Eden Forest (Part one of the Saskia Trilogy)
Page 12
when they are asleep, I will escape. Going back the way we
came is not an option, but at this moment, I just need to get
away from Tristan and Legis.
After waiting another two hours, I creep from my tent.
Legis is asleep by the fire. Carrying my boots in my hand, I
pass Tristan’s tent and hold my breath. As I tiptoe past, sweat
gathers on my neck. If he wakes, what would he do? Kill me?
Fear makes me move faster. Once I pass, my speed picks up.
When I glance back, the glow of the fire is far away. Now I
only hope that Legis told the truth about this place not being
all sand, or I will die of dehydration. But I’ll take my chances.
After my boots are on, I stand still to let my eyes adjust to the
dark. The red moon casts only a small amount of light. The
temperature drops the farther I go into the desert, causing me
to wrap my black cloak tightly around my body. West seems the
best direction to go; it’s far away from Tristan and Legis. I just
hope it will not take too long to come across normal ground,
and then I can figure out how I’m going to get out of this mess.
The first hour I gain a lot of ground and am feeling positive
about the decision I made, but as the hours slip by and sand is
all I see, my thoughts turn to fear of never seeing home again.
This god-forsaken desert could take my life yet. My thighs
burn; my throat is dry.
How long have I been walking? Looking up at the sky tells
me a few hours. It’s starting to get brighter and the temperature
has risen. When I turn away from the sky and try and focus on
my feet again, dizziness washes over me, causing me to stumble
and fall face first into the sand. The need to sleep pulls at me;
my body feels exhausted.
When was the last time I ate? Saliva flows into my mouth at
the thought of food. I swallow it to try and tame the dryness
in my throat, but it does little good. I once read that you can
drink your own urine only once in a dire situation and it would
not poison your system, and this definitely qualifies as a dire
situation. The thought of that makes me get up onto my feet
and walk, my steps are slow and clumsy.
Movement in the distance makes me stop. I squint, but my
eyes can't focus properly. The dizziness settles as I stand still
for a few moments. I refocus. Nothing, no movement. So I keep
pushing farther with the feeling of dread. Catching movement
again, I stop. It's closer now, but it doesn’t seem possible, unless
whatever it is, is moving at an incredible speed. A horse? No,
no dust or sound. Tristan? I freeze. No, he’d be coming from
behind me. At this thought, I turn around and laugh at the
emptiness I’m faced with.
God, I feel as if I might lose my mind out here. The cloak
on my shoulders feels as if it weights a ton. I strip it off with no
energy to carry it and dump it on the sand, hoping a wind will
rise and cover it over, hiding the path I have taken. Maybe being
in the tent with water and food wasn’t so bad. Then I scold
myself for such weakness.
“No, he took you from your home.”
My newfound anger pushes me on. The movements are all
around me now, but it must be my imagination, as they seem
to move when I move. Noise comes from my left, no, my right.
I strain to listen. The noise comes again. It’s like the hiss of a
snake, only louder. Then it’s all around me. I turn in a full circle
but can’t see anything. My head spins, causing me to fall onto
the sand again. Closing my eyes, I try to let the dizziness pass. I
roll over on my back, keeping my eyes closed.
Keep it together, Sarajane, I tell myself, but the prospect
of dying makes laughter bubble in my throat. I let it out. My
laughter soon turns hysterical and I feel like crying. I open my
eyes and every part of my emotions turns to fear.
A white grotesque face looks down at me. It shimmers as
I try to focus. I question what I’m seeing, if it’s real or not.
The creature hisses at me, showing off a long black tongue
that slides between black pointed teeth. Eyes that are hollow
and empty stare at me. Fear runs through me as more faces
appear around me. I shut my eyes and pray for this to stop
and repeat to myself, This is not real, over and over again.
But when I look up, they’re still there, staring at me with
hungry black eyes.
Digging my elbows into the sand, I push my body up. The
creature closest to me rises off his haunches and places his foot
on my chest, pushing me back down. His body is human-like,
only hunched and twisted. The others start to look impatient.
Growls rise deep in their throats.
I hold my breath, afraid to breathe. What are they? Frozen
with fear, I don’t move as much as a muscle. The creature’s
inhuman growls start to rise.
One of the creatures moves closer to me very slowly. As
he moves, he keeps glancing over at the one who pushed me
down, so I assume he’s the leader. It licks its lips. A whimper
of fear rises in my throat as it reaches me. My noise attracts
the attention of the leader. He grabs the creature just before it
touches me and throws him on the sand. The creature slams its
fists into the sand while looking at his leader. It points at me.
“Eat.”
My mind goes frantic. Eat, as in eat me? Get up!! Get up!!!
