Unicorn Bait (5 page)

“That’s awful. He kills people who don’t stand against him?”

She shrugged. “I think it is more accurate to say he wants people to stand against him. He enjoys the bloodshed.”

She absorbed this with a shudder. Who the hell had she married?

Chapter 4

Unicorns are fierce creatures and have been known to kill dragons.

Naomi sat hunched over beside Yula in a covered wagon. They’d been packed in like any other supply. There’d been no carriages left at the castle, though she wasn’t sure if a carriage would’ve been any better. She was sitting on two pillows, but she already had butt bruises, and they were still in their first hour of travel. She was sorely (har, har) missing modern suspension. It was going to be a long day. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

Yula shook her awake a few hours later. The wagon had stopped. She pointed outside. Naomi rubbed her eyes and climbed down from the wagon.

Tavik waited outside on his horse. He leaned down and offered his hand. She blinked owlishly at him. Her brain was having trouble computing the gesture. Though she may have napped, she was more tired than before. It was hard work sleeping in a jostling wagon.

“Ride with me so I can tell you what is expected of you when we reach my home.”

She leaned away back from the outstretched hand. “I don’t know how to ride.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Can’t I talk to you from the wagon?”

He continued to hold out his hand. She reluctantly grasped his arm in both hands, and he pulled her up. She had a moment of panic as she tried to figure out how she was supposed to sit: side saddle, astride, behind him, in front of him? Tavik did the deciding by setting her side saddle in front of him. Reflexively, she wrapped one arm around his waist and grabbed the pummel with her other. Her legs wound up draped over his thigh. She tried to figure out how to move her legs off him, but before she could get her bearings, he nudged the horse into a walk. Her hold tightened around his waist as she tried to keep her seat. One of his hands fell to her thighs, and the other wrapped around her waist to help hold her steady. Her eyes shot to the thigh hand and wondered what the hell he thought he was doing. It was warm and heavy. And unwanted.

She tried to get him to remove his hand by twitching her thigh, but he only pressed his hand down harder. She decided the quicker she got this over with the sooner she could get him off of her or her off of him or whatever.

“So what’s expected of me at your castle?”

“You will be the lady of the castle, but do not think that gives you control of my household. The servants and guards know that, even though I am gone, I will be back, and I will be displeased if things are not the way that I left them.”

“So what are you going to do? Throw a drop cloth over me when you go or something? What can I do while you’re gone?”

“You may do what you want with the gardens. I will tell the gardeners to listen to you. You can sew of course. Start a tapestry to gift me. Oversee the maids. Go for walks outside the castle with guards.”

Naomi’s stomach turned as she listened to him rattle off his list. She was not a feminazi but neither was she a fifties housewife. She couldn’t do anything with thread except tangle it; she made plastic flowers wilt; the idea of ordering women around to do menial tasks repelled her; and going for walks would be tortuous because she had the feeling that if she started walking away from the castle, she wouldn’t want to turn back.

“Um, none that really appeals to me.”

“Then what would you like to do?”

She said the first thing that came to her. “I want to learn how to ride.”

He chuckled and patted her leg. Her thigh jumped under his touch. The bastard was fully aware of the awkwardness of their situation and was having fun with it, and she couldn’t retaliate in fear he'd dump her off the saddle. “I will tell the stable master to see to it personally. He will probably be the only one with enough patience to handle you.”

She was a little stung by his assessment. “And what makes you think I’ll be such a terrible student? I pick up things very quickly.”

His hand settled more firmly on her thigh, and she stiffened in reaction. “Because horseback riding is not something you can be told how to do and then do. Your mind can’t just order your body to do it. Your body has to accept it. Like right now, if another man were holding you, he may have lost his grasp, and you would be on the ground a quarter of a mile back.”

“So how should I be sitting then?” she asked as she shifted self-consciously.

