Flight was ruled out. It left only fight. I glanced around as much as I could without making noise, looking for a large stone or stick, anything that would help dismal odds.
“She’s awake,” Callon said.
Damn. Time was up.
Footsteps approached, and I sat up, still keeping an eye out for a good stick, not that it would do too much against two men.
Except there were four. Koz and two others approached me, while one was hanging back. I tried to make out as many details as I could with only the moonlight.
I recognized two, Koz and the one who had been at the village with him, Zink. Zink was a finger shorter, but with a look about him that said he didn’t lose fights very often. He was scrappy enough that I’d rather take on the larger Koz.
The other one, with dark auburn hair and a lean, wiry look, seemed to be walking over to see the spectacle but not partake in the games.
Then there was the other one, who lingered farther away. I didn’t have to hear him speak to know he owned the deep voice and was the one in charge. His face was all sharp angles and shadows. I wasn’t sure if I’d call him pretty or rugged or just male. Testosterone poured off him thicker than water down rapids. Everything about him oozed the Y chromosome, so much I wondered if he’d gotten an X at all.
His eyes glazed over me without seeing, the way so many others had in the past. It wasn’t only the sharp angles of his face or the breadth of his shoulders—I’d never seen such a shade of blue eyes, other than in pictures of glaciers, so bright even in the darkness. It made his hair seem even blacker, his skin that much tanner.
Good. He could keep his distance. I didn’t want any part of him.
I grabbed for the nearest tree, only a couple feet away, dragging myself up even as every movement, every inch, was paid for with a new round of teeth-grinding pain. Not that they’d hear a single moan.
I forced the man with the deep voice and deeper eyes out of my mind for a minute and turned my attention to Koz. He’d wanted to help me when I first saw him. Maybe he still would. I was free of the village, for now, but that didn’t mean much. I’d been free before and it had been short-lived. Turrock might come for me yet.
I didn’t know how long I’d passed out for, but it probably hadn’t been that long. If Turrock and Baryn had sold me, Turrock wouldn’t let a beast stop him. He’d still try to collect, even if it was by handing over a mangled body or my half-chewed bones for some coin. I needed to get as far away as I could, as soon as I could. I didn’t even know how far away I was.
Maybe this Koz would help now?
“I saw you at my village,” I said.
“I was at a village earlier, but I don’t recall seeing you.” He shook his head a little too quickly.
The guy was clearly lying. He’d stared straight at me, and I wasn’t one to be mistaken for another. Even if he’d missed my bloody face lying there, a spectacle for all, or if it had been too dark to see the scars, he couldn’t have missed my hair. I’d never met another person with hair as blond as mine.
It didn’t matter. His lie was safe with me. I wouldn’t force an issue with my only possible ally in this group. I had more important questions.
“Did you slay the beast that had me?” I asked.
“No. We found you here,” Koz answered.
Zink was staring with narrowed eyes, and the other unnamed man made a huffing noise, as if something amused him.
“Shut up, Hess,” Zink said.
“I’m sorry, but I take my amusement where I can.” Hess shook his head and walked back to Callon, as if their game had become boring.
I didn’t care if Hess was bored. All I could wonder was: why hadn’t the beast eaten me? Why had it dragged me here to simply leave me? That made no sense. Maybe it had figured out what I was somehow and decided it didn’t want to get that close to death?
And where had it left me?
“Where am I?”
“Not far from the nearest village, which I guess is yours? Maybe ten miles or so,” Koz said, then looked back toward where Hess was now standing beside Callon. Something was playing out with them, and Koz didn’t like it. I had a feeling I wouldn’t like it either.
I’d heard stories of what happened to people in the Wilds, especially women on their own. This could be bad. Would they rape me? Enslave me? Tie me to a tree and offer me as a sacrifice to the beasts who’d already turned up their nose at me? What if I’d been dragged to my freedom—by a beast, no less—only to die the same day at the hands of men? I looked about the forest, finding the clearest path. Odds that I could run weren’t on my side. But I’d already beaten the odds once tonight, so obviously luck was.
“Koz is bringing you back to your village. He’ll have you there before daybreak,” Callon, the man with eyes so cold they burned, said from his safe distance away, still not looking at me.
No, no, no. My fingers dug into the branch I was using to stay upright until bark was poking under my nails. It was way worse than anything I’d imagined. There weren’t enough nos in the universe for this situation.
“You’re not bringing me anywhere, and neither is he,” I said to Koz.
Koz looked back at Callon.
I leaned forward, trying to figure out how to take a step toward Callon, knowing he was calling the shots. I stumbled to the ground as soon as I put weight on my leg.
Koz reached forward, and I scrambled back, half crawling, to the tree I’d been holding on to before he could reach me. He stopped moving as soon as I jerked away.
Zink looked at me for a moment but then walked over toward his boss, saying, “This is your mess, Koz,” as he did.
Koz was the only one who hadn’t moved away from me, and I feared that was only because he was the one ordered to bring me back.
He stood there, his eyes grazing my face and then my leg.
“Callon, I can’t do it,” Koz said, but not firmly enough to chase away my need to run.
