Lovers in the Woods (23 page)

“
A not really great attempt to digress, but
okay.” She looked forward for a moment, scanning the path. “I
learned riding very early. Remember, my father took us through the
wilderness more often than not. We had every kind of mount,
depending on the surroundings. I think it’s fair to say that you
can place me on all different kinds of animals and I’ll ride
them.”

“
That was a true statement,” he replied,
wiggling his brows.

She turned up her eyes as expected and his
smile widened. He loved her for being strong and at the same time
gentle with a childlike attitude. She could take care of herself
and still fall in his arms for protection. Compared to other lovers
he’d had, she was a marvel.

The Horlyns’ thundering approach interrupted
his good mood. When they crashed through the undergrowth, Tessla
reared and stepped aside so that he had to pull the reins and press
his knees tight against her to not be thrown off. The two Horlyns
turned to block the way as effectively as a mountain.

“
Hey, what bit you?” he asked the Horlyns,
still fighting with his mount while Ray had already turned Bunty
around.

“
What do they want?” she
shouted.

The mighty beasts came closer. The female
Horlyn had raised its front pair of legs, making all too clear it
would not let them move. “Why are they stopping us?”

“
I can’t tell.” Sajitar mastered Tessla’s
fear so that she stood, snorting, still prancing, but without the
urge to bolt again. He expected the Horlyns to explain their
behavior even if it was but a picture of a dangerous animal ahead,
but nothing happened for a while. The Horlyns waited, unmoving like
statues, content to have the couple stopped.

Ray
was panting beside him, looking
anxiously left and right as if seeking a way to escape.

“Apparently, they don’t want to talk. Let’s
change course for a while.”

“How far?”

“I don’t know.”

The image blasted in his head so intensely
that he nearly toppled over, screaming. Rayenne was at his side in
no time, but he could only see her shocked face, not hear her
words. She took Tessla’s reins when he pressed his palms against
his temples. The image told of giant trees with Horlyns drilling
holes to place eggs of their kind deep into the trunks to let them
grow. The Horlyns then sealed the holes and left. The bark of the
tree was dotted with closed holes and Sajitar understood that once
all trees in the wood had been used as a crib. Now that mankind had
come to rob the trees, the Horlyns had drawn back into the heart of
the forest and defended what was left.

Sajitar received the impression of great
fondness and care and understood that the area was forbidden for
everyone besides egg-laying females.

“
I get it,” he murmured, still fighting a
major headache. Slowly, he lowered his hands, still grimacing with
pain. “If you could just send those pictures with a smaller dosage!
I’m almost unconscious with pain every time you do this!” He turned
to Ray with an effort. Numbed by pain and nausea, he felt his
speech slur. “They’ve got their nests around here. We’ve got
to…move around ‘em.”

“Great. They did not by chance tell you where
we should go?”

“Guess they’ll hamper us if it’s not far
enough.”

“All right.” She handed him back the reins.
“Can you make it?”

“Lead the way.” He shook his head wearily. “I
think I’ve never been so dependent on Tessla in my life.”

“She’s a good girl.”

“
You are even better.” He fought for a
smile, but neither Ray nor he could manage. “Hope it’s not another
day’s ride in the wrong direction.”

The Horlyns stayed behind, but he knew they
would follow and watch.

Rayenne and Sajitar pitched a
text the next night beyond a large hill, both weary and frustrated
to be on a Horlyn-inflicted detour. At least the area remained
fertile. A creek delivered water for the B-horses, and once they’d
been taken care of, Rayenne went to fetch water for boiling a soup.
Sajitar admired the police woman’s preparations. She had packed her
saddlebags as if they would travel Emerald Green for a year.
If there are more
detours, that might come sooner than we thought.
Their supplies were
as sufficient as they were tasty. Satisfied, they both retreated
into the tent to get out of the drizzle that had started an hour
earlier.

As intended, the sleeping bags merged like
raindrops when she moved closer. The hampering cloth gave way so
she cuddled with Sajitar and purposefully let her hand slip into
his pants.

