AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Good luck with that.”
“Little of that for me, these days.” Bryant let go of a tired breath, then said, “You’re an educated woman, are you not, Callista?”
“Graduated Columbia University with honors.”
“Is that so? Women go to universities in your time then?”
“Many. Go on.”
“Yes, well, have you ever read a novel entitledFrankensteinby an author named Mary Shelley? Or is the book no long in publication in your time?”
“It’s a classic, and I’ve read it several times,” I said. “Are you saying that you were dug up and pieced together by some mad scientist and reanimated into life?”
He chuckled, then frowned deeply. “No, but do not be fooled, Callista. I am a villain by any decent standard of measurement. Those Arcan Hunters yesterday were not hunting me for my pretty blue eyes.”
That made me straighten in the saddle.
“What did you do?” I cautiously posed.
“It’s not what I’ve done,” Bryant said. “Or not what I’ve precisely done. It’s what I am.”
“What are you then?” I asked.
He shook his head. “It’s not for you to worry about, but suffice it to say that I’m not an Arcan’s bonny best friend.”
I recalled some of the remarks the Arcan thugs made about Bryant, adding to the comments Alice made last night. I knew that prejudices ran vast and wide during this period for various reasons—gender, race, religion, citizenship. Still, with the exception of his recent immigration from Ireland and his penchant for a primitive lifestyle, Michael Bryant wasn’t any different than most men of his time, certainly no monster to be hunted down and murdered.
Speaking of monsters...
“Do you think the Arcan slime bags are still hunting us in these woods?” I asked, warily checking around.
“Probably,” Bryant admitted, keeping a cautious eye out himself.
“Peachy,” I muttered. “We’re still heading for the Snoqualmie village though, right?”
“We are. Keep quiet.”
“Why? Are they dangerous? And I have been quiet,” I grumbled testily.
“You’ve been chittering like a squirrel all morning,” Bryant remarked, his eyes darting back and forth as watchful as a crouching lion.
“I have not!”
“You have. You do that when you’re nervous, I’ve noticed.”
I opened my mouth to protest, then closed it with a grunt.
“Don’t worry, Callista. There’s no need for you to be scared of me after tonight. I promise you that much.”
And if that cryptic little remark didn’t raise more questions along with the hairs on the back of my neck...
We rode another good hour or more. After the third growl of my empty stomach, Bryant pulled his horse around to ride beside mine, then handed across a strip of pungent beef jerky.
“I’m fine,” my pride answered for me. Unfortunately, so did my noisy, growling stomach.
“Take it. It’ll see you through until our next meal.”
Reluctantly I took and chewed the teeth-cracking beef strip.
