Captive: Part One of The Akeldama Chronicles Read online

  “You look like a whore,” I said, exasperated.

  She stopped swirling and glared. “I do not! I dressed in the attire of the eastern kingdoms. This is what their women wear. I researched it. We will pretend to be nomadic travelers, and no one will be the wiser.”

  “You researched it?” I asked with a smirk.

  “Yes” She affirmed with a nod.

  I grinned. “How?”

  “I asked one of the female travelers at the village market today,” Sienna said, crossing her arms over her budding chest.

  “She dressed like that?” I asked, nodding to her outfit.

  “Yes.”

  I grinned. “She’s a whore.”

  “Rhys!” Sienna snarled delicately. “You don’t even know her!”

  “I don’t have to know her to know that she’s a whore. And, facts can’t be offensive so stop glaring.” I reached out and tapped her nose in the way that I knew drove her nuts.

  “She was a kind, gentle lady, not a whore!” Sienna said through gritted teeth after swatting my hand away.

  I chuckled, getting to my feet carefully, making sure the blanket covered my nudity as I scratched my chest with a yawn. “I never said she wasn’t nice,” I muttered, bending down to rummage through my storage chest for something decent. Finding an outfit, I dropped the blanket and pulled on my trousers as I said, “and, I know she’s a whore because women from the eastern kingdoms that aren’t whores cover their entire bodies, only showing their eyes.”

  “I don’t believe you…” Sienna said uncertainly.

  I shrugged and pulled my shirt over my head and then turning to face her. “Is there anything that I can say to change your mind?” I asked, knowing the answer.

  “Nope!” she said, beaming at me.

  “Bloody hell, come on then.” I said, heading for the open balcony doors. “You really shouldn’t be climbing through my windows, Princess. It is neither safe nor proper.”

  “Since when have we ever cared about either of those things?” Sienna asked, throwing a leg over the balcony and reaching for the trellis.

  I jumped over the balcony and caught a branch in the stout tree feet from the ledge, laughing softly at the rush of exhilaration. I weighed too much to chance the trellis. “Since you got your first blood, and became a woman. If someone catches you here, we’ll be forced to marry.”

  “Eww! You’re like my brother!” Sienna cried with disgust.

  My lips tightened into a thin line as I shoved aside the pain those words caused me. She might think of me as a brother, but I have never thought of her as a sister.

  “So… don’t get caught.” We finished the climb down in silence.

  She reached the bottom before me and leaned against the wall, impatiently tapping her foot. She waited until I was within whisper distance before asking, “what’s it like?”

  I rolled my eyes. I never should have told her about my father taking me there. I knew better than to feed her adventure addiction. “It’s a tavern. There is alcohol, whores, and gambling. Nothing about it is interesting.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that,” she said with a huff and began striding in the direction of the village. With a heavy sigh, I trailed after her…someone had to keep her out of trouble.

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Once again, I want to thank you for taking a chance on me and reading my book. I hope you loved it. The next chronicle (Execution: Part Two of The Akeldama Chronicles) will be out in November 2017.

  If you loved it or even simply thought that it was ok, please leave a review. Reviews help authors out so much. One way they help, if you didn’t already know, is that the more reviews a book has the higher up the list that book will show in online search engines at stores like Amazon, for example.

  Furthermore, as an author, I want my books to be the best that they can be; so, if you see anything that sits wrong with you and is something that I can improve on as a writer, then please let me know.

  I wish you a wonderful day/night.

  With lots of love,

  F.N. Hammack

  AUTHOR BIO

  I am 21 years old, born and raised in Mississippi. Unfortunately, I am not overly fond of this hot and humid state; it makes my hair do strange things. I work as a research assistant and go to college during the day while writing all through the night. I don’t sleep much…if you haven’t already figured that out.

  Eventually, I will have my own zoo, if only because of my ever-growing assortment of pets. Currently, I have a mutt named Kalypso and two cats; Mishka (The Evil Queen) and Iceni (My Little Wild Thing). Trust me…they live up to those monikers. I only have three for now. But…I want more and that’s where the spiral begins.

  Some of my hobbies and interests include: reading and writing (lol), archery, photography and painting, hiking, ancient civilizations, mythology and fairytales, collecting swords, knife throwing, henna, guys with tattoos, foreign languages and cultures, trying new things, and baklava…. (If you send me baklava, I will love you forever. No joke. I have an addiction…)

  You can contact me on my Facebook page through the link below.

  https://www.facebook.com/FNHammack/