Outcast (The Darkeningstone Series Book 2) (31 page)

Morven shouldered his way through the crowd, pushing his men aside. He was only just in time. Already, Kaine had his knife at a prisoner’s throat. Morven sighed and let his axe slide to the ground. Then, with his left hand, he grabbed hold of Kaine’s arm and yanked it back, taking the knife away from the prisoner’s throat. He followed up with a punch, slamming his right fist into Kaine’s ear.

Kaine spun on his heels and thrust his knife toward his attacker, not seeing, not caring who it was. But Morven was too fast for him. He sidestepped Kaine’s clumsy attack and lunged forward, taking hold of Kaine’s knife arm in an unbreakable grip. With his free hand, he drove his fist hard into Kaine’s face, once, twice. Kaine shook his head, dazed, and Morven suddenly released the younger man’s arm and pushed him hard in the chest with both hands. Kaine staggered backward but saved himself from stumbling to the ground.

The rest of the men stood back, forming a rough circle around the two men and the prisoners. They looked on, their faces impassive, though their hands were now resting on the axes they wore at their waists.

Morven stood tall, his hands at his side. “Kaine, have you forgotten what to do when you bring prisoners?”

Kaine spat blood onto the ground, then pulled himself up to his full height. “I know what to do with prisoners,” he snarled. “I know exactly what to do with them.” He held up his knife and sliced the air with it.

Morven shook his head. “Where is your respect?”

“I give my respect to those who deserve it,” Kaine snapped.

There were mutters among the men watching. Kaine was going too far. But Morven showed no emotion. “No, Kaine, you have not shown respect. I am the leader of this tribe. You bring all prisoners to
me
.”

Kaine narrowed his eyes. “They’re
my
prisoners. I caught them. They are mine to kill, and I
will
kill them now.”

“You would anger the stone?” Morven looked around the group. “You would bring the stone’s rage down on our tribe?”

Kaine hesitated. He lowered his knife.

“Our prisoners belong to the stone,” Morven went on, addressing the whole group. “We have claimed them for the stone and we will offer them up to her. But not until it is time.” He pointed toward the setting sun. “When the darkness comes, we will give the prisoners to the stone, and it will feed on their blood.”

“And you will cut their throats I suppose,” Kaine sneered. “You will be the one to take their strength.”

Morven stretched his lips tight in a humourless smile. “No. I will offer the stone one of the prisoners. You will have the honour of giving her the other.”

Kaine’s eyes lit up with greed. “I want to choose,” he demanded. “I want to choose which one I kill.”

Morven hesitated. The men were watching him, waiting for his reaction to Kaine’s rudeness, looking for any sign of weakness.
One day soon
,
I’ll have to do something about Kaine
. But not today. This was not the right time to settle old scores. An offering to the stone was a time for celebration, a time to bring the men together. He stood tall, raising his chin, and looked Kaine in the eye. “Kaine, show me your talismans.”

Kaine’s furious stare faltered. He glanced down at the talismans that hung from his neck and splayed across his chest. “You can see them plain enough.”

Morven nodded, appraising the tangle of rough leather straps, the clumsy knots. “It’s a fair few,” he conceded. He paused and waved his arm toward his audience. “But there are men here with many more talismans.” He glanced around the watching men, and as he did so, he casually ran his hand over his own collection of gleaming talismans. Each one had been carefully polished then threaded onto a thick, braided leather strap. Most of the watching men allowed their eyes to flicker down to their own talismans, while others sneaked sidelong looks at their neighbours.

Morven smiled. Now, every man knew his place. He turned his attention back to Kaine. “The stone will choose, and the stone speaks only through me.”

Kaine shook his head in disgust. There was nothing he could say. He was beaten.

Morven kept his eyes fixed on Kaine and paused to let the message sink in. He was their leader, and it was just as well that they remembered it. “Good.”

