Falcon’s Captive (13 page)

“Of course you don’t. You’re incapable of seeing their potential.”

The chill she’d managed to ignore swept over her again. “Potential?”

“To benefit the Ekewoko.”

“How can that be? They’re wild birds. No one can possibly capture them.”

The way he shook his head put her in mind of a parent whose patience has been tested by a misbehaving child. About to say something to alter his low opinion of her, she changed her mind. Maybe, if she played into his ego, he might reveal more than he would otherwise.

“We have never tried—I mean, it has never occurred to my people to try—to make some use of them.” She frowned. “But you are right. No other creature can match their hunting prowess. That’s what you’re thinking of, aren’t you?”

He nearly smiled. “Think. A falcon can bring down birds much larger than themselves as well as rabbits, squirrels, young raccoons, snakes, and rodents.”

“Yes.”

“And once my warriors and I have trained them to kill on command, they will turn their skills on our enemy. They know nothing of fear. The Outsiders’ weapons will mean nothing to them. Ekew will again belong to us.”

“Train them? How is that possible?”

“Even if I was inclined to tell you, which I’m not, only someone, like me, with spirit-given patience and understanding can mold a newborn falcon into a killer. The blood of the Outsiders will flow—”

“Newborn?”

“Enough! I’ve told you everything I’m going to. Now”—his joyless smile grew—“do you understand what use I have for you? The Ekewoko will reclaim Ekew, they will!”

He wanted her to take him to a falcon nest! Expected her to stand by while he stole chicks, maybe first killing their parents!

“No!”

“Yes!” His foot flew out, catching her shoulder and knocking her back so she sprawled on the ground. “Do you think your refusal will get you anywhere? My poor creature, breaking you will be far easier than training a falcon.”

Although her shoulder throbbed, she sat back up. Much as she wanted to jump to her feet and pummel him, she forced herself to remain still. A single shout from him and the Ekewoko warriors would charge into the tent and overwhelm her. Maybe Nakos would join them.

“If your dreams showed falcons preparing their nests, then you must know how inaccessible those places are.” She deliberately kept her tone level. “None of my people have ever tried to climb up there.”

“Climb where? Where do they nest?”

“I don’t know.”

“You said—”

“Because my people have never come across a falcon nest, we assume they’re high in the mountains far from here. We see them only when they’re hunting.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Why would I lie to you?”

His smile had flattened even before she’d finished asking her question. In some ways she relished pitting her mind against his. Even more, she longed to stand face to face with him and see which could battle the other into submission.

“You, my simple creature, will do whatever you believe you need to to stay alive—even fuck your captor.”

“That’s why you think I—”

“You’re not denying that you and Nakos had sex?”

Why was the conversation taking this turn? Cautious, she shrugged. The gesture sent sharp pain into where he’d kicked her.

“Don’t you understand?” Although he reached behind him and touched his stool, he remained standing. “If you wanted sex as much as he did, which is what I believe, that’s all the proof I need.”

Proof of what?
Hating this man who believed he could do whatever he wanted to her, she refused to respond.

“Interesting,” Tau muttered. “You’re thinking. I didn’t expect that. However—yes, yes, this is better. The more complex you are, the more I have to work with.”

Eyes open, she imagined herself soaring over Tau. In her mind, he was standing at the base of Raptor’s Craig looking for a way to the top. She wouldn’t care if he spotted her. In fact, she wanted him to see the deceptively small raptor floating in endless circles above him. She’d pace herself so it looked as if she had nothing in mind except playing with the wind and letting it play with her. She’d keep her talons close to her body and her beak closed, occasionally drifting low so Tau could make out her yellow rimmed eyes.

Eventually he’d lose interest in her. That’s when she’d dive, extend her claws, and tear open his cheek. Half a heartbeat later, she’d reach his throat and rip it apart. He’d try to stem the blood flow by clamping his hands over his neck, but within moments he’d sink to the ground, weak and dying.

Just as he wanted her and other Falcons to do to the Outsiders.

“Stop it!” Erasing the distance between them in two steps, Tau slapped her. Her head snapped back; her cheek stung.

“What?” she asked, determined not to give away her fury.

“Your eyes—what was that? They started changing color, becoming—”

What?
“You’re an old man. Your eyesight isn’t what it used to be.”

She thought he’d strike her again, but he only pushed her back. Although the tent opening was behind her, she didn’t try to escape. Instead, she wrapped what he’d just told her about her eye color around her. Was it possible? Could a Falcon change form anywhere except at Raptor’s Craig? That had never happened, but if the Falcon was desperate enough—

“You are a wild animal,” he told her, his hands fisted and his nostrils flared. “Too primitive to know when you’re facing death.”

“If you kill me, your dreams won’t be realized.”