“
Tired?” she asked, her wicked smile
belying her apparent innocence.

“Yes, very tired. I’m glad you asked.” He
yawned loudly. “Would you mind just letting me sleep? It was a long
day.”

Her hand inched deeper, and the sparkle in
her eyes warmed him to his toes.

“I suppose you did not expect a rejection?
So, my dear Ray, you still want to have it your way, yes?”

She nodded, a small move, with her head
still resting on his shoulder.

He cleared his throat.
“You are a very
demanding woman. Aren’t you worried that the Horlyns might have
excellent hearing and will know what we’re doing?”

“Do I look like someone who cares?”

He opened his eyes wide. “My dear police
officer, are you suggesting that morals don’t concern you? Tell me,
would you have taken me at the motel if you hadn’t come for my
arrest?”

“Who says I didn’t?” He hadn’t counted on
that answer and gawked, flabbergasted.

She smiled
, catlike, and kissed his neck,
gaze fixed on his face. “Felberi made sure you had no companions,
and he had no intention of staying close.” She licked his chin with
the tip of her tongue. “It was, by the way, his idea to shackle you
to the bed. He was afraid you might run away.”

“I would have.”

“
No.” Her tongue flicked the edge of his
mouth. Sajitar swallowed. Arousal defeated his tiredness. He was
alert and ready to react to any idea she might unpack. He couldn’t
help but envision how she had dragged him into the motel, upstairs
and onto the bed to undress him. Sudden heat crept through his
body. Ray felt his wicked grin intensify, as did her hand’s
movements.

“You had decided that you would stay the
night, no matter what happened. And I…Well, I had nothing better to
do than to keep you in that room.”

“Closing the shackle would’ve done the
trick.”

Rayenne smiled knowingly, holding him in her
hand.

“Ray, what are you doing?”

“
Do I have to shackle you to get what I
want, or will you just stay?”

“
Would I have a chance to run away? No. So
this is not really a question.” Sajitar gently slid his hands under
her shirt to cup her breasts. The sensation of touch took his
breath away and thinking was eliminated, as were headaches and
hurts. He focused on Ray as if he existed to explore every detail
of her being. He wanted to know all about her and make her happy in
a way she had not known before. He had spoken the truth, that he
would not share her. His possessiveness astounded him. He had never
felt like that before.

His pants were gone as were her shirt and
underwear. Under the warm cover of two sleeping bags, Sajitar
pulled her up to straddle him, bathing in her scent and relishing
every kiss she gave him. There was hardly any foreplay, yet when he
entered her, she was wet and hot and ready for him. She trembled
with arousal. Slowly getting into the rhythm, she whispered his
name and more incoherent words that made him smile. Compared to the
tough police woman he had come to know back in the village, she was
a purring cat right now and not for the first time Sajitar wondered
what strange kind of luck he had.

He rocked upward, balancing her weight
easily, driving her to a climax that made her shout with joy. He
held back as long as he could, smiling at her, asking without words
for permission. With one move, she took away his decision and
catapulted his feelings through the transparent roof of the tent.
The orgasm lasted and made him gasp for air. He grabbed Ray by the
shoulders, extending the last moment before he collapsed, head
swimming. He heard her soft laughter, a joyous sound amid the
wilderness, and his own labored breathing. He felt boneless, happy,
and satisfied beyond words. Sweat covered both their bodies and he
kissed her salty breasts. The look in her eyes made words
unnecessary. He wanted the night to last and make the next day even
better.

Outside the rain intensified, but to him
every sound was music.

Slowly, unwillingly, they parted to dress
again, smiling silly, the way only lovers do. Rayenne groped for
the waterskin and offered him a drink.

“
I’m so glad we left the village,” he said
softly, stroking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I felt
quite…watched.”

Rayenne took a sip of water. “Now you tell me
that two Horlyns outside don’t matter to you? I’m surprised.”

