Tara rubbed her leg above the cloth wrapped around her foot. Whatever medicine they’d given her was leaving her body. She lifted her sore foot slowly onto her other leg, unpinned and unwrapped the bandage. There was a threeinch line of stitches along the side of her foot by her ankle
She studied the injury. There was no bruising and just a little swelling. As she ran her hand slowly over it, she noticed something odd. Next to the stitches was a faint scar, a scar she didn’t remember, and it wasn’t old. How strange, she thought as she rewrapped the injury and secured it with the pins.
Standing up was easy enough, but she worried about how soon she would be able to walk. She tried putting all her weight on her injured foot but wasn’t successful. Once she mastered putting weight on her bad foot, she could kick through the wall with her good one. Her prison was not that sturdy, but her injuries made escape impossible at the moment.
She hobbled over to one of the walls and looked through the slits in the wood. All she saw were dirt yard and two trees. No other buildings and no roads were visible. She heard no sounds of animals, and no talking. Would Gowsky live outside town by himself? If that were the case, all she had to do was get out of this dilapidated structure and overpower one man. Child’s play, if she weren’t injured.
Had she really only been there several days? She thought about the faint scar on her foot. Had she done that climbing out of the burning building? So, why the new scar? Was somebody trying to make it seem like she’d been out of it for days when, in reality, it had been cycles?
Tara’s heart began pounding, and icy fingers crept over her flesh. Something was wrong. It was definitely cold outside. How long had she been asleep? She thought of her children, of Syra, and of Darius. What did they think? Had they tried to rescue her? She wondered why Gowsky wanted her to think she’d only been asleep a few days.
Tara didn’t see Gowsky for almost a quarter cycle. She spent every waking minute exercising, trying desperately to rouse her atrophied muscles. Her physical condition proved beyond doubt that she’d been asleep a long time. She was weak and out of shape. Her body had always been in prime physical condition, and her lack of strength annoyed her.
Someone brought her a generous plate of food several times a day, usually dried meat and fruit. The same person never visited her twice, and no one talked to her. Quite a few people worked for Gowsky. She also sensed the fear in each person who brought her food when they slid the plate through the gap between the door and the dirt floor. They fled from her wooden prison as soon as their task was done.
Her foot mended quickly, but she decided it was best to give no indication of this. The barn she was in was old and unstable. A quarter or half-cycle of recuperation and intense calisthenics, and escape would be easy.
In the meantime, icy breezes tormented her, mingling with dreams of her babies and loved ones. The blankets she kept wrapped around her provided little comfort. Tara’s imagination made things even worse. She worried her family was sick with worry, doing everything in their power to search for her, and growing frustrated when they couldn’t find her. Yet while their images plagued her, they also added incentive to endure the cold and bring back her body to health.
Gowsky visited her a half-cycle after she awakened. It was a bitter cold morning, and he pushed open the door with one hand and carried a pitcher with a steamy, hot fluid in the other. The morning glare was behind him.
Tara fought to keep her eyelids from shuttering against the light. He’d awakened her, and she forced her mind to clear before she moved.
Gowsky stood above her for a minute before sitting. Her body was stretched out under the comforters. She was on her side and the comforter curved over the outline of her hip. One of her arms draped across her body and her long fingers fell gracefully off the edge of the bench. Her sandy brown hair fell in strings.
“I do believe it’s time to bathe you,” Gowsky decided, doing his best not to imagine sudsy water sliding over her naked body, and failing.
Tara focused one eye on him but didn’t move. Every muscle in her body ached from the intense workout she’d put herself through the day before.
“I’ve been bathing myself successfully for many winters now,” she answered.
Gowsky chuckled and placed the pitcher on the ground next to him. “Does a hot bath sound good to you?” he asked and produced two mugs from his coat pocket. The steam floated up to the ceiling as he poured some of the dark liquid from the pitcher into each cup. It looked incredibly tantalizing, whatever it was. She licked her lips.
