Hunted in the Valley (Old Sequoia Valley Book 1)

by C. R. Pugh

  “He tried to do this to you?”

  I nodded. “I didn’t understand at first, what he was trying to do. The others began to act differently. I felt … violated … for an hour or two. Up here.” I tapped my forehead. “But then I would heal again and everything was back to normal.”

  “Your mind healed what the General tried to destroy?” Thorne inquired curiously, barely keeping his anger in check.

  “It’s the only explanation I could come up with,” I said. “My mind is part of my body. What he did to them; none of it ever worked on me.”

  A muscle in his jaw ticked again, a sure sign of his growing fury. “That was when he started hurting you.”

  My voice quaked at the recollection. “He thought that a more brutal approach was what I needed. After a while, I decided to act as if he had finally won, so he wouldn’t hurt me anymore. I made it till the end of his training, but the final test – that was what I dreamed about tonight. He ordered each of us to kill someone.”

  “I have seen you kill before, ruthlessly, and without hesitation.”

  “Those were soldiers,” I pointed out. “They are not innocent, not anymore. And they were after me. I’m not seeking them out for revenge. The men they brought to us had hoods over their faces; tied up so they couldn’t fight back. They were merely tools for the General’s purpose.” I sent Thorne a piercing stare. “I have never killed anyone in cold-blood. Not like that.”

  Bringing my knees up to my chest, I rested my head on them and closed my eyes, though it did nothing to ward off the painful memory. Then, without any warning at all, I felt Thorne sitting down behind me. He grabbed hold of me before I could bolt, and put my back against his chest.

  “You move like a ghost,” I whispered, tensing up at the feeling of his body pressed against mine.

  “As a well-trained Warrior should.”

  His powerful fingers gripped my shoulders and kneaded them in slow circles. Soon enough I was relaxing against him. I liked feeling him so close to me, and hated that I needed his warmth so badly.

  “You’re always touching me,” I pointed out, peering over my shoulder at him.

  “You’ll get used to it.”

  “Oh, I will?” I said testily.

  “We will discuss that topic later. For now, tell me what happened next in this nightmare. Are you afraid to tell me, little warrior?”

  “Of course not.”

  He stilled his hands and leaned in closer, breathing into my ear, “Then trust me.”

  After taking a deep breath to ready myself, I finished my story. “It wasn’t the actual dream that sickened me, it was what happened after. I woke up before I had to relive that part.”

  Thorne kept contact with me the entire time. He rubbed my knotted shoulders for a while and then switched to combing his fingers through my tangled mess of hair as he listened.

  “I didn’t kill that man, whoever he was,” I pointed out. “But in refusing to do it, I revealed to the General that I’d only been pretending. For months, I’d fooled him. Do you know what my punishment was?” His hands stilled at my question. “I thought he’d just let a couple of the soldiers beat up on me for a day or two. That would have been more merciful than what he did. He had me -”

  I took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, fighting the tears that pricked my eyes again. Thorne stopped stroking my hair and settled his hands on mine instead. Heat rushed to my cheeks when I realized my own hands had been gripping his thighs while I’d been talking. When he laced his fingers through mine, I had to bite my lip to keep from resisting. Holding his hand felt nice.

  “Tell me,” he murmured.

  I swallowed the lump that was hung in my throat. “He had me strapped down to a chair and forced me to watch as each soldier took turns torturing and killing those men. He had them do it one at a time to extend the suffering, both for them and for me. He warned me that for every time I closed my eyes, he would inflict even more pain on them.”

  After several minutes of simply breathing in the cool night air, Thorne finally broke the silence.

  “Why was that so difficult to tell me?” he asked, his lips grazing my neck.

  It wasn’t the intimacy or the question that had me bolting out of his arms and out of reach. He’d been so close to uncovering the place where my tattoo was etched into my skin, and I wasn’t ready to show him.

  Thorne stood up as well, looking perplexed and almost hurt. “Did I anger you?”

