Chapter Six

Luca run his hands across the naked woman straddling him and sucked at her nipple. She gasped at the pleasure and held his head in her hands. One of his hands travelled down in between her legs, working her from under. She moaned and ground her hips as Luca sucked and worked her.

Suddenly her eyes flew open and her back arched , her orgasm hitting her. She quivered and screamed in pure ecstasy. After the last of her moans had subsided,Luca placed her beside him and stroked her gently.

He got up from the bed and begun dressing methodically. The young woman rolled on the bed and rested her head on her palm, watching his naked body. In all her years of working in the brothel she'd never met a man who delighted in giving pleasure to others instead of himself. Or were her suspicions correct?

"You paid for an entire night,you know." She purred seductively.

Luca shrugged, nonchalantly." The brothel can keep the rest of the money." When he was done dressing,he slung his bag over his shoulder and left the room without saying a word. As he walked down the corridor,he could hear the low sounds of moans,grunts and screams coming from the other rooms,but he pushed them out of his mind. He had a job to do and time was running.

Luca went into the stables of the brothel and a stable boy brought his horse to him. He threw a coin to the boy and he thanked him profusely before dashing out of the stables, probably to buy some food from the night market.

Luca saddled his horse and rode out of the busy town. It was a full moon and the moonlight provided him and his horse with enough light to see. The cold wind slapped him but he didn't mind,on the contrary,he enjoyed the feeling as he rode deeper into the night.

Before long,he was on the border road riding towards Atamesia. He had some news for the Emperor and had to get to Zaare,the Capital.

He reined his horse to a stop, when he saw a little girl sitting by the roadside and crying softly. Luca's back prickled. A little girl by the roadside at midnight wasn't something you see everyday.

Luca got down and walked to her cautiously,his hand on the hilt of his sword." Are you okay?"

The girl looked up in terror, crawling back quickly. Luca realised why and removed his sword, placing it in the saddle of his horse.

"What are you doing here?" Luca asked her but she kept quiet and continued looking at him in fear.

"Are you hungry?"

The girl shook her head slowly but Luca knew better. He removed a bean cake from his pocket and gave it to her. She sniffed it and gobbled it quickly.

"Will you tell me why you are here?" He asked again.

She pointed at the small bag of red mushrooms by her,and he understood. She must've probably come with her family to pick in the evening to pick some mushrooms and had strayed from the company.

"Is your village far from here?"

The girl shrugged sadly,her initial fear disappeared. Luca was frankly surprised that she was still here considering the recent reports of child kidnappings. He decided to send her to the nearest village and leave her in the care of the village head,so that her family could easily find her. He told her of his plan and she seemed to consider for a while before nodding in agreement.

Luca put her on his horse and they rode off. She shivered and he put an arm around her protectively whilst holding on to the reins with the other. She reminded him of himself when he was a child. Cold, hungry, defenceless and scared until a mecernary group took him in. Luca shook his head and turned his attention to the road. His heart skipped a beat. The girl was gone.

He quickly stopped the horse and jumped down. Was she a spirit? Luca wondered,but remembered that spirits don't eat. Or she had fallen off without him knowing?

"Little girl." He called, tracing the hoofprints of his horse,but the chirping of insects was his only reply. Luca saw the glint of metal at the corner of his eye and stepped aside quickly. A mettalic chain hit where he was standing. He looked round and saw that it was the little girl.

She was swinging a chain in her hand and gone was the innocence in her eyes. They were filled instead, with death. Luca didn't have time to register his confusion as she lashed at him. He ducked and the chain missed his head by inches. Luca cussed himself for leaving his sword on his horse and having only two daggers on him.

He was a very good fighter, one of the best among his peers. But whatever this girl was,it was going to be hard for him to come out of this in one piece. She continued with her attacks whilst Luca also continued ducking. Reaching into his belt,he threw s dagger at the girl,but she deflected it