“Well, Trinee doesn’t always believe me, either.”
Alina smiled and looked at him. “For different reasons, I’m interested in hearing your speech now. I worry my looks will be all others see in me.”
He studied her. “Maybe, if it’s all you think about. But keep showing the bravery you did last night, and people will see your true character.”
“Bravery? You mean with the nightstalk?”
“Yes.”
“How is it brave when I can’t die?”
“Simple. You faced an awful scenario, and you fought back. Dying is a terrible prospect, but losing a loved one to death is much worse.”
Alina reflected on this for a moment, then looked back at Rex and Jade. Rex hovered over her, but Jade didn’t seem to mind. He kept a hand on her back as he guided her steps.
Baylor was on the lookout for anything unusual, and more than once he fired his dart gun into the grass. The brainwastes were so abundant, he constantly brushed them off his legs. Rex especially hated the creepy things and smacked them the moment they crept onto his or Jade’s legs. For some reason, the brainwastes left Alina alone.
No one complained of the heat, but as the sweat rolled down their necks and faces, Alina felt guilty for being so comfortable. She kept a sharp eye on Jade, who seemed tired but didn’t ask to rest. Alina wished she could carry her, but with one pack on her back already, Jade would be uncomfortable.
Rex caught up to Baylor. “I don’t think Jade can continue at this pace. Can we rest? The nightstalks don’t hunt in the day, anyway.”
Baylor wiped his forehead with his sleeve. “They don’t attack, but they travel and can still induce fear. They’ll be much closer to us when the night comes if we stop.”
“But the people from Millflower are on their way, right? Do you know how close they are?”
“I don’t. I can’t get a radio signal at the moment. If anything, we should be quickening our pace, not stopping to rest.”
“But Jade—” Rex started.
“Then carry her, for crying out loud!” Baylor barked. “We’re all hot, we’re all tired. But we have to keep going, so push yourself a little! Sheesh, you immortals can be such whiners.”
Alina stiffened. The statement had enough truth to bother Rex, and it did.
“I’d like to see you live hundreds of years without pain and see how you deal with mortality,” Rex snapped back.
Baylor rolled his eyes. “And you’ve lived hundreds of years?”
Rex paused. “I was referring to Jade,” he said coolly.
Alina spoke as she slipped off her backpack. “Let’s keep moving. If someone can take my pack, I can carry Jade.”
Baylor grabbed Alina’s pack and threw it on his back. “I’ll take it. I don’t want to burden any pampered shoulders.” He looked at Rex, who glared back at him.
“Come get on my back, Jade,” Alina called to her. “It’ll help us go faster, and we need to for safety.”
Jade agreed, and Alina lifted her onto her back. She stiffened with pain as Alina started walking.
Baylor marched ahead, trying to hurry them along. “The nightstalks move quickly,” he called back to them. “If any of you start feeling that paralyzing fear again, speak up. If there’s a group of nightstalks, we should sense them from a good distance away.”
Alina’s heart stopped. Did his words chill her, or was something else nearby? She skipped to catch up with him.
“I’m feeling the fear again,” she murmured. “It’s not too strong yet.”
“I feel it also,” Baylor said under his breath. He turned around. “Hey, Rex, how are you doing?”
Rex scowled. “I’m fine.”
Baylor chuckled. “Well, I’m glad I stirred him up a bit. Maybe his anger is overpowering any fear. If it is the nightstalks, then they’re still far away. Let’s move faster.”
“Rex, can you go any faster?” Baylor called out. In a flash Rex stormed past them and took the lead, still scowling.
They followed until Rex halted and Alina ran into him. “Do you sense something?” he asked, shuddering.
“No,” said Baylor casually. “I just thought I’d ease off in case my pace was too much for your delicate body.”
Rex fumed a bright red. “Now, listen here. I’m capable of doing anything your middle-aged body can do.” He stammered for a moment, searching for a good retort, then huffed off ahead of them. Baylor looked at Alina and smiled.
“If he mentions he feels scared through that anger, then we’ll know the nightstalks are close.”