  “No, I just -” I started, uncertain how to continue. “It’s not easy to talk about my pain. I have to relive the very worst moments of my life night after night. I can’t get away from it.”

  “I’ll help you,” said Thorne confidently.

  “You don’t know what you’re saying. The things I’ve been through, they’re burdens that no one should have to carry.”

  “And if I want to help you carry them?” He took a step toward me.

  Shaking my head, I took a step back to counter his approach. “You don’t want that,” I said, my voice thick with grief. “I should leave.”

  “So you will run again.”

  “People that get too close to me always get hurt,” I warned him.

  “I can take care of myself.” He closed the distance between us and cupped my face with his hands before I could backpedal away. “Let me decide what I am willing to risk.”

  This wasn’t supposed to happen. I didn’t want to be drawn to Thorne any more than I already was. The General destroyed Kieron and it nearly broke me. I could not let that happen to this man.

  “Don’t do this,” I whispered.

  “It’s too late, little warrior.” He was but a whisper away. “It was too late the moment I first laid eyes on you.”

  I closed my eyes at Thorne’s words. A lone tear finally escaped, spilling down my cheek and over his thumb. He rested his forehead on mine. My senses were filled with the comforting, earthy scent of him. I knew then that I would do anything to save him.

  Even if it meant leaving him.

  20

  Thorne

  The piercing cries of Night Howlers in the distance brought us both out of our silent reverie. Though they were not close by any means, it was foolish to be standing out here in the dark with hardly any weapons. Anything or anyone could be stalking us. We were so distracted by each other, neither of us would notice until the enemy was upon us.

  “We ought to be getting back to camp, little warrior,” I murmured. “Are you tired?”

  “I couldn’t sleep now.”

  I felt her shiver.

  “We’ll just talk, then.” I grasped her hand once more and began leading her back to the tent. “I have more questions.”

  Having Ravyn at my side, her hand in mine, felt natural. I knew that I had just missed a perfect opportunity to reveal my intentions, but she had been backpedaling so much I did not want to frighten her away. I still had time.

  The stories of Ravyn’s past continued to get worse and worse, and I had the feeling that this horrifying memory was not the only one she was holding onto. My stomach was still in knots over the brutality she had experienced on that final testing day. Ravyn had suffered more than I had first imagined. It was no wonder she had gotten sick in the bushes earlier. My body was trembling with rage simply from listening to her tale. Moving to sit with her, stroking her hair, had been an attempt to calm myself. I was aching to kill Wolfe and any other soldiers who hunted her, but running off recklessly into the Valley would accomplish nothing.

  It was clear the General needed to be dealt with. Would my clan support such a decision? With winter coming in a month or so, an attack on him would need to wait until springtime.

  As we closed in on the camp, I stopped to scan the area. Archer and Max did an excellent job setting up the perimeter around camp. We did not often need to use explosives but, when we did, I could always count on them to have some extra surprises up their sleeves.

  “What is it, Thorne? Do you hear something
?” Ravyn looked around us, warily.

  “I’m looking for the tripwire. Archer and Max laid down traps around the camp. Trust me; we will not enjoy what happens to us if we touch it.”

  “What will happen?”

  I chuckled and squeezed her hand in reassurance. “Who knows what those two cook up as traps these days, but they are extremely effective. I have seen them set up crossbows that shoot when the wire is triggered. They have even concocted tripwires that cause landmines to explode, spraying shrapnel in every direction.”

  “Why didn’t you warn me about it on the way out of camp?” she huffed.

  “I was carrying you. There was no need to tell you.”

  I moved forward carefully, keeping Ravyn behind me to keep her from setting off the traps unintentionally. Finally, I saw the almost invisible wire. It was barely a foot off the ground stretching in both directions, making a wide loop around the camp. Only someone who knew it was there would be able to find it, especially with so little moonlight coming through the trees here to reflect off it.

