by A. R. Ford
She blushed, dropping her gaze as memories of last night returned. He had taken her roughly. Once against the wall, the remaining times in bed when he woke her. She had fallen asleep, exhausted, cradled against his chest.
“Don’t ever be embarrassed by what we share, Nyssa. You’re the only woman who has slept in that bed with me.”
Her head came to rest on his chest, silken wisps of hair fluttering in the strong wind. “I liked it.” She pulled away, pressed a kiss to the center of his chest, and crawled from his lap.
“Minx. Telling me that convinces me you want more of the same once we’re home.”
A soft trill of laughter was the only answer she would give. She took his hand, tugging until he rose to his feet. “Arkala waits for us. I have something to give Cinnamon.”
Their pace picked up afterwards. Before the sky reached its zenith in the sky they strode through the town’s eastern entrance.
Nyssa took in details that before had not mattered. How many towers. How many guards. A second narrow entrance was located to the south. The general store filled Luca’s list as it had before. Their packs were not overly heavy. Luca bore most of the weight.
The saloon’s musty depths welcomed them again. This time Luca ordered one beer and a mug of coffee for Nyssa. She remained at his side, silent, eyes taking in details of the room and its occupants. The bartender concealed a shotgun beneath the display of liquor bottles. Each detail was communicated to Luca in a silent psychic whisper only he was privy to.
Cinnamon’s step on the stair came not long after Luca finished his beer. An almost undetectable shift came in his demeanor. Nyssa felt the tension in his body rise. A brief glance communicated the need to follow his lead. Yes, always.
“You back so soon, Luca? Missed ole Cinnamon already, didn’t ya?” Cinnamon drawled after releasing a trail of cigarette smoke skyward. “I see you still got your orphan. Come on up.”
Nyssa followed behind him, head down, giving the impression of an abject captive without hope. The scenario played out much like it did last time. Except this time there were no shackles. “Needed more supplies with winter coming on,” Luca explained.
Nyssa stood in the closet, her head barely brushing the wooden rod for clothing to hang on. Luca pretended to lock the door. She waited, hovering in his mind for the signal. It came seconds later after the bed springs squeaked with Cinnamon’s bulk settling there.
Nyssa double-checked the bolt on the door before appearing at Luca’s side. Cinnamon’s eyes flickered briefly with understanding when Luca’s massive paw clamped over her mouth.
“Tie her arms and legs to the bed, Nyssa.” Luca commanded while Cinnamon fought, screams muffled by his hand. The tip of the Bowie knife at her throat ended the struggle and sounds.
Once the task of restraining their captive was finished, Nyssa stood by Luca’s side. He released Cinnamon’s mouth with an admonition. “Any sound at all and I’ll put this knife in your black, traitorous heart. You understand me?”
The woman gave a nod, tears making a muddy mess of her mascara. Black trails beneath each eye and from the corners of her eyes into the dyed hair gave her an odd appearance. “Don’t kill me!” she begged once Luca’s hand moved away.
“Why’d you send those men after Nyssa?” Luca growled.
“You been coming here for half a dozen years now, Luca. What do you want with some girl that looks like a boy? She ain’t got no tits. I bet she don’t even know how to please you like I do,” Cinnamon spat.
The remarks earned her Nyssa’s fist. Luca chuckled, pulling Nyssa against him possessively. As if to demonstrate to Cinnamon the nature of their relationship, he caught Nyssa’s face before kissing her hard. A gentle kiss dropped on her forehead afterwards brought a smile.
“You’ll never understand what we have, Cinnamon. Not that it matters. When we leave here, you’ll either be dead or wishing you were dead. It’s up to you which of those things happen,” Luca replied after releasing Nyssa from his arms. The tip of the Bowie knife dug into the soft, second chin Cinnamon earned from a life of repose. “Why’d you send those men. I won’t ask a second time.”
“She don’t deserve you!” Cinnamon spat. The wrought-iron bed frame rattled with the force of her struggle to be free.
