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Canis was the only one who had smiled at me. True, I think it was because he found my drunken state amusing, but I clung to the notion that perhaps out of the five, he would be the most sympathetic to my plight.
I knew Beo by the deep rumble of his voice. As tall as the rest, his wide-set shoulders and sharp gaze gave him a fearsome air. He was the one hoping my presence was a sign. I trembled to think what he would do in his disappointment when he learned I was nothing but an unwanted orphan. A disposable member of the village whose only contribution to their lives would be my death.
My sacrificial death.
“Are…you…are you going to…to kill me?” I closed my eyes as I awaited his response. Not daring to breathe, I felt lightheaded and frightened.
“That depends on your obedience,” said Grimm.
I opened my eyes and met his stern glare. “Did you kill the others? Those who came before me?”
“Their fate is none of your concern. Worry about yourself,” grumbled Helm. “Enough talking. You have had your turn, Grimm. She is mine now.”
“Wait! No!”
Ignoring my cry, Helm grabbed my arm and pulled me up, placing a shoulder in my middle as he hefted me high. Beating on his back, I screamed and yelled as he carried me further and further away from the fire and deeper into the forest. Desperately, I kicked my legs out but that only earned me a stinging slap to my bottom, the power of his open palm felt through the heavy brocade of my cloak.
As the light of the fire faded into the distance, the chill of the forest crept in. I could see frosty puffs of air with every exhale. Long after I had ceased to pound on his back and cry out, he finally halted, unceremoniously depositing me on a bed of pine boughs. Searching my surroundings, I saw a wondrous site. Great boulders of ice and snow surrounded a steaming pool of water. It appeared like magic out of the forest floor. An enchanted grotto of fire and ice.
As I lay sprawled at his feet, Helm removed the fur pelt which covered one arm and part of his chest. I froze in fear when he reached for the stitched leather and fur kilt which was slung low on his hips.
“No! Don’t!”
With a smirk, he let the fabric fall, and a menacing extension of his body sprang free. As thick as a tree branch, it seemed to be made of sinew, pulsing with blood. Shaking my head, I tried to crawl backward. Helm stepped on my cloak. Undaunted, I dropped my shoulders so my arms would slide out of the sleeves. Knowing my thin gown would be no protection against the elements, I still would give up the warmth of my red cloak if it meant escape from the threat of the beast before me.
Helm gave a low-throated chuckle as he watched me struggle to free myself from the thick folds of my cloak.
“There is no escape, Red. Accept your fate as I have accepted mine.”
“Never,” I responded hotly.
His face broke into a morbid pantomime of a smile. “I was hoping you would have the spirit to fight me, for I am not in the mood to be gentle with ye.”
Reaching down, he fisted the delicate fabric of my gown and lifted me bodily by it. As if I weighed no more than a sparrow, he tossed me into the warm water.
Sputtering and choking as my head broke the surface, I pushed the wet strands of hair away from my face as I struggled to stay afloat. The wet material snaked and twisted around my legs. With my every movement, the gown became more entangled. Desperately swinging my arms through the water, I was losing the fight. With an awful swoosh, I once again plunged beneath the clear blue surface. The sounds of frantic splashing, the frightened call of the birds all vanished. Underwater…silence reigned as I sank deeper and deeper down into the darkness.
A strong arm wrapped around my middle, hefting my weightless body upward. I could see sparkling flashes of light, the sun dancing over the water, just before I was lifted high.
Gasping as we broke the surface, I was carried across the hot spring to the edge. My toes touched smooth rock as he set me on some sort of underwater ledge. The water lapped around my body just above my hips. Helm stood before me. With his superior height, the water crested low on his hips. That menacing extension of his body bobbed up and down with the movement of the water. I tried to shift backward, but his hand around my waist prevented it.
“Foolish girl, why did you not swim?” Helm angrily chastised.
“I would have had my gown not prevented it!” I fumed back.
