Warlord's Flame (Krystile Warriors Book 2)

by Owner

  Her heart rushed into her throat again. She had to escape. They were after her now and if Var was to be believed, they were following her. No matter where Var took her, they followed. Panic swept through her.

  Bess had to face the fact that every minute she stayed with the warlords lessened her chances of survival. She would run away at the first opportunity and live in the woods, or maybe find some kind people who would tolerate her presence. Var had said his people would accept her and she’d felt hope. It was a strange emotion and it had physically hurt to give it up. Of course now she knew he’d lied to her. The STS leader had said there was another empath here. Bess cast out searching. As always, she found no other empaths. She had seldom felt more alone.

  Bess regarded Var. He was waiting for an answer, but she hadn’t heard the question.

  “I would know if you read my thoughts,” Var said.

  Bess sighed. So he, like everyone else worried about her abilities. “As I have said, you are difficult for me to read.”

  “I would know,” he repeated with more emphasis. A wave of sadness and shame flowed off of him. What could cause such feelings in the big strong warlord?

  Bess shrugged. “Your thoughts, no. Your emotions, sometimes yes, but infrequently.”

  “When you read the thoughts of — humans, I would know if they are clear.”

  “Sometimes the thoughts are clear, yes. Usually I just get feelings. I do not get thoughts all the time. There are some people, like the handlers at the Facility, that we cannot read at all.”

  “I would know if the ‘reading’ is like a picture.”

  “Sometimes it is a picture, but most often it’s a feeling. Occasionally I pick up a word or two from someone. I think that happens if they are deep in thought.”

  “And if there are several people around you, I would know how you distinguish their emotions and keep them separate.”

  Bess tilted her head. It didn’t matter. She was always going to be different, feared, hated. Her voice, when she spoke, held anger and frustration. “It’s like listening to several people conversing in a room. Each person has a different voice, different mannerisms. We learn how to block against people early in life.”

  Var frowned.

  “Well, some people have very toxic emotions, so we…” She trailed off.

  Var’s face might as well have been stone.

  Why had she told him that? She scolded herself for being careless. Perhaps her disappointment and the possibility of her impending death made her throw caution to the wind. The secrets of the MX had been protected as carefully as life itself. Even the handlers at the Facility had not known all the things they could do.

  And now Var knew some and probably suspected much more. If the STS really knew what she could do, her fate would be horrible indeed. She couldn’t suppress a shudder.

  Chapter 16

  Var approached the cave while constantly scanning for intruders, but it was just as he remembered it. He had used this cave before when he was in this area.

  Bess had been asleep, but now she moved and drew in a deep breath. He covered her mouth with his hand and pulled her tight against him to muffle the scream she was about to let out. When she got upset, the horse did too, so he had to be watchful of that side effect. The girl was high strung. It was a good thing the horse was less so.

  When she struggled against him, Var leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Shhh. Be quiet. You are safe. You were dreaming.”

  The girl quieted, but shivered.

  “We stop here for the night,” He said.

  She did not stop trembling.

  “Do not scream.”

  She nodded her head up and down and whimpered. Was he holding her too tight? Var rubbed his thumb along her smooth cheek before he moved his hand from her mouth and let his grip on her hands loosen while continuing to keep her close. The skin to skin contact let him feel her disorientation at awakening, her panic at being held.

  Something inside him ignited in response to her. Her struggle affected him physically. Sexually. Her body was soft and she smelled good. Var wanted to protect her, to have her. He hated that she had witnessed him killing the STS. That was something she should not have seen. She was mortally afraid of him now, he saw it in her eyes and the realization stabbed him like a knife in his gut. He would not hurt her. In fact, he would die to save her.

  Var brushed her hair with his lips before he realized what he was doing. He had to be careful. Duty was all he had. He could not let his personal feelings interfere, but the vision of her hair, all that mass of bright red hair, lying across his bare chest, interfered with his concentration. She was no longer struggling.

  “Better.” His voice was soft, but clipped. “I will let you down.”

  She took a few steps away from the horse and stretched before sitting down beside the small stream. He picked up a straight limb, took out his knife and carved a point on the narrow end to make a spear. She watched him while trying to pretend she did not watch him and he wondered what that was about.

  The little stream bubbled around rocks and Var moved to stand on some larger flat rocks where the color of the water was darker. Trees grew close to the water so that most of it was in the shade. Silent and watchful, it was only a few moments until he struck. Var lifted the spear up with a silver fish flopping on it, before he tossed it on a rock and pulled off his vest to wash himself.

  “There is no hot water here,” he said, without looking at her. “If you want to wash, do it now.”

  Bess blushed before she scooted nearer the stream to wash herself. He avoided looking in her direction so she would feel she had some privacy. She was a modest little thing.

  When she was done, Var told her to gather some wood while he tended the horse. She gathered sticks and stacked them close to the mouth of the cave.

  Var cleaned the fish, motioned her into the cave, and followed her in with the pack from the horse. He arranged some of the sticks and built a fire. Var stuck the fish halves onto long, pointed sticks and handed them to her.

