Far After Gold by Jen Black
Available from Amazon Kindle
“Come with me.”
Emer stood rooted to the deck. Flane reached
the gangplank, turned and beckoned.
Emer scowled and did not move.
Flane clicked his fingers. Astounded, Emer
lifted her chin, turned her head and stared pointedly out to sea. From the
corner of her eye she saw one sailor nudge another and both stopped what they
were doing to watch what would happen next. Memories of the overseer and his
cane flashed through her mind, and she decided moving might be her wisest
choice even though he treated her like his favourite hound. Pride stiffened her
spine as she halted before him.
“My name is Flane.” He tapped his chest and
repeated the words, as if she were stupid, and then sighed. “Trust me to pick a
girl who doesn’t understand the language.” He drew his dagger, and the fierce
blade flashed silver in the sunlight.
Emer’s heart leapt into her throat. Would he
kill her because she could not speak his language? What other reason could he
have? Should she speak now, before it was too late? She met his blue glance for
an instant even as she took a swift step back, ready to run, heedlessly, in any
direction.
He caught her wrist and dragged her in close.
Her heart thudded wildly at the sudden
contact of chest, hip and thigh. Mesmerised by his steady blue gaze, she stood
there in the thin sunlight with the sound of water lapping against the ship and
the smell of seawater and seaweed in her nostrils. She drew a swift, choked
breath of air. Her last moment in the world had arrived, and she could not free
her tongue to speak. Dear God…. She
shut her eyes, awaiting the bite of cold steel at her throat. Dear Lord, accept my soul this day…
He hooked one finger under her leather slave
collar. Surprised, she opened her eyes and flinched at the sight of the steel
blade flashing wickedly in the sunlight.
“Steady, steady,” he murmured, as if to a
nervous animal. “I thought you’d rather be free of this.” He gave a couple of
gentle tugs on the leather collar at her neck, and before she grasped his
intention, the steel sliced through the hated thing. She never even felt the
coldness of the blade.
He dangled the strip of leather with its
attendant piece of rope in front of her. “Do you want to keep it?”
Furious at being frightened and then gentled
like a nervous horse, Emer seized the hated collar and hurled it far out over
the loch.
2 comments:
It's on my pile ... and I wish I had two lives ... :-)
Don't we all! Ysterday I brought 3 Good Books home from the library, and I don't know which to start first!
Jen
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