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

of the raids. And as my mistress, you're to honour my title by wearing pig's blood on your face."

I suddenly feel guilty about wearing red and wish that I could change out of my clothes. Stupid girl, why did you have to want to colour coordinate with him? "How can you send raid parties out and be proud of what you do? You steal, you pillage and plunder, and you kill. You kidnap, you take slaves. You ruin lives!" Abigor is listening to me intently as if he actually cares about what I am saying. "I'm not wearing the pig's blood."

He gets mad this time, his face reddening as he clenches his fists at his side and grits his teeth. "You are wearing the blood."

I put my hands on my hips and stare at him defiantly. "I do not approve! I will not support this."

"I do not care if you support or not!" he booms angrily. I jump in shock; I've offended him greatly. "You could have been raped, and you could have and should have been beaten for your defiance! But alas, you have not! I could take this all away right now and be your worst nightmare, Elizabella. Hold. Your. Tongue."

My face pales instantly and I feel my stomach churn in fear. I believe him. I stop acting like a child and sit down in the chair. I nod breathlessly. As he calms, I watch the fire go right out of his big brown eyes to watch as the soothing waves roll in.

He dips two fingers into the blood and begins to paint on my face. I let him. I close my eyes as he swirls his wet fingers over my smooth skin, streaking both my cheeks with three stripes of blood and dots above my eyes.

"Done," he whispers softly, the same smile tugging at the corner of his reluctant lips. "You look like a barbarian now."

I'm not proud of that, but I'm really glad that he's not angry anymore. Cassandra had told me of his temper, and I'd foolishly almost pushed him right over the edge. I insulted everything he lived for.

The barbarians are a life of crime. They are born of blood and death, sacrifice and fault. I stand as he opens the door to the hallway. I follow him outside, hearing the bustle of soldiers in red cloths and blood acting as body paint rush down the hallway with spears, knives and khopesh swords in their hands.

He leads me to the grand hall, where his throne sits. It's a great golden throne with animal skins thrown over it and spears jutting from the back of it, skewering dead bear heads like a meat ka-bob.

I cringe when I see their glassy eyes staring at me. Abigor sits down on his throne and nods to the tiny pillow next to his throne. Am I supposed to sit there? He gives me a serious look that tells me that I shouldn't argue.

I sit down on the red velvet pillow and watch as the men silence immediately in Abigor's presence. I scan the crowds. I see Abigor's brother and instantly fuel my hatred towards him. Abigor had told me his brother's name, Iron Coyote or his commoner's name, William, and of his actions.

Iron Coyote's whores always came out of his bedroom bruised and bloody, and he is always greedy with the lust for Abigor's throne and fortune. I glare at him. He points at the bruises on my neck, bringing it to the attention of another barbarian warrior. They laugh heartily. I curse them mentally.

Abigor gives them a death stare. Iron Coyote and his colleague quiet down. He stands, the blood on his body dripping through the deep ridges in his abdominal muscles. Then he does something I do not expect. He roars like a lion, and his men join him in calling. He raises a special spear laying next to his throne and raises it into the air. The spear is drenched with dark red blood. That doesn't look like pig's blood.

Abigor speaks in his language to the crowd of rowdy barbarians. I do not catch where he is leading the raid, but I feel the slightest disgust towards Abigor as he talks to the crowd of riled up warriors ready to shed blood and steal.

He is so animated when he speaks. I read his movements instead of his lips. He moves his hands in the formation of the sun, waves of an ocean, and flexes his inhumanly large bicep muscles to show strength. I can't help but ogle. Athenodora was right about one thing with Abigor—he was a fine man indeed.

I know when his speech is over. The men all chant the same words three times in a row, "Za mu yi yãki, mu rayu ma yau da dare!" before they rush out of the grand hall and out of the castle.

Abigor gets up from his throne and follows slowly behind his men. He casts a glance over his shoulder and gives me an intense gaze. "Ku zo," he says. "Come. Follow me outside."

I get up from my position on the pillow and start after him slowly. He holds the door open for me surprisingly and leads me out into the unbearable hot day. The roads have been kicked with extra dust from all of the barefooted men running around with large wolves that acted as pets.

The barbarians took wild wolves to their raids to make it easier for them. The wolves would attack anyone they saw and get a free meal. I stand beside Abigor, feeling slightly ashamed to be the king's mistress.

"Ku zo," he says again, nodding his head to the small stable behind the castle. Inside there are horses whinnying and whining loudly. I've lots of experience with horses for my father ran a farm and I would ride my favourite horse Pansy out into the meadows sometimes.

