Her Every Pleasure Part 33

Gabriel searched the landscape. Sophia...where are you? He could feel her somewhere near. He knew she was still alive. She was waiting for him. Hold on, my love. I'm coming for you.

The men were arguing, tense and worn out, in need of rest and a decent meal.

"What if you're wrong? It could be somebody's laundry blown away-or a dead bird or something, or nothing at all!"

"The horses are already near exhausted."

"So am I," Yannis muttered.

"If we spend what strength they have left on a wildgoose chase, then we are fools!"

"And if she's somewhere up there and we go riding past, we're even bigger fools," Gabriel countered. "What if they've gone up there into the woods to take shelter for the night? It's what I would do if I were them. I wouldn't want to risk being seen at any inn along the way. Whatever that white thing is, it could be another clue that she's left for us. We know they want to throw us off their trail."

"I agree," Timo said stoutly. "Let's go check it out."

Gabriel nodded and urged his horse back into motion. The others followed, some reluctantly. About a quarter mile down the road, they took the turn onto a smaller, rockier country lane that led up into the rugged limestone hills.

They pressed on in taut silence, each man wrestling privately with his dread that they were about to find either Sophia or Alexa dead in the middle of the road-murdered and dumped by the abductors like so much refuse.

If that fear were not enough for them, there was its alternative: that the white object in the road was nothing, and they had wasted valuable time investigating it.

But then, still some distance off, they examined it through their telescopes again and exhaustion fell away as they realized that it had to be a clue. They were sure it wasn't a body. It seemed to be a dress.

Through his telescope, Gabriel scrutinized the ledge above the place in the road where the garment lay. If that was the clue from Sophia that he believed it to be, then she had clearly pa.s.sed through here and might still be in the area. That, he decided, was where they would begin their search.

But he ordered the men to hang back and keep a distance for now. If the enemy was somewhere nearby, then stealth and silence would be their best weapons, especially since the kidnappers already owned the double advantage of good cover and high ground.

They would have to approach with great care to avoid being seen or heard. As much as possible, he wanted to control the element of surprise.

"Yes," he murmured as he looked around, "she's here on this mountain somewhere. I can feel it."

"They must have stopped for the night like you said," Timo agreed. "We've got to track them down and find them before they're on the move again."

"But how? G.o.d, we've got thousands of acres of wilderness ahead of us. Caves, gullies, ravines," Demetrius said. "How are we going to find her?"

"We're going to use our heads. And we're not coming down until we've got her." Gabriel glanced around at them. "Take a break, boys. I'm going to go retrieve that bit of clothing she left us and do a bit of scouting around the area."

"Shall we come with you?" Yannis offered.

"No. I want you all to get a bit of rest for what's to come," Gabriel said. "And I want silence, understand? Sound will travel right up this mountainside, and they're sure to have sentries posted. Let's keep the element of surprise for as long as we can."

"Yes, Colonel."

"Aye, sir."

In grim quiet, the men led their horses into the woods on the side of the road, taking cover among the trees. They found a stream and let the horses drink while they stretched a bit, took a few swigs from their canteens, and began checking their weapons and getting themselves ready for battle.

Meanwhile, Gabriel sneaked farther up the mountain on foot to get that blasted petticoat out of the road before it drew the Scorpions' attention the same way it had drawn theirs. As twilight deepened to dark, crisp night, he arrived at the place where Sophia had thrown the garment. He rejoiced to touch it, knowing she was near. Quickly sweeping up the white cloth and concealing it under his black coat, he spent a good hour scouting out the terrain. Then he selected a small cave away from the road where he could bring Sophia once he had her safely in his care. He stocked it with firewood and supplies and made sure she would have all she needed.

G.o.d, keep her safe.

Before going back to his men, he paused outside the cave to survey the surrounding area one last time. The air was thinner at this elevation. He took note, for it would cause the men to tire faster. He was a little more used to it himself because of his battles in India.

Countless memories of those days prepared him well for what lay ahead tonight.

Dark impulses, long dormant, had begun stirring to life inside him, a savagery he had thought, or hoped, that he would never need to use again.

