CARNAL (EXILED Book 1)

by Victoria Danann

  Carnal pulled to the side of the dirt road and stopped.

  “Where are we?” Rosie asked.

  “Cider break.”

  “Good choice,” she said, looking around. “It’s beautiful here.”

  “Yeah. Come on.”

  He took a skin of cider out of one of the bike’s saddlebags and helped her over the fence.

  “Watch where you step.”

  “What? Why? Oh,” she said, sidestepping a pile of large poop balls. “What made that?”

  “Sheep.”

  “Noooooo. Sheep are not big enough for that.”

  “You know you’re strange, right?” He chuckled. “This way.”

  On the other side of a small rise a flock of pretty, but monster-sized, black-faced sheep with white fluffy wool were grazing in an idyllic meadow of winter rye and tiny yellow and purple flowers.

  “Sheep,” he said.

  “Those aren’t sheep. I mean they look like sheep, but they’re as big as cattle.”

  “How big are they supposed to be?”

  “Like this.” She held her hand to a height of mid-thigh.

  “That’s crazy.” He shook his head. “If they were that size, you couldn’t ride them.”

  “Ride them!”

  “Absolutely.” He smiled. “They’re friendly. You pick one out for yourself. Then I’ll pick one out and we’ll race.”

  “Race,” she said drily.

  Rosie wasn’t entirely opposed to riding on the backs of animals. Her Auntie Elora and Uncle Ram had taken her on horse outings lots of times. But sheep was another story altogether.

  “What about saddles? And bridles?”

  Carnal made a face. “You can be kind of prissy. You know that?” She sniffed. He sidled up close. “Don’t worry. I like prissy on you. So, which one is yours?”

  She cocked a hip and put her hand on it. “You think I’m going to chase a sheep and fling myself onto its back?”

  “Of course not.” He chuckled. “Show me which one you want. I’ll introduce you and help you up.”

  She looked at the sheep, who were watching them warily while they continued chewing like it was a job.

  “You know all these sheep personally.”

  “Hmmm.” He shrugged. “Close enough. Know one, know ‘em all.”

  Her curiosity was getting the better of her. So, wanting to know where the plan was headed, she pointed to the smallest sheep, which was almost exactly at eye-level with her.

  “Done.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the sheep. It made no move to shy away, but stood steadfastly. Chewing. “Sheep. This is Rosie. Rosie, this is a small ewe.”

  “You call that an introduction?” He lifted her onto the back of the sheep without warning. “Hey. You touched without permission.”

  “Oops.” He grinned unashamedly before turning to pick out the tallest ewe.

  “That’s not fair,” Rosie said. “She has longer legs and is bound to be faster.”

  “You could have picked this one, if you wanted. In fact, you still can. Want to trade?”

  She thought about it. “No. I think I like being closer to the ground.”

  “Okay,” he said. “Get two firm handfuls of wool like this.” He grabbed onto the wool just above the animal’s shoulders. “The first one to get to that tree,” he pointed to a large oak about fifty yards up a small rise, “wins.”

  “How do I make this thing move?” she asked.

  “Oh, now that’s the tricky part. Just experiment until you find something that works.”

  “What!?!”

  While Rosie was questioning whether or not the entire thing was a prank, she saw that he was coaxing his sheep verbally while also kicking it gently in the sides. So she did the same. After getting no response, she finally decided to send a thought directly into the sheep’s brain.

  Though it might have been cheating, it worked. Her sheep took off toward the tree at a fast trot that almost unseated her and then almost jarred her teeth out of her skull. She looked over her shoulder, thinking she would tell Carnal a thing or two about persuasion, but the sight of his sheep following her sheep at a fast clip clop, him bouncing like a ragdoll, was so funny she started laughing. Plus there was also the thrill of possible bragging rights.