“First loosen your body. You have to let yourself move with the horse.” She tried to do as instructed. She loosened her grasp gradually from around his waist and flexed her back a little to loosen it up. She let her claw like grasp on the pummel lessen. Her hand had begun to cramp anyway. She was grateful when he removed his hand from her thigh and placed it on his hip. She tried to let her body flow with the horse but kept flinching when it took anything resembling a jarring step.

“I feel like I don’t have any control,” she said.

“Here, take the reins,” he offered. She looked at him to make sure he knew what he was doing, but with that stupid mask on, she couldn't tell. She took the reins and clenched them in her lap with both hands. She jolted in alarm when the steed stamped his feet in displeasure.

“I didn’t tug on them or anything,” she protested as the charger continued to be finicky.

“Yes, but Victor can feel how tightly you hold the reins, not giving him any leeway. He can’t even shake his head to throw off a fly.”

She loosened her arms and slackened the reins to give the charger a little more freedom while Tavik soothed the horse with gentle words. The steed settled down.

“Sorry,” she mumbled.

He patted her thigh where it settled once again. “You’re learning.”

She scowled at the return of the hand. “I’ll be learning to ride on my own, right? This stable master won’t be sitting on the horse with me every lesson will he?”

He threw his head back and laughed. “No, I don’t think his wife would approve of that.”

She was comforted slightly by his answer. “So what are the sleeping arrangements going to be? Am I going to be tied to a chair or could I just be locked in a room?”

“You’ll have your own room.”

She perked up at this. Funny how certain things that would have been horrible a few days before now were reassuring. Her own cell. How marvelous.

They rode in silence for a while longer. She began to wonder when he would let her return to the wagon. He didn't seem inclined to. She tried to put the time to good use and practice her balance like instructed, but she knew that her odd seat would not be something she would often have to use. She hoped the stable master would let her ride astride and not side saddle. Tavik’s hand remained on her thigh.

They'd been alternating between small fields and forest all day as they rode. They'd just entered a wooded area again. It was several degrees cooler in the shade. The caravan was comprised of a long line of wagons with riders flanking on either side. All the men were armed and wore light armor. Yula had explained to her that the horsemen would accompany the loot wagons while the foot soldiers would make their way back at a slower pace after them. She'd wondered if Hammond was among them and hoped it took them a very long time to catch up.

She found herself yawning again, and the involuntary stretch had her almost falling off the horse. Tavik's strong arm around her waist kept her from falling over, but she felt that it was definitely time to end this little experience.

“You know, I’m sure we’d both be more comfortable if I got back into the wagon.”

He chuckled. “I thought you wanted to learn how to ride.”

“I’m not learning anything.”

His hand rubbed her thigh. “You’re becoming more comfortable. It’s a start.”

She frowned down at her thigh. No, she was learning how to ignore his hand.

“Milord, I need to speak to you.”

They turned to the man on horseback that approached. He approached from the front of the caravan and brought his horse alongside theirs.

“What is it?” Tavik said.

The man’s eyes darted to Naomi.

“Speak.”

“Umbrek tracks,” he said in a hushed tone. The term didn’t mean anything to her. She turned between the two men for an explanation, but Tavik’s attention was focused on the soldier.

“How old?”

“A few days, sir. They may have left the area, but I can’t be sure.”

He nodded. “Alert the others. Tighten the line. Have swords ready. I’ll go to the front once Lady Naomi is safely in a wagon.”

The man saluted and rode ahead.

“Umbreks?”

“You don’t know of them?”

“No, but I take it they’re bad news.”

His hand tightened on her thigh. “The worst news. Listen to Yula and stay in the wagon. Do you understand?”

She nodded. He slowed the charger and flagged the wagon. She slipped off the horse and climbed back in.

“Have you heard?” Naomi asked.

Yula drew her shawl tighter around her shoulders. “They suspect Umbreks hunt the area.”

“What are Umbreks?”

“Foul demons."