But he needed it now, and he realized it had never truly left him. He closed his eyes and felt the fury fill him. He let it come, rushing into his veins, a dark ecstasy. Aye, he welcomed it. The time to kill had come again. If he was d.a.m.ned for this, for saving Sophia, then he wanted no part of redemption.

The men seemed to notice the strange look in his eyes when he stalked back through the woods and rejoined them.

Having come back down the mountain, he laid out his battle plan, describing his plan for how and where they would start their search of the woods above that ledge where they had found Sophia's signal.

"Once we've found the enemy camp, here's how it all will go. First, Timo, you're supposed to be the best tracker."

"That's right," he said.

"Good. I've got a job for you. We know Sophia wounded one of these b.a.s.t.a.r.ds during the ambush."

"Yes. One of them reached into the carriage to try to get her, and she slashed his right arm open."

"It's too soon for it to be fully healed yet. So, we know that one of these men is already wounded. If anyone's going to tend to back down from a fight, it'll be him-especially if he can't use his sword arm properly."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"We're going to let him run. The rest you can kill at your leisure, but if you see a man with his right arm bandaged, try to let him go. We'll have you track him, Timo, and eventually he should lead you to wherever the Order of Scorpion has its headquarters. We need this information. Can you do this?"

"Yes, of course."

"Good. You can take one man with you, but I want no more than two of you going. You don't want to attract undue attention. And keep your distance. Do not allow yourself to be captured as you near their base of operations. We need you to stay alive and to report back to us what you find.

"For the rest of you, if anyone should become separated from the rest of us for whatever reason, make your way to Kavros as quickly as you can. We will rendezvous at the naval base. Right, then. Who's the best marksman?"

They all pointed at Markos. He lifted his rifle with a wry smile.

"When we close in on the camp, you'll take a position where you can give cover. I don't care if you have to get up in one of these trees. Other than our bandaged friend, feel free to pick the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds off as you find the opportunity."

"Will do."

"They'll want to move Sophia as soon as they know we've found them," Gabriel continued. "Getting her out of there is going to be their top priority. To prevent their escape, we're going to want to find their horses first and set them loose before we attack. The horses will likely be under guard. No noise dispatching the sentries, all right? Cut their throats. That way, when the others come out to try to spirit Her Highness away, they're going to look for their horses, but what they're going to find instead is me.

"The rest of you will launch the main a.s.sault. I'll be in position to intercept Sophia and get her to safety. I'm not sending her off by herself like Leon did. Not now."

"Agreed," they said grimly.

"Any questions?"

"What about Alexa?"

"Well, we're not going to leave her to them," Gabriel replied. "She's not their main priority, or ours, frankly, after what she's done. Just look out for her as best you can."

They discussed a few more details, then Gabriel looked around grimly at them. "If any of us don't come back tonight, it's been, ah, interesting working with you all. It's been an honor," he added in a more sincere tone.

"And you, sir."

The men returned his salute. Then with fierce looks they rose and took to their horses to find their princess and bring her safely home.

CHAPTER.

EIGHTEEN.

H aving her wrists tied with hard, chafing ropes complicated the task of finding a comfortable sleeping position, Sophia was learning, especially when her bed was a meager blanket over cold stone.

With her fastened arms resting atop her bent knees, she had managed to doze off, sitting with her back against the clammy wall of the cave.

She hadn't dared lie down. Merely resting her head against her arm felt vulnerable enough with all these hostile men around her.

They had not bothered her or Alexa again, thank G.o.d. But presently, their low-toned exchange from somewhere nearby summoned Sophia from her light slumber. In the eerie, dripping stillness of the cave, the taut echo of the foreign words escaped her comprehension, but the tone of agitation in their voices was universal enough to understand.

Something was afoot.

She did not even lift her head, only opening her eyes slowly, drawing no attention to herself. She went on listening as she scanned the cave with all of its strange, glittering dragon's teeth of stone hanging down from the ceiling and jutting up from the floor. Her gaze came to a small cl.u.s.ter of men over by the cave's mouth.

She saw that one of the sentries had come back. The man was pointing angrily toward the woods, and if she read his gesticulations correctly, he seemed to be trying to convince the others that he had seen something-or someone-out there in the darkness.

Gabriel...

