Page 35 of Rathgar

“What are you doing here?” Somehow, I manage to keep my voice fairly calm. I’m praying against all hope that they won’t notice Iris. That they won’t hurt her. I’ll die before that happens.

“What’s it look like, missy? Those fools finally fell for it. This is a raid.”

My stomach turns over. A raid. Oh god. Here?!

“You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.” I try to sound intimidating, but its not like a pregnant human woman with a letter opener is any match for their sheer bulk and brutality. “Don’t you know who owns these lands? When they find out what you’ve done, there will be no mercy.”

“Oh, I’m well aware…” He says in a sickly sweet tone that makes my skin crawl. “And that’s exactly why we’re here. Now you’re coming with me — the easy way, or the hard way.”

“No!” Iris cries, jumping out from behind my leg. “Don’t take my mommy!”

So much for keeping her hidden. The grim reality of our situation sets in and my stomach turns again, bile building at the back of my throat. I know enough from Soren and Rathgar’s war stories to know what happens next.

“Mommy, huh?” The intruder looks genuinely surprised. “Well, aren’t you just the sweetest thing.” He rakes his eyes up and down my body before lingering on my rounded belly. “Looks like someone’s been busy.”

Red-hot anger explodes in my chest and I clench my jaw. “Get. Out.”

“Sorry, princess, but that ain’t happening. I’ll start with the little one, and if you want her to see the next sunrise, you’ll do as I say.”

Now it was my turn to scream. “No!” The word wrenches itself from my throat and I lunge forward to grab at Iris, but he’s too fast. He hauls her up and over his shoulder, ignoring her terrified pleas for help. “Give her back!” I yell, rushing after him. “You bastard! Take me instead, just please, don’t hurt my baby!”

“Oh, two birds with one stone?” He chuckles. “Don’t mind if I do.”

And right when I’ve closed the distance between us, right when Iris’s fingers are only a second away, another man steps out of the shadows, wrapping a strong arm around my throat and cutting off my line of sight.

I try to kick, to scream, to do something and get someone’s attention, but it’s no use. I hear my daughter’s cries, but everything’s so muddled. I can’t see straight and the man holding me has his rough, smelly hand pressed over my face and throat. “No!” I scream again as something rough — a hood with soporific chemicals in it, perhaps? — settles over my head. He’s dragging me along, my feet barely touching the floor. A rush of cool air means we’re outside, and the stench hits me like a truck.

I gag. Luckily nothing comes up. And just before everything goes black, I hear one more familiar voice, putting the final nail in the proverbial cauldron.

Lara.

They’ve got her too.

So where was everyone else? How had they managed to ambush us so easily? And as my captor’s rough hand leads me, bound and blindfolded, away from my home, my heart cries out for only one thing:

Rathgar, wherever you are…come back soon. Please. Hurry. I need you.

SMOLDERING REMAINS

RATHGAR

Something’s not right. And I don’t just mean the miscommunication by the field team. We geared up for what sounded like, by all reports, a serious battle. Imagine our surprise — and confusion — when we got to the waypoint only to find that our scouts were alive and well.

That was the first mistake. We did manage to track down the roving creatures, but even they weren’t as much of a threat as we first thought. With the situation wrapped up in record time, we’re regrouping and preparing to head home early when I turn to Soren, unable to hold in my question any longer.

“It’s not like you to get bad intel.” I’m throwing my pack over my aki, trying not to sound too accusatory. “Thought it was gonna be a bloodbath.”

“I’m just as concerned as you are, Rathgar.” He secures his pack and climbs onto his mount, turning her back toward the shuttle. “There’s something that doesn’t fit here. Something I’m missing. But for the life of me, I can’t figure out what.”

“I know the feeling,” I mutter, and for a time, we travel in silence. So what is that nagging feeling in my gut? I try to ignore it, writing it off as nerves, but it grows stronger the closer we get to the shuttle. Soren’s feeling it too, I can tell. Even his aki, Caltryx, walks with a tense and restless gait.

The wind blows in from the nearby mountains, and on the breeze I could swear I heard a familiar voice.

Janie’s voice.

I guess I really am losing it.

But right then, Soren snaps to attention as well. The change is instantaneous — from slightly confused to utterly horrified and then to murderously furious. “Rathgar! The women!”

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