I pressed his fist against my head, trapping his hand. Not only did the move stop the pain, but I now touched him. Skin to skin. Magic exploded from my core. I channeled it into him. He screamed, but I held on.

The man with Kerrick’s sword charged. I spun, putting Tall Guy between us. He dropped to his knees still yelling, which made it easier for me to press the tip of my knife against his throat. Sword Man stopped in midcharge. I reduced the amount of pain, quieting Tall Guy.

Nice to have everyone’s undivided attention. “Release the girl, or I’ll slit your buddy’s throat.”

The two squatters on Kerrick jumped off and yanked him to his feet. Sword Man aimed the blade’s tip at Kerrick’s neck. “I can play that game, too,” he said.

“You’re assuming I care about him.” I laughed. “Go ahead. You’ll be doing me a favor.”

By their stunned silence, I guessed they hadn’t been expecting that response. Kerrick kept his expression neutral, but I felt his glower. His gaze flicked to the ground for a second before he resumed looking bored. Turning the dark gray color of the forest, Kerrick’s boots and legs seemed to disappear. Vines twisted around the squatter’s ankles as Kerrick used his forest magic.

I zapped my captive. He jerked and cried out. “Go get Melina or he dies,” I said.

As far as distractions go, it wasn’t the best, but it worked. Kerrick faded into the surrounding woods. When the squatters realized he had gone, they moved to chase after him, tripping over the vines. As they rolled on the ground in panic, the ivy twined around their legs, tightened their hold. Sword Man tried to cut them free with the blade.

The scene would have been comical except Kerrick appeared behind Sword Man and grabbed his head the way he had trapped the merc’s.

“Don’t kill him!” I yelled.

Instead of snapping Sword Man’s neck, Kerrick squeezed until the man stopped struggling and slumped to the ground. I released the pressure on Tall Guy’s fist. His hand dropped. I pushed his head forward, exposing the back of his neck. Quickly finding the sweet spot, I knocked him out.

I checked on Kerrick’s victim. He still had a pulse.

“Take care of the others,” Kerrick said. Strain tightened his voice. He leaned against a tree with his eyes closed.

I hurried to the two squatters. The vines had trapped their arms. I touched that sensitive spot on each of their necks, rendering them both unconscious.

“How long?” Kerrick asked.

“They’ll be out three hours at least.”

“Good.” He collapsed.

I knelt beside him. “What’s wrong?”

He batted my hand away. “Go check on Melina.” But when I wouldn’t move, he added, “Vines are stubborn in autumn.”

“Oh.” I glanced at the two prone forms. The leaves had already turned brown and the vines looked brittle. Kerrick had sapped his energy.

“Go,” Kerrick ordered.

I rushed to the cabin’s entrance and paused for a second, dreading what I might find inside. She had been alone with four men for almost a day. I entered into an open sitting area. A fire burned inside a stone hearth built into the left wall. A row of cots lined up near the right wall. Smoke rolled along the ceiling and spilled out the door. Along the back wall was another door. Running across the sitting area, I fumbled to unlock it. I yanked it open, revealing blackness. I hesitated in the threshold, afraid of what I might find. “Melina?” I called.

“In here,” she said with a sob.

I sagged with relief. “Hold on, I’ll get a lantern.”

I rushed to light one. Holding it in front of me, I entered the dark room. Melina flinched as the yellow glow illuminated her bleeding and battered face. Her left wrist was chained to a cot and she wasn’t alone. Two other girls sat on other beds. They were similarly shackled. One of them also sported bruises, but otherwise they appeared to be unharmed. They stared at me in surprise.

“Are you hurt?” I asked.

Melina touched her cheek. “Not bad.”

“Did they…” I couldn’t finish.

“No,” the girl with the bruised face said. “We’re to be sold. But if you give them trouble, then…” She slammed a fist into her palm.

“Sold for what?” I asked horrified.

She looked at me as if she couldn’t believe how naive I was. “Wives if we’re lucky. Slaves or prostitutes if we aren’t.”

The other girl gestured toward the door. “Are they gone?”

“They’ve been, uh, neutralized. Do you know where the key to the cuffs is?” I asked.

“One of them carried it with him,” Melina said.

I placed the lantern on a nearby table. “I’ll be back.”

Outside, the men remained where I’d left them. Kerrick appeared to be asleep, but when I neared, he asked, “Is she…?”

“She’s alive, but injured, and there are two others.” I explained what I learned while I searched the men’s pockets for the key.

“Unfortunately, selling women is not limited to this area. The plague has left many places with an uneven population. There’re gangs who will find wives for survivors for a price.”

I glanced at the men. Bastards. Maybe I’d let Kerrick kill them, after all.

“Did you heal Melina?”

“Not yet.” This earned me an appraising glance. I dug my hand into Tall Guy’s back pocket and finally found the key.

“Good. Release them and take them to Mom’s right now.” Kerrick pushed up on one elbow with obvious effort.

“Why?”

He huffed. “Can’t you just follow orders for once?”

“Do you really want an answer?”

“Only if it’s, ‘Yes, sir.’”

“Not going to happen.”

He paused as if summoning the willpower not to bark at me. “There’s a group of people—seven men and two women—heading this way. I can’t tell if they’re friendly or not, so you and the girls need to leave well before they arrive.”

“What about you?”

“I can handle myself.”

I pushed on his shoulder. He fell back onto the ground.

“Uh-huh. Want to try that again?” I asked.

“No one’s after me,” he said. “You’re the one in danger. Plus you’ll be risking the others.”

“What happens when these four wake up?”

“I thought you didn’t care. They’ll be doing you a favor.”

“I’d love to leave you. Believe me. But I gave my word. Come on.” I helped him to his feet.

Even though Kerrick was taller than me, my shoulder ended up being the perfect height for supporting him.

“Now what?” he asked.

“We’ll hide inside the cabin until the others pass us by.”

“What about the prior occupants?”

“I’ll drag them inside.”

“Your plan—”

I pulled him along. He was too weak to resist. Fun. I dumped him onto one of the cots in the sitting room before releasing Melina and the other girls. They rubbed their wrists and followed me out to the main room. They froze when they spotted Kerrick.

“You remember Kerrick from the inn, don’t you?” I asked Melina.

“Yes.”

“He’s part of the rescue team.”

She glanced around. “Are there others?”

“Ah… No. We had been expecting one man. Not four.”

Melina shuddered.

“And we have a bit of a problem.” I explained our situation to the three of them.

They offered to help.

“Where’s the chimney?” I asked Kerrick.

Although dubious of my plan, he explained how I could find the metal pipe in the dark. It took me longer to locate the chimney than I had hoped. Kerrick had shoved a clump of muddy leaves to block it. I cleared it and hurried back.

While I was gone, Bianca—the girl with the fading bruises—Peni and Melina had dragged the unconscious men into the hideout. They’d shackled the men to the cots in the back room and locked the door. Nice.

Empowered, they discussed what they’d like to do to the men in great detail. Kerrick muffled a horrified croak. He had one foot resting on the dirt floor. “If you ladies are done plotting revenge, you might want to cover our tracks outside before the others reach us.”