Something flicked in his eyes only to fade before she could be sure it was fear. But much as she needed to examine the depth and length of his fear, if that’s what it was, she also needed to understand what he was capable of.

“It was nothing for Nakos to capture you,” he said. “If something happens to you, he’ll get another of your kind.”

“Maybe. And maybe my kind, as you call us, saw my capture. Maybe they’re preparing to attack.”

Tau’s gaze flickered from her to the tent flap, then back to her. He opened his mouth only to close it. Watching his reaction was almost laughable. His dreams might have given him a sense of direction, but they’d told him nothing about Falcons. Otherwise, he’d know who and what she was.

“Do you think I haven’t thought of that,” he finally said. “Where do you think Nakos went this morning? He, along with several others, are looking for your kind near where he found you. If, when they spot them, they are met with hostility, there will only be one outcome: victory for the Ekewoko.”

Nakos wasn’t in camp; he had no way of knowing what was going on between her and Tau. At least she hoped he didn’t. “Your warriors won’t find anything,” she said belatedly.

“How can you—”

“My people know this land, its hiding places, secret caves and narrow valleys.”

Once again Tau looked at the opening. She shouldn’t, but she almost felt sorry for the older man. What was it like to be ruled by one’s dreams, to be controlled by powerful and mysterious forces?

She wanted to believe that the so-called Ekewoko spirits and gods couldn’t possibly speak to the shaman and his dreams. Surely they were nothing more than his overactive imagination. But some powerful essence had created her kind. Anything was possible.

“Hiding places are important but not just to your people,” Tau mused. “That’s why we’ve been unable to find where the falcons nest. If Nakos and the others discover no indication that your kind will try to rescue you, then he will concentrate on you. He’ll force you to take him to where the falcons lay their eggs.”

“Never!”

“Never?” Tau shot back. “How wrong you are.”

“I would die before I betray either my people or anything else that lives here.”

Before she could escape, Tau grabbed her neck. His fingers pressed down, threatening to cut off her ability to breathe. “Your death won’t be necessary,
slave.
However, once we are done with you, you might prefer that to your fate.”

“Let—me go!”

“Never!”

A
lthough Nakos and the three warriors who’d accompanied him had each brought along two water-filled bladders, it hadn’t been enough. Judging by the way his companions sucked on theirs, he wasn’t the only one to feel the sun’s impact. At least they’d accomplished what Lord Sakima had ordered them to and were on their way back to camp.

“Did you think we’d find anything?” Ohanko asked.

Nakos looked over at his equally sweaty and dirty friend. “No. The Wildings are like ghosts.”

“Maybe they
are
ghosts. What better explanation for why we so seldom glimpse them?”

“Do you really think that?”

“I don’t know what to believe.” Ohanko wiped sweat off his temple. “You’re the only one I’d tell this, but I will never understand why we came here. Of all the places—”

“I agree.” Even though he’d convinced himself that they were alone, Nakos again took in his surroundings. “The land is worthless. And the Wildings—”

“Are welcome to this godless place.” Sighing, Ohanko shook his head. “Something I’ve wondered about. Do you think the other Wildings look like the female you captured? From a distance it’s hard to tell.”

“Her name is Jola,” he told the man he’d long thought of as a brother.

“Jola? I’m surprised she told you that.”

“So am I.”

“Hmm. It sounds as if the creature has caught your interest, not that I blame you. She is beautiful, in a wild way. The moment I first saw her, I wanted to fuck her.” Ohanko laughed. “But then I haven’t seen a woman for so long that, given the chance, I’d probably bury myself in anything with a pussy. She does have one, doesn’t she?”

Although he wasn’t sure he wanted to continue this conversation, Nakos nodded.

“What do you think’s going to happen to her?”

“Tau insists he has use for her.” He had to work the words past the tightness in his throat.

“Of course he does. He won’t rest until he’s done everything he can to turn his spirit-dreams into reality. But that’s not what I’m asking.”

Stopping, Nakos faced the other warrior. His legs ached, and he couldn’t stop wondering what Lamuka was preparing for dinner. “Say it.”

“She’s yours by rights of capture. Not only that, you saved her life.”

“Maybe.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing, maybe. I’m just not sure—Ohanko, she might have lived even if I hadn’t pulled her out of the lake.”

“How? With the poison in her—”

“I know.” Although the sun was heading for the horizon, it wouldn’t reach it for a while, and there was no shade where they stood. Between the heat, his thirst, and hunger, he could hardly think. “From the moment I first saw her, I knew I’d have to turn her over to Tau and my lord. I told myself it didn’t matter, that I had no use for a simple captive, but she fascinates me.”

“Is it her,” Ohanko softly asked, “or the thought of having something that’s yours and only yours?”

“Don’t!” His outburst swirling around him, Nakos looked to see if the others had heard him, but they were a fair distance away. “I’m not the little boy I once was.”