  She was already anticipating the pleasure of gloating when Carnal’s sheep drew up alongside her. Rosie nudged ‘Sheep’ to go faster, but they were falling behind, which meant ‘Sheep’ had reached maximum performance. She did the only thing she could do under the circumstances. She reached over and shoved Carnal off his sheep, then enjoyed her victory lap around the tree while he turned the air blue with the colorful language he’d learned in the Farsuitwailian marketplace.

  Rosie slid down off her sheep and walked away, effectively turning it loose to return to pasturing with its buddies. “Oh, don’t be a bad sport. You lost fair and square.”

  Carnal gaped. “I did not lose fair and square. You’re a cheater!”

  “Sore loser.”

  “Admit it. You cheated.” When he started toward her, she laughed and backed away.

  “Don’t run from me, Rosie. I’m warning you.”

  “Oh.” She laughed. “You’re warning me?”

  “I mean it. Don’t run.” As she continued backing away, his expression changed. He lowered his chin and was doing a good job of looking mock serious, even intense.

  “Why not?” she taunted, feinting right like she was going to run.

  “There’s something inside me that will want to chase you down. It’s a powerful instinct that’s hard to control. Don’t tempt me unless you want the consequence.”

  “Ooh,” she teased. “The consequence.” She took off running downhill back to their starting point, where the sheep were grazing.

  She heard Carnal say, “Fuck!”, and growl behind her, which made her laugh. When she turned around he was unbelievably close. His speed was jaw-dropping, and she didn’t miss the look of focus on his face.

  Of course she could have vanished into the fog of the passes, but then what he’d said about cheating would be true. So she settled for giving herself a leap ten yards ahead. Unbelievably, Carnal matched that leap, caught her from behind and pulled her down, twisting his body at the last second so that she would land on top of him instead of the ground.

  After hitting the grass, he rolled over so that he was on top. Rosie thought about protesting that he was touching without permission, but the glorious feel of his body pressing hers into the soft grass rendered her mute. He covered her mouth with his and treated her to one of his signature heavenly kisses laced with a passion and intensity that hadn’t been there before. Her body responded by arching into him and demanding more.

  Carnal tore his mouth away with a soft growl as he looked up. “Someone’s coming.” He rolled away and came to his feet in a move so quick and graceful she was reminded all over again that he wasn’t human and wasn’t something to trifle with.

  “Hey! Get out of here. You’re scaring my sheep!” A man was walking toward them, sounding and looking angry.

  Rosie looked at the sheep standing calmly. Chewing. Looking anything but scared.

  “Okay. We’re going,” said Carnal.

  The man shook his head. “Animals.”

  Since Rosie heard it, she knew Carnal did, too. She saw him stiffen and clench his jaw. It made her so mad she was ready to show the idiot what animal really meant. She started toward the farmer, arms swinging, at a brisk pace.

  “Hey, yourself! Did you call us animals?”

  He took a good look at her, then looked over her head at Carnal. “Not you,” he said.

  “You want to see your sheep really scared? Picture this pretty little pasture being overrun by Rautt on the hunt for lamb chops.” The man drew back. “That man you just insulted, and his friends and family, have been the only thing standing between you and that consequence for a generation. Is that the thanks you have to offer him?”

  The man�
��s expression hardened. “You’re on private property. Trespassing.”

  “That’s really what you have to say?” Rosie was incredulous.

  “No. I got more to say. A decent girl wouldn’t be cavorting with the likes of that.” He indicated Carnal with his chin.

  She cocked her head as she’d seen Exiled do so many times. “You know what? These sheep shouldn’t be cavorting with the likes of you.”

  When he turned away in disgust, he saw that the sheep were gone. He gasped. “What did you do with my sheep?”

  “I gave them to someone more deserving.”

  She walked toward where Carnal’s bike was parked on the other side of the fence. When she got there, he said, “Rosie. Where are the sheep?”

  She’d used her natural witchery to transport them to a new location of her choosing. “On the training field.”

  Carnal jerked his head toward the west. “Our training field at Newland?”