He turned to the stone and raised his arms into the air. “Now, the stone will guide me,” he called. “The stone will choose which man I shall offer.” He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, his eyelids flickering as he tried to see the will of the stone.
Don’t abandon me now
. But it was no use. Sometimes, no matter how hard he tried, the stone would not whisper to him. He sighed almost silently and opened his eyes just enough to glimpse the men. They were all looking at the stone rather than at him. Even Kaine was staring expectantly at the black rock. Morven allowed himself a satisfied smirk. He was safe. He could choose whichever prisoner that he wanted.

He lowered his arms. “The stone has spoken,” he said. He walked over to the prisoners and stood over them. The man from the woods was badly wounded, but he looked strong. He would be a fine choice.
He must have put up a good fight
. It would be good to take his talisman, to have his strength, his courage. But this other one—he was different. Morven looked at the prisoner’s pale skin, his short hair and his strange clothes. He grimaced. There was something disturbing about this man, something that stirred strange thoughts in Morven’s mind—or were they memories?
How could that be?
Morven bent over the strange prisoner. He frowned and reached out his hand. The prisoner flinched but Morven didn’t hesitate. He ran his fingers around the prisoner’s neck, pushed his hand inside his clothes, but found nothing. No talisman. He gasped and took his hand away.
Did Kaine know about this? Had he taken it already?
Perhaps this was another challenge to his authority, a test to see if he had the strength to sacrifice a man with no talisman. He glanced at Kaine, but the younger man was looking on with interest, just like everyone else. If he’d planned to fool Morven, he was showing no signs of enjoying his victory.
No—he doesn’t have the wit to do something like this
. He stared into the prisoner’s eyes. “Where is it?” he demanded. “Where is your talisman?”

The old man stared into my eyes. I couldn’t look away. His eyes were dark as coal, the wrinkles in his leathery skin accentuated by the dark, curving lines on his face. I couldn’t bear that he’d touched me with his filthy old fingers. My flesh still crawled at the thought of it. I tried to blank the memory out but it wouldn’t go away.
All the hot water in the world
couldn’t wash away the memory of that touch
. But still, I could not look away from his piercing stare.

He barked a question at me, and something inside me snapped. “I don’t know,” I yelled. “I don’t know what you want. I can’t understand a bloody word you’re saying.”

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I regretted my outburst. Now, I’d be punished. I lifted my bound hands to my face to try to protect myself, but the punishment never came.

Instead, the old man recoiled from me. He stood up straight and staggered a step back. His hand flew up to his mouth and he murmured something to himself. The rest of the men muttered among themselves. They sounded worried. Some of them shifted their feet, suddenly restless, while others cast fearful looks toward the black stone.
Simple people
, I reminded myself,
easily confused
. I didn’t know what had upset them so much, but maybe this was the chance I’d been looking for; the chance to escape. I swallowed hard. I had to make this work. I wouldn’t get another opportunity.

“Look, it’s OK,” I said. “Just let me go. I’ll go far away and I won’t bother you again.”

No one said anything. The old man was still staring at me, his hand over his mouth. Slowly, and keeping my eyes on the old man, I pushed myself to my feet. “It’s all right,” I said, keeping my voice as level as I could. “I’m just going to go.” I took a step forward. “I’m going now.” The old man backed away from me. I took another couple of steps, toward the circle of men, and they parted in silence. Beyond them, I could see the long slope of the hill, the green grass waving in the breeze, the forest in the distance. I took a breath.
I’m going to do it
.
I’m going to walk away
. “I’ll just go down the hill,” I said. “I’ll leave you in peace.” Behind me, the wounded man moaned quietly and I hesitated, but there was nothing I could do for him, and there was no way I could take him with me. If I stopped for a moment, if I even looked uncertain, they’d be on me like a pack of wild dogs. I lowered my head and I kept walking.

Chapter 29

2018

“THIS IS IT?” Andrew peered up at the sign above the entrance. “Underground passages?” He gave Cally a look. “Are you serious?”

Cally frowned. “Yes, I’m serious. I thought…I thought you were interested.”