She didn't like the sound of that. “What do they look like?”

“They stand like men on two legs, but their legs bend in the reverse. Their arms are short with nasty razor claws. Their mouths are crowded with fangs. They rip men apart and eat them. Woe to the lonely traveler who finds himself in their woods.”

“But we’ll be all right. We’re with a bunch of soldiers and horses. These Umbreks wouldn’t attack us.”

Yula hugged her shawl closer. “I have seen large, robust villages decimated by them. Bits of small children littered the ground. The grass grew red.”

Naomi’s heart pounded with the description. She found herself hugging her arms to herself too. “They can be killed, though, right?”

“Yes, but they do not die easily.”

She peered out the back of the wagon, and the world looked a lot darker and colder. She suddenly wished she was still up in Tavik’s lap again. His charger was fast, and he had a large sword. She would have gladly let him rub her thigh. She didn't consider herself weak or cowardly for the wish, just extremely practical, and hiding behind large men with weapons in the face of danger was extremely practical. Okay, maybe she was a fraidy cat, but bravery and stupidity gladly went hand-in-hand into battle while scared and intelligent ran the other way.

“Don’t worry yourself, milady. Lord Tavik will not let those devils get us. He is brave and strong.”

Her mouth twisted into a sardonic smile at Yula’s assurance echoing her mantra.

All chatter had ceased throughout the caravan. All eyes darted into the woods as ears strained for indications of Umbreks. They were going at a faster trot. The road was not really built for it. Naomi bounced in her seat. Everyone’s tension had gripped her too. She didn’t know what they were afraid of, but she knew it had to be bad.

A strange whooping sound drifted to them from the woods. The caravan let out a collective gasp in response. Naomi didn’t need to ask. She was sure that meant Umbreks. The wagon drivers whipped their horses to go faster. The whooping grew closer very quickly. Umbreks must be fast.

She peeked out of the front of the wagon. The driver, whose name was Dennis, was lashing the horses with a snarl on his lips. Out of the forest, a shape leaped out. She watched it soar through the air over the road. Yula had not said the fiends could fly.

“Miss, get back inside,” Dennis said as he snapped the reins. The horses didn't need much incentive. They were hauling the wagon as fast as they could. They were as frightened as the humans.

She couldn’t duck back in because she was getting her first good look at an Umbrek. It was everything Yula had said, but the old woman had left out one key thing.

“They're kangaroos!” But they weren't like any kangaroos she'd ever seen. They were bigger, had mouths of fangs, long sharp talons on their paws, their coats were striped tan and dark brown, and their arms looked a bit larger than kangaroos. They were evil kangaroos. Naomi’s jaw worked back and forth as she took in the lunacy and the horror. She wasn’t sure whether to fall over laughing or fall down screaming. She was pulled away by a sharp tug from Yula.

“Do you want to be torn apart and stuffed into their pouches?” 

Naomi’s jaw continued to work. Her head was stuck on one thing, and it was all she could say, “Evil kangaroos.”

“What?” Yula asked.

“Your world has evil kangaroos. This place is so horrible that your kangaroos are scary. What else is out there? Brain-eating Koala bears? Eviscerating deer? Poison spitting bunny rabbits?”

“Do I need to slap you?”

“No.”

“Then shut up.”

Naomi’s jaw jutted out. She wanted to argue the lunacy of evil kangaroos with Yula, but the wagon hit a bad bump, and they both fell down. She crawled to the back of the wagon to see what was going on. The soldiers were falling back as they engaged the Umbreks. Tavik was easily recognizable on his large black charger.

She watched as an Umbrek rushed him. Tavik stabbed at it but only pierced it shallowly. The thing leaned back on its tail and lifted its feet to kick Victor. The horse was hit but not fully due to Tavik’s long swipe that slashed the Umbrek’s legs. It fell back into an ungainly heap. Tavik wheeled Victor around and sliced the thing’s throat.