Surviving Passion (24 page)

            His attackers regrouped. They paced around him evenly, giving him no safe window for offense. More false attacks were performed to distract and confuse, but most importantly, to wear away his stamina. By now, it felt like the fight had been going on for hours.

            Even through her misery and horror, Selena managed to marvel at his prowess. She could not imagine having that kind of speed and foresight. It looked as though he was thinking two steps ahead of his opponents. How was it that he seemed to know what each of them would do before they did it?

            “I’m disappointed,” Jake said obnoxiously to his men, clearly having come to the same conclusion. “You can be more creative than that, boys! Try something different for fuck sake.”

            The four that remained continued to taunt and feint. Despite Jake’s urges, they were taking fewer chances. The battle dragged on. The skill of the remaining men was paralleled only by their caution. Dan had to work hard to score. He artfully avoided their attacks, slicing into them when he could. But they were looking out for each other, and when Dan had the opportunity to close in on one, two would attack him and he would have to act defensively again. Selena was exhausted for him.

            Two rushed in simultaneously, one from either side. Dan dropped to the ground and rolled back to avoid being struck. One of the others saw his opening and sped forward, making a quick slash at his arm. The blade cut through the flesh of his shoulder, but Dan used the man’s momentum against him as he spun in from below, gashing him across the chest. The man howled and jumped back.

            “Not bad, Dean,” Jake offered with a throaty laugh. “That’s a score. Now if you can just stay alive to claim your prize.”

            Selena began to dig her nails into the wooden rail convulsively. He was bleeding in two places now and the wound in his shoulder looked deep. Her mind spun. For some reason that Selena didn’t grasp, she could not accept the idea of Dan being injured, even now when she was seeing it with her eyes. She felt far away as the battle for his life continued until, all at once, she finally understood that she had never really thought of Dan as human. Almost everything he had ever said and done was perfectly calculated and executed. His own confidence in his power always seemed absolute. To see him struggle was beyond her ability to comprehend and she wondered if it was beyond his as well. Even knowing all of this now, her stubborn mind still refused to accept the idea that he was flesh and bone.

            At this moment Dan was on his feet again, but the wound from his shoulder had soaked his arm with blood down to the wrist. The slightest trace of fatigue began to appear in his movements. Was he tired, Selena wondered, or merely trying to pace himself?

            He seemed to be focusing on the injured man who had wounded his shoulder. Now she was sure that his aim to stay alive was just as important to him as sparing the women.

            The enemies remaining were emboldened by the tally of his injuries and his apparent fatigue. As the fight continued, these things seemed to be making them careless. One recklessly came at him from behind and to the left. Dan spun out, and slashed the man’s wrist, knocking the blade from his hand. In a rage, his attacker roared and came at him with the opposite fist. The heavy blow landed in his ribs, but the man’s fury left him poorly defended and with one clean sweep, Dan easily opened his throat. He was dead in seconds.

            “That’s too bad,” Jake remarked at the fallen man. “He just had to miss out.”

            There were three now, and the most recent death had renewed their caution. They seemed more determined than ever to tire him. Selena was sure that these were the most battle-hardened of the group. The shortest of them crept forward, engaging Dan directly. The two men circled and Dan was careful to keep the others away from his back. The short man tried a couple of shallow swings at mid-height, trying to penetrate Dan’s guard.

            The first signs of exhaustion were creeping subtly into his responses. The men were acutely aware of this.

            Suddenly, the short man sprang forward and they grappled. Selena’s heart was in her throat as each of them wrestled for the advantage. One of the men tried to move behind Dan so as not to injure his own comrade, but in the struggle, Dan managed to swing around, using his attacker as a shield. Selena thought she saw a low kick, and the man went down on his knees. Dan dropped with lightning speed and cut his throat. He rose and kicked the dying man’s kneeling body savagely. He was panting heavily by now, but still he soldiered on.

