Shadow Cave (24 page)

Juliette caught my eye and narrowed her own eyes.
A single harsh shake of her head communicated volumes.
Don
’
t even think about being a hero.
That was it then.
I slumped and wrapped my arms around my knees.

I could not help it.
I twisted around and vomited into a fern.

The guards grunted in disgust and pain exploded in my side as one of the men kicked me hard.
I was hauled roughly to my feet for Carlo
’
s inspection.

“
This one?
”
the
ass who had kicked me asked.

“
She doesn
’
t look like the others.
”
Close up, Carlo reminded me a reptile or a shark.
His eyes were black and cold
,
and unblinking.
It was like looking into nothing
,
and it scared the hell out of me.
Nausea rolled over me again in sickening waves.
The only thing that kept me from throwing up on him was the certain knowledge that he would kill me
,
or worse
, because
I considered what was happening to Aries a fate worse than death.

The man holding my arm twisted it sharply.
“
What is your name?
”
he
demanded.

“
Claire.
”
I gasped between clenched teeth.

Carlo dismissed the man and took my bag from me.
I had not realized that I was still holding onto it, and my gun.
Well, this is it, Claire
, I thought grimly.
Kiss your ass goodbye
.

Carlo found the gun.
He held it up and asked me what it was.
I remembered that Faith had never seen one before either
, because
guns did not exist
t
here
.
I exhaled with relief.
I would have laughed, but none of it was funny.

“
It
’
s my…hair curler.
”

When he did not respond, I snatched the gun from his hand and wrapped a section of my hair around the barrel.

“
You have to heat it up first
,
”
I stammered.

Carlo shook his head and sent a warning glance to his guards
, several
of whom were laughing at me.
But he dropped the gun back into my bag and tossed the whole thing back to me, evidently determining the contents to be more girly items he did not care to see.

Aries was brought out then.
She kept her head down and said nothing.

“
Well?
”
One of the guards questioned Carlo.

“
Take these two.
Let the rest go.
”

Aries winced when my weight was tossed roughly against her
.
I straightened and tried to peek under the thick curtain of her hair
, grabbed
her hand and held it tight.

“
We
’
re taking the one with the bag?
What do we want with her?
”

Normally, I would have been insulted by that.
Right then, however, was not one of those times, I reflected through a haze of fear.

Carlo shrugged.
“
She can go in the sale.
”

I huddled closer to Aries as we walked.
I had been very wrong about one thing, I realized.
There was such a thing as monsters.

Safe Haven

They took us to a guard shack, where I learned we would be spending the night.
The plan was to take us to Oxbrough at first light.
I was guessing Oxbrough was a settlement.
From what I could overhear, I was to be sold in an auction to the highest bidder.
Aries would be put to work.
I didn
’
t need my PhD to figure out the kind of
‘
work
’
they had in mind.
Several of the men were already eyeing her with dangerous intent, but Carlo ordered her to be left
alone
for the rest of the night.

“
Lydia won
’
t take her if she
’
s damaged
,
”
Carlo decreed.
How considerate
, I thought bitterly.

“
We
’
ll be careful boss.
”

“
Lydia pays top dollar for her girls.
No one else touches her tonight.
”

“
Well, what about her then?
”
The man was pointing a stubby finger at me.

“
Go ahead.
”

“
She
’
s a virgin
,
”
Aries told them quietly.
It was the first time she had spoken in hours
,
and her voice was barely audible.

“
Speak up, girl.
”

Aries seemed to gather her courage as she lifted her head and cleared her throat.
Her eyes sparked a little as she stared at the men.

“
I said
,
she
’
s
a virgin.
”

The men made appreciative noises and Carlo
’
s sharp eyes settled on me.
I tried not to squirm.
What the hell was Aries
doing
?
I turned and pinned her with a searching look.
It didn
’
t do any good.
Her eyes were still on the guards, steady and defiant.
I glared at her.
That didn
’
t do any good either.

“
Is this true?
Are you a virgin?
”

I stared back at Carlo with wide eyes, not sure how to answer that.
Was I supposed to be?

“
Yes.
”

The guards were definitely in high spirits at that news.
I clutched my bag and went for the zipper.
To hell with it
, I decided.
I jumped to my feet and kept one hand in the bag while I pointed wildly at the guards.

“
Touch me and I am going out in a blaze of glory, assholes!
”

The guards fell silent.
Carlo raised one eyebrow, and Aries groaned.
The men began to laugh, and Carlo dismissed us all with a cool look and a wave.

“
Sit down, little warrior.
You will not be harmed.
”

“
You
’
re going to make us all rich
,
”
some
one
else added.

“
Virgins are worth a considerable sum
,
”
Carlo confirmed.

I kept quiet until I was sure the guards were not paying attention to us.

“
Aries?
”
I whispered.

“
What?
”

“
Why?
”

“
What are you talking about?
”

“
Why are virgins so valuable?
”
I had visions of ancient sacrifices and tried to stay calm.

“
They can be sold as brides
,
”
she
shrugged.

“
Can be?
”

“
You will be sold for top dollar at the auction to your future husband.
”

I frowned.

“
But you are safe for tonight
,
”
she
added.

“
Thank you.
”
I did not want her to think that I was ungrateful.

“
You
’
re welcome
,
”
she
smiled hauntingly.
I stared at the dirt for another minute.

“
Are you ok
ay
?
”
It was a stupid question, yes
, but
it was also one that I had to ask.

She didn
’
t answer.
But then, I had not expected her to.

“
Where will you be going?
”

She gazed straight ahead for so long that I did not think she was going to answer that question either.

“
The brothel in Oxbrough is where they will take me
,
”
she
finally murmured.

“
Why didn
’
t you tell them you were a virgin?
”
I had to know.

“
Because then it would have been somebody else.
”

“
Oh.
”

“
It doesn
’
t matter now
,
”
she
whispered, looking through me.

I took her cold hand and squeezed it tight.
“
I
’
ll get you out of here.
Don
’
t worry.
”

And I would too, I vowed.
I took another long look at the girl who had said
‘
because it would have been somebody else
’
and knew that my promise would not be empty.
She was inspiring, this girl who would sacrifice her life and herself in the blink of an eye.

“
Claire!
”
Aries was whispering urgently.

I snapped out my private thoughts and twisted around to see what had her so upset.

“
What?
”
I whispered back, still looking around at the quiet dusk of the forest.
Where
is
the fire
?
I wondered.
Fire…my eyes lit up and I sat up a little straighter as an idea occurred to me.
I could set the guard station on fire.
I could lock the door and then set the guard station on fire.
It was perfect.
We were saved.

“
Claire!
”

“
What?
Listen
,
I have got a plan to get us out of here.
I
’
m going to lock them in the guard shack tonight and light it on fire.
”

“
Oh, that
’
s brilliant.
”

“
I know!
”

“
So, after we set everyone on fire, we run for it?
”

“
Exactly!
”

“
Of course, but
—
Claire?
”

“
Hmm?
”

“
One question?
”

“
Sure.
”

“
Do you have a lighter?
”

“
Do I have a
—
”

“
Yes, a lighter or matches.
Do you have either one?
”

“
Well, no, but
—
”

“
And there
’
s no lock on the guard shack.
”

Well damn.
See what stress will do to you?

“
Then we will tie the doors shut and rub sticks together.
”
I
gave
Aries a look that dared her to argue with such logic.