“Don’t worry; we’ll feed you once wedismount,” Damon said. He’d been quiet all day, not trying toentice her into conversation as he normally did.
Maybe he could sense Shea’s nerves and wasgiving her space to process things. She’d feel more grateful if hehadn’t insisted on tying her up every night.
“One thing I didn’t miss was all these damnpeople,” Damon groused as he steered his horse around a grouparguing in the middle of the thoroughfare.
“There are women here,” Shea said with faintsurprise. They’d passed several on the way into camp. Most carriedweapons and were dressed in the same leather armor as the men.
Damon snorted. “Of course there are women.Did you think all Trateri were men?”
“Not at all. It’s just most Lowlanders andHighlander’s don’t allow their women to take part in war, and theycertainly don’t let them become warriors.”
“Then they’re fools. Women are some of themost vicious fighters I’ve ever seen and can be just as capable asany man.”
“Makes sense. In nature, the female is likelyto be the meaner one of the species, especially when it comes tothe young,” Shea said.
“Not all of our women or men are warriors.There are many roles in our society. We would be starving if therewere no cooks. We would lose every battle if there was no one tomake our weapons. We leave it up to the individual to decide whichof their skills they feel would provide the greatest benefit totheir clan.”
Shea’s guild had much the same view about theroles of men and women. If you had the talent and skill to do yourjob, it was yours. It didn’t matter what reproductive organs youhad. It surprised her that the Trateri held some of the samebeliefs.
The pace had slowed to a crawl as the grouppushed further into the heart of the encampment. Gradually, thepath narrowed and became congested with people and horses.
“Move with a purpose, you maggot infestedswine!” Damon shouted at a pair that were trying to figure outwhere they needed to go.
That wouldn’t have been so bad, but then theydecided what they were looking for wasn’t in that direction. Theytried to turn their horses, creating a jam that quickly became ashoving match.
“You can’t turn here.” Damon made a rudegesture. “Keep going until the next juncture and take one of theother avenues.”
The two didn’t seem inclined to listen andtried to pull their mounts around. Darius growled and surgedforward, forcing people to move or be trampled. He cuffed bothyoung men on the side of the head, grabbed the reins of both horsesand rode forward, forcing the beasts to ride after him.
Damon and three others followed quickly whilethe rest of the party, including the one containing Shea’s men,peeled off to follow a side road.
Time was ticking down as the confrontationwith Fallon drew near.
Darius guided his horse to a side street andtook it to another where he turned right. After several of thesenarrower paths, they rode into a wide-open area that was relativelyunpopulated compared to the main road they just left.
He dismounted before a tent that was twicethe width of those on the main road and considerably taller. Sheanoticed most of the surrounding domiciles were larger than the onesthey had passed but smaller than this one.
A deep blue banner with an embroideredphoenix in rebirth marked the entrance. An awning stretched outfrom the opening, creating a small strip of shade. If they’d beenallowed to speak, the two warriors standing guard would probablyhave voiced appreciation for the tiny oasis shielding them from theblazing afternoon sun.
That was all Shea had time to notice beforeshe was pulled from the horse. She caught a brief glance of thewarriors’ curious stares before she was pushed inside.
A variety of candles illuminated theinterior, showing that the ground was covered by rugs. So many thatone couldn’t see the natural grass and dirt beneath. A table meantfor dining, with a half dozen chairs surrounding it, was off to oneside. Several sitting areas were dotted throughout the rest of theroom. The ceiling had open flaps as did two of the walls to createair flow.
There was no sign of Fallon. Darius and theother three were the only people in the tent.
Shea felt the tightness in her shouldersrelax just a little.
Her relief was short lived as Damon guidedher past Darius and to the back of the tent, which she finallynoticed had been partitioned off with a large canvas wall. Heshoved her through the flaps. She glanced around as he pulled herover to a large wooden post located in the middle of the tinyarea.
He bent, picked up a chain and then spun heraround to face him. Before she could back away, he grabbed herwrists, clapping the iron manacles around them.
“What’s this?” Shea looked at the length ofchain now securing her to the post. She lifted a wrist. The chainrose with it.
“You’ll wait here until Fallon arrives. Thisway you can’t run off.”
“So much drama for one woman. What would I doeven if I did escape? There’s thousands of warriors out there. Iwouldn’t get very far before I was caught.”
He shrugged and turned to leave. “Maybe so,but you’ve got a reputation. I don’t want to be the guy responsiblefor losing you. Just stay put. Fallon will figure out what he wantsdone when he gets here.”
