by Ramona Gray
He stared wide-eyed as he watched Quinn cut a wide swath through the attacking women. She moved with a lazy, fluid grace that he never suspected in her. Watching her take down the women attacking her was almost like watching a dance.
She dropped to her knees, avoiding the sweep of the sword in the hand of the wild woman. With a powerful swipe, she cut the legs off the woman. The woman collapsed to the ground, blood jetting from the stumps of her legs. Quinn rose to her feet and plunged her sword through the forehead of the screaming woman.
“Holy fuck,” Silas whispered.
He heard Barkha give a hoot of delight and turned to see her and Fionn thrusting their swords into the ribs of a green-fleshed woman at the same time.
“That one counts as mine!” Barkha shouted.
“It does not!” Fionn panted. “I stuck her first!”
“You did not!” Barkha ducked as a spear came hurtling towards her. Akia was slicing across the wild woman’s throat with her sword and Barkha nodded her thanks before racing towards Dacia.
An arrow brushed by his face and Silas ducked back into the wagon. He lay on his back, panting and staring at Naveen.
“Stay down, danen. It is you and the other males they want,” Naveen hissed at him.
Silas listened to the screams of pain and the nervous whinnying of the horses tied to the wagon. His heart was thumping in his chest and adrenaline was coursing through his veins.
“Naveen,” he tried again, “unchain me.”
Naveen shook his head. “No. The massina will kill me if I do. You need to…”
His voice trailed off and his face paled as he stared over Silas’ shoulder. Silas looked up and gave a groan of dismay. One of the green-skinned women was peering over the wagon at him. She grinned with black and rotting teeth and raised a small wooden tube to her mouth.
Before she could wrap her lips around it, a hand appeared on the top of her head and gripped her hair. Her head was yanked back and Quinn slit her throat with her small dagger. Blood poured from the woman’s throat and he squirmed away in disgust as Quinn released her grip on the woman’s head and she fell to the ground.
She stared briefly at Silas before disappearing once more. Ignoring Naveen’s muttered pleas, Silas sat up and stared out of the wagon again. Quinn and the others were winning. There were only a few of the wild women left and two of them had fled back into the trees.
Kila was grappling on the ground with one of them. The woman was straddling her and trying to plunge her knife into Kila’s breast. Kila lost her grip on the woman’s wrist and the woman raised her hand, the large and bloody knife gripped tightly in it. Silas’ blood ran cold when he realized that Gage had squirmed out from under the wagon and was running towards Kila.
“Kila!” Gage screamed. He dove at the woman on top of Kila, knocking her onto the ground. The knife fell from her hand and she screamed in rage and rolled onto her stomach. She reached for the knife but Kila snatched it away from her. She jumped on the woman’s back and drove her dagger deep between her shoulder blades. The woman shrieked in agony and Kila ripped the blade free before yanking the woman’s head back and slitting her throat.
Panting, she rolled off the woman and smiled at Gage who was on his knees in front of her. “Thank you, Gage.”
“Don’t mention it.” He grinned at her and then stiffened. Kila cried out at the small dart that appeared in his throat. One of the attackers was just lowering the wooden tube from her mouth when Quinn’s sword sliced across the top of her skull.
“NO!” Kila screamed and scrambled forward to catch him as Gage pitched forward.
“Gage! No!” She screamed again as his eyes rolled up in his head and he went limp.
Chapter 7
“There must be something we can do,” Silas said frantically. He was kneeling beside Kila who was still cradling Gage in her arms.
“There isn’t. I’m sorry, danen,” Quinn said quietly.
Kila looked up at her, tears swimming in her eyes. “There is, Quinn. You know there is.”
“No, Kila. It’s too dangerous.”
“What is she talking about?” Silas asked.
Naveen knelt beside Gage and Kila and felt his throat. “His pulse is strong, massina. If we get the antidote he’ll have a good chance of survival.”
“What antidote?” Silas nearly yelled.
“It’s too dangerous,” Quinn repeated firmly.
“Tell me!” This time Silas did yell and Kila flinched and cradled Gage closer to her body.
“The women who attacked us are called gorans. They’re a clan of women who are after you for the same reasons we are. They use a poison to stun their prey, to put them into a dreamlike state so they are easy to take back to their camps. They have an antidote to their poison. If we could get the antidote your brother would still have a chance,” Naveen replied.
“Then we have to go and get it!” Silas said angrily.
Naveen glanced at Quinn and she shook her head.
“Fuck you!” Silas shouted. “We’re going after the antidote.”
“We cannot, danen,” she hissed. “It is too dangerous to go to their camp and retrieve it.”
“Quinn, it’ll take at least three days for the poison to kill him. I will go and retrieve the antidote and meet you back at the city,” Kila said desperately.
“No, sandora. It’s a suicide mission and you know it.” Quinn crouched beside Silas and gave him a look of pity. “I am truly sorry, Silas. But we cannot risk the lives of our people to save your brother.”
“Then let me go,” Silas replied. “Tell me where their camp is and I’ll get the antidote myself.”