  “Yes. What other training field would I mean?”

  “Rosie, how are we gonna explain that?”

  “We can say the sheep couldn’t stand living near that guy, so they walked there on their own.”

  “Uh-huh. And when the farmer complains about missing sheep, now on Exiled land, what do you think that’s going to look like?”

  She shifted her weight to one leg. “Like you stole them,” she said sullenly.

  “Exactly.”

  “Okay,” she said, looking at her nails. “I put them back.” She was just as glad to have undone the deed because it was an event bordering on momentous enough to draw the wrong kind of attention. Namely, Kellareal’s.

  Carnal looked behind him. Sure enough the sheep were happily grazing once again, looking none the worse for wear and like such things occurred every day. He lifted Rosie over the fence like she weighed nothing then vaulted over.

  When she straddled the bike behind him, he twisted around to say over his shoulder, “It was very sexy, you defending me to that human.”

  “It was very sexy being run down,” she said as she encircled him with her arms.

  He barked out a laugh then grew quiet as he thought about what she’d said. “Does that mean you’re staying, little demon?”

  “We’ll see.”

  “You’re a tease.”

  “I’m a tease? You’re the one who keeps getting me worked up and then walking off.” And once again she’d said too much, even after having given herself a stern lecture about the fact that the impulsive blurting needed to stop. Something about Carnal made her forget all about the prudence of holding herself at a distance until she knew he could be trusted with her feelings. The fact that he seemed genuinely interested in learning all about her was a distraction that only exacerbated that behavior.

  When he simply chuckled, she wondered if the hit-and-run gropings were intended to ramp up her interest. They certainly seemed to have amplified her sexual response to him. She could practically feel an increase in the frequency of her vibration when she knew Carnal was close by.

  “What’s next?” she asked. “Oh, let me guess. It has to involve riding something. Whales? Are we riding whales next?”

  “Taking you to dinner in Farsuitwail.”

  “There are restaurants in Farsuitwail?”

  “Maybe not what you’re used to. But yes. There are people who don’t want to cook.”

  “Okay. What are we having?”

  As he started the bike, he said, “They roll whitefish into this flat bread kind of thing and put green stuff in it. Sounds awful, but it’s good.”

  “Does Serene know we’re not going to be there for supper?”

  “Of course. I’m not rude or disrespectful to my mother, Rosie.”

  He sounded offended. Rosie decided it was time she turned the tables and got to know Carnal better.

  As they rode through the city center, Rosie noticed Exiled here and there. She’d come to recognize their characteristics well enough that she could spot them from a distance. Red, the master builder she’d met when the Commons porch was added on, was standing at the edge of the park talking to a few other hybrids.

  Carnal slowed and parked near the open air produce market. She swung her leg over the machine like she was dismounting a horse and stood waiting to be shown the way, since there was nothing around that looked remotely like a restaurant.

  He put his hand at the small of her back and said, “Over here,” pointing to the center aisle of the market. The market was winding down for the day. Vendors were closing up, setting fruit and vegetables out for pickup that would not be farm fresh the next day, and covering their spaces. Rosie saw that they were headed toward a rear archway that opened into a courtyard.

  Tables and chairs that looked like they hadn’t been repaired or refinished since the Disruption were strategically placed and there were some very pleasant smells coming from an unseen kitchen nearby.

  An older woman wearing a saffron-colored tunic, ambled out. “You eating?”

  “Yes,” Carnal said. “There are two of us.”

  The woman’s eyes swept over Rosie. “I see that. You eating outside?”

  Carnal looked at Rosie. “Outside okay?”

  She shrugged. “Sure. It’s nice enough.” She looked around thinking that either there were no other customers or all the other diners had opted for inside. It was on the cool side, but she was dressed for it.

  “Pick a table,” said the woman. “I don’t suppose you want wine.”

  When Carnal looked at Rosie, she smiled and nodded. “White. Chardonnay if you have it.”

