A Girl From Nowhere (The Firewall Trilogy #1) - James Maxwell Page 0,60

their argument appeared to have been settled, but then she felt a chill when Mugrak’s dark gaze focused on her. Vail left Mugrak’s side to walk toward Selena and Rei-kika. As the group leader approached, Selena was surprised to see that her tilted eyes looked troubled.

Vail came to a halt. She stood directly in front of Selena and waited a moment before speaking. Selena felt her heart rate increase. Her intuition told her something bad was about to happen.

“Mugrak and his followers are going to take you to cast for them, Selena,” Vail said without preamble. “Rei-kika, you will stay with me.”

Selena drew in a sharp breath. She glanced at Mugrak, who was watching the exchange with a satisfied look on his wart-covered face. Vail had been less than kind to her, but Selena feared the bax more. She remembered standing on the hill with Lars, certain she was about to die. Her thoughts turned to the idea of running, but she was surrounded by skalen and in Mugrak’s home territory.

“Why?” she asked Vail. She shook her head. “No. I won’t go.”

“I am not giving you a choice,” Vail hissed. “We have struck a bargain. When the fighting starts, Mugrak will help ensure our clan leader, Rathis, makes it out alive. In return, Mugrak plans to offer you as a gift to Blixen, Warden of the Rift Valley. We have Rei-kika to cast for us. You are the price he demanded.”

“Group Leader, don’t do this,” Selena said.

Rei-kika made a clicking sound of concern.

“Listen to me,” Vail said firmly. “Mugrak wishes to travel ahead, but our forces are to merge with the main host when we arrive. I will still be near, young mystic. Remember, you are valuable. No harm will come to you.”

Mugrak and another bax came over. Selena’s nostrils flared when she saw that Mugrak’s companion held a length of leather cord in his hands.

“We will take the payment now, Group Leader,” Mugrak grunted. “Borg, bind the girl.”

The bax called Borg grabbed Selena and turned her roughly. She threw her body forward to pull free, but with a growl Borg grabbed her again, this time twisting her wrists behind her back. She struggled, but the stocky bax wrapped the cord around her wrists, tying them hard. When it was done, she stood with her heart pounding.

“Her talent is wild,” Vail said to Mugrak. “I have learned to get the most out of her, but without your own mystics you may have difficulty.”

“That is no concern of yours,” Mugrak said. “We have ways to make her do our bidding.”

Mugrak gathered the rest of his dozen warriors, and without a word of farewell he ordered the march to begin. In moments Selena had left the skalen behind, with Mugrak setting a far brisker pace to head deeper into the immense canyon. The maze of side passages was confusing but he obviously knew where they were going.

Selena fought to control her apprehension. She had never been this close to a bax before, and now she was alone with a dozen of them. She smelled their musty odor as Borg herded her along, and when she stumbled or made an involuntary sound of pain, a sharp jab silenced her. There was more variety in their appearance than there was with skalen. Mugrak’s face was wart-covered and mottled with a fungus-like pigmentation, while Borg had the thickest neck she had ever seen. As she glanced at the other marching warriors she sensed there was no gentleness in their nature. Some had colorful blotches on their faces and necks, and they wore armor rather than clothing. Their weapons had all seen heavy use. Mugrak’s harsh grunts kept them in line.

The forced march continued for hours. Selena wondered about her fate. She had to find a way to get free. Only then could she warn the Protector of Zorn about the growing threat on his doorstep.

But as the light began to fade and fatigue dragged at her limbs, her thoughts turned to a more immediate fear. She knew that if she didn’t get a chance to rest, she wouldn’t be able to think, let alone cast. Her dread grew every time one of the bax looked her way.

The ravine narrowed, and they followed a chasm with steep walls of rock on both sides. Mugrak evidently knew where he was going and turned when the path forked. Selena glanced up. The sky overhead was shifting in hue from blue to dark purple. The first stars appeared, one