How The Warrior Fell (Falling Warriors series Book 1) (19 page)

She would not make Garnette suffer more than she had too.

L
EAWYN PUSHED THE
thick branch away from her face and looked down on the camp below her.

She didn’t like what she saw.

It seemed there were at least forty or so men, and every one of them were armed.

“Garnette, what have you gotten me into?” Leawyn mumbled to herself. Her blue eyes took in everything around her, trying to find said girl. It didn’t take long for Leawyn to spot her.

Garnette was “settled” against a tree a few feet away from the men, their backs turned to her. They were huddled against the fire, trying to keep warm against the snow. The irritated glare the child was shooting at them would have been comical under different circumstances. Knowing time was of the essence, Leawyn began her slow decent down the incline and to her charge.

When she thought she was within hearing distance, she crouched down low behind a bush and called the girl’s name, trying to whisper, but at the same time get the girl’s attention. “Garnette!”

The poor girl looked upset, but at the sound of Leawyn’s voice, she narrowed her eyes and sat up straighter, searching for whoever had called her name.

“Garnette!” Leawyn dared to call again.

“Lady Chief?” Garnette asked, looking confused. She looked around again and perked up when she spotted Leawyn peeking out of the bush.

“Lady Chief!” Garnette exclaimed happily. “What are you—”

“Shh! Not too loud,” Leawyn whispered frantically. She shot a look towards the men to see if they heard.

Garnette also looked at them, then looked back at her lady chief.

“What are you doing here?” Garnette finished, her voice much quieter.

“I’m here to get you out of trouble. Are you okay?” Leawyn crawled over to her on her stomach. “They did not harm you, did they?”

Garnette shook her head. “No, I am not harmed.” She pouted.“They broke my hiding branch, though.”

Leawyn paused in untying Garnette’s hands and gave her a stern look. “That’s the least you should be worried about.”

Once the knots were undone, Leawyn quickly put a hand on Garnette’s shoulder so the young girl couldn’t spring up and alert the entire encampment of her freedom.

“Garnette, you must listen very carefully. Do you see those bushes over there?” Leawyn whispered, pointing to the brush that was just to the side of Garnette a few paces away.

Garnette followed her pointed finger and nodded. “Yes, I see them.”

“Good. I want you to slowly crawl your way over there. Once you do, climb up the tree until you reach the top of the hill,” Leawyn urged quietly. “You must stay on your belly and stay low to the ground. Understand?”

“Yes, Lady Chief.”

“Good. Now go. I’ll be right behind you.”

No comment passed as Garnette followed her Lady’s instructions. Leawyn waited until Garnette’s tiny feet disappeared into the bush before she followed.

When Leawyn pulled herself up the ledge, Garnette was waiting for her.

“Come now, Garnette. Deydrey is waiting for us,” Leawyn said hurriedly. She grabbed the girl’s hand and pulled her along. It wasn’t very long until shouts rang out nearby. The men had noticed Garnette’s disappearance. Not wasting any more time, Leawyn swung Garnette up into her arms and ran as fast as she could. She skidded to a stop when one of the men hopped out of the trees and blocked their path.

“Now, looky wha’ I found,” the man grinned, showing off his foul teeth. “Where you think you’re goin’?”

Leawyn placed Garnette on the ground and pushed her behind her back. She’d known there was a chance of her being caught, but she never got as far as planning what she would do if that happened.

“Garnette, whatever happens, you have to run. Even if it’s without me,” Leawyn told Garnette quietly.

“I dun think that will be happenin’, sweets.” The burly man chuckled. Leawyn heard multiple feet coming toward them. Soon Leawyn and Garnette would be surrounded with no chance for either of them to escape.

To Leawyn’s surprise, a rock flew through the air and landed squarely in the man’s crotch. The man crumbled to his knees with a squeal that rivaled a girl’s, and Leawyn took the opportunity given to her and quickly pulled her bow over her shoulder and let an arrow fly. It killed him instantly.

Leawyn looked down.

“Castic taught me how to throw. He’s the best at skipping rocks.” The innocent proclamation was so nonchalant, Leawyn couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

The sound of men yelling behind them alerted Leawyn. She quickly picked up Garnette again and ran for all she was worth. Turning to glance over her shoulder, she wasn’t at all surprised to see the men right on her heels. She saw Deydrey in the distance but was afraid she wouldn’t make it in time.

Leawyn whistled for her mare. “Deydrey!” she called desperately, relieved when her horse galloped toward her.

They met halfway, and Leawyn quickly swung Garnette on Deydrey’s back and handed her the reins. She looked behind her again. She was out of time. Leawyn felt the heat of the oncoming man behind her, and knew what she had to do.

“Run!” Leawyn shouted. And with a slap on the rump, Deydrey took off, with Garnette screaming for Leawyn as she did.

Leawyn watched their escape until only seconds later, when several men grabbed her, and hauled her away as she kicked and screamed in protest.

X
AVIER KNEW SOMETHING
was wrong the moment he rode into his village. He scanned the faces of his villagers and noticed how none of them would quite meet his eyes.

