Annie And The Cowboy (Western Night Series 3) (68 page)

“Why?”

“I knew there was more to you than met the eye,” the woman replied, taking a slow step forward with every word she spoke.

The man was just about to back off, but before he could do so, she gently put her arm around his waist, pulling her still nude body closer and closer, before joining their lips with a passionate kiss.

Caught as they were in each other’s embrace, time ceased to exist for the pair. In their reality, only they existed and nothing more. This lasted for a good while, until a sharp, painful piece of the outside world decided to remind them of its existence by stabbing the man through his right pectoral muscle.

Shocked, the bearded man shoved Adrasteia away from his body, causing her to fall on her backside. In disbelief, the woman immediately raised her head in time to witness the imposing figure of her man stagger left and right, scanning their surroundings frantically in search of the attacker.

Quickly, another shot followed, piercing his stomach. In pain, the man let out a roar of uncontrolled wrath that became more and more inhuman with every passing moment.

Panicking, Adrasteia began turning her own gaze left and right, hoping to help her lover learn who it was that fired the arrows. Almost immediately, aided by the unclouded judgment of someone who did not have two arrows sticking out of them, she noticed a distinct sheen of bronze in the distance to her left.

With no time to warn the Minotaur of the threat, Adrasteia threw herself in-between her lover and the armored man’s direction, taking a sharp, painful black arrow to the shoulder, and falling to the ground instantly.

Panting, all she managed to do next was raise her head in time to notice a shallow, X-shaped little scratch, on the place where the Minotaur’s heart would have been. Her lover, by now having taken on the form of terrible creature that the people of Knossos knew him by, immediately ripped both arrows out of his body, shrieking loudly while doing so.

“I am the Minotaur!” The creature exclaimed in a voice that was somewhere between a yell and a roar. “I am the first son of King Minos, cursed for my father’s arrogance to spend every night as a rampaging beast!” He continued, clutching the arrows in the closed palm of his right hand, all while taking hurried steps toward the area that hid their ambushers.

“Forced to prey upon whoever dares to stumble upon me,” the beast spoke again as it took another step. Suddenly, another arrow took flight. However, this one broke upon contact with the Minotaur’s bare skin.

“With nowhere to rest but this cursed, indestructible mountain!” the creature finally roared, abandoning any semblance of self-control as it dashed toward the two attackers, much faster than one would expect from something of that size and weight.

Screams and roars quickly followed, interspaced by the occasional sound of clanging steel. Shivering from blood loss and anticipation, Adrasteia wanted to take a closer look, but the pain in her shoulder prevented her from getting up.

For almost a minute she remained like that, lying and waiting, kept in the dark in more ways than one. By the time the noises stopped, the woman was one the verge of fainting.

Finally, as a set of footsteps interrupted the shortest and least pleasant silence of her life, Adrasteia barely managed to lift her head. Immediately, into her view came the bloodied, rugged figure of the Minotaur in his human form, and with him came a thorough sense of relief. He walked slowly but firmly, holding a tattered but clean-looking wet cloth in his left hand.

Now close by, the Minotaur needed only one look at the arrow sticking out of the woman’s shoulder to provide his diagnosis. “This should heal properly,” he said in a grim tone, “but I will need to get that thing out immediately.”

“Hit me,”Adrasteia said, trying to smile despite the pain. She didn’t succeed.

“Perhaps later, when you feel better,” her lover answered, a small chuckle having crept onto his lips before disappearing when he grabbed the black arrow.

With a strong pull, the man’s powerful hand pulled the foreign object out of the woman’s shoulder, causing a torrent of pain and blood to spread all around, and over her body. Immediately, he covered the injury with the piece of cloth he had brought with him, fastening and tightening it as hard as he could without causing her any further injury.

“That should do it,” the Minotaur concluded, his expression betraying a sense of pride that the bleeding had been stopped.

Gripping her teeth from discomfort and pain, Adrasteia didn’t say a word, instead only gesturing that she wanted a kiss.

Instead of giving her what she wanted, the man dropped his gaze toward the ground.

“This isn’t going to get better, you know?” He said after a moment of silence. “Not the wound, I mean. That should be all right in no time.”

