Sacrificed to Ecstasy by Shay Lacy

Chapter One
     
    Death chased Rayan. Behind her the clomp of the three raiders’ boots closed in. Their lusty grunts made panic claw at her. She feared rape more than death, as the one would be quicker and less painful than the other. If only she could reach the mountain that beckoned her, somehow she knew she’d be safe there.
    Her breath sawed in and out of her throat as she ran, her sandals kicking up puffs of dust on the arid ground. With each stride her simple linen dress tried to tangle her legs. The afternoon sun beat down on her, stealing what little energy she had. As the land began a slow incline toward the mountain her muscles burned and it took greater effort to move forward. Too slow. Fear beat in her mind and empty belly. Sweat ran into her eyes, stinging and nearly blinding her. Terror swept through her. She needed to see. She swiped her sleeve across her face.
    A loose stone turned under her sandaled foot and she lost her balance. With a cry she pitched forward in to the stony hillside. The stones scraped her palms and knees as she skidded back down toward the raiders. The impact drove the breath from her lungs.
    Something heavy and reeking of long unwashed body hit her from behind. She couldn’t scream. Hard, hurting hands jerked at her dress. Fabric tore and the front of her dress parted, partially exposing her breasts. No! Gods, help me! One of the men wrenched her over onto her back. She saw the mountain, too far away to reach. Stones gouged her flesh. The blazing afternoon sun seared her eyes. Fear squeezed her chest. She saw the raiders’ unshaven faces, their eyes dark with lust, tight with hate and the desire to hurt. The ugliest one gripped her wrist tight in one of his big, dirty hands while he tried to force her thighs open with his legs. His fetid breath made her stomach heave.
    Rayan kicked and pounded at him with her free hand. Her dress had hiked up her thighs, exposing her underdrawers. Her breasts hung out of the torn front. Her exposure fed the raiders’ lust. Finding her breath at last she screamed her anger, fear and frustration. She knew she was not strong enough to fight off three men, even men as starving lean as these. But she would not give up her virginity without a fight. It was all she had. She screamed again.
    “She has spirit. Let me have her first,” the man on the left demanded. He was a dark shadow backed by the blinding sun. He tried to push the one who held her aside.
    “I caught her. I’m taking what’s mine. I want to hear her scream,” the ugly beast growled, a deep threat in his voice.
    Rayan screamed again, kicking wildly. She struck his thigh with her foot. He wedged his body between her thighs. Gods, help me! But the gods had helped no one for years.
    The raider fumbled one-handed at his pants.
    Gods, please help me!
    His breathing sped up. The other two panted like rabid dogs. The ugly one tore her drawers, a sound that drove fear through her like a knife. Her desperation nearly leaped from her chest. The man’s cock brushed her inner thigh.
    Her scream of fright and despair and helplessness tore from her throat and echoed off the hillside.
    She heard a whistle and two wet thuds. The man above her jerked and grunted. The man on the left raised his hands to grip his throat. What was that sticking out of his neck? It was a shadow in the sun. He leaned toward her and she braced for something awful. His movement blocked the sun and she saw he had an arrow through his neck. He made horrible gurgling noises and collapsed.
    The man above her fell forward onto her, where he lay without moving. His grip on her wrist eased open.
    What?
    The third raider glanced around and half rose. There was a lower pitched whistling and a long stick hit him on the side of his head with a hearty thwack. His eyes rolled up in his head and he toppled to the side.
    Gods, what now? Were other raiders attacking? Would they kill her instead of ravish her? If she died she’d speak