He walks into the stables, inspecting the horses until he finds one. It is a strong palomino blonde horse. I'm in love with the horse immediately. I reach out my hand, and the horse puts its soft nose into my palm. I giggle softly.

"Yours," he tells me. I look at him incredulously. Is he serious? He smiles and nods, like he's reading my mind. "Named Rana Fashe. Daybreak."

"Rana Fashe, Daybreak," I repeat. He smiles slightly and rests his muscled arms on the pen of my new horse's pen.

He points at a strong black stallion in the next stall. "Mine," he says. "Name is Tsakar dare. In your language, his name is Midnight."

I'm fascinated. I had no idea that the barbarians favoured horses. They usually liked to walk barefoot to places or ride their oxen in their fields. It was stupid of me to think that they didn't ride horses, but I just had never seen them raid villages on the backs of horses.

I purse my lips before looking back up at him. "Do we get to ride them?" I ask him. There's a certain glint in his eyes that tells me yes, you do get to. I'm excited. This is the first nice thing Abigor's done for me since I'd gotten here, not mentioning the fact that he let sex go for two days in a row.

He starts to walk out of the stables. I'm confused. "Abi—uh, I mean Dances With Wolves, wait!"

Abigor turns around to look at me, his black eyes digging deep beneath my clothes. "Yes?" His voice is so smooth and deep; it gives me shivers.

I shift in my place and moisten my dry lips with my tongue. I point to his body paintings. "I thought…aren't you going to take um…Tsakar dare out for the raid?" My voice is shaky. I throw a glance back to the black stallion huffing impatiently.

He simply looks at me and says, "Someone must run the kingdom." Then he turns on his heel and leaves me alone in the stables. My shoulders slump slightly. I pat my new horse's nose before following after him.

Abigor is far ahead and he does not slow down for me to catch up to him. I stand in front of the stables and watch him enter his great stone castle. He hadn't beckoned me after him or anything.

I narrow my eyes. Fine, if he does not care about my whereabouts, why should it matter if I took Daybreak out for a first ride? I run back to the stables where my horse is waiting patiently in her pen, and let her out. I grab the reins on the horse's back and lead her out into the sunshine.

The horse is eager to be ridden, I can tell. I hoist myself up onto her back and speed out into the forest.

0o0o0o0o

The meadow about two miles from the castle is the most beautiful meadow I've ever seen. Wildflowers are littered around the grass like the gods dumped a full handful of mixed flower seeds over the little section.

I steer Daybreak over to a tree and hop off of her back, tying the reins loosely to a branch so she wouldn't run away. I've never ridden a more coordinated horse. The birds sing in the trees, the gentle breeze kissing my naked shoulders. It blows the soft red silk of my skirt back, and I feel a cooling breeze cool off my hot legs.

I've never been so at ease. I've probably been away from the castle for a half hour. I wonder if Abigor's looking for me by now. I don't know, and I shouldn't care. I bend down and pick up a beautiful wild poppy, smelling it.

I then put it in my hair, just like I used to do when I was a child. I bound across the meadow, feeling the soft flowers at my ankles until I hit the treeline. I peer ahead. I can't see anything but green.

It's beautiful.

As I turn to check on Daybreak, I hear a cry far out in the distance. I want to investigate. I unleash Daybreak from her post at the tree and steer her forward into the trees.

We go down a hill and across a small bubbling creek before I hear the cry again. In the distance, I see a village. Then as I urge the horse forward, I hear more and more cries of villagers…and then the cries of barbarians.

My eyes widen as I see the sight unfolding before me. Barbarians are burning houses and ransacking villagers of their wealth, carrying them in heavy sacks thrown across their backs.

One raises a spear and goes charging at a young woman trying to escape into the forest with her keepsake and handmaiden. He chases her until she falls to the ground, the bag of keepsakes spilling over the grass. I want to cry when I see the spear pierce the skin above her heart.

The handmaiden is also killed, and the keepsake bag is rummaged and stolen from the deceased. I look away, back to the centre of the village. One man has a noose around his neck and is being dragged to a wooden idol in the centre of a village. One barbarian throws one side of the rope over the idol's arm and yanks.

The man is hung and then laughed at. My heart fills with anguish, sadness and fury. The houses burn down. Money and jewels are stolen. Lives are taken, and maidens are raped before their dying mothers.

I hear one barbarian unleash his wolf on a man and his child. The man struggles to defend his child, but the wolf gets in a good bite, and the child dies instantly. The man fights off the wolf, but eventually, the animal's strong jaws lock around his neck and tears.

Tears sting my eyes. I slap the reins on my horse and turn back into the meadow. I hadn't seen the gist of what had happened that day. I heard my house being ransacked, I saw a man speared, and I ran off into the forest before anything worse could happen.

As