Wicked Flames of Desire

by Lily Thomas

  Roxanne pitched forward, as her foot failed to land on a stair step. Arms flailing, she managed to get her feet back under her before she killed herself by falling down the stone stairs. It was a long way to the bottom, and she had no intention of so carelessly throwing her life away, so Roxanne slowed herself back down.

  As she tore open the doors of the castle, she was greeted with the sight of men grabbing their swords and running around to get tasks done. A few of the men mounted their steeds and raced through the courtyard gates and out of sight.

  Her heart beat so violently in her chest, she feared she might pass out from light headiness. It looked as though the war on the border was going to come to them whether or not she wished it.

  A hand came out of nowhere and seized her arm, halting her forward motion.

  Roxanne jumped out of her skin until her father's familiar voice washed over her. “Quickly now, Roxanne. Into the carriage with you.” He ushered urgently as he all but shoved her into the awaiting carriage doors.

  As he attempted to close the carriage door in her face, she whipped out a hand to halt him.

  “Father, what about you?” She couldn't help the tremble of trepidation that crawled into her voice. Even as she wished for her father to join her, she knew he wouldn't. He was the general at this post, and he wasn't about to abandon it without a fight. It wasn’t in his nature.

  “You know very well I have to stay here with my men. I can't do my job, though, if I know you’re here in harm's way. I need you to be somewhere safe.” He placed a small peck on the forehead. “The king’s castle will be the safest place in the kingdom for you to wait for me. It was ridiculous of me to think you could be here with me. It was selfish. Forgive me.”

  “I wanted to be here with you.” She sent him a warm smile. “I will see you after this is taken care of then.”

  “Of course, you will.”

  With that, she sat back in the carriage, as he closed the door and told the driver to get going already.

  Roxanne jerked back against her cushioned seat, as the carriage leaped forward with the crack of a whip. She watched out the window, as the carriage passed through the castle gates and drove onto the dirt road, which would end up leading them back to the king's castle.

  Just as they started down the road, the sun broke over the horizon shedding some of its light over the area. She tried her best to sit calmly in the carriage, but she felt restless leaving her father behind.

  Closing the curtains of her carriage to block out the growing light, she tried shutting her eyes to get some sleep. But right as her eyelids slid closed a bone-chilling roar reverberated through the carriage from somewhere far in the distance.

  Her eyes popped wide, as she scooted to one of the windows of the carriage and peered out to see where the sounds were originating from. As she gazed out the window, she watched dark shapes rush down the hill next to the castle. They rode down towards the castle she’d just abandoned.

  Squinting to get a better look at those shapes she was able to see they were riders, but then her breath caught in her chest, when she saw the riders were giants. Her father had just got her out in the nick of time, but now she feared for her father's safety! Would he be able to repel the attack?

  Not wanting to watch the assault on the castle, she closed the curtain to the window. Then she sat back in her seat trying to keep her uneasiness down by monitoring her breathing.

  There was nothing she could do about the castle. All she could do was get to the king’s castle and let him know about the attack by the fire giants and have faith her father could hold back the giants long enough for assistance to arrive.

  Chapter 2

  “Is it time to attack the human castle?”

  Daerrin glanced over at his commander, Ler. The other man’s horse pranced impatiently as it read the emotions flowing off its rider. Then he looked back at the men that surrounded them.

  “It’s time.” He confirmed. “For the fire giants!”

  Daerrin raised a sword in the air as they charged forwards, as early morning light began to illuminate the area. His eyes caught something speeding away from the castle. When he turned to look at what had caught his attention, he saw a carriage fleeing the human stronghold.

  Having better eyesight than a human he was able to make out the emblem of his enemy adorning the side of the carriage, two wolves in battle against each other.

  A loud growl broke through his throat. His enemy would not be so lucky to escape Daerrin’s wrath. He almost couldn't believe his adversary would rather flee than face him in battle.

  “Bring me that carriage! I want anyone inside brought to me alive!” He barked at two of his men. There was no need to spare the driver of the carriage.

  His men nodded and changed direction to gallop after the fleeing carriage.

  Now he had to focus his attention on the castle, as he and the rest of his men thundered towards it. He’d always wondered when the fire giants would join the fight against the humans.

  He smirked, as the humans rode out of the castle on horseback.

  “Stupid, aren’t they!” Ler tossed out over the beating of the horses’ hooves.

  “I’m just glad they won’t be hiding away in their castle.” But then he frowned.

  Why were they coming out to meet him in battle?

  If the humans had been in their right mind, they would’ve closed the gates to block the onslaught. The human soldiers should’ve been smart enough to know the fire giants would destroy them on a battlefield. This was a suicide mission for the human men.

  But here they were, marching towards his force.

  With one last glance at the carriage, Daerrin felt certain there was someone in there he could use against his enemy, or his enemy might be in there himself. They were leaving themselves open for attack because they were trying to keep his forces focused on anything but the fleeing carriage.

  Too bad for them that he’d brought enough men to do two jobs.

