Read Online AutumnQuest by Terie Garrison - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Terie Garrison
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must trust me and obey.
I will write again when there is news from the capital. Mama sends her love, as do I. Remember—do not leave Roylinn.
~In haste and love,
Papa
Letter to Donavah received at Roylinn
the day after she disappeared
I lay there stunned, the breath knocked out of me, wanting—needing—to run but unable to move or even cry out.
“Gotcha!” said a smooth male voice, followed by low-pitched laughter. A booted foot planted square in the small of my back prevented me from getting up. “Now, then, hands behind your back.” When I didn’t move fast enough, he reached down and grabbed them himself, then held both wrists in one huge hand while fumbling through his clothing and muttering under his breath. I struggled to pull out of his grasp, but between my awkward position and his strength, I couldn’t. “None of that,” he said, and he pulled my hands higher up and pressed down with his foot. I had only enough breath to let out a pitiful whimper of pain. By then, he’d apparently found what he was looking for, which I discovered was a length of rope that he used to tie my hands securely together behind my back.
He hauled me to my feet by my collar, making me choke. I stood there silently, trying to keep my balance whilst the world spun around me and fighting down the panic that threatened to break out of me screaming. Blinking back the tears that started in my eyes, I tried to center myself the way I did when meditating. But that was impossible with him leering at me.
He had dark, weathered skin and long, brown hair streaked with grey and pulled back into a neat queue. He wore the red and purple uniform of the Royal Guard, although it looked crumpled, as if he’d slept in it. His being a soldier would alone have terrified me under the circumstances. But the cruelty that glittered in his pale green eyes matched the dissonant vibration surrounding him. Somehow I instinctively knew that he was the sort of man who had joined the Guard so that he could indulge his savagery.
He reached up to stroke my face, and I tried to back away from the elegant hand with perfect fingernails. He grabbed me by the hair and pulled me closer to him. Pinned against his side, eyes shut tight and holding my breath, I endured his caress.
“A bit of fun later, I see,” he said, and I took a deep breath to try to keep from fainting. “And if you’re a good girl, I might even share you with my mates.” Again, that deep, threatening chuckle. “But for now, you can just follow me.”
To my horror, he pulled out more rope, tied it around my neck with a slipknot, and led me away like a dog through the woods. He didn’t pull the rope taut, but I knew that one quick jerk would be enough to kill me. And that would mean Breyard would die, too. Tears flowed down my cheeks.
After about half an hour of hiking through the woods, he spoke again. “And you would be Donavah, wouldn’t you?”
My stomach dropped. How could he know? I tried to think of a lie, but my brain was frozen. When he didn’t get an answer, he stopped. So did I. My pulse pounding in my temples, I braced myself, expecting him to strike me.
Instead, a small but firm tug on the rope around my neck tightened the noose. Not so much that I couldn’t breathe, but enough to remind me who was in charge.
“I asked if you are Donavah.” I just nodded. “There. That wasn’t so difficult, now was it?”
He turned and started walking again, without loosening the knot. I followed along, of course, with no choice to do otherwise. My mind spun with unanswered questions. The only clear thought was that they had Breyard, and now they had me.
Before long, thirst set in. I’d had only a cup of tea, and that was awhile ago. I wanted a drink of water, and yet I didn’t want to ask for anything. But the longer we walked, the thirstier I got. My mouth felt as dry as old parchment.
On and on we went. It was difficult going since we weren’t on the path. When we
I will write again when there is news from the capital. Mama sends her love, as do I. Remember—do not leave Roylinn.
~In haste and love,
Papa
Letter to Donavah received at Roylinn
the day after she disappeared
I lay there stunned, the breath knocked out of me, wanting—needing—to run but unable to move or even cry out.
“Gotcha!” said a smooth male voice, followed by low-pitched laughter. A booted foot planted square in the small of my back prevented me from getting up. “Now, then, hands behind your back.” When I didn’t move fast enough, he reached down and grabbed them himself, then held both wrists in one huge hand while fumbling through his clothing and muttering under his breath. I struggled to pull out of his grasp, but between my awkward position and his strength, I couldn’t. “None of that,” he said, and he pulled my hands higher up and pressed down with his foot. I had only enough breath to let out a pitiful whimper of pain. By then, he’d apparently found what he was looking for, which I discovered was a length of rope that he used to tie my hands securely together behind my back.
He hauled me to my feet by my collar, making me choke. I stood there silently, trying to keep my balance whilst the world spun around me and fighting down the panic that threatened to break out of me screaming. Blinking back the tears that started in my eyes, I tried to center myself the way I did when meditating. But that was impossible with him leering at me.
He had dark, weathered skin and long, brown hair streaked with grey and pulled back into a neat queue. He wore the red and purple uniform of the Royal Guard, although it looked crumpled, as if he’d slept in it. His being a soldier would alone have terrified me under the circumstances. But the cruelty that glittered in his pale green eyes matched the dissonant vibration surrounding him. Somehow I instinctively knew that he was the sort of man who had joined the Guard so that he could indulge his savagery.
He reached up to stroke my face, and I tried to back away from the elegant hand with perfect fingernails. He grabbed me by the hair and pulled me closer to him. Pinned against his side, eyes shut tight and holding my breath, I endured his caress.
“A bit of fun later, I see,” he said, and I took a deep breath to try to keep from fainting. “And if you’re a good girl, I might even share you with my mates.” Again, that deep, threatening chuckle. “But for now, you can just follow me.”
To my horror, he pulled out more rope, tied it around my neck with a slipknot, and led me away like a dog through the woods. He didn’t pull the rope taut, but I knew that one quick jerk would be enough to kill me. And that would mean Breyard would die, too. Tears flowed down my cheeks.
After about half an hour of hiking through the woods, he spoke again. “And you would be Donavah, wouldn’t you?”
My stomach dropped. How could he know? I tried to think of a lie, but my brain was frozen. When he didn’t get an answer, he stopped. So did I. My pulse pounding in my temples, I braced myself, expecting him to strike me.
Instead, a small but firm tug on the rope around my neck tightened the noose. Not so much that I couldn’t breathe, but enough to remind me who was in charge.
“I asked if you are Donavah.” I just nodded. “There. That wasn’t so difficult, now was it?”
He turned and started walking again, without loosening the knot. I followed along, of course, with no choice to do otherwise. My mind spun with unanswered questions. The only clear thought was that they had Breyard, and now they had me.
Before long, thirst set in. I’d had only a cup of tea, and that was awhile ago. I wanted a drink of water, and yet I didn’t want to ask for anything. But the longer we walked, the thirstier I got. My mouth felt as dry as old parchment.
On and on we went. It was difficult going since we weren’t on the path. When we
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