by Carol Ashby
He returned to what remained of the bedroll and moved it a little closer to the fire. Then he lay down on his side with his face toward her and closed his eyes. His deep, slow breathing told her he’d gone to sleep almost instantly.
After strapping on the belt, she drew the blanket around her shoulders. The night was cool. It would feel cold without the blanket.
Was he warm enough in what was left of the bedroll after he gave it to her? Maybe he was just a man who didn’t feel the chill.
The rustling as he shifted in his sleep drew her gaze from the fire. He had drawn his legs up like she did herself when she was cold.
She picked up his stick to poke at the coals, but she couldn’t keep her eyes from drifting to his face. So peaceful, like a sleeping child. Handsome, too, for a Roman, even with the gash. It was probably going to scar, but he would still be handsome...to a Roman woman, anyway.
Chapter 7: Not Where He Should Be
The fortress walls wrapped Adela in chilled shadow as the eastern sky brightened from gray through violet toward blue. Her short protector was curled up in a ball by the dying embers.
She flexed her shoulders and drew the blanket a little closer. She’d put the last of the wood on the coals as the black of night began to lighten toward the gray of dawn. The corners of her mouth turned down as her gaze drifted to the Roman…again. He’d spent a cold night so she could be warm enough.
He stirred, sat up, and stretched. When his gaze settled on her, that perpetual smile appeared. “Good morning, Adela.” He rotated his shoulders. “A good night, too. I’m glad you wanted a turn on watch.”
Adela walked around the firepit to give him the blanket.
He shook his head. “Keep it until after we eat.” He rose to fetch the sack that held his food. “Cheese and bread again, but we’ll get something better after we get Otto.” A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “He should be ready for some food other than beer when we find him.” The smile morphed into a grin. “But after all the beer he drank, maybe his stomach won’t be ready for it.”
He settled onto one of the stools, and she sat on the one farthest from him. He divided the chunk of cheese in two before handing half of it and one of two rolls to her. Before the first bite, his eyes closed for a very long blink.
They ate in silence, watching the men at the nearby campsites eating their own breakfasts and harnessing their teams. Most were blonde, fair-skinned Germans, but a few had dark hair and browner skin, like her Roman protector.
Galen took a swig from the water skin and rose to pass it to her. “Time for us to get moving, too.”
He spread the last glowing embers with his stick and strolled toward his hobbled horses.
Adela spread the blanket over the one he’d slept on, folded them, and rolled them up. As she tied the second short rope around the bundle, Galen returned, leading his big friend’s horse while his own followed him like a puppy.
“Otto should be waiting for us in the western camp. We’ll get him first, then pick up a few things for you. You’ll ride behind me.” One corner of his mouth pulled up. “Astrelo should be glad he has a short master. The two of us together won’t be too heavy for him.”
He turned his back on her to saddle the bay. She tossed his saddle on the black and cinched it.
“You’re handy to have along.” His voice at her shoulder made her jump. He stepped beside her and tied the bedroll in place. Then he led the horse over to one of the stumps, climbed up on it, and swung his leg over. He held his hand out to invite her to do the same.
He slid forward to make room, and she mounted behind him. He patted his stomach. “Wrap your arm here.”
She tensed. That was closer than she wanted to be to him.
He glanced over his shoulder. “Or not, if you don’t need to.”
Her spine straightened. “You’ve seen me ride.”
The upward twitch of the corner of his mouth accompanied a shrug. “I’ve seen you fly, too.” The twitch turned into a full-blown smile. “But suit yourself.”
The slightest nudge started his stallion forward. As they passed the bay, Galen leaned over and scooped up its reins.
“We’ll be sharing Astrelo for three days, so figure out what’s comfortable for you.” He nudged the horse into a trot.
She kept her hands resting on her thighs. No short Roman could teach her anything about how to ride.
It took almost no time to reach the western camp. As they rode among the remaining campers, Adela scanned the area for Galen’s handsome friend. No sign of him, but she recognized the gap-toothed old man who’d wanted to buy her. Galen turned his stallion toward his campsite.
The old man grinned up at them as Galen reigned in. “I see you got the pleasure of being with Otto’s beauty last night instead of him. When I didn’t see you this morning, I thought you’d all left.”
Galen rubbed the back of his neck. “Someone tried to take her last night before Otto came, so I found another campsite. I thought I’d find Otto here this morning. Do you know where he is?”
The old man stroked his beard. “I didn’t see him come before I slept, and he was gone before I woke. Maybe he went back to see if he could win another one like her.”
“Maybe. If you see him, tell him I’m looking for him. We’re heading home as soon as I find him, but I hope to see you in the fall. Good trading, Bruno.”
“Good trading to you as well, Galen.”
Adela felt Galen sigh as they headed toward the gambling tent.
“I’d hoped to find him at the camp so we could start home. If he’s still drinking…” Another sigh expanded his chest before he released it.
Another short ride brought them to the canopy. Adela glanced down at her bare feet. It had seemed so much farther when Galen lead her between the gambling den and the campground in the dark…and much less straight. Her brow furrowed. Perhaps the short one hadn’t been confused at all last night when he took the longer route.
