The sound of footsteps alerted Una to the two strangers first. She squinted against the sunlight, spying them entering their camp, both armed with spears. They strolled over to her with the air of men that rarely encountered resistance anymore, their dark and amber eyes devoid of emotion.
“We looking for woman.” The darker one spoke, his eyes scanning the camp behind her.
Una noticed from the corner of her eye that Ashkii had slipped away like a shadow, disappearing into a slender crevice inside the rock wall, much too small for an adult to fit inside. All the time she had lived her, she had never noticed it before. She prayed fervently that the two men would overlook it, as well.
“You found one.” Una said, nonchalantly.
At her words, both men blinked over at her, clearly not expecting her tone. The man with black hair narrowed his eyes. “Not know who you speak to?”
“Drago, I think.” She answered, waving her hand at Leelu who was trying to be picked up. “Go get fruit.” She murmured to her and, miraculously, Leelu obeyed her the first time, glancing curiously up at the men before she did so. Nimue had the better sense to keep her distance and both girls sat on the other side of the camp, sharing the fruit Una had harvested earlier.
Drago looked on at this with waning patience. “Know me, then must have heard name.” He said observantly, nodding at the man next to him. “Thunk, look.”
Una watched as Thunk moved past her, roaming around the camp, knocking over baskets of food, tearing through her garden, tossing furs and drying racks haphazardly out of his path.
“Make stop!” Una snarled at Drago, fists clenching.
Drago smirked at her. “He stop when he find what I look for.”
Una had to watch helplessly as Thunk continued his rampage around her home, Leelu and Nimue now beginning to whimper near the cave entrance. Finally, Thunk returned, shaking his head. Una barely managed not to sigh in relief; Ashkii had not been found.
“Go, now!” Una snapped, green eyes flashing dangerously at both men.
Thunk grabbed her upper arm, pulling her toward him. “Not smart to talk.” He said, his breath foul and his body reeking of sweat as he pressed himself close to her. Una tried to lean backward, but he held her upper arms in a painful grip. “I make you stop.”
As his mouth lowered toward hers, Una jerked back hard, getting her nails upward far enough to claw his face. Thunk grunted, his grip loosening enough for Una to tear away from him, heading for the cave. Thunk recovered quicker than she expected, fingers closing around her wrist and wrenching her backward. She yelped, stumbling with the momentum into his chest, his hand then cupping her mouth violently. “Saber has claws.” He said with a deep laugh that sounded terrifyingly blood-thirsty rather than amused. “I pull them out...”
“Thunk, enough. We go, now.” Drago then said. Although his voice was calm and even, it exerted authority non-the-less, enough even to make an animistic man like Thunk hesitate.
“I come back,” Thunk whispered in her ear, his breath repulsively hot against her skin. “When I do, I cut out tongue and feed it to sabers.”
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