Second Chance

chapter 10




Carrick was in one of the four large stables that had been set up behind the streets of houses in Clairmont. He had just finished training with his men. Today, they had been honing their sword skills on horseback. He much preferred battling with weaponry than spells. As a member of the Warrior caste, his magic was strong and could smite many an enemy. But there was something about striking your opponent down with nothing but the strength of your body that really revved up Carrick. Plus, he loved feeling physically drained and exhausted when he headed home at night. At least then he was able to fall asleep rather than having thoughts of Ava keep him up.

No matter how hard he tried, he could not keep that woman out of his mind. It was driving him crazy having her in such close proximity. It was made even worse now that Ava had apparently forgiven him for sending her from Vyronas. He’d rather have her hate back. At least then he could put her firmly out of his mind and concentrate on preparing himself for the inevitable showdown with Ralina.

Carrick prepared to unsaddle his war stallion, Greta. Yes, Greta was a stallion and yes, Greta had all the packaging that came with a stallion. But when he purchased the animal seven years ago, he had let Ava name him. And it was not by choice. It was because he had lost a bet.

Ava had been sixteen years old and seemed to be growing more and more beautiful by the minute. She had matured into a stunning woman.

Girl.

Whatever!

Every day that passed, Carrick was having a hard time remembering her as that little eight-year-old girl he had befriended.

On this particular day, he had agreed to go fishing with her which was a favorite pastime for both of them. He had been declining her invitations lately, because he was a man after all and he wasn’t often thinking with the head above his shoulders.

He couldn’t help himself. Ava had filled out in all the right places and he would have to be dead not to notice. Although she looked every bit the mature woman, Ava was still innocent and she didn’t deserve to be the subject of those thoughts. Of course, he didn’t have to be around Ava to have those thoughts, they just seem to be more prevalent when she was in his line of sight.

Thus, he had been trying to avoid her as much as he could, even though he missed her friendship. But Ava kept badgering him for a fishing trip and he finally relented because she had taunted him with a bet.

“Are you afraid to go fishing with me because I might catch more than you?” Ava had jeered.

“Silly girl,” Carrick responded with an air of superiority. “There is no way you will ever be a better fisherman than I am. So no, I am not afraid.”

“Well, that’s true, because I’m not a fisherman. I’m a fisherwoman. But, it’s okay if you are scared. You are my best friend so I won’t tell anyone,” she had teased.

“I’m not afraid you’ll catch more fish than me!”

“Well, how about we make a wager?”

This could be interesting. “A wager? What would you want?”

Ava never hesitated. “I get the right to name your next pet.”

“You want to name my next pet?”

“If that doesn’t seem too unreasonable to you.”

“Okay. Deal. Let’s go.”

“Wait. What do you get if you win? I mean, I know it’s a long shot, but I’d still like to know the stakes.”

Oh, Carrick knew what he wanted. He would give anything just to have a kiss from her but he couldn’t say that. “How about you clean my tack for a month if you lose?”

“Okay. Deal. Let’s go then.”

Carrick thought back to that day. She had beaten him bad. She had caught eight fish that day, one of which was a 21-inch brown trout. He had caught a mere three fish and she had taunted him the whole way home. Still, it had been a wonderful day spent with her and even though his thoughts veered in a certain direction, he much more enjoyed just having the time with her to laugh and tell stories like they normally did.

It wasn’t two weeks later that Carrick bought Greta at a traveling horse auction. He had immediately fallen in love with the big, black beast. Of course, Ava was at the auction with her parents and when he bought the huge stallion, Ava immediately approached him and said, “I better think of a name pretty soon, huh Carrick?”

“What?”

“You remember that bet you lost a few weeks ago. You said I could name your next pet.”

Carrick had completely forgotten all about it. He looked over at her parents who were watching with amused smiles on their faces.

“A war stallion is not a pet Ava. Sorry, you will just have to wait until I bring home a stray cat or something.”

“I disagree,” Ava said. She walked up to the big horse and ran her hand down his back leg, appraising his fine features. Carrick wondered what it would feel like to have her pet him like that. Gods, he had to stop thinking like that.

“Will you not feed this horse?” Ava asked.

“Yes.”

“Will you not provide shelter for this horse?”

“You know I will.”

“Will you not bathe and groom this horse?”

Carrick didn’t respond immediately but Ava didn’t wait. She continued on. “Will you not respect this horse and cherish him?”

