Scaderstone Pit (The Darkeningstone Series Book 3) (12 page)

He grabbed her wrist with his left hand and twisted the weapon away from his throat. Then he drove his right fist into the woman’s face. She toppled backward and Cleofan rolled over, throwing his weight on top of her, pinning her arms against the ground.

The woman twisted and writhed beneath him, but he held her tight. She still had a weapon in her right hand and Cleofan grasped the blade, twisting it from her fingers. It was heavy, a brutal weapon, but before he could raise it, the woman clawed at his face, digging her fingernails into his skin. Cleofan cried out and tossed the weapon aside, then he grabbed her wrist and squeezed it with all his strength.

The woman roared in frustration, gnashing her teeth, but Cleofan held on. For a moment, the only sound was their frenzied breathing as they struggled. And then the baby began to cry.

The woman finally lay still. She looked up at Cleofan, her eyes burning into his. “Get it over with,” she spat.

The blood drained from Cleofan’s face. “I…I don’t want to hurt you.” He shook his head. “
You
attacked
me
. I don’t know why. This place is ours. I came here for firewood.”

The woman stared at him, a sullen sneer on her lips, but she said nothing.

Cleofan clenched his jaw and glared at the woman. What should he do now? He couldn’t stay like this, but if he let go of her hand, she’d tear his eyes out. Unless…unless she was ready to listen. “If I let you go, you must stay still. If you do that, I’ll give you what food I have. It’s not much, but you can take it. Do you understand?”

The woman grimaced but she gave a single nod.

“I’m going to let you go, now.” Cleofan took a breath then pushed himself back, taking his weight from her and scrambling up to his feet as quickly as he could.

The woman sat up slowly, looking rapidly from side to side. Her eyes went to the weapon on the ground, but Cleofan followed her gaze. He stepped forward and scooped up the strange blade. It was the oddest weapon he’d ever seen: heavy and cold to the touch.

“Food,” the woman said. “You told me you had food.”

“Yes.” Cleofan opened his pouch and felt inside it. There were two strips of dried meat and he took them both out. The woman watched his every move, and he could see the hunger in her eyes. He held his hand out toward her. “Here you are.”

The woman stood, eyeing him suspiciously, then she took the meat from him and crammed a piece into her mouth. She chewed furiously, watching Cleofan all the while.

“It’s good,” Cleofan said. “Rabbit. I caught it myself.”

The woman looked at the second piece of meat, and then tucked it into her pouch.

As Cleofan watched, she hesitated, her hand inside her pouch.
She must have another weapon
, he thought.
She must have a knife
. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he said. He dropped the woman’s heavy blade back to the ground. “Eat both pieces. It looks like you need it.”

The woman shook her head, but she took her hand from her pouch. “I have to feed my son,” she said.

“Yes. He sounds hungry.”

Slowly, the woman walked toward the holly bush. She glanced back at Cleofan then bent down and crawled between the branches. A moment later, she backed out, holding a bundle of furs to her chest. She squatted down on her haunches and began feeding her baby at her breast.

Cleofan watched. “You have a boy,” he said. “That’s good. Where is his father?”

“Dead.” She tilted her chin upward. “They killed him.”

Cleofan raised his eyebrows. “What happened? Who killed him?”

“They came two summers ago and took me from my people. We call them the Wandrian. They killed so many of our men. My husband…I…”

Cleofan nodded. “They took the women.”

The woman sniffed. “Some of us. They made me go with them. Then my baby came last winter. They’d have taken him from me, made him into a savage like them. It wasn’t safe for him. I ran away.”

“And these men—will they come for you?”

The woman touched the talisman she wore at her throat. “Yes. They’re greedy, vicious. They move like demons in the dark.”

Cleofan scraped his hand down his face. “You can’t stay here. You’ve got to get away.”

The woman’s face fell. “I thought you were going to help me—help my baby. You could take me to your village.”

“No. I can’t. They won’t accept you. They’ll drive you away.”
And punish me
, he thought.
Punish me for bringing danger to their homes
.