Raising his head in order to meet Adrasteia’s gaze, the Minotaur spoke again. “My curse, I will never be free of it. Every night, I will become a savage beast, hungry for the flesh and blood of others. I will roam, I will hunt, and I will kill. If you choose to be with me, there will be no escape.”

After staring at him for a couple of moments, Adrasteia merely burst into laughter. The pain from her injury soon made her laughter more bitter than sweet, but she continued regardless.

In reaction, the now humanoid bull-man placed the palm of his right hand onto her forehead, in order to check for delirium caused by a high fever, but she was only slightly warm.

“Woman?” He asked frenetically, trying not to shake her too much. “Woman, are you lucid?”

Slowly, Adrasteia stopped her extended laugh, now displaying only a slight chuckle.

“My name is Adrasteia, you bull-headed lug, you,” she finally responded. “And I’m not losing my mind, if that’s what you mean.”

“Then why, in Zeus’ name, did you laugh like a woman possessed?” The Minotaur replied, visibly confused.

“Because, you silly beast, I can clearly see what you don’t,” the woman practically sang her answer out, still showing her shining array of white teeth. “The cure for your condition, at least temporarily,” Adrasteia purred, taking the man’s arm with her own, only to place them both onto the wet area between her legs, “lies in here.”

“Unless,” she continued, barely lifting her torso enough to bring her mouth closer to the man’s ear “unless you forgot the way we
cured
you a couple of hours ago?”

Instead of saying anything, the Minotaur let his lips speak in a different way, pressing them firmly against Adrasteia’s own.

THE END

BONUS BOOK 6

Sacrificial Lust

Shifter Romance

By: Jodie Springer

Sacrificial Lust

Somewhere far among the frozen reaches of Siberia, the worst blizzard in decades raged mercilessly. In this time of the year, everyone who still had their wits about them was already deeply barricaded within their comfy homes, waiting out the horror’s end on whatever provisions they were ready to muster. This time, however, a resolute individual traversed the wastes alone, in possession of nothing other than several layers of fur clothing and a bag of crude survival gear.

Relentlessly, the figure pressed onward, despite wave after wave of snow that refused to stop pushing back. The constant onslaught of white, however, turned out to have been nothing when compared with the incoming wall of cold air that appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Without any time to react, the traveller was immediately knocked back several feet behind, landing on their back and getting buried almost immediately.

Less than a second later, the individual re-emerged from the snow, this time bare-headed, but lucky that the cold wave was as fast as it was; had it not passed by as fast as it did, this might as well have been the end.

I hate snowstorms,
the figure thought, her wet, but still visibly blond locks of hair swaying in the wind as she did the best she could to remove the wet baggage that now filled her hood.

Funny,
she could hear herself reply.
With the way it is around here, I might as well say that I hate everything.
It wasn’t too far from the truth.

Her hood now somewhat usable again, she removed the scarf that used to cover her mouth, before wrapping it in such a way that it covered a bit of her hair as well. Then, quickly, so as to avoid filling it with snow again, she raised the hood over her head again.

Now that there is a slight chance I won’t get a brain fever, it’s time to continue.
With slow but steady steps, she kept pressing forward, still not completely sure where it was that she was heading.

The people who lived in these parts of the world would call her behavior insane, and for the most part, they would have been right. To the inhabitants of small village of Medvedevo, however, the endeavor of traversing the barren space during blizzard was a sacred task. One individual, always a girl, would periodically be granted the holy duty, and none would ever return.

“Such is the will and demand of the Great Bear Spirit,” the village Elder preached, and the people followed. Others would dismiss the ritual as barbaric and primitive, but here in Medvedevo, everyone knew that it was true. Everyone but Anya, anyway.

Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut,
she reminded herself, now chilling from the infinite number of icy spikes that felt as if they were descending from the top of her head and into the base of her spine. Almost immediately, the girl imagined that thought disperse like the snow before her.
Katya would not survive this,
she knew.
But I might.

Upon mention of her friend’s name, the deep white of the area before her flashed, transforming into the vivid image of the night before. Everyone was there. Anya, Katya, the Elder, and all of the villagers, joined together in the holy ceremony of picking the next Offering.

“The winter is upon us, my sons and daughters,” the Elder, a wizened old man, also known by his birth name of Ivan, spoke grimly. “The cold is out for our lives again,” he announced, swinging his gnarled cane dramatically for all to see. “The wildlife is scarce again, and as you all know, nothing could be grown for almost a whole month.”

