Taken Hostage

by Hutchins, Hollie

  The mist grew steadily more dense. Emma picked her way with care among the jagged rocks that formed the floor of the cave, now slick with the moisture from the fog that enveloped them. Ahead of her, just a few feet away, Richard’s dark form moved with care amid a halo of light.

  She said, “Let me catch up with you, Richard.”

  She heard his voice come back, “I’m right here,” but it seemed oddly distant. A Large rock loomed on her left, momentarily obscuring Richard’s form, partly hiding the glow of his flashlight. She picked her way around it. The glow of the torch was still there, but it appeared to be stationary. She said, “Richard…?”

  His voice, disembodied, seemed to come from all directions, “Emma…?”

  She called again, “Richard, I can’t see you. Where are you?”

  “”Emma…? Don’t move. Stay where you are. I’ll retrace my steps…”

  She fought a sinking feeling of fear. “I’m by the big rock. You passed it a second ago on your left…”

  She heard her voice sink among deadened echoes into the thick vapour. There was no reply. She called again, “Richard?” And then, “I can see the glow of your lamp. I am going to walk towards you.”

  He didn’t answer. She waited a moment, but the eminent logic of her own proposition persuaded her in the end to move and she began to inch her way over wet and slimy stones in the direction of the glow of his lamp.

  She did not find him or the flashlight. The passageway narrowed and the sound of the river became louder. Still following the glow, she squeezed between two outcrops of rock and found herself in what appeared to be a large chamber. Here the mist cleared somewhat and she could see on her left, perhaps twenty feet away, a fast-flowing river from which rose tenuous clouds of vapour. And then, as the mist cleared further, she gasped. For piled high on all sides were mountains of gold and jewels of every imaginable description. There were coins, necklaces, torques, bracelets, crowns and coronets, chalices, goblets, plates and platters, swords and daggers, all encrusted with diamonds, rubies and emeralds.

  And lying across the hoard, was the gigantic form of a serpent dragon, his wings furled, his eyes closed.

  She whispered, “Sigurd…” His amber, ophidian eyes opened and he regarded her from where he lay. She said, “It’s me, Emma. I have come searching for you…”

  A deep, rumbling groan escaped from his mouth. He stirred and raised his head. There was a deep sadness in his eyes. She felt a twist of grief in her belly and tears sprang to her eyes. She said, "I realized my mistake, Sigurd. I was vain. I saw only your power, your beauty…” she gave a small laugh and wiped away her tears, “you were magnificent. But I failed to see the…”

  “Humanity?”

  The voice came from beside her. She jumped and stepped away.

  Vordr stood there, leaning on a great, bejewelled sword. He was not in his troll form, but as a man.

  “He has no humanity, wench. You stole it from him when you refused to love him. In your hunger for the flesh, your lust, your carnality…” he was grinning, surveying her body, stripping her naked with his eyes, “you were too vain and too greedy too see the true man. Too late. You come too late. You have sentenced him to another thousand years. You cannot save him now.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t believe you. My feelings were real. They were hidden, buried, but they were there all along. I just couldn’t see…”

  “You don’t believe me.” He shrugged and sneered. “It makes no difference. He guards the treasure of the people of the mist, but I guard him.”

  He raised his sword and stepped towards her. Over his shoulder she could see the dragon, and the infinite sadness in its eyes.

  Those huge, amber eyes.

  “Seeing,” she said. “It is all about seeing, isn’t it? The valley of mist, the mountain of mist, the people of the mist. The treasure is there to blind us. You, a troll, Sigurd, a dragon. It is all illusion…to stop us from seeing…”

  A terrible grin split his face and he raised the sword in both hands.

  “Too late, child…”

  Past the gleaming, steel blade she saw the dragon’s head, the great eyes imploring her, begging her, and it was as though she heard the voice in her mind, “My dear Emma…”

  And then she saw. The great main of leonine hair swept back from his broad forehead, the cold blue eyes, the powerful jaw – he was not Vordr at all! How had she not recognized him? How had she not seen him until now? In that instant she became aware – she saw! - the jewelled dagger at her feet. She crouched down and took hold of it, and standing, plunged it without hesitation into Vordr’s heart.

