Riley's Journey (16 page)

Nathan got his first glimpse of Cro-Magnon man. Long dirty hair hung from their heads, some wore partial braids in which feathers and other ornaments were woven in while others sported makeshift headbands. Paint in hues of blue, ocher and black smeared their faces and crudely done tattooing covered their upper bodies. Greasy, poorly tanned animal skins covered their loins, barely concealing their manhood. They were taller than the others and definitely more humanoid, but more aggressive and brutal in their mannerisms. From his crouched position, Nathan could smell their unwashed bodies, the stench overwhelming even from where he and Demon hid in the tall grass. Their apparent unconcern about the possibility of an ambush was evident in their seemingly unguarded movements. Nathan motioned the dog down even further as he followed suit. A mere fifty paces separated them from the group and, unless the group deviated from the direction they were heading, they would discover Nathan and the dog before long.

Nathan was granted a slight reprieve when, instead of proceeding further, the group of men began milling about, relaxing and talking, and from their actions, they were planning on camping here for the night. A fire pit was constructed, wood gathered, and animal carcasses were spitted and left to roast. A few guards were posted, but they were not overly conscientious about keeping watch.

The sun was quickly setting and night would fall soon. Nathan bided his time, waiting for full dark before creeping away. The dog lay tense beside him, muscles bunched in anticipation of battle. Several of the group threw skins on the ground and settled down for the night, while others played some sort of game using bones, reminding Nathan of dice. Laughing and talking, the firelight flickered off their rough, painted faces as they socialized. An older, heavily scarred bruiser periodically stepped to the edge of the camp, staring into the night, perhaps sensing their close proximity. Each time, Nathan held his breath, praying that nothing would alert him to their existence, and each time the individual turned away, seemingly satisfied that nothing lurked in the dark.

Hours later, they were still crouched in the dark as more and more of the group settled down. Finally, only the two guards were moving about and it was time to make good their escape.

Never had Nathan been gone so long and Riley was tearing her hair out in anxiety! Dinner sat ruined on the table and she cursed her inability to act. It was well into the night by now and they still had not returned. Her imagination ran wild. What if they never came back? How would she survive on her own and why would she want to?

Once again, Bethany’s perfidy washed over her. If not for Bethany, she wouldn’t be alone in this place. She would never survive as Nathan had survived! At least Nathan had the dog. She would have nothing but this cave and Nathan’s little flock of animals. Hardly a reason to go on living and, for that matter, how protective could sheep be? Utter terror struck a huge blow. The cave seemed to be closing in as her mind pictured every conceivable monster breaking in and ripping her to shreds. Visions of the huge bear came back to haunt and every sound was the harbinger of disaster. By midnight, she was barricaded in the back room, hiding under Nathan’s bed, a huge knife held protectively in front of her, fully convinced that she would not survive until morning and whatever slimy slithering creatures existed under Nathan’s bed were infinitely preferable to the ones she believed lurked in the outer room. Clutching her knife, her eyes squeezed tightly shut, praying to Nathan for her deliverance, she waited for the end.

Nathan patted the dog and they began the slow process of stealing away. The guards were dozing at the outer rims of the camp, and throaty snores and mutterings drifted from the sleepers. Stealthily, he worked his way along the uneven ground with Demon crawling behind, his nose pressed to Nathan’s crotch—a dog thing he presumed. For one heart-stopping moment, one of the guards sat up, alerted by some unknown reason, only to relax and settle back down. Nathan resumed breathing and they continued their snail’s pace, crawling through the tall grass. The tall grass swished slightly with every movement, but the slight breeze aided in disguising the sounds of their passing. Only by the slight nudges from Demon was he aware that the dog crawled silently behind him.

They inched along through the thick grass and brush, eyes and ears straining to catch even the tiniest whisper of menace. Flying insects converged on them in multitudes and it was only by sheer willpower that Nathan was able to ignore their incessant stinging and biting. Small drops of blood pooled on every patch of uncovered skin, and welts erupted violently from the insects’ venom. In the pale light of the moon’s glow, the backs of Nathan’s hands appeared black by the unqualified numbers of feeding insects, and he wanted nothing more than to slap them violently away.

