The Battle Lord's Lady (30 page)

As much as he hated to admit it, diving back
into his work felt good. It was like a security blanket, a familiar
routine that kept his mind occupied and ate up time. Before he was
aware of it, Mastin was dismissing the men, and Verris had joined
him to discuss promotions.

In the midst of their evaluations, Mastin
interrupted their train of thought with a glance and a nod of his
head. Yulen looked up to see MaGrath trudging toward them. Once he
got within earshot, Yulen called out, “How’s Atty doing?”

The physician gave him a puzzled expression.
“I was about to ask you the same question.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, she wasn’t in your room, so I—”

“
What?
”

“She’s not in your room.” MaGrath froze. “Oh,
my God.”

Yulen began running toward the main lodge
with the physician close behind him. “How far could she have
gotten?” he asked.

“There’s no way. I gave her enough of that
extract to keep her under for at least six to eight hours.”

Their footsteps echoed in the nearly empty
main hall. Yulen took the steps two at a time and pounded the door
open with his fist. The bed was rumpled, but Atty was gone. A quick
glance in the bathroom, closet, and balcony yielded no signs of
her. Striding over to the bedside, Yulen noticed the pile of
blood-soaked rags lying scattered on the floor beside the bed. He
bent to pick one up, holding it so MaGrath could see it.

“If you were under sedation and just waking
up, Liam, would you reach across the mattress to drop your
compresses on the floor?”

MaGrath paled at the implication.

Yulen pointed to the empty scabbard still
hanging from the back of the chair. “The dagger’s gone, but the
bow’s still here.”

At its mention, MaGrath noticed the weapon
propped against the wall beside the door. Bile began to rise in his
gorge as the truth set in.

If Atty had left on her own accord, she would
have taken the bow. It was like an extension of herself, and she’d
never leave it behind. And the dagger...no one took their weapon
without taking the sheath for it.

“Who could’ve...” He took another
painful breath. “
Who?
”

Rising, Yulen hurried out the door and went
downstairs. “Berta!”

Moments later the servant woman came through
the kitchen door, followed by several of her staff. “Sir?”

“Did you or anyone see Atty leave within the
past couple of hours?”

The woman shook her head. “No, sir, but I can
check with the others real quick.”

He nodded, and Berta disappeared back
into the kitchen. As she questioned the rest of the help, Yulen
whirled on MaGrath, demanding, “Are you
sure
there was no way she could have come out of
that sleep on her own? Didn’t you once say her internal makeup was
different from ours?”

“I swear to God, Yulen, on my word as a
physician, there is no way on this earth she could have awaken,
much less walk out of here by herself!” MaGrath promised him.

“Sir?”

Both men turned back around at the sound of
the servant’s return.

“No one saw her leave,” she told them. Behind
her several more of her staff gathered, curious to learn what had
happened.

“Are you certain no one’s been up in my rooms
since MaGrath and I left her there?”

“No one, sir, except for your
lieutenant.”

“What?” Yulen barked. There should have been
no lieutenant looking for him. Not when he was in the middle of a
full-fledged inspection of all the troops during that hour.

“Wougen, Sir. He went upstairs to give you a
message. I told him you had left a short while ago,” Berta
explained.

“What did he say to that?” Yulen asked,
already feeling a cold dread creeping into his bones.

“Just that he’d leave the note in the room
for you.”

Yulen turned to see MaGrath looking directly
at him, both of them knowing what the other was thinking. As the
physician rushed back upstairs, Yulen turned again to the woman.
“Did you see him depart?”

She shook her head. “We were right in the
middle of cleaning up. Did any of you see Wougen leave?” she turned
to inquire of her help again. At their negative responses, she
apologized to the Battle Lord. “Sorry, sir.”

“Yulen!”

Hurrying upstairs, he met MaGrath coming out
of the bedroom. A piece of paper was in his hands, and a haunted
look was in his eyes.

“I found it on the bureau.”

