Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 101336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Sky recalled the name only her husband referred to him as Rory, the liar. It seemed he was a good liar since he was not the man he had claimed to be.
“There is no time for laughter. This mission must get done,” Olin said, “Iver is right. We don’t have much time. We need to get out of here.”
Fearful beyond belief, Sky forced herself to ask, “Who are you? What do you want with me?”
Olin ignored her and turned to Iver. “Where are the horses?”
“Not far from here and out of sight of the sentinels.”
Horses. Once they got on horses, they could easily distance themselves from Slayer, taking longer for her husband to find her. There was also the chance of more men waiting to wherever they took her. Her fear grew and her stomach roiled. She had to escape them before they reached the horses to give her husband a better chance of finding her.
At least she was somewhere that she was familiar with… a forest. And she knew the secrets of the forest well.
“We need to get to those horses and keep moving,” Olin said. “It will take us no more than a day’s ride to reach the meeting spot, get our coins, and be done with this.”
Iver was the man who had dragged Sky into the woods, and he gave her a shove. “Get moving.”
“She stays unharmed, or we could get less coins for her,” Olin warned and turned to one of the men as they walked. “Go a distance ahead and make sure no surprises await us.”
She could not take the word of a liar that she would be left unharmed and that encouraged her even more to escape, and soon, since there would be one less man to hunt her. She was not familiar with this area of terrain which could prove dangerous, but the trees would help guide her and rock formations would provide her with places to hide. It also helped that they had not bound her wrists. It would make escape that much easier.
“Keep pace,” Iver ordered with a slight shove when she slowed after only a few steps.
“Throw her over your shoulder, Iver, if she slows again,” Olin called out, several steps ahead.
She could not let that happen, so she kept pace and feared their hasty steps would get them to the horses before she had a chance to make her escape. That meant she could not wait. She had to make her escape soon. But how?
It came to her when she spotted a sizeable stone ahead and when she reached it, she purposely stumbled, falling just enough to grab the stone.
Iver grabbed her by the arm. “Stay on your feet.”
Sky didn’t wait. She slammed Iver in the head with the stone and his hand fell off her as he collapsed to the ground. She took off, knowing she had little time, Olin and the other man having kept their quick pace. That had put enough distance between them for her to dash into the forest and hide.
It was only a few moments later that she heard Olin yell, “You idiot!”
Sky ran as if the devil was on her heels, keeping watch for places to hide and places to avoid.
“Spread out,” Olin yelled.
His strong voice sounded close. She needed to find a place to hide and fast or they would find her.
The forest thickened, making it difficult to keep a good pace. She spotted towering pines grouped close as if they hugged each other. If she could squeeze through the thick branches, she just might be able to hide among them. She might suffer some scratches but that would be the least of her worries. She heard the cries and screeches of some of the forest animals. They were cries of distress. They were warning her. The men must be close.
Once she reached the bushy pines, she closed her eyes, leaving barely a slit to see from, so no pine needle could poke her eyes and make things more difficult for her.
“I see her!” one of the men shouted.
Sky hurried her way through, knowing she would have to run fast once she passed the trees. The pine needles poked and prodded as she maneuvered her way through and as soon as she broke free of them, she ran. Too late she realized she was at the edge of a cliff and, try as she might to save herself, momentum had taken hold, and she went tumbling off the side of a steep cliff.
Olin was the first to breach the pine trees and caught his steps, stopping himself from tumbling off the edge. He called out, “Go slow! There’s a cliff.”
The other two men stepped carefully past the trees and looked down to where Olin glanced.
“She’s not moving,” Iver said.
“We’ll never get her out of there,” the other man said.