Carrick knew where this was headed. “I will do all those things.”

“And do you not do all of these things for your beloved pet dog, Baltazar?”

“Yes,” Carrick gritted out.

“Then,” Ava said with dramatic flourish, “I believe this stallion is indeed a pet.”

Ava’s father, King Jaron, who was really quite fond of Carrick, burst out laughing. “I believe she has you there, m’-boy.”

Carrick looked at Ava who was positively glowing with pride in herself.

“Fine. What do you want to name him?”

Ava circled around the horse three times, concentration keen on her face. She finally stopped in front of the horse and took his big, black head in her hands. The horse was enamored with Ava and looked at her with dark eyes. It was weird the connection Ava had to animals.

She pulled his head down a little and stared deep into his eyes. With a soft voice she said, “I think I shall name you Greta.” Then she turned to Carrick and leveled an impish grin at him.

Carrick had not been happy with the name, of course. But all he could think of as she looked up at him was kissing that silly grin off her face. It was all he could think about today as well. He could not get her out of his thoughts. Try as he could to avoid her, she constantly dwelled in his mind.

Even in his sleep, he dreamed of her. Some of the dreams were sweet, filled with past memories. Some of them erotic as hell, causing him to wake up with a raging hard-on which he would have to take care of in the bathroom while Ava slept. Maybe he could do a memory spell on himself and erase these feelings. Knowing his luck, he’d erase everything but Ava from his mind.

Carrick was roused from his thoughts when he heard frantic shouting outside the stable. He ran out just in time to see King galloping toward the barn he was normally housed in. Carrick’s heart nearly jumped out of his throat as he realized Ava was not in the saddle. He raced forward and snagged King’s reins, as people started gathering around. King was frightened and was rearing up while Carrick held onto him.

“Where is Ava,” he shouted to the crowd. Everyone looked bewildered. “Has anyone seen Ava? Quentin? The guards that were with them?”

No response.

Carrick felt the slow rise of panic in his chest. Rubbing King’s neck and speaking in soft tones, he got the horse to settle down. He quickly looked King over and could see no injuries. Handing King’s reins over to a nearby soldier, Carrick sprinted back to the stable. Thankful he had yet to remove Greta’s tack, he vaulted into the saddle. He gave him a slap of the reins and they bolted out of the barn.

Carrick could already see some of his soldiers automatically mounting their horses to follow behind. They were trained well. Carrick yelled back, “I want at least forty guards following me now.”

Carrick headed in the direction from which King had been galloping. Please let Ava be okay. Please let Ava be okay. He kept repeating that over and over again. He knew they were headed to a stream to fish so he went in that direction. Within minutes, he had reached the brook at the edge of the Cloak. Greta circled around and Carrick looked for any clues he could find. The area was pristine and he was fairly certain Ava had not been here.

Carrick heard the loud approach of several horses and his soldiers came into view. Carrick turned Greta toward the forest road and took off. He knew his soldiers would spread out to search in all directions. Trotting through the Leedle and Chappelle trees, Carrick soon picked up the trail of Ava’s party. He whistled twice, sharply, letting his men know he found the trail and soon he heard them coming. Carrick and his men quickly followed the tracks until they ran right up to the edge of the Cloak.

Carrick stopped to think. There was no way Ava would have left the protection of the Cloak voluntarily. Either she was removed forcibly, or she left her horse and wandered off in a different direction away from the Cloak’s edge. Carrick had just about decided to leave the Cloak and hunt for her on the outside when he noticed the Cloak’s wall waver and grow thin. He saw Quentin coming toward the Cloak and he seemed to be stumbling. With a few more steps, Quentin lurched through the Cloak and fell to the ground.

Carrick jumped off Greta and knelt by his side. Quentin had a nasty laceration across his forehead and was bleeding profusely. One of the soldiers had come with a cloth to press against the wound.

“Quentin, where’s Ava?” Carrick asked urgently.

“Don’t know,” Quentin slurred. His head wound must be bad. “Attacked. Took Ava.”

“Why were you outside the Cloak?” Carrick demanded angrily.

“Not. Outside.” Quentin managed to say before passing out.

“Damn it all to hell. This doesn’t make sense!” Carrick stood up, clenching and unclenching his fists in frustration.

