by Aimee Moore
Kenni looked up, too. “Rain comes.”
I nodded. “Dal said it would. Where did everyone go?”
“Only place worth going when something new happens, Gilp's place.” Kenni gestured with her chin toward a large tavern, the stained-glass windows lit from within.
“Dal won't be in there,” I said with a sad sigh. I turned away from the tavern, looking out over the plowed and irrigated field, wondering where he had gone.
“It's going to be a cold night. Where does he plan to sleep?”
I shrugged. “He said he'd be fine out in the forest, but I can't bear the thought of him sleeping out in the cold rain like this.”
Kenni was at my ear then. “Tell him to sleep in the stables tonight. The bales of hay are fresh and go unused since the livestock were slaughtered. The cow is behind Gilp's since he hurt his leg and can't walk as far, no one will disturb your Kraw. Except, maybe, you.”
I turned to Kenni, who had a wicked smile creeping over her face, and bit my lip.
“I'll take your bag up to your room so that it looks like you're to be there soon. No one will know better,” she said with a wink, taking my bag and slinging it over her shoulder.
Whether her intentions were unladylike or not, I was beyond grateful for shelter for Dal. “Thank you, Kenni. I can't tell you how much it means to me.”
Kenni scooped the bread out of my arms, leaving me two loaves. “Don't mention it. Now go on, he grows impatient.”
“Who?”
Kenni turned me toward the corner of the field. Hidden in the shadow of a building, leaning against a fence post, was Dal. Watching me.
A smile warmed my face as the strong wind blew my hair back. I turned to thank Kenni, but she was already slipping into Gilp's with armloads of bread. Dal and I were alone. I walked toward him, the wind whipping at my dress and hair, moisture blowing in on the promise of storm.
“I didn't know where you'd gone,” I said when I approached him.
Dal reached one hand out to touch my face. “Rain comes. You must seek shelter.”
“I'll be alright. Here, I made you something.”
Dal did not take his eyes off of mine as he accepted. “You made this?”
“You know I used to make bread every morning. Come, Kenni said you could find shelter in the barn.”
“I am not welcome, and I promised to find shelter outside of the village for the night.”
“And yet here you remain as darkness closes in on us,” I said with a teasing smile.
“To bid you sleep well this night.”
My heart turned over. “You know I can't sleep without you. And I definitely won't sleep knowing that you're shivering in the rain.”
“Kraw do not shiver.”
I smiled. “Please, Dal, sleep in the barn at least? I want you warm and safe.”
Dal let off a long sigh. “You know that I am safer out there, Sera.”
“No one will know you're in there. Their livestock is long dead, their one cow is off that way,” I gestured with my hand, “and everyone is drowning themselves in drink at the tavern.”
Dal looked off into the distance, weighing the pros and cons, no doubt. I didn't let him think it through. I swiped the bread from his hands, and he let his hands fall as he looked at me.
“You don't get to eat unless it's somewhere warm and safe,” I said, dancing off to the barn.
Dal chuckled behind me. “You know I can take that from you,” he said as he followed.
I tossed a glance over my shoulder. “You know it's not taking if it's given.”
I didn't wait for a response to my sassy flirtation as I sauntered around the back of the barn. Another strong wind blew, and a light showering of icy droplets came down with it. I sheltered the bread as I searched the barn for a door that wasn't in the front for all to see.
“Here,” Dal said from behind a large tree. A small door was at his side.
I smiled up at him and went in.
The smell wasn't unpleasant, just hay and dirt. The animals had been long gone, and Dal's war steeds had been tied to a fence post at the entrance of town, unwelcome as they were. I began to pick my way toward some chairs set in the corner, and Dal took my arm.
“No. This way.” He led me to a large pile of hay, towering at least two Kraw high. Behind it was barely enough space for a single person, and Dal gathered great armloads of the prickly stuff and shoved it aside, making a soft space for two.
