The Pearl Savage (18 page)

He slapped her so hard across her
face that her vision dimmed and in her head swelled an impenetrable
fog. She was vaguely aware of Charles struggling with the other
guards, even so far as to hear the meaty sounds of his fist
connecting with their flesh. But the prince was a distraction as he
lay atop her, lifting the hem of her dress to her knees, trying to
work it higher.

He
meant to rape her,
with
Charles as witness.

Clara bucked and fought.

He struck her again, pinning her
wrists above her head with one of his hands, unlacing his breeches
with the other and Clara lost all semblance of sanity, screaming
wildly for Charles.

****

“Did you hear that?” Matthew
asked the others.

Bracus nodded, changing his speed
from jogging to sprinting. They moved toward the sphere tunnel as a
lethal wall of menace, throat slits fully open, deep red slashes of
flesh against their throats. Arriving outside the slightly bulbous
outcropping of the sphere tunnel, they were not able to believe the
sight which greeted them.

Bracus’ breath caught in his lungs,
prisoner. A man lay atop the Princess, undoing his breeches with one
hand while she screamed for someone and struggled to free herself.
But even Bracus could see she was no match for the one that rode her,
a male of similar size to some of the smaller Band members.

Philip growled low in his throat,
“Gather the flasks!”

Bracus nodded, shouting, “All of
them, throw everything on my command…”

“Now!” Bracus’ shout penetrated
the interior of the sphere.

****

Charles was prone on all fours
surviving a well-placed kick to the ribs, still crawling to help
Clara when she screamed for him, the plea a stab to his heart, the
abhorrent prince trying to have his way with her. He must reach her,
he thought, when he heard a powerful yell from Outside.

Prince Frederic froze on top of
Clara, his undergarment a thin barrier between himself the Princess
and what he wished to defile. Looking over the top of her head he saw
men. Huge men, like the rumored Vikings of his ancestry. The gills in
their necks like slashes from a knife, opening and closing with their
breathing.

Charles and the guards were
transfixed when water hit the sphere and a moment passed with the
liquid cascading down the outside, hissing and smoking. A tear formed
and the fresh air of the Outside reached their lungs for the first
time.

Clara was in a dim fog, her dress
about her hips, the Prince poised above her when a foot connected
with his jaw and he flew several feet away from her. She lay stunned,
a dull ache rooting her shoulders to the awkward position above her
head as she watched the scene unfold.

Huge
men flooded into the confines of the tunnel, working without mercy on
the remaining guards, slitting both their throats and dumping their
bodies to the ground like garbage. The one who lay on his back, hilt
sticking
out of his chest like an exclamation point breathed shallowly while
one guard came upon him, twisting the hilt while he screamed in
agony. Finally, he removed it and slit that guard’s throat, turning
his head to look at Clara while simultaneously wiping the bloodied
blade on the guard’s clothing.
It
was him,
Clara thought with a shudder, the
savage
who
frightened her.

He
gave her a grim smile and walked toward where she lay. Her breath
coming in large gasps, she was frozen to the ground, unable to move.
She would die here, in this tunnel, surrounded by
savages
on the dirt floor of the tunnel.

She
craned her neck, her vision swimming and saw Charles being approached
by two
savages,
their thick thigh muscles bunching as they squatted in front of him,
a battered heap before them.

She screamed, not caring for her own
safety but thinking only of him, “Spare him! He is my friend…
please, spare him…” she cried in a pathetic whisper, her eyes
swimming through a wash of tears.

A
fierce face loomed in front of her vision and it was
he.
..
the
savage
she had seen through the sphere wall, the one which looked upon her
with tenderness, as he did now.

“Fear not, Princess, no harm will
come to you,” Bracus said while lowering her arms down to her sides
and lowering her dress. His expression was one of contained rage as
his gaze wandered to Frederic, who lay unconscious beside her.

Her
head swiveled back to Charles, the two
savages
kneeling
beside him, awaiting the command of their leader. Her eyes met
Charles’ and he hung his head, realizing that their fate was in the
hands of the
savages.

Bracus looked down at the Princess
and the black spot in his heart spread like ink spilled as he looked
upon her injuries, which led his gaze to the large male who lay
breathing a few feet away. He knew in his guts that this was the male
that had done the first abuse. The other, who lay on the ground near
Stephen and Joseph, looked as though he had defended her.

“Bracus,” Philip said, staring
down at him but his eyes strayed to the Princess.

“We must go. Let us dispatch these
two and take our leave, quickly, before more arrive.” He cast
studious glances around them.

Clara lifted a trembling arm,
shaking from lack of blood circulation and laid it on Bracus’
forearm, her touch light as a feather.

He
looked down at the small hand, fascinated by its size,
this
female was killing him,
but his expression remained stoic.

The Princess said, “Please, I beg
you, do not harm him, he is my dearest friend. Take me and leave him,
please.”

“Clara no! You know not what their
intent is!” he shouted, trying to get to his feet, but the guards
held him in position.

“Do not harm her! She has done
nothing,” Charles said to the group at large.

To
which Matthew replied, “That is not our intent,
sphere-dweller.”

Charles and Clara both heard the
note of disdain in his voice and he looked at them as if insulted
that they would think he would harm the female which lay vulnerable
and injured at their feet.

Stephen looked down at Charles. “It
was our plan to take her, not you. It was happenstance that you were
here… and the others,” he shrugged. Like their death had been
collateral damage and not of great importance.

Bracus knew that time was short. He
stood, and bending over he hauled the Princess to her feet.