She sighed. “You would not survive. If you even made it to their camp they would capture you before you got anywhere near the antidote.”
“At least give me the chance to try.”
She hesitated and he felt a moment’s hope before she shook her head again. “I cannot. I’m sorry.”
He screamed in rage and sorrow as she stood and stared at the others. “We bury the dead and keep going. Move quickly.”
* * *
Silas stared miserably at the bottom of the wagon. Wrapped in blankets beside him, Gage was quiet and still. He watched his brother’s chest rise and fall and closed his eyes for a moment. Panic was clawing at his insides and he took a deep breath. He had to figure out a way to get free and go after the antidote. He would have to take one of them with him to find the camp. Kila would probably go willingly.
He opened his eyes and squinted in the darkness at Gage again. His chest was still rising and falling evenly and Silas took another deep breath. After the attack the others had quickly buried Andrea and Lacey before continuing.
His group was in shock. They had stood quietly as Naveen muttered some type of prayer over the graves before Quinn herded them into the wagon. They hadn’t travelled very far before Angela had a panic attack. She flailed and screamed until Barkha and Quinn held her down and Naveen poured a yellow liquid down her throat. It knocked the young woman out and Quinn allowed them to stop for the day. Silas spent the entire night sitting beside Gage in the wagon. Kila, her face pale and tears dripping down her face, sat with him until Quinn made her go to bed.
Quinn had knelt beside Silas and squeezed his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Silas.”
“If my brother dies, I will not rest until I kill you.”
“Aye. I would expect nothing less from you, danen.”
Now, he pulled uselessly at the cuffs again. The muscles in his arms bulged and sweat broke out on his forehead but the chain was solid. He swore under his breath and leaned against the wagon. The others slept on around him. Paula, Angela and Veronica were curled up together under a blanket and Steve, Craig and Kyle were stretched out beside them.
If he hadn’t been such an idiot and taken Quinn prisoner instead of fucking her, Gage wouldn’t be injured. He should have taken her prisoner and freed his brother and the others but instead he let his goddamn dick d
o all of the thinking and fucked her. They wouldn’t be in this mess if he hadn’t.
Are you so sure about that? If you had tried to take off alone, all of you would be those green women’s prisoners right now. You wouldn’t stand a chance against them and you know it. You need Quinn and the others to survive.
He stared blankly up at the double moons. If Naveen was right and they really were on a different world then –
If he’s right? There’s two fucking moons, you moron!
He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Jesus, what the hell was happening? How the fuck could they have been transported to another world? That science fiction shit didn’t happen in real life. It couldn’t happen.
He snorted with surprise when a hard hand clamped over his mouth. He stared at Kila who was standing next to the wagon.
She put her mouth to his ear. “I’m going for the antidote. Will you come with me?”
Silas nodded immediately and she reached behind him for the chain. “I’m going to trust you, danen. You cannot do this without me. If you try anything your brother will die. Do you understand?”
He nodded again and she quietly unclipped the chain. He rubbed his arms as she whispered, “Follow me and don’t say anything. Dacia is on watch and we need to sneak by her.”
He slowly and carefully climbed out of the wagon and with one last glance at Gage, followed her silently out of the campsite.
* * *
“How do you know where the camp is?” Silas asked as he followed her deep into the woods.
She moved quickly and confidently in the dark and he stumbled after her and cursed lightly.
“Keep up, danen,” she warned him.
“Tell me how you know where the camp is,” he insisted. “For all I know we could be walking in circles.”
“When the gorans have gone after an orb in the past, they have always camped in the caves of Wintoria. It’s about halfway between where the orb appears and their city.”
“Does the orb always appear in the same spot?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“And you’re sure that they’ll camp in these caves?” Silas asked.
She shrugged. “I assume so.”
“You assume so?” Silas grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop. “You’re risking Gage’s life on a hunch?”
She frowned and yanked her arm free. “Our only other choice is to go back and watch him die. At least this way he has a chance.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.” Her face softened. “We will get the antidote and save Gage. I promise, danen. Come, we must move quickly. It will take us a few hours to get to the caves.”
* * *
Silas wiped the sweat from his face. Despite the cool night air he was sweating profusely. Kila was keeping a quick pace and he was embarrassed to realize he was having a hard time keeping up. He really needed to work more on his cardio.
A light danced across his vision and he squinted into the darkness. He shook his head. Now he was seeing things. He armed the sweat off his forehead and kept going. Kila was a dark shadow ahead of him and –
The light flashed in front of him again and he stopped. He stared curiously at the bobbing light just a few feet ahead of him. It drew closer and his mouth dropped open in surprise when he realized it was a tiny female, barely bigger than his longest finger. She was pale and completely naked. Light green wings flapped behind her and she hovered in front of his face as she smiled and winked at him.
“What the hell?” He breathed.
She swooped forward and kissed the tip of his nose before hovering in front of his face. He held out his hand. She landed delicately in his palm and folded her hands in front of her.
“What are you?” He asked.
