Heart of Danger by Fleur Beale Page B

around wiry bodies. Several of the women dropped the wood they’d been carrying, but three of the men changed their grip so that the branches they held became weapons.
    I spun around and tore back the way I’d come, knowing they’d seen me – hoping they’d let me go. Panic swamped my feeble attempt to reach up for help – they were preparing a fire, and fire could mean sacrifice. If I could get away, escape, then I might be able to sense if they were holding my sister.
    ‘Hey! You! Stop!’ It was a man’s voice, deep and rough.
    I didn’t want to stop, was too terrified to stop, but they’d seen me and I knew now they’d chase me.
    I stopped and turned to face them. I couldn’t make my legs move towards them, but since the whole group was advancing on me that hardly mattered.
    They walked to within a couple of metres, then halted. Their expressions were puzzled or curious, although a couple of the people looked wary. I felt no hostility.
    One of the men spoke. He was solidly tall and I recognised his as the voice that had yelled at me. ‘I apologise for scaring you, young lady, but it’s not often we get visitors.’
    His voice cut through my panic. There was no menace here. I shut my eyes for a second. Calm, I must be calm.
    The man didn’t ask who I was, and I doubted he would have heard the story of Taris. None of his people looked as if they’d even visited a city where news of our arrival circulated quickly. But I sensed that though they weren’t welcoming, they weren’t evil either. I’d have to risk asking them for help, have to gamble that if they wouldn’t help me they’d at least let me go.
    ‘My name is Juno. I’m looking for my sister. She’s been kidnapped.’
    Their faces closed in. Despair shot through me. They wouldn’t help. They knew things, but they weren’t the sort to talk to strangers.
    ‘Please!’ I whispered the word, then forced strength into my voice so that they all could hear. ‘Please. Can you help me? Do you know of a group around here who might have taken her?’ It wasn’t this group. I was sure of that by now.
    A woman pushed to the front. ‘Maybe it’s us. Maybe we’re the ones who’ve got her.’
    I shook my head. ‘No. She’s not here. And you’re not evil. Please, they’re going to kill her. They’re going to sacrifice her. Tomorrow.’
    They said nothing, just stood there regarding me, weighing up what to do. I couldn’t work out who their leader was. Maybe they didn’t have one. ‘Please. Just tell me what you know. And how to find them.’
    It seemed like eons before the oldest-looking member of the group – a woman with long white hair – took the lead. ‘If you go up there, lassie, you’ll not come back. They’re a wicked lot and we keep well clear of them.’ She stopped and I could feel them waiting.
    But I had no choice. With her words came the knowledge that Hera was held by the people she spoke of. ‘I’ve got to try. Please. Just tell me how to find them.’
    The big man drew in a breath. ‘You’ll be going to your death. We can’t have that on our conscience.’
    I stared at him, at all of them. ‘I will try to find them on my own if you don’t help me. But by the time I do, it’s likely to be too late to save my sister’s life.’
    ‘You’re determined?’ the man asked.
    I nodded – the strength of my purpose rock hard. Grif would help me. Others too, whose names I didn’t know.
    ‘Very well.’ It was the old woman speaking. ‘Jasper will take you as far as is safe. He’ll set your feet on the road and we’ll remember you in our prayers tonight.’
    ‘Thank you.’ I saw the worry in their eyes, the certainty that I would die.
    The big man nodded once, then set off down the road, running with a long stride that ate the distance. I wondered if I was meant to follow, but he’d gone back the way I’d come through the settlement. A younger woman smiled at me. ‘He’s gone for a horse. He’ll only be a