“Ma’am, no one would be getting robbed if you were smart enough to stay out of my snare.”
“No one would be getting robbed if you got your hands off my stuff!” He wasn’t turning this around on me. Just because I wasn’t used to noticing tricky kid’s magical snares didn’t mean I should have been robbed.
Although better this than be eaten . . .
“We all gotta eat, miss.”
“Yes, we do. That’s why you need to put my stuff back. And why is that rabbit on your shoulder anyway?” Probably the last thing I needed to be focusing on at that moment, but it was distracting the way it was just sitting there.
“I froze him there.”
I was so far from home.
“Well, that’s horrible. How would you feel if he froze you like that?”
He grimaced. “What are you? My mom?”
I was glad to hear they even have moms out here.
“Where is your mother? Does she know you are out here, robbing people?”
He threw my map over his shoulder. “She’s dead.”
“Your father?”
He threw my soap over his shoulder. “Dead.”
“If you are going to rob me, you’ll want to take that soap with you. You could use it.”
He snorted.
“You live out here by yourself?” I could barely make it out here a day without getting in trouble. But I didn’t have magic. That I knew of, anyway.
“Have for as long as I can remember.”
I thought for a moment before I made a decision. “There is a pouch of coins tied to my belt. It’s yours as long as you free me,” I said with some reluctance.
“Fine, but I can freeze you again in a second, so don’t try to pull a fast one on me. I’m not stupid.”
“I didn’t think you were.”
Suddenly, I had the mobility of my limbs again. I groaned as I stretched them out. I rolled my head around on my stiff neck. I took the pouch off my belt and tossed it to the boy before I could change my mind.
“Ma’am, do you know how much this is?” he said in awe with an eyeball focused in the pouch.
“It’s yours, but you need to quit freezing people. It really isn’t nice,” I replied while rubbing my neck. The rabbit seemed to look straight at me, with I swore, pleading eyes. “And unfreeze that rabbit right now.”
“Whatever you say, miss,” he said with his eyes still on the coins. The rabbit hopped off his shoulder and ran through the forest at record speed.
“Thanks!” the boy yelled while he started running toward town. He abruptly stopped and turned around. “Watch out for the red marks!” he shouted and then took off again.
I spun Gallant around until I found a small red mark on the base of the closest tree trunk.
What a tricky kid.
* * *
The longer I went without seeing Weston, the more I believed I had actually killed him. I looked down at my hands in front of the fire I made and imagined I could still see the blood. The warmth from the flames warmed my skin while I tried to convince myself this was a good thing.
Tried.
He could walk through the Burning City’s flames. I hadn’t killed him with a knife to the stomach. But there had been all that blood. My thoughts only had my chest tightening uncomfortably, and I pushed them away.
Earlier, I’d gone to the stream and tried to wash with my magical soap the best I could in the small body of water. I had shrugged the dirty clothes back on and used my knife to sharpen a spear and caught a fish from the stream.
The fish cooked over the fire while I sat wearily in front of it. The Star of Truth was bright in the sky, and I imagined Grandmother looking at it at that same moment.
I fell asleep to melancholy thoughts and my catch burning over the fire.
* * *
Alyria must have been looking down on me because I had spent the night alone and woke up still alive. And not captured.
Unfortunate as it was, those were the two things that made me the happiest.
With a growling stomach, I caught another fish from the stream, and cooked it over the fire while I sat there anxiously. Something was telling me I needed to leave, and I listened to it. I would take any help Alyria decided to give me.
As I progressed further into the forest, sweat ran down my face and into my eyes, blurring my vision. The heat here seemed to wrap itself in a suffocating hold. I pushed up my long sleeves and rolled up my pants, but it barely helped. I had multiple layers of the dirty clothes on, and there was nothing more I wanted at that moment than to shed them all off.
It was too risky. I didn’t come this far only to get caught again.
The sun barely made its way to the forest floor, the trees a thick canopy. Moss covered most of the wood, and the large leaves had water dripping down from the one above. The forest was dark and had a still, eerie feel to it. At this point, I’d had so much of unnerving forests that I was only trying to get through it faster, but the roots sticking tall out of the ground created a maze that could only be navigated slowly.
We entered a small clearing with a small body of water. I looked at it with a grimace. It was so murky that I imagined if I went up to it, something would pull me into it. A shiver ran down my spine, and I told my imagination to shut up.
A burst of air rushed by my face and before I could even blink, another one flew by in the opposite direction. When I opened my eyes, a naked woman stood before me. She had long dark hair that reached her knees. An exotic tilt to her eyes and tanned skin. Some kind of brand wrapped around her arm, and when she stepped to the side and tilted her head in an unnatural way, I noticed the brand on her arm was an extension of the tree behind her; it blended in with the spindly branches.
I blinked, and three women stood before me now. They were all the same woman: tanned skin, long black hair and exotic looks to the detail. Six appeared before me now.
“What are you doing in my forest?” The voice resounded inside my head, but I never saw the woman speak.