“It’s good.” He held out one of the mugs. “It also helps wake you up.”
She opened the other eye and stared at him.
“Come on. You’ll like it.” He waved the cup under her nose. “Come on.”
She felt its warmth brush her face. Sitting up slowly, she tried appearing to be in more pain than she actually was. The warmth of the mug in her hand felt so good that she wrapped both hands around it and sipped. The liquid was thick and had a sweet honey and chocolate taste. She took another, longer drink, then looked at Gowsky again. He had filled his mug and took a large gulp before setting the pitcher on the floor.
“How’s your foot?”
She didn’t respond, but instead situated herself on the bench carefully. She had taken the clothes she’d worn since she’d been there and laid them at the end of the bench while she slept. At the moment, she only wore her white pullover undershirt.
Adjusting the comforter over her legs, she noticed he watched the action. His gaze locked on her bare legs, not looking away until she’d covered herself. Whether he noticed her muscles weren’t as atrophied or simply enjoyed seeing a partially naked woman, she wasn’t sure. But something told her he enjoyed watching her. She knew interest in a man’s eyes when she saw it. How much had he watched her? For whatever amount of time he’d kept her here, he’d kept her unconscious. He might have enjoyed any part of her, and she wouldn’t have been able to stop him.
When she met his gaze, he didn’t look away but instead smiled.
She didn’t smile back. “Why’d you tell me I’d only been asleep for several days?”
Gowsky’s face looked completely innocent as he raised his eyebrows. “And what makes you think you weren’t?”
“It’s almost new winter. You’ve intentionally cut my foot and stitched it up so it would look like the injury from the building. How long have I been here?”
“You’ve had plenty of time to think in here, haven’t you?” Gowsky leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms, and stretched his long legs out in front of him. “Well, it’s true. We made certain you’d remain unconscious longer than a few days. It was necessary.”
He said this so nonchalantly, the words stung. Anger brewed through her veins, building to a boiling climax. The Neurians had held her prisoner for cycles.
“I assume the Gothman and Runners believe me dead.”
Gowsky looked at her with dark eyes and sipped from his mug. “Like I said, it was necessary.”
“So why did you bother to wake me now?” She matched his look of apathy. Her mind now, however, focused on a method of escape.
Gowsky shifted position, drawing his long legs underneath the chair, but then stretching them out again. He thought of the best way to answer her question. It was one he had anticipated being asked and had thought of several convincing responses. Telling her it was the suggestion of another Runner wasn’t an option. He wouldn’t say, Sorry lady, it was politics, and Neurians need an income.
He’d almost talked himself into doing away with her when Fleeders came forward and told him that he believed Tara had talked to a guardian in the desert. Gowsky was a man of faith. He’d seen the dog-woman in his dreams a lot lately, and that made him uneasy. He took it as a sign to take Tara out of her unconscious state. If anyone discovered her here, Gowsky knew he’d never be elected to another term.
He wanted to confide in Tara and tell her everything that had happen
ed. The woman possessed a calmness, a sense of authoritative ease, that led him to believe she could talk through a dilemma and find a solution better than any of his council members. He wanted to share his dreams that he’d had during her time in captivity. He knew it meant Crator guided him when he dreamed of a Guardian, and he wanted to share this with her. Tara wouldn’t understand. She was a Runner, a member of a race without Crator. If she had seen a Guardian in the desert, it only validated his dreams. It didn’t mean she understood Crator.
From the way he hesitated, Tara knew Gowsky wouldn’t give her a straight answer. Her mind raced. Darius thought she was dead. Had he claimed another? Was someone else raising her children? What about Patha and Reena? Did her parents believe her dead, as well?
If so, Patha would name someone else to be his successor over the Runners. She would have to fight for her rightful title if someone else was named heir in her absence.
Her children were the heirs to two nations. When they grew up, Andru would lead Gothman. Ana would lead the Runners. She would not have that right taken from them. If Tara lost her title, she knew Darius would see that Andru became Lord of Gothman when he grew up, but Ana would be without a title.