  He looked down in horror. The sword dropped from his hand. She wrenched the dagger free and his crimson blood flowed from the wound. His eyes bulged and he staggered back and fell at the dragon’s feet.

  In that moment she saw Sigurd’s spirit rise up out of the dragon’s body, like the mist that rose from the river, and vanish. And then the daemon was unleashed. With a terrible growl the dragon rose up. The walls of the cavern shook. The beast lashed out at her with its talons. She stumbled back. Smoke billowed from its nostrils. It drew a massive breath and she ran, stumbling and slipping from the chamber. A great roar of flames pursued her, burning the fog from the air. She screamed for Richard as she ran.

  The cavern walls trembled with the thunder of the dragons feet and wings beating after her. Everywhere she looked the mist swirled, breaking here but condensing there, binding and twisting. A diabolical scream rent the air. Flames belched from the darkness. She stumbled on, slipping and falling as she went, weeping and crying out for Richard.

  A glow ahead. She screamed, “Richard! Richard!”

  She ran for the glow but with every step it seemed to retreat further through the fog. Behind her she could hear the wild thrashing, screaming and pounding of the beast as it pursued her.

  “Richard! Richard!”

  And then it was there. The mouth of the cave, fifteen yards ahead of her. But Richard. What if he were hurt? What if he were injured or unconscious? She could not leave him to die. She turned in a desperate panic to go back for him - and froze.

  Sigurd towered over her, smiling down into her eyes, and as she gazed upon him she began to see him, for the very first time, as he really was. She frowned, then smiled. She whispered, “Good heavens…!”

  He said, “My dear Emma, I have been right here all along.”

  And he took her up in his arms and carried her to the glowing mouth of the cave. They emerged and a deep thunder seemed to shake the earth; and as he carried her down the slope towards the banks of the river, behind them the tunnel collapsed in great billows of dust and rubble.

  In the short while of her absence a dense cloud had descended from Mount Tåke and engulfed the valley in a tenuous shroud. Now, as he lay her down on the blanket by the riverbank, the fog turned to a warm drizzle. She gazed up into his face, wiping rain from her eyes, and began to laugh.

  “Richard, how is it possible…?”

  He silenced her with a kiss.

  It was not brutal, diabolical or bestial. He gently removed her clothes and his own, so that the soft rain bathed them both in their nakedness. She lay bank, languid and luxurious, feeling the water trickle on her skin, and he kissed every inch of her, tenderly, taking his time, lingering exquisitely on her nipples, running his tongue slowly down her belly. gently drawing his teeth across her hips. She smiled and writhed with deep pleasure, running her fingers through his wet hair as he opened his mouth wide and buried his face between her thighs. He bit her softly, in big, succulent mouthfuls, and licked the rainwater from her tender thighs.

  She moaned, sighed and laughed with pleasure. But soon her excitement began to build as his tongue moved from long, moist licks to deep, penetrating rapid flicks, sending burning tingles through her loins into her belly. She cried out and pushed up into his face. She looked down at him across her naked, saturated body. His hair hung in wet curls and rain glisten
ed on his back and his shoulders. he cupped her buttocks in his hands. He growled as her excitement infected him, flicking his tongue harder and faster, sucking on the hardening nub of her sensitivity, until the spasms of pleasure suddenly exploded and wracked her body. He plunged his tongue deep inside her, biting at her with his teeth and she screamed.

