"Didn't know what?" Amelia frowned deeply.
Amanda's gaze flickered over the other woman's flattened stomach and her eyes flew wide open. "You're pregnant!" she gasped and slapped a palm over her mouth. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."
She opened her mouth to speak but before she could even manage a word out, Amanda of the Alexanders ran from the room, leaving a still bewildered Amelia, hand shooting to her abdomen instinctively.
Chapter Five
He stood with arms crossed and nails biting into his biceps as he watched her. No, he glared at her as she stood rather contently—and nonchalantly—as she slyly slipped the strap of her bow and arrows case-let across her shoulders and grasped the Scimitar sword from Faolan quite possessively. This woman was some nerve and Gideon decided that as soon as he managed to get close enough to Esyth and did not need her assistance any longer…he’d make it his duty to redirect her in the way of her cursed village. He swore beneath his breath and deliberately ground the crispy branches beneath his feet as he walked. Damn, he was not himself anymore. This rowdy stinking attitude was very much unlike him and he did not favor it one bit. He was starting to feel like his older brother.
Gideon screwed up his face. As much as he loved his Hadaen, he did not want to be a bad-tempered asshole for the rest of his life.
Glancing upwards, he studied the slightly visible sky, the tall pine trees blocking out most of the view. From what he could see though, they would have a fair evening ahead of them so they had best make good use of it before the anticipated shower later on. He glanced at the woman again, her back turned to him as she followed his brother through the dense woods. Something was very strange about her. She’d said she had travelled from her village on foot for months but still all she carried was a case of bow and arrows and a sword. No utilities. No supplies. And yet she appeared as if she hadn’t even walked half a mile. And he still could not wrap his head around the fact that she had entered Marujan land undetected. If they guards had never been more competent in their jobs before, they were now. Simply because he knew Deorci was out there somewhere. Another attack was still possible...by him or some fool who might want to boost his position by honoring the monster. They hadn’t felt his wrath back in the Hub that night—Gideon could admit that as much as it pained him to since he had lost the one thing…the one woman he had felt something for. But if Deorci was in fact out there, they’d better not lower their defenses. If and when he stroke again, it would not be a day many would live to tell about. That is, if anyone lived at all.
Gideon kept his eyes trained on Amanda of the Alexanders as best as he could; recording every movement she made. There was something about her. If only he could figure it out…
Breaking out of the cave of pine trees, the damp scent of the earth circling around them, all three came up on what Gideon and his elder brother knew as the plain of Maruj. It was a wide, lowly-weeded area spreading out many miles to the north and around. There was nothing but open land and light wind, the stillness of the air somewhat worrying. And worrying it was when he turned to face Amanda of the Alexanders, chewing away on a smooth bottom lip and glancing awkwardly around her. Adrenaline immediately flooded his veins.
“We’ve got a long way to go to cross this one,” Faolan muttered, hands resting on his slender hips. “Damn.”
Without even thinking—hell, he had no time to think—Gideon grabbed her by the arm and yanked her around to face him. Shocked and defiant eyes glowered up at him as she inched the arm holding her sword a little higher. Was she threatening him?
"Hey!" Faolan snapped and shoved him away, wedging himself carefully between the two. "We don't have any time for all this bullshit, okay? Keep this up and we'll never get anywhere!" He pinned a cold glare on Gideon and spat. "You should know better... Now what the fuck is up?"
Amanda of the Alexanders folded her arms. "He's the one who thinks it's his right to lay his hands on me." She stepped forward and Faolan raised a stilling hand at her. "Let me tell you something, where I am from I'm just as important as you are and if my father were to hear of this, he would have your brother's head on a platter at dinner for the damn centerpiece!"
Faolan winced and sighed, turning on his brother, who rolled his eyes dramatically. "Well?"
Gideon twisted his mouth disgustedly.
"Leave it to you to fall for such a weak speech from a woman, Faolan. I would just love to watch you two warm to each other right now—and don't think I haven't noticed—but I'd very much like to keep access to my eyes for a while." His jaws clenched and unclenched harshly. "Why don't you ask her how she got here exactly?"