“I know.” Reaching out, Ohanko patted his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought that up. Tell me, would she make a good sex slave?”

Ohanko’s question didn’t surprise him. Just the same, he couldn’t think how to respond. Maybe, if he could clean his mind of thoughts of what he and Jola had shared, it would be different.

“You know what I’m talking about,” his friend continued. “Does she enjoy sex? Does she welcome your cock?”

“She welcomes it.”

“Ah.” Sighing, Ohanko cradled his flaccid cock. “With heat?”

“With heat.”

“Did she come?”

If anyone else had asked, he wouldn’t have answered. “Yes.”

“Then I truly envy you.”

Nakos started walking again, not because he wanted to see how much more he could push his legs but because his body whispered to him of a soft female form. But even as his thoughts drifted to the sight of Jola waiting for him, he faced reality.

He’d captured her not for himself, but for his shaman and lord.

No, Farajj had told Nakos a few moments ago, he hadn’t seen Jola since the shaman had come looking for her in the morning. As far as he knew, the captive was still in Tau’s tent, and unless he’d left when Farajj wasn’t looking, Lord Sakima was in there with them.

He’d suspected this would happen, had known it would. Just the same, Nakos’s first impulse was to charge into the tent and demand his captive’s return. But as he made his weary way to it, he’d had to fight the impulse to turn and walk away—because no matter what he saw, he had no choice but to accept it.

Sakima was part of whatever would become of Jola. His lord, the man who’d taken him in and raised him after he’d lost everything, was a complex mix of compassion and commitment. He embraced everything that was Ekewoko without question and would die protecting his people if that’s what it took to insure their survival. At the same time, his lord saw everyone who wasn’t Ekewoko as inferior, the enemy.

Reaching the dusty tent, Nakos started to push the door flap aside only to let his hand drop and step back. Tau’s tent was sacred. No one entered it without first receiving permission.

“My shaman,” he called out. “It is I, Nakos. If my lord is in there, I need to speak to him.”

“Come in,” Tau and Sakima said in unison.

The invitation should have propelled him forward. Instead, he stood where he was. Then, because he had no choice, he ducked his head and entered the dark enclosure.

Tau and Sakima stood facing each other in the middle of the tent, their attention already leaving him and returning to the ground between them. Even though he suspected what he’d find there, the sight of Jola lying on her back with her body arched so her breasts were prominently displayed chilled him anew. Her arms had been tied behind her, forcing her unnatural position. A rope around her waist left no doubt that her wrists had been secured to it as he’d initially done, further hindering her ability to move. Although they trembled, her legs were pressed tightly together. She was gagged.

“She’s ready for you,” Tau said.

This wasn’t the first time he’d seen a female captive so displayed. Once, shortly after the Ekewoko had entered a long, low valley fed by a lazy river, the warriors had encountered the valley’s residents, a small, fierce clan that had no intention of sharing their land with those they considered invaders. Two skirmishes had resulted in injuries on both sides but no deaths. Instead of risking a battle against a foe they barely understood, some of the Ekewoko warriors had slipped out under cover of night trying to learn where the clan was hidden. Instead, they’d captured a couple of women they’d found picking fruit.

Because he’d been a warrior in training at the time, he hadn’t participated in the women’s
interrogation,
but he’d listened and learned. Although the women had been kept tied the entire time, they hadn’t been physically abused. Instead, their sexual natures had been explored in depth and once that nature had revealed itself, the women had been forced to endure arousal after arousal but never allowed to climax. After a day and a night, they’d been desperate to exchange everything they knew about where their clan was in exchange for sexual release and relief.

After that first introduction, Nakos had participated in the kind of treatment of other female captives that sometimes led to vital information. He’d never carried out an interrogation on his own, until now.

“What have you done to her?” he asked.

“Prepared her for you.”

Now that his eyes had adjusted to the gloom, he noted that she was taking deep and unsteady breaths, her ribs and pelvis bones standing out every time she inhaled. Moisture glistened on her pubic hairs.

“Why didn’t you wait until I returned?” He directed his question at Tau.

If the shaman resented what might be interpreted as criticism, he gave no indication. “I’ve had to be patient a long time, perhaps because the spirits have chosen to test me. Now that the means to my goal is in my control, I grow impatient.”

As long as Nakos didn’t meet Jola’s gaze he could concentrate. “Has she told you what you want to know?”

“Not want, need. No, she hasn’t, but then, I’ve enjoyed the journey.” Tau held out a juice-soaked hand. “Of course, bringing her along has exacted a certain toil on me.” He grabbed his crotch for emphasis. “She will pay for it.”

Nakos wanted to turn and walk out. Even more, he wanted to sling Jola over his shoulder and take her with him. The moment they were alone, he’d demand she tell him what the shaman had done to her; not that he needed to because her rapid breathing spoke loudly of one thing: a shaman’s knowing fingers.