In the deep dark of the night, Nathan relied almost solely on Demon’s acute senses to alert him to any unforeseen hazards. Guards meandered through the brush, calling softly to each other, casually alert but oblivious to Nathan and Demon’s close proximity. A guard posted outside the perimeters of the camp nearly stepped on Nathan’s hand as he walked the periphery. Freezing in their tracks, Nathan waited breathlessly for the guard to move on. Demon stayed true to Nathan’s training and remained motionless, but tensed in anticipation of attack.

Swiftly deciding that inaction was the best course, Nathan covertly tapped Demon to stay and they silently waited. Sweat dripped in Nathan’s eyes and his knife handle grew slick as his grip tightened in nervous response. After what seemed forever, the guard continued on through the deep brush, unaware that his life had very nearly been forfeit. On and on through the brush and tall grass they crept, until, finally, they were far enough from the invaders’ campsite to rise to a crouching position. Able to move more freely, the distance between them and the outsiders increased twofold. Moving into the relative obscurity of the tree line, Nathan expelled his breath in one long rush, his ravaged lungs dragging in badly needed oxygenated air. They cautiously worked their way back to the shelter, moving in a circling route and backtracking periodically to confuse would-be trackers. Dawn was slowly breaking as the cave entrance came into view.

Nathan made one last sweep of the area before approaching the shelter. Demon danced and bounded ahead, seemingly unconcerned about any unseen threats, and clearly eager to get inside and visit his food bowl. Nathan agreed with him on that one. It had been a long night and he was hungry and exhausted, his skin itching from a thousand insect bites. His face felt lumpy and tender to the touch and, even though he couldn’t see it, he figured he wouldn’t have needed the face prosthesis to blend in with the others right now. Maybe Riley would feel bad enough to take care of him. He grinned at the thought. Oh My God—Riley! He had forgotten Riley! His attention had been so focused on avoiding the newcomers, he had totally forgotten about her! He comforted himself with the thought that she had probably gone to bed and would only now be waking up.

Pushing aside the rock door, he ventured in, taking care to be quiet in the event she was still sleeping. Tiptoeing to the entrance of the sleeping chamber, he was surprised by the barricade haphazardly erected in the doorway. Bits of wood, his small table, rocks and debris covered the opening. Something had really scared her, but he found no evidence of an intruder in the outer area. As he worked his way through the clutter, he mentally composed his apology. He was not used to answering to anyone and he hadn’t stayed out because he wanted to, the circumstances themselves justified his tardiness. Satisfied that she would understand, he broke through the last obstruction, barely ducking in time to avoid a slashing knife from detaching his right ear. Whirling, he faced his attacker, surprise registering as Riley’s stricken face materialized. She halted her attack, the huge knife falling from her fingers, her face paling in recognition, tears streaming from her anguished eyes.

“
My God!
I almost killed you!” She sobbed. “Where have you been? I thought you were dead! Why didn’t you come back last night?” Chattering in relief, her questions spewed forth fast and furious. Drawing in a deep breath, she made to continue, hesitating as she noticed the bug bites. “What happened to your face? You look like a gargoyle!” She hiccupped.

Ruefully, Nathan gingerly touched his cheek. “I didn’t plan on being out so late and the bugs nearly ate me alive!”

Riley rushed to the pool and brought back a cold wet rag, gently daubing the ruined flesh. “Are you allergic to bug bites?” She continued her careful ministrations, “Maybe I should make a mud poultice.” Shaking his head no, he reached behind and pulled off his tunic. Involuntarily, her eyes were drawn to his smoothly muscled chest and bulging arms. A shot of hot hormones raced through her. Nervously, she turned back to the pool to dowse the rag again. “Why were you gone so long? I was worried sick!”

“I saw more men,” he stated baldly, “and I don’t think we want to make their acquaintance.”