“So it is time, then,” another older man, head of one of the most renowned family of hunters, made his voice heard as well.

“Indeed, Kolya, my friend,” the Elder replied, eyes directed toward the stars that filled the night sky. “The Offering has to be picked tonight, for tomorrow she is to be sent on her way into the White Unknown, to be devoured by the Great Bear Spirit!”

As the elderly cheered, all too eager to sacrifice one of their young in order to save themselves, Anya merely stood, imagining her and the Elder in a stare-down contest. Unsurprisingly, the old man didn’t even dignify the girl by glancing in her general direction.

“I understand your joy, my children,” the so-called holy man shushed the crowed as he continued his sermon. “There is much reason to celebrate. When the Protector consumes his due, so shall we give back what he took from us a hundredfold!”

As if by command, everyone joined hands within the blink of an eye, including an unwilling Anya. A headstrong and uncooperative girl, the only thing that could possibly force her into doing something she didn’t want was the disapproving gaze of her father, which is exactly what happened.
Thinks he’s so big…

“The winds will die down!” The Elder proclaimed, still staring maniacally into the night sky. “The prey animals will return to us again! We will all have what we need again, all thanks to the Offering! Forever she will be remembered!” He screamed, now in an ecstatic state.

“Forever she will be remembered!” The lot replied, all in unison. Anya did not join in this exclamation, but no one noticed.

“The sky,” the old man bellowed, now convulsing violently “The sky speaks to me! Behold, my children, as the heavens point to our Offering!” he exclaimed, foaming at the mount, all while falling face-down into the snow. When he raised his head, several seconds later, the Elder found his staff embedded into the ground, right before a very confused young girl.

No,
Anya thought, her friend Katya having been chosen to be consumed by the village’s so-called protector.
Anyone but her, please.

“Katya!” They all cheered again, raising the girl from the ground by her waist. “Our savior, our redeemer, our Offering, thank you!” The mob of Medvedevo’s adults kept chanting as they escorted their future Offering to her family’s home, where she was to be under a sort of house arrest until the following morning.

Paralyzed, Anya merely stood there, staring into the crowd as they carried her friend away.
I have to do something.

Later that evening, she snuck into Katya’s house, using the secret entrance they dug out when they were very little. The small tunnel was a bit tight, but still functional. In her distressed state, Katya merely screamed as her friend crawled out of the hole in the ground, covered by the small rug they left there to disguise it.

“Crazy girl,” the future Offering spoke, barely able to keep her voice down, “do you plan on killing me before I even get the chance to step outside?”

“Get real, Katya. You know why I’m here,” Anya replied, noting that her friend was more highly strung than she was willing to let on. Indeed, Katya was a firm believer in the Elder’s rants, but she never hoped to become the Offering
herself
.

“You’re here to persuade me to forego the ceremony,” her friend answered, showing visible signs of annoyance that appeared to overcome her fear. “Give it up. You’re my best friend, but you never truly believed,” sadly, she lowered her head. “This is the way it has to be.”

“Forego the ceremony?” Anya almost burst into laughter. “Even if you wanted to, they’d never let you do that. Can’t be helped, I know.” Noticing the disbelief in her friend’s expression, she continued “I came to see you, Katya. That, and to do what we promised we would.”

“Ah, the tea party,” Katya responded, somewhat relieved by this small gesture. Years ago, when they both had just barely learned to speak, the two friends made a pact: if any point, any one of them was chosen to go into the White Unknown, they would hold last tea party. Understandingly, both of them hoped it would never come to that, but fate had other plans in store.

Slowly, as if she wore an invisible burden, the future Offering rose, inviting Anya to join her in preparing their tea. “Come on, then. We don’t have any time to waste. Let’s get this out of the way so I can get some rest before my big day.” The girl tried to smile, giving her best effort, but to her friend’s perception she might as well have been sobbing.

Without a word, Anya rose herself, displaying a much more sincere grin. Half an hour later, the two girls sat one next to another, enjoying a hot beverage in the Siberian way: by sipping it through a cup of sugar gripped between one’s teeth.

Now in slightly better spirits, Katya spoke first. “I will miss this,” she still smiled as she said it, but in a distinctly sad way. “I will miss you,” she continued, gazing into Anya’s blue set of eyes.