Faolan dragged his eyes from Gideon and focused his gaze on Amanda. She stood completely still, lashes lowered as she peered at both of them sheepishly. There was a defiant air about her—as if she was used to the need of constantly having to prove herself. Then she did the unexpected...the inevitable, regardless. She blushed heavily and her face fell. Faolan eyed her dubiously, a muscle ticking in his jaw. "How did you get here?"
Sighing, she threw a burning glance Gideon's way and let out a heavy breath, readying herself to speak. And when she did, her voice was no higher than a low croak. "I cast a spell."
"What?"
"I told you she was a fucking witch!" Gideon roared.
"I am not a witch!"
"No, you didn't." Faolan scratched the back of his neck, trying to make sense of the situation. Fuck, his head was starting to hurt!
"W-Well, not verbally!" Gideon fumed. "Who's side are you on anyway?" He then shook his head and raised his hands up at eye level. "I won't touch her, alright?" And he moved around his brother to face the witch. She was brave, he knew that for sure. "What spell?"
Amanda chewed on her lip for a while and then placed the sword on the ground at her feet, very closely to her feet. She then lifted her skirts slowly, reaching a hand to the waist of her leather trousers. Both men stepped closer and she narrowed her eyes at them. Faolan immediately turned away, whistling some odd tune. Gideon, on the other hand, was a bit reluctant, grumbling as he turned his back.
"Here it is." It wasn't a full five seconds later that her voice came ringing through the air like that of a child who'd just stumbled on a forbidden cookie.
Gideon eyed the small black silky bag that sat in her upturned palm. He shared a questioning glance with his brother and then stared her dead straight in the eyes. "What is it?"
"It's suhki," she muttered, eyes suddenly brightening with pride. "We use it in our village for a variety of reasons. It brought me here."
"How?" Gideon asked.
Amanda opened the bag and reached two slender fingers inside. When she withdrew it, nothing fascinating happened. On her fingers was a dash of a dark sandy substance. There was nothing magical about it; plain as daylight. "It holds some of the most treasured sources of magikos known to my village."
"Looks like dirt to me..." Gideon mumbled when his brother's elbow came jamming into his side. Ignoring Faolan, he took a closer look at the substance in her hand. "Ok. So what now?"
She smiled. "Now? Now, I open the portal to Baamel."
"What's Baamel?" Faolan queried.
"It's a nation just outside of Liguanea Villa, neighboring the Hub by a thousand miles. You've never heard of it?"
Gideon blinked. He knew of a fairly small nation of that location but not by the name of Baamel. He'd been there—he and his brother—the first time when he and Hadaen had been out searching for Amelia all those years ago.
"I know it," he said, reassuring Faolan. "Hadaen and I passed through three years ago. At that time, I'm sure it was called Peldine...or something like that."
"It was called Peldine," Amanda confirmed. "Before its leader, Jahmel Peldine posed a silly war against my people. He was overthrown by his men and his right-hand man took over. Malakai Baamel, his name is."
Gideon frowned. The name didn't ring any bells. But why would it when he had only slipped through the place? He hadn't
time—especially because of Hadaen—to familiarize himself with anyone. "How long ago was this?"
"Two years. Maybe less," she responded, not keeping her eyes from her sword. "But if you've finished satisfying your curiosity of me, Lord Gideon, I suggest we continue our journey." Her eyes were cold now as they averted to his face.
Faolan cleared his throat and nodded. "Let's go, then."
"Stay where you are," she cautioned when they made to move forward. "Your difference in energies from mine might interfere. Whatever you do, do not say a word. This spell is very delicate. I don't know about you but I would rather not end up in a trench in the middle of nowhere." And she pinned them both with a long glance until they backed up a couple steps.
Amanda turned and quickly slid the bag into its original position, blushing as she knew well enough what their thoughts might have been when she had first reached inside her waistband. She shook her head. Men and their perverted minds. Bending to retrieve her sword, she then inhaled deeply and closed her eyes.