They were not outside the Cloak when attacked? But Quentin had come from outside the Cloak. Carrick didn’t understand but he didn’t have time to figure it out either. He commanded ten of his men to search the immediate area for any breaches in the Cloak and determine if there were any enemy forces inside. He left two soldiers with Quentin and told the rest to follow him. Carrick spurred Greta through the Cloak in search of Ava.

****

Ava was standing up against a large wooden post, her arms tied behind it with cloth. The iron shackle was still secure around her neck but her feet were left untied. She was in a temporary camp as best as she could tell. When they had arrived, there were approximately thirty of Ralina’s men that she could count. They were all wearing the same black uniforms with the red eye on the shoulder.

Ava had heard the man she was riding with called Snyder and she soon figured out that he was clearly in charge of this group. Within a few hours, Snyder had given various orders to the soldiers and most had left camp. Right now, only three others remained with him. They were all occupied around a small fire eating two rabbits they had roasted. She was not close enough to hear them talking but she had heard bits and pieces of conversation when they first arrived and while they were tying her up.

She had been able to figure out that Ralina knew that Ava had returned to Vyronas and had put a bounty on her head. She was, thankfully, wanted alive. These were not bounty hunters, though. They were actually part of Ralina’s army so she figured Ralina was coming after her with all her might.

She had learned one other very important piece of information. She overheard the soldiers talking about a blood spell that had let them temporarily manipulate the Cloak’s boundary. Ava had not been taken from inside the Cloak as she had thought, but had inadvertently wandered outside its protective boundary. The blood spell they had cast hid the edge of the Cloak from her both by way of sight and feel.

Thinking back on it, she would bet Snyder’s head that was the nauseous feeling she had when they were walking through the Leedle and Chappelle trees. Ralina’s men didn’t have to breech the Cloak to get Ava. She had wandered right out of it without even knowing. Except, how did Snyder and his men know that I would wander out of the Cloak?

Movement by the fire caught her eye. She saw Snyder throw a bone into the fire and wipe his greasy fingers on his pants. Oh, gross. How about using a cleansing spell you pig. Then he had the good grace to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand, while turning to face her.

The look on his face had Ava swallowing a lump in her throat. His look was beyond lecherous. He said something over his shoulder to the other three men which she couldn’t hear but had them laughing. Then the three men stood up, and walked out of camp into the surrounding bushes.

Now Ava was alone with Snyder and she was scared out of her wits. With the iron around her neck and her hands tied behind her back, she had no means with which to defend herself. Oh, she could kick out at Snyder, and she sure as hell would. But she knew that was not going to stop him.

Snyder walked toward her, his eyes roving all over her body. He licked his lips and she hoped it was just because there was more rabbit grease there, but she doubted it. Just a few feet away from her, he reached behind his back and pulled out a huge knife. The handle was made of a simple wood but the blade looked true and sharp.

Ava tried to be strong but she felt a scream welling up inside her. She steeled herself, tamping down her fear. Maybe if she could get him talking, she could stall for time and come up with a plan.

“I don’t think Ralina will be too happy if you use that knife on me.”

Snyder laughed menacingly. “Empress Ralina doesn’t care what I do to you. As long as you, and I quote, ‘are still breathing and have most of your blood left’.”

Snyder said that last part trying to imitate Ralina. Far from looking ridiculous with his poor mimicry, he said it in such an evil way, it made her skin start to crawl. Snyder walked closer and bent his face down to hers. His breath was fetid and she fought against her gag reflex.

“I am really looking forward to seeing how much fight you have in you.” His eyes burned with the promise of torture and pain. She was sure rape was in the plan as well.

Ava knew there would be no talking any sense into him. “Well, if you take the iron off me, I’ll show you how much fight I have.”

“Sorry bitch… but the iron stays on.”

“What… are you afraid I might hit you with a spell that will cure that rank breath of yours?”

Snyder’s eyes narrowed and she could see them flickering with violence. Rather than reply, he put the knife in his mouth. He reached for the lapels of her shirt. She was wearing one of her plaid button-ups she often wore while riding in Wyoming. Snyder grabbed a fistful in each hand and then yanked them apart violently. Her buttons went flying and her shirt tore completely open.

Ava was not wearing a bra and now stood completely bared to him. Snyder held the material of her shirt apart, eyeing her breasts with unfettered lust. With his right hand, he removed the knife from mouth. His breath was sawing in and out with excitement. Damn it all to hell, it kept hitting her in the face practically making her eyes water.