Tara looked into Gowsky’s dark eyes. He had a very handsome face. She liked his high-set cheek bones and his long, straight nose. His dark, smooth looking skin added to his definite sex appeal. Unlike Darius, who had a way of burrowing into a person with a hard stare, Gowsky looked more curious. Darius demanded loyalty, and readily fought for ownership and submission. Gowsky stared at her with those black-as-night eyes and tried to analyse her. It was as if he wanted to know everything about her. Tara wasn’t sure what he’d do with the information if he did know her. Darius would never have to worry about her being unfaithful with this man, though. He was quite possibly as gorgeous as Darius, but Gowsky had ruined her life.
“The Gothman were prepared to attack us when they thought you were a prisoner. We’re not in a position for such an attack.” Gowsky swallowed. “You died a warrior’s death, saving one of our scientists from a horrible death. We escorted your family safely to a rendezvous point where they joined one of the Runner clans.”
“How long ago was all this?”
He sucked in a breath before answering. “Six cycles ago.”
Tara’s muscles lurched. She fought hard not to leap from the bench and attack from midair. She wanted to pounce on him, pound his face and destroy those good looks. She wanted to kill him.
It took every bit of power she possessed to remain calm. Years of training were called into play. She stayed wrapped in the blanket, masking her feelings. “So now what?”
“We’re not murderers. You were put to sleep to protect our nation. Time has passed and our nation is no longer threatened.” His voice was so calm. He believed he’d pulled off his deceit-filled plan against the runners.
“And so now you send me home.” She didn’t make it a question. Tara seethed with outrage. “Just like that?”
Gowsky reached for the pitcher and stood. “We’ll discuss this further once you’ve calmed down.” He walked to the door and opened it, letting cold air rush into the small barn. “Get dressed if you want a hot bath.”
Tara sat in the same position for a long time after Gowsky left. Sunlight reached her between the cracks of wood. She watched dust rise and swarm in rays of light that were paper-thin angles reaching the hard floor. She wanted to scream. She wanted to kick and punch the wooden walls around her until there was nothing left of this barn she’d been housed in for six cycles like she was nothing more than a caged animal. Neurians thought nothing of the Runners. Maybe her people weren’t scientists. More than anything she wanted to show Dorn Gowsky what a Runner was capable of doing. If she destroyed him and everything he owned it wouldn’t be enough. She held on to the bench with both hands on either side of her, digging into the wood with her nails. That scream threatened to rise past her throat. She leaned forward letting her hair fall in strings and shroud her face. Tara squeezed her eyes shut and worked past her fury until she felt the pain.
The Runners and the Gothman believed her dead. Darius had mourned her six cycles and quite possibly be ready to move on with his life. Andru and Ana would be over a winter old now. They would be walking and climbing and exploring their home.
Where was their home?
Were they with Patha? Or with Darius?
Darius would keep his children. They would grow up in his large house, exploring from attic to basement. The fields and hills surrounding it would be their world. All of Gothman would be their playground. Tara groaned. The pain came in waves. She missed them. All of them. They needed to know she was alive.
Tara dressed and threw the comforters to the side. The cotton pants she’d been wearing the night of the fire offered little to keep her warm. Her shirt sleeves were short. Her flat leather boots, with their flimsy soles, would not do if she had to walk any long distance. Not only would her clothing not protect her from the elements, they would not protect her during battle, either. Somehow she needed to obtain different clothing.
She stood in the middle of the shed and jogged in place. Her foot had mended. It was sore, but she could live with that. She dropped to the ground and began doing push ups. She needed her stamina back up to where it was six cycles ago.