“You can leave me here. I’m not your mess,” I said, using Zink’s word choice. I’d hang on to the tree for dear life if he tried to bring me back.
Koz didn’t answer me but angled his head down and toward Callon “There’s bruises on top of scars on top of bruises. I can’t bring her back there. They’ll kill her.”
His face was strained, and I didn’t know if he was arguing with Callon or himself at this point.
“Then leave her,” Callon called back. He probably would’ve said kill her or eat her or string her up by her toes as long as Koz got rid of me. He and his other two men had already moved on from my situation, and that was fine. I didn’t need them or want their interference.
“It’s like the dog all over again. He can’t help himself from picking up strays,” Zink said to the other guy.
They could call me anything they wanted. I wasn’t going back.
A movement caught my eye, drawing my attention back to Zink. He grabbed the hanging bag from his side and brought it to his lips. He guzzled it, letting drops carelessly fall to the ground when he was done. He laughed at something one of them said as he hung the bag back at his side.
My dry tongue darted out, licking cracked lips.
“You need this?”
I jerked back. Koz had moved closer and was holding out a bag of his own.
Callon was still a good twenty feet away, adding sticks to a fire in the center of what looked like a camp. The other two were talking amongst themselves, close to him.
“It’s okay. Take it,” Koz said, inching the bag closer.
When I didn’t immediately take it, he squatted down, placing it near my feet, then backed away with his hands up.
“What’s your name?” he asked, giving me plenty of space.
“Teddy.” I glanced down at the sack.
I took it and fumbled with the cap before I chugged it down. Cold water washed over a scratchy throat and a tongue that was slightly too large. I was nearly choking but couldn’t bring myself to slow down, wanting eve
ry drop.
I was vaguely aware of Koz drifting back to his group while I was still emptying his supply, only taking the briefest break to breathe.
Koz had stopped beside Callon. “You know I’m loyal to you. You’re my brother. But I can’t leave her to die and I can’t bring her back there.”
My head dropped back down, the bag finished. By the time it was empty, I realized Callon’s stare was in my direction, on the bag I’d just finished off. His jaw was even more squared, if possible. His attention was short-lived.
Zink edged closer to Koz, my only hope in this group. I wanted to think I would’ve liked Koz right from the get-go, but that would’ve been a total lie. I didn’t like anyone from the start. Sometimes I didn’t like them for years. Most of them I never liked. But if Koz saved my ass, I’d swear up and down until I died that I’d known he was good to the core as soon as I laid eyes on him.
Zink stepped in front of Koz. “Look, it’s not a good time, and you know that. Just take her back.”
“Leave me be. You don’t need to do anything with me. I can take care of myself.” Would it be easier if I had someone like Koz helping me? Yeah. I couldn’t even walk. But I’d figure it out. I didn’t need anyone.
Three heads swiveled to my battered form. Callon was more interested in the fire he’d started.
“Maybe if we built a shelter and left her with some food?” Koz was weakening. That question near reeked of capitulation, proving once again that you couldn’t depend on anyone to save you. They wouldn’t.
Hess, the one who hadn’t said much, finally weighed in. “You really want to help her, that’s not the way. Something will sniff her out and kill her. She can’t even fucking stand. She won’t be able to get fresh water. You’re better off taking her back. Once we’re done, if you still feel like it, go get her then, and you can take her wherever you want.”
Koz would never come back for me after he forced me back to my village. I knew it, and so did the rest of them. People didn’t come back, ever. And if some miracle of miracle proved that Koz was the one in a million who would come back, I wouldn’t be there. There would be no one left to rescue. I’d already have been sold off like livestock to a new nightmare.
“I’ll be fine. Just leave me.” I laid Koz’s water bag on the ground and then turned to find the next tree or branch I could hold on to. I made it one step before I landed with a thud, hands and knees in the dirt. A sound tore from my chest before I could smother it.
I wasn’t a crybaby. I got a grip on myself while I was still facing the ground, getting my good leg back underneath me.
“Koz, you need to bring her back,” Zink yelled.
“I can’t,” Koz screamed.
“You have to,” Hess said, joining the fight.
“I’m not doing it.”
The arguing continued, only Callon’s voice silent. Let them argue. I’d leave in the meantime and fix the issue for everyone. I couldn’t walk, but I’d crawl away if I had to. Turrock would send people after me, but I’d find a cave to hole up in, one with a tiny enough opening that his men couldn’t see me, or get into even if they could.
I wasn’t going back. Not ever.
I hopped, reaching for the next tree, pushing faster as I waited for the sound of someone following.
Would they follow? They didn’t want to be bothered with me anyway. They’d let me disappear.
It was silent behind me. They’d stopped talking. I didn’t know if that was good or bad, and I didn’t have time to think about it. I was already breathing heavily after a few minutes. I lunged for my next tree and the mud stole my shoe, sucking at my foot and taking me down again. I sucked in a few deep breaths, shoved my hands into mud, and forced myself up.
“Stop.” Callon’s voice wasn’t that close, but was clear across the distance.
I didn’t stop. Why should I? So they could escort me back to hell? He wasn’t in charge of me.
“I said, stop.”
He’d closed the gap a bit.
No. No. No.