Andrew shrugged. “Oh, I am interested. Really. What you were saying about history being alive, and everything—that sounds great. But this just looks a bit, I don’t know…dull.”

Cally sighed. “It’s not dull,” she said. “It’s fascinating. The tunnels are hundreds of years old.”

“I guess it might be OK,” Andrew said, although he didn’t look convinced. He was trying to weigh up the situation. Being trapped underground was not ideal, but it was a public place, a tourist attraction. No one would try anything while they were down there, and no one could approach them unseen. It would be safe, and it might give him the time and space he needed to plan his way out of this mess. Once they were inside, he could have a quiet chat with Cally—so long as he could get her alone. He couldn’t risk being overheard.

Cally smiled. “If you don’t give it a try, you’ll never know.”

Andrew couldn’t help but return her smile. “OK. Let’s go for it.” He pulled the door open. “After you.”

Inside, Cally breezed up to the ticket desk. The young woman behind the counter looked up, and as soon as she saw Cally, her polite little smile turned into a huge grin. “Hiya, Cally. Haven’t seen you in ages. Where have you been hiding?” She looked over Cally’s shoulder and looked Andrew up and down. “Oh, that explains it.”

Cally blushed. “Hi, Nicki. How are you?”

“I’m fine,” Nicki said. She looked at Andrew again. “And so are you, I see.”

“Hello,” Andrew said. He looked Nicki in the eye. He guessed she was about the same age as Cally, and pretty, too, but she was trying too hard, wearing too much make-up. She didn’t have Cally’s natural beauty. It was strange—he was looking at Nicki but all he could see was Cally’s beautiful smile.
And Cally doesn’t even know—she has no idea how lovely she is
.

“This is Andrew,” Cally said. “He’s erm…” She glanced at Andrew and he saw the uncertainty in her eyes.

“I’m a friend of Cally’s,” he said. “We share an interest in history.”

Nicki rolled her eyes. “Oh, like that is it?”

“Yes,” Cally said. “I want to show him around—is there a tour going in soon? Can we tag on the end?”

Nicki smiled at Andrew for a second longer than necessary, then turned her attention to a clipboard on the counter. She checked the clock on the wall behind her. “There’s a group going through in about five minutes. They’re fully booked up, but since it’s you, I’m sure you can tag along.”

“Thanks,” Cally said. She started to move away from the desk.

“Hang on,” Andrew said. He waved toward the list of admission prices. “Don’t we have to pay?”

Cally hesitated then looked at Nicki. “We’re all right, aren’t we?”

Nicki smiled at Andrew. “For you, anything.”

Andrew raised his eyebrows. “Are you sure?”

Cally took him by the arm. “Yes, we’re sure.” She led him away, toward a staircase that led down from the reception area.

“Have a nice time,” Nicki called after them.

As they made their way down the stairs, Andrew gave Cally a look. “Your friend is very, erm, sure of herself.”

“You could say that, but she’s not exactly a friend. We used to work together.”

“At the university?”

“God no,” Cally said. “I worked here over the summer. I’ve done a few weekends, too. You know, just to make a bit of money. That’s how I met some of the tour guides.”

“Right. So that’s why she let us in without paying.”

“Yeah. There were never many perks to this job, but a free trip through the tunnels is one of them.”

Andrew grinned. “I dread to think what the others perks might be.”

Cally laughed. “Don’t ask.”

The stairway gave onto a corridor, and Cally hurried along without pausing. Andrew matched her pace. “What’s the rush?”

“The tour starts in a minute. We can only go through when a tour starts.”

Andrew gave her a sideways glance. “So if someone else comes along after us…”

“They won’t be allowed through. They don’t just let people wander in and out—it wouldn’t be safe.”

Andrew nodded thoughtfully.
This is working out better than I expected
. It was a public place but with limited access. The extraction team couldn’t force their way in without attracting a lot of attention, and that was the last thing they’d want. He finally had a little breathing space. Surely he’d have the chance to take Cally to one side and convince her to come into the office voluntarily.