She smiled but didn’t reply. Instead, she walked across his palm and stroked his thumb with her tiny hands. Her wings vibrated gently and he smiled. She was so tiny and pretty. He couldn’t stop staring at the way her hands were stroking his thumb. She leaned forward and kissed the pad of his thumb before smiling shyly at him.
“You’re a pretty little thing aren’t you?” He whispered.
She nodded and stroked his thumb again. He leaned in to get a better look at her as she gripped his thumb and opened her mouth. He realized with numb surprise that her jaw was widening and large, razor sharp teeth were protruding from between her lips.
Before she could bite him, she was plucked from his hand. He stared in shock at Quinn as she crushed the tiny female in her hands. She dropped the lifeless body on the ground and gave him a look of annoyance.
“They’re called poolas and her bite would have killed you in less than five minutes, danen. Nothing is as it seems in this world. You would do well to remember that.”
He lunged for her but she was expecting it and sidestepped him neatly. His momentum carried him forward and he landed on the ground with a hard thud. The tip of her sword pressed against his back.
“Quinn!” Kila was running toward them. “Let him go. We’re going after the antidote and you can’t stop us.” She drew her own sword and held it in front of her.
Quinn sighed. “You would draw on me, sandora? Does the boy mean that much to you?”
He does,” Kila said defiantly.
Quinn sheathed her sword and stepped back. “If I had wanted to stop you I would have done so back at the camp when I watched you free the danen and sneak away.”
Kila stared at her in confusion as Silas climbed to his feet.
“Massina, I - ”
Quinn held her hand up. “Come, we will find the antidote and save your man.”
“Thank you, Quinn.” Kila hugged her hard and Quinn kissed her roughly on the forehead.
“Do not thank me yet. We’ll probably all die and die horribly at that.”
Chapter 8
“Now what do we do?” Silas breathed quietly.
They were lying on their stomachs, hidden among the trees. In front of them a large rock wall rose and disappeared into the darkness. There were two large openings in the rock. As they watched, a few of the gorans came out of the left one and crouched in front of the large fire that was crackling in front of the wall of stone.
“There are too many of them for us to defeat in combat,” Quinn said.
“We need a distraction,” Kila said. “While they’re distracted we can sneak in and take the antidote.”
“We have no idea which one of them carries the antidote,” Quinn pointed out.
She stared thoughtfully at Silas and he frowned at her. “What?”
“What we need,” she said slowly, “is something to trade for the antidote.”
“We cannot trade the danen for the antidote, massina,” Kila said in a horrified voice. “You know what they will do to him.”
“What will they do to me?” Silas asked.
“We’ll take him back before they do,” Quinn said.
“How?” Kila asked. “How will you rescue the danen once he is in the caves?”
“What will they do to me?” Silas asked again.
“We wait until they’re asleep,” Quinn said. “I’ll sneak into the caves and free the danen.”
“It will be hours until they fall asleep,” Kila said. “Especially if we give them the danen. They’ll all want a turn with him and they won’t wait until they return to their city. You know they won’t.”
“I don’t like the sounds of that,” Silas said.
“You shouldn’t,” Kila said. “There are more than twenty and once you lose your erection they’ll be angry and will hurt you.”
“Lose my erection?” Silas said. “I’d have to get an erection first to lose it. Let’s call using me as a sexual sacrifice Plan B.”
“It’s Plan A,” Quinn said as Kila gave them both a curious look.
“Plan A?” She asked and Quinn shook her head.
“Never mind, sandora.”
She lifted her head and studied the group of gorans around the
fire before sinking back into the grass. “Listen, danen, the only way we get the antidote for your brother is by trading you for it. You want to save your brother’s life - this is the way we do it.”
“Fine,” Silas said.
She nodded but Kila grabbed her arm and hissed, “We cannot, Quinn. What happens if they capture you when you’re sneaking back into their camp? If the danen is even still alive by the time they finish with him, they’ll kill you and take him back to their clan. Gage will die anyway.”
“If I’m still alive? I might be having second thoughts,” Silas said.
Quinn reached into a small leather pouch that was lashed around her waist. Silas stared curiously at the small, bright green ball she withdrew from it. As she held the ball it began to glow and make a low humming noise.
“What is that?” He asked.
Kila gasped sharply. “Where did you get that, massina?”
“It’s not important,” Quinn said.
“What is it?” Silas asked again.
“It’s a boden,” Kila said. “It’s very powerful and dangerous and if you lose control of it…”
She trailed off and Quinn carefully slipped the ball back into the pouch. “I’ll be careful, Kila.”
“How? You need a tremendous amount of control over it. If you mess up even one word of the enchantment, you’ll be lost forever.”
“I can control it,” Quinn said. “I’ve had practice with a weaker boden and it wasn’t a problem.”
“Because it was weak! Because it was near the end of its life span,” Kila said. “This one looks as though it’s never been used. Where did you even find it?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Quinn said. “I told you – I can control it.”
“But if you can’t?” Kila said.
“Then you put your sword through my heart and take the danen and the antidote to Naveen. Tell the queen I was killed by the gorans.”