by Danube Adele
“Yeah, well, being kidnapped is a new experience for me. I haven’t read the handbook yet.”
There was a rope hanging over us from the top. He’d rappelled down the wall to me. Now we needed to get back up. I thought I was all out of fear, but a fresh reserve swamped me. How were we going to do this?
I kept taking deep breaths, trying to keep from vomiting again. Concussion. I must have hit my head hard. Then I caught sight of the two moons just over his shoulder, and the truth stared right back at me. Beautiful. Eerie. Otherworldly. Not of Earth. I was not on Earth. Holy mother of God. I was on another planet.
My voice shook. I felt small. Inconsequential. “Tabron. This is another planet.”
His blue-green eyes searched mine, the edges of his mad smoothing out a bit. His voice softened, and unconsciously, he ran his large hand over my forehead gently, soothingly, brushing my hair back away from my face. “It is, Ceci. This is Te’re.”
“There are two moons.” I could barely make my voice sound above a whisper. “How did we get here? Where is Earth?”
He frowned, his eyes watching me with worry reflected there. “I tried to tell you. I know it’s a lot to take in all at once. Just breathe. Deep. Steady breaths.”
“I didn’t believe you.” I could feel my chest moving quickly with shallow breaths. Making the effort to calm myself, I managed to ask, “How far away is Earth?”
“I don’t know exactly. Relax, Ceci. Let’s think about getting to safety first, and then I can answer your questions.”
Safety? Where was that supposed to be? Where was safety for me? “Your king said millions of light years. A wormhole? Is that how we traveled?” Images of Contact, Stargate, and 2001: A Space Odyssey played through my mind.
“I’m not sure how it all works. I don’t think anyone really knows.”
No longer on Earth. Nowhere near. The nightmare of being in a foreign land with foreign people with no way to get back home and no one to call my own, no one who would stand in my corner, no one who cared if I lived or died, was my new reality. It crashed around me in flaming bits and pieces. I may as well be crashed out on Land of the Lost.
“I care if you live,” Tabron leaned his face closer to mine, his angular features taut with concern. Clearly, he was able to see my thoughts, which I should have thought of. He continued, “I don’t generally like to hang over the Blue River on a fucking ledge. Calm yourself.”
Wouldn’t that be nice? Calm. How in the world was I supposed to be calm? I would never get back home. Never. Never see my family again. Never. Never getting back home was entirely possible. There was no point to trying to run away. I might as well be on an island in the middle of the goddamn Pacific. Like Gilligan. A soft giggle escaped. Never would I have thought I could compare myself to Gilligan. I was on a fucking island the size of a planet, and no one would ever find me here. There was nowhere to actually run. I was alone here. On my own. Being controlled by all of these men who didn’t have enough heart to realize that stealing people was wrong, no matter what the reason. How in the world was I ever going to live through this?
“We need to climb back up.” Tabron’s voice had turned grim.
I smiled. Why, I wasn’t even sure. My hysteria hadn’t subsided. My mind was contemplating whether death was preferable to being a prisoner for the rest of my life. Here was my opportunity. It would be so easy to just roll right over. No pain. One moment here, the next moment gone.
“Don’t even think about it.” The fierceness of his sudden fury startled me, his eyes no longer cold but wrathful. “I’m not going to fucking let you die while I’m in charge.”
“How the hell do you know what I’m thinking?” His duty. His sense of responsibility. If not for that... A fresh surge of resentment reared up. I could feel tears sliding down my cheeks as I thought about willfully taking my life. Did he think this was easy? It didn’t feel right, but neither did being here on this planet with two moons. I saw them over his shoulder again. They taunted me.
“We’re going to climb back up,” he said firmly, ignoring my question.
A self-deprecating snort came out. “I’m wiped. I don’t think I can.”
He bent over me, his long hair blocking the sun from my eyes, and cupped my face. “I’ll climb us both up.”
This was so fucked up. Did he not see it? “We’ll both fall, Tabron. Just leave me alone. I got this.” In a karmic way, wasn’t this just what I deserved? My selfishness took Carlos’s life, and now that led to this. I was being punished. Selfishness, my tragic flaw. It led to my demise. How very Shakespearean.
His lips tightened, like the frustration had climbed up his insides. “You’re going to give up on finding a way home? I thought you were made of stronger stuff.”
I glared at him. Such an asshole. A deep breath fought its way into my lungs. I knew what he was trying to do. Unfortunately, it was working. I much preferred the idea of finding a way back home to dying. Only if things became unbearable would it be an option.
“Have faith. You might find you don’t want to leave.”
I could already promise him that wouldn’t happen. This needed to be over with, one way or another. “How will we do this, Viking?”
My pet name gave him a moment of pause, but he shook it off. “I can carry you.”
“Is she all right?” a voice called from above.
Tabron tilted his head back and called, “Still with us.”
“Who’s that?” I asked.
“My men are at the top. They’re manning the rope.”
A measure of calm settled over me. “Okay. What should I do?”
