Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
FOX
F ox pulled the dagger from his belt, testing the weight of it in his hand. It was smaller than he preferred and he recognized with a small sneer it wasn’t even steel, but iron, but it would have to do. He could only hope is was only a harmless monkey or frightened deer lurking in the shadows.
He squinted into the darkness, trying to make out the shadow slinking toward him. He was so focused on the subtle movement, that it wasn’t until someone gripped his arm from the side that he realized the shadow in front of him wasn’t alone. He pulled back, wrenching his arm free as he swung around to look. It was man, at least a foot taller than him with shoulders broad enough to threaten a jaguar. White teeth flashed in the dark, a smile like a wolf’s.
Fox stumbled back, not caring if his terror was evident in his face, but he only made it two steps before he hit the solid barrier of a muscled body behind him. The second man was bare-chested and he could feel the heat of his skin through his stolen cloak. Fox pushed himself upright, trying to keep his chin high. Three towering figures formed a circle around where he stood. And they weren’t just shirtless, but naked. Their bodies were chiseled from marble and shone in the night, as if their very blood glowed beneath their skin. There was something about their bare bodies, painted with scars, that made them all the more intimidating. He’d never considered himself a short person until this moment as he tried his best not to quake under their glares. The small dagger in his hand felt all the more ineffectual.
A nervous laugh bubbled up and he gave a tight smile, letting his arm fall loose, even as he tightened his grip on the weapon.
“Sorry about that, gentlemen. I thought you were a wild animal.”
The man directly in front of him let out a gravelly laugh that made Fox’s stomach twist tighter. They were standing preternaturally still, their chests not even showing signs of breathing. He tried to keep his eyes focused on their faces, not wanting to be caught looking lower.
“Anyway, I’ll just be on my way,” Fox said, voice creeping higher.
He stepped to the right, trying to move through the gap between them. The men closed in immediately and he froze, feeling his mouth go dry.
“What’s a little boy like you doing out here all alone?” The man’s breath tickled across the back of his neck as he spoke, and Fox shivered. He was starting to regret that the sound hadn’t been a jaguar or even the Dragonborn bitch that had initially captured him. These men were looking at him like they wanted to eat him and they were big enough to have a chance.
“I just was heading back to the city,” he said, not making the mistake of taking a step this time. They were closing in on him, somehow nearing without moving. The blade was still tight in his hand and their nakedness was only one less layer between him and their most important arteries.
“The city, he says,” the tallest said, sneering. “We’ve caught a king’s man did we?”
Fox didn’t like the way that word rolled off his tongue, like the dirtiest insult he could speak. Were these men with the resistance? He hadn’t remembered any of his captors towering nearly so high, but who else could hold such disgust for Suvi and its people? He was beginning to think he wouldn’t be able to talk his way out of this. His grip tightened on the dagger, cold iron biting into his hand, as he brought forth his father’s lessons in war. Hit first .
So he did.
He brought the dagger up hard and fast, striking toward the largest man’s groin. It was an underhanded move that his father would have scorned, but it did the job. The curse and groan the man let out told Fox everything he needed to know as the blade made contact with skin and he quickly turned, moving to strike the next man. Before he had a chance, a large arm came around his neck, pressing him back into the body of the man behind him. He gasped uselessly against the grip, the pressure against his throat making it impossible to breathe. He swung the dagger back trying to strike the man somewhere it might hurt. But the third man was already on him, wrenching the blade from his grasp with little effort and tossing it aside.
Hands now empty, he scrabbled to loosen the arm across his neck, nails biting into the man’s skin. The giant man let out a grunt behind Fox, but didn’t loosen his hold. It was like fighting a stone wall. Fox’s vision was beginning to blacken around the edges. In a last desperate attempt to dislodge the man from his back, he bent his neck forward with all his strength, opened his mouth and bit down hard. He didn’t let up until he tasted blood and the man shoved him away with a cry of anger.
“The human bites!” he said. It might have been more comforting if the words hadn’t been tinged with laughter.
Fox scrambled forward, grabbing a stick from the ground, barely wider than his wrist. It broke on the first swing as he hit one man across the leg and the beast only laughed as the wood splintered against his flesh, drawing blood.
Fox stepped back, taking a breath as the two men in front of him only stood, smirking. They didn’t bother to attack—their confidence sending icy dread down his spine. He turned, but the third man had disappeared into the shadows.
“I don’t want trouble,” he said. “Leave me be and the king’s men won’t bother you. I didn’t end up out here willingly.”
“Sorry, pretty boy,” the man on the right said, his dark hair falling into his eyes as he tilted his head in thought, “but you’re just too good a trophy to leave behind.” His smile was all teeth, glinting too sharp to be natural.
Fox didn’t think this time, lunging forward fists first toward the closer of the men—the one that had just called him pretty boy. He might not have a weapon, but he knew how to throw a punch. His father had ensured that early on.
Then again, the moment his fist connected with the side of the man, he was beginning to question if he was even fighting humans. A groan of pain slipped from his lips as he brought his fist back into his own chest. The man’s side was carved of stone.
“Who the hell are you people?” he asked, not quite expecting an answer.
“Oh, I think it’ll be more fun for you to find out,” the other said, stepping forward with a grin. His arm moved faster than should have been possible for a man his size.
A fist crashed down across Fox’s face and the shadows went black.