Tagan's Child

by ammyford1

  “Galius, this is Sophie, Toby’s aunt,” Ahran said, introducing me. “Sophie, Lieutenant Galius Vanhallen.”

  I could feel myself blush as he gave me the once over before dipping his head in a reverent bow that was more respectful than his initial appraisal of me.

  “It’s nice to meet you Sophie. I trust Ahran has been looking after you during your time in Ramia?” I wasn’t sure if there was a double meaning to his words, but his expression was innocent when he straightened. I wondered whether Ahran had said anything to him about me but just in case Galius was in any doubt about the status of our relationship, Ahran snaked his arm around my waist.

  “It’s good to meet you too,” I said politely with my hand outstretched, seizing the opportunity to move away from Ahran’s encircling arm. It was so much easier to resist him when we weren’t touching.

  Galius shook my hand firmly in his large work-roughened hand.

  “It’s a beautiful place you have here,” I remarked. To add to the idyllic picture before me a mare and foal grazed idly in the paddock next to the house.

  His face shone with pride.

  “Thanks. Us army boys don’t make bad farmers do we Ahran?” he said, giving him a wink.

  At that moment, a little dark haired boy, who couldn’t have been more than three, came running out of the house in his pyjamas shrieking and babbling. We all turned to watch him running down the steps with his mother following closely behind. Galius bent down and swept the boy up onto his shoulders. It was a long way up.

  “This is my son Raffy,” he said proudly.

  “He’s the image of you,” Elaya remarked. She was absolutely right, the little boy had dark wavy hair and big brown eyes to die for. He was a miniature Galius.

  Raffy chirped something at us and everyone laughed. Galius’s wife came and stood by her husband. She was tall and bigger built than Elaya with long dark hair cascading in waves down her back. She was very striking. She gave us all a warm smile and kissed Ahran and Elaya on both cheeks.

  “This is my wife Salara, I am afraid she doesn’t speak English,” Galius said.

  She leant forward and kissed me too.

  “Hello,” she said in a heavy accent.

  “Graatcha,” I replied, using the Ramian word for ‘hello’.

  Both Ahran and Elaya raised their eyebrows at me.

  I grinned at them both. “Don’t get too excited. It’s one of the only words I’ve picked up since I’ve been here.” It seemed an impossible language to learn.

  They both smiled.

  “Graatcha,” Salara replied, beaming at me. When she smiled like that I could see how she had attracted the mighty Galius.

  “Let us go inside. Salara has made dinner, she is an excellent cook.” Galius looked at his wife adoringly and I could tell that in spite of his flirty behaviour he was smitten with his wife. I couldn’t help feel a pang of jealousy. Some people had all the luck.

  *****

  Once Salara had put little Raffy to bed she joined us in the kitchen and Galius poured us all a glass of wine.

  The conversation was a mixture of Ramian and English so neither myself nor Salara felt left out. When they were all speaking Ramian, I took the opportunity to take in my surroundings. It was a huge rectangular kitchen with a modern looking range at one end. The oak table we were sitting at dominated the room. The wall down one side was lined with units below a window with a view out onto the drive. The opposite wall was made of glass and looked out onto a large patio area, swimming pool and the fields beyond, most of which had grazing horses in them.

  Galius caught me looking out the window. “It will be too dark to show you all around once we’ve eaten. Perhaps Salara can give you the grand tour tomorrow Sophie?” he suggested. “I’ll have to show you both around another time,” he said, turning to Elaya and Ahran.

  “I’d really like to see what you’ve got here,” Ahran said with genuine enthusiasm.

  “You and Elaya are going to the Island?” I asked, directing my question at Ahran. This surprised me. For some reason I had assumed Ahran would be going alone.

  “Yes, and Galius is coming too.”

  I glanced at Salara and caught her uneasy expression. I had been oblivious to their conversation but she of course had understood every word. As much as I could have thrown my arms around them all for helping to find Toby, my heart sank at the thought of all their lives being at risk. “When will you be leaving?”

