Page 7 of Spirit Trials
“Let’s move,” the leader’s voice sounds from behind me, startling me.
A few minutes later, we’re ready to go again. To my shock, they let me ride my own horse this time. I nearly grin at the freedom but manage not to when the leader’s intense gaze burns into mine. “Don’t even try.”
I roll my eyes and turn away. At this point, I’m stuck like glue to these guys. If there are more of these creatures, there’s no way I’m going off on my own. But he doesn’t need to know that. We start riding, and I’m thankful to leave the Guivre behind. Of course, I’ll still be seeing it every night in my nightmares; but at least it’s gone for now.
We ride for the rest of the day. And though it’s long, I can’t help but be thankful to be riding a horse by myself. It’s so much better than holding myself stiffly for hours on end. The only problem with riding by myself is the thoughts that torture me because I no longer focus on trying to keep my distance from the leader behind me. Now, thoughts of my village and mother and brother hold me captive, not to mention thoughts of what’s to come. So far, the men have kept their distance and haven’t tried anything. But what happens when we get where we’re going? And wherearewe going? I try to push those thoughts away; no good will come from worrying about the unknown. I will face what comes my way when it’s time. Right now, I need to focus on surviving this trip.
I’m surprised when the woods start thinning out. We haven’t left the woods the entire time we’ve been traveling. But now, we finally leave them behind and make our way to a town. It’s not huge, but it’s definitely bigger than my village.
Hector turns to the leader. “We’re staying in town?”
I study the two of them. Based on the question, it’s obvious they don’t normally stay anywhere but under the stars like we’ve been doing. I’m assuming it has everything to do with Hector’s wounds, but I don’t say as much. I have a feeling his pride would take a beating.
“If that means a hot meal and a real bed; then I’m in,” Smiley, or rather, Lox, says with a grin. He slides from his horse, and the leader tosses him a bag of coins. “I’ll be back; wish me luck.” I watch him go, kind of surprised he’s taking the lead on this. It doesn’t take long for him to come back. “We're good to go.” We turn our horses over to a groomer to board them and care for them for the night. Then I follow the men into the inn. The smell of cooking meat hits me as does the warmth of the room, and I realize just how cold I’ve been for days. Being in the warmth of this room, surrounded by people going about their normal lives, I’m suddenly filled with anger. A fierce ache builds in my chest. I miss my mom and brother and Clover and the life I had. The guys all slide into a table, and I suddenly want nothing to do with any of them. They took me from my life, from my family. A lady in a gray dress walks past me and approaches the table with huge plates of meat, string beans, biscuits, and fresh jam. Lox looks up at me. “Come on, Farrah. Come sit with us, so you can eat.”
“I’m not hungry,” I say stiffly. At that exact moment, my stomach growls loudly. I’m actually starving, but I don’t want to sit and eat with these men and pretend that everything's okay when it’s not. Somehow, it’s different in this Inn. This is too familiar; in here, it’s not like on the road when I’m just their prisoner. The leader lifts his head, and those dark, intense eyes meet mine.
“Sit down and eat.” I open my mouth to argue with him. “It wasn’t a suggestion. Come eat.”Or I’ll force you.Those words aren’t said, but they’re implied. I know he would totally do it too. He would probably love to humiliate me in front of this entire room. I glare at him defiantly before I finally pull up a chair to the end of the table. Hector slides a plate my way, and I can barely keep from drooling. I take a bite followed swiftly by another and another. In no time flat, my plate is clean. “It’s a good thing you’re not hungry,” the leader says pointedly.
I feel my face heat even as I glare at him. I push back my chair, and his eyes narrow. “I need to go to the bathroom.” Without any further explanation, I walk to the back of the room where I saw the bathrooms. When I finish my business, I step out of the small room and walk down the hallway back towards the main room. But before I can get there, a man steps into the hallway. I move to the side to allow him to pass, but he doesn’t move. I look up at him and see he’s staring at me in a way that gives me the creeps. “Excuse me,” I say pointedly, trying to step around him. He just steps with me.
“You look young and innocent,” he says, running his eyes over me. He licks his lips, and I’m officially disgusted.
“Excuse me,” I say a little more forcefully this time. I think of the knife I’ve kept hidden in my boot, but I don’t want to risk the men knowing I have it and confiscating it.
He opens his mouth to say something probably disgusting again, but a hand on his shoulder stops him. The leader of our group suddenly steps into the small hallway with us, and I’m glad I didn’t pull my knife. He runs his gaze over my face for just a moment, his eyes missing nothing. “Are our rooms ready yet?” he asks the man.
There’s nothing overtly threatening about his question, and yet, the man quickly steps away. “Yes.” He grabs several keys from behind the counter. “Follow me.” The other guys join us as the man leads us upstairs and stops in the hallway.
