Defying Destiny by Olivia Downing Page B

was higher in
    the sky now, and the frost was beginning
    to melt from the bare branches of the trees
    and the edges of the dried leaves beneath
    their feet.
    “How often do you go to Sarbough?”
    Maralee asked Nash.
    “Usually only once a month.”
    “On the night of the full moon?”
    He paused briefly before continuing
    forward. “That’s right.”
    “You don’t kill them, do you?” she
    asked.
    “What?” His hand moved to Carsha’s
    shoulder and tugged her closer.
    “The Wolves. Do you just frighten
    them away, or what? You seem to think of
    them as your friends. I mean they swarm
    around your village unhindered.”
    Carsha glanced back at her, eyes wide
    with wonder. “I thought she didn’t know,”
    she whispered.
    Nash scooped Carsha up into his arms
    and tossed her skywards. She giggled,
    clinging to her small bundle of furs, and
    Nash caught her again with one arm.
    “Now is not the time to talk about
    that,” he said to Maralee, before tossing
    his niece into the air again.
    Assuming he didn’t want to frighten
    the girl with talk of Wolves, Maralee held
    her questions for another time. Strangely,
    when she was alone with him, she
    couldn’t muster a logical question at all. It
    was only when he wasn’t distractingly
    close that her mind was able to function in
    a coherent state.
    “I could carry that for you,” she
    offered, as Nash caught Carsha with his
    free arm again.
    She had meant his bundle of furs and
    buckskin, but he handed the young girl to
    her instead. “She does get heavy.”
    Carsha wrapped her arms hesitantly
    around Maralee’s neck and then after a
    moment, buried her small face against her
    neck. “You smell good today,” the girl
    told her. “You smell like Uncle Nash.”
    Maralee glanced at Nash. He was
    smiling to himself as they continued down
    the indiscernible path to Sarbough. When
    they reached the edge of the village,
    Maralee set Carsha back to her feet.
    Before she straightened again, a posse of
    men surrounded Nash. They raised
    weapons menacingly in his direction.

CHAPTER 11

    “Uncle Nash!” Carsha screamed, running
    towards Nash with no concern for her
    safety.
    “Carsha, stay where you are,” Nash
    ordered, before turning his attention to the
    group of armed men. He had the look of a
    cornered wolf, ready to fight for his life,
    unarmed, if necessary. Carsha stopped
    abruptly, but Maralee burst through the
    crowd.
    “What is the meaning of this?” she
    asked angrily. She shoved several startled
    men aside as she moved to stand beside
    Nash.
    “Miss Decatur, we thought you were
    dead…or worse,” the innkeeper said.
    “This is the missing young woman?” a
    man gripping a scythe asked the innkeeper.
    “That’s her,” the innkeeper agreed,
    lowering his ax.
    “She doesn’t look like she’s been
    harmed in any way,” another man said. He
    looked her over carefully.
    Maralee was glad her cloak hid the
    bloodstain on her shoulder.
    “I’m perfectly safe,” Maralee assured
    them. “I got lost in the forest and this man
    directed me back here.”
    “You would be smart to stay out of the
    forest, Miss Decatur. It isn’t safe,” the
    innkeeper said.
    Many of the men in the group began to
    return to their homes. “That was a bust,”
    one of them commented.
    “Nothing exciting ever happens around
    here,” said another.
    “She’s safe as long as she’s with me,”
    Nash told the innkeeper. He continued to
    give off the dangerous aura Maralee had
    witnessed a few times the day before.
    “Uncle
    Nash?”
    Carsha
    said
    uncertainly, glancing around at the few
    men who were still standing by with their
    improvised weapons.
    “Everything’s fine,” Maralee assured
    her. “It’s just a misunderstanding.”
    Carsha sidled over to Nash and put her
    tiny hand in his. He gave her a reassuring
    smile and she huddled against his leg.
    Maralee turned her attention to the
    innkeeper then. “Are you serving breakfast
    this morning?” she asked.