  “We’ll set off later tonight,” Ahran replied.

  Toby couldn’t have had a better rescue party but I felt dreadful that Galius was about to put himself in great danger without even knowing who Toby was. I couldn’t look Salara in the eyes.

  “You’ll be safe Sophie, nobody knows you are here and Salara will take good care of you,” Galius said.

  He had misunderstood my troubled expression. He must have thought a great deal of Ahran to leave his family on such a dangerous mission and it gave me a renewed respect for Salara. She had been warm and welcoming and yet had every reason to blame me for her husband risking his life. “Is it necessary that Galius goes?” I asked, hoping they might reconsider. I already had enough people to worry about.

  “I know the jungle well. I spent a long time staking out the area once,” Galius answered. “I can lead Elaya and Ahran there quicker than they would be able to find it on their own.”

  It was obviously a done deal. “I don’t know how to thank you,” I said, my expression of gratitude sounding woefully inadequate.

  “I just know how I would feel if someone had taken Raffy.” An uncomfortable expression flickered across Galius’ face. “I can’t stand by and let Bazeera get away with what she has done. She is feared by many here and is capable of great cruelty. It would be a satisfying victory if we are successful.”

  I understood his motivation even though I didn’t like his use of the word if. “And you have to leave tonight?” The thought of them traipsing through a dark jungle did not sit comfortably with me.

  “It is better that we make our way to the island during the night,” Ahran replied.

  “The edge of the jungle is only about half an hour’s drive away from here and we need to make the most of the cover of darkness,” Galius explained. Any further enquiries on my part were cut short by Salara, who was ready to serve our meal.

  The conversation over dinner was about Galius’ business but it wasn’t long before Elaya and Ahran started to discuss tactics. I helped Salara do the washing up. Once we had finished she quickly made her excuses to leave and went outside to tend to the horses for the night. I got the distinct impression she didn’t want to hang around to hear the finer details of their rescue mission. I stayed sipping my wine ignorant of their plan.

  When we had finished our drinks, Galius showed me to a homely living room with enormous soft cushioned sofas.

  “We need to go and see to a few things, will you be alright here?” Ahran asked. He touched my cheek and I briefly closed my eyes in response. My chest constricted. The more he touched me the more I craved his touch.

  “I’ll be fine,” I said unconvincingly. He tenderly kissed my forehead and hesitated before turning around to join the others.

  I slumped on the sofa and lay my head back on the cushions closing my eyes. I felt a dizzying tangle of emotions; relief and terror for Toby’s sake; fear for the safety of Ahran, Elaya and Galius; guilt for bringing this to Salara and her family; hatred for Bazeera who was responsible for putting us all in this situation and at complete loss as to how I was going to get through the rest of my life without Ahran.

  So much had happened in the last week. My life was no longer safe and familiar. I was no longer sure of anything and my old anxieties about what the future might hold returned with a vengeance. Now there was even more reason to fear what lay ahead, I was in love with Ahran. It was a bittersweet realisation. I turned my head into one of the cushions on the sofa and sobbed my heart out.

  I don’t know how lon
g I had sat there crying, but my tears had mostly subsided when I heard someone enter the room.

  It was Salara.

  She looked at me sympathetically. I could tell by the puffiness of her eyes she had been crying too and I wanted to put my arms around her and comfort her. Would she blame me for her husband risking his life and push me away? She had every right to. I gave her a weak smile instead. She beckoned me to follow her and took me upstairs to where I would be spending the night.

  The room was prettily decorated with a delicately embroidered bedspread. She had laid out a nightdress and a change of clothes for me and there were two neatly folded towels on the chair in the corner of the room. She pointed to the en-suite and turned to leave. I gently grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze, she looked at me with tears in her eyes. She had been trying to put on a brave face but my small gesture of sympathy dissolved her fragile composure.

  “I am so sorry about all of this,” I said, even though I knew she couldn’t understand me.

