Page 2 of Seized to Sacrifice
‘Done,’ the slaver blurted, his eyes snapping to Rye.
The man didn’t even bother to haggle, clearly afraid of losing the sale. He unlocked the cage and made a grab for the female, pulling her out by that long, vibrant hair Rye remembered so well, though at the moment it was matted and dirty.
She squealed, clinging to the bars, and the slaver jerked her close, grunting something in her ear that made her let go immediately, the fight leaving her in an instant.
She was thrust at Rye.
‘She’ll make a good slave if you know how to handle her,’ he laughed, not noticing Rye’s thunderous expression as he saw more whip marks on her back.
The slaver’s eyes followed Rye’s and he shrugged.
‘Sometimes they need to learn their new place quick.’
Rye gave a curt nod and, after thrusting the coin purse at the slaver and giving a final glance to the other poor wretches waiting to be sold, he made his way back to his horse, pulling the cowed woman along after him. He tied her hands together. She didn’t fight, didn’t even look at him as they made their way slowly through Evesmere and out into the forest paths.
His Brothers were going to be surprised, he thought as he looked down at her. Finally, revenge would be theirs. Gods, even if it wasn’t her … but it had to be. No other human females he’d ever found looked thus and he’d seen everything this realm had to offer over the years. It was too much of a coincidence. Perhaps finally eking out some punishment would give them a measure of solace.
Her eyes didn’t rise once as they made their way slowly into the woods. Rye rarely travelled on the main roads these days. He could handle himself well enough should there be a need, but he preferred a quiet journey back to the estate that he shared with the others. There was more chance of that on the smaller, winding trails. This time, however, he travelled parallel with the main road a way.
He glanced at her again, walking along beside the horse. He’d tethered her to the saddle just in case she tried to run. She hadn't spoken, but every time he looked at her, he became angry anew. How dare she simply appear in the middle of the lives they’d made here after all this time?
A grim expression on his face, he chose a spot and dismounted. He picked a tree close by and tied her to it securely, shoving her down to sit at its base hard enough for her to utter a small cry, which he ignored.
He left her there as he walked back towards the road, casting a circle around her covertly, so she wasn't in any danger should anything stumble upon her while he was gone. Had to be careful now that the day was waning, but he still resented that small conjure. He had little enough magick these days. He shouldn’t be wasting it on the likes of her.
He left his horse within the safety of the circle as well, creeping silently through the forest and climbing a tree that afforded him a good view up the road towards Evesmere.
The portal would be closed by now and that meant that the merchants who dealt in Dark Realm goods would be leaving tonight too – despite the dangers. The closest bridge to them was in a town over the hills, three days’ ride away. The merchants wouldn’t want to miss the breach’s opening by delaying their journeys by even a night, so they’d travel through.
Rye effortlessly drew himself up onto a thick bough, straddling it, and then leant back against the trunk comfortably to wait. The sun was setting now but he could see well enough in the dark when he needed to. For now though, he closed his eyes and dozed, knowing that his senses would alert him if someone approached.
Rye’s eyes opened and he sat up straight, his bow already in his hands, an arrow trained towards the sounds on the breeze. He heard the wheels of a cart and the clanking of chains and smiled in the dark.
Two others had already come down this road tonight, but he’d let them pass. They’d not been the one he had wanted. Third time lucky, he thought as his superior eyes cut through the shadows, easily watching the jolly slaver sitting at the front of his wagon, his horse’s reins in his hands. The cunt was singing a little ditty and Rye could see the aura of protection around him and his conveyance. So, he had some magickal, fae trinket and thought himself safe, did he?
Not having the patience for drawing this out any further, Rye let his barbed arrow fly and heard the slaver’s cry as it embedded itself in his leg. The wheels of the cart stopped, and Rye could hear the man’s pained whimpers. He lowered himself to the ground, making no sound at all, and walked briskly into the road.
He loomed over the slaver who was now writhing on the ground, taking in the man's movements. When a few moments passed and the merchant still hadn't noticed him, Ryder rolled his eyes, took hold of the shaft, and ripped the barb out of the man’s thigh, bringing with it a sizeable chunk of his flesh. The slaver bellowed, the sound reverberating off the trees around them, and Rye knew it was only a matter of time before some dark creature came to find the source of such a pained sound, such easy pickings. He'd have to do this quickly.
He knelt down beside the slaver who was panting hard with the pain.
‘Don't have your money,’ the not-so-jolly-man said through clenched teeth, his cheery façade having left him along with his dignity as he rolled around in the muck of the road.
‘I'm not here for that,’ Rye ground out. ‘Humans like you are a scourge. I've let you pass through my lands unmolested until now …’ Rye grabbed hold of the man and hauled him up by the collar of his sweaty tunic, ‘but when you come to town with a female like her …’ Rye pulled their faces closer. ‘I'll ask you once more. Where did you find the woman?’
The slaver said nothing, and Rye shook him. ‘Answer me!’
‘In the forest! In the forest, I swear it!’ the man shouted.
Rye’s lips curled into a snarl. ‘Were you the one who hurt her?’
‘She was worse for wear already,’ the slaver said, clawing at Rye’s hand as it tightened around his podgy neck.
‘And the lash marks?’ he hissed.
‘She fought me! I told you. Sometimes they need to be put in their place quick, understand their new lot.’
‘And I’ll wager you enjoyed checking her cunt yourself, didn’t you?’ he snarled. ‘No, don’t answer!’