  The sound of hooves pounding the ground grew louder than the sound of the horses pulling the carriage. Someone was catching up to Roxanne’s carriage, but she was too alarmed to look out the carriage window to see who it was.

  Ignorance was bliss, after all.

  Was it her father or his men? Or could it be the giants she’d seen riding down the hill towards the castle? Her hand rose to her mouth, then she paused. No matter how stressed she might be, she wasn’t going to start her childhood nail-biting again.

  Terror stole the breath from her lungs, and her fingers had gone white from gripping her seat cushion so hard. She was unable to clear her thoughts, as her mind raced away with a jumble of terrifying thoughts.

  A cry was let out from outside the carriage. It sounded like it came from an injured man. Then the carriage jumped up, as the wheels hit some sort of bump on the ground.

  A squeal pealed out of her mouth, as she was thrown around the inside of the carriage like a sack of vegetables.

  Then the carriage came to a sudden halt, which threw her forward against a wooden panel. Thankfully, she had enough time to throw her arms up in time to save her face from smacking into the carriage wall.

  Groaning she lifted a hand to her head.

  The door to the carriage was ripped off its hinges.

  A scream pealed out of her throat, as a hand clamped down around her ankle.

  “No!”

  As she was pulled from the carriage, she kicked out her other foot to get the hand to let go of her. Yet it did nothing, the man only reached a different hand in to take hold of her other ever-kicking foot.

  Roxanne was forcefully dragged out of the carriage the skirts of her dress bunching up around her waist. As she looked up to see who was dragging her across the ground, she met the crimson eyes of a terrifying fire giant.

  She was barely able to contain another scream, as she looked up into those soulless eyes that had the fires of hell burning in them.

  “No!” She hollered a
gain, lashing out with both of her feet hoping to loosen his grasp on her or nail him with one of her heeled shoes. “I will not be taken!” Not without a fight.

  The beast growled something at her.

  Roxanne grabbed onto clumps of grass as she tried to halt their progress over the ground, but she just ended up ripping the poor vegetation out of the soil. Rotating around she threw the clumps of vegetation at the giant but missed her intended target.

  The giant rolled her over, grabbed her around the waist before she could crawl away, and then threw her over his shoulder. He mounted up on his horse, not even hindered by her weight.

  They headed back to the castle at an even trot, when she noticed a lifeless body with an arrow sticking out of it behind the carriage.

  She let out a horrified gasp. It was the carriage driver who’d been killed. That must have been the bump the carriage had ridden over. She felt sick, as she glanced away. The poor man died trying to take her to safety. She felt the fight leave her as the blood rushed to her head.

  By the time the men Daerrin had sent after the carriage arrived at the castle, the battle was already over. His men were some of the best. They were efficient, and they had easily put the humans in their place. Any men they’d been able to take alive they had tied up and thrown down on their knees in the courtyard.

  Daerrin smiled evilly down at the humans tied up on the dirt before him, as he looked over their bowed heads. It was time for the humans to realize the fight they were picking with the giants wouldn’t be won by humans.

  He hadn't even bothered with any of the human women. Human women were useless in his opinion. All they did was screech and run around like chickens with their heads cut off… although that might be an insult to chickens.

  “Useless, aren’t they?” Ler came to stand next to him as his crimson eyes scanned over all of them.

  Daerrin snorted. “Any of our women would grab a sword and try to defend their land, even if they knew nothing about warfare.”

  “Agreed.”

  The human women stood by their men and wept uselessly into their hands. They feared for the lives of their husbands, brothers, and sons, but just stood there doing nothing. It was a pathetic sight. He almost felt pity for them. Almost.

  “But they have a genuine reason to worry. We aren’t under orders to leave any of them alive.” And so far, he didn’t plan on it either.

  Daerrin glanced over as some of his men rode up beside them.

  Surprise spread across his face. “Where did you get that woman?”

  “From the carriage, you sent us after.” His man sounded dejected when he realized that he’d missed all the fighting.

  “She was the only one in the carriage?”

  “Besides the driver of the carriage.”

  Then this female meant something to his enemy, his enemy who was currently kneeling on the ground in front of him. It felt so good to have the power now. This human general was finally going to pay for everything he’d done on the fire giant border.

  Perhaps she was his wife. She was a very young and gorgeous wife at that. His enemy was too lucky if this was his female.

  Glancing back down at the human general who’d become his worst enemy. He noticed the general had lifted his head to see what was happening. As the general's eyes landed on the human female his men were holding onto, panic soared through the depths of his brown eyes.

  Daerrin smiled gleefully. He’d been right. This female meant something to his foe, and now he had something to torture the general with, and he couldn’t be happier.

  Whether or not this was his wife, she would be a handy tool for his end goal.

  This human general had destroyed Daerrin's life when he’d ordered the destruction of his home village. Daerrin had arrived after the attack by the human army to find his parents burned to death and the entire village turned into ashes.

  And now Daerrin was out for blood.

