The Betrayal - By Ruth Langan Page 0,16
end over his shoulder. When he saw her watching he couldn’t resist adding, “Perhaps next time you’ll allow me to undress you and wash your garments, my lady.”
For a moment she seemed startled. Then she spotted the gleam of laughter in his eyes. “Is this more of your teasing, my lord?”
He swallowed back the chuckle that threatened. “Aye, my lady. Forgive me. But I dearly love teasing you.”
“So it would seem.” She removed a stick from the fire on which had been threaded chunks of fish that were perfectly browned. “I believe you should eat something. Otherwise you’ll not have the strength to tease me further.”
“That would be most unfortunate, my lady. For I’ve begun to dearly love the color that comes to your cheeks. It’s most becoming.”
She helped herself to a second stick threaded with fish, settling herself in the grass beside the fire. Moments later Grant dropped down next to her. “I wonder why my people have always feared the Forest of Darkness. It seems not at all the inhospitable place I’ve always heard about.”
“That’s because we have a fire.” Seeing his arched brow, she explained, “The fire keeps the creatures at bay. Because they belong to the night, they fear its light. If the fire should go out, we would be at their mercy, for then we would be in their element. They can see in the darkness.”
“What sort of creatures are they?” Grant found himself glancing around uneasily at the darkness just beyond the ring of light.
“I know not, for none have faced their wrath and lived to tell of it. But it’s whispered that they’re cruel, dangerous beasts who thrive on the blood of their prey.”
He studied the meager supply of sticks and branches that Kylia had hauled from the surrounding brush. “As soon as I’ve eaten, I’ll gather more wood.”
She nodded. “But remember to stay within the circle of firelight. You mustn’t risk leaving its protection.”
In the distance they heard a scream that might have been animal or human. The sound of it scraped over their nerves.
Grant felt a chill race along his spine and wondered at it. Like all warriors, he’d known fear a time or two on the field of battle. But at least there he knew something about his opponents, for even barbarians from far-flung regions fought with sword and knife and arrow. Beasts that inhabited the Forest of Darkness would be a dangerous foe unlike anything he’d ever encountered. He had no desire to test his skill against such adversaries.
“Step back, my lady.”
Grant used the blade of his sword to hack at the gnarled branches of a tree. Sweat beaded his forehead as he and Kylia dragged the limbs across the campsite.
“Until now I hadn’t realized how small was the circle of light cast by the fire. No wonder you were able to find so little wood.”
“Aye.” She wiped her hands down her skirt. “I’ve nearly swept the ground clean to keep the fire going.”
“This should give us some time.” He tossed the branches on the fire and watched as the flames leaped high in the air, before dropping weakly to the ground.
At once Kylia was beside him. “What is it, my lord?”
“I’d hoped to take leave of this place.” He shook his head to clear it. The weakness caught him by surprise. “But here I am, feeling as helpless as a bairn.”
She gave him a gentle smile. “You were, whether you care to admit it or not, gravely wounded. It will take time to regain your strength.”
“Time.” He spat the word. “We haven’t the time to waste here in this place. I’m needed in my fortress.”
“Rest now.” Kylia shook the grass from her traveling cloak and draped it around him. “Soon enough we’ll be gone from here.”
Within minutes Grant was fast asleep.
As Kylia drew near the fire for warmth, she heard the rustling sounds just beyond the circle of light, and knew the forest creatures were watching. She glanced at the pile of firewood and shivered. Here in the Forest of Darkness there was neither day nor night. Only eternal darkness.
How soon, she wondered, before the firewood was gone?
Then would they have to face the mythical beasts that no man had ever lived to describe.
Chapter Six
Kylia fed wood to the fire and watched the flames leap, sending shadows dancing across the campsite. When Grant moaned in his sleep she hurried to kneel beside him, touching a hand to his forehead. He flinched and she realized with a shock that