I was the only survivor, but perhaps you know of any people picked up from the water or the beach. Their names are Xandra Shorenus and Mia Griffi.”
Rayder’s eyes flickered. Hands on hips, he scanned them both for a long moment. “Xandra Shorenus is on my ship. I was on the way back to the ship when I stopped at Minilos’ tavern for food.”
Relief spilled through her. She covered her cheeks with her palms. “Oh Magon. That is such good news. Is she…is she all right?”
Rayder’s eyes held doubt and a few other emotions Ketera couldn’t read. “She is well enough. I will tell her you inquired after her health.”
“You rescued her?” Dane asked. “Or is she now your slave?”
Rayder smiled, and the stubble made him look more piratical than ever. “It is a matter of opinion.”
Worry returned to Ketera. “If you dare harm her—”
“What will you do?” Rayder asked as he moved toward the door again. “You are not in a position to give orders, my lady. On the other hand, perhaps I should be frightened. After seeing how you took down Bantu, I think you are a formidable foe.”
“Rayder…” Dane swallowed hard, as if having difficulty with his next words. “Thank you for helping me rescue her.”
Rayder nodded. “Be well, Charger. Take care of your mate.”
With that, Rayder departed and closed the door behind him.
She shook her head, unable to imagine being bonded to this man permanently. “I’m not your mate.”
“Damn it, Ketera,” he said with a growl, his expression thunderous. “Don’t you understand? If anything had happened to you, I…” He drifted off, his mouth working but nothing coming out.
“What?” she finally asked.
“Never mind.” He took a huge breath then let it out with a shudder. “What in the four levels of hell did you think you were doing leaving the tavern?” Dane placed his hands on his hips and glared.
Unhappy, she slid off the right side of the bed so she wouldn’t step on Bantu. “I would thank you for the rescue, but your attitude—”
“Attitude?” He stalked around the bed and stood over her. “Do you realize how close you came to being beaten and raped or worse?”
She started to walk toward the door, unwilling to put up with his overbearing stance.
He came after her, moving in a quick blur that caused her to gasp in surprise. He clasped her forearm gently and turned her around. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Away from you. Your violence appalls me, you’re friends with a slave trader, and now you’re berating me. I do not intend to take this treatment.” She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not staying in this room with a…a dead man.”
He kept his grip on her arm. “You used violence too.”
She sniffed. “Only to save my life.”
Contempt streaked across his features. “Uh-huh. So violence is all right as long as you don’t kill?”
He stopped her in her tracks. She swallowed a bitter pill. “I’ve never had to defend myself from a man until I came to this Magon-forsaken continent.”
“For what it’s worth, you did well for a sprite.”
She didn’t feel like taking compliments. She felt ill-used and exhausted. “Let me go.”
He frowned. “You’d rather subject yourself to the same dangers you just encountered than take my protection, wouldn’t you? I thought you were more intelligent.”
Suddenly fury rose inside her as she’d never experienced before. She poked Dane in the breastplate. “For your information, I only stepped out of the tavern for a moment to get a breath of fresh air. I didn’t think Bantu was going to just pop out of the shadows and snatch me. And I’m not going anywhere with a man who kills and consorts with slave traders—”
“What would you have me do?” He grabbed both her shoulders and held them in a strong grip. “Did you just want me to forget you? To let this man take you to rape, dishonor and kill you? You’d rather be with that scum-sucking bastard than take your chances with me? As for slave traders, Rayder used to be one of my best friends.”
She knew he spoke the truth, but twenty-five years of her life she’d lived in a world where murder never happened. Where people did not kidnap or rape or otherwise harm each other physically. Mentally…well, no one had discovered how to prevent that yet. Sometimes she thought that was worse.
“Used to be your friend?” she asked, brushing hair back from her face.
“It’s a long story. One we don’t have time for now.” He rubbed her shoulders. “Sprite, we had to do it. Rayder and I planned what we’d do when we came in here. We knew the only way to take you from a slave trader was to kill him. It took a hell of a lot to find you.” He glanced over at the bed toward Bantu’s body. “As it is, the only way we located you this quickly was Rayder’s tracking skills.” When she kept quiet, tears backing up in her throat, he said, “We didn’t have a choice.”
“How could you know that? He could have given himself up.”
Dane released her, closed his eyes for a moment, and sighed. “No, he wouldn’t have.”
He took her arm again. “Come on. We’ll stay the night at Scullidig Inn.”
“We can’t go back to the castle?”
He opened the door and looked both ways. “It’s too long a walk after what you’ve been through.”
Though she wanted to balk, she was tired, feeling bruised and rattled. Whether she considered herself tough or not, she wasn’t used to this.
They left the building and she realized Bantu had housed her in a small, crude stone and thatch hut. She couldn’t see well, but the moon hung over the land, bright and beautiful. Once more Dane’s eyes glowed red. All around her the night was alive. Strange creatures hooted in the dark. The twitters and hisses and buzzing of insects came from all directions. The humidity lay heavy upon them, perhaps more so than at the castle. Surrounding the clearing, she saw the outline of huge trees swaying in a slight breeze.
“Is this the…jungle?” she asked, half in awe and half afraid.
“Yes.”
“Can you see in the dark?” she asked as he hauled her along by the arm.
“Yes. All Dragonians can. Our eyes adjust to whatever light there is.”
She dared to peer straight into his eyes as he stopped for a second and returned her perusal. His eyes had softened, the red glow not so fierce, not as intimidating as before.
“The texts didn’t tell me that,” she said.