Tara surveyed the walls of the shed. She glanced through the cracks in the wall and saw no one. Her time was limited. She took one of the blankets and carefully wrapped it around her leg. Using the laces of her shoes, she tied the blanket around her foot and leg. She stood and made sure the blanket wouldn’t fall jumping up and down. The blanket didn’t move. It would protect her from the tearing through her flimsy clothing and into her skin. She’d already tested the sturdiness of the four walls and knew which wall was the weakest.
Tara jumped into the air and kicked the wall. Several boards cracked and a hole appeared. The blanket got caught though, and Tara fell to the ground with her foot stuck up in the air. She struggled with the laces and finally yanked her foot loose. Pushing to her feet, she stood to the side, waiting. It was silent. She peaked out through the hole.
There was still no one in sight outside the shed.
“Next step,” she whispered, planning as she began to hurry.
Tara rolled up the blanket tightly. She re-laced her boot. Then draping the other blanket over the hole so it covered the splintered and broken wood, Tara jumped out of her prison.
The bitter morning air slipped easily through her thin clothes, and she shivered. Tara pulled the blanket out of the hole and wrapped it around her. Carrying the other under her arm, she glanced at the clear sky and got a sense of her direction.
Semore was north. All indications showed Gowsky’s house to be on the southern edge of the town. She’d work her way west before heading north again.
There was still no sight of anyone. However, she had no warm clothing, no food, no weapons, and no way to communicate with anyone. The odds for survival were not in her favor.
Within minutes, she stood surrounded by a clump of trees at the edge of the large yard. Tara turned back and looked at the house.
“That was too easy.” Tara didn’t see anyone. “There are no guards, no servants – no one.”
Did he want her to escape? Gowsky had said they weren’t murderers. Maybe he didn’t know what to do with her. Was he just going to let her go?
“No,” Tara decided, and she pulled the blanket tighter to fight the chill. “It would be stupid to let me go back to my people and tell them I was kept unconscious for six cycles by the Neurians.”
She looked around at the trees and focused on the land south of her. Aware of how technologically advanced this society was, she searched the topography yard. Maybe there were traps she couldn’t see. An icy breeze rustled around the trees. Was it her imagination or did the trees half a dozen yards away not appear affected by the breeze? She picked up several rocks and threw one toward the trees in question. The rock
came back to her with so much force she almost didn’t duck in time.
So that was it. He had a force field of some kind. She walked in what she believed to be a parallel path to the invisible field, determining its location by tossing rocks. They all bounced back at her. No wonder no one was pursuing her. She was fenced in.
Again, she studied the house. Were they watching her? Studying her? Figuring out what abilities she possessed?
Tara was perplexed. Without a landlink, she had few skills to handle her current situation. She didn’t have a way to determine what the force field was made of, determine where it began and ended, or identify weak spots. If she threw rocks all day she might not learn a thing.
She climbed one of the taller trees to see into the distance. Her blankets slipped and attempted to trip her several times, but she managed to settle on a branch, relatively hidden by dead leaves, and wrap the loose blanket around her again. The force field had her stumped, but she would figure something out.
Sooner or later, someone would be sent looking for her. Then at least she’d have the chance to disarm them and have a weapon.
Runners taught their young warriors that patience was a virtue. Tara had never done well with that lesson. She was impatient. How long had she sat on this branch?
She listened for sounds other than leaves rustling. It seemed forever. Eventually two Neurians approached her from either side. She immediately thought of the five Gothman she’d taken out in the forest the day she’d entered that nation. That seemed like a hundred winters ago. She’d thought of those Gothman warriors as nothing more than an obstacle course. Even taking on Darius, when he might have killed her, had been a glorious adventure. Now, with these Neurians, everything seemed more serious, more focused. Maybe it was because she had more to fight for now. Andru and Ana needed their mama. The memory brought a smile to her face.
Two men, each carrying those large Neurian lasers, wandered through the trees toward her. They were looking in her direction, but didn’t see her. As they approached each other, they turned around, then walked in circles, focusing on the area beneath her. Their landlinks had led them to her.
Nuworld: Claiming Tara Page 35