“We’ve got it from here,” the leader says, snatching the keys from the man’s hand. I watch as the man walks away. It’s only when he’s out of sight that I relax. I’m not really paying attention as everybody gets their keys until the leader holds one out to me. I glance around quickly and see the other three men have disappeared.
“I get my own room?” I ask in surprise.
“Here’s some clothes you can wear.” I take them without looking at them. “We’ll know if you try to run.” This time I don’t even try to hold back my eye roll as I snatch the key from his hand and unlock the door. I stop suddenly and stare at the large tub with steam wafting off the hot water. When I turn back to ask if this is the right room, he’s gone.
Chapter 7
I close the door behind me and lock it and throw the clothes on the bed. I’m almost giddy as I strip my clothes off and step into the tub. I carefully peel off the dressing on my wound. Frowning, I look down at my side. There’s not even a scar there. Whatever they used must have had some pretty powerful medicinal qualities. I sink into the water and sigh as it surrounds me, instantly soothing my aching muscles. I’m pretty sure I’m never getting out. I close my eyes, but as soon as I do, too many images flash before my eyes. I open them quickly; I don’t want to remember the lives I took. It makes me sick, but I also don’t want to forget what they did to our village. I sigh; it makes things...complicated.
I reach over the edge of the tub and pick up the bar of soap and a washcloth. I wash my hair twice, scrubbing hard. Then I wash my body. I’m not going to lie; this is really nice. I put my head back again and relax. I stay in there long enough that my skin starts pruning. A sound at my door startles me. Before I realize what’s happening, the door to my room opens. I launch myself up and out of the tub with a squeak. I grab the towel lightning fast and whirl around as my heart pounds in my chest. The innkeeper from downstairs closes the door and advances on me. “Get out of here,” I grind out, trying to yank the towel around my soaking wet body.
“I don’t think I will.” His eyes run over me, and my revulsion thickens. He takes another step towards me, and I back up. My heart races at the look in his eyes; it’s pure evil. I shiver as he reaches for me, but I evade his touch. If I can just get to the door, I can make a run for it. But he steps in front of me, grabbing forme. Realizing this is not going to go well for me, I stop worrying about my modesty and lunge for the knife under my pillow. He grabs me and says something so filthy, I almost drop the knife. He grabs me and jerks me around, ripping the towel from my hands. Without thinking, I thrust up with the knife he didn’t see and stab him in the heart. He staggers backwards, staring at me with horror in his gaze before crashing to the floor. I snatch the towel from the floor and wrap it around me as I stare at the body on the floor in shock.What have I done?
The door to my room crashes against the wall, and I whirl around and hold my knife up. “Stop!” I say to the bare chest in front of me. A huge hand encircles my wrist, and I try to jerk away. But the person holding my wrist is too strong.
“If you’re going to be a threat with this, go for the throat.”
I hear the words, but they don’t register. My hand moves without my permission, and I blink when I realize my knife is now against somebody’s throat. I look up into the dark eyes of the leader. I yank my hand back, and he releases his hold. I turn to look at the body on the floor, but he puts a hand on my face and turns it back to him. “Don’t look over there; look at me.” I blink again, trying to focus. “Put clothes on,” I think I hear him say. He puts a finger under my chin and tips it up so I’m looking him in the eye. “My men are coming in. Put clothes on; I’ll turn my back.” My eyes flit over to the body on the floor, but he stops me again. “Look at me; not over there.” My eyes meet his intense ones, and I feel like the oxygen is sucked out of the room. “Farrah, put clothes on.” I can clearly hear the order in his voice. He stares at me a moment longer before he turns around. Knowing I have to get dressed, I drop the towel and throw on the clothes. I barely pay attention to what I put on—a dark shirt and dark pants. I snag the comb from the nightstand and try to run it through my hair, but my hands are shaking too badly. “Are you dressed?” he asks. I nod before realizing he can’t see me.
“Yes.”
He opens the door and lets in Lox, Hector, and the younger dark-haired guy. I keep my head down because I don’t really want to see pity or anything else in their gazes. “You okay, Farrah?” Lox asks, stopping in front of me.
“Grab him and go,” the leader says impatiently.
I cringe and turn away when I hear them dragging the innkeeper through the doorway. I swallow hard to keep from throwing up. I reach up and try to comb my hair again, but my hands are practically useless. I drop my hands in frustration.
“Hand it to me.” I turn around. A quick glance around the room shows that the other men are gone. A shudder runs through me, and I cross my hands over my chest. The leader puts his hand out, and I stare at it in confusion before I realize he wants the comb. He then motions for me to turn around, but I just stare at him. He sighs. “I’m just going to comb your hair; I’m not going to hurt you.”