“Something’s not right.” Tristan stated what Xavier himself was thinking when he brought his stallion up to walk beside Killix.They both pulled their horses to a stop and fluidly dismounted when they reached the massive stables.Xavier paused in taking off the saddle when Killix looked around, stomping his feet anxiously and snorting in distress.

He knew only one reason that could cause a reaction like that from his horse. A terrible feeling pooled in his stomach. Xavier rushed around Killix and to the pasture Deydrey would be resting in.

The mare wasn’t there. Leawyn was gone. Xavier whipped around, fury reflecting in his eyes. She disobeyed him! She ran as soon as Xavier left. He was a fool to trust her.

“What is it?” Tristan asked in alarm.

A piercing whinny sounded out seconds before Deydrey burst through the trees at a neck-breaking speed, stalling Xavier’s answer.

Absent was the body of her owner on her back. Instead, it was a child.

Xavier stepped in front of Deydrey, intercepting her. He grabbed the mare’s reins when she threw her dapple grey head in distress. Deydrey stomped in place, letting out earsplitting cries of suffering. Xavier looked up into the watery eyes of Garnette.

“Chief!” Garnette cried in sorrow and desperation. She practically threw herself off Deydrey’s tall back and into Tristan’s arms, who was quick to catch her and save her from hurting herself.

The little girl impatiently shrugged out of Tristan’s hold and ran to Xavier’s feet, grabbing hold of his shirt at the wrist and pulling him back toward Deydrey, all the while brokenly trying to explain through her sobs.

“You have to hurry . . . Lady Chief . . . You have to help!”

Xavier planted his feet and placed his hands on the small girl’s shoulders to still her.

“Garnette, what has happened?”

“It’s all my fault!” Garnette wailed, her tears sliding down her cheeks like a waterfall. “Save her, Chief, save her, please!”

“What happened?” Xavier yelled, shaking Garnette’s shoulders with impatience. “Where is she?”

“They took her!” Garnette burst out.“The men took her! She tried to save me, and they took her!”

Garnette sobbed as Xavier quickly released her and climbed onto Deydrey’s back.

He wasn’t even properly seated in the saddle when Deydrey shot off in a furious gallop, leaving grass and dust in her wake. Only one thing ran through Xavier’s mind.

Save her.

Save his wife.

Leawyn’s head snapped to the side at the sharp slap against her cheek. She licked her already cracked lip before she slowly turned her head back to glare at the man who laid a hand on her.

“Tell us!”

Leawyn stubbornly kept her mouth shut, which earned her another slap. The men who had captured her were holding her hostage inside a large tent what was completely bare of furniture. Her hands were bound in front of her, held tightly together by a coarse rope that chafed her skin.The semi-dried blood trailing down from her cut eyebrow plastered her blonde hair to the side of her face.Her five captors had tried to get information from her for quite some time.
What tribe is she from? Where is it? Who is she? Does she know where Xavier is?
Leawyn refused to answer any of their questions. She didn’t give them the satisfaction of even making a sound as they continued to beat her to try and force the information from her.They didn’t know she was Samaritan, Lady Chief of the Izayges, and married to the most fearsome warrior in history.

This was child’s play.

They only thing that kept her from breaking was the satisfaction she would get when Xavier came to save her. Because he 
would 
come for her, and when he did, all the men holding her captive would die.

That thought alone caused a smirk to cover her face. It infuriated the man and earned her another hit, this time with his beefy fists.

That
hurt.

Leawyn closed her eyes against the black dots that controlled her vision, shaking her head to try and clear them away.

She grunted in pain when the man grabbed her hair and yanked her head back. Her blue eyes stared down at the blade he trailed across her cheek, barely flinching when it dipped into her skin to make a shallow cut.

“Yer awful pretty,” the man leered in his strange accent, his rotten breath making Leawyn gag. “It would be a shame ta cut ya an’ mark that smile.”

Leawyn’s captor chuckled and looked over his shoulder to the other men, who were also laughing. All of the men looked unfamiliar, which made Leawyn confused. Were they the men who had ambushed Xavier? Their chests were bare, and they wore dark breeches made of a material Leawyn wasn’t familiar with. They had incredibly poor hygiene, as if they never soaked in oils, and their facial hair was ragged and untamed.

The laughter instantly ceased when bloody spittle landed on his face and slowly trailed down his cheek and chin.He turned murderous eyes to Leawyn as he wiped the spit away with the back of his hand.“You’ll pay for that, ya bitch.”

Before Leawyn could prepare herself, she was thrown roughly on the ground. She screamed in pain when she landed hard on her shoulder. It made a horrible popping sound as it disconnected.

Leawyn had no time to recuperate; she was roughly turned over onto her back and straddled by the man who was abusing her.

Leawyn struggled violently, kicking and clawing at the man’s face. She tried to throw him off her by bucking her hips and kicking out with her feet.

The powerful punch he landed to her face disoriented her enough so he was able to gain an advantage and grab both her wrists to hold them above her head. Leawyn shrieked at the agony the action caused her dislocated shoulder.