He grunted. “Could be your precious texts are wrong about a lot of things.”
“No they can’t be.”
He made one of those guttural sounds that seemed unique to him. “Why would you ever think a few texts could tell you everything you need to know about a people?”
He was right. Damn him, he was right. She swallowed her pride. “Of course not. Do the Dragonians know everything about the Magonians?”
“Some think they do. I’ve never assumed I know everything about Magonians. It doesn’t make any sense to malign a group of people based on rumor.”
What he said made sense, even if part of her railed against it. Shame leaked around her defenses. “I’m sorry, Dane. I…my father taught me so much about prejudice and how wrong it was, and when we found the texts and realized the scribes lied to us about so much…” She cleared her throat. “I don’t want to be one of those people who maligns someone else. But I’ve spent all my life in a culture that tries to control what others think.”
She couldn’t see his face in the dark, but his grip on her arm loosened. “It’s all right.”
His voice didn’t sound as if he thought it was all right.
“Can we not talk about this right now?” he asked. “Whatever you do, do not try to escape. I could find you again, but it would take awhile. There are millions of poisonous insects and other creatures in the Tarrian jungle. You would not last the night out here alone. Plus, there are dragon lairs nearby.”
Dragons? By the god, she didn’t want to run into one of them anytime soon.
Anxiety threatened along with perturbation that he had brushed aside her apology, but she shoved it to the back of her mind as hard as she could. He must have felt her fear because he transferred his grip to her hand. “I’ll protect you, but you must listen to everything I say and do everything I say without question.”
“Are you immune to poison?”
“Yes. That is one of the reasons why I was trained as a Daryk One. I am stronger than the average man and more intelligent. I am immune to the poison.”
“But what if I am bitten or stung by something poisonous?”
He paused long enough to stare down at her with those hypnotic red eyes, eyes as dangerous as an animal’s. “My kiss will protect you. If you feel weak at any point on our journey, you must tell me.”
Astonished, she asked, “Are you making this up to have an excuse to kiss me?”
“Hardly. It’s one of the ways a Daryk One protects his mate. His kiss transfers his immunity, but only to his true mate.”
“Permanently?”
“No. I’d have to kiss you each time you were bitten or stung.”
Her face heated as she remembered their intimate encounters. “That means we would need to be with each other almost all the time.”
“Your little nose is curling up. Do you hate the idea so much?”
“Of course. I don’t wish to be restricted.”
He sighed and glanced up at the dark sky. “Ketera, it isn’t restriction. It’s protection. Don’t be daft. In fact,” he said as he swung them around and drew her into his arms, “I will kiss you now.”
“No—”
His lips took hers with ravenous attention, a hunger that swirled her upward into instant desire. Between her legs a deep, aching want started, one that floored her with intensity. How could this happen so quickly, so fast unless she was his true mate? By the god, she didn’t want to be but his heat destroyed her and put her back together again. His tongue delved into her mouth as his hands cupped her ass and squeezed. He lifted her, settling his cloth-clad erection against her pussy and pressing. Her legs went around his hips automatically. She groaned into his mouth as he moved his hips slowly, the slightest rotation to keep his cock rubbing along her sensitive tissues. A rush of dampness b
etween her legs startled her. Magon, she wanted him.
Wanted what?
Yes, she’d read about how people mated, but she still felt she didn’t understand what honestly happened. From illustrations in the texts, she realized a man’s erection entered a woman. Still, it seemed odd. How could a man inserting his cock into her make her feel pleasure?
Before she could respond much more, he eased his mouth from hers and lowered her to the ground. Her entire body seemed to throb with unresolved tension.
Dane’s breath puffed in and out. “Draconus. You are ripe for my taking.”
Without another word, he pulled her along again.
Chastened, she clammed up and allowed him to lead her. Right now she was too tired to protest, her mind beginning to feel foggy, her steps plodding. As they pressed on, he used his sword to cut a path through the jungle. They continued on for what seemed an hour before they broke into another clearing. The night was quiet except for jungle sounds—several large stone buildings centered around a courtyard. A few huts lined the outskirts.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“Minor village. I know the man who owns Scullidig Inn. We’ll be safe there.”
He slipped his arm around her for a moment then drew his sword. She tensed under his touch. “Is this town dangerous?”
“Everywhere is dangerous. This world is violent but beautiful. Savage but lush. Everything is a contradiction.”
“I’ll say.”
It was almost as if he described himself. This man was definitely a part of his world, a part of what he’d described. Perhaps that explained why he frightened her and yet made her feel so protected. It made no sense.
Scullidig Inn’s sign creaked as it moved back and forth in a sudden strong wind. The wind was cold, an unusual feeling after such humid heat. At two stories tall, the inn dominated the other buildings. Made of stone and wood, the building nevertheless had a strange, lopsided look, as if it had been made inch by inch without benefit of a good design. At the same time the disorganized appearance gave it a coziness that screamed safe haven. She hoped so.
Dane sheathed his sword, releasing her long enough to open the front door. It squeaked loudly, and she winced. The downstairs was rough, with a tavern area directly to the left where several loud male customers drank and laughed. Lamps and torches here and there assured the place was brightly illuminated. The other patrons didn’t pay attention to either Dane or herself. To the left was a sitting area with benches and tables. Directly ahead of them was the staircase. From behind the staircase came a large man wrapped in a vest made of rough, dark material, the armholes circled by some type of fur. His trousers seemed to be made of the same material. His bushy, frizzy blond hair was cut short, and he wore an equally untamed-looking long beard.
Daryk Hunter Page 9