The woman looked up into his eyes and when Cleofan saw the desperation burning there, he almost changed his mind.

“The blade,” she said, her voice hoarse with emotion, “the one you took from me—it’s very special. Sacred. It’s yours, if you want it.”

Cleofan frowned and shook his head. “It’s no use—” he started.

“But there’s another,” she said. “Wait.” She took her baby from her breast and fussed over him. The child let out a thin cry of protest but quietened when his mother wrapped him tightly in the furs and laid him on the ground. The woman stood up and reached into her pouch.

Cleofan stepped back. “I don’t want it.”

But she held something up to show him. “See? It’s a striker. Very strong. Better than any axe head you’ve ever used.” She stepped up to the nearest tree and raised the weapon to her shoulder then she brought it down hard against the trunk. The weapon thudded into the tree, denting the wood and sending pieces of bark tumbling to the ground.

The noise of it startled Cleofan and he glanced nervously over his shoulder.

“It doesn’t cut,” the woman said. “That’s what the blade is for. But the striker can break a bone, crush a skull. It can bring a man to his knees.” She held the weapon out to him. “With this, you’ll be the strongest man in your village.”

Cleofan stared. Like the strange blade she’d pressed against his throat, this weapon gleamed, catching the light. It was far brighter than polished jade. He took a step forward and reached out his hand to touch it.

But she snatched it away from him. “If you let us stay here. If you bring us food. Then you can have it.”

Cleofan shook his head. “People come from the village to fetch stone. They’ll find you.”

The woman took a step forward. “I can hide. I’ll find somewhere. And I’ll keep Banain quiet.”

“Banain? I don’t understand. Is that what you call your son?”

The woman nodded rapidly. “It’s what
they
called him. It’s because of his hair, his fair skin. They can see he’s not Wandrian. He…he looks like his father.”

“I’m sorry,” Cleofan said. “But it’s no use. My people won’t allow you to stay here. I know it.”

The woman’s face creased, but she looked Cleofan in the eye. “It doesn’t matter. We just need to rest here a while. And if your people come, I’ll feed Banain so he won’t cry out. No one will know we’re here.”

Cleofan chewed the inside of his cheek and looked the woman up and down, but he said nothing.

“Please,” she said. “Take the blade. You can have it now. Then, when you come back, I’ll give you the striker. When I’ve had some food and water, I’ll go. You’ll never see us again. I swear it.”

Cleofan sighed. “There’s no need to bring water. There’s a spring. I can tell you where it is.”

“You’re going to help us?”

Cleofan nodded wearily. “I’ll try. But you must go from here very soon. I can’t keep coming out here to bring you food—people would notice. My wife…”

The woman gave him a tired smile. “I understand. We’ll go as soon as we can.” She licked her lips. “You said there’s water? I’m very thirsty. Could you show me now?”

“Yes, I’ll take you there. It isn’t far.”

The woman looked down and replaced her weapon in its pouch. When she looked up, her eyes were brighter, and Cleofan wondered for a moment, what she’d look like if the black lines were washed away from her face. “What’s your name?” he asked.

She hesitated. “Glowan. But they didn’t—” She looked away for a moment. “I haven’t been called by that name since they took me.”

Cleofan took a breath, exhaled noisily. “Come on, Glowan. I’ll show you the spring. And I know a place where you can hide. But we’d better hurry. I have firewood to gather.”

Glowan sniffed. “Thank you. You’re very kind.” She stepped to Cleofan’s side and bent her knees to pick up the heavy blade from the ground. She looked at it for a moment, with a deep sadness in her eyes, then she held it out toward Cleofan. “Take it,” she said. “It’s yours now.”

Slowly, Cleofan reached out and took the weapon from her. He turned it around in his hands, marvelling at the weight of it. The blade was cold and strong, and there was something about it, something unnatural that sent a thrill racing across his skin. “All right,” he said. “And you can call me Cleofan.” He glanced down at the woman’s pouch. To have one such weapon was exciting enough, but to have two!
That would be special
, he thought.
Very special indeed
.