  “There.” I pointed so Ravyn could see for herself. “Come. I will carry you from here.”

  “I can walk just fine, thanks,” Ravyn snapped. “I know I was a blubbering mess back there, but I’m not as weak as you think.”

  My lips twitched when I faced her, trying to suppress a grin at her irritated expression. “I do not think you are weak, little warrior. I am carrying you because the other Warriors are still under the impression that you are wounded.”

  “Oh, sorry,” she said regretfully.

  I reached for her with my free hand and grazed my fingers down the side of her face. Remarkably, she did not flinch away from me this time.

  “I would not want to be with anyone who was weak.”

  I scooped her up into my arms before she could make any other protests. She did not understand yet, but I was not letting her go without a fight. We would argue over it later.

  Stepping carefully over the tripwire, I marched straight into the clearing. Brock sat at his post by the fire, which meant I was next on watch till dawn.

  “Everything alright, Commander?” he inquired, nodding his head at me in acknowledgment.

  “Nothing to worry about, Brock,” I assured him. “Signal me when it’s time for me to relieve you.”

  Inside my tent, I set Ravyn down on her feet. She settled down on the layers of furs as far from me as possible. The tent was small and uncluttered. There was only enough room for two people to sleep side by side, so Ravyn’s efforts to remain distant from me were amusing.

  I scanned the inside of my tent to be sure everything was as it should be. A few extra blankets were piled in the back corner. Ravyn’s rucksack and the lamp had been placed near the tent’s opening. I looked over at Ravyn. She was dragging her fingers through her hair, attempting to untangle the knots. Her cheeks were bright red again. The mischievous side of me wanted to sit right beside her to watch her squirm. Instead, I took a seat near the tent’s opening across from her, my legs crossed at the ankle.

  “Are you cold?” I asked her. I thought I had seen her shiver, though it could have been from fear and not the chill in the air. “There’s a blanket in the corner behind you if you are.”

  I raised my eyebrows and fought back a grin when Ravyn reached for it and wrapped herself up. I figured she would stubbornly refuse my offer. The fact that she didn’t made my heart beat faster. Maybe I was making progress with her after all.

  “I’d like to speak in more detail about that village in the trees,” I said while lighting the small lamp. This time I did nothing to hide my face. “What do you know about it?”

  Ravyn sat with one leg folded beneath her and one knee pulled to her chest. She watched me intently.

  “Not much. I was only in Linwood for one day.”

  “Tell me what you do know. Gunter and I have been trying to make sense of all that has happened today with the man that stabbed you and the exile that escaped.”

  “You believe there’s a connection?” Ravyn frowned with concern. I could see her mind working through the puzzle.

  “It's only a theory. Start when you first met the brothers.”

  Ravyn recounted how she had rescued Laelynn and the brothers had taken her as a temporary prisoner. Most of what she recalled about the village I had seen for myself: the buildings in the trees, the water-wheel the brothers had built, and the pulley system they had crafted.

  “What about the two exiles you knocked down? Did either of them speak to you?” Exiles and deserters spoke differently from barbarians that had never seen the inside of a clan.

  “No, I didn’t give them a chance.” Ravyn shifted so both her knees were pulled up to her chest.

  “Is there anything else you remember that might have been out of place, in Linwood or in the clearing with the exiles? Anything at all?”

  Ravyn pondered the question while idly running her fingers through her hair. “The two exiles reminded me of soldiers. I can’t put my finger on it … they didn’t wear the uniforms … but their haircuts and their boots were very similar.”

  I leaned back on one hand and scratched my scruffy chin with the other. “That is something to consider,” I muttered. “Anything else?”

  “I do recall thinking how odd it was that they’d formed their own new clan from nothing. I’ve never heard of that happening before.”

  “The Warriors all agreed they could have built it within the last three months. We didn’t see it last hunt, though … we weren’t looking for it.”