When we were seated, I offered him the loaf again, and he smiled as he accepted, stretching his legs out in front of him. I leaned against him, this time closer and more relaxed than I had all those times in the prison hut, and we enjoyed our meal.
“You are a good cook, Sera,” said Dal.
“I know,” I said with a mouthful of bread.
Dal huffed half a laugh. “You are as modest as you are fierce.”
“Everyone in town made a point to tell me that I made the best bread they’d ever tasted.” I stuffed a fluffy chunk into my mouth. “Father was loathe to let me marry because of it.”
Dal laughed as he ate.
“Kenni and I were talking earlier, and she asked me a question that I didn't know the answer to. How do Kraw marry, Dal? Or become mates?”
Dal gave a thoughtful noise. “It is very complicated, Kraw marriage. The male must first throw the female over his shoulder, here.” Dal patted his shoulder. “Then he proclaims her his property.”
My mouth dropped as Dal looked at me with a straight face. “You heard all of that?”
Dal gave a soft laugh. “Yes.”
My face heated again, this time from embarrassment. He heard me say no one else could compare to him. I looked away, unsure of what to say next. Did he know my feelings for him? I wasn't ready to find out if he felt the same way, to subject myself to the crushing reality of disappointment.
Dal hooked a large finger under my chin and tilted my face up to his. “And no, you are not a married woman,” he said with a teasing grin.
When he let go, I let out a long exhale and searched his face. “How can a man so large and so adept at battle be so soft and gentle?”
“It displeases you.”
Even the way Dal posed his questions like statements made my heart turn over. “No, it's not that. I had just imagined...”
Dal's gaze pierced my own, and a look of understanding came over him. “You had expected to experience what you saw in the hut when the Kraw woman desired me.”
I nodded.
Dal gave a sigh as he shifted a bit, allowing me to lay into his lap more as he set his own meal aside. “Laying with you requires a great amount of control. You are fragile, and new. If you wish it, Sera, I will relinquish some of that control.”
Adrenaline spiked into my throat. He was so much larger than me, but also so much more skilled. Was there no going back; would I never know soft tenderness again? Did the sweetness I had come to relish also exist in the raw passion of Kraw lovemaking? Why did the thought of Dal driven wild with passion for me make me throb?
Dal's body shook with silent laughter. He brought a large thumb to my forehead to smooth away the wrinkles of my perplexed frown. “If half as many creatures thought as hard as you, Seraphine, then there would never be any need for war again.”
“There’s a lot to consider here, you know.”
“I would not hurt you, Sera. You know that,” Dal murmured.
There was no question as I looked into the eyes of the man I loved. “I know,” I whispered.
A look crossed Dal’s face then, an understanding that seemed deeper than the conversation at hand. He pulled me close for kiss and bravery took me. When his tongue brushed mine, I nipped him. Dal growled into my mouth, bestowing a new kiss upon me. Harder, deeper, more possessive.
But all too soon, Dal drew away, and my hot, swollen lips were the least of my wonderful pains. I gave a soft moan of protest.
“You cannot stay tonight; the humans will make trouble.”
<
br /> “We should not worry at their thoughts, after tomorrow we will not see them again.”
“If you are not seen soon, some will look for you and find us here where I am not welcome. Your people are not ready to understand what we have, and fear breeds tragedy. I do not wish to cause more bloodshed, Sera. You must play their game for tonight.”
I scowled.
Dal brushed another kiss across my lips. Softer this time. Promising, lingering. “There will be time for us,” he said as he helped me up from where he sat. “Time enough when it is of no matter that your fair skin is flushed and your eyes carry the wonders of stars.”
I raised a palm to my cheek, the warmth of my skin confirming his words.
Dal offered the rest of my bread, and I shook my head.
“You need it more. I'll have more food at the tavern with Mindrik.”
Dal gave a slow nod.
I took a heavy breath, wanting to spend an uninterrupted night here in the hay with Dal. But he was right, a night of passion wasn't worth the consequences.
