Chapter 26 #2
She did not hear the thundering of hooves close behind her, nor the cocking of a pistol.
She only heard the loud report, echoing from the trees and shattering her single-minded concentration, a strange whizzing by her ear, and the terrified snorting of her mare.
Then she was flung from the saddle as the animal reared up on its back legs and frantically pawed the air.
Kassandra hit the ground with a sickening thud, the breath knocked from her lungs. She stared up into the darkening sky, her vision blurred, a grotesque face floating above her for a fleeting moment. Then all was black, and she sank into unconsciousness.
“Your aim is failing, Adolph—”
“Shut up!” he snapped, glancing up at the stout, bearded man standing at his side.
“I paid you to ride the horse, not to offer me worthless criticisms.” His black eyes narrowed shrewdly on Kassandra’s prostrate form.
Perfect, he thought coldly. It appeared the fall had done its damage.
Her forehead was bleeding where she had bumped it on that log, and her skin was ashen…
“Let’s get out of here,” he ordered tersely.
“We’ll let the wolves finish her off. Once they get a whiff of fresh blood…
” He shrugged, grinning broadly. “It will look like the accident it was meant to be.” He brushed by his companion and strode with his stilted walk toward the dappled horse tethered nearby.
“Ah, so you never meant to shoot her, then.”
Adolph wheeled about, his eyes glittering dangerously. “You ask too many questions, my friend.”
The bearded man shifted uncomfortably, his swarthy face flushing bright red. Without a word he moved to the horse and mounted, then reached down to Adolph and lifted him easily to the saddle.
“Ride,” Adolph grated, settling himself. He leaned against his companion’s chest as they set off through the woods, the wind howling around them.
Kassandra blinked against the cold rain pelting her face. She licked some of the moisture from her lips, then swallowed weakly, a poor attempt at cooling her parched throat.
The awful pounding in her head was excruciating, and radiated from just above her left temple, where she tentatively touched the spot. As she drew her hand away, her gaze widened in horror at the blood staining her gloved fingers.
“Sweet Lord!” she whispered faintly, struggling to sit up.
Dizziness assailed her and she sank back down upon the ground.
She lay there for a moment, shielding her face from the rain, but after a few deep breaths she tried again, ever so slowly.
This time she was successful. The throbbing pain in her head increased tenfold and she thought she might scream, then it suddenly subsided to a dull ache.
Kassandra looked about her dazedly, at a total loss as to her surroundings. Then she remembered. Her gaze skipped about, searching for any sign of her mare, and she twisted to look behind her, but she was alone.
A booming clap of thunder caused her to cry out, and she stared up into the sky, boiling with darkened clouds and crisscrossed by streaks of jagged lightning. The rain was falling heavier now, stinging sheets that felt like biting pinpricks through her drenched clothing.
She rose shakily to her feet, almost losing her balance, but managed to stagger over to a gnarled tree trunk.
She clung to it, rivulets of water streaming down her face and blinding her, her hair plastered to her head and down her back.
She fought to collect her bearings, her consuming thought to strike out at once for the estate.
Yet which way should she go? she wondered with a burst of panic. There were no landmarks, and there was little daylight left. Shadowed trees loomed around her, each looking much the same as the next, and if there had been any tracks, they had been washed away by the rain and oozing mud.
You’ll get nowhere just standing here, Kassandra chided herself.
Summoning her courage, she pushed away from the tree and set off in one direction, holding up her soggy skirt as she sloshed through puddles of standing water.
Then she stopped, her instincts telling her she was going the wrong way.
She turned and tried another direction, walking for well over a half hour before she sensed it, too, was leading her farther away from her destination.
It was growing dark, almost nightfall, and with a sinking feeling Kassandra realized she must have been unconscious for several hours. She leaned against a tree, her labored breaths tearing at her throat, a sense of hopelessness unlike anything she had ever felt before welling up inside her.
She was lost in the woods.
The storm was increasing in fury with every passing moment; the wind buffeted her with lashing rain. She knew her strength was failing, her body chilled to the marrow. She had to find the way back, or she would surely die from exposure.
Or the wolves would find her…
That horrible thought gave her the impetus she needed. Summoning the last ounce of her will, she stumbled onward, almost bumping headlong into a sturdy logged wall.
Relief engulfed her; scalding tears streaked her face.
She followed the rough-hewn contours of the wall, placing one hand over the next, until she found the door.
She pushed on it with the last of her strength, nearly falling as it gave way.
Her eyes quickly adjusted to the large, dim room.
Wood was stacked near a stone fireplace, and a wide bed covered with piles of furs stood in one corner.
She could hardly believe her good fortune.
She was too exhausted to build a fire. She shut the door firmly behind her, the interior of the rustic building as silent as a tomb compared to the shrieking storm.
She peeled the sodden clothing from her body as quickly as she could, leaving only her chemise. Then she pulled off her ankle-high boots and stumbled to the bed.
With a moan she climbed under the warm furs, her teeth still chattering as she fell fast asleep.