“I doubt he’s going to admit anything now, no matter how scared he gets,” Jade piped up.
“We’ll see. I’m feeling better, at least. How about you?” Baylor asked Alina.
She thought for a moment. “Yes, I am. Maybe it was nothing.”
“Let’s hope so.”
Alina shifted Jade a little, who moaned with pain. Alina never felt tired, but Jade did slow her down. For the first time since leaving Pria, she felt clumsy.
The trail led them into a grove of trees. They welcomed the shade, but the stillness of the woods unnerved Alina.
She heard a soft rustle in the leaves and clasped Baylor’s arm. “Did you hear that?” she asked.
They all stopped, and Baylor raised his gun. “I don’t feel frightened enough for a nightstalk, especially a lot of them,” he whispered. “It must be something else.”
They stared for a long time. Alina’s skin crawled. She felt certain they were being watched.
Baylor frowned. “Quick, let’s move out of these trees.”
He held the gun steady, and just as they started to move, a gruff voice broke the silence. “Take one step, Baylor, and I’ll shoot.”
Baylor’s mouth dropped open. He froze.
“Drop. The gun. Now.”
Baylor lowered his gun. Alina spun around, her eyes scanning the trees.
“Don’t look so scared, pretty girl. I won’t hurt him so long as you do what I say.” They heard a dark chuckle. “What we all say.”
Alina was shaking, but she straightened her back and set her jaw. “Then show yourselves.”
She stepped back in alarm as the trees rustled and men dropped to the ground like heavy rocks. At least a dozen men surrounded them, each with a gun leveled at Baylor’s heart.
“Do I know you?” Baylor asked the man who appeared to be the leader of the group.
The man smiled, showing stained, jagged teeth. “I knew your father. He was the one who banished me.”
“Gerard?” Baylor seemed to lose his composure for a moment. “How have you survived this hostile wilderness for so long?”
“Oh, it’s not so hostile to me. I control the wild, you might say. Makes it easy to track you. And your father.”
Baylor tensed up. “My father was killed by a nightstalk.”
Gerard gave a soft chuckle. “That’s what we wanted you to think. I couldn’t let Lance know I was still alive.” His cold eyes narrowed. “I took pleasure in carrying out my revenge on your father, and it’s a pleasure to throw it in your face now. He died slowly—I made sure of that.”
“I don’t believe you,” said Baylor, his voice shaking.
“Oh, you don’t, huh?” Gerard’s nostrils flared. “Do you know how nightstalks kill? They go for the heart! When it’s frozen solid with fear, they cut it out with their fingernails. And they always cut from the front so they’re eye to eye with their victim. Keeps them in control, you see? But if you remember, your father’s heart was cut from the back. I wanted his face in the dirt so he knew where he stood with me. The best part was, he got more of a shock outta seeing me than a nightstalk. Who thought I’d survive twenty years out here?” Gerard roared with laughter and his men joined in.
Baylor’s body convulsed, his veins bulging through the muscle in his arms. He opened his mouth, released a broken gasp, and fell forward onto his knees. The laughter grew louder. Alina crouched by him with Jade on her back.
“Don’t worry,” Gerard scoffed. “It’s the girl we want. Hand her over, and no one will get hurt. At least not by us,” he added, and the men chuckled again. “I think there’s a group of nightstalks heading this way, and it’s unlikely you’ll escape them. Act quickly and maybe you’ll have a chance.” He flashed his vile teeth.
Alina hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward, lowering Jade from her back. “Take me, then.”
Rex went pale. “No, Alina.”
“I’ll be fine,” she whispered. “They can’t do anything to me.”
“Yes, they can,” Baylor warned, regaining his composure.
“We have no other choice,” Alina said, tears coming to her eyes. She leaned in, hoping the men couldn’t hear. “You go on to Millflower, and I’ll find a way to meet you there. I promise.”
Baylor looked around at the guns pointed at them. Beads of sweat covered his bald head. “We’ll send help for you,” he whispered. “Protect yourself until then.”