At that moment, the harsh cry of a nightjar broke the windy silence of the autumn night beyond the large cave's mouth. She held her breath, recognizing the familiar signal from her Greek bodyguards.

It meant they were coming. They were very near, but they had not yet managed to home in on her exact location.

It asked her to give them some sort of signal to lead them to her, if she was able.

Her heart began to pound. She glanced around in need of a signal her men could not miss. As soon as she made her position known to them, their attack was sure to follow.

There was only one direction for them to approach from: the cave's mouth. Perhaps she could give them a signal that would not only confirm her whereabouts, but would also distract her captors from the direction of the attack.

She noticed the dimly glowing lantern that someone had set on the flattened top of a stalagmite. One of the men's bedrolls was below it. That should burn well, she thought. Nudging Alexa awake, she silenced her questions with a warning look, and then inched her way toward the lantern.

The sentry was still trying to explain his worries to the others. The mood inside the cave was still quiet, but a couple more of the men who had not yet fallen asleep got up and went forward to join the others. Up by the wide, arched mouth of the cave, they conferred about what was going on and what action should be taken.

She knew she had to act before they all retrieved their guns. Moving toward the natural stone pedestal where the lantern sat, she swept the cave with another wary glance, making sure no one was watching her, then she suddenly batted the lantern off the rock with her bound hands. It flew, crashing down onto the empty bedroll; the gla.s.s around the flame broke on impact; the whale oil spilled; flame erupted; and the Arab's bedroll, with its thin coating of human hair and body oils absorbed into the fabric, caught fire in the blink of an eye and became an instant torch.

Sophia let out a girlish shriek, feigning innocence as the blaze flared. "Fire! Help!"

But she climbed to her feet and got ready to run, for she knew the flash of orange light would be bright enough for her men to see exactly where the kidnappers were keeping her.

Pandemonium broke out. Amid yells and curses, some of the Janissaries rushed to put out the flames.

Others saw her trick for what it was and ran to grab their weapons.

But they were too late.

She knew her men were coming as two of the Janissaries rushed to beat out the flames.

"How did this happen?" one demanded angrily, coughing as the cave filled with smoke.

"I don't know!" Sophia cried, backing up against the wall. "The wind must have blown it! We were sleeping!"

"Sit down! n.o.body gave you leave to stand up!"

"Get us out of here!" she demanded. "We can't even breathe!"

"Too bad," he retorted.

"Highness, what's going on?" Alexa whimpered, cowering beside her.

"Just...hold on," she murmured barely audibly. "Steady...when I give you the word, be ready to run."

"Run where?" she squeaked in terror as the smoke thickened, pouring toward the cave's mouth.

"Wait..."

Then the attack was upon them.

Black-clad shapes in the smoke materialized into men. They rushed in with a roar, a full frontal a.s.sault at the mouth of the cave. Shots flew, bullets ricocheting off the rock face. When one sparked off the stone above Sophia, she crouched down and covered her head with her arms, holding her ears, but she pulled Alexa's arm. "Come on. Let's go."

Alexa blanched at the prospect of having to face again all the men she had betrayed, but Sophia was not heartless enough to leave her behind, not after seeing how these filthy hypocrites would have used her. The girls began creeping slowly toward the cave's mouth, Sophia praying all the while that they could get closer to her bodyguards before the Janissaries noticed their progress along the cave's wall.

Blades flashed by firelight up ahead, near the cave's mouth. She saw two of her captors die, and then gasped in horror as Demetrius was mowed down.

Alexa screamed, and of course, Kemal noticed them.

When the girls saw him coming with a look of death darkening his face, Alexa screamed again and bolted before Sophia could stop her.

"Alexa, no!"

The frenzied girl made a run for the exit, overtaken by her fear. Surely she would be killed in the cross fire, for the battle was raging all around the cave's mouth. She knew Alexa had cause for terror; while the Janissaries seemed to need Sophia alive, they had no such concerns about her lady-in-waiting. They had only been keeping her alive so far for added leverage over Sophia-and their own sport.

Sophia held her breath, watching in disbelief as Alexa miraculously escaped the whirling blades and flying bullets, tearing out into the dark woods alone like a horse spooked by a thunderstorm.