I swallowed hard. “I was just passing through,” I managed to get out while I watched a large white snake enter the clearing. My heart drummed as its red eyes honed in on me while it flicked its tongue out. The woman’s laughter was loud inside my head. Eight of her surrounded my horse.
Worst case scenario was I would end up snake food. Best case scenario was I might get out alive.
I was hoping for anything not involving the snake.
“No one just passes through my forest without a gift.”
“You want a gift?” I asked.
“No!” her voice shouted in my head, and I couldn’t help but cringe.
My forehead scrunched. “You don’t want a gift?”
“I couldn’t care less about man’s trinkets,” she said while eight women walked in circles around my horse.
“What do you want, then?” Please say a lock of hair or a piece of dirty clothes. Because that was all I had.
Her head tilted again, and I imagined she was thinking. The clearing was suddenly filled with woman after woman. Then they became one again.
“A bite.” Her voice was soft in my head, and it only added to the eerie feeling of her demand. My stomach dropped while I tried to process what she was asking for.
“Why?” I choked out.
She smiled. “You have fresh blood . . . virgin blood.”
Note to self: lose my virginity as soon as possible if I ever survive this.
It was a terrible question, but I couldn’t help but ask it. “Do I have to?”
“Please decline. Then I can slit your wrists and hang you upside down above my pond. It’s been a long time since I’ve swum in virgin blood.”
I swallowed hard. “Where?”
“Your wrist will do fine.”
I wondered how painful one bite to the wrist could be.
“Then I can leave?”
She nodded her head in an odd way, and I held my wrist out before I could change my mind. Horro
r squeezed my lungs when I saw three-inch fangs extend and black fill the whites of her eyes. A burst of air hit me in the face before she sank her fangs in my wrist. I clenched my teeth to stop from crying out from the pain.
As soon as it began, it was done.
When I looked at my wrist, the two holes were already closing up. There were about twenty of her, and they were all spitting the blood out on the ground. My blood covered her lips when she looked at me with wide black eyes.
She bowed her head. “I am sorry,” her apology rang in my mind. “I am of service to you if you ever need it.”
Had she tasted that I could open the seal? Why she would feel indebted to me because of it was a mystery. My heart was beating too fast to worry about anything but getting safely out of the forest.
“I have a gift for you that I hope will help you accept my apology.” A small crystal attached to a chain appeared in my hand. “The crystal will glow red when there is danger near.”
“Thank you . . .” I stopped, not knowing what to call her.
“Sahara,” the word slithered into my mind. She bowed one last time and then was gone. The snake was still lounging around, and I gave it a generous berth while I left the clearing.
Two scars were all that remained of the bite. I put the crystal around my neck and decided one bite was definitely worth it for the gift. I squeezed the crystal in my hand, in a grip begging it to get me through this.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
WHITE
It had taken a few hours to get out of Sahara’s forest. The stream that flowed through it was too murky to be appealing for Gallant or me, so I stopped at the nearest water source outside.
I felt untouchable with the crystal around my neck as if no one could catch me unawares again. And then panicked when it began to glow. I had no idea how to handle this situation. I stood frozen like a statue in the sparse woods while I listened, but only heard the breeze blowing the leaves around.
Then my ears picked up muffled horse whinnies and voices in the distance. I was reluctant to move, but after standing in the same spot for minutes with only a fast heartbeat and ultra-sensitive hearing, I had to do something.
I walked towards the muffled sounds, careful not to make much noise. I crept up to the side of a cliff, and the crystal glowed the brightest yet. A cold sweat covered my skin.
White was all I could see.
The white of the Untouchables.
Many tents decorated the valley while hundreds of men in white took up the area. I didn’t have too much time to take it all in because a white-clad arm grabbed me around the waist.
Adrenaline flowed through my veins, and I squirmed and fought the best I could with the man holding me a foot off the ground. I threw my head back and connected with something hard. The arm loosened, and I threw my fist back and hit the man right in the groin.
I was dropped to the ground, but before I could get up to run, there was a moment of pain, and then everything went black.
* * *
I woke to the taste of metal and the feeling that my head had been run over by a herd of Red Forest creatures. When what happened came to me in a rush, I sat up and looked around. I was sitting on a red rug in front of a trunk. The white cloth walls that surrounded me flowed with the breeze, and it registered that I was in a tent. There was a large bed in the corner and a wooden desk on the other side with two chairs sitting in front of it.
This wasn’t good at all. No, this was very bad. I was in a tent belonging to the Untouchables and my heartbeat quickened with fear of my imminent rape and death.
I held my aching head as I jumped to my feet and opened the trunk. My eyes lit up when I saw the assortment of weapons. I heard deep voices and tucked a knife into the back of my pants. I was standing uncertainly on the red rug in the middle of the tent when a few men entered. Two of them were decked out in the full Untouchable ensemble while the third one wore a white sleeveless shirt. He carried himself with authority and I instantly knew he was the one in charge.
