Chained By Fear: 2 Read Online Free Page B

stinking breath, “now is the time for you and me to join  . . . ”
    But Magena didn’t allow him to finish. Instead, she sprang to her feet. “I’ve told you I reject your attentions. There are many in the village who desire you, but I am not among them. I have no interest in you or anyone . Please accept this as my final answer.”
    Kuruk stood awkwardly, knocking the table sideways. Plates of food tumbled onto the ground. This caught the attention of the villagers who had remained in the plaza, including Takoda.
    “You filthy watsquerre (swine),” Kuruk said to Magena. “If you knew me, you would not speak to me  . . . like this. You have no idea who I am or what I am about. I’ve come to save you. Without me to protect you, you’ll be slaughtered like all the rest.”
    Takoda became enraged. “What madness is this? Are you katichhei (a rogue)? You’re no better than the Mogols.”
    Kuruk spun toward Takoda. The sudden movement caused him to lose his balance, and he almost fell. When he regained his bearings, his face was twisted with anger. “ Occooahawa (old fool)! You call me katichhei ? I call you tauh-he (a dog).”
    Even as Kuruk uttered his insulting words, a scream erupted from one of the small huts nearest the palisade. The shaman came out of the darkness, holding his throat. Blood spilled between his fingers and seeped down his forearms. He stumbled into the clearing and fell onto the sandy floor of the plaza. The expression on his mask did not change.
    Takoda was the first to realize their peril.
    “Mogols! Flee  . . . everyone ! Hide in the mountains.”
    Because of the celebration, most of the villagers were unarmed. Takoda ran toward his hut to get a weapon, but Kuruk stepped in front of him. The larger man pulled a knife from his breechcloth and swept it at Takoda’s stomach in an attempt to disembowel him. But Kuruk’s drunkenness was not feigned, and he missed his mark, losing his balance and falling against Takoda, who grasped Kuruk’s wrist and then drove his knee into Kuruk’s elbow. Magena heard a popping sound as Kuruk collapsed.
    Magena picked up the knife and handed it to her father. “What are we to do?” she shouted.
    “Take your mother and sisters and escape to the mountains. Stay alive! I will find you.”
    There was another scream—and several more. Hundreds of ghostly shapes moved toward the edge of the flickering firelight. It was too late to run.
    The adult males who had remained in the plaza—about fifty in all—joined Takoda, encircling the women and children. Most had no weapons, but a few held war clubs and one a bow and arrow. Meanwhile, the screaming intensified. The invaders moved from hut to hut, butchering anyone they found.
    Aponi is out there, Magena thought. And two of my brothers . She shuddered. But she also felt rage rising inside her, and her flesh began to glow.
    Kuruk regained his feet but grimaced as he held his bent elbow. “Come out,” he shouted at the dark shapes. “Why do you wait? They’re helpless. Kill the chief, and the rest will surrender.”
    “My son, you dishonor me with your treachery,” said Kuruk’s father, who stood next to Takoda. “I disown you! May your spirit wander forever with the cowards.”
    Kuruk spat and turned away. In response, several hundred Mogols entered the clearing. Their faces were adorned with hideous tattoos, and they bore necklaces made from the dried scalps of former victims. They were much larger than the Ropakans—the smallest among them dwarfed even Kuruk—and they carried bows and arrows, war clubs, spears and long blowguns.
    Their leader—the tallest of all—strode over to Kuruk and placed his arm around his thick shoulders. But then another emerged from the darkness, stunning Magena and her father far more than Kuruk’s betrayal.
    “How can you do this to our people?” Takoda said to the newcomer, tears spilling from his eyes. “To our children ?”
    Akando, eldest brother of