AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Be silent,” I warn her. “There are enemies nearby, and if they hear you, we’ll all be killed. If you want to live, you will make no noise. Do you understand?”
She glares at me, but nods and raises her hand slightly. I lower the gag enough for her to speak.
“Who are you?” she hisses. “Where are you taking me?”
“My name is Bradoc. And you’ll find out everything else soon enough.” I put the gag back in place as she watches me through narrowed, emerald-green eyes.
* * *
OAKLYN
What the hell is that supposed to mean?!
His accent is rough, but lucky for me, his English is perfectly fine and I have no problem understanding him. Unfortunately, I’m not at all sure I want to know what ‘everything else’ entails, given that the part that’s already been revealed includes taking me against my will and binding and gagging me. If that’s the part Bradoc is cool with me knowing, then what the hell else is yet to come?
We’ve caught up to the rest of his group—at least, I assume they’re his men and not the aforementioned enemies—and it’s clear I’m surrounded by a bunch of hulking males who are definitely not human, which is as much as I can make up in the absolute blackness that is a thick forest in the dead of night.
My heartbeat speeds up, a mix of excitement, trepidation, and a whole boatload of adrenaline. I’m not exactly scared, or at least, not entirely.
I came to the mountain to find cryptids, and holy shit, it looks like I succeeded, which is exciting as hell. I’m stoked. However, I am alsoextremelyannoyed about being kidnapped. And pretty concerned about what a dozen monster men might decide to do with me.
It’s only a small comfort that Bradoc doesn’t seem to want me dead, since he told me to keep quiet if I wanted to live. But he probably only said that to protect himself and his men, to prevent me from alerting the enemies to their presence. For all I know,hisenemies could well bemyfriends. Or at least people who would be willing to untie me.
But I’m not going to count on that, not before I at least have some idea who they are. So for the moment, I’m stuck.
Bradoc keeps me close, and it’s clear to me that while my night vision is better than most people’s, it’s not as good as his. He keeps me from tripping over rocks and getting smacked by branches, but he never says a word. In fact, none of them do. They’re totally silent, moving through the forest like ghosts, and I can’t help but wonder where we’re going.
Before long, the trees thin out and a small village appears. It reminds me of something from a medieval story book: huts with thatched roofs, small pens for livestock, larger buildings that might house big animals or grain or something. It’s quaint, with smoke coming out of some of the chimneys.
Bradoc leads me to a smallish tree and ties me to it. “Stay here,” he whispers, like he’s giving me a choice. “And no matter what, stay quiet.”
He says something to his men in their guttural language, and all of them—I count sixteen, including Bradoc—pull out weapons. Axes, bows, swords…it’s like an entire old-fashioned armory.
“What are you doing?” I hiss around the gag, but it comes out garbled and they all ignore me, instead creeping into the village and taking up positions around the various huts. On silent feet, they slip into the homes, and it doesn’t take long for shouting to erupt. Men come pouring out of the huts, giant males like the ones who brought me here, armed just as well.
Holy hell, this is some kind of raid. In the dark, they all sort of look alike, giant horned males with weapons, and I lose track of Bradoc and his allies. It doesn’t take long for things to erupt into full-blown mayhem.
There’s screaming, the bellowing of animals, and even a small fire that erupts in the middle of the village. Huge, dark figures run to and fro, occasionally falling to the ground with sickening thuds as weapons find their targets.
It lasts maybe half an hour or so; the villagers were unprepared for the arrival of Bradoc and his men, who had a clear advantage. One of them snuffed out the fire before things got too out of control, but even without its flickering light, I can see bodies lying on the ground. I have no idea if they’re alive or dead.
Bradoc and his party return to me with three bound females in tow, along with some miscellaneous farm animals and a few deer. The women are obviously the same species as these males; though shorter than the men, they absolutely dwarf me.
Without a word, Bradoc unties me from the tree and begins marching me back through the forest, the rest of our party close behind. Thanks to our proximity, I can feel the sweat on his arm as it guides me. His skin feels clammy, and his breathing is more labored than I would have expected.
I wonder if he was wounded in the raid, but with the gag in my mouth, I can’t ask. So instead, I march along in silence, wondering where we’re going. It takes ages before we reach our destination, which is a village similar to the one they just attacked.
One of the men takes the animals to a small barn, while Bradoc herds the other women and me to a small hut. He says something in their shared language, and the women glare at him. Then he turns to me.
“You’ll spend the night here with the other captives. Soon someone will choose you for a wife.”
He turns and stalks away, leaving me to stare in horror at his retreating back. Finding cryptids was one thing. Going on an adventure was something else.
Butmarryingone? Not gonna happen.
* * *
OAKLYN