The tables under the canopy were deserted. Galen rode close to a sign covered with writing, but she couldn’t read it.
He looked across his shoulder. “They won’t be open for five hours. Otto will probably be back then. There’s time for us to get a few things before he comes.”
When Galen rode straight to a shop-lined street, the corner of Adela’s mouth lifted. The smiling Roman had more warrior in him than she’d thought. Laying a false trail and doubling back…
He handed her the reins of Otto’s horse before he swung his leg over his horse’s neck and slid off. “Stay here with the horses. I need to get a few things in this shop.”
He rested his hand on the side of her foot. She put her foot on his chest and shoved him away.
“It’s not what you’re thinking. I just want to measure the length of your foot for the shoes.”
Her brow furrowed, but she held her foot out to him. He measured it with the span of his hand.
“Shouldn’t take me long to get them.”
As he took the first step away from her, she moved forward on his saddle and picked up the reins.
He was leaving her with two expensive horses and expecting her to be there when he returned. Her eyebrows rose.
He glanced back at her and that half-smile that revealed his amusement appeared. “We both know you’re not fool enough to try to get home without me. I trust you’ll be here when I come back.”
She squared her shoulders. “Of course.”
In less than a quarter hour, he returned with a pair of leather shoes, some bread, and two small sacks. He handed her the sacks and bread. She looked inside as he was putting the first shoe on her left foot. The first held cheese and dried apples. In the second, she found a comb, some hair ties, some underclothes, and other things a woman needed.
He’d moved around to the right side. As he slipped the second shoe on her right foot, she stared at him.
“How did you know what to get?”
Th
at crooked smile appeared. “Even an unmarried man can’t have two grown sisters without learning something about women.” The smile faded with his shrug. “Slide back and make room for me.”
She complied, and he jumped to lay his stomach across the stallion’s back. Then he twisted to swing his leg over the neck and settled in.
“We’ll eat and wait in the campground until the tavern opens. Maybe Otto will come before then, and if not…at least the horses can enjoy the wait there.”
As they headed back to the western campground, Adela relaxed behind him. Unexpected problems didn’t seem to affect Galen’s good humor at all. Not what she’d expect from the warriors she admired, but certainly easier to be around when something did go wrong.
The laughter of the drinkers reached Galen’s ears when he was still half a block from the gaming tables. He reined in under a tree just west of the canopy and scanned the tables from the vantage point of his horse. No Otto.
“Stay with the horses, Adela.” He slipped off Astrelo. “I’m going to see if anyone knows where Otto went last night.”
Galen strolled to the post near the table where Otto had been gambling and leaned against it. From that point, he could watch how the servant girls divided up their service among the tables. It took only a short time to identify which girl worked that corner of the canopy.
He approached her. “Did you serve this part of the canopy last night?”
The girl’s eyes narrowed. “I did.”
“Good. I’m looking for my friend. He’s a big German, red shirt, trimmed beard, blond hair to here.” He indicated shoulder length. “He was at that table. He was pretty drunk when I left him about sundown.”
Her face relaxed. “The handsome one who kept bragging about how great he is with a sword? The one who claimed he can fight two at once?” She squeezed her lips to suppress a smile.
Galen’s mouth tipped up at one corner. “That would be him.”
She cast a glance toward Adela, then pointed. “He won that one.”
Galen’s smile leveled. “Yes. That’s him.”
“The man he won her from, he told your friend he had a special horse in the southern campground. They went to look at it.” The side of her mouth pulled up. “Your friend and two others went with him.”
“Did my friend come back?”
“None of them did.”
Galen took a dupondius from his purse and pressed it into the girl’s hand. “My thanks for your help.”
Her subdued smile morphed into a grin when she saw the coin. “Any time.”
Galen returned to Adela and mounted. “He went to the southern vendor camp with the man who kidnapped you. We’ll look there.”
His mouth squeezed into a thin line. Otto, probably drunker than when Galen had taken Adela, had gone off with her kidnapper. Tendrils of unease wrapped around him as he kicked Astrelo into a trot and headed south.
When they reached the campground, Galen turned to Adela. “Where did you camp?”
Adela peered over his shoulder, then pointed to the far edge of the camp. “Over there by the bushes.” She tensed, and that made him glance back at her. “That cage. It’s where they held me yesterday. Gundahar had two other women in it, but he sold them in the morning to a Roman who already had two girls with their hands tied.”
“Did he try to buy you?”
“Maybe. They stood over there, and I couldn’t make out their words.”
Galen drew a deep breath and forced it out through puckered lips. “Maybe someone saw something.”
A woman with a baby on her hip stood chatting with an older woman who was stirring a stew pot. Galen reined Astrelo toward them and dismounted when he reached them.
“I’m looking for my friend. A big German. He came to see a horse with the men who were camped near the wagon cage. Did you see him?”
The younger one glanced at the older, a question in her eyes, before focusing on the stew. Her nervous silence answered his question.
“Do you know where they went?”
The older woman scanned Adela on the horse, then Galen, and a frown pulled her mouth down.