“Nakos,” his lord warned. He jerked his head at Nakos’s hands, which had curled into fists.

“I didn’t expect this,” Nakos said, forcing himself to relax. “You say you needed certain information from her. Why, then, is she gagged?”

Tau grunted, then smiled. “To discourage her from lying. When she finally speaks, I want there to be no doubt she’s telling the truth.”

More likely, Tau was feeding his need for power. Still not studying the prone captive, Nakos concentrated on Sakima. “You approve?”

“I know what you’re thinking. She lives because you saved her, and you don’t want to see that life jeopardized. Rest assured, she has never felt more alive, have you, slave?” Lifting his leg, Sakima ran his foot over her thigh. Her legs parted a fraction. “See? Her responses are becoming predictable. They’re exactly what we expected.”

“But if she’s given too much time to rest,” Tau added, “we’ll have to begin all over again.”

Trying to ignore Jola wasn’t working. How could it, when his every nerve and vein seemed connected to her? Maybe, if he didn’t have the memory of how urgently she embraced her sexuality, he wouldn’t now be remembering how her body had jerked wildly and one gasp after another had escaped her. That she wasn’t trying to sit up or pressing her thighs back together said a great deal about how far the two men had brought her.

“She would already be singing,” his lord told him, “if my thoughts hadn’t been on a simple fact. This pleasure should be yours. You earned it.”

From the moment he’d grasped what was happening, he’d known Sakima would say that. A slave might belong to every Ekewoko but usually one warrior had a greater right than the others. In Jola’s case, there was no doubt who claimed ownership: him.

“Do it,” Tau commanded. “Teach her that she has no existence beyond you.”

The shaman’s words echoing, he took a single step toward her, then stopped. She was still a stranger to him, and yet he’d told her things he’d never believed he’d tell a captive. One of those things had been a lie or, if not that, only a partial truth, and although he’d regretted the omission then, he was now glad for the distance between them. Another step and distance no longer factored in, at least not in the physical sense.

But because he’d stopped himself in time, he retained the vital emotional separation he’d need to accomplish his mission.

“You’re certain she holds the information you’ve been seeking?” he asked Tau while his mind spun with possibilities. There were so many things he could do to her. So many pleasures awaiting.

“No doubt.”

Two words and he knew what he had to do. His thirst, hunger, and weariness forgotten, he sank to his knees beside his possession. She rolled her head to the side so she could watch him.

He liked the way the strips of leather held her mouth open and robbed her of voice. He’d prefer it if she was blindfolded so she couldn’t see what he was about to do, or find something in his expression that he wanted to keep from her, but right now maybe it was better if she could watch and anticipate.

“You used only your hands?” he asked, not looking up at Tau. “On her sex, I mean?”

“It wasn’t easy. I wanted to take her.”

“But you didn’t?”

“You have so much to learn about a shaman’s strength,” Tau said. “The body must never override the mind and soul. Believe me, my hands were all I needed to break down her defenses. Besides, I wanted to explore her sex.”

Jola’s breath hissed. If she’d had use of her hands, Nakos had no doubt she’d dig her nails into the shaman. He also suspected that the consequences of doing so didn’t concern her. In fact, imagining her attacking him like some mountain cougar made his own heart race.

“You’re sure she didn’t climax?”

“I’m certain.”

Because Tau, like all Ekewoko, knew how to read and gauge a female’s sexual responses. Ekewoko. Yes, that’s who and what he was and would always be. “So you refused to give my shaman the information he needs,” he said, extending his hand until it nearly touched a hard, dark-tipped breast. “How can you, a captive, believe you have the right to do such a thing?”

Her eyes flashed. More telling, her legs parted a little more. He wondered at the self-control that had compelled her to try to protect her sex from the men who’d imprisoned her arms and robbed her of speech. Soon he’d explore the depths and limits of that self-control, but first—

“You are beautiful, desirable.” He grazed her nipple, then withdrew. “There’s nothing more exciting to an Ekewoko than a beautiful and helpless female.”

She glared at him.

“What is this?” Cocking his head, he gave her a quizzical look. “You don’t think you’re attractive? You are. Believe me, you are.” He again touched his finger to her nipple, then pulled back. “You’re like a spring flower unfolding. At this moment, you’re little more than a bud, swelling life. But the sun warms you, and before long, everyone will see the truth about you.”

Even though she didn’t know what to expect from him, she didn’t want to be draped in lethargy’s blanket. Instead, dangerous as it was, she needed to feel alive.

“How does it feel to be silenced?” he asked as his fingers settled over her nipple. He held her lightly yet firmly. “To not be able to stand or fight me?”

If he wanted her to answer, he’d have to remove her gag. Until he did, she’d cling to the present. And listen to his deep tones.