Page 19 of Besotted
After lowering our net into the rapids and securing the lines, I scavenged along the shore in the tall grass for duck nests, hoping fortune would smile upon me and reward me with eggs to fry with the fish.
I found myself wandering downriver in the direction of the secret passageway, and the closer I drew, the more I wanted to throw caution away and hike back to the clearing. Rory wouldn’t be there at so late an hour—she wouldn’t be there at any hour. Yet, I longed to go anyway, simply to revel in the memories of our short week together.
“Aha!” At a glimpse of greenish-gray lumps in the shadows, I parted the weeds to find four eggs partially covered in dried grass.
“I’ve found gold!” I shouted over my shoulder toward Jorg on the opposite bank, grinning for the first time since leaving Rory.
“What?” he called above the rushing water of the rapids.
I picked up two eggs and lifted them for him to see.
He started to grin, but then his eyes widened. He had his axe out in an instant, but before he could throw it or I could make sense of what was happening, something sharp sliced into my thigh, plunging deeply like a knife.
At an enraged squeal, I realized a knife wasn’t digging into my flesh. It was the razor-sharp tusk of a boar.
With a swiftness Jorg had drilled into me, I swung my axe, knowing I needed to cut off the tusk before the creature ripped off my leg. The difficult chop required every ounce of my concentration and fortitude. I brought the weapon in from the side, twisting just slightly, and in the process put pressure on my thigh.
Pain like fire raced up and down my leg. But I gritted my teeth and pounded the blade down on the tusk at the boar’s skull. Though I aimed the strike as far from the entry point as possible, the blow set the boar free but left the tusk in my thigh, driving it deeper, tearing my flesh in the process.
Agony barreled through me, sending blackness over me like a veil. I released a cry and fought against the enfolding darkness, pivoting around in time to block another charge from the boar. Missing one tusk and bleeding from where my axe had grazed its forehead, the boar was more infuriated than before. It lowered its head and came at me again.
Weak and stunned, I couldn’t move fast enough. The boar’s remaining tusk sliced into my leg just above my knee. Though it stung and drew blood, it was just a flesh wound.
The boar thrashed with rage and plunged toward me again.
I swung my axe and aimed for its broadside, making contact but unable to knock it down. At each jarring step, I feared it would be my last before I fell unconscious.
“Jump to the left!” Jorg’s shout drew nearer, and from the corner of my eye, I could see him sprinting through the river toward me, his axe raised and ready to throw.
I tried to obey him but only managed an awkward tilt. It was enough for Jorg. An instant later, his axe whistled in the air past me. The blade embedded into the boar’s head, dropping and silencing the creature instantly.
Was it the same boar that had chased me last week? I couldn’t be sure, but part of me wondered if it lived near the secret passageway as a sort of guard, to keep intruders away.
Seconds later, Jorg was at my side. He sliced the boar’s neck with his knife, ensuring it didn’t try to attack again. Then he spun and caught me just as my knees buckled.
He draped my arm across his shoulder while he assessed my wound.
I closed my eyes and fought down the bile that had begun to rise. My pain was beyond endurance.
“If I pull out the tusk, it’s possible you’ll bleed to death.” Jorg braced me higher, taking the weight off my injured leg.
“If you leave it in, it’ll do more damage.”
Jorg examined it more closely. “It’s at an odd angle. If I remove it, I’ll tear your flesh irreparably.”
I tried to hang on to him but felt myself slipping.
“I need to find a skilled physician.” Jorg’s worry penetrated my haze. “Where is the closest one?”
“Delsworth?” I had no idea, but Birchwood and some of the other villages that bordered the forest wouldn’t have a physician amongst them. Perhaps one of the outlying estates of a nobleman might have a skilled healer on hand. But that kind of trek would take us at least a day—probably more. Delsworth was even farther, and the journey there would be impossible in my condition.
As if coming to the same conclusion, Jorg released a cry that contained all his frustration. “Surely there is someone in this godforsaken forest who can help us.”
“You’ll have to do it, Jorg.” Though I was grasping him as tightly as I could, my strength was fading.
Jorg was silent a moment. Then he sheathed his knife and axe before he straightened and bore more of my weight. “There is one place we might find aid. Let us pray there we will find friends and not foes.”
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