I scream in my head.
Rising on shaky limbs, I get to my knees. Sweat gathers on
my forehead from exhaustion. When the creature sees me trying
to get up, a high-pitch squeal leaves his throat and he charges.
The others are pounding the ground with their feet and fists
while screeching. He is an inch from me, his eyes wild with
hunger, but that’s as far as he gets. An arrow is embedded in
his neck. Blood splatters across my face as he crumbles to the
ground.
There’s an eerie silence amongst the creatures as they focus
behind me. I look around just as Tristan and Legis move forward.
The leader of the creatures digs his feet into the sand like a bull,
causing dust to rise, and throws his head back, letting out a
deafening screech. They charge.
Tristan takes three of them out with arrows in a matter of
seconds, while Legis fights on the ground with two swords,
decapitating anything that moves. I stay on my knees, too
shocked to move. It’s over in minutes. Only one lives—the
leader—but he has a long gash down his torso. Tristan places
his foot on his chest, the same action the creature did to me.
Has he been here that long?
Legis brings water to me. I gulp it down as Legis looks at me
with disappointment. “You could have died,” he says. I ignore
him and pour water all over my face, feeling a little more alert.
He helps me rise on shaky legs. My attention returns to the
creature under Tristan’s boot. Tristan has his sword pointed at
its chest.
“Exile, you are a long way from the mountains.” His tone is
harsh.
The exile looks at me. “Smell.”
This causes Tristan to sneer cruelly. “You lie.” And he slices
off the creature’s hand. It goes berserk under Tristan’s foot, but
doesn’t get loose. “Why are you here, exile?” Tristan’s voice is
even harsher than before.
The creature is squealing in pain, but he manages one word.
“Smell,” he says again. Wrong answer. Tristan slices off his
other hand.
Oh God, I feel sick.
The creature is screeching in pain. It sounds like a dying cat.
Two pools of blood stream from his wrists where its hands once
were.
“Stop it, Tristan. This is cruel,” I shout at him. He looks at
me but keeps his foot on the creature’s chest as it trashes under
him.
“Be quiet. I will deal with you later.” His tone is deadly;
his eyes are filled with anger. Feeling very afraid, I take a step
backwards. His attention is back on the creature again. “Last
chance, exile.” He raises his sword.
The creature looks afraid, shaking its head in a pleading
gesture. Just before the sword reaches him, he speaks. “King
Paulus.” The blade pauses at his throat.
“Where?” Tristan asks.
The creature’s features take on a resigned look. I think he’s
done talking.
Tristan pushes the blade harder. “Where, exile?” And then to
my amazement the creature throws his head forward, pushing
the blade into his own neck, killing himself. Blood gurgles in
its throat.
Bile rises in my throat, and I look away as Tristan pushes
the creature off his blade using his foot and wipes it clean on
his trousers. He slides the sword into the holder on his back.
Then his intense gaze turns on me. My muscles tighten as he
moves towards me, breathing heavy with anger. He grabs both
my hands, pulling them together without speaking, and from
his belt extracts rope that he uses to tie my hands together.
“I’m sorry,” I say in a panicky voice, but he keeps tying knots
in a complex way. I yank my hands to try and stop him. “I said
sorry. Please don’t.”
He shoves cloth into my mouth, cutting off my protests, and
ties a piece over it to keep the gag in place. I’m still protesting,
but nothing I say is understandable. “If I have to tie you to me,
I will.” He shakes me. “Do you understand?” I nod my head as
tears fall from my eyes.
Tristan’s face softens slightly. Hating to show him any
weakness, I look away from his gaze. He places me in front of
him on the horse and Legis mounts his own. We make our way
back to camp. I try to keep my body straight, but I’m too weak
and I slump from exhaustion. I start to drift off but panic every
time I see the creatures in my mind.
“Sleep. You are safe now,” Tristan says and wraps an arm
around me so I won’t fall off. He holds the reins in his other
hand. The warmth from his body and his heartbeat lulls me too
sleep. I feel safe with his strong arm around me. I just wonder
what price I’ll pay for his kindness, and then my thoughts are
no more as I fall asleep.
Waking up some time later, I’m lying on my side. I smile with
warmth and contentment. There’s a heavy blanket over me. My
hair is loose, and a curl falls onto my face. I raise my hand
to push it back and that’s when I feel the rope biting into my
wrists. My hands are tied. Sitting up too quickly sends a rush
of dizziness through me. I regret the action straight away, as
my head is spinning. It slowly resides and all last night’s events
come back to me—trying to escape, the creatures, Tristan’s
anger and his kindness. A blush rises in my cheeks when I think
of his arm around me.