“Not so much as Grenkyl and others.” He
breathed deeply and looked through the rain streaked roof.
“Tomorrow the ground will be slippery with mud. We have to be
careful.”

“Aren’t we always?” She put away the
waterskin to snuggle up to Sajitar once more. Her hand lay on his
chest. “How many days will we ride?”

“Ten, maybe twelve, if we are lucky. It’s
hard to tell without seeing the sky.” He lowered his chin to look
into her eyes. “Do you mind staying a little while longer with
me?”

“Yes.” The sparkle in her eyes told him much.
“If we do this every night I won’t have any strength left to master
my B-horse. I’ll hang over the withers and let Bunty decide where
to walk.”

“Speaking of…” He sat up and squinted to look
through the still falling rain. “Where are the B-horses?”

Rayenne stretched.

“Maybe they wandered about to find a dry
spot.”

“
No. They usually stay close by.” He rose,
pulled on his pants and jacket and left the tent. Immediately, the
heavy downpour wet his hair and face. He pulled up the hood,
squinting left and right, when suddenly the female Horlyn appeared
through the strips of rain. He stepped back, involuntarily raising
his hands as if he could stop the reception of images that way. But
the Horlyn was not out to bombard him with pictures. It got closer,
forcing Sajitar backwards until he bumped against the tent stakes.
“Rayenne, I’ve got a problem outside.”

“I know.” Ray had donned her clothes and
emerged when the Horlyn closed the gap and grabbed Sajitar with its
front pair of legs.

He screamed.

“Let me down! Let me down! Ray! Help!”

* * * *

Ray
was stunned and
watched in helpless fury as the Horlyn carried Sajitar through the
depression and up the hill on the southern side. She heard his
pain-filled cries and went after him, stumbling in the mud that got
deeper with every step.
B
easts! And now they’ve come to take us back! Or eat
us!
A few
yards away from the tent, she sank in deep to her knees and
struggled to get out again, groping for something to hold on,
yelling for help. She dug her fingers into the soil but only came
up with worms and other insects that enjoyed the wetness much more
than she did. Yet there was no branch to pull her out. Frantically
she scraped the soil, only to sink in deeper.

She turned her head and stopped breathing.
The second Horlyn tore down the tent and their belongings, then
pulled it together into one big pile.

“
Come over here! Help me!”
Her voice did not carry through the downpour. And even if the
Horlyn heard her, she doubted it would come to her aid. Helplessly
she watched the destruction, realizing that their lives had
depended on the gentleness of the Horlyns this whole time. She sank
in deeper, knowing her struggle would be futile, so she stopped,
accepting the unavoidable end. The mud enclosed her hips, then her
chest. Tears mixed with the rain on her cheeks. She hung her
head.
Damn them! Damn them all!
The image of her father and brother came
to her involuntarily and she realized she would not live to see her
relatives again, who were waiting at Belson Park, relying on her to
return. Miserable and hopeless, she balled her hands to
fists.

The sudden lift startled her. She cried in
shocked surprise, clinging to the hard ends of the legs, eyes wide.
The legs pressed her ribcage painfully, but not so hard that she
feared being smashed. The soil set her free with a smacking sound,
and then she was ten feet above ground, dripping rain and mud. She
craned her neck to see the mighty head of the Horlyn above her.
From close up it was a nightmarish creature, bathed in the night’s
half light and hung with beads of rain. All of its eyes seemed to
look down on her and she expected the mighty mouth to open and
swallow her. A scream wanted out, but all she did was hang on to
the legs and press her lips tight.

Heart thundering in her chest,
she forbade all thoughts about what the beast would do with her and
remained limp. The image of being torn apart and her innards
dissected was strong. She tried to focus on the healing the Horlyn
had performed. Sajitar had returned to the village weak, but
getting stronger every day. There had been no sign of
aggressiveness in the Horlyns’ behavior so far. She clung to that
hope as she clung to the Horlyn.
And if I die, what will all that praying
and hoping have done for me?