The Cursed One by Ronda Thompson

Author:Ronda Thompson
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2011-05-11T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Amelia relaxed in the short tub, allowing the warm water to soothe her. There was no perfumed soap. The rough lye would probably take the top layer of her skin off, but Amelia didn’t care. Not at the moment. She was clean. She was safe. There was hope they would reach Wulfglen alive.

Mora had been starving and wished to eat first rather than bathe. Amelia left her in a kitchen at the back of the tavern, licking her lips over a thick bowl of stew, fresh bread, and thick slabs of cheese. Amelia’s stomach growled at the thought of the feast she’d have waiting for her when she found the energy to rouse herself from the soothing water. The thought of dressing in her dirty clothes held little appeal. But she supposed she must.

Sighing, she rose from the tub, grateful that a fire burned in the grate and the room was warm. A thin towel had been set out for her to dry herself with. Amelia snatched it up and set to work on her dripping hair. She’d only begun to dry her body when the door suddenly burst open. Amelia squeaked, clutching the towel to her breasts. Gabriel stood framed in the doorway. He looked somewhat wild. His eyes seemed to glow back at her, and the sleeves of his shirt were missing.

“We have to leave,” he barked. “Now!”

“What?” The thin towel barely covered Amelia from the tops of her breasts to the tops of her thighs. “What’s going on?”

“Dress quickly.” He came into the room and began gathering her clothes. Her undergarments he tossed aside. He dug the pistol from the pocket of her gown and shoved it beneath his shirt into the waistband of his trousers. Then he held the tattered gown toward her.

“Put this on.”

“But my underthings,” Amelia protested. “I can’t go around without—”

“There isn’t time!” he nearly shouted. “They’re here.”

Chill bumps rose on Amelia’s arms, but they had nothing to do with her still-damp body. She understood what he meant. He shoved the gown at her and turned back toward the door.

“I’ll get Mora. Meet us downstairs. Hurry, Amelia!”

Amelia dropped the towel and scrambled into the dirty gown. She ran to the heap of her discarded underwear and found her slippers; sorry as they were, she slipped them on and ran downstairs. She heard Gabriel arguing with the tavern owner.

“What do you mean, she’s gone? Gone where?”

“I don’t know,” the man answered. “I left her in the back, but when I went to fetch her like you asked, she wasn’t there. The back door was standing open.”

Amelia joined Gabriel downstairs. “Where is Mora?” she whispered.

“Gone,” he growled. “Maybe taken.”

Her heart lurched. “We have to find her.”

Gabriel pulled her toward the tavern door. “There’s no time. We must escape now.”

He was strong and Amelia had trouble struggling against his hold, but she did. “We can’t leave Mora! No telling what those beasts will do to her!”

“Stop fighting me,” Gabriel ordered. “I’ll come back for her. I swear to you, but for now, I must get you safely out of the village.

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