Lila's Wolf (Out of Time Book 1) (13 page)

He hurried back, longing to hold Lila and kiss her again, the excitement lending a spring to his step. One more time.

Lila

The guard unfastened my chain and helped me to stand on shaky legs. I thought he was being kind until he took the opportunity to run his hand down my back and across my bottom. He didn’t lead me back to Rowena’s quarters—this time I’d been summoned to a large formal area. Rowena sprawled on a couch, Roman, if I wasn’t mistaken, a cluster of slaves fussing round her. Sitting next to her, with one huge paw-like hand on her thigh was a giant of a man. This had to be the warlord.

Wild orange hair sprang from his head and poured down to his shoulders, matching his bright ginger beard and eyebrows. With his green-gold eyes he looked like a lion dressed in plate-armor. I had no doubt he’d be every bit as lethal. I remembered at the last minute that I was supposed to keep my eyes to the floor, but before I dropped my gaze, I caught a glimpse of the other warrior with them. Tall and broad shouldered, his long dirty blond hair was tied neatly back from a clean-shaven face. Not Saxon, I’d swear. Unlike the coarse features of the warlord’s group, this man had a long elegant nose and high, Slavic cheekbones.

I swallowed hard and sank to my knees in front of Rowena. This was Widreth’s new ally, I knew it. Dear God, where was Jared when I needed him?

Rowena’s voice carried a sharp note. “Mudd, this is your new master, Bran of the Averni.”

Shit
. I didn’t know much about the Averni tribe, apart from their being one of the fiercest of the Gaulish rebels to split away from Roman rule. For them, making an alliance with a powerful Saxon warlord made sense.

Logical thoughts fled when Bran chuckled, the noise sending terrified shivers down my spine. Nausea roiled in my belly, rising in a surge while I tried to swallow it down. It would be dinnertime soon. I wouldn’t have to spend any time with him.

An angry squeal prompted me to lift my head and peep at the couch. Rowena lay beneath her husband. His hands lifted her skirts in front of everyone and his fingers dug grooves into her pale flesh. I felt a moment of satisfaction then, conscious I was being watched, I looked around to see Bran glaring at me. I bent my head again, my heart pounding.

“I shall avail myself of your fine facilities, Widreth, and bathe in readiness for the feast tonight.” Bran spoke with a sharper accent than the Saxons. Like his angry stare, his voice was cold and hard. He oozed authority.

“
Sa
.” Widreth’s voice was muffled. “We shall feast soon enough, my brother-in-arms. My home is yours.”

I stared at the floor and tried to control my trembling while listening to the conversation over my head. Had I been forgotten? Maybe I could go back to the slave quarters? A pair of dusty boots appeared in my line of vision. “Your name is Mudd?”

“Yes.”

A pause. “Yes,
what
?” The last word held a veiled threat.

I gulped in my haste to respond. “Yes, sire.”

“Take me to the bathhouse, Mudd. I’m in need of bathing and a massage.”

The bathhouse? I didn’t know there was one. I licked dry lips before I managed a halting reply. “I’m sorry, sire, I don’t know. I haven’t been there before.”

“Allow me, master.” One of Rowena’s fawning slaves scuttled into view, and I scrambled to my feet, hoping to escape. Bran, meanwhile, draped a heavy arm around my shoulders, leaning me into his body.

“It is time for you to serve your new master, Mudd.”

•●•

Bathhouses were a Roman creation, but Widreth had obviously liked his well enough to keep it maintained. I gazed at the steaming pool and thought fleetingly of how good it would feel to soak in the hot water—a daydream quickly shattered when a group of noisy Saxons followed us in. Harried looking slaves trailed behind them, jugs and bottles in their hands along with piles of towels. I watched, uncertain of what I should do next.

Bran didn’t have any doubts. He laid a noisy slap across my bottom, and then laughed at the shock on my face. “I shall bathe, and then you can give me a massage.” My mouth dropped open as he began to strip in front of me. His belt and weapons first, and then his tunic, all dropped in a neat pile on the tiled floor. “Stay here and wait for me to finish.” His attention was caught by the other men, jostling for position in the now-crowded shallow pool. He held up a fist to them and cheered. “It shall be good feasting tonight, my brothers in arms.”

Hoping he’d finished with me, I sidled back a step, but he noticed. He dropped his arm around my waist and hauled me close to his body, his fingers digging into my side. “Eh, my brothers. The bedding shall be good tonight, too.” My face burned, and I closed my eyes as they jeered and catcalled at each other.
Stay quiet
, I reminded myself.
I won’t be here after the feast
.

The moment when he released me couldn’t come quickly enough, but eventually he let go and continued undressing before sliding into the water to join his friends. I sat on the floor with the other slaves to wait, and ponder the possibility of stealing a weapon.

Jared

Jared had almost made it back to the slave quarters when he saw Kai hauling a pile of brushwood, easily three times bigger than she was. He made his way to her side, scooped some under his arm, and reorganised the load. The child looked exhausted.

“We’re getting out of here tonight, Kai. I need you to be ready for my signal at sundown.”

She stopped dead and stared at him, eyes wide. “How?”

“I’m setting fire to one of the stables, and then, in the confusion, we’re riding out. I’ve sorted out ponies for us. They’re in the top field.” He skipped over the freeing-the-
ghardian
part. He still had no idea how he’d pull that off. “I need you to help me loose the horses in the stable block, and then carry the saddles and bridles with me. It’s got to be tonight.”