Tearing it from his fingers, Yulen glanced at
the short sentence written on it.

She’s mine now.

He could feel his anger and hurt rising like
a storm thick with fury. He swung a fist at a nearby post,
impacting it with the side of his hand as he gasped for breath.

Who had taken her? Who had written the note?
Who was “mine”?

“Mastin!”

The Second halted in the middle of the room
after following the Battle Lord into the main hall. “Sir!”

“Wougen! Find him!
Now!
”

Without confirming the command, Mastin
ordered the men behind him to return outside. From where he stood
by the bedroom door, Yulen could hear the Second shouting orders to
look for the missing lieutenant. As the men dispersed to begin
their search, MaGrath voiced what deep inside he knew was the
truth.

“They’re no longer in Alta Novis.”

Rather than reply, the Battle Lord descended
the stairs and exited the main lodge. “Verris!”

“Sir!”

“Where’s Karv?”

“Taking care of the ground troops, as you
ordered, sir.”

“Have him report to me as soon as possible.
Wougen was under his command. Did you know him?”

“Yes, sir. A little,” Verris admitted.

“Tell me all you know about him,” he ordered,
trying to keep his temper and his fear in check.

“He’s only been here about eight months, sir.
Originally came from Dal Worth, down in Teksus.”

“Any family?”

Verris shook his head. “He quartered with the
bachelors.”

“Check his barracks. I want to see everything
that we didn’t issue to him.”

Nodding, the Second headed over to search the
missing man’s belongings.

“Why do you think he took her?” MaGrath asked
him as they watched the soldiers thoroughly searching every inch of
the compound.

“I have no idea why, but I know what he’s
going to face when we find him,” Yulen promised between clenched
teeth. He paused, then added, “Do you think he’ll hurt her?”

MaGrath gave a ragged sigh. Suddenly he felt
cold all over, and he shivered. “God, I hope not. She’s been
through so much already.”

Another half hour went by without spotting
the missing lieutenant, whom Mastin confirmed had been absent for
inspection. Verris returned to report there was nothing in the
man’s effects that was out of the ordinary, or which could give
them a clue as to where he might have taken the Mutah woman.

“He had the perfect opportunity. With her out
cold, there was no way she could resist him. It was right after
mealtime, so the help was occupied with clean-up. And we were out
here, away from the lodge, giving him quick and easy access to
her.” MaGrath buried his face in his hands and tried to rub the
burning sensation out of his eyes. “I’m so sorry, Yulen. I’m the
one who told you to leave her be.”

“I don’t need you wallowing in blame, Liam,”
came Yulen’s icy response. “We need to try and figure out where he
could’ve taken her.” He glanced down again at the piece of paper
he’d crumpled up in his hand.

She’s mine now.

Wougen was as good as dead.

Mastin ran up to report the sentry at the
forest gate remembered seeing Wougen passing through the compound
walls and disappearing into the wood right around mealtime.

“Did he have Atty?” Yulen demanded.

“He had a large bundle that he had slung over
his shoulders,” the Second told him. “The sentry said he remembers
asking the lieutenant why he wasn’t heading for the inspection
grounds, and Wougen said he had first been ordered to get rid of an
old deer carcass out in the woods, and then he would join up.”

“Out at the forest gate?” Yulen repeated.

Mastin nodded. “I already have men scouring
that part of the wood to see if they can find any sign of him.”

“Is there the possibility he didn’t act
alone?” the Battle Lord thought aloud.

Verris spoke up. “All the other men are
accounted for. If he did have an accomplice, he didn’t play his
hand, or he was on the outside.”

“What about Wougen’s horse?”

Both Seconds looked dumbstruck. Yulen’s
expression grew darker. “Check. Now.”

“But the man
walked
out of the compound,” MaGrath
reiterated.

“And if he already had his horse waiting for
him in the forest, the man could be miles away from here,” Yulen
told him.

Minutes later he had his answer. The
soldier’s mount was not at the stables.

