Chapter Eight
I stared the water of the pool reflectively. It was odd to relate to how I felt inside versus how I thought I should feel.
The sun was warm. The flowers were beautiful and slave or not I actually felt rather at peace with the day.
I had little to complain of seemingly. The only problem was that I should be discontent with the situation surely.
I was being held and actively used by a man without my own consent and already within the span of two days it was clear that he had no intentions of ever letting me go. In his mind I was his and that was that.
I objected to my lack of say in the matter, but strangely his inability to talk out right and converse with me was of more angst to my soul than his frequent passionate use of me. I shook my head at the oddity of my own emotions.
Glancing up from the water at a sudden sound I stood up abruptly in alarm. There across the body of water was a large doglike creature. It looked sick and vicious all in the same moment.
The movement of me standing had its glazed eyes focusing on me. That was strange, why hadn’t it sensed me from the start? I wasn’t downwind of it. It should’ve smelled me long before now.
With a snarl the creature charged around the pool of water toward me. In alarm I looked about for my captor, as I prepared to run the other way from the beast.
My captor was coming fast as ground melons went flying from his arms. He was gesturing to something beyond me madly?
My head swung the other way in consternation. The water?
Didn’t he know dogs could swim? I started to run along the shore, but glancing back I saw that I didn’t have a chance. The slobbering dog thing was making good time on me, because of my indecision.
My man suddenly appeared off to the side of us waving his arms madly as if to attract the things attention. Why didn’t he have his sword out?
The beast took out for him and I pulled up. The look on my man’s face was extreme as he pointed at the water in a gesture that had, “Now!!!” written all over it.
Oh how I wished he could talk! I didn’t second-guess him again though. I dove into the water and then I quickly waded backwards toward deeper water as I watched the tableau taking place out of the water along the shoreline.
My man in a feat of extreme ability turned to face the pursuing dog thing and gave a double fake that looked like it would have torn the knee ligaments of a normal man. The beast launched forward and landed where my man had been, but now wasn’t. Meanwhile with a speed far greater than my own on my best day my man made a direct beeline for the water and me.
The dog thing stumbled back up to its feet and gave chase, but it was too late. With surging strides my man waded into the water to join me.
Incredibly I watched the beast pull up at the waters disturbed surface as if afraid of it. With a snarl it pranced along the edge of the water its face wreathed with vicious avarice for us.
Then for the first time the thing seemed to notice the horses that had shied away as far as their tied off lead ropes would allow. It took off with a bound for them and my man grunted loudly.
His hands dove under the water and came up with rocks in both hands. He threw one and in shock I watched it take out the front leg of the beast that was in full stride. The thing went down and rock number two bounced off of its head.
The beast shook its head and lurched on an upward back towards the horses as if crazed against any diversion of any kind. My man threw rock after rock and I did my best to help by stabbing my own hands down into the water in search of projectiles which I then held up for him to take and throw.
Some rocks landed and some didn’t. The thing was obviously injured, but still it doggedly headed for the horses. The one horse without a saddle tore free of its bushy tie off and with eyes wide in terror it took off for the far horizon.
The other horse was not so lucky. Its tie off kept it stationary and it shied about as best as it could as the dog thing closed with it. The horse lashed out with a hoof and sent the thing rolling.
With a whine of pain the beast got back up and skirting around the back of the horse. It launched forward and latched onto one of the horse’s rear haunches. My man smote the water between us hard while issuing a harsh grunt that I think would have been a curse if it had been audible but from the look of emotion on his face I was sure of it.
I looked back in time to see the horse kick backwards with both hind legs. The beast was catapulted away from the horse as the noise of the sickening crunch of the horse’s hooves connected with its chest cavity. The thing landed several feet away and did not move again.
Once more there was silence to be found in the formerly tranquil morning that I had been enjoying. My man took my hand and led me to the far side of the water away from the horse and the nearby corpse.
Reaching dry ground he grasped my arms and held me still, before signing to me, “Stay!”
I nodded and then watched as he carefully made his way around the body of water. He gave the corpse a wide berth and came up on the horse from the front.
The horse was still panicked, but soon quieted at his touch upon it. I felt my face flush as I well knew how the man’s touch had a power all of its own.
Then with shock I watched him strike out with two fingers to the side of the horses head. The horse immediately groaned and plopped down upon the ground.
Holding a hand to my mouth I watched teary-eyed as with an abrupt and decisive movement he broke the horse’s neck. Perhaps more overwhelming than the death of the animal was the raw emotion to be seen on my man’s face.
He stood up and moved back around the water to where I stood. I thought I knew now what it had all been about, but I found myself asking, “Why?”
His hands signed, “The animal was sick. The sickness infects all who are bitten. In the end you die, but you go mad first and try to bite others. I had to kill the horse as it would have sickened and then tried to spread the disease.”
“And you wanted me in the water because those with the disease avoid bodies of water. We have the disease back where I come from too.”
He nodded and turned to face the horizon, which we would now have to travel towards on foot. Reaching out my hand I grasped his muscular one.
His eyes came to mine and haltingly I said, “You saved my life by what you did.”
He actually smiled and then glancing to his other hand I saw his words that seemed to speak volumes even though they were simple, “You are my woman.”
I smiled and then brushing at my hair I asked, “What’s your name?”
He gestured to the horizon and made the sign for, ‘far’.
“Far Horizon?” I inquired softly and he nodded.
Pointing to myself I said, “Tara.”
A look of bitterness passed across his face and I realized with a sharp pang of sympathy that he would never be able say my name aloud and I knew no way of signing it to him. He looked away from me and for once his face wasn’t so hard to read.
I saw a lot in that moment. He looked back to me and indicating the horizon questioningly I nodded in return and we started walking.
Biting my lip I warred with myself for a moment before reaching out and folding my hand into his again. He glanced down startled and then to me. I kept looking ahead though. He glanced ahead as well as his fingers grasped mine firmly.
My gaze swung to him and silently I mouthed out, “I forgive you.”
He glanced at me with a look that said he had missed something and in return I smiled mysteriously at him in order to deepen the mystery. Truly it was a mystery how I’d come to this point of being able to forgive, but I’d rather take joy in the moment then continue to live in the past.
I had a man who put my own life above his. Such men were rare. My uncle was such a man and thank God so was mine!
Far Horizon’s other hand came across his body to trace the outline of the smile on my face. Turning my head to him I watched him hesitantly point to himself. I nodded and had the pleasure of watching him look a little unsteady.
I kept walking on as I reveled in the joy that I had the ability to affect this man. I wasn’t so helpless after all. It was good to know and it was good to be me.