Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

“We should be going.” John patted the horse’s neck.

“Could we walk for a few minutes? I’m not used to riding, and I don’t know if I’ll ever sit without pain again.”

The sun shone down on him, turning his hair to shades of gold. It was a beautiful, clear day. Even the air smelled different. Fresh and clean.

He squinted up at the sun. “A few moments. The king’s men will be riding hard to catch us.”

There was no one in the area. They hadn’t passed a soul in the past hour. He saw her looking around.

“We must take care.”

“It feels good to stretch.”

They walked along the water. John was silent. Content with the quiet. She was tired of watching every little thing she said. Lying was hard. It had never come easy to her. Hattie, her only real friend, was so good at lying that Anna sometimes imagined her friend was really a spy instead of a librarian.

It was exhausting trying to make sure she didn’t say the wrong thing. What did she have to lose by telling John the truth? Who cared if he didn’t believe her? She wasn’t staying in this time. To him she was someone who helped him escape and he owed her a favor in return. The part of her who used to read dreamy romances wished he’d look at her like she’d seen couples in the diner look at each other. They were oblivious to the world, so tuned in to each other that nothing else existed. If he ever looked at her like that, it would be enough to satisfy her and she could go back to her busy life without regret. Maybe.

“You asked why I’ve never ridden a horse.” She paused, not sure how to tell him, and afraid if she didn’t tell him she would never gather up the courage to try again.

“I live in America. It’s a country. The state I live in is called Florida. It’s warm there most of the year, and while I’ve never seen a horse up close, I’ve seen plenty of alligators?—”

“I have never heard of America. Or Florida.”

“It’s very far away.”

“I’ve heard tell of alligators. One of my brothers wanted to put them in his moat. But ’twas too cold for the creatures. Are they as fearsome as the stories say?”

“They can be. Where I live, there’s a waterway behind the building. A fat old gator calls it home. He’s almost fourteen feet long. Animal control has relocated him twice, but he always comes back.”

She leaned closer to him. “I think he comes back because I feed him marshmallows and I sing to him.”

Before she could tell him her big secret, he roughly grabbed her, throwing her to the ground. “Hey. What’s wrong with you?”

“Quiet. We are no longer alone.”

He pulled a blade from his waist. The man had plenty of gold to pay for everything they needed. Where had he hidden the gold while he was imprisoned? Did the guards let him keep it? She couldn’t imagine they would. Anna opened her mouth to ask, and then shut it as the sound of voices reached her .

“Hand over your gold and jewels and we will let you live. Or die by the order of the bandit of the wood.”

Anna peeked through her fingers to see a short, squat man missing several teeth and brandishing a blade in each hand. Instead of fearing for her own life, she worried about her teeth. Would she end up like him? What on earth was she going to do for a toothbrush?

Seriously, you’re worrying about your teeth? You should be worried about losing all the blood in your body. Get out of there.

“The bandit, you say?”

John looked annoyed instead of worried, which was crazy, since there were three armed men in front of them. The other two looked even worse than the ringleader.

She’d only been in the past a couple of days and already she looked like she’d rolled in the mud. Was this what she had to look forward to if she was stuck here? How on earth was she going to bathe? The thought of a hot shower almost had her groaning, but the thought quickly left her head as she heard the sound of a fist meeting flesh. When she pulled a double shift, sometimes on weekends after three in the morning, there would be a brawl in the parking lot. By now, Anna had seen enough fights to know the three men against John would be an even match. They looked chunky and unaware of their surroundings, whereas he was like a super spy in a movie.

It was over so fast that Anna had the hysterical thought she was actually in a hospital in a coma and this was all a dream.

But the ringleader was on his back staring at the clouds, his eyes unblinking. His chest no longer moving. The sounds of a small animal in pain made her look around for the critter. It took a few minutes before she realized the sound was coming from her throat. She crawled to the bushes and retched. Over and over, she heaved, as her body seemed to think it could expel the awful images by getting rid of the contents in her stomach. All three men were dead, and she’d watched John kill them. It was nothing like the movies or TV.

Another round of gagging left her sweaty and worn out. A couple of leaves served as a makeshift napkin. Anna finished wiping off her mouth and sat up. It was quiet.

“I want to go home,” she whispered, looking anywhere but at the bodies on the ground.

“John?”

“I am here. Are you unwell?”

Her teeth were chattering and she shivered. “I’ve never…seen anyone…die before.”

He picked up the men’s blades, made a face, and threw them aside. Time slowed. When she blinked, she was in his arms. He murmured softly in her ear. Words she didn’t understand.

“You’re cold. ’Tis the first time you have watched a man die?”

A brief jerk of her head was all she could manage.

“It pains me you were witness to violence. Know this. Those men would have killed me and made you wish they had killed you. Never hesitate when a man means you grievous harm. Strike first.”

He carried her to the edge of the water and gently sat her down.

“Drink and wash. You will feel better.”

The sound of moving water helped calm her nerves. A rancid smell lingered, and Anna discreetly sniffed her skin. She smelled.

“I thought it was just a saying. Fear does have a smell.”

Images flooded her head, making her dig her hands into the mud, willing them away. If she’d still had any doubt she was no longer in 2016, the events of the past hour had utterly convinced her. Medieval England. Not only was she stranded an ocean away from home, but she was marooned on an island of time. The thought made Anna want to cry. No tears came. The last time she cried was when she was eighteen. The day she had to drop out of college. And this wasn’t nearly as bad as what had happened then .

By the time she’d washed as best she could and made her way back to John, he’d moved the bodies.

“Where?”

“In the brush.”

There were now two horses. Anna dubiously eyed the beast.

“If you think I’m going to ride that, you’re out of your mind.”

He patted the animal. “Never mind her. When we are safe at Blackmoor, I will teach you to ride.” He turned on the Mr. Hollywood smile. “I would not deprive you of my fine self. We will ride together.”

John lifted her up on the horse. He was brown with a white spot on his ear, and he was softer than she’d imagined.

“Whatever lets you sleep at night.”

“Um?” He scratched his head.

“You have a big opinion of yourself.”

“I am known and feared across England.”

“And yet you ended up in the Tower of London.”

“You have me there, mistress.”

The feel of his body cradling hers had become comforting. As they rode she started to relax, the adrenaline rush leaving her tired.

“Anna? Is there no war or killing where you come from in Florida?”

“Yes, but it’s different. Normal people don’t go around killing other people.” How did she explain it to him? There were murders, suicide bombers, and other craziness, but nothing like this.

Anna blurted out, “I’m from the future.” She sat there horrified.