            Only two of the lackeys remained, but Jake chose this point in time to join the fight. Selena’s mind was at war.
He can’t lose,
part of her insisted.
He’s hurt!
screamed another. Watching him as he stood, covered with dirt, sweat and blood, Selena struggled to fight off the idea of his mortality. Delirium had taken root but no amount of discipline could save her now anyway.

            Jake’s deadly bearing pounded the closed walls of her mind as he strode in with his own knives gleaming. She watched with dim comprehension as Dan reoriented to focus on his new adversary. As the two men circled each other with measured steps, a horrible suspense clung in the air. One of Jake’s remaining men took the opportunity to dart in from behind. Dan whirled, knife singing through the air as he attempted a retaliatory slash, but Jake leapt in and Dan had to contort his body to avoid the man’s vicious thrust.

            Selena cried out in frustration. She had lost the strength to keep quiet.
This isn’t fair!
her tortured mind repeated over and over. The injustice of what she was seeing tore at her insides
. They can’t do this!

            “That’s one sexy little thing you wanted all to yourself,” Jake taunted as he circled. “Made a little deal to give her to Clint.”

            Dan’s ire was tangible in his next attack, and Jake very narrowly avoided a high slash at his face. He laughed in amusement.

            “I don’t see why everyone’s gotta be so selfish,” he went on with a leer, keeping his distance. “Only fitting for friends to share. Ain’t that right, Dan?”

            As an answer, Dan’s left hand shot up as he flung a knife at Jake. The other man dodged, but the blade sliced his cheek before sailing past his head. He reeled back and Selena heard him growl in anger as he recovered. The two men stared at each other with smoldering hatred. The amusement went out of Jake’s eyes and was replaced with pure malice.

            Dan’s right-hand dagger was his sole weapon now. A second later, one of the others came at him from behind. Somehow, he managed to catch the wrist of the man’s knife hand and with a savage growl, threw a high kick into his arm. A sickening crunch sounded in the air as the arm bent far in the wrong direction. He screamed in agony. Jake was in it again before Dan could land a killing blow. In a blur, Selena saw Jake score a heavy punch to the kidney before Dan could disentangle himself. He was angry, she realized as Jake taunted him again.

            “I’m gonna have me a taste of that one before I hand her over. Clint’s a reasonable fellow. Not like you. I’ll take all the time I want with that sweet little thing,” Jake spat the words like a viper.

            Dan’s fury seemed to radiate from his body, but now Jake attacked in earnest. Selena could clearly see the frightening skill in his technique. He was relentless. He came at Dan again and again. Thrust after thrust, he was forced to parry or dodge while evading the other men all at once. With so much time spent defending himself, there was little opportunity for offense; and Jake was fresh in the fight and full of energy. His blows began to score, but he used his fists and the blunt handle of his dagger instead of the blade. He was only toying with him now, like the fight was already over.

            Selena’s stomach dropped as she saw a new look in Dan’s eyes then. The horrible hatred for his opponent seemed to mingle with an expression of pain. Though he bled in many places, Selena knew the hurt was far beyond physical. He was exhausted, and she suffered the crushing revelation that what she saw was the tortured expression of failure.

            Selena stared, dumbfounded as she watched Jake score again and again. Now he was landing shallow slices wherever he could. The agonizing truth finally rained down on her like bricks. Dan was a man like any other. That was all he had ever been, human through and through. Like everyone else, he could be made to suffer. He could be overwhelmed. He was alone and he was in pain. It was at this tragic moment that Selena knew she loved him desperately, and she couldn’t live in a world where the radiant flame of his life was put out.

            As reality finally beat her down, a wrenching sob tore from her chest. Her heart was breaking as she looked at him. Pain sang out from the center of her body to her extremities. She could no longer see through her tears. Clint was the only thing keeping her upright now. He brutally grabbed her by the jaw and forced her to face the terrible scene unfolding below. Dan stood, doubled over, his injured arm held close to his body. Every human instinct screamed at her to go to him, to make his pain go away. He was the only thing that mattered.