Gideon watched her closely as her head fell back on her shoulders slowly, her body perfectly erect.
"Comë malak consè beh..." she said in a mutter that quickly developed into a chant.”Comë malak consè beh..."
A chilling breeze blew around them. The sky darkened just a shade. Amanda of the Alexanders then threw her hand up, the dark substance tossed upwards.......
.......but it never fell. Gideon looked on in amazement as the clump of dirt—er, suhki—floated around in the air before them, a heat-like haze forming. And it grew taller, wider forming a translucent door-like entrance right in thin air.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Gideon chuckled. Faolan raised a brow at him... and when he realized that he perhaps should still be angry at her deceit, he yelled, "Let's go! We don't have any more time to waste."
And he moved past both of them and stepped, however, awkwardly through the portal. The rancid scent of spoilt fish was the first thing that greeted him when he got to the other side, followed by the salty taste of the air and the smell of burnt wood. Gideon swallowed down the urge to orally dispel his guts and decided to study his surroundings instead. He was currently standing in what looked like a half-burnt wooden house—perhaps a study or a small sitting room. Around him were broken armchairs, a pair of mildewed sofa and an overturned bookshelf. Everything else must have perished in the alleged fire.
"Damn; what the fuck died in here?" Faolan's voice went.
"Shhh," said Amanda of the Alexanders. Gideon could tell she was right behind him. "This house may be burnt but it's still someone's property."
Gideon narrowed his eyes on a side-door across the room from him and started towards it. "Let's go. Before I throw up..."
"Wait," she gasped, rushing behind him. "There's another door at the back. We should use that one."
Gideon gave her long hard glance and then nodded reluctantly. He followed her directions to the backdoor and shoved it open slowly, brilliant sunlight flooding in on them so sharply it made him wince.
"Damn," he groaned. "I haven’t seen sun like this....in ever. What's this place called again?"
"Baamel."
"Mm. Faolan? How you feeling?"
"Just get the hell out of the way before I knock you out. You're blinding me here."
Gideon chanced a look behind him and saw his elder brother's deep scowl, a hand shading his eyes. Grinning, he stepped outside and into the cool air.
Baamel didn't look significantly different from the commoner village in Maruj. The only true difference about the two places is that Maruj would do well with some of this weather. Gideon nodded to himself. Yup, we'd do well with a little more sunshine now and then. They moved into the streets which was highly populated by people, bustling and going about their respective businesses. He could hear the evidence of locksmith's tools, the familiar roar of patrons inside a bar.....and the mouthwatering scent of potatoes and stew. Hell, he hadn't realized he hadn't eaten since morning. And that rump with Dahlia had surely left him feeling wasted.
Groaning lowly, he paused in his tracks and observed. Ahead of them was a long straight road which he assumed would eventually bring them out of Baamel. The sides of that road were littered with houses and shops....small business and motels. To the east was a very clear and small woodland area, what he presumed was used by the villagers as a past time sport area.....and for shooting.
"What now?" Amanda's voice came, thoroughly distracting him from his thoughts.
"Do we even know where we are headed?" Faolan said. Then he turned to look at her. "Do you know?"
She shook her head. "I wish I knew...but I don't."
"This is just great," Gideon swore, his impatience starting to act up. "Just great."
"I could try to contact her."
Both men spun to look at her. "You can do that?"
She gave a timid shy. "I-I could try..." And all certainty flew out the window for them. "I'll try."
"You can start tonight," Gideon told her. It was not a question. No request. He was demanding it of her. If she weren't a woman.....and if she could not somehow sympathize with the hurt she assumed he was currently feeling, Amanda probably would have told the dimwit Lord Gideon a piece of her mind at that moment. But she didn't.
"Okay." She swallowed down the lump in her throat and inhaled deeply. "I'll try tonight."
"We should get some place to stay in the meanwhile," Faolan suggested. "Tomorrow, we'll set out on our search.....providing we find any leads."
"We should." Gideon frowned and looked around cautiously. "I don't know but I'm having a strange feeling about this place. Faolan?"