“They were gone when I got up this morning.” Her gaze fixed on Adela. “You’re one of the slaves they had in their cage.”
Adela squared her shoulders. “I’m no one’s slave. They kidnapped me.”
The older woman shook her head. “Then your friend is in deep trouble.”
The baby reached for his mother’s nose, and she kissed him. “I saw them. Herman woke, and I was feeding him. I saw two men ride out. They had a large blond man draped across the third horse. They headed that way.”
She pointed toward the road to Augusta Raurica. A cold hand seized Galen’s heart and began to squeeze. He rolled his eyes and stared at the sky. He struck his thigh twice with his fist. Then he strode to a stump by the cold firepit in the next campsite and sat. He rested his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands.
Oh, God! Why did you let this happen? I can’t go home without Otto. I’ve got to find him and free him. But how? He took three deep breaths, and his pounding heartrate slowed. All things are possible with you, Lord. Help me find him…alive.
Adela stared at Galen. His friend had been kidnapped, and he was sitting like a helpless child, like he had no idea what to do. Not what she expected from a real man. Especially not from a man who could fight like he did.
She startled when he suddenly stood. The man before her had been transformed. His eyes were intense, his lips straight and pressed together. Before her stood a warrior ready for battle.
He took a deep breath, then released it. “Change of plan.” He fixed his eyes on hers. “Otto’s been kidnapped by the men who took you. He’s being taken south to be sold as a gladiator. I intend to get him back, but I’ve got to go after him right away to have any chance of that. That means I can’t take you home right now. Your best hope of getting home is to stay with me until I rescue Otto, so I’m going to take you with me. Then Otto and I will take you home.”
“I understand, and I want to go with you.”
Of course she wanted to go. She didn’t care about his drunken friend, but no warrior would abandon a friend to slavery. Galen confused her with his kindness, but he was still a warrior. Besides, she had no idea how to get home without his help. That alone would have been enough reason to go with him, but she had another.
She wanted to see the kidnappers punished for what they’d done to her. She wanted that so much she could taste it. To have any chance of saving Otto for Galen and making the kidnappers pay for killing Gunda and taking her, they must move fast. Revenge was a meal best eaten hot, and she was hungry for it.
Galen’s head tilted as Adela stood before him, fists on her hips, fire in her eyes. A warrior woman.
Even going after the kidnappers, it was safer for her if he took her with him than if he left her in Argentorate alone. It was good she wanted to go. He would have to force it otherwise, and a contest of wills with her would make the hunt even harder.
“First we need to go to legion headquarters and report Otto’s kidnapping. Then we’ll start tracking them down.”
He eyed the two horses. Which would be the easier mount for a woman? “Can you handle a stallion?”
Her lips tightened. “I’m a chieftain’s daughter. I can ride anything you can.”
He moved to the left side of Otto’s bay. “Then come here in front of me.”
She marched to his side and grasped both reins and the horse’s mane. He gripped her waist and lifted her up so she could swing her right leg across the rump of the tall horse. She settled into the saddle, back straight, chin high as she looked down at him.
Galen mounted Astrelo. “Follow me.”
Chapter 8: Beginning the Hunt
Once more the fortress walls loomed before them. Galen dismounted about ten feet from the sentry.
The soldier drew his sword. “State your
business.”
“I want to speak with Centurion Silanus. Tell him Gaius Crassus has a kidnapping to report.”
The sentry summoned another soldier and sent him to fetch Silanus.
“Enter and wait inside.” The sentry motioned for them to proceed through the gate.
Galen remounted. His glance at Adela caught her with lowered eyebrows and an upraised chin. No sign of her fear of the Romans on the warrior-woman today.
Together they rode past the arches of the passageway through the stone gate house. Silanus strode toward them, his mouth curved down and his eyes stormy.
“You say there’s been a kidnapping, Crassus?”
Galen swung his leg over Astrelo’s neck and slid off. “Yes. Two, in fact. My partner Otto was kidnapped last night in the southern traveler’s camp and this woman four days ago from the Hermunduri.”
Silanus glanced at Adela. His eyes lingered, but not for long. “The Hermunduri live across the frontier, so her kidnapping is outside Roman jurisdiction. The kidnapping of your friend―that’s a different matter. Is he a Roman citizen?”
Galen shook his head. “No. His father’s a chieftain of the Vangiones.”
Silanus shrugged. “Too bad. I would send out a patrol to try to catch them if he was. I will send notice of the kidnapping to the forts and garrisons, and the patrols will watch for him. That’s all I can do until someone reports where he and his kidnappers are. There are enough German slaves who fight in the arenas that finding your friend could be hard. He looks like too many young Germans, but perhaps his great size will stand out.” Silanus shrugged again.
Galen’s lips started to tighten, but he stopped them. Otto was right that Roman officers cared less about a German. “There’s something else that might help. Otto’s an extraordinary swordsman, especially when fighting two at once. Anyone who’s watched him fight would remember him.”
Silanus frowned as he nodded. “That might help. If he’s so good, maybe he would have been safer serving as a Roman auxiliary instead of selling horses and getting drunk with kidnappers.”