            Through her debilitating anguish, Selena knew that there was no one to help; no one to stop this. She wanted desperately to believe it was all a bad dream and she would awaken at any moment. Dan would be safe and whole. She would run to him and hold him in her arms. But this wasn’t a dream.

            He was losing.

Sixteen

He’s going to die
. Selena finally understood. In a matter of minutes, or maybe seconds, Dan would be gone forever. She would never hold him or tell him she loved him. He would never hear her say that she belonged to him. Memories of foolish mistakes and wasted opportunities would destroy her slowly from the inside out. He would never again try to keep her safe. He would never be a husband or a father to anyone. Because of his sacrifice, the rest of them would have a chance at life. He knew they were going to suffer, but all he could give them with his death was that chance, and he had been more than willing to offer it.

            Selena finally snapped under the strain of the knowledge that these things would soon come to pass. A frenzied, burning ire welled and burgeoned beneath her skin. The tears stopped as her frantically spinning mind latched onto the flimsiest of notions. Her thoughts were suddenly crystal clear.
Maybe. Just maybe
. For now, it was all she had, and Selena would consider any plan, no matter how crazy or unlikely a solution it seemed.

            Adrenaline shot through her veins like fire and ice entwined. She clamped her hands on the railing, still trapped in Clint’s painful hold, and waited until he leaned in close behind her. In a flash, she bent forward and then slammed her head back with all her strength. Selena heard a crack followed by a furious yell of pain.

            Her wrists were free. She tore the gag from her face and frantically put her thumb and forefinger to her lips, then blew. The first time, nothing came out but air, but on the second try, a high, sputtering whistle issued forth. She hoped it was enough.

            Selena risked a moment’s glance below and Dan was on the ground, struggling just to lift himself from the dirt. But the noise had distracted Jake and his two remaining men. For the moment, they weren’t overly concerned with Dan. To buy him time, she would gleefully give them another show they could not ignore.

            Selena reached back and pulled her dagger from her shirt in a flash. She rounded on Clint as her wild, pent-up rage finally erupted. Selena thirsted madly for his blood. He clutched his shattered nose as gouts of red poured down his face. His eyes barely had time to widen as she launched herself at him with measureless ferocity. Her knife was in his throat before he could lift an arm in defense, but it wasn’t enough for her. She plunged the blade in as far as it would go and decimated his flesh.

            Only her fear for Dan could tear her away from her fallen enemy. She leapt to the railing in time to see Buck’s huge black form round the corner of the dining hall. His saddle and bridle remained on him from their pursuit.

            The air flew from Selena’s chest in hysterical relief as she took in the animal’s bearing. He cantered at the men below with his ears pinned flat and his head low. A thousand pounds of very angry stallion was suddenly in the fray. Buck thrust himself between Dan and his attackers. They scattered, but not quickly enough. The horse had the speed to clamp his teeth on the neck of a fleeing man, lifting and tossing him easily into the air. He stamped savagely at the man when he tumbled to the ground. The animal was everything they had said.

            Selena saw Dan slowly climb to his feet. She rushed to the doors of the dining hall. She was no fool and knew that Jake was beyond her skill to bring down without her sling. Clawing frantically at the chains that bound the handles, she had the door open in moments. She flung them wide and scanned the men inside. Each of them had their arms tied behind their backs. They were bound to the long steel pipe of the heater that sat against the room’s back wall.

            “Jesus,” a man’s voice whispered. She must have looked like a demon. Her disheveled visage was covered in blood and her eyes were wild. She darted inside, cutting their bonds with all the speed her adrenaline afforded her.

            “Kill them!” Selena screamed the command as the men were freed. They hardly needed encouragement. When the last of the restraints were broken, Selena bolted back out into the light. By the time she reached the railing, Dan was struggling to climb onto his horse. Bear, Cal and Shane surrounded Jake. They had gathered weapons from the fallen. Bear hurled his weight into a dangerous attack, but the depth of Jake’s skill was finally emerging as he dodged and retaliated with blinding speed. He took no chances now that it was his own life at stake. Selena’s apprehension grew as she watched them. It was more than clear that he outclassed them all.