“Seek out your friend Kenni, and keep your door locked. Do not rely on Mindrik for safety, and do not wander alone. The men here seem to have traded morals for what little power they could grasp long ago, and I do not wish you to be a target.”
I nodded, looking into Dal's eyes with regret.
He took my hand, brushing a kiss across it. Heat traveled up my arm and into my chest. “May your dreams be pure and sweet, Seraphine.”
“Good night, Dal.”
I gave one backward glance as I exited the building into the pouring rain. My heart thundered and my skin cooled as I trudged through the downpour to the tavern, letting myself in.
The tavern was more alive than anything I'd seen in town that day. In the wash of warm candle light and the raucous chaos of so many bodies in a small space, one could almost forget the graying, barren village outside. Many looked at me as I perched in the doorway, looking for Kenni as I dripped on the floor. I was acutely aware of how my wet dress clung to my skin in that moment. Finally, I spied Mindrik.
He waved me to his table, where he was surrounded by dozens of people. Old, young, male, female, all of them had questions and envy in their eyes.
“Seraphine!” Mindrik called out to me as I approached. His cheeks were rosy and the drink in his hand was sloshed about the table. “Move aside, you louts,” Mindrik said to the people closest to him. They moved as Mindrik ushered me into their warm seats. There was a hush as the awkward addition of my presence settled over Mindrik's crowd.
“Have you eaten yet?” I asked Mindrik as quietly as I could.
“We have all had shares of the fine bread that you and your friend made.”
“Where's the red-haired bitch been?” A man called.
“She was consorting with the beast!”
“More like whoring!”
On and on the wild jeers went alongside obnoxious, drink-tinged laughter. I frowned at being referred to like so.
“I...” Really couldn’t think of a good lie for where I had been.
Mindrik patted my shoulder. “Has the drink flooded your ears?” He called over the ruckus. “Kenni already told us that Seraphine was helping Jaffer sort out the new seed packets for harvest. She must be starving.”
More laughter. A few hollers as the conversation struck back up and the noise continued. One man yelled, “I'd be starving too after helping that old goat sort his seed.” Deafening laughter rang.
I turned to Mindrik. “Have they no food, Mindrik? No cheese? No salted meat? Not even pickles?”
Mindrik shook his head. “None that they want to share,” he said between us. “It would appear, my dear, that I not only lost a substantial sum of money for the roof over my head this night but I shall go hungry as well. But there is drink to part us from our troubles, in the least.”
I let off a heavy breath, grateful that Dal was at least getting something to eat.
Mindrik raised his mug to me. “But cheers, my dear Seraphine, for without your efforts this day I would be hungrier than I currently am.” And to that he drank more.
“Where's Kenni?”
Mindrik surfaced from his drink and wiped foam off of his hairless lip. “You didn't see her leave?”
I shook my head.
Mindrik waved a dismissive hand. “She ran off with some vagrant-looking lout putting his hand up her skirt.”
I paled. Perhaps I didn't know her as well as I thought. I had only had a few hours conversation with the woman. Did my bag of treasures find its way to my room? My precious few pilfered items were all that I had.
A woman leaned in amid the chaos, her breasts nearly falling out of her dress. “Mindrik, tell me again what you can do with the water. I should very much like a bath...”
I looked at her as if she had sprouted another head.
Mindrik wagged a finger at the woman. “Now, madame, I have already stated that I am not seeking attentions this night. I'm sorry but the rule applies to everyone.”
I frowned at Mindrik, who was raising his mug to his lips again.
“Had a lot of offers, have you?” I said between us. No one else would hear through the din of laughing and thumping and scraping.
“You wouldn't believe,” Mindrik said in exasperation.
I looked around. More than a few appealing women were staring at Mindrik as if they'd let him lick them clean right here on the table, no magic needed.
“There are some lovely women in this room, Mindrik.”