He could read the uncertainty on her pinched face. She wiped a grubby hand across her eyes and pretended to adjust the bundle of wood. “I have nowhere to go. Where are you going?” Her whisper cut through him. How could he explain that he didn’t expect to survive the escape but, even if he did, he might get ripped out of this time period and thrown in a cell?

Kai touched his arm with her fingertips, her whisper becoming increasingly urgent. “Will I come with you, Wolf?”

“Surely you have family here?”

She shrugged. Her eyes beseeched him. “I was taken as a small child. I grew up in this household. I don’t know anything else. My family came from across the sea.”
God
. What could he tell her? The fingers tightened on his arm as he deliberated. “
Please
, Wolf. I could look after you. I could look after your…needs. Please take me with you.”

“Listen to me.” He hardened his voice. “You’re coming with us because you’re my friend, not for any other reason. I won’t treat you that way, Kai. I haven’t planned beyond getting out of here. We’ll worry about that later.”

A hint of a smile flashed across her face. “They’ll be feasting at sundown. Everyone will be in the banquet hall.”

“I know. I’ll start the fire in the yard then carry a taper to the stable block. You need to get the horses loose while I grab the saddles. If we get separated, we meet in the top field.”

She nodded but kept her hand on his arm. “I cannot express my thanks to you.”

He managed what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “It’s me who owes you, Kai. I won’t leave you behind.” He nodded to her and made his way back into the hall, assessing the height of the sun as he did so.

It was worth checking on the
ghardian
and seeing if his security had been increased, and so Jared made his way to the east wing. He hastened, as though running an errand. One quick walk by the cells and then he stopped dead. There was the guard, talking to another soldier at the far end of the corridor. Jared ducked into the outer cell. This could be his chance.

He hurried inside the open doorway, half expecting to see another guard already inside but finding the outer room empty. He peered around the doorframe. The guards were still talking and laughing together, but they might be there for just a minute or for half an hour. The cell door lay slightly open. He shoved at it with his shoulder and then lurched into the fetid cell. The
ghardian
—Marc—lifted his head. His eyes were dull but sharpened rapidly when he saw Jared.

“Lila?” He croaked the name through swollen lips.

Jared hesitated. How much should he tell him right now? “She’s safe at the moment.” This was too good an opportunity to miss, even if it did screw up his timing. He’d have to stash the
ghardian
somewhere until sundown, although God knew where. Swallowing his anxiety, he spoke. “Do you still have your stunner? The guard could be back any minute.”

“Yes. My arm.”

Jared’s hands were stiff and unwieldy, and he fumbled with the arm ring, cursing as he went. The stunner was beautifully disguised as a silver snake clipped to a metal arm ring; it was a miracle the guard hadn’t spotted it under the loose fitting sleeve.

“Hurry,” rasped Marc. “Footsteps.”

Shit
. Jared heard them too. He pushed again at the clasp and tried to manipulate his fingers to open the tiny mechanism. Sweat trickled down his forehead, and he shook his head before it dripped into his eyes.
Bloody Rowena.
His hands were nearly useless at the moment.

Marc whispered, “Take the arm ring off. You can still use it like that.”

Would that be any easier?

Marc squirmed slightly, twisting his arm just a fraction, and just enough for Jared reach the hinge at the back. It was a larger clasp, but Jared couldn’t see it and had to work blindly.

His finger snagged on something.

The ring loosened and slipped down a short way.

He tried again.

The footsteps reached the outer room, and Jared heard the door bang shut. His eyes met Marc’s. This was the man Lila wanted and Jared had promised to save him. He shook his head again, droplets of moisture flying off, and pressed at the clasp once more.
Come on!

The clasp dropped open, the arm ring almost slipping out of his hands, just as the guard walked into the cell.

There was a single frozen moment when the guard’s jaw dropped open, the man surprised by the sight of Jared with the prisoner. It was long enough. Wrenching the end cap off the stunner, Jared leaped forward. The guard carried a short sword on his hip, but in the time it took to drag it from its sheath, Jared had reached him.

In a move he’d practiced long ago, he raised his left arm as though to strike a blow. When the guard dodged and leaned away, Jared swiped with the stunner, contacted the man’s neck and zapped him. The guard jerked and gasped, the shock reverberating through his body, and Jared took advantage of that to zap him a second time.

Jared stared down at the unconscious man and tried to control his erratic breathing.
Christ
, that had been close. His right hand cramped, and he almost dropped the stunner. With slow, careful movements, he recapped it and slipped the arm ring around his own arm, to sit loosely above the elbow.

“We need to get out of here.” Jared wasn’t sure if he’d spoken aloud, but Marc seemed to think the same.

He tugged at the chains holding him. “Can you get me free?”

Jared sucked in a deep breath.
Focus
. He needed to focus. He remembered seeing the pincers in the outer room and he ran to fetch them; they were the easiest way to open the chain links on the manacles. It was agony, squeezing the pincers hard enough to open the links, and he felt fresh blood erupting across his palms, but eventually the
ghardian
was freed. Marc stumbled to the floor and cursed as his muscles complained, but between them they stripped the guard of his armor and weapons, and then hung the unconscious man in Marc’s place. Marc donned the metal breastplate, leather tunic and sandals, and snatched up the sword and matching daggers. They agreed the
ghardian
should keep the stunner. If Jared were seen with weaponry or jewelery, someone would notice. It was too risky for the moment.