Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

I was again treated like a sack of potatoes and thrown over the shoulder of the ruffian. The man followed the lead of his compatriots and stepped through the strange door.

That's when everything changed. The familiar stale smells of the city were replaced with an exotic mix of dry dirt and leafy trees. The sights were too dark to make out much, but trees surrounded us. The only city sights lay beyond the door. Even that disappeared as the woman shut the portal behind us. The moment she did, the border light vanished, as did the rest of the door, revealing even more woods behind where the free-standing door had stood.

The man named Saber shook his head. "I'll never get used to that."

"You won't have to," the woman pointed out as she patted her pocket from where she had drawn the stone. "This is our last trip. The stone doesn't have a shine left to it. If one of these isn't the right one then he'll have to wait another century, and that means it isn't our problem. Now let's get going before those other girls think they want to be a hero and get out of their ropes."

We trudged into the dense woods, leaving behind my only hope of escape. Still, hope itself wasn't completely abandoned. The woman had mentioned other captives, or so I assumed they were. Perhaps a small rebellion could overtake these rogues and win us our freedom.

They have weapons, you dummy.

My heart fell just a little. I couldn't argue with my inner thoughts. They were armed, and they probably knew how to use them, too. I'd only ever brandished a butcher's knife at an insolent hunk of steak.

I was bounced along the rough trail for at least a mile before the path opened to a small clearing. The dwindling remains of a fire sat inside a ring of stones, and around that were three backpacks. A fallen log sat at the far end of the clearing, and four women leaned up against the wood. Like me, they were bound at the hands and feet, and gags stifled their cries as we arrived.

"Quit your whining," the woman snapped at them as she stooped beside the fire and tossed a log onto the coals. Flames arose and licked at the sustenance, and in a few moments a fresh fire crackled in the makeshift hearth. "You'll find out soon enough whether you're to stay here or go back where you came from."

I was set down on one end of the lineup, and Blake rejoined his compatriots around the warm fire. A chilly breeze blew over us, and I couldn't help but shiver.

The woman grabbed a nearby three-footed cast iron skillet and set it over the fire. She lifted her eyes to us and wagged a wooden spoon in our direction. "Take off their gags," she ordered her companions. "He might get angry at us if we send his bride to him hungry."

Blake wrinkled his nose where he sat on an upright log. "But they're just going to start yammering."

She shot him a look of warning. "Better their mouths yammering than their stomachs growling, now do it."

The pair of men grudgingly obeyed, and in a few moments we could all breathe freely. One of the women who sported a head of shocking red hair clamped her teeth down on Saber's hand. He let out a yell and slapped her on the cheek. She jerked back and lost her grip, giving him time enough to yank his hand away.

"You damn bitch!" he growled as he cradled his wounded hand in his other palm. There was blood.

"You should have been more careful around that one," the woman scolded him.

Saber spun around and glared at her. "Why don't you try dealing with these things, then, Enna? You're one of them."

Enna threw her head back and laughed. "One of them? I tossed aside the life of a girl long ago, and I have the blades to prove it." She leaned back a little and caught our attention with her sharp look. "You've had your fun, now just sit there and behave."

"What are you going to do with us?" another one of the women spoke up.

Enna stood and sauntered over to our group. She stopped in front of us and put her hands on her hips. "Probably nothing, but that's not up to me."

The redhead glared at the men. "Then who is? Those assholes?"

Enna smiled and shook her head. "Nope. One of you gets the honor of meeting His Lordship, the Honorable Thomas Thorn. The rest of you will have your memories wiped and be returned home before the sun rises."

"What about the woman who's chosen?" I asked her.

A wicked smile curled onto the woman's lips. "She'll stay here as a plaything to the lord."

A clamor of protest arose from us, but the rangers stepped closer and set their hands on the hilts of their swords. We shrank back from the sharp blades, and more than one burst into tears.

Enna laughed at her. "With courage such as that I doubt you'll be chosen by him, and even if you were he'd be so disappointed he'd probably just eat you come breakfast time."

My pulse quickened. "What do you mean by that?"

She shrugged. "I guess one of you is going to see. In the meantime, I suggest you eat the food we give you and don't try to escape when your hands are untied. We know these woods far better than any of you, and if he finds you jaunting about he's liable to eat you as soon as see you."

Enna and the other two returned to the fire and prepared a ‘feast of bread and meat taken from a leather bag. We captives looked over the others, each of us sizing the others up and trying to decide who would make a better meal for this strange Lord Thorn.

Meanwhile, our captors had resumed their discussion about the fabled wealth of the Slaughter Hills.

"I bet those weapons are worth a fortune," Saber commented.

"And not worth risking your life to get one of them," Enna countered as she picked up a stick and stirred the coals around.

He scoffed. "More about that cursed stuff?"

Enna had a strange smile on her lips. "They are cursed, Saber. I've seen one of them. The poor fool who owns it keeps it locked in a case so it doesn't wander around at night slicing open any neck it can find."

"That sounds like a fool's tale," Blake spoke up.

"Then you go fooling around with one of them," she challenged him as she tossed the stick into the fire and stood. "But after we feed these little hens their meal. Midnight is coming up and His Lordship wouldn't like a broken toy."