  She nodded and smiled and seemed to appreciate my concern. She gave my hand a gentle squeeze back and then left me standing in the middle of the room.

  Ahran, Elaya and Galius had been gone for some time and I wondered whether they had left already to avoid the difficult goodbye. I let out a shaky breath and picked up one of the towels before making my way into the bathroom, my tears spilling over once more. I heard the bedroom door open.

  I turned around to find Ahran standing there, the expression on his face stopping me in my tracks. He closed the door behind him and I wiped the tears from my eyes. He hesitated, fighting some internal battle that he either won or lost because within four strides his arms were around me, his mouth crushing mine. I responded without thinking. My hands reached up around his neck as I took his mouth as hungrily as he was taking mine. He lifted me up and we fell onto the bed together.

  Neither of us said a word as we stripped our clothes off as quickly as we could with our mouths barely parting. I couldn’t think. I didn’t want to think. All I wanted was Ahran on me, inside me, taking me to a place without fear or pain or misery.

  My hands roamed his back, feeling every hard, beautiful muscle. I pressed him to me as I wrapped my legs around him again. I was so desperate for the moment when I would feel him against me, sliding into me, that I thought I might die if I had to wait any longer. I felt his fingers glide between my legs and I arched my back in response pushing myself down onto his hand. Suddenly, he pulled away and I whimpered my disappointment. He couldn’t leave me now, my body screamed for him. I opened my eyes and was rewarded by the sight of him rolling protection down his long, hard length. Never had he looked more beautiful.

  I parted my legs ready to receive him and our eyes met as he hovered over me. I was so overwhelmed by what I saw there. It was a look of unbridled passion but tinged with pain and regret and it made my heart ache. He gently touched his mouth to mine and he slowly entered me. For a heart shattering moment, we lay there neither of us moving, joined in the most intimate way, our hearts beating hard against each other’s.

  We began to move as one, each stroke becoming more urgent than the last. We were both driven by the desperate need to reach the point where our bodies would become one, and yet I knew that once we got there it would be the end. We drove each other to the edge, neither of us able to stop, our breath coming hard and fast.

  We climaxed together, crying out simultaneously. Wave after wave pulsed through me, my tears a steady stream soaking into the covers beneath my head. I welcomed the weight of him as he lay on me, his chest heaving with exertion. I imprinted the feel of him into every cell of my body, my hands splaying out on his back, attempting to create maximum surface area through which to absorb him. Every second that passed was a second closer to the moment he would have to leave. It was a soul crushing irony to know that the sooner he was gone, the sooner Toby would be rescued, and the sooner Toby was rescued, the sooner Ahran would be lost to me.

  “I will find Toby and I will bring him back to you and then we can be together,” he whispered against my lips.

  I kissed him for the last time, my lips saying goodbye and a part of me dying as he pulled away.

  I rolled over and buried my head in the pillow. I knew if I watched him walk out the door my heart would tear right out of my chest.

  Chapter 20

  I woke with a start, my heart pounding in my ears. “Ahran,” I whispered, struggling to make sense of where I was. Had something woken me or had I been dreaming? It was the middle of the night and I was alone. I strained my ears, sure that I’d heard something, but the house was quiet. Taking a deep breath I laid back down. It must have been a dream. Feeling edgy I turned over and pulled the bedspread up under my chin.

  There it was again. A noise, a crash, and it had come from downstairs.

  I sat bolt upright, adrenaline pumping through my veins. Something was wrong I could feel it in my blood. I felt for the nightdress Salara had given me, slipped it over my head and jumped out of bed. I frantically searched for my stun gun in the dark as I struggled to recollect where it was. It was nowhere to be found and then I remembered I’d left it in the car. I cursed myself for being so careless. More crashes came from downstairs. Something was very definitely wrong.

