Pathfinder's Way by T.A. White Page B

even Darius who seemed to find humor
in everything, it was obvious these weren’t the sort of men you
could piss off and expect to walk away unscathed.
    She hoped Paul and the others took that into
consideration.
    Darius smothered a grin when she lifted her
chin and glared at all three of them. She’d never liked people
talking about her.
    “You made quite an impression last time,
little spider. Fallon doesn’t like it when his toys go
missing.”
    Confusion must have shown on Shea’s face
because Darius gave her a long look before continuing. “Entire army
has orders to bring you in if they come across someone meeting your
description. It just so happens I was there that day and know
exactly what you look like.”
    Cale’s slight smile made a shiver rush down
Shea’s back as he eyed her with hooded eyes. “I imagine Fallon will
reward us well for this.”
    “So our tribute meets with your
approval?”
    The white-haired elder had approached while
the three men had been preoccupied with Shea. There was hope in his
eyes as he clasped his hands in front of him.
    “You’ve outdone yourself.” The elder’s face
relaxed and he started to smile, when Darius added, “We’ll expect
double the wheat.”
    The man’s eyes widened as he physically drew
back in horror. “But we’ve given you what you asked. Both in wheat
and people. More than that if you include her.”
    The amusement drained from Darius’ face as
his eyes chilled and his expression turned hard. Menace rolled off
his body as he leaned down slightly. “Yes, and you tricked others
into taking your men’s place.”
    “We’ll starve if we give you double the
amount. What does it matter how we fill the quota as long as we
fill it?” the elder interrupted.
    Darius pulled sharply on the reins, spinning
the horse and kicking it in the sides. The elder backed away as
Darius and the horse bore down on him.
    “The quota is meant to affect you. We want to keep you hungry and take your men from you. We want
your boys in our army because you’ll be so worried about them that
you won’t have time to resist. If they’re in the army, they’re not
sowing the seeds of a rebellion they can’t hope to win. Which means
we don’t have to come back here and wipe your village from the
map.” The elder tripped and scrambled back in a tangle of limbs as
Darius continued his advance. “You can either sacrifice your people
or starve. This time you’ve chosen to starve. Now, I’ve been
generous in not punishing you further. If this deal is no longer to
your taste, say the word and my men and I will ride through your
village. I warn you, though, that once we ride, we will not stop,
no matter how you beg and plead, until everything you know and love
is ash upon the ground.”
    Darius drew his horse to a sharp stop as he
lifted his gaze from the terror stricken form in front of him. The
other two flinched from his wrath.
    “We’ll up the amount of wheat to be
transported,” the hawk-nosed one agreed.
    Darius’s gaze didn’t waver for a long minute.
Tension built as he held them trapped. There was no laughter, no
hint of the handsome man. He looked like death, come to collect his
due.
    After a drawn out moment where Shea thought
he’d call his men to ride on the town anyway, Darius jerked his
head down once. The menace filling the air drained away as he made
his way back to the two gathered by Shea.
    “Bring her,” he ordered. “Have the others
follow behind on foot and put their horses on a leader.”
    Before Shea could protest, she found herself
grabbed under the arms and hoisted into the air. For balance, she
grabbed the horse’s neck as she was placed in front of the rider.
She blinked back at the brown haired man regarding her impassively
before turning forward.
    She felt impossibly high off the ground since
the horse was much taller than her former one. It was not a
pleasant feeling.
    Dane looked angry, like he wanted do
something impulsive and stupid.