“Can you hang on to me? Put your arms around my neck and your legs around my waist? There’s a rope tied off at the tree. I can loop it around you. Tie you to me. Okay?”
Confidence was reflected back at me when I stared into his eyes. If nothing else, I knew he’d see me to safety or die trying. I gave a short nod.
His large hands settled on either side of my hips and helped me maneuver into a sitting position against the wall. Dizziness caught me, and I had to pause, bracing my hands against the surface. After a moment, when things in my brain had righted themselves, I reached up to hold on to his neck. Even after all of this, my face found a niche to rest, and I took a deep breath. His scent filled me, the forest scent, and somehow, it was calming.
One of his hands held the rope, which was wrapped twice around his forearm while the other helped guide one of my thighs to his hip. The tail end of the rope was looped under my thighs and around his waist where a quick hitch knot was made. It wasn’t completely safe, but it would do.
“Are you ready?”
“I’m ready.”
“Don’t let go,” he said quietly in my ear. It felt so intimate. I was wrapped around him, inviting him into very personal territory. My breasts were brushing against his chest and my legs held him close, like a lover. I could feel the strength of his hard muscles pressed against sensitive flesh. A brief flashback of the restaurant colored my thoughts warm, the way he’d held my hips, brushed my stiff nipple. He’d been such a mystery, playing sensual games, and I had felt such excitement. But it hadn’t been real. I couldn’t stop the echo of disappointment that he wasn’t who he’d pretended to be.
Bracing myself, I took a deep breath. “I won’t let go.”
“I’ll keep you safe, Ceci.” This was said after a moment of quiet in a voice that held firm promise.
How curious. “Why?”
Because you weren’t supposed to be brought here. It wasn’t supposed to be you. I didn’t have time to think about the harsh words echoing through my mind before he said, “Just close your eyes and enjoy the ride. You will never get one like this again.”
I never wanted another like this. With my eyes closed and wrapped tightly against him, I felt him
begin the climb up. In my mind’s eye, I could see the drop, which only made me cling tighter, made my breathing go shallow. One slip and we were both toast.
To keep from thinking about it, my mind tried to estimate how many feet were left of the climb. How far had I fallen from the very top? Twenty feet with the vine? It seemed we were getting help from above. Not only was Tabron climbing, but we were simultaneously being pulled. Within moments, hands pulled us over the ledge and undid the rope, but I couldn’t seem to make myself let go except to let my legs unwind from his waist and let my knees touch the ground. He sank down with me and cupped the back of my head to his neck. The gesture was so tender. I was able to steady my nerves, borrowing his warmth and comfort for a few still moments.
Who was this guy? Hot and cold.
Tabron shook hands with his men behind me. “Thanks, Gralyn, Redek. Get back to the palace. If anyone asks, I’m giving the doctor a tour of the village. I want no one to know of this.”
“It would only invite trouble,” Redek agreed caustically. “The winds have blown strangely about the palace, and it’s growing even stranger. The talk going around is that warriors have been sent to question outlying villagers. Violence is being done to them in the name of the king.”
“Is that so? I suspect I know who is ordering this. We need to talk of it later.” There was a warning in Tabron’s voice. He didn’t want to speak of troubles around me. Wasn’t that interesting? Political intrigue? I couldn’t care less. I just wanted to go home.
“We’ll head off,” Redek agreed.
“Redek?” The unfamiliar name rolled off my lips, but he looked to me immediately, somewhat surprised that I would address him directly, it seemed. “Thank you for helping me. That could have been bad.”
“I’m very pleased you aren’t hurt.” Redek’s tone and accompanying expression said “close call” like no other words. “It’s a good thing young Cyral told us what direction you went in. We almost arrived too late.”
“Bless the holy warrior spirits,” the other man, Gralyn, agreed. He appeared to be a quieter man, dark hair, dark eyes, still tall, but with a more slender build.
I recognized Gralyn as being part of the group at the restaurant and couldn’t help reliving the sting of capture again. Why would they even bother saving me? How did I matter here? They could just go off and kidnap themselves another doctor. Fucking animals. I had to remember that terrifying moment when I started feeling soft toward these people.
“I’ll bring her back soon.” Tabron’s Viking voice, the one that said “we’re done here” came back online. “Be quick.”
The men nodded, catching the hint, and turned to leave. They each gave me a small nod before heading into the forest, the verdant bushes swallowing them up immediately. We were left alone.
I took the opportunity to push myself away from Tabron and sat back on my bottom. Brushing leaves and twigs from my sweater, I realized I was pissed that a part of me felt gratitude toward him at all since all my troubles stemmed from him. Because I was on my own. It didn’t matter that he’d saved me. It was for his own self-interest. Easier than having to go back and find someone else for his precious king. I wasn’t going to kid myself.
Tabron sat back on his heels a moment, watching me.
“What?” I snapped.
“Nothing. We need to get moving.” Tabron was back to being gruff, acting like he had a reason to be pissed off. He stood swiftly and untied the rope from the tree.
My head had a mild ache, reminding me I’d sustained injury. One of my hands reached for the back of my head and felt a goose egg. It was sore, but I was going to be fine.