Clara was suddenly on her feet and
up from her horrible position on the ground, but the movement had
been too fast and she swayed, feeling overcome physically with all
that had transpired. As she felt her vision narrowing, her body
filled up with heat. It began at her feet and rushed to her head, she
knew she would faint.

“
No
you don’t, Princess,” the
savage
said, swooping her right off the ground. Clara wasn’t sure this was
an improvement as her face lulled against his huge chest and his arms
folded her into his body as if she were the size of a child. To him,
she probably was.

“Do not take her!” Charles
yelled, struggling against the guards and Bracus gave Stephen a terse
nod and he slammed his fist into Charles temple, his body slumping to
the floor in a heap.

“
No!”
Clara screamed, struggling in the grip of the
savage
,
but to no avail, he had terrible strength and stood immune to her
movements.

Suddenly,
the
savage
that she did not trust was in her face. “Be still. You needed the
rescuing from what we saw.”

Clara cringed back from him in fear
and Bracus’ eyes narrowed. Her response did not make sense. Why was
she so afraid?

“Cease this; we mean you no harm,”
Bracus told her.

She stopped and looked up into
Bracus’ face, his intense hazel eyes warm with sincerity and it was
all too much.

Clara fainted.

CHAPTER 22

Bracus looked down at the still form
of the Princess and couldn’t believe she was finally in his arms. He
checked his expression to escape notice. She lay so light in his
embrace. A fragile thing. He hugged her tighter to him and her head
rolled against his chest.

He looked over at the large male
with yellow hair who still lived, rage shimmering within Bracus.
Killing him now would be best.

He looked at Philip who nodded and
prepared to land the killing blow but Stephen interrupted, “Do
not.” Philip’s hand hesitated, hovering over his breastbone. “He
looks to be someone of importance.”

They took in his regal attire, heavy
gold rings and thin band which lay atop his head.

Bracus made a noise in the back of
his throat, he was a loathsome man. “He does not deserve to live.”

“I agree. But, if we wish for our
negotiations to move forward, killing a person of importance may not
assist our cause,” Stephen said.

He was right, but there was
something primitive in Bracus that wished to end the life of he who
had laid violence against the Princess.

He wavered.

Finally, he walked over to him and
ground his heel into his groin with crushing force. A low moan
escaped Prince Frederic.

Bracus smiled, that had felt good.

The Band laughed. It would be some
time before he tried to take a female by force.

The Band silently made their way out
of the tear in the sphere wall.

Joseph turned around once they were
out, calling out to the Band, “Look upon it,” he said, pointing
to the slit.

They watched it begin to repair
itself. The Evil Ones had thought of a contingency for a sphere
breach. They wished not for an intermingling of the two Peoples.
Well
… Bracus thought…
they would have a surprise.

The
Band closed in around him and kept their senses alert for intruders
from other clans or the
fragment.

*

They reached the forest border,
relief washing over Bracus.

They came upon their horses and with
the evening meal almost upon them they found a mossy area by the
stream and lay the Princess down upon it. She barely stirred. Bracus
did not like the deep shadows that lay beneath her eyes and the
paleness of her face. He brought out his knapsack and rifled through
it until he came upon a blanket, the one he had chosen especially for
its tightly woven properties. He laid it over her. As it was made for
him, he was able to take the excessive length and use part of it to
bundle up as a makeshift pillow.

The Band drew together and looked
down upon her.

Stephen spoke first, “She looks
weak.”

“She is, dolt,” Philip said,
frowning at him, massive hands planted on his hips.

“It would be interesting to find
out what her intentions were this day. Where were they going? Were
they traveling with that guard?” Joseph reasoned out loud.

Bracus shook his head. “I do not
think so. Did you notice the one that was committing violence against
her? Their clothing was different. They are not from her home
sphere.”

Bracus watched the slight rise and
fall of her chest, having never laid eyes on a woman this small, she
was very close in stature to the young Evelyn who tended the well.
But how brave she had been! With huge, strange males all around, she
had pleaded for the life of her friend. He looked more closely at
her. She wore the strange clothes again and a bejeweled crown sat
upon her head. He shook his head, the mystery of it all deepening.

“So frail,” Matthew said,
bending down close to her still form he picked up her hand, the full
size of it taking up only his palm, his fingers free of it.

“Don’t touch her,” Bracus spoke
to Matthew in a low, clear voice.

Matthew looked at him, carefully
putting Clara’s hand down where it had been, his eyebrows raising as
he straightened to his full height.

“Why, Captain?”

Bracus realized his mistake too
late. He did not want any male touching her. “I do not wish her to
awaken and find your ugly mug above her.”

The Band laughed at the joke and the
tenseness left like water through netting.

Philip clapped Matthew on the back.
“Come, let us find food. It has been a long day, and I, for one,
wish to end it with a full belly and the stars above me.”

Bracus chose Joseph to watch over
Clara, instructing him to give the alert if she awoke. He nodded
solemnly. He understood better than the others because he wished for
Anna to love him. In turn, he may be more careful with this new
female.

Bracus walked away, the need to stay
by the Princess’ side and unbearable pull that no amount of shaking
off would loosen.

CHAPTER 23

Clara
opened her eyes slowly, the cold waking her. She did not know at
first where she lay. A damp, lightweight blanket covered her from
foot to chin and she discovered one lay under her head as well. She
cautiously turned her head to the left and the huge
savage
lay beside her, then at her right was the other
savage.
The
one that made her heart race with trepidation.