  “White?” The hostess, who had the air of a surly proprietor, practically guffawed. “Have you been asleep for a quarter century? Got red. You want it or not?”

  Rosie looked up at Carnal. “What are you having?”

  “Ale. Just like you serve a hundred times a day.”

  “I’ll have the same, please,” Rosie told the woman.

  “No wine. Just like I thought,” she grumbled.

  As they sat down at a corner table, Rosie said, “I gotta tell you, if the food’s not better than the hospitality, you’re on the wrong end of persuasive.”

  “Keep your shirt on. The fish things are worth it.”

  “Is she acting like that because you’re hybrid, or because I’m here with you, or because she’s just an asshole?”

  “One or three.”

  “One or three what?”

  “She either acts like that because I’m hybrid or because she’s an asshole. I don’t know which, but I’ve been here without you and it’s always the same. So it’s not because I’m here with a human.”

  “Ah.” A teenage boy set down two mugs of ale with a big smile. She thanked him and, when he was gone, said, “So we know bad manners is not policy.” Carnal nodded, but didn’t smile. “Look. What I said about Serene, I wasn’t making a dig at your character. Where I’m from people forget things like that. It doesn’t mean they’re bad people. It just means they’re preoccupied.”

  “Okay,” he said. “I guess I want you to think highly of me. Maybe I want that too much.” He looked away like saying that out loud was embarrassing.

  “I do think highly of you, Carnal. That brings me to the other thing I wanted to talk about.”

  He leaned back in his chair and took a swig of ale. “What’s that?”

  “You.”

  Rosie was not prepared for the wave of pure satisfaction that transformed Carnal’s expression from disengaged to delighted.

  “You want to talk about me?”

  She had to laugh at the look of pleasure on his face. “Yes. It’s your turn. Tell me everything, starting with why those four girls over there are peering around the doorway trying to get your attention.”

  Carnal’s gaze followed the direction Rosie had indicated with a bob of her head.

  “Don’t pay any attention to that. Humans act that way.” He took a drink of ale without looking at her.

  “Some do. Undoubtedly.
But not all.”

  His eyes raised to meet hers. “Sorry. I… I’m so comfortable with you, I guess I forgot you’re part human. I didn’t mean to… you know.”

  “Yes. Just like I didn’t mean to offend you when I asked if you’d told Serene we’d be out tonight.” She shook her head. “Regardless, I’m probably less human than you. Looks can be deceiving.”

  Carnal studied her closely for a few beats. “Like I told you before, I’m not interested in the chicklets. At least not anymore. You’re what I want.”

  “Change of subject. What’s your earliest memory?”

  He looked away and swallowed. “Serene and I were in a space with a bunch of other females and their young. A… cage. A big one. A guard liked to make big noises and startle everyone. I remember she would pull me tighter into her body, when it would happen. To comfort me, I guess. To protect me, if she had to.”

  Rosie was prepared that Carnal would cite something like that. Instinctively she knew he didn’t want sympathy from her. So she said, “How old were you?”

  “Two, I think. I was three when Kellareal came for us. I didn’t have to live through abominations like my father and some of the others, but I do remember that there was one human who enjoyed tormenting the weakest of us. I have a lot of respect for the elders who endured much worse and are now going to try to set aside those feelings in the interest of peace.” He looked at her pointedly. “At your suggestion.”

  “It is remarkable. I agree that taking the high road is admirable.”

  “Taking the high road? I don’t know what that means.”

  “Oh.” She smiled. “I think it’s an expression that originated in Scotland where there are steep mountains and deep valleys. Taking the high road was more difficult, just as doing the right thing is usually harder.”

  “Serene was right. You’re a teacher.” Carnal smiled. “Anyway, we lived in tents while Newland was being built. My mother was already pregnant with Crave when we came here and he was born right after we moved into the Extant’s house. I was sure he was the most wonderful thing that had ever happened in the world. I ran all over telling everybody that I had a brother.”