Struggling to my feet is harder than expected without the
use of my hands. It’s hard to balance, but I make it upright and
steady myself. Tristan and Legis’s voices make me pause.
“Why would King Paulus want Morrick’s daughter?”
“To use her against him,” Legis replies.
Tristan lets out a heavy breath of frustration. “King Paulus is
smarter than that. If he wanted to get at Morrick, why not take
Clive or Luna? Morrick does not even know her.”
“Maybe Paulus knows something we don’t,” Legis says, but
doubt clouds his voice.
What are they talking about? The creature mentioned this
King Paulus.
My stomach growls, reminding me it’s been nearly two day’s
since I’ve eaten anything. I leave the tent.
Legis is turning a rabbit over the fire, and he looks up at
me. “Good morning.” I’m surprised he’s spoken to me after last
night’s events.
“Legis.” I sit on the log across from him. Tristan gets up and
leaves without a word. So he’s still angry.
Legis focuses on the rabbit. When he feels it’s done, he takes
it off the stick that has been pierced through its body and starts
cutting it up with a small dagger. He places three large leaves—
they look like dock leaves, the ones you use when you get stung
by nettles—on the log beside him and equally divides the rabbit
meat between the three of us.
He hands a leaf across to me. “Thank you, Legis.” I raise my
tied hands since he obviously missed that small detail. “Could
you untie me?”
“You will have to wait for Tristan to come back.” Legis
doesn’t meet my eyes; instead, he starts eating his own meal.
“I haven’t eaten anything in two days. Untie me, please.”
His face darkens. “If I were you I would stay quiet.” So he
hadn’t forgotten last night after all.
A half an hour later, Tristan returns from wherever he was.
All of Legis’s food is gone and mine is cold at this stage. Tristan
looks at the two leaves on the log and then at Legis. He kneels
down in front of me with a small dagger. “If you try to escape,
I will tie your hands and legs every day. Understand?”
When he looks up at me with his green eyes, my breath catches
in my throat. This close, I can see flecks of gold amidst his iris.
Also, a few days’ growth of stubble has started to appear, giving
him a rugged look.
His eyes search my face. “Do you understand?”
A blush creeps into my cheeks. How long was I staring at him?
I drop my gaze and lift my up my hands. “Yes, I understand.”
He cuts the rope.
Rubbing my raw, red wrists gives me some relief. Tristan
hands me my leaf of rabbit meat. I take it and start eating
immediately.
“I never heard you in the desert.” I was more thinking out
loud. It was something that had bothered me—two horses
coming through the desert, yet they were silent.
“You were ready to collapse when we found you,” Legis says,
causing me to look at him.
“Yeah, I was.” But I should’ve heard them.
Legis turns to Tristan with a look of surprise and curiosity
on his face.
Chapter Eight
(Sarajane)
We set off on the horses again, until the sand under
their hooves gives way to green grass. There is dew
on the grass, giving it a frosty effect. The sun is high
in the sky and there isn’t as much as a small breeze now. Sweat
has gathered all over my body. We push on through the green
grass. My hands are still tied, so there isn't much of a chance to
escape. If I’d just waited until we were out of the desert, I might
have gotten away.
“We are close to a spring, if you want to get washed before we
arrive.” Tristan’s breath brushes my hair as he speaks, making
me shiver. A wash sounds perfect, but I’m not taking a wash in
front of these men.
“No, I’m fine.” I know I smell anything but fine. I smile, a
little payback.
We rest after two hours of heavy travelling. The horses need
water and a break. Tristan helps me off the horse and releases
my hands while conferring me another warning before giving
me water. As if I could run with both of them watching me.
I sit down in the long grass. The sun hasn’t dried up the dew.
It soaks into my trousers, but what does it matter? I could be
dead in a few hours. Trees spread evenly apart, letting enough
sun in, yet offering shelter. The shape of the trees reminds me of
hands spread out facing upwards. It’s a little creepy that I haven’t
heard as much as a bird since I arrived in this world. I watch
as Tristan rubs his horse down, whispering to her about what
a great girl she is. He’s better with the animals than humans.
We arrive at a large cave. Its mouth looks daunting. This
is where my life ends. Tristan helps me off the horse with a
gentleness I haven’t felt before. Could he sense the turmoil
within me? Gazing into the depth of his eyes tells me he feels
guilty about how afraid I look.
Why feel guilty? I don’t let these thoughts linger; they could
end up being my downfall. To trust someone or even care for
him would be a mistake.
I drop my gaze and take in my surroundings to distract my
active mind. The area is barren. A few bushes rustle in a slight
breeze that’s started to blow, yet the sky is cloudless. Is this
the last time I’ll see the sky? Home has never felt so far away.
Taking a deep breath, I try and steady myself and follow Tristan