A Sinless Betrayal by Cherie Benjamin (books to read for 12 year olds .TXT) 📖

I can see no sign of Abigor in the dark hallway. I can see only the shadows of a torch. I pick up my skirts and rush after him; I would hate to be lost down here with the rats and the spiders. When I finally do catch up to him, I wrap my around his bulky bicep and smile up at him.

He satisfies me with a little quirk of his full lips. When at last we arrive at our destination, he mounts his torch on the wall. And suddenly I see. I gasp and jump nearly a foot in the air. Locked behind giant iron bars are wolves-huge wolves that are nothing like the skinny little wolves that supposedly used to 'terrorize' the villages back at Bellechester.

The wolves are mostly sleeping or resting, but one instantly pops up at the intrusion. It is a big russet wolf almost as tall as I am. The wolf sees Abigor and sticks its snout through the bars to be pet. He strokes the wolf's nose momentarily before turning back to me. Me, who's still in awe.

"This is Mayaki, or Warrior, in your language. He's my wolf and he leads this pack as the alpha. I sometimes take him into battle with me. He is vicious and proves to be an essential asset." Abigor explains to me. Then he points to a sleek female wolf laying in the corner. "That is Mayaki's mate. She used to be Snow Lion's animal. She named her Fure…Blossom. Blossom had pups three days ago."

Fure lies on the cold ground with a litter of three pups huddled close to her side. One wolf is grey like his mother, one is brownish-red like her father, and the third is completely white. The third pup has an odd looking mark on his back, and it almost looks like a scar. While Abigor prepares a slice of meat for his own wolf, I look at the pups. Despite his mother's whining, the white pup stalks forward on wobbly legs and joins his father at the bars of the cage.

The russet wolf huffs at him before turning his attention back to Abigor as the alpha wolf's own master throws some raw deer meat through the bars. Mayaki scampers away towards the meat, tearing it to shreds. Fure whines again, inching forward to ask her mate for some of the meat for her and her pups.

But the little white wolf pup at the bars doesn't move an inch. The little one's grey eyes seem to draw me in until something possesses me to crouch down to my knees and stick my finger through the bar. The wolf jumps back in shock at first before slowly inching closer and sniffing my finger in curiosity. Then a warm pink tongue flickers out and touches my flesh.

I huff a small breath of laughter as the wolf pup leans his head into my hands lovingly. When I look up, I can see everyone staring at me, even Abigor. All of the wolves are awake and interested in this phenomenon. "There it is," Abigor murmurs with a little quirk of his lips.

I furrow my brows. I pull my hand away and stand up. "What are you talking about?" I ask him. The wolf paws at the bars of the cage, tilting his head to chew at the iron. I can't help but smile at the pup's silly antics.

"The connection. He's yours if you'll have him." Abigor explains to me.

I can't believe that he's giving me one of his 'prized possessions.' I'd seem some of the men use their wolves in raids, letting them tear people apart, but I'd never imagined that I would be the caretaker of one of these vicious beasts.

But the thing is, as I looked at the little wolf, I saw everything but vicious. "You've been so generous towards me," I say. I look up at Abigor's stoic features and smile in appreciation. "I'll have him. Thank you."

"And the name of the pup?" Abigor asks.

"Scar."

0o0o0o0o

The next morning, I'm sitting at Abigor's side in the wagon we're taking into the village. He insisted so strongly that I come with him to see his people that I just gave in to his charm. When we finally arrive in the little village of Sanko, the people rush to greet their king. Abigor's brought along Drinks of Waterfall, Three Horses, and Grey Hawk for extra protection if his back is turned.

I made sure that I looked especially presentable if I were to be shown on the arm of the barbarian king. I had picked out a beautifully coloured silk that was like the warm sunset sky; a mixture of strawberry and sweet mango. I wear my topaz around my neck proudly. As I step out onto the grassy ground, the people look at me with interest. Suddenly I find my confidence growing slighter with all of those judging eyes landing on me.

He strokes his finger down my cheek and forces me to look up at him. It's as if he's telling me not to worry about all of the eyes. As he walks through the crowd, leading me, the people begin to bow down to the ground. I'm not sure if they're bowing to me as well, or only to him. The guards travel behind us, their eyes searching the path.

After we walk on ahead, life in Sanko seemingly continues normally on. There are people out on the streets trying to sell me their items, whether they are jewels, clothing and silks, or exotic foods. "Cho-co-lat!" One woman calls. "Try 'de cho-co-lat for free, my lady! It is a new, sweet delicacy!"

I stop in interest when the middle-aged woman shows me her pot of a warm brown substance. She nods her head encouragingly at me. She dips a clean spoon into the chocolate and hands it to me. I look at it. It's lumpy and brown and warm. If this is supposed to be a sweet delicacy, I should trust this lady.