Alina stood and faced Gerard. “I’ll stand here as they leave. You must allow them to pass through, and once they’re gone, you can take me.”
“Are you giving orders to me?” Gerard laughed. “You’re lucky I’m letting them go at all.”
Jade’s face betrayed her panic as Baylor led her away. Alina forced a smile, hoping to reassure her. Rex’s eyes darted around them, as if looking for a way to save her and still escape. He dropped his head in defeat and followed Baylor.
Alina’s entire body trembled, but she set her jaw, determined not to look afraid. How much did they know about her?
Gerard circled her, leering from head to toe. He stopped in front of her face. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Alina.” His breath was rank.
She wanted to punch him but restrained herself. The others were not yet at a safe distance.
“Tie her up,” Gerard commanded. “We have a long walk to the Blue Forest. We don’t want her slipping away.”
Alina started. “The Blue Forest?”
“Why yes! Heard of it?” He smirked. “Our dear friend Sampson is anxious for your return.”
Alina swallowed as a man tied her wrists behind her back. “Are you from Pria?”
“No. We’re the rejects of Carthem. People here have found our ideas too—how’d you call it—radical for their liking.” He tilted his head to her ear. “I know what you are,” he whispered. “We all do. Don’t assume it’ll give you an edge. We can’t kill you, but there are plenty of other things we can do. Your strength’s limited, you know.” He drew a grimy finger across her cheek from her ear to her chin. Alina shuddered, her heart sinking at his words.
Gerard chuckled to himself as he walked away. He was right. Although the rope didn’t hurt her wrists, it bound them tightly together. She couldn’t move.
The group traveled briskly, and Alina kept their pace, her eyes focused on the path ahead of her. The men surrounded her as they walked—ogling from every angle and taking pleasure in the discomfort this brought her. Though she wanted to cry, she lifted her chin and ignored their stares as she tried to think of a plan. They were traveling north toward the mountains. If she found a way to escape and go east, she might find the search party from Millflower.
Gerard slunk up beside her. “So, Alina,” he said, his hand touching her neck under her hair, “we’re feeling pretty lucky. You don’t know this, but there’s a hefty price on your head.”
She recoiled at his touch and tried to steady her voice. “I know how valuable I am.”
He chuckled. “Yes, so valuable to both sides. Poor Lance. Poor Baylor! Stolen from right under his nose.”
She set her teeth. “If you hate Baylor so much, why didn’t you stalk and kill him like you did his father? He travels this wilderness a lot.”
He sensed her sarcasm. “You don’t believe I killed his father?”
Alina didn’t answer.
“I would have killed Baylor long ago, but I’m not usually in this part of Carthem. I have better places to be. But I agreed to come when Sampson asked me to fetch you for him.”
“How do you communicate with Sampson?” she asked in surprise.
He grinned. “We’ve been a team for many years now. It’s how I survived the wilderness so long. But until recently, we hadn’t been on speaking terms. I cut him off for denying me what I want most.”
“And what’s that?”
He snickered. “I have you to thank. You’ve created quite a crisis for him, darling. He needs you back so desperately, he’ll do about anything. So, he’s called on his few allies in Carthem, promising we can enter his world and gain immortality as long as we bring you with us.”
“He’s a liar. Sampson will never do that,” declared Alina.
“What makes you say that?”
“Well, he—” she tried to think of everything Rex told her about Sampson. “He doesn’t like former mortals living in Pria because they know how much better life is in Carthem—”
Gerard threw his head back and roared with laughter. As if on cue, his men joined in. “Do you really think” —he emphasized the words— “I would ever think this mortal hell is better than Pria?”
Alina returned his glare but didn’t argue. True, the carnal pleasures of Pria suited some people very well. Gerard and his group of thugs were likely candidates.
His hot breath reached her nostrils as he leaned in. “And if all the women there are as tasty as you” —he clicked his tongue— “I’ll have a wild time.”
Alina stepped away and shuddered. She must escape, and soon. She would not spend the night near these detestable, vulgar men.