“And lovely women who offer themselves freely also offer ailments and problems freely. No, my dear woman, I shall not be partaking in their wishes.” Mindrik's gaze settled on me. “I have other things to worry about.”
I tilted my head at Mindrik, unsure of what he could possibly be worried about this night, besides a growling belly.
Mindrik chuckled into his mug again, and a man thumped him on the back and made a lewd comment.
I sighed, not in the mood for noise and bawdy tavern antics. “Where are our rooms, Mindrik? I wish to retire.”
Mindrik cleaned the drink from his chin with a scowl at the thumping man, then turned to me. “Ah, Seraphine, they had but one room this night. We are on the top floor.”
I frowned. “One room? We're the only two people visiting this town, they can't have run out.”
Mindrik squinted one eye at me. “I had stated the very same thing. Perhaps it's for the best, however, as close quarters ensure safety.”
I shook my head, standing. “I'll be going, then.”
Mindrik held my hand, getting my attention. “Seraphine. Take care.” His eyes bored into mine.
I frowned as I searched Mindrik's gaze, then nodded and pulled my hand free. I pushed and shoved my way through the crowd, finding no stairs. Once or twice a hand groped at my rear, but when I turned to address the offender, no one was taking any notice of me, and I was forced to move on. I carried out my search, stopping at the hobbling man at the taps in the back.
“Pardon me, but I am unable to find my room for the night.”
“Stairs are outside,” the gimpy man grumbled at me, gesturing behind him with one thumb.
I glanced at the rickety door into the rain spattered darkness. “Why are there no stairs inside?”
“I didn't build it, I just run it,” the man said as he bent over more mugs.
I frowned at the door, not wanting to go into the icy black. But I wanted to get away from the jeering crowd more than I wanted to stay dry. With a backward glance at the indifferent barkeep, I stepped through the rickety door into the gale.
The rain soaked through my dress immediately, roaring around me. The skeletal cow was on the right, drooping in the icy rain, and the rickety stairs began on my left and slanted up over my head, bordered by tall structures that I would have to skirt if I wished to ascend. Dull silver pails lay about everywhere.
Strange flashes of pale white shifted beyond the steps, and curiosity tugged at me. I step
ped around the tall structure that turned out to be a cabinet, skirted piled pails, and came upon a ring of tables for a work station of some sort. And there, in the center of the tables, was Kenni. A man had pushed her skirt up, using one hand to hold her hands behind her, and the other to push her head into the table as he drove into her. She winced as her body rocked.
Our eyes locked, and then she began to struggle.
“Sera!” She called to me through the roar of the rain, voice surprised to see me, as if she'd been caught in the act of thieving.
The man assaulting her shoved at her harder before turning to see me. My heart leaped into my throat as he stepped away from Kenni, not bothering to make himself decent, and leered at me.
“Looks like my night just got better,” he called over the rain.
Chapter 15
Mud
“Sera go back inside!” Kenni called.
I turned away swiftly, forgetting that the pails were directly behind me and tumbled over them with a large crash. I righted myself, scrambling to run, but the man was faster than me, and had grabbed me by the arms from behind. Fear jabbed at my chest and throat as my heart pounded. He yanked my arms behind me with bony hands, thrusting my breasts out, and whispered in my ear.
“Everyone in town's been wanting a piece of your ass since you sauntered in here. The beast ain't here to keep you decent now, is he.”
Words escaped me.
The wiry man forced me around toward the table, and Kenni rushed toward us.
“Leave her be you greedy son of a bitch. Finish what you started with me and let her alone.”
“Shut up, bitch.”
Kenni ignored him, pulling at his arms. “Let her go, Willet! When her Kraw finds out what you're doing he'll go mad, he will!”
The man's hand left my arm and the sound of smacking flesh rang through the rain. Kenni hit the floor with a heavy splatter of mud.
A squeak escaped my lips as I tried to force words out of a throat constricted with terror. Dal would come any moment, she was right. He would not let this happen to me. He would be here and he would save me and Kenni from this horror.