  Bess held the fish over the fire. He smelled her fear. She should not be afraid of him, but he decided ordering her not to fear him would do no good.

  Var was going through his pack. “I would have you call me Master in front of others,” he said.

  Bess lifted her chin. “I will not.”

  “Warlord Var is proper, but until I get you safely to the others, I would have you pretend to be a slave girl I have purchased.”

  Bess started at him with contempt. “Have you ever purchased a slave?”

  “I have.” To be truthful he had purchased several. Of course he freed them as soon as he had them and unless they wanted to return to his home as free women, he bought passage on transports to send them wherever they wanted to go. It was a small act of kindness. He wondered how different his life might have been if someone, anyone, had shown his mother even half that much concern.

  “Are you and your kind all mercenaries?” she asked. Var wished he knew what was going through her mind.

  “We have sold our swords to the highest bidder, but we have a civilian population also. We protect them.” He did not want to lie to the girl. Perhaps the truth would gain her trust. At any rate, she was talking with him after being silent most of the day.

  “I would know if you read everyone with the same clarity or intensity.”

  Bess shook her head and lowered her eyes. “I read some people better than others. It is difficult to describe how it works.” She sat quietly.

  He did not respond. Why was she nervous? She had been on edge all day.

  She looked around as if searching for something to fill the silence. “Where is your friend?”

  Var raised an eyebrow.

  “Your friend, Warlord Mack,” she said.

  “He is scouting.” Was she getting sassy with him? She was burning the fish. He wondered how long it would take her to realize that. When she jerked it away from the fire, he had to hide a s
mile. He laid out some fruit and bread and pretended he had not noticed her cooking mishap.

  “Eat,” he said.

  She ate reluctantly. Her mouth formed a pout when she was done. Var turned away when she met his eyes and it was obvious he had been staring at her, but it was difficult to look away. She was perfect. Her hair in the firelight shone like a sunset. She was delicate and beautiful. Var decided he even liked the spots on her face. They matched her hair and gave her an innocent quality that he liked. He thought a male could lose himself in those unusual green eyes.

  He moved to her and was disappointed to smell her fear when it flared up. “Easy, I will remove this collar.”

  Bess waited. “I tried to take it off, but I couldn’t.”

  Var pulled it apart being careful not to hurt her. He tossed the collar into a corner of the cave. The bruise on her neck upset him. “This must have been hurting you. I would know why you did not mention it.”

  “I-I had no idea you would care about my comfort.”

  He handed her a bed roll. “Sleep.” Var turned away to hide his fury from her, but wondered if she could sense it.

  Bess moved away from the fire and put as much distance as possible between them. He watched her turn to hide the blush that crept over her face.

  Var walked toward her.

  She turned and pressed her back against the cave wall, her hands up as if to ward him off.

  He pushed her to sit down and squatted in front of her. Var reached for her leg.

  She slapped at his hands.

  He grabbed her leg and pulled off her moccasin. She was fine boned. With his hand around her ankle, she stopped struggling. She was healing well and he kept his movements slow and gentle around her. He wanted her to trust him. “Spots,” he said. “I would know more about the spots.”

  “They don’t go away. I have always had them – I guess.”

  He frowned and moved back to the other side of the fire. He noticed an immediate lessening of her fear. “You have nothing to fear from me, girl.”

  “Oh, you can make a complete sentence,” she quipped.

  Var frowned, almost laughed, and shook his head. “I wonder at your intelligence, that you antagonize me.”

  “Can you just... let me go?”

  He shook his head. “No little mouse. I cannot allow you to take your own life either. That is at odds with my goal to deliver you safely to sanctuary.”

  Bess sucked in air when he moved to hand her a blanket. He smelled her terror.

  Var continued. “Rape is about power and control, little MX. I already have power and control over you. I do not have to rape you to prove that. Sleep.”

  She dropped her eyes and blushed, opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated. “Are you an empath?”

  “I know how females think, and you are easy to read.”

  He waited. She did not lie down to sleep.

  “I am not tired,” she said in explanation.

  Var nodded, “Then we shall talk. I would hear about your family.”

  She looked away. “I have no family.”

  “You have a mother and father.”

  Bess sat back. “No, we don’t. None of us had parents.”

  Var shook his head. “That is not possible, girl. I would know what happened to your parents.”

  Bess sighed. “If I ever had parents, I don’t remember them. My first memory is of being at the Facility. They told me I was ten.”

  Var frowned. “You should have some earlier memories.”

  They sat in silence for a time with only the crackling of the fire. He had done it now. His frown scared her. He could have been more gentle when he said that.

  She looked into the flames and whispered. “I have a dream that may be a memory. There was a storm or maybe an explosion. I think it was a storm. The building we were in was destroyed. There was a lot of wind. Everything was gone after. Even some of the people were gone. Everyone was hurt and dirty from the… whatever it was. There was barely anything left. Everything was destroyed. The others went with the adults who came for them. No one came for me.”

