Page 3 of Spirit Trials
He’s nervous.Good.The leader watches me with those intense eyes, missing nothing.“Leave now, or I’ll shoot,” I tell him. I’m proud of the fact that my voice sounds calm, belying my nerves. “I won’t ask ag--” I don’t get to finish what I was going to say before the leader overtakes me in a move so fast, I don’t even see it coming. One moment, I’m in charge, holding the bow; the next, he has me disarmed with my arms pulled behind me. I fight against him, but with my arms restrained, it’s no use. I try to head butt him, but he moves his head and easily evades my hit.
“Easy, Hellcat,” he says against my ear. I try to rip myself out of his hold, but I can’t move an inch because he’s too strong. He looks away from me, back to Elder McCall, like holding me captive is nothing at all. I fight against him, but he doesn’t budge.
“We’ll be taking the girl with us,” he says in a voice full of authority. I go still at his words, and I can’t help the rush of panic that hits me at his words. Elder McCall flicks his gaze at me for a moment, and his body stiffens. I know he’s itching to reach for the blade he keeps at his waist.
The man holding me must see it too, because he continues in a low tone. “Don’t do anything stupid. See that man behind me? He’ll shoot your eyes out before you’ve even reached for that blade.” Elder McCall’s eyes flick over my shoulder and then back to me. I know he’s calculating the man’s words, wondering how true they are.
The blond-haired man standing near us suddenly whirls and throws a blade before I can blink an eye. I watch in horror as Bleke, my friend, drops to his knees. The blond turns to the man holding me captive. “He was getting ready to throw a knife.”
I yank my head, so I can see if Bleke is okay. He has blood pouring from the knife protruding from his shoulder. I watchas the blond man walks over to him and puts his hand on the blade. “Stop!” I call out. Smiley ignores me and puts his hand on the knife in my friend’s shoulder, and I fight against the hold on me. “Stop!” I shout again. Smiley takes the knife from Bleke’s shoulder and wipes it on his pants. I stare in horror at the blood, but I steel myself. I’m not going with them; I can’t. Those men with the masks could come back; others could come. I can’t leave my mom and brother defenseless. They don’t even have a roof over their heads or food to eat.
I glare up at the man holding me captive. “Stop hurting other people. If you want me to come with you, you’ll have to kill me. I’m not coming with you,” I grind out.
“Farrah!” Elder McCall hisses.
“Does she have kin?” the man holding me asks. Elder McCall pauses a moment, and I widen my eyes at him, pleading with him not to give them up. But when he nods, my heart drops. “Get them,” the leader orders. He flicks his head, and Smiley and the other shorter, dark-haired guy go with Elder McCall.
Terror seizes me, and I fight against the leader with everything I have. But I can’t get him to release his iron-clad hold on me. The redhead stays next to me and his boss but says nothing. Too soon, Elder McCall returns with the other two men. They bring with them my mother and my brother who’s fighting against Smiley with everything he’s got. My stomach drops, and I jerk my head back. “Let them go.” My voice is hoarse, and I struggle against the hold on me. I can see the fear in my mother’s eyes, but she doesn’t say anything. My brother is fighting like a hellion in Smiley's arms, but he’s no match for the full-grown man. In a desperate move, I let my body go dead weight. My captor stumbles forward, and I lash out with the knife I’ve been palming and slice the back of his arm. He doesn’t make a sound, and I scramble towards my mom and brother.Before I take a step, I’m tackled to the ground. I turn my face in the mud, so I can breathe.
“That was not nice.”
I see the knife the redhead is holding against my mother’s throat, and I go absolutely still. I’m afraid to even breathe. One slash, and my mother’s life’s blood will pour out onto the ground. “Let’s try this again,” the man keeping me in the mud says. His knee shifts into the middle of my back, pinning me in a move that feels impossible to get out of. I meet my mom’s eyes and try to send her courage.I’ll get you out of this,I try to project. I can’t see my brother from this angle, but I hope he knows I’ll get him out of this.
“Let me go,” I growl at the man holding me captive.
“Not until I know you’re not going to skewer one of us,” he returns.
I watch the redhead with the blade to my mom’s throat and know there’s no way out of this. “I’ll go with you.” My words are quiet, resigned. I’m not giving up quite yet, but they don’t need to know that.
The knife lowers from my mother’s throat, and I feel like I can get a little air into my lungs. The man behind me gives some sort of signal because they begin to drag my brother and my mother away.
“Farrah!” My brother screams for me, and I try to get to him.
“Stop!” I shout.
The man behind me jerks me to my feet. “Listen to me very carefully. If you want them to survive, then you will do exactly what I say. Do you understand?”
I stare at my brother and mother as his words register. I eye the distance between us and understand in this moment there is absolutely nothing I can do. There are too many of them, and they’re fast. I could maybe win against one of them, but not four. I bite my tongue and nod, hating myself for not being able todo anything. The leader spins me around roughly, so I’m facing him. I resist the urge to spit on his boots; only because they have my brother and mother’s lives in their hands. “You’re going to come with us. You won’t fight us.” His eyes narrow. “And you won’t kill any of my men.”
“But you’re fair game?” I ask, unable to resist the taunt.
He doesn’t respond to my question. “Give me your word.”
I have no idea what I’m getting myself into, but I can’t let them harm my family. I lift my chin and look him in the eye. “I won’t sleep with you or any of your men.”
He scowls. “You’ll do whatever we tell you to do.”
“Well, then you’d better just kill me now,” I return.
“That can be arranged,” he says without skipping a beat.
The redhead, Red, as I’ve nicknamed him in my head, comes over to where we are both standing. “Want me to deal with her?”
“No,” the leader says without taking his eyes off me. “Say your goodbyes. If you keep your word, your family and everybody else in this village will remain unharmed.”
I turn away from him and push any and all emotion into a dark, deep place. I won’t give the men the satisfaction of seeing my tears. Besides, I learned a long time ago that tears are for the weak. I walk the few steps over to where Smiley and the other dark-haired guy hold my mom and brother. My brother starts to cry, and I grab him by the shoulders. I can feel his bones, and I struggle to keep my emotions at bay. He’s too skinny, too young; but he’s all mom has now. I make my voice strong. “You’ll be okay. Protect mom. Hunt just like I taught you.” I turn to my mom and take a breath. “Mom, you have to take care of him now.” Her eyes glaze over, and I shake her lightly. “Mom, promise me. You have to pull it together and take care of him,” I plead with her. My mother gives me a nod, and I have to accept it. Red takes my mother from the dark-haired guy, and Smiley carries Zeph off. I watch them go. My brother fights every stepof the way, crying out my name over and over again. I bite my lip hard enough to draw blood and vow that I will make it back to them. Elder McCall says nothing but nods at me, and I have to trust that he will take care of them and our village. Somehow, they will rebuild and survive; they have to. Bleke calls out my name as I walk past, and I meet his eyes a moment before the leader jerks me forward. I will him not to do anything stupid and get even more injured or worse.
“Keep going,” the leader orders. I don’t have a choice as he forces me forward. I follow him and the other dark-haired guy, placing one foot in front of the other as we head towards the woods. I glance over my shoulder often, until my mom and brother are out of sight. My family is gone, my village is destroyed, and I’m being led away by a group of men I’ve never met towards an uncertain future. And yet, I feel nothing as I follow them. Maybe that’s a good thing, but I fear it’s a bad thing. A very, very bad thing.
