Page 53 of Kept to Kill
Tonight there were some peculiar stone-cooked flatbreads that she assumed Mal had made when he’d set up camp. She watched the men pull their meat from the bones and wrap it in their breads, so she did the same. She couldn’t help the moan of surprise that escaped her as she took her first bite and wondered why they’d never made this before! All three men’s eyes swung to her and she looked down in chagrin, focusing on her meal and trying to forget their stares.
When she’d eaten every morsel of her meal, she looked up to see that Mal and Bastian had gone.
Quin, still sitting across from her, jerked his head towards the trees to the left, where the bubbling of the stream seemed to come from.
‘They’ve gone to get water.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘Probably to do other things as well,’ he muttered, taking a swig from his wineskin. He held it out to her and she got up and walked over to take it, but he pulled it back and gestured for her to sit down next to him.
Once she was seated, only then did he hand it over, and she took a long pull, grimacing when she realized it was wine.
‘You don’t like wine,’ he noted, staring into the fire.
‘Never liked the taste. I prefer water.’
He let out a sigh. ‘You should drink a little more this evening,’ he said, finally turning his head to look at her. ‘It’ll make this next part easier for you.’
Her brow furrowed. ‘What next part?’ she asked as he stood.
Her mouth turned dry as he took off his belt slowly, watching her all the while as he loomed over her. The threat clear, the wineskin dropped from her fingers and landed with a soft thud on the mossy ground in front of her.
Giving a small cry, she scrambled back as he doubled the leather in his hand and pulled it taut with a crack. He followed slowly, stalking her like the predator he was.
‘You’re going to punish me as well? Like you did the others?’ she asked, her voice high and squeaky.
‘Not like the others. I won’t hit you like I did them. But you defied my order. I must be obeyed. Your life may one day depend on it. So you’ll learn your lesson a different way,’ he said ominously. He crouched down in front of her, his hand flicking out to unclasp her cloak. It fell from her shoulders immediately and he watched her, his eyes taking in all the ways she was showing her fear, from her quivering lip to her shaking hands.
‘W-what will you do?’ she whispered.
‘That depends on you, Lilith. Are you going to take your punishment like a good girl or are you going to run?’ His hand raised to stay her reply as he continued. ‘If you want to run, I’ll give you a head start, but when I catch you – and I will – my lashes will be harsher.’
Her eyes swung to the side, staring into the darkness, and before she’d even made the decision, she was running through the dark wood, darting between trees and scrambling over the large rocks that, despite the change of terrain, still littered the ground in many places.
She was vaguely aware that the sound of the stream was closer and that she shouldn’t have fled. She wasn’t used to this and was already tiring. She slowed, trying to catch her breath as she picked her way through the brush in the twilight. Why had she bolted? He was going to catch her, of course he was! She should have just stayed there in the clearing and endured her penance. It would probably be finished by now if she had!
Miserably, she stopped behind a wide tree trunk and doubled over, panting. She heard a twig snap close by and startled like a rabbit, flitting from her hiding place and looking behind her. She ran slap bang into something hard and then his arms were around her, stopping her from rushing in the opposite direction. She screamed loudly and his hand clapped over her lips.
‘Do you want to advertise our location to all and sundry?’ Quin growled in her ear.
She shook her head and his hand dropped from her mouth.
‘You shouldn’t have run, girl,’ he said softly in her ear and she shuddered in fear but also that other thing that she was beginning to learn well. Anticipation.
‘I’m sorry—’ she began, but he hushed her, tutting.
‘It’s too late for sorrys,’ he said, taking her shoulder in a firm grip and marching her back the way she’d come. ‘You shouldn’t have let the fear of it get the better of you. I thought you would have had more restraint.’
‘Where are we going?’ she breathed.
‘Back to the camp. It’s too dark to do it out here now. Gods only know what I’d hit in the dark, and I intend to concentrate on one particular area,’ he said cryptically.
‘You don’t have to keep going on,’ she snapped. ‘I’m already afraid. You don’t have to make it worse.’ She felt tears coming to her eyes and was glad it was dark and he couldn’t see them.
‘You’re the one who made it worse by running. I did warn you,’ he pointed out as they re-entered the camp.
The other two were still absent, she noted gratefully. She didn’t want them to witness whatever Quin was going to do.
‘Why did you take them away for their punishment?’ she asked.
He chuckled. ‘Don’t try to stall the inevitable.’ Then he sighed. ‘I thought it might scare you if you saw me beating them and thought you’d get the same.’