I lift the spoon and taste the chocolate. My eyes fly open almost instantly once I realize that said chocolate was not disgusting, but quite the contrary. "This…this is amazing!" I praise her. "Did you come up with this treat yourself?"

When the woman nods her head, I throw my hands into the air in both surprise and satisfaction. I tug Abigor over to where I'm standing and force him to try the chocolate. His eyes widen similarly to how mine had and he smiles instantly. "I love it," he states. "Never have I tasted something so great."

I follow him around the little village, exploring the various bazaars. Little children stare and point at me, but it does not faze me. I come to a little fruit bazaar. The seller has exotic fruits lined up on a table for display. He is in the back unloading more crates of the fruit. I'm mesmerized by how shiny and red the apples are.

But as my curiosity gets ahead of me, my finger touches one of the apples and it tumbles off of the table. I watch blankly as it tumbles across the dirt road. The wheels in my brain finally begin to turn as I rush after it and snatch it up into my hands. "Got you!" I exclaim.

Suddenly, I hear a loud cry behind me. "Hey!" The man is shaking his fist at me, his face reddened. "A daina! Ba za ka iya sata cewa kaga tuffi!" Before I know it, he's rushing at me with a menacing look in his eyes. (Stop! You can't steal that apple!)

He grabs my hand with a force that I've never felt before; shaking me violently. My words come out slurred due to my fright. "Ni ba a…ba ni kuma sata! Kaga tuffa fadi a kashe daga cikin cart da nake kawai—" (I was not…I was not stealing! The apple fell off of the cart and I was only-)

To my surprise, my words are cut off when he backhands me powerfully. I accidentally bite into my cheek on accident, blood dripping from my mouth and over my lips. My skin stings worse than touching boiling water. I fight my tears as he yanks me back up to look at him. "Makaryaci! Datti makaryaci!" he screams. I don't know where Abigor's gone but this is definitely causing a scene. Crowds gather around in shock. (Liar! Dirty liar!)

When he forces me to my knees, an act of forceful submission, I push away from him. "Ka san ni waye?" I scream. "Shin, ba ka san cewa ayyukan nuna wadanda mutum fata ga mutuwa?" (Do you know who I am? Do you know that your actions portray those of a man wishing for death?)

This obviously enrages him. He shoves me back forcefully until my head hits the ground—hard. "Ban damu da suka kai, karuwa," he begins to circle me like a predator. "Sata daga gare nio shi ne wata babbar kuskure!" (I do not care who you are, slut. Stealing from me was a very big mistake!)

"No, touching my woman was a very big mistake," a deep, angry voice echoes from behind me. I'm relieved. I know it's him. Three Horses helps me up and pulls me away from where they prepare to fight. "As was calling her a 'karuwa' and blaming her for something she obviously did not do."

The man foams at the mouth. He is very ugly with all the anger he holds within his muscular frame. "Why do you trust her? She is a whore from the Common Lands! She could be betraying you at this very moment, telling all your secrets to the men back in Bellechester."

I start to scream back at him in disgust, but Three Horses clamps a hand over my mouth and forces me to relax. Abigor's face is expressionless but in his eyes is a fury burning so bright that one would think he only had fury in his bones instead of love. "You test me, Kicking Bull. It is not very wise of you."

My eyebrows pull together. He knows this man, this angry Kicking Bull? The older man's anger still does not fade, even after he found out that he assaulted the king's woman. He laughs humorlessly, throwing his hands up in the air. "You believe the whore over me. Where is your strength? Has the bitch fucked it out of you already?"

I struggle against Three Horses' grip. "How dare you speak of me that way! I will have you killed!" My eyes are filling with fire. I do not know where the words came from, I just vomited them out.

Kicking Bull's eyes glaze over me with sick humour. "You are foreign whore. You do not command Kicking Bull with that mouth. But I will give you something else to do with your mouth!"

The crowd gasps. I am astonished at his persistence. It is like he wants to be killed. "The next time you speak to me in that manner will be the last time you have a tongue," I seethe at him menacingly. "I give you my word." I am a little woman, but my fury does not prevail.

Abigor smiles. "She how she is fierce? She is Tiger Claw, and she will command you. The next time you speak suggestively of my woman, will indeed, be the last time you have your tongue."

Kicking Bull does the unexpected, and he spits on Abigor's feet. My king's eyes dilate with his rage but he still manages to keep it cool. "A king who takes orders from his slave-whore is no king at all!" He brings out his weapon, his mighty khopesh sword and points it at Abigor. I gasp and struggle against Three Horses.

The man puts his lips close to my ear while trying to restrain me. "Ya sarki za ta kula da shi," he begins. "Kana bukatar ka damu." (Our king will take care of him. You need not worry.)

I trust Three Horses, but the situation looks grim with