Page 59 of While Angels Slept
He gave her a rather reproachful look, as much as he could muster. “Do not believe for one minute that I did not see de Lohr kiss you,” he said. “Take heed that I will deal with his bold actions upon my return.”
Val started giggling. “You will not.”
“I will.”
“Leave him alone or you will face my wrath.”
He scowled. “Are you saying that you… youapproveof his actions? His forwardness? His slobbering lips against your flesh?”
“All that and more.”
His scowl turned into an expression of outrage. “Whatmoreis there?”
Val’s giggles turned into full-blown laughter, wincing because it hurt her head to laugh so much. She waved her brother on. “I will not tell you. Go now and find Cantia and Arabel.”
He broke down into a smile. “I will.”
“Do not come back without them.”
His smile faded and a deadly gleam came to his eye. “I swear I will not. With God as my witness, I will not.”
Val believed him implicitly.
*
It was morning. Lying on the same blanket that had covered her head for most of the night, Cantia could see the soft strains of early morning light infiltrating the shelter. It was cold but she had her arms around Arabel and Hunt, both children sleeping soundly in the early morning. But Cantia had never felt less like sleeping in her life.
She really wasn’t sure where she was, and she had no idea how long they had traveled to get here. It felt like days. The men who hadabducted her had hardly said a word between them, and they didn’t speak to her at all until they reached their encampment. Then, their only words were directions to enter the shelter and stay there with the children. She did, mostly because Arabel was weeping hysterically and she wanted to soothe the young girl. She didn’t even bother to speak to them or ask any questions, at least for the moment. All she wanted to do was make sure the children were well. She would deal with the rest later.
Now it was morning and she could hear the birds chirping, awaking to the new day. She lifted her head, looking around the tent, hearing sounds all around them. People were talking and there was the soft crunch of leaves as they moved through the forest. She smelled smoke. Feeling some bravery, as well as outrage and confusion, she got up and dared to step outside.
It was brisk and clear. Cantia glanced back at the shelter that had housed them through the night. It was made from leaves, rocks, pieces of wood, basically anything that would fit together and hold a shape. They were in an area that had some rolling hills to it and this particular shelter was backed up into the base of a rise so that the back end of it was pushed into the dirt. She stood by the door, looking around the area now that daylight had come, and she could see an entire camp spread out before her.
There was a surprising number of people milling about, collecting wood for the fire and water for cooking. A small stream ran over to her left, about a dozen yards away, and she could see both men and women drawing water. There also seemed to be a massive cooking fire off to the right, just outside of a hedge of trees, and she could see a few people gathering around it.
Increasingly puzzled, she stepped away from the door, growing more interested in her surroundings, when someone abruptly grabbed her by the wrist.
Startled, she shrieked as he yanked her away from the stone and wood shelter, pulling her with him as he walked towards the massivecooking fire in the near distance. The man who had her in his grasp wasn’t particularly large, but he had a strong grip as he pulled her along. He looked at her and Cantia could see that he was older, with stringy dark hair and flashing dark eyes, and his body was lithe and wiry. Then he smiled at her, a rather insane gesture, and she was stabbed by fear.
“See who I have!” he bellowed to anyone who would listen. “Our prize has awoken!”
Some of the people began cheering and Cantia tried to pull away from him as he dragged her over to the cooking fire. He yelled some more, drawing a crowd, and people began to come out of their lean-tos and shacks to see what all of the commotion was about. By the time they reached the cooking fire, Cantia was nearly in full-blown panic, trying desperately to pull away from the man. As they came to a halt in a crowd of dirty, smelly, loud people, he slapped her across the face when she tried to kick him.
“That will be enough from you, woman,” he growled, his mad-like grin vanished. “Behave yourself.”
Cantia’s hand flew to her stinging cheek. It hadn’t been a hard slap, but it had been enough to smart. “Behavemyself?” she repeated, angry and afraid. “You abducted me and my son, and you have the gall to tell me to behave?”
The crowd snickered as the man just looked at her. Then, that crazy grin returned. “Ah,” he said, almost sweetly. “Listen to her speak. She is a fine, fine lady with a noble background. Is that not correct, little chicken?”
Cantia glanced around at the crowd nervously. “Who are you? Tell me your name.”
The man snorted. “Still, she makes demands. This is a woman used to having her way.”
The crowd cheered and jeered and Cantia was struggling not to become completely terrified. “I was not making demands,” she clarified, hoping she didn’t sound arrogant. She didn’t want to appear demandingin front of this rather rough group. “I was simply asking a question. Who are you and why did you abduct us?”
Without letting go of her wrist, the man bowed deeply. “M’lady,” he said mockingly. “I was under the impression we were saving you.”
Cantia’s fight came to a halt, stumped by his statement. She looked at him, shocked. “What… what do you mean?”