  Not daring to switch the light on, I continued to search in the darkness for something that would serve as a weapon. I could almost taste the blood in my mouth as it surged around my body and rang in my ears. My fingers fumbled across a marble based lamp on the dressing table. I picked it up and wrenched it from the wall holding it upside down like a club. I turned the handle of the bedroom door. I hadn’t forged a plan, who knew what I faced? But there was no way I was staying up here waiting to find out. If Salara was in trouble, she needed help.

  I gingerly stepped out of my room. The light from the kitchen was shining up the stairs. I started to tiptoe across the landing when a hand whipped out of nowhere and clamped itself across my mouth stifling my scream. I struggled to break free but another hand grabbed my waist and pinned me against an unrelenting male body. He growled in my ear as I swung the lamp backwards but it barely made contact before it fell out of my hands and hit the floor with a heavy thud. Desperately trying to work out my next move, I struggled against the hands that were holding me so tightly I could hardly breathe.

  My captor carried me downstairs and I clawed at the hand covering my mouth. I thrashed as much as I could, my bare heel even made contact with his shin a couple of times, but to little effect. His hand shifted away from my mouth to take a better hold of my writhing form. “Get off me you bastard!” I gasped as we entered the kitchen. He hitched me up his body and I managed a backward kick, this time my heel made perfect contact with his groin. He cried out, momentarily loosening his grip and I managed to break free.

  The sight of Salara lying motionless on the kitchen floor made me feel sick. There was blood trickling from a large cut on her forehead. Oh god, please let her be alright!

  Rage welled up inside me.

  I frantically scanned the room and saw the knives that were in a wooden block on the kitchen surface. I dived towards it and grabbed the handle of one of them, pulling it free from its sheath. It was a long, sharp carving knife. I swung round to my abductor growling like a thing possessed. I definitely wasn’t going down without a fight.

  He came towards me menacingly and I lunged towards him with the knife in my hand. I took a couple of swipes and he leant back, dodging the first but I caught him with the second, the edge of the blade slicing across his cheek. Blood sprang to the surface and oozed satisfyingly down his cheek. The shock of what I had just done paralysed him for a moment and he touched the side of his face in disbelief. I saw my chance and threw myself at him putting my whole body weight behind the knife as I plunged the eight inch blade into his stomach.

  He staggered backwards with the knife’s handle sticking out of his abdomen. A look of surprise plastered across his face.

  “Die, y
ou asshole!” I yelled, shaking with anger and fear.

  Obligingly, he fell to his knees gasping for breath. I didn’t give him a second thought as I ran over to Salara and knelt down by her still form. I swept a lock of blood-soaked hair away from the wound on her head. “Salara,” I called softly. I couldn’t tell whether she was dead or alive as my shaking fingers tried to find a pulse in her neck. I sensed movement at the kitchen door behind me and my head snapped round in time to see another intruder in dark clothing pointing a gun at me and in that second the most excruciating jolt hit my body.

  *****

  I was lying on the back seat of a truck bumping along uneven ground. My arms and legs were bound and there was a thick piece of tape across my mouth. My body felt like it had been hit by a juggernaut. It was still dark but I could just about make out a dark figure in the driver’s seat. My mind raced as I tried to piece together what had happened.

  Had they killed Salara? And what had happened to Raffy? Was he still asleep in his cot or had they harmed him too? I stifled a whimper. I was pretty sure I had killed one of my attackers and had been stun gunned by another. I wasn’t aware of the searing pain of a wound just an excruciating ache that was causing every muscle in my body to spasm painfully. I could only guess where we were going but judging by the feel of the terrain we were travelling over my guess was that it was to Bazeera’s island.

  Had Toby’s rescue party actually made it there? And what was my captor’s intentions regarding me? Surely, if he had wanted me dead he would have killed me back at the house.

  The truck slowed and I shut my eyes pretending to still be unconscious. We came to a halt and I heard the rumble of voices outside. The driver got out and I heard another engine stutter and then roar to life. It sounded like the outboard motor of a boat. We had to be near water and across from the island. The only thing that made me feel any better was that I might actually get to see Toby.