  Her legs parted and she dilated, groaning for him to enter her. She felt him, hard and long, slide inside her. He bent down, licking the rainwater from her nipples, sending shards of exquisite tingling pleasure through her breasts. She arched her chest to him. He gripped her waist in his arms and bit into her neck. She cried out and whispered his name, and he withdrew and pushed inside her again; then withdrew and plunged hard inside her again, and again. She felt him growing bigger and harder with every thrust, going deeper, growing faster. Their moist skin rubbing and slipping together was intoxicating. She groaned and cried out, clutching him with her arms, encircling him with her legs. He smothered her face with kisses, driving into her with a savage rhythm. His face grew savage. His neck swelled up and suddenly he was roaring, exploding inside her and she was clawing at his soaking back, opening wide to take him as deep as she could, as wave after wave of orgasms wracked their bodies.

  Ten

  They stood on the deck of the Norse Maiden and watched the high, snowy peaks of Norway slowly withdraw into a gentle summer haze. Richard put his strong arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. She leaned against him and encircled his waist with her arms.

  “So,” she said, “Are you Richard, Lord Pastern?”

  “Yes, of course I am, darling.”

  “Then, who was Sigurd and why…?”

  “Sigurd,” he said patiently, “was someone I once was. Everything he told you was perfectly true.”

  “But then,” she said, turning to face him and gaze up into his face. “How could you be in two places at once?”

  “I couldn’t, but think about it, my pet. Did you ever see us together?”

  Her mind flashed back. “No, I never did. You had a trick of disappearing whenever he was around and reappearing after he’d left.”

  “I needed a moment to transform, to shape-shift. One of the powers granted by eating a dragon’s heart, my dear.”

  “So your father, Lord Ranulff…”

  “Not my father at all. He is – I should say was – my guardian.”

  “I can’t believe I didn’t recognize him.”

  He smiled. “It is the mist that hides the treasure from us, dear Emma. Love can be right there, but we do not see it. We can spend our whole lives not seeing it, because we are gazing so hard at the things that don’t matter.”

  She shook her head, “How can we have known each other so long and I never saw… And who has been looking after the treasure while you have been gallivanting around Mayfair?”

  “We have known each other seven years, darling Emma, and for seven years you have been carefully ignoring me. Months on end would go by and you would not so much as look at me. How could you see anything about me when you were so studiously ignoring me?”

  She sighed. “I suppose so. I have been stupid.”

  “And as for the treasure, well, I had seven years in which to find true love. If I didn’t it was back to the cave for another millennium. In the end, desperate times called for desperate measures. So the mighty Sigurd appeared on the scene. Vordr was not amused.”

  At the mention of his name she looked at Richard anxiously.

  “Richard, darling, I hope I haven’t…”

  “No,” he shook his head, “It takes more than a pinprick like that to stop a troll. But he won’t be coming back to Wormholt Square. You have set me free, my love. No more guardians for me. The price I pay is to die of old age, but that is a small price, my love, to pay for you.”

  “And you have set me free too, dear, darling Richard.”

  And standing on her tiptoes she took his face in her hands and they kissed, under the full, glorious light of the morning sun.

  Auctioned To The Lord

  ~ Bonus Story ~

  An Alien Abduction Romance

  Katie moves from LA to her new town in New England. She’s just happy to get away from her ex, who beat and abused her, but in her New England town she finds SOMETHING WORSE! She is auctioned at the Lord Mayor’s ball to an alien, whereupon she is whisked away kicking and screaming to another world - where, she soon finds out, to be the governess of the Alien’s son. But it turns out to be more than just teaching Rafael about being human and experiencing emotions. Far much more than she could imagine.

  He wants to experience love, and she is the only one to teach him the finer points of lovemaking. To kiss, to hold, to make love. But this is nothing like she has experienced before - a whole new of INTIMATE EXPERIENCE on so many different levels! But she gets more than she bargained for - including a jealous brother who wants what Rafael is getting!