He looked me up and down, and it made me feel as though I were some kind of war spoil. That made me bristle, and I perused him the same way. Instead of ending up more obedient from being with Weston, I ended up braver than I should have ever been. I had to remind myself that just because Weston didn’t physically abuse me, that didn’t mean this man wouldn’t.
His dark eyes gleamed with some amusement, but I ignored the nervousness his gaze made me feel as I looked him up and down from his short black hair to his handsome square-jawed face to his muscular build.
“Leave,” he told the men while still looking at me. The other two Untouchables left the tent. The man took a step toward me, and I took one back. His eyes sparkled as he said, “What is a woman doing traveling alone? I’ve heard there are bad men around these parts.”
I should have played the sweet lost girl, should have laid it on real thick. I knew I probably smelled wearing all the dirty clothes, but I also knew I was an attractive woman even under all the cloth.
Which was probably what had gotten me into most of these messes on the way here. I honestly resented it a little. I didn’t want it if it was going to land me in a coffin. At this point, I was already in one; the dirt had yet to be piled on top.
Maybe I could have come up with a plan if I had the desire to show my sweet side to an Untouchable. But I would rather pile the dirt on myself than that. And to be honest, these thoughts didn’t come to me until later. The biggest reason was, that sometimes I didn’t think before I spoke. Okay, always. My body tensed with irritation from being in a different man’s clutches that any rational thoughts flew out the tent flap.
“None of your business,” I said coolly. “I imagine you are going to rape me? Let’s get this over with, shall we?” And I will stab you before you can blink, I thought.
His laughter filled the tent. “Why do you think I’m going to rape you?”
Was he jesting? I let a half laugh go.
“Because I’ve almost been raped by . . .” I counted in my head. “Eleven of your men.”
He took a step towards me. I took one back. His sleeveless shirt left too much of his tanned skin bare, and I inwardly cringed. He watched me with interest. “Not my men. We don’t rape women.”
I scowled at his blatant lie. “I can assure you, I wasn’t seeing things. I can still feel the bruise on the back of my head.”
“Those weren’t my men. Some are raiders and have no affiliation with mine. I’m curious, though, how did you manage to get away?”
I crossed my arms. “Again, none of your business.”
He laughed deeply. “You sure are refreshing.”
My stomach twisted with fear, and I was really starting to panic as he took another step towards me.
“This is a great chat, but I need to be going,” I said while I gave him a wide berth and walked towards the tent flap. He noticed my sideways glance at his bare arms and then his lips lifted in a dark smile before he walked toward me. My heartbeat kicked into overdrive, and I ran towards the flap, but he was quicker and stepped in front of it with a glint in his eye.
I cautiously took a few steps back while he followed. “Don’t touch me,” I warned. He only laughed once more and continued to walk toward me with purpose. I grabbed the knife out of my pants, but he didn’t even glance at it.
He smiled. “You left the chest open.”
Good move, Calamity.
“I swear, I will stab you if you come any closer,” I growled.
He didn’t stop, and I had no choice but to hurl it at him. It was one of my best throws, and yet he managed to somehow dodge it. I didn’t even get a chance to think about what to do next before he had his bare rough hand wrapped around my wrist.
I stared at it with wide eyes, waiting for the pain.
Waiting for death.
Seconds had never passed as slowly as they did during that moment. The pounding of my own heart ticked as if it were my own internal clock as I waited.
I had imagined my death many times, and yet dying by an Untouchable’s hand never made the list. And it was probably the most feasible.
After a minute passed and I was still alive, I looked up a foot into amused dark eyes. He was the same height as Weston, and it did a great job of making me feel like a child. And uncomfortably aware of how vulnerable I was.
I swallowed. “Are you not an Untouchable?”
He frowned. “Do you know anything about us?”
What I did know was that he had known that I thought I would die, and yet he’d persisted in his disgusting demonstration. Why did men think to use me for their amusement?
I ripped my wrist out of his grasp. “I know you are rapists and murderers!”
His eyes hardened. “Insult me again and I will show you a rapist.” He said it in that way only one with authority could manage, and I grew uncomfortable under his hard gaze. He shook his head, and his lips lifted into a small smile. “I don’t think a woman has ever spoken to me like that before. Where did you come from?”
“Do I have to say it again?” I asked, none of your business being said with my eyes. “Can I go now?”
“I can’t let you go.”
“Why?”
Please tell me I didn’t go from one man’s grasp to another’s.
“Because women are not allowed to travel in this province alone.”
“What kind of disgusting rule is that?”
“Tell me who your man is and we will find him. You cannot leave without one.”
My thoughts immediately went to Weston, and I pushed them away with a disgusted shove. “I don’t have a man. Nor do I need one.”
He raised a brow. “Father, then?”
“No.”
“Well then, it looks like you belong to me.” His smile was wicked, and I wanted to smack it off his face. But self-preservation was awakened by the almost death scare earlier. Thank Alyria.
“I don’t care about your stupid laws. I’m not from here, so they do not apply to me.”
A Girl Named Calamity (Alyria Book 1) Page 17