  Var tilted his head. “Someone must have come for you.”

  She nodded. “Yes, but not really. Not for me. A long time later after the others went home with the people who came for them. I think it was their parents or relatives. I was left with some others. We were dirty, covered in grime. My clothes were torn and I was cold. There was no one to take care of us. Everybody walked away. Finally, some people came and loaded us on a bus and took us all to a place. It’s a nightmare. I was scared and alone and — no one came for me.” He thought she must be asleep, but after a while she spoke again. “That’s all I remember. No one came.”

  The crackling of the fire was the only sound left after her voice trailed off. Her eyes drifted shut and she lay down on the bedroll and pulled the thin blanket almost over her head.

  Var watched until her steady, even breaths told him she was asleep. He wondered what horrors she had experienced when she was younger to leave her with no memories of her childhood except the nightmarish one she recounted to him.

  Chapter 17

  Bess did not remember what woke her. She was sitting up wide awake, alone in the small cave. Where was Var?

  There might not be another chance to get away from him. The big barbarian made her feel all kinds of things that she should not feel. As much as she wanted to be near him, she could not stay and let him turn her over to the STS. He had not denied being a mercenary. If she could read him better, she might know more, but he kept his innermost feelings so tightly wrapped that she could not be sure. Even knowing he was going to turn her in for the bounty, the thought of hurting him had been impossible. She couldn’t do it. Now was the time to escape before she fell further under his spell.

  Adrenaline pumped through her system. Her heart pounded as she eased into the open air. She saw no sign of him. Where had he gone? Why would he leave her alone? It was too dark to run, but she moved as quickly as she could.

  Something big and close hooted in a tree as she passed under it and she covered her mouth with her hands to hold back the scream that threatened to tear out of her throat. Bess stopped. Her heart beat so hard she wouldn’t be able to hear Var if he were standing right beside her.

  A full moon broke through the clouds. She should have brought some kind of light with her, but what would she have brought? Evidently, Var could see much better in the dark than she could. He never used a light except for one of those little gem things to light the inside of a shelter. Even if she could have gotten her hands on one, she didn’t know how to work it.

  Her heart hurt with each step she took away from him. She had no provisions and no idea where she might find a place to be safe. Why couldn’t he have been what he said he was? Was she so desperate for a safe haven for herself and the other empaths that she would believe anyone who told her a good story about sanctuary?

  Actually she believed Var because he was beautiful and strong and he could keep her safe if he wanted to. He didn’t want to.

  She felt as if she were being ripped apart. How could she want the barbarian after she knew the truth about him? Var was a mercenary who worked for the Conglomerate. Could he really turn her in, turn in the other empaths for money? He was as bad as the STS. They both hunted MX for the Conglomerate.

  She tripped and fell, gained her feet again and continued to put more distance between herself and the barbarian. And then there were the images of the empath dying in the arena. Those images brought her nightmares. She’d read them clearly from one of her captors. One that Var killed while she ran away.

  Var, the one she yearned to be with. No. She could not feel this way about someone who would do that.

  Bess chided herself for being a fool and this was a fool’s errand, but now that she’d begun, she had to make her escape successful. She did not want to face the warlord’s wrath if he caught her.

  The only thing was, in the dark, she was no longer s
ure which way she should be going.

  Bess tripped and fell again. Now her knees and her palms were burning and probably bleeding. Only the vision of Var walking away after handing her over to the STS made her get to her feet again. Her handler had done that. He’d sold her, pocketed the money, turned on his heel and walked away. She would never forget her despair as she watched his back when he walked away from her. He didn’t even turn to glance at her. The image of his back would haunt her forever.

  Then the people who’d bought her killed her team and took the danon off his dead body. She almost doubled over in pain as she visualized that scene. How could leaving Var hurt so much? Was she destined to lose everyone she thought she could count on?

  It felt as though she’d been walking for hours, but she had no way to judge the time.

  Seeing a glow through the trees, she moved toward it. Carefully, quietly, she sneaked up behind some shrubs. A campfire in a small clearing. She yelped when a man’s hand closed over her arm. Bess tried to slip out of his grasp.

  He slapped her hard across the face. From the ground, she took in the terrifying scene revealed by the firelight.

  When he pulled her to her feet by her hair, the rotten stench of his breath made her gag.

  Three men stirred, awakened by the sounds of the scuffle. One threw sticks on the fire. It was burning brighter now. Still holding her hair, Bess’s new captor dragged her closer to the fire.

  “What have you found Boss?”

  “Looks like an escaped slave girl,” he replied.

  Chapter 18

  Bess thought her heart would leap out of her chest. What she read from these men was horror.

  “Who did you run from, girl? Are they looking for you?” The man peered into the darkness then back at her.

  She tried to wriggle out of his grasp. His companions laughed. Two of them held her as another jerked on her top splitting it in half.

  A huge knife near her face reflected the firelight. Bess froze in fear. There was pressure around her waist. Her skirt fluttered to the ground. She found herself naked in the firelight so fast she blinked in disbelief.