“What are your orders, sir?” Verris asked
once they’d re-gathered.

“You’ve got to go after her,” the physician
told him.

“Then tell me where to start looking for
her!” Yulen snapped back heatedly. He ran his hands through his
hair. “The man has a good two, maybe three hour head start. In
which direction do you suggest I start looking? Did he take Atty
for himself? Or was he paid by someone else to snatch her? Go
ahead, Liam! Since you’re so good at figuring things out and
telling me what to do, what do you suggest?”

Pivoting around, the Battle Lord angrily
strode back toward the main lodge, hoping for a moment’s silence so
he could think clearly. Outside his men were waiting for his word,
when Yulen had nothing to say.

Where was Wougen taking her?
Why
had he taken her? For what
purpose?

Stopping in the doorway, Yulen pressed his
forehead against the wood frame as another possibility reared its
terrifying face.

What if the man was a Mutah hater, and was
determined she could not be allowed to live? What if...

Yulen felt his gorge rise with the
prospect.

Atty was completely defenseless, drugged
nearly comatose. The man could easily take her at his leisure
before slowly slaughtering her and disposing of her remains. He had
all the time in the world, and absolute freedom from discovery.

“Oh...God...
Atty!
” he moaned softly, feeling the heat of
tears swelling in his throat.

For the first time in his life, Yulen cursed
his birth fate.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Collaunt

The men had continued to search the
surrounding forest without luck. Two small garrisons had spread
north and south to search the road and to question anyone traveling
the route. When they returned late that night, their disappointment
was like a pall cast over the compound.

Outside, near the main gate, Yulen stood by
the men’s barracks, awaiting final reports from Mastin and Verris.
He heard someone coming up from behind him but ignored him until a
voice spoke.

“Maybe it’s for the better that she’s gone,”
Madigan began.

He whirled on her, hand raised as if to
strike her. At the last second he stopped himself and lowered his
arm, but his face never lost its icy visage. She gave a small cry
of fear and stepped back.

“Go back inside to your warm room and your
bundled existence, Madigan,” he told her darkly. He would not
disguise his feelings for her at that moment, nor at any time
afterward.

“You would’ve hit me?” she accused.

“For what you’ve said, I would put you
outside this compound in a heartbeat if you weren’t my mother.”

“I only meant to say—”

“You’ll say
nothing!
” Yulen swore, resuming his
vigilance.

“You can’t order me around,” she told him,
her voice trembling. She watched as her son turned back to her with
a look that sent her heart to her feet. “She’s a Mutah, Yulen! Even
your own people don’t want her here!”

“Guards!”

Immediately two soldiers detached themselves
from the detail stationed at the main gates. Yulen pointed in
Madigan’s direction. “Take her back to her rooms and sequester her
there. She is not to be allowed to leave them until I order
it.”

“That’s imprisonment, Yulen!” Madigan
protested hotly.

“It’s better than you deserve,” he snapped at
her, and gave a curt dismissal before turning his back on her
again. Now was not the time to be getting into a debate. He had
neither the time, the desire, nor the inclination to argue whether
or not Atty deserved to live at Alta Novis. There simply was no
decision to be made.

He rubbed his burning eyes. Overhead the
soldiers were beginning their shift change. There was nothing he
could do. There were no clues as to where Wougen had taken Atty.
Six hours later, it was if the man had never existed.

Or her.

Yulen knew he could remain out in the
compound, hoping something would be found, some word would be
passed to him, but he knew it would not happen.

She’s mine now.

He turned to look back over his shoulder at
the main lodge. There was no way he could go back into that
bedroom. No way he could lie down on their bed, much less get any
kind of restful sleep.

His face itched where the scar had healed. It
reminded Yulen of Atty’s injuries, and he wondered if she was still
in pain. Liam had told him the liquid he’d given her would keep her
under for at least six to eights hours. Was Atty awake now? Was she
coming around to find herself in the company of a total
stranger?