Dwyn cried out in surprise, but instinctively tightened her hold on the two branches she was grasping as she glanced down.All she could see was a dark shape below, but it was too big to be one of the other women or her father, and whoever it wasobviously wasn’t a friend or they’d have spoken by now. That thought in mind, Dwyn hooked her arm over the nearest branchto give her more stability, and then removed her free foot from the branch it was on, and kicked out at the hand graspingher other ankle.
Her aim was good, and Dwyn heard the man bark out a curse as her foot was suddenly released. Her blood ran cold as she recognizedBrodie’s voice behind the expletive. Turning her gaze desperately to the branches above her, she began to scramble upwardas quickly as she could. Dwyn had just pulled the previously caught foot up to a branch and started to pull up the other whenit now was caught and yanked viciously. Her arm was still hooked over the branch, but Dwyn lost her grip on the higher branchand tried desperately to grab on to something else to save herself. Unfortunately, Brodie was still exerting pressure on herfoot and before she could save herself her arm slipped and she was falling out of the tree.
Dwyn screamed as she fell, screamed again as she crashed onto Brodie and grunted as they both crashed to the forest floor.She was immediately kicking and scrambling to get away from the man, but he caught her knee in a bruising grip and crawledonto her legs, keeping her from kicking any more. It didn’t stop her punching out at him, but Brodie did by grabbing her handsand forcing them to her sides.
Dwyn groaned in pain when his fingers and thumbs pinched into her wrist bones, and then he forced them to the ground and restedthe weight of his upper body on her wrists as he dragged himself up on top of her.
“Thought ye’d got away, did no’ ye?” Brodie growled once his body covered hers from the waist down. “But I swear I’ll killye if it’s the last thing I do.”
He released one of her hands then to grab her throat instead, and Dwyn struck out at him with her free hand as he began tochoke her. She went for his eye, her three longer fingers extended and squished together. Grim satisfaction ran through herbriefly as she hit her target.
Brodie roared in pain and fury, and then released her other hand to punch her in the face, but the hand at her throat remained,continuing to choke off her air. Dwyn was flailing at him now a little wildly. A buzzing had started in her ears, her bodywas beginning to tingle and it felt like her tongue was swelling in her mouth, though she knew it couldn’t be. Even so, shewas starting to fear she would not escape him this time and he really would kill her. Dwyn had barely had that panicked thoughtwhen he was suddenly gone.
Gasping for air, and coughing violently, Dwyn pressed one hand to her throat and tried to drag herself away, pulling withher other arm and digging her feet into the dirt to push with her legs. The sounds of curses and grunts and the thuds of fistshitting flesh followed her and she glanced warily back to see one large, dark shape rolling across the forest floor behindher. Even as Dwyn watched, however, the shape shifted and rose slightly and a snapping sound filled the air. It wasn’t veryloud, but seemed to be in the silence that followed, and then the shape shifted again, part of it dropping to the forest floorand the other disengaging itself as the man stood.
“Dwyn?”
She’d turned to start crawling again, but paused and turned back at the sound of Geordie’s voice and then he was kneelingbeside her, raising her shoulders to hold her against his chest.
“Are ye all right, lass?” he asked anxiously, his hands moving over her as if checking for broken bones or wounds.
“Aye,” she got out in a shaky rasp.
“Oh, thank God.” Geordie scooped her into his arms and held her close, his head resting against hers. “I came back and yerda said ye’d slipped away to find a handy bush. I was going to wait patiently, but then I heard ye cry out. God,” he breathed,pressing a kiss to her head. “I think me heart stopped.”
Dwyn slid her arms around his chest, holding him as he shuddered against her.
“I love ye, Dwyn,” he said solemnly. “I truly do, and I do no’ ken what I’d do if I lost ye.”
“I love ye too, Geordie,” she whispered.
He found her face with his hands, and tried to kiss her, but stopped at once when she winced in pain as his mouth coveredher split lip.
“I’m sorry, love,” Geordie said at once, and then gathered her in his arms, and pushed to his feet, murmuring, “I’d best getye back to the fire.”
Dwyn glanced over his shoulder at the dark shapes on the forest floor. In truth, she couldn’t tell which shape was Brodieand which were just bushes.
“Is he dead?” she asked.
“Aye, I broke his neck,” Geordie said, his voice grim. “He’ll no’ be bothering us again.”
Dwyn merely nodded, and rested her head against his chest with a little sigh. She believed him, but didn’t really believehim if that made any sense. She’d been so afraid and worried about Brodie for so long it would take a while for her to acceptshe had nothing more to worry about.
“Ye found her!”
Dwyn blinked her eyes open and glanced around at that relieved cry from Aileen, surprised to see that they were already backat the small makeshift camp