As the day wore on, Alina kept silent so she could catch conversations between the men, hoping to discover a weakness. Listening was a difficult task as she found their conversations repugnant.
“Any sign of Oscar?” she heard Gerard ask another man.
“No. We think he saw a mirage,” the man answered.
“Why do you idiots keep falling for those—” Alina closed her eyes as Gerard let out a string of expletives.
“How should I know?” the man argued. “Shouldn’t we be protected from them? He left the group to get water. Maybe he went too far—”
Gerard hushed him and glanced at Alina, who focused on three men passing gas and chortling. She didn’t have to fake her disgust.
Her mind raced. They hadn’t encountered any dangerous creatures in their travels. The men didn’t even wear ear shields.
Sampson protects them to aid them in their mission.
Gerard dropped his voice. Alina quickened her pace to hear him. She caught fragments of his rebuke.
“Remember…find the girl. Sampson knows…best chance…someone like you to ruin it!” His voice swelled at the end.
The sun dipped low in the sky, and Alina grew anxious as the group became more unruly. Time was running out, but her bonds were tight, and several men watched her—not because they had to, but because they couldn’t keep their greedy eyes off her.
The company walked for another hour before agreeing on a campsite, and the men grinned and promptly complied when Gerard ordered them to tie Alina to a tree. They glanced frequently in her direction as they cooked their food, making comments to each other and bursting into raucous laughter.
Alina was grateful she couldn’t hear them, but their stares made her skin crawl. She became desperate as the sky grew darker and they consumed more whiskey. She blinked back tears, reminding herself she didn’t need to be afraid. These men couldn’t hurt her, at least physically. But she might prefer physical pain to what she was about to experience.
Gerard walked toward her, and she looked him straight in the eye. No matter how frightened, she wouldn’t appear vulnerable.
“Well, pretty girl, you’re certainly the best thing we’ve ever had in our company. My men are looking forward to guard duty tonight.” He licked his lips. “We’ll all take turns, you know.”
“You won’t lay a finger on me
.” Alina’s voice shook.
Gerard chuckled as his eyes swept over her body. He stepped in close, and the smell of his sweat choked her nostrils. She turned her nose and pressed her back against the thin trunk, trying to put space between them.
“You forget you’re tied up,” Gerard whispered, grazing his hand up Alina’s arm. Her wrists were bound behind the trunk; she couldn’t escape his touch. He stroked up under her sleeve and caressed her shoulder with his palm. Alina stiffened, clamping her jaws together.
“Relax,” Gerard whispered again. “Enjoy yourself. I think I’ll go first tonight. I can break you in.”
She glared at him, and as he lifted his finger to stroke her cheek, she snapped her teeth.
Alina hadn’t meant to bite him, but he hollered in pain and lifted his hand to strike her. When the blow hit her face, he yowled harder, and Alina bit her lip to keep from laughing. She’d already provoked him more than she meant to. At times her own body surprised her. She knew so little of what she could do, and this was the boost she needed. She lifted her chin. Not one of them would lay a finger on her that night.
Gerard cursed but thrust out his chest when he faced his men, who watched him curiously. He muttered something that sent them roaring with laughter, followed by more demeaning looks in her direction. Alina curled her lip. What a conceited liar.
As the sky grew darker and more concealing, Alina worked on the bands around her wrists. At first she couldn’t move at all, but as she pulled her wrists apart, she felt the fibers of the ropes stretch slightly. It might work, if she had enough time. Mortal skin would become raw and sore before a rope like that weakened, but it did nothing to her.
She stretched the rope as far as it would go, over and over, until her wrists no longer touched. A little more space and she could slip a hand through.
Then she heard the dreaded conversation begin.
“I vote we all retire early tonight!” yelled a greasy, potbellied man. “We want as many guard shifts as possible, don’t we?” They howled with laughter.
“Who gets to be first, then?”
The men argued for a while, and as they drew lots, Alina tightened her muscles and used all her strength to pull her hands apart. She must catch the first one by surprise.
The Perfect Outcast Page 18