By the morning of the fourth day,
Geoff was confident that Hunter approved of his treatment of the
girl. Geoff made a point of jerking her along behind him, remarking
over his shoulder to Hunter that they wouldn’t make any time if she
kept falling behind. Hunter just nodded, and when her skirts tangled
around her legs and she stumbled, Hunter caught her by her arm and
pushed her on.
That night, Hunter scouted for game to
augment their rations, leaving Geoff to guard the girl. While he was
gone, Geoff grabbed the girl by the bodice of her gown and slammed
her against a tree, pinning her bound hands above her head. Leaning
down, he growled into her face, feeling the sound rumble deep in his
throat.
She just stood there, her eyes fixed
on his chin and her breathing even. He could hear her steady
heartbeat, could see the regular pulse in her throat. He hadn’t
fazed her at all. Hissing in frustration, he grabbed her chin and
forced her face up until he could look into her eyes.
Moments passed as he stood there, no
longer aware of the way his body pressed against hers, seeing nothing
but her dead, soulless eyes. No one was home in her head. Something
was desperately wrong with this girl.
Geoff was barely conscious of
releasing her arms, and came back to himself only when he heard a
stick snap behind him. He gasped in a breath, and with that came the
knowledge that it was Hunter, returned from his hunt—knowledge that
kept Geoff from whirling and decapitating the interloper.
“What are you doing?” Hunter’s
voice, low with anger, rumbled through the little clearing.
Geoff slowly looked back over his
shoulder, noting vaguely that he was trembling. The absolute
emptiness in the girl’s eyes had frightened something deep inside
him.
“She,” he croaked quietly,
swallowing twice before he could get more words out. “Something’s
wrong with her.”
The fear in Geoff’s tone alerted
Hunter that what he said was true, and the larger man strode over,
pushing Geoff out of the way, and without missing a beat grabbed the
girl by her throat and lifted her off her feet, slamming her back
into the tree. With his free hand, he grabbed her hair, pulling her
head back and forcing her to meet his eyes.
Geoff watched his companion closely as
the man stared into the girl’s eyes. Both of them were shaking, but
their eyes were locked. The girl’s bound hands were balled into
fists, and from her short, thin gasps, it seemed that Hunter’s fist
was cutting off her breath.
Time passed, and to Geoff it seemed
like forever. Neither of them moved or blinked, seeming spellbound.
Finally, though, it was the girl who closed her eyes. Tears were
running down her cheeks, and she sagged limply in her bonds and
Hunter’s restraining hands.
He turned to Geoff, pulling the girl
so that she was pressed against his side. She was still crying and
shaking, and Hunter was breathing in deep, shuddering gasps. “Nothing
is wrong with her,” Hunter growled. “She’s just made a fool of
you. Haven’t I taught you enough to know when someone’s
shielding?”
Geoff nodded, a little awed in spite
of himself. He had rarely seen Hunter exert as much power as it had
taken to crack this one little girl’s shield. He wondered who she
was, to be so strong—surely not a mere gypsy. She sniffled, and
almost against his will, he reached out and stroked her hair, longing
suddenly to comfort her. He rationalized that now that one of them
had finally gotten a response from her, he could treat her like a
human being, at the very least.
Abruptly, Hunter swung her away from
Geoff by her arm and slapped her hard across her face. The brutal
sound echoed through the small clearing, and Geoff gasped, choking
just a bit.
“What did you do that for?” He
cried. Hunter ignored his companion and raised his hand again,
threatening.
“Stop witching him, girl, or it’ll
go worse for you!” The girl gazed up at him, deadpan again.
“Do you really believe you can
frighten me?” She asked quietly. “The fate to which you escort me
is far worse than any punishment you could inflict on me.”
Her voice was clear and melodious, and both men shuddered hard as
they heard it for the first time.
Hunter recovered first. “Look,
wench,” he began, shaking her hard. He never got to finish his
sentence.
The girl drew herself up, pressing her
body against Hunter’s. Both men suddenly felt warmth flood though
their bodies as an electric prickling swept over their skin. Her
eyes, Geoff noticed vaguely, had changed from light brown to deep
gold. His gaze was most drawn, however, to her full lips, and to the
way her gown hugged the modest curves of her body. He moved towards
the girl with hesitant, shuddering steps, reaching out to touch her
as he moved. Hunter growled possessively in response, tightening his
grip on the girl, but Geoff couldn’t stop himself. He kept moving
forward, reaching for the girl, until Hunter’s steady growl rose to
a roar and he shoved her behind him, sending her hard into the
ground.