“You sure that’s all it is? No one has been asking around about her?” the knife’s tip dug deep enough to set a stream of blood running down Cinnamon’s neck.
“Snake Eyes came around. Wanting to know if I’d seen someone fitting her description. Said they needed her back. I told the men where you were. I didn’t know for sure...they...they said they’d find her. Now you promised to let me go! Let me GO!”
Luca’s hand clamped over Cinnamon’s mouth as her voice grew louder. Nyssa saw the Bowie knife tremble in his hand, the knotted muscles of his forearm drawn tight. She caught his hand and shook her head. “Let me. You know what would happen if they find her dead. Keep your hand over her mouth.”
Luca’s eyes widened at her words, his head tilting to take in her face. The trembling stopped, the corded muscles relaxed. He slid the knife into the sheath at his thigh. “You sure?”
“Yes,” Nyssa smiled. She stepped closer to the bed, an index finger skimming across Cinnamon’s forehead. The finger pressed against the prostitute’s temple hard enough to dent the skin.
Cinnamon trembled, beads of perspiration appearing on her face and neck. The woman’s hazel eyes widened, pupils dilating until the hazel irises disappeared. Her body jerked once, quivered, and went still. Sightless eyes stared at the ceiling. Luca’s hand fell away when Nyssa tugged at his wrist. Color drained from Cinnamon’s face leaving it the chalky color of a corpse. Yet she breathed, a snoring sound that came from somewhere deep in her throat.
“What did you do to her?” Luca muttered.
“Her mind is gone now. She’ll still eat, drink, and use the outhouse like everyone. But she’ll never speak again and never sell anyone out like she did us. She’ll be a simpleton that others will care for until the day she dies,” Nyssa proclaimed. “We should go now before anyone comes looking for Cinnamon.”
A back entrance to the saloon provided an easy escape. Nyssa pointed to the southern entrance just wide enough for Luca to fit through. No guard towers were situated at this opening. They walked away without arousing suspicion to an alternate route that would eventually lead them back to the trail they took earlier in the day.
When they stopped to rest, eat jerky, and drink water, Luca questioned what had happened. “When did you learn to do what you did to Cinnamon?”
Nyssa shrugged. “I tried when they had me. I was too afraid to really hurt them. They kept hitting me, threatening to kill me if I didn’t keep up. I knew you’d come for me.”
“I’ll start training you. You need to know how to use a bow and knives, track.” A glance at the sky came before he pronounced it was time to head out.
Nyssa chattered with Luca as she had on the first leg of their journey. This time she pointed out things in the woods that were new to her, old to Luca. A squirrel sitting on a limb eating a nut. A woodpecker drilling into the rotten wood of a tree to find insects to eat. There were more. By the time they reached home he was laughing with her.
They arrived at the cabin in the fading light just before nightfall. Nyssa stoked the fire while Luca cut potatoes to fry. As always, a pot of coffee was thrust near the coals. Its bitter warmth was welcome after the chill that settled on them during the return trip. Nyssa ate all the food on her plate. She curled up in a chair by the fire while Luca sharpened the knives he used as weapons.
Once the knives were returned to their sheaths, Luca motioned toward the bed. A flame of longing flickered within her all day. It roared to life at his casual indicator it was time for bed.
She undressed completely when he turned to stoke the fire and naked, slid under the blanket. She waited with bated breath for Luca to join her. The heat from his body seared her skin, welcome warmth tha
t she migrated to instinctively.
“Minx,” Luca muttered. “You’ve been hinting about this all day, haven’t you?”
“Yes,” she breathed, her slight form draped across his body.
Luca rolled until she was pinned beneath him. “What do you want?”
“You.” Her voice was but a whisper, hands catching at his neck, tugging insistently.
A cry came when his teeth tugged a nipple until a sharp thrill of pleasure tingled straight to her core. Nyssa stared up at him, eyes wide, breath catching in her throat. The electric tingle of desire raced through her body, something only Luca controlled. His teeth caught her lower lip, tugging, nipping, then setting it free.
“You sure? Gentle isn’t what I need tonight.”