“Go fuck yourself!” I screamed, and managed a few paces more with the help of a nearby branch before falling. I’d run until my leg fell off before I’d let them take me back. I was getting the hell out of here.
Leather-clad legs blocked my way. I shifted to the right, going for the next closest.
Gripping the tree, I dragged myself up. Callon was there again, in front of me. He was larger than Koz even, my head only reaching his shoulders. His breadth looked unmovable. Raising my eyes, I tilted my head back, letting him see exactly what I thought of him for getting in my way.
He might think he had utter control of everyone and everything, but I wasn’t going to lie down and take orders from some man I didn’t know. That had been my life, but not anymore.
I waited as he really looked at me, taking in every detail. His eyes shifted to my mouth and stayed there for a few seconds. He wasn’t looking with desire. I knew how I appeared—that my lips were partially disfigured from one especially brutal beating, and that right now they were worse than normal. The scars that ran across my face made my one eye look permanently half shut, even when it wasn’t swelled up. That my nose was dented and crooked. He took it all in, every horrible bit, from the threadbare pants to the way my fingers on my right hand were crooked from the time Baryn had held my hand in the door and slammed it shut.
He read my history in a glance. No pity showed, or anger, because this man was nothing like Baryn or Turrock. He was cool calculation. If there were feelings there, they were buried too deep to see the light of day.
I found myself wanting to look away, hide the pages of my life from his casual perusal. Hated that so much of what I’d been through was there on display for anyone to see.
The more I wanted to curl within, the more something rebelled and pushed back. Strength filled my veins, forcing my chin up, locking eyes with his.
Fuck being small.
“You can’t crawl your way out of here.” His words were biting. I wasn’t entirely sure if that was the way it was meant or if he was too cold to know how brutal he sounded.
“If that’s what it takes, then that’s exactly what I’m going to do. So get the fuck out of my way.” I’d seen enough little guys in the village bluff their way out of a fight to know bravado occasionally worked. Considering the tools left in my box, it was my only shot.
It also felt damn good.
“What happened to you?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.
I pressed my lips together. He didn’t deserve answers.
He didn’t budge, watching me with no emotion I could read. If he tried to force me to go back, it wouldn’t end well. I could sense the other men closer, everyone frozen, wondering which way this would go.
A chill wind blew my hair forward, catching a strand and carrying it forward until it grazed his shirt.
His nostrils flared as he breathed in the crisp air.
Something flickered across his face. The first emotion I’d sensed, but damn if I could put a name to it. It was hard to read him by the slight tilt of his head and enlarging of his irises. Surprise, maybe? But why?
“Why did they beat you?” he asked.
“Does it matter why?” The last thing I was doing was telling this man about Baryn and his sordid desires, or why I’d drawn his attention in the first place. Callon already didn’t like me as it was. I wouldn’t press my luck by telling him anything that might encourage him to kill me. Unless he’d already decided?
I hadn’t sensed death from any of them. Did that mean mine was imminent?
He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to answer that, but then said nothing for a moment. Finally, he said, “We’ll take you to the next village on our way. Then you’re on your own.”
My entire body wanted to sag onto the tree beside me, but didn’t. If he saw even a hint of weakness, he might change his mind. He’d become afraid I’d be too much of a burden to him.
5
The next vi
llage was way too close, but it was a step, many steps, in the right direction. No point in telling them my plan. I’d let them drop me off at the front of the village and then I’d continue on my way out the back. That shouldn’t be too much of a problem. From what I’d heard about that place, they could barely keep the people they had fed.
Unless Turrock got word to them first to hold me. They wouldn’t go against him. So, maybe they’d drop me off at the front and leave before I went inside. I’d figure something out.
“Okay.” I nodded at Callon, who was still staring at me.
He nodded back and then took a step toward me.
I pulled back.
He turned his head to the side, his chest rising and falling, then turned back to me. “I’m going to help you over to the fire.”
He over-enunciated every word. I had plenty of issues, but I wasn’t hard of hearing. “I’m good,” I said, using the same method of speaking he had.
He raised a brow.
I ignored him. He didn’t matter. He wasn’t my ally. He was simply another obstacle I’d need to climb over.
Thinking of climbing, where was my shoe? The mud had sucked it off my foot but hadn’t eaten it. It had to be here somewhere. A shoe would be a good thing, as there was a lot of walking to be done.
Koz leaned down, pulled a lump out of the mud, and held it out, dangling by his finger.
I leaned forward and plucked it from him as my other hand still gripped the tree. “Thank you.”
Koz bowed his head slightly.
I shook off the muddy shoe and then realized I couldn’t get it back on my good leg without sitting on the ground—as they all stared at me. I tucked it, mud and all, into my waist. I was pretty much covered anyway. A little more wouldn’t make much of a difference.
They continued to stare, as if what I’d do next was some great amusement to them. “I guess I’ll go sit by the fire until we get moving again.”
Callon nodded, watching to see how I’d accomplish that. I’d gotten this far on my own. He didn’t need to look so skeptical.
Koz held out a hand. “Do you need something to lean on?”
Wild One_Born Wild 1_A Series Set in the Wilds Page 3