The Barbarians' Lover

Prologue

Willow woke to a cold, dark, damp cave. With a shiver, she looked around. The only exit she saw was if she swam through some water. She couldn't see any light, the only light was from a few torches that hung securely on the cave walls. The rock that she was on wasn't small. It climbed out of the water and up some of the cave wall in layers. Leading away from the water the rocky surface climbed downward further into the earth. With little to no evidence of an exit. Moving the rattle of chains could be heard echoing throughout the cave. Looking down at her wrists the big, bulky, silver chains were hard to miss.

"Okay Willow, just stay calm," she said," pup must know you are not on the boat and is looking for you."

It felt like hours had gone by before she heard a sound. It was different from the constant drip of water from the stalactite. This sound was of something moving in the water. With the sound came a few hushed voices.

"Are you sure?" An unsure male voice asked.

"Yes," A confident male voice said.

"But we are risking the wrath of the barbarian," The unsure male spoke.

"We have nothing to worry about, trust me," The confident man spoke.

The sound stopped and was replaced with footsteps, but only one pair. She assumed that the confident man was the only one coming to greet her. As a shadow of a man got closer she was correct. The man that stood in front of her was tall, tan, and held too much confidence in what he has accomplished.

"Why hello there," the man said.

Willow stayed quiet. Glaring at the man.

"Oh come now," he said," I just want to talk."

No answer.

"There is no need for that look," he said," I won't bite."

The way he said that made Willow uneasy. He didn't make it any better when he gave a smile flashing his teeth. It made Willow's stomach turn.

"What do you want with me?" Willow finally asked.

"Oh you see, I want to make the Barbarian suffer," he said.

"And what does that have to do with me?" Willow questioned.

"Well many reasons actually," he said an evil glint in his eyes," he seems to treasure you."

"I'm just one of his crew," Willow said," he doesn't treasure me."

"But he does," he said," I got word that he killed four people for you, protected you, and you were in his bed sleeping with him when I took you."

She froze. This man knew a lot about what Sawyer has done for her. But his last statement puzzled her. She hadn't slept with Sawyer. He was working at his desk when she was told to take a nap. He placed her in his bed and went to his desk to work. He never went near her, unless he did after she had fallen asleep.

"What's with the look of surprise," He asked," did you think I wouldn't know anything about you and him?"

Willow didn't say a word. She didn't trust this man in front of her. Yes, he was confident but under the confidence, he was a threat. She was proven correct when he started walking towards her pulling out a knife and a whip.

"Now you are going to tell me everything I want to know," he said his voice holding menace and a threat in it.