girl, I offered to help him in order to gain your attention.”
The vile bitch had sold Alice off to bring him to heel.
He growled, the anger creeping up his chest and into his throat.
He bolted to his feet before he could stop himself.
“Save your strength, Black Sword. You will fight under the full moon.” She looked up at the ceiling of the cabin with a frown of concentration. “Almost time, remove your shirt.” Trying to clear his mind, he unbuttoned his shirt with numb fingers. Thoughts of what Arn could be doing to Alice made the rage difficult to control. His breath rasped through his teeth.
Ingrid appraised him as he let the shirt drop from his shoulders. Her gaze floated over his torso, and her tongue poked from between her lips as she ran it over the edges of her teeth. He felt the tendrils of her seduction trying to work at him again, but she gave up soon after. “When did you stop desiring me?” Her voice was soft, almost sad.
Brand ignored the question, turning his face away from her. The days when he would have thought her enticing were long gone. She was diseased, like a tree rotting from the inside out.
With a sigh, Ingrid went to the table once more and returned with a silver torc worked with runic designs. She twisted the heavy circle of metal in a complex pattern until it opened.
She gestured for him to lean forward, but he didn"t comply. With a frown, she reached up and cinched the adornment around his neck with another series of twists. The fit was snug. She slid her fingers beneath it and tugged sharply.
Still, he refused to bend toward her.
She released her hold on the torc with a snarl. “Run west for thirty minutes and you will find your Alice.” He bolted out of the cabin.
33
34
Chapter 4
Brand ran west. The trees moved by in a blur. Blood pulsed through him, spreading the rage to every part of his body in a throbbing surge. His desperation to reach Alice made every stride an eternity. He felt the pull of the moon like a thrumming song in his chest. It stretched him, creating tension that felt as if it would break him into pieces from the inside out.
The trees thinned the higher he climbed, and the ground grew ever more rocky. Soon, the forest disappeared entirely, and he was alone with the moon on the barren hillside.
Silver light played over the terrain, casting everything in an unearthly glow.
Brand smelled Alice"s terror well before he reached them, the scent sharp enough that pain lanced his chest. He crested a small rise, and they came into view at the base of a butte. Arn"s teeth locked onto Alice"s slim shoulder. The sounds of greedy suckling carried through the air. Her bruised body was limp underneath him. Blood smeared her skin and matted her long, pale hair.
Brand screamed and barreled downhill. The moon"s call evoked a torrent of fury that ripped through him. Still 35
screaming a wordless challenge, he crashed into the larger male.
Arn slid across the ground and came to a stop when he hit the wall of rock. Pebbles rained down on him from above.
Brand stood over Alice. The state of her frail, naked body reminded him so much of how he"d found her almost a century ago, when he"d sworn to protect her. He"d failed. He always failed. The smell of her blood and the stink of the other male wafting up from her body ratcheted Brand"s anger even further.
With a puzzled expression, Arn righted himself, one hand braced on the wall. When his gaze settled on Brand, he growled. He spoke in a low, rough voice, “Leave now, and I"ll let you live.”
Brand stepped over Alice, putting himself between her and Arn. His hands curled into fists. “You"re not ever going to touch her again. I should have killed you when I took her from you.” “The Spear"s son is soft. No one was surprised that I survived our last meeting.” Arn"s eyes flicked down to Alice, and a leering grin spread over his face. “Soft in more ways than one, it seems. She didn"t smell anything like you. I guess you can"t get your staff up at all, if you can"t even mount that one.” Brand launched himself at Arn. Arn dodged, and Brand crashed into the wall where Arn had been standing. Arn drove his shoulder into Brand"s back, crushing him against the rock.
The pressure