“Why not forfeit, then?” Anya asked, practically interrupting her friend’s sentence.

“And do what? Banish my family and myself from this place? Go settle elsewhere, disgraced forever?” The girl stared into the floor, seemingly lost in thought for several seconds. “No thanks,” she said after the short silence “I’d rather give what I can and be remembered well. It’s better that way.”

So that’s your final answer, my friend,
Anya pondered as she took another sip through one of her pieces of sugar.
Too bad, I was hoping you’d give me another option.

“But it is okay,” Katya spoke again, this time visibly groggy. “You’ll still be here, and so will your family,” With a slow motion of her hand, the girl placed it in front of her mouth to contain a slight yawn. “My, I seem to have gotten sleepy earlier than expected. Strange”

“You fear for your life, my friend,” Anya responded, avoiding the other girl’s gaze. “That’s the way it works. First, you panic, then you cannot seem to get any rest, and finally, it hits you. Then, all you can do is sleep.”

“Yeah,” Katya seemed to agree, still covering her mouth. “Like that time you and your dad got ambushed… by those wolves?”

“I couldn’t sleep the whole night when we got back,” Anya replied, now very carefully scanning her friend’s actions. “Then, in the morning I collapsed, and awoke on the following day.” From time to time, she would still dream of the beasts. It was horrifying.
But I have learned since then.

“Yeah, you’re a brave one, Anya…” Katya barely spoke as she lowered her head onto her right arm, slowly lying down onto the floor. Mincing her words, she tried to say something more, but couldn’t. A light snoring sound soon followed, a clear indication that the girl’s consciousness was no longer with her.

That happened fast,
Anya thought as she straightened herself from her siting position.
Now comes the more difficult part.

Taking a deep breath, the girl grabbed her friend by the ankles of her legs before slowly, and very carefully, dragging her down the secret passage.

The task was difficult and long-lasting, but far from impossible, and, within less than an hour of careful maneuvering, Katya was safely tucked in Anya’s own little comfy bed.

“There we go, isn’t that better?” She found herself whisper to her unconscious friend. “Now there, be a good girl and get some rest, we all know you’ve had a hard day.” In a determined motion, the girl turned toward her makeshift closet, pulling out all the survival gear she had.
By the time everyone realized just what has happened, I will have taken care of everything.

The following day, the ritual of sending was performed without a single problem. The Offering was completely dressed, face covered with a scarf, and ready to step out into the White. Having been anointed by the village elder and allowed to begin her journey, “Katya” gave the village of Medvedevo a short wave, before running out perhaps a bit too eagerly.

That could not possibly have gone better,
the girl concluded, back in the present, still fighting a raging blizzard. After the previous cold wave, the storm had died down a little bit, but by now it seemed almost ready for another one.

“Bring it on!” The girl barely heard herself yell, the wind’s shrieks having drowned out the sound completely. “I ain’t got the whole day! Smite me, oh Great Bear Spirit!” In rage, Anya stood up straight, both arms outstretched to their respective sides.

“SMITE ME!!!” The fake Katya exclaimed, seemingly having overpowered the storm with her voice, as the two words echoed over the surrounding landscape. Then, she realized, as the snowflakes suddenly stopped splashing against her delicate features. The storm was no more.

                                                                                    ***

The work was difficult, and it took her several hours, but by the time she was done, Anya had herself a manageable little place to dry up and have a rest. The perimeter surrounding her temporary little encampment had been scouted out, the necessary fire lit, and the one person tent erected. Staying close to the fire, the girl who chose to be the Bear Spirit’s tribute finally had the chance to consume her lunch while summarizing her plans.

Katya should be well awake by now,
she silently told herself,
but none of them will be able to do a thing by this point.
As the heat of the campfire made her feel alive again, the girl remembered how timid and ill-suited to outdoor survival her friend always was. Even if the story of the Bear Spirit was true, Anya’s best friend was unlikely to survive the voyage even without the thing eating her up.

While I, on the other hand, still have a chance,
she repeated the fact to herself. Anya was a born and bred survivor, trained from the youngest age by her father. Most of the dangers of the White Unknown were trivial for one such as her. If there was a way for a person to survive this ordeal, she would most certainly find it.