“Why not? What happened?” She began gathering dirt from the back cave area, adding water from the pool and mixing the whole thing with dried herbs. “I thought we wanted to meet up with some of the tribes around here.” Satisfied with her concoction, she forced him to sit and began slathering mud over his hands, face and the back of his neck. “Even your scalp is covered with bites” she exclaimed, reaching for his hair. Nathan jerked away, saving himself from the indignity of a mud wig.

Amazingly, the bites were beginning to feel better, but he didn’t want to imagine how he probably looked. “There,” she sighed, “that should do it. You should know better than to go out after dark. Good grief, even I know that and I’ve only been here a short while.”

“I told you! I didn’t plan on being out. We were coming back and ran into this group and had to hide until we could get away. Took us almost all night. I crawled on my belly for at least a mile!”

“How many were there?”

“I counted at least ten, perhaps more. We were lucky they didn’t see us.”

“Why do you think they’re here?”

Nathan thought about it for a moment. “I think it has something to do with the others’ camp. They just seem too interested in it. All the tracks I found led right to the overhang and some of the tracks have been there for awhile. Right now, they’re camped just below the overhang, out of sight of the others’ camp, and they seem to be watching the others pretty closely. I’ve got a bad feeling they’re going after them.”

“Whatever for?” From Riley’s viewpoint, there wasn’t much the others had worth having.

“Who knows? Maybe because there’s a lot of game around here, it hasn’t been over-hunted. I think the early Cro-Magnon were more mobile than the Neanderthals and from watching them, they seem pretty aggressive. Maybe it’s just the ‘grass is greener on the other side of the hill’ concept.”

“Maybe they’re just passing through and don’t want any trouble.” Nervously, Riley finished slathering mud on Nathan, for which he was eternally grateful. She stepped back and viewed her creation. Nathan looked like the creature from the black lagoon, his eyes gleaming out from the mud mask. She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. It was no laughing matter, but he looked so ridiculous!

“You wouldn’t think this was so funny if it was you!” Grumpily he turned away. “Demon and I had the worst night and all you can do is laugh.”

“I’m not laughing at the situation; I’m just enjoying the view. Quit being such a grouch.” She turned away before the grin became a full blown smile.

Demon was whining and scratching at his food bowl and it provided the impetus she needed to leave while she was still on Nathan’s good side. The dog’s nose was also covered in bug bites, but he determinedly fought her attempts to tend to them, making it very clear her attention was not welcome, even growling his displeasure. She finally gave up, filled his bowl and let him alone. Maybe after he ate, he would be easier to handle.

Nathan came in the main area and, without thinking, Riley burst into laughter. The mud had dried to a hard mask and bits and pieces had fallen off, lending him the air of a rotting corpse. His eyes darkened, promising retribution, but he refrained from talking so as to not lose more of the mask.

“Do you think we’re in danger?”

Trying to move his mouth as little as possible, Nathan’s reply was slow and stilted. “Not now. Don’t know, but think we should stay hidden until we know more.”

She nodded. “No reason to tempt fate if they’re just passing through. What about the animals?”

“Go down shortly and check. Going to take down the fence and brush the area and pen them up inside.”

“Yeah! It would be pretty obvious someone was up here if they saw the fence. The animals didn’t pen themselves up. I’m going with you.”

“No! Stay here.” More of the mud fell off, mostly around his mouth. She’d never noticed before what perfectly sensuous lips the man had! Firm and full and made for close encounters. He was still bare from the waist up as well, and wild, wanton thoughts leapt to mind. What would it feel like to run her hands over those beautiful pectorals and have her way with him?
Have her way with him?
What a silly thing to be thinking about when his face looked like something Demon had dragged in. Mentally shaking herself, she forced herself to focus on his face. But there were those lips again, outlined in mud, but still remarkably sexy.

As if discerning her thoughts, Nathan’s eyes gleamed wickedly, narrowing as he slowly advanced. Her eyes were drawn again to his broad shoulders and muscular chest, lingering on his hard flat nipples. Cornered and unable to escape with her dignity intact, she waited, nervous but excited at the same time. He leaned forward, his lips pressed in a slight smile.