  “It must be new because it’s not on any of General Wolfe’s maps. He has every clan marked on his maps.”

  Leaning forward and narrowing my eyes, I asked, “All of them?”

  Ravyn nodded. “He’s meticulous about it.”

  I was uneasy about General Wolfe having every clan on his maps but I didn’t know why. How would he know their exact locations and why? And how did Ravyn know that he was so detailed with them? She had told me the first day we met she didn’t know much about him. I suppose that fabrication could be excused since she hadn’t trusted me then.

  Unaware of my thoughts, Ravyn continued. “I assumed they’d been banished from their clans or had run away, like I’d run away from Terran, but Laelynn said they’re all from different clans. She and her five brothers collect strays, so I imagine they do what you and your Warriors do,” she suggested.

  Thorne shrugged. “We won’t know the answer until we are able to question them.”

  Ravyn nodded. “Laelynn and her brothers puzzled me some, I’ll admit. Laelynn accepted me easily in that short time, but the brothers never did fully trust me. Kaelem was the only one that seemed to relax around me, other than Laelynn. She said that he liked me,” she added, rolling her eyes.

  “I am not sure you should believe that, though.” I could not help the bitterness that crept into my voice.

  Ravyn snorted. “Why not? Don’t tell me you’re jealous.”

  “It has nothing to do with jealousy,” I argued, bristling at her accusation and the idea that someone else might pursue her. “That night I saw you on their balcony, I overheard him and his brother, Hagan, talking. Kaelem mentioned that he had something he must do, that he had no choice. His words were, ‘it’s the best thing for the village.’ Hagan disagreed, but didn’t try to stop him.”

  “And you think that it was about me?” Ravyn asked, raising her eyebrows skeptically. “That could have been about anything! Did he even mention my name?”

  My shoulders slumped. “No, but what if he was the one who sent word to those soldiers? Don’t you find it strange that soldiers suddenly happened upon the village firing their weapons?”

  Ravyn gulped, her mouth turned down in a frown. She rubbed the back of her neck and murmured, “Laelynn knew they were coming for me. She awakened me to give me a chance to run.”

  “Kaelem said he had no choice. The General could be forcing them to comply,” I pointed out to her. Then coc
king my head to the side, I inquired, “Does Wolfe have the means to destroy a village of that size?”

  “Easily,” Ravyn whispered.

  She was looking at me, but her eyes were unfocused, as if she were imagining the carnage the soldiers would leave behind if they had wanted to destroy every citizen of Linwood.

  “Kaelem may have turned you in to save his family if he knew the General was looking for you.”

  Ravyn’s brows pinched together in disappointment. “I hope that’s not true.”

  “Maybe they left Laelynn in the dark about their intentions until she saw with her own eyes what they had done,” I told her, trying to give her something – anything – positive to hold on to. “Even I do not share things with my sisters when it is for their own safety or if it will hurt them.”

  Ravyn’s eyes were filled with sadness. I wanted to take back my words, but Ravyn was too intelligent not to see the truth in my theory.

  “I’ll accept that it’s one of the possibilities.” She raised her eyebrows and held up a finger. “But I still have faith that Laelynn would have never knowingly betrayed me.”

  I nodded. “Fair enough.”

  I did not want to destroy what little faith she had in others and especially in me. I was grateful that she had trusted me at all with the torture she had gone through.

  Ravyn shook her head in disbelief. “I would have put my money on one of the twins, either Hagan or Haldar, turning me in to the General – not Kaelem. But you’re right. I don’t know them well. It could be that the General has them in his pocket, but I don’t see how.”

  I rubbed my chin, thinking it through. “You said you didn’t know much about the General. Is he wealthy?”

  “I’m not sure, but I would assume so,” Ravyn considered. “He and his scientists were always working on new technology, new weapons, and such. That has to come from somewhere.”

  “Do you think he may be trading with other clans?” I asked, sitting up straighter. I felt as if we were about to stumble upon something important.