Page 65 of Anywhere

I wanted nothing to do with any of them. I just wanted to go home to Keeva. Earlier, I tried to contact her with my necklace and panicked when the stone wouldn’t warm. That was when I realized what they meant by this area was blocked from magic. It wasn’t just the spell he had me under, but everything. It also meant that Keeva couldn’t reach me, and if I didn’t answer, she would worry and maybe try something she shouldn’t. That thought scared me more than being captured and tortured to death.

“Do ya know why ya were brought ‘ere,” the new guy asked, his voice softer than I expected for his size and rugged look. The dark ink on his neck and arms, and his strange hairstyle, made him look dangerous.

I looked him over and couldn’t deny he was appealing. The weird sensation I felt in my gut when I first saw them at the village kept trying to kindle but would just as quickly snuff out. Settling on eyes that reminded me of storm clouds, I answered.

“Naw, I’z dinnie nowhat yer wantin’. But it cannie be anytin’ ta me likin’.”

Arms crossed over his chest. He gave off a calm vibe, while the other felt like a wild animal barely contained.

“We’re no’ gonna hurt ya,” he said.

“Ya’za got a funny way o’ showin’ it.”

“Yeah, my cousin here is not exactly the best with manners,” the pretty woman said.

She stepped up to the door, and the lock clicked open. I wanted to bolt, to try to escape, but I needed to be smart. Charging them wasn’t wise.

“She was hitting me with a stick and then tried to stab me in the face. I think I was justified in locking her ass up,” the blue-eyed one said, and I glared at him.

He pointed at me and gestured with his hands enough that I knew what he was saying. It wasn’t that he was speaking a different language. I just never heard anything like the way he spoke.

“Ya deserve it,” I said and made a spitting action on the ground. “Murdarar.”

“See,” he said and held out his hand toward me. “She keeps saying that, and I have no idea why.”

The pretty woman stepped into the small space and squatted so I wasn’t staring up at her.

“Howza we start wit dis,” she said, with the same accent I was used to. I sat up a little straighter. “Me name be Mari. Dat be ma family. He be Rook. And dis…” She gestured toward the quieter one with the stormy eyes. “Dat be Rhys. We are no’ gonna hurt ya,” she said softly.

I stared into her eyes and wanted to believe her. It couldn’t be magic, but I felt like I could trust her where I couldn’t trust the men.

“Wha’z yer name?” Mari asked.

I was tempted not to tell them, but what did it matter at this point? And I wondered why, if they were planning on sacrificing me, they bothered to get my name.

“Elewyen, an’ dis be Barry,” I answered, pointing to my companion.

“Barry. She named the rodent?” Rook said, and I wished that I had something to throw at his pretty face.

“I dinnie tink yer helpin’,” Rhys said as he glared at Rook.

There was a unique tension between them that I didn’t understand. The energy floating around them was bizarre and left me with a confused taste in my mouth.

Mari opened a tiny sack that I hadn’t noticed, and I pushed as far away as I could. She smiled at me, and it was soft and warm.

“Me told ya, we mean ya no harm, no matta wha’ ya been taught. Me likes da name Barry. It be a good name. May I?” She opened her hand and showed a handful of assorted seeds and nuts. “It no’ be much. Just some leftover from a snack, but if he be hungry, he can ‘ave it.”

The little traitor jumped off my shoulder and scampered across the uncomfortable bed until he sat close to where Mari squatted. I watched her closely to see if she was going to try anything, but she slowly leaned over and dropped the offering in front of Barry.

“Yer a food trollop, Barry. Ya would sell yer wee soul fir a nut,” I grumbled at my companion.

Rhys stepped into my small space, and it suddenly felt smaller. “I’ma sorry, Elewyen, dat dis be how we met. I’ma wantin’ ta get ta know ya betta and explain tings, but I really be needin’ ta know somethin’. Can ya tell me why ya tink Rook be a murderer?” Rhys asked.

Rhys nodded toward Mari, and she stood and backed out. I didn’t want her to go. There was something about Rhys that made me antsy, and I couldn’t sit still. He crouched and leaned against the wall.

Of all the things I thought they would do with me, sitting and talking was not one of them. He smelled fresh, like my mint herbs, and a strong manly scent, like an oak tree, was making my head swoon. Both men were unnerving to my system but in completely different ways. I would've put more space between us if I weren’t already in the farthest corner.

“Dinnie be tryin’ ta pretend ya din’t know wha I’ma talkin’ about. I saw ya,” Rhys’s face scrunched in what seemed genuine confusion. “Da village by da cliffs.”