Chapter Fifteen
Zach King trudged gloomily along, his thoughts as dark and ominous as a thunderhead. He had failed his wife, failed the one he loved. He had let himself be caught, and now their fate and the fate of their unborn child were in the hands of warriors with no mercy in their souls.
Not that Zach would give up. Lou had been right about being a King. Among the many lessons he learned from his parents was the most important: Never, ever give up or give in. No matter what life threw at him, no matter the challenge, no matter the peril, never surrender.
So as Zach trudged, he pondered. He must get Lou out of there. On horseback would be best, but if not then on foot. He must do it before they passed over the divide, while they were still in King Valley.
The Heart Eaters had taken his weapons. But they couldn’t take his mind, and the mind was the most useful weapon of all. A mind could scheme. A mind could plot. A mind could come up with a way to snatch life from the fangs of death. A mind could defy fate.
Zach studied his captors without being obvious. With him bound, they must figure he wasn’t much of a threat. None had arrows nocked to their bows. Only one kept a hand on the hilt of his knife. The others seemed to take it for granted that he would not give them trouble, not with his wife in their clutches.
Little did they realize that was all the more incentive for Zach to slay them. But Lou presented a problem. She had hurt her leg and limped with every step. She couldn’t run fast or far. So whatever he came up with must take her handicap into account.
Zach glanced at her and saw she was smiling at him. “What?”
“I am happy you are here.” Lou was near giddy with glee, in fact. She thought she had lost him in the slide.
“You’re happy they caught me?”
“No, silly.” Lou laughed. “I’m happy you weren’t killed.”
“If they have their way, we will be.”
Lou stared at the warriors on either side. “We’ve been in tight situations before, but this is one of the worst.”
“I’ll get you out of this or die trying.”
Lou touched his arm. “I’d rather you didn’t. I’m going to have a baby and she’ll need a pa.”
“There you go again.”
Lou hoped for a girl. Zach wanted a boy. The next nine months promised to be one long argument because neither—Lou caught herself. Here she was, thinking of their future, when it was very much in doubt they would live out the week.
Zach squinted skyward. They had several hours of daylight left. More than enough. The question was, when? He must pick the right time and place.
Louisa said quietly, “I want to tell you now, in case I don’t get the chance later, how much I love you. How much having you as my husband has meant to me. How proud I have been to be your wife.”
“You sound like you’re saying good-bye.”
“It’s just that there are things that need to be said and this might be my only chance.”
“I won’t let them harm you.”
“I know you’ll do your best. You always do. You’re as fine a man as any woman could ask for.”
Zach shook his head. “I’m a hothead. I don’t have much patience. I don’t always consider your feelings. I tend to do what I want when I want and the rest of the world be damned.”
Louisa grinned. “I didn’t say you don’t have flaws. Everyone does. But as flaws go, yours I can live with. You more than make up for them by being a devoted husband.”
“I don’t do any different than my pa.”
“That’s just it,” Lou said. “Your pa had always put your ma and you and your sister before everyone and everything else. A lot of men don’t do that. They’d rather drink and carry on with their friends than spend time with their families.”
Zach was puzzled by why she was talking about how they got along at a time like this. There were more important things, such as how they were going to escape.
“They’re not stopping us,” Lou said.
“What?”
“They’re letting us talk. I was testing to see if they would, or if they would make us stop.” Lou stepped on a pine cone and her foot slipped, sending a sharp pain up her hurt leg.
Zach noticed. “Is it getting worse?”
“I can manage.”
Zach had his doubts. She could barely walk. What would she do when they had to run for their lives? “I want you to stick close to me from here on out.”
“You and only you.”
The next slope was thickly forested. High above were sheer cliffs. A game trail bought them slowly and sinuously higher, until they came out on a short grassy bench. From there they could see for miles.
Lou paused to admire the view. She could see the lake and the brown square that was their cabin. She would give anything to be back there now, rocking in her chair or cooking, or maybe taking a stroll along the shore. She loved that more than just about anything.
The warrior behind her pushed her.
Lou stumbled. She tried to recover her balance, but her bad leg flared and she grabbed at Zach to keep from falling.
The warrior cuffed her.
So unexpected was the attack that Zach was rooted in rage for all of five seconds. Then he exploded. Whirling, he kicked the man in the leg. The warrior doubled over and Zach kneed him in the face. He drew back his foot to kick again, but a blow to his back sent him tottering toward the edge of the shelf. His heel came down on slick grass, and the next Zach knew, he was tumbling out of control. For harrowing moments he thought he would slam into a tree, but he came to a stop unhurt.
Two Heart Eaters were coming after him.
Heaving upright, Zach ran. It took some doing with his hands bound behind him. Angry shouts followed, and the crackle of underbrush. He rounded a boulder and nearly collided with a large log. Vaulting over, he dropped onto his side and pressed against it.
Feet padded. A warrior flew around the end. The second man leaped over the log as Zach had done—and over Zach, as well. Both raced on down the slope, unaware they had gone past him.
Scrambling erect, Zach stayed low and paralleled the bottom of the bench. He ran until he was out of sight of the warriors up above. Casting about, he searched for a flat rock with a serrated edge. He’d about despaired of finding what he needed when a godsend appeared at his feet. He set to sawing at the rope.
Angry yells told him more Heart Eaters had joined the search. From the sound of things only a few were guarding Lou.
Zach sawed and sawed. A few strands parted. Back and forth, back and forth, until his wrists and fingers ached. The rock was no knife. At the rate he was cutting it would take minutes he didn’t have. He pressed harder. The rock bit into his palm, but pain was the least of his worries.
Below, the Heart Eaters went on hunting him. They had gone quiet, save for an occasional yell.
Zach felt blood on his palm. He kept cutting. More strands were severed. Impatient to rescue Lou, he stopped slicing, bunched his shoulders and tensed his arm muscles and exerted all his strength. He wasn’t as immensely strong as his pa, but he was solid muscle. His body protested, but he strained and strained until, with an audible snap, the rope broke.
Quickly, Zach climbed to the top of the bench. He peered over. Forty feet away stood Lou, staring down the