She thought this might be her best chance to land a good kick. Unfortunately, with the wooden beam at her back, she couldn’t draw her leg back very far, but she went ahead and let her cowboy booted foot fly toward his crotch.

Apparently, Snyder wasn’t as overwhelmed with lust as she thought because he saw the kick coming and twisted to avert it.

“Go ahead and fight little Princess,” Snyder hissed. “I like it.”

In one swift move, Snyder had the knife behind her cutting the cloth binding her wrists. She tried to quickly draw them out of his reach so she could possibly land a punch but he was too fast. With a strong swipe of his foot, he knocked her legs out from under her and she fell to the ground on her back.

He was on her in a second, pinning both her arms above her head. Ava kicked and bucked, trying to push him off, but he was able to settle his hips in between hers, the weight of his body pinning her flat. Then he started grinding his erection against her, his face pressed into her neck. He was making awful grunting sounds and nausea overwhelmed her.

Ava was terrified and beyond rational thinking. She spied his knife lying on the ground, but it was out of her reach. So she did the only thing left, and it was just her body’s natural reaction. She screamed.

****

Carrick was following a new trail of hoof-prints he had picked up outside the Cloak. He and his men were riding hard, following the tracks. Twice they came upon small groups of Ralina’s men, and between their swords and their sorcery, they made short work of the enemy soldiers. Luckily for Carrick, her soldiers were poorly trained.

Carrick knew he had to be close to Ava. And then he heard it. A scream that made the inside of his heart bleed. Ava!

Urging Greta toward the scream, Carrick spied smoke from a fire and headed straight for it. He burst through bushes that had been set up to camouflage the campsite and instantly saw Ava. She was lying on her back, in the dirt. Her shirt was ripped wide open and there was a man on top of her, pinning her down.

Carrick felt a rage such as he had never known before. Not even when the Conclave had threatened Kieran’s life, nor when his father had been killed. Not even when Sam’s leg had been cut off. Carrick was not even thinking as he spurred Greta toward the man.

Apparently hearing the thunder of hooves, Snyder looked up from Ava. Carrick raced at him with uncontained fury. Snyder lurched to his knees in an effort to defend himself but that was as far as he got. Carrick launched himself off Greta while he was still in full gallop, slamming into Ava’s attacker. The force propelled both men over Ava with Carrick landing on top of Snyder.

Carrick never missed a beat. He jumped up from the ground, hauling the man with him. Carrick wrapped his large hands around the man’s head, and with a sharp twist, broke his neck. He let the body fall from his hands as he started striding toward Ava, never looking back to see it hit the dirt.

***

Ava scrambled up once Snyder was knocked off her. She had a moment of fear for Carrick but it was fleeting. He had killed Snyder so quickly, she almost didn’t see it. And then he was walking toward her, a hard look on his face.

Ava watched him cautiously as he approached and realized that she was trembling. He looked mad as hell and she wasn’t sure if any of it was directed at her. Probably some of it was, just for the mere fact she had been captured and Carrick didn’t want her to go fishing in the first place.

Instead, Ava was stunned when he reached out to her and pulled her into his arms. He wrapped his arms completely around her and pressed her whole body to his, tucking her head into his chest. She automatically wrapped her arms around his waist. He whispered against the top of her head in an unsteady voice. “Are you okay?”

Ava was reveling in the feel and sound of Carrick. All she could do was nod her head up and down. He put his lips against the top of her head and gave it a light kiss. Then, with his mouth still pressed to the top of her head, he mumbled, “I was so scared I had lost you.”

His arms tightened a little more around her and Ava’s heart soared. She squeezed him back. Stars, she had forgotten how good it felt to be held by this man. But her elation was short lived as Carrick released her and stepped back to look down at her. He took her shirt and pulled it together so her breasts were covered.

“Hold your shirt together while I get a piece of rope to belt around it.”

Ava grabbed her shirt and just nodded. She watched him walk up to Greta and pull a thin piece of roping from his saddle pack. He pulled the knife that was holstered at his waist and cut off a length. Carrick walked back to Ava and gently tied the rope around her waist, keeping her shirt closed. He then unlocked the iron around her neck and threw it to the ground. Ava looked up at Carrick, trying to judge what he was thinking. As he returned her look, she saw the distance in his eyes once again.