Page 57 of The Demon of the Wood

“Jorah!” she cried out.

Aife appeared behind Jorah, her eyes sleep lined, a shawl wrapped around her nightgown. Jorah came to her and examined her.

“You’ve been hurt?” he asked.

“No, not really. They took Kaemon. He’s chained up and locked in a cage, and I couldn’t get him out.”

Enid appeared in the doorway then, others coming out of their houses at the commotion.

Enid let out a growl. The night around her seemed to grow darker with her anger, and Melina shivered. “Where is he? And who took him?”

“Hunters, ten of them. And my uncle and two cousins.”

Melina didn’t realize Jorah had left them until he stepped up next to her again. He had two battle axes strapped to his back, similar to the ones Aife had on hers.

“Tell us everything you know about where he is. Give us as many details as you can,” Aife said.

“I will show you,” Melina said.

Aife shook her head. “No, you will be in the way.”

Melina opened her mouth to protest, but Enid settled it by saying, “Melina, dear, you are not a fighter. Not only that, but you are my brother’s mate. He will be unpredictable if he is freed and sees you in danger. You need to stay here.”

Melina knew it was true, even if it filled her with anxiety about not going along with them. So instead, she told them every detail she could recall on how to find him.

thirty-one

Kaemon

Theypostedaguardat Kaemon’s cage after Melina escaped. He’d heard it all, seen the other horses fleeing as she set them off.

Good girl.

She was resourceful and smart. He rested his head against the post, swallowing hard, his throat feeling like hot sand. The men had given up long ago on finding her and gone to their tents to sleep. Her uncle had raged that they’d lost his niece, but he only did it to demand payment for the loss. Kaemon snarled at the memory. He was a hateful man and so were his sons. How long had his mate been in their “care”?

Some of the men had talked loudly as they walked through the camp on guard duty, about Melina, about how ruined she was, how they could do as they pleased with her. He marked each one. He had not thought he’d make it out when Melina came to him. But hearing these men’s evil intent lit a dark fire in him and he couldn’t tamp it down. He would survive, and he would get out of here, and he would make sure these men were incapable of doing anything to her or anyone else ever again.

Kaemon tugged on the ropes at his wrist, feeling them loosen. The drug was wearing off, which gave him more strength, but all the pain in his body was amplified as well. He didn’t know if he’d have the strength to break free with his injuries and the drug, but he kept trying.

Rustling in the woods made his hearing zero in on the sound. He shifted his head, but the guard noticed nothing. Most likely, his human hearing couldn’t pick it up. Maybe it was an animal, yet his ears stayed pricked with an intent awareness. Shadows seemed to fill the air, darkening the already black night, and he held his breath. It felt like memories of his childhood, like something he had only seen a few times.

Enid.

He held still, watching the creeping darkness slither through the air like a snake, reaching around the cage, creeping towards the guard. The man stood suddenly straighter, looking around, realization coming over him. But not fast enough. The darkness swirled like smoke around his face, twisting quickly, the snap loud in the night. Enid was suddenly in front of the cage, peering at Kaemon, soon followed by Aife and Jorah. Enid held a finger up to her mouth to keep him silent.

Aife fumbled through the guard’s pockets but didn’t find any keys.

“Step aside,” Jorah said, brushing past Enid.

He brought his hands up, grabbing the wood and pulling at them. Kaemon watched in amazement as they creaked and groaned, the wood warping under the strength of the orc, until they snapped and collapsed, creating an opening. The sound cracked in the night, and Enid pulled her sword off her back and kept watch for anyone who would come to fight.

“That works,” Aife said.

Jorah crouched and looked at the chains and began pulling on them.

“They have a magic weakening potion on them,” Kaemon said.

“Good thing my strength isn’t magic,” Jorah said.

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