Chapter 16

2021

“CALLY,” I SAID
, “I need to go in with you. Not up to your room or anything, just inside the hotel. All right?”

She shook her head slowly. “I’ve already told you, that isn’t—”

But I didn’t let her finish. I stepped forward and put my hand on her arm. “You’ve got to believe me. That car, the one with the tinted windows at the end of the street, that’s
their
car—the men who tried to grab me at the station. It’s the same car.”

She followed my gaze. “How can you be sure? It just looks like an ordinary car to me.”

“I recognise it, all right? It’s the same car. I’m one hundred percent certain. I only got away last time because there were people about. But now, the streets are practically empty and I don’t know my way around. They’ll catch me in no time. I won’t stand a chance.”

Cally bit her bottom lip. “I don’t know. It sounds crazy to me but…if you’re really that worried, maybe you should come inside and call for a taxi. I’m sure the receptionist will call one for you if you want.”

“OK. Good plan. Let’s go.”

Cally led the way into the hotel, and I followed, glancing nervously over my shoulder.

Inside, I stood back while Cally talked to the hotel’s receptionist. The man behind the desk stared at her, grinning like a maniac, his eyes bulging.
For god’s sake
, I thought,
I know she’s attractive but that’s ridiculous
. But there was more to it than that. There was something about his manner that made me uneasy. His smile was just a little too wide, his movements a little too twitchy as he picked up the phone. And there was a sheen of sweat on his brow.

When he’d made the call, he said something to Cally and she turned to me with a smile. “The taxi will be here in a few minutes. You’ll be all right won’t you?”

I nodded, but I didn’t answer. I was too busy watching the receptionist from the corner of my eye. He was still staring at Cally, and then he did something that sent a shiver down my spine. Slowly, he picked up the phone again, hunching his body over the handset as if he was trying to hide it. He looked down to tap in a number, and when he looked up and realised I was watching him, he started so violently he almost dropped the handset. “Cally, I don’t like this,” I said. I nodded toward the receptionist. “He’s scared. And I think he was just about to call someone to tell them where you are.”

Cally scarcely gave the receptionist a glance. “Oh, he’s always a bit creepy. I just ignore him.”

“Seriously, Cally, I don’t know if you’re safe here. Maybe we should go to a different hotel for the night. Throw them off the trail.”

For a moment, Cally said nothing. “What I think,” she said carefully, “is that you’re putting two and two together and making five.”

I opened my mouth to protest but she carried on speaking. “I think you’re tired and stressed, I think you’ve got a lot on your mind, and you’re starting to see patterns when there’s nothing much to see.”

“No. It’s not like that. I’m not making this stuff up.”

“I didn’t say you were,” Cally said. “But when we get tired, we get things out of proportion and we overreact. I’m just the same.”

I let out a heavy sigh. “All right. I can see I’m not going to change your mind. But listen, could we maybe swap emails or something? I won’t keep pestering you or anything. It would just be nice to keep in touch.”

She pursed her lips. “I’ve got your phone number. I’ll call you tomorrow, or send a text. I’d like to know you’re OK, and my guess is, you’ll be feeling a lot better after a good night’s sleep.”

“Maybe you’re right,” I said. “It’s been a weird couple of days.” I hesitated. “But even so, I’m glad I found you. It was good to see you again, Cally. I’ve…I’ve never forgotten you.”

She smiled, and when she looked at me, there was a soft glint in her eyes. “And I’ve never forgotten you either.” She tilted her head on one side. “You know, it’s funny, but in many ways you haven’t changed. You’re still the same sweet boy I met all those years ago.”

I shook my head. “Oh, I’ve changed, Cally. I’ve changed one hell of a lot. Believe me.”

“Sure,” Cally said. “I didn’t mean that to sound patronising. I just mean, you’ve still got the same spirit—like you think anything is possible. I kind of feel, I don’t know, like I’m going through the motions sometimes.”