His brother stepped forward, his eyes narrowed as he scanned the area swiftly. "Your right, little brother. We got a strange energy nearby. One similar too—"
Faolan cut his words short as he remembered Amanda's presence. There was no need for her to know what didn't concern her. The look Gideon gave him confirmed his own thoughts.
"It's very strange, alright." Gideon nodded and took a step away. "Let's go. We need all the hours we can get tonight."
And all three started off, apparently mixing with the crowd of Baamel villagers...and completely unaware of the cloaked creature that trailed their every move.
Chapter Six
The copper-like taste of blood had remained in her mouth hours later. She could feel the deep cuts on the inside of her cheeks, wincing in agony as her tongue invaded the raw slits. Her mouth fell open involuntarily, an attempt to bring more air in to somehow cool the raging hear inside her mouth. Tongue slightly swollen and mouth dry, a moan managed its way past cracked crispy lips. If only she could distract herself from the thunderous pounding in her own head; the rush of blood suddenly seemed far too loud.
She pulled herself across the rough ground, the scraping of a heavy metal chain echoing through the darkness-flooded room. She could feel—wished she didn’t have to see—the inflamed open cuts on her ankles and legs, a wedging pain in her left thigh reminding her of her last brutal altercation with him.
Her Master. At least that was what he had told her to call him. She wanted to cry—she could, for the tears were no more than half a millimeter way from spilling over her lids. She wanted to but couldn’t. For over the past few years, she had demonstrated so many forms and levels of weakness that she refused to lose the last existing thread of her dignity. Her tears. So, she’d keep them. Just to remind her why she was urging on; why she hadn’t taken the chance at her own life many cold nights and boiling days.
Muscles now beyond the state of fatigue, she flung a heavy arm over her stomach and shrunk deeper within the darkness, the mars of hunger eating at her insides. She needn’t a mirror to know how she looked: sunken cheekbones, black and blue eyes, shedding hair…bony structure. She knew she’d lost a great deal of weight, she could almost feel her body slipping away…deteriorating as each day passed by. Thinking about it did not help at all. For she wished she had at least the courage
to put an end to it all. To put an end to her.
The rough slamming of a door came somewhere a few meters away, the sound hollow and dreadful…followed by the heavy footsteps. Two, maybe three men judging by the long strides between steps. Her body might seem useless to her now but at least her mind was still working.
“What is it?” his nasty voice hissed. Her Master, that is. She could feel his cold calloused hands on her face, her body…her legs. She swallowed down in disgust simply because she didn’t have the energy to even spit.
“A-A few more of the men have died early this a-afternoon, Sir,” a man stuttered.
Silence.
“How many?” he barked.
“Twelve, S-Sir. We don’t know what caused it but e-everybody’s just been getting sick as of lately.”
“And are you planning on getting sick, Bart?”
The man stuttered ridiculously, his fear causing his voice to shake. “N-No, Sir. W-Wouldn’t even d-dream of it…Sir.”
“Good! Now move and get back to your fucking duties!”
A light flashed across the area she knew was the door and hurried footsteps descended it and back down the hall. She swallowed. Anticipation was no longer relevant when she knew the planned outcome in a situation like this. It was his routine. Every night—not that she could tell the difference between day and night from where she was. The desolate frigid room dark all day round. A lock clicked and the door was shoved open, slamming against the wall so forcefully, the room felt like it shook. She could feel his terrifying presence, the intense scent of his crimes…his wicked intentions. And she could already feel him forcing his way past her thighs and robbing her of her womanly rights over and over again. Fucking her hard and roughly as if he had a right to. Bile rose up in her throat, the bitter taste of it spreading across the insides of her lips at the thought of it.
Then a bright light flooded the room, blinding her momentarily. Lantern in his hand, she watched him—timidly—as he moved purposefully inside the room, kicking the door close along the way. And the first thing she noticed when she looked up…..was the nasty smug grin plastered on his face.
Gideon [The Marujan Brothers Series] Book Two Page 4
