Page 55 of Seized to Sacrifice
What had happened to her?
That fear that had been coming from deep within her, coiling in her stomach, was telling her that something was coming. She knew that Nyx had felt it too, although the others hadn't said anything to her, she wondered if they did as well. The other night when she'd woken in the keep with the quake, her body had felt like ice. The fear creeping up her spine had been palpable even with Nyx beside her. She hadn't known what it was, but it had felt as familiar as being with these men did.
The rain continued as they made way out into the forest, the terrain becoming more rugged with large boulders beginning to litter the landscape. The ground became more and more sodden. They reached a fast-moving river and Rye cursed loudly.
‘It’s burst its banks! There should be a bridge here,’ he said. ‘It's already been washed way. Fuck! We’ll have to go upriver.’
He led them up the path parallel with the water until they reached a part of the river that was narrower than the rest.
‘We’ll have to cross here,’ he said. ‘There’ll be no other bridges and the ferries won’t be running either.
Rye went first, urging his horse into the water. Nyx followed, telling her to stay right behind him. Nose to tail, they crossed the river slowly. Thorne stayed at the rear, and, although the current was strong, the horses weren’t struggling through. It was no deeper than their legs even in the middle.
But then Elle’s stallion stopped halfway across and refused to go any further. She could hear a roaring that sounded as if it was coming from very far away and she shouted Nyx’s name, but he couldn’t hear her, the sound intensifying in moments.
The ground began to roll. Another quake.
Thorne moved up next to her, taking her stallion’s reins and pulling them, but the horse wouldn't budge. From the other side of the bank, Rye and Nyx were shouting and trying to make their way back to her but the shaking was making it impossible.
She couldn't hear what they were saying above the noise, the river looking like a sloshing bath as the ground shook around them.
Elle was frozen in fear, and the men were still shouting. Thorne tried in vain to get her horse to move. Finally, he plucked her from the animal’s back, but as she looked towards the others, she could see them staring upriver, the looks on their faces making her blood run cold. She glanced that way just in time for a wall of water to hit them. She was sent hurtling down in a tangle of limbs and horse’s hooves along with debris and trees that had been caught in the wave.
She tumbled around and around and then there was only black.
When she woke,her head and body felt as if they had been crushed. She was covered in scrapes and bruises, and she hurt everywhere.
She groaned as she got to her knees, shivering with cold. All around the muddy bank she’d been lying on, trees were flattened. Using a boulder next to her, she picked herself out of the squelching mud and got to her feet slowly, wincing at a pain in her arm, but nothing seemed broken.
She climbed the great rock to try and get her bearings, but wherever she was, it was unfamiliar … although she should be used to that by now, she thought wryly. The horses were nowhere to be seen. None of the men either.
She picked her way through the mud towards the trees that hadn't been touched by the flood and climbed another large rock, turning slowly, looking at everything she could see, trying to find something that might help her.
She spied black cloth peeking out from a pile of branches and jumped from the boulder, running towards it, and realizing quickly that it was Thorne.
As she got closer, she saw that his eyes were open and vacant. His neck lay at an odd angle. She covered her mouth with her hand. Sudden grief took her by surprise. She hadn’t known this man and what she had known, she hadn’t liked but she felt as if her heart was being ripped from her body.
Falling to her knees beside him, she cleared the dirt from his cheeks using her wet sleeve and moved the hair from his face. She closed her eyes and put her face on his chest, letting out a sob.
Grasping his cold hand, her body shook with sadness. Her woe was all-encompassing, so acute that she felt as if she was going to die herself. Something shifted under her, and she wondered if another quake was starting. Should she try and drag him away from the river before another flood carried him away? The others would want to see their friend, perform the last rites.
His body jerked under her, and she startled, moving back in surprise. She watched as his head righted itself and heard a crack, his neck snapping back into place. She gasped as his chest rose and he coughed, rolling to the side and retching water.
Awe and relief warred within her. She put her hand on his arm. He turned with a snarl, practically throwing her off him. Unable to resist the urge to touch him, she ignored his outburst and hugged him to her.
‘I thought you were dead,’ she whispered.
He pushed her away with a sound of disgust. ‘What are you babbling out about, you foolish female.’
Tears came to her eyes. ‘You were dead,’ she said.
He rolled the eyes that a few moments ago had been so devoid of life as he got to his feet, pushing her out of his way.
‘No more games,’ he said, punctuating each word with a jab of his finger towards her face.
At her blank expression, he cursed loudly and grabbed her by her tunic, pulling her off her feet. She struggled in grasp. He looked so angry, so full of hate that she recoiled, turning her face away from his and cringing as he slammed her against another boulder. She cried out in pain.
‘No more games,’ he said again through clench teeth, ‘or we’ll spend some time seeing how many timesyoucan come back from the grave.’