  * * *

  Chapter One

  It was a partly empty house. What made it not completely empty was the scattering of boxes and furniture that was still in the wrong places. It was in the wrong places because I have just moved in, and I was still in the middle of unpacking. I stood in the middle of the room, looking at the mess of boxes, and wondered where to start. Luckily, I had marked all the boxes. That was going to help me locate what I needed as I go from room to room. Looking at all the boxes also made me feel lost, although, in some ways, I was hoping this move from LA to Little Rock, New England, would help me find what’s been missing in my life. Sometimes it felt like I was running away from my problems. I had a broken heart, even though, four months on, it was starting to heal. In the mirror, I could see the pain in my eyes. And sometimes, I would see Roger still in there too. Bits of him at least. What does it take for him to go away? Hasn’t he caused enough hurt already? And still he lingers, in my thoughts and dreams.

  We had been going out for almost twelve months, and I was happy. And I thought we were both happy. Until I found out the truth from a girlfriend who saw him kissing on a street corner. I couldn’t believe it at first. I trusted him. I didn’t think he was like that at all. But with my suspicions raised, I hired a private detective, and within a short time I found out the horrible truth. He had been cheating on me, and almost for the whole twelve months. I could hardly bare to look at the evidence. At first, I blamed everyone, including my friend who caught him out. How dare she? Why did she do it for? But I was throwing all my anger onto the wrong person. What was I thinking? You can only blame one person. He tried to make up with me, saying it would never happen again, but I never believed him. How could I? I was heartbroken by the man I loved, and I screamed and screamed until I couldn’t scream and cry anymore.

  Everywhere I went in LA was a reminder of what Roger did to me; a reminder of illusion and distrust. It was slowly driving me crazy. I needed a fresh start. I needed to go somewhere and find myself again. I applied for so many jobs in towns as far away from LA as possible, until I finally got a job as a school teach at a primary school in my new town. I start on Monday. It’s Friday now, so I had little time to waste on my thoughts, and needed to make a start. I head straight to the kitchen boxes, and start to unpack them. Half way through one box, I stop when I hear a knock at the door.

  I opened the front door, and a kind looking man was standing before me. “Hi, I’m Frank, I’m your next door neighbour,” he said. “I just wanted to welcome you to the neighbourhood.”

  “Thank you, I’m Katie,” I said. “I’d invite you in, but my house is a mess with boxes everywhere.”

  “Sounds like you need a hand,” he said. “Unpacking can be a pain in the ass sometimes.”

  I looked at him as he smiled at me. He was an attractive man with a dimple chin that accentuated his features even more. He wore a fedora hat, and was dressed in dark pants and shirt. “I would love the help.” He came in, still smiling, and we began to work on different kitchen boxes, but we were close enough to chat as
we worked. As I picked out kitchen items from the box, I was stealing glances without making it obvious. And I liked what I saw. At the door, the sun was in my eyes, and I couldn’t get a good look at him. Now that he was in better light, I could see that his thinning face brought out a uniqueness in him that I couldn’t see before. It was the high cheek bones that made him stand out. I wondered he was Native American. He had that look about him.

  “How long have lived here, Frank?”

  Frank stopped what he was doing for a moment, and to face her. “I’ve been here about five years. I came from Las Vegas. Or just out of Las Vegas.”

  “That’s a long way to come,” I said, but moving between boxes and cupboards, so I could get things done. “Why did you make the move here?”

  Frank smiled, displaying perfect white teeth. “I wanted a change too, but it was like a calling to come out here. It’s such a beautiful area. I would rather the country than the city any day.”

  “I know what you’re saying,” I stopped for a moment. “I didn’t realize it was so beautiful until I got here myself, although I haven’t seen that much.”

  “It is more beautiful the longer you live here, as long as you remind yourself to get out.”

  I smiled at this comment wistfully, hoping he would volunteer to show me the best parts of his town. In fact, I waited a few moments, giving him the chance to offer to take me around. I was feeling disappointed when he didn’t, and I was hit back to reality. Friendships don’t happen just like that. It takes time. How silly of me to think otherwise. But I do think first impressions do count, and I did like Frank from the moment he said hello. The rest of the afternoon went smoothly and quick as we both got to know each other. As he went back to his house, and watched him leave, I thought to myself I would love to get to know him better.