  Roxanne couldn't believe what she saw when the giants brought her back to the castle. How had her father's men lost to these supposedly primitive fire giants? Her father’s men were some of the best in the land. It was unbelievable.

  As they rode into the castle courtyard, her jaw dropped even more when she saw all of the men kneeling on the ground with their hands bound behind their backs. All the women stood nearby being nothing but useless.

  Her jade eyes frantically searched for her father among the men. Panic shot through her when she couldn't find him. Face after face she scanned over the men until finally, her eyes landed on her father.

  Although her heart soared in relief to find him still alive, she tried her best not to show any relief or recognition on her face. She knew her father wouldn't want her to give the fire giants any leverage over them.

  The giants had to know her father was the general in control of this border castle. There was no need to let them know that they were connected by blood.

  But her father's eyes bugged out of his head as he looked up to see her in the grips of a fire giant warrior’s hands. Clearly, he thought she would’ve gotten away to safety. She had at least fared better than the driver of the carriage, and right now she was thankful for every second she was still breathing.

  A deep growling drew her attention away from her father, as the leader of the fire giant group barked orders. “Bring her here to me.”

  Roxanne started to kick and got a couple blows in with her fist, as she fought the fire giant holding her. Whatever this giant had planned for her, she doubted she would enjoy it.

  Unfortunately, the fire giant holding her was able to subdue her with minimal effort, as he handed her off to the leader.

  The leader's massive hand came down around the back of her neck his fingers wrapping around her delicate neck, and she froze in his grasp. She felt like he could snap her neck like a dry twig if she irritated him.

  The leader’s crimson gaze raked over her face, but he didn’t touch her other than on her neck. The leader turned her head left and right with a thumb, as he inspected her like one would before purchasing a horse. Her pulse jumped in her throat, as she feared for her very life.

  As her fright built so did her stupidity.

  Roxanne puckered her lips and attempted to hock a loogie at him. She aimed for his chiseled face, but she only ended up missing by yards. She hadn't much practice with spitting at others. She was a lady, after all.

  “Feisty.” He growled down at her sounding pleased with that assessment.

  A grin spread across his face, as he looked over at her father who had dismay shining brightly in his eyes.

  “She will do. Tie her hands up and load her onto the back of my horse. I will take her as my prize from this raid.” He announced loudly with almost no growl as though he wanted it to be obvious for any human ears listening.

  Her father lunged against the ropes that tied him down. “Don't you dare touch her. You piece of scum!”

  “I think I do dare.” The leader of the fire giants stated matter of fact as he leaned in close to her father. “As I am not the one tied to the ground, I think I can do as I please.”

  Her father blustered for a second, unable to get any words out from his shock.

  “Don't worry, father, I will be fine.” Roxanne burst out trying to reassure him. Clearly, the fire giant already knew they had a connection, so she saw no harm in trying to console her father.

  “Father?” The fire giant leader asked his interest piqued even more. “I will take great care of your daughter. I’ll be sure to teach her of all the passions she has surely yet to explore with a man.” He held his hand up to his heart as if promising a great deed that her father should be thankful for.

  “Don't touch her! Roxanne!” Her father cried out in despair. “Do not ruin her! She is an innocent.”

  “As you took the last of my family, I will be taking yours from you.” The giant leader replied to her father with no other emotion except rage burning brightly in his blood-curdling eyes.

&nbs
p; With that said, he hoisted her onto the back of his horse.

  Turning the horse, he called out to his men. “Knock the general out and kill the rest of the men.”

  “No!” It screeched out of her, as she leaned forward towards the giant's ear.

  He let out what sounded like a curse, but paid her no attention, as he started the horse towards the gates of the castle.

  Roxanne watched in horror, as a fire giant stepped up behind her father and whacked him on the back of the head with the hilt of his sword. A sob shook her chest. She watched him crumple to the ground face first.

  Then before her very eyes, the fire giants started to go through the men slicing their heads off with their swords.

  Roxanne averted her eyes, but the screams of the women and the prayers of the men haunted her. She wished desperately that she could use her fingers to plug her ears, but her hands were tied behind her back.

  The fire giant pushed his horse a little quicker. Soon Roxanne couldn't hear what was happening behind them, as they made their way out of the castle courtyard. Yet she knew she would forever hear those disturbing noises for the rest of her life.

  A tear threatened to slip down her cheek, so she blinked her eyelids until it disappeared. She might have a million emotions rolling through her, but she wasn’t about to break down in front of the fire giants.

  Roxanne's heart went out to all the women who were left in the castle to watch their men get butchered in front of them. She only hoped her father would survive this experience.

  The fire giant had only said to knock him unconscious, so she felt certain he wanted her father alive, but even a conk to the head could have unwanted side effects.

  “Keeping my father alive will only end up being a big mistake for you. My father will tear the land apart to find me, and he will kill you.”

  Daerrin couldn't help but beam with joy. His enemy would awaken to find his daughter long gone with a fire giant. He was sure the general would lose his mind while thinking of what barbarians like them would do to his delicate flower of a daughter.