Nyssa nodded, fingers digging into his biceps as he settled between her thighs. The first thrust was unexpected. Sharp. Painful. Possessive. He took her hard, hands tilting her hips upward to allow the deepest penetration. She ached and cried and soared on the raw pleasure spiraling out of control within her. He took her higher, driving on, and found his release before hers. A mewl of frustration burst from her lips. Luca claimed her lips gently, tongue teasing hers as he caught his breath.
“You don’t like it when I do that,” he growled against her neck. His tongue slid from her collarbone to her ear. “It’s your turn, Nyssa. Don’t hold back.”
Slow, deep thrusts rocked her body. The glide of his girth stimulated nerves hypersensitive after being brought to the edge of ecstasy and denied. A hiss of breath came between her teeth. Higher and higher and... free. She could hardly breath after the bone-melting bliss that came without warning. Luca caressed her face, carded her hair with his fingers, hooded eyes holding her gaze.
“What now?” he whispered. He supported his weight on both elbows. His pubic bone dug into hers, insistent, suggestive.
“Again,” Nyssa crooned. Her fingers traced the outlines of scars, delineated muscles in his chest, shoulders, and arms. Her tongue caught the saltiness of sweat trickling down his neck.
“Always,” he promised before stealing her heart and soul in a kiss.
Chapter 10
Nyssa
“Hovering does not encourage accuracy.” Nyssa peered down the length of the arrow with one eye while Luca stood close enough that the hairs on her arms stood on end.
“Take a deep breath. Release,” Luca growled.
Silent. Deadly. The arrow hurtled through the air. They walked together to the tree that served as a practice target. Luca tugged the arrow free with a flick of his wrist.
“Not bad for a beginner. Right?” Nyssa grinned. After a day of practice, the arrows came closer and closer to the coveted bullseye.
“The unfortunate victim would be near death with that arrow in their body.” Luca handed the arrow to her. His handsome face roughened with a longer growth of scruff was solemn, jaw set, brows drawn together. “Again.”
Nyssa sighed, shoulders drooping. Her arms and shoulders ached with the effort of pulling the bow’s string, holding it until Luca was satisfied with her stance, and releasing. Time after time after time. “I’m not a warrior.”
She caught her breath when he hauled her against his body with one arm, a finger beneath her chin tilting her face upwards. “I wasn’t a warrior until I was forced to be. Practice now while there’s time.”
“What are you not telling me?”
“I know the Snake Eyes. They won’t stop until they have what they want. I can’t allow that to happen.”
“Can we try knives?”
A ghost of a grin uplifted the corners of his full, sensual mouth. “Of course.”
Every day for a week they practiced until Nyssa could hit the bullseye on the tree more times than not. Throwing knives came naturally to her. With Luca’s encouragement, she easily hit the bullseye a majority of the time. He began to work with her on hand-to-hand combat techniques. At the end of the week she was bruised and sore but felt more secure in the knowledge that she could use weapons in addition to her mind to defend them.
Jack appeared at the cabin door without warning the next day. Luca was as surprised by the visit as Nyssa was. Jack waved them outside, back to the cabin, eyes darting over the wood as if he searched for something.
“Had a visitor yesterday, a peddler from Walden. He shared some news I thought you should know,” Jack said. A spurt of tobacco juice arced from his mouth to the ground several feet away. “Seems the Snake Eyes leader is asking questions. Peddler said there was a reward out for information on a runaway.”
Nyssa clutched Luca’s arm when a cold knife of fear rushed through her. Bounties and rewards were common methods used by the gang. She knew that from the months of being their captive. More men would come. She knew there was no way Luca could defend her against them all.
“It looks like I’ve got my work cut out for me,” Luca muttered. He gave Jack a pat on the back, a rare show of emotion for a man who guarded his emotions as closely as Luca did. “They’ll not take her. I’ll die protecting her.”
“You can’t fight all of them,” Nyssa murmured, eyes on the ground as a feeling of impending doom crushed down on her chest.
“I can damn well try,” Luca snapped. A hint of fire filled the usually icy blue eyes.
“There’s another way. It might work. And if it did, we never have to worry about them again.” Nyssa scuffed the ground with one foot, hands clenched into bloodless fists behind her back. “Fight Dreven. If you win, you rule the Snake Eyes and the town.”
Jack spat on the ground. “It sounds like it’s the easiest way. You can take him one on one, Luca. No doubt in my mind you’ll win. I best hurry back to Mary. She had some more honey-do work for me to finish before evening. Take care. I’ll let you know if I hear anything else.”
Nyssa watched Jack’s retreating back as he took the path toward home and the work Mary had for him to do. As if sensing her unease, Luca took a few steps until he stood inches from her. The heat of his body was hypnotic, beckoning for her to enter the protective circle of his arms. A shuddering breath came when his arms closed around her.
“I meant what I said. They’ll not take you from me. We need to talk about Walden. I need to know everything you know. Then we’ll make a plan.”
Nyssa sat for hours with him talking about the little she knew about the town of Walden. Having been kept locked in a room for months unless the Snake Eyes needed her to gamble did little to improve her knowledge of the town. A careless keeper left the door of her room unlocked one night. It was the only reason she escaped so easily.
She knew Walden was larger than Arkala. Well-fortified. And its draw was an area known as the Catacombs. An underground red-light district replete with every vice a person could possibly want or need.
The fighting pits were notorious, drawing spectators and participants from miles away. Betting on the fights was a lucrative way for the Snake Eyes to make more money. There were few rules in the fighting pits. The first was that no challenge could be declined. The second was no weapons. And finally, the last fighter standing was the winner. Fights to settle arguments were final. The winner always won. The loser was bound to follow the edict signed in blood before the fight. The loser left town within an hour of the fight’s end or the town exacted vengeance.
Luca planned their journey including stops for rest. “We stay together all the way to the pits. We leave together. I won’t let you down, Nyssa.”
The look in his eyes let her know he was dead serious about the commitment. It warmed her heart, made her feel safe and needed. It was something she had not felt in many years. That night their joining was gentle, slow, and loving. After it ended, she cried silently against his broad chest.
“Did I hurt you?” Luca grumbled, fingers stroking her face.
“No,” she whispered, clinging desperately to him. “I love you.”
The words brought a sharp intake of breath. He turned, hovering over her with hooded eyes. “I love yo
u, Nyssa. When this is done...I want children with you. I want us to have what Jack and Mary have.”
“We’re halfway there,” she murmured.
“Halfway there?” Luca’s look of confusion brought a laugh from Nyssa.
“We love each other. And if we keep doing what we’ve been doing every night, it won’t be long before we have children. If there isn’t one already growing inside me,” she murmured.
Luca clutched her in his arms, possessive, protective. His words were a deep growl that came close to her ear. “Tomorrow we settle this once and for all.”
*****
The western path passing by Jack and Mary’s farm led them toward Walden. It was the same path taken by the kidnappers weeks before.
Luca insisted they stick to cover. Anything that might camouflage their approach. Nyssa did not question his wisdom. A gate lit with flames from an underground pocket of methane lit the entrance to Walden. Their journey had taken four hours, the same amount of time it took for them to walk to Arkala.
Luca clutched Nyssa’s hand as they walked through the gate. She knew his eyes took in everything around them. Not willing to be a passive participant in the mission, she took mental note as well. How many blocks passed before they found the entrance to the Catacombs. Alternate exits. Guard towers. The decay in Walden was similar to the decay of Arkala.
The depths of the Catacombs formed from an underground military base abandoned after the Great War began.
Walden did not offer the creature comforts and infrastructure of larger urban areas. It was abandoned much as Arkala and other small towns were when the fighting between the resistance and One World began.
At first, the base served as home to those displaced by the ongoing civil war. The dregs of humanity--drug dealers, prostitutes, thieves, and eventually organized crime. The Snake Eyes routed out those who sought to establish territory in the Catacombs. They quickly became the only organization managing and taking a cut from every illicit activity in the underground under Dreven’s rule.