“Are you okay?”
“Surprisingly.” My smile was a mocking stretch of the lips. “I scaled the side of a building, fell off a cliff and discovered that there is life on another planet. Pretty good, all things considered.”
“Is that how you got down from the second floor? You climbed down the wall? Even after I told you it was dangerous?” He wound the rope around his muscular forearm with sharp, jerky motions. Definitely irritated. Good. Glad I wasn’t the only one.
I looked him straight up with some feeling of satisfaction. “Yup.”
He tied off the rope, and almost to himself, muttered, “You’re going to make me insane. Instead of training with my men, I have to keep you from hurting yourself as though you were a small child because you have about as much sense as one.”
Like I was an idiot for trying to escape. “Don’t tell me you would be so calmly accepting of your fate if our situation was reversed. If someone was holding you against your will, you would fight tooth and nail to get free.”
He had no defense for that and could only shoot back tersely, “I wouldn’t be foolish about it.”
“Oh, sorry my escape attempts are getting in the way of your life. I’d hate to inconvenience you when you have things to do.” The sarcasm was thick as molasses. He ignored it.
“This will not happen again. I’ll make sure of it. Can you walk?”
Of course it wasn’t going to happen again. There was nowhere for me to go. This had been wasted energy.
“I think so.” I got up gingerly and tested my weight. All was well. No dizziness. Queasiness gone.
He got one more shot off. “I thought you were smart. Aren’t doctors supposed to be more educated?”
My glare let him know I didn’t appreciate the personal attack. “I finished college at twenty and med school at twenty-four. I think my brain is no longer in question, Viking.”
“You’ve called me that before. What is it?”
“Viking?” At his sharp nod, I explained, “They were barbaric warriors from Earth’s history who were known for warring with others, stealing, raping and pillaging.”
The scowl on his face told me how much he liked the definition. “My name is Tabron. Use it.”
“Yeah, well I keep forgetting.” I could almost hear his teeth grind.
“Would you like a brief tour of the village?” The impatience in his tone suddenly made me want to giggle. He was feeling done with me at the moment. I could tell. Good. Maybe he’d get so fed up he’d take me back home.
“Yes, please. Give me a chance to see what another planet looks like.” Rest was probably better for a concussion, but the idea of going right back to the palace felt like a complete fail. At least a short tour let me see what I was up against.
His eyes narrowed with suspicion. “None of the villagers would know how to help you. Some don’t even realize that we are trading with Earth.”
“Is that what you call taking people? Trade?” Nectar sweet with a broad smile to go with it.
His voice was all exasperation, “Are you going to behave or not?”
“I am behaving, Viking.”
“My name is Tabron.” This was said deliberately and with emphasis.
He was so easy! Who knew? I smothered my giggle as I followed him out of the thicket. My silliness was likely still an effect of smacking my brains around, but it was better than fear and anger. Besides, it really was fun to pick at him. He wasn’t used to having a woman call him out on his misogynistic attitude.
“Can you tell me about this place?”
A small frown creased the skin between his brows when he looked back at me, and I could see he was thinking about what to say. With some suspicion, he asked, “Why do you want to know?”
“Am I going to live here or not? Shouldn’t I know something about this place?”
He continued to look at me quietly as though testing for truth. It seemed he found what he was looking for in my eyes because he continued. “We’ve lived here for many generations. You wouldn’t know it now, but at one time, this place, all of it, was teaming with life. Crops in abundance in these very fields where we walk, gardens with wildflowers, children p
laying out in the passageways, were all part of this place. Our fathers and forefathers were craftsman, learning to carve wood, chip stone and mold steel. From the ground up, they created our village, piece by piece, with their blood and sweat.”
Pride echoed quietly within his words. This was something he cared about, whether he wanted to admit it or not.
“Dragmor, our town, was a true capital of our nation, representing the very best of us. We’d found a rhythm. Peace. Prosperity. Children were being educated. The market was full, and the people content. Our people traveled from all corners of our nation to join in our trilunar festivals, as well as some of our seasonal celebrations, and with great pride, we would create music, dance and food that would last for several days. It was a time of oneness for us.” Pleasure in the memory lit his eyes.
“What is the trilunar festival?”
“Every three years, our two moons are full simultaneously, and on the third night of the celebration when the moons are directly overhead at their largest and fullest, the holy warrior speaks to us through our king, sharing our future with us.”
“What does he say?”
“He gives us guidance, so we can watch for signs that our people are following the right path. He gives us strength.”
Religion, but not. Tangible kind of magic that fed their culture. “When was the last festival?”
The light left his eyes on a huff of breath. “Just a few months ago.”
“It didn’t go well?”
He shook his head, but said nothing, not wanting to go into the details of it. “You’ll see the fine workmanship as we walk through the surviving structures in the village.”
“The surviving structures? Was there some kind of war?”
Tabron nodded. “There have been ongoing battles with the people of the north, the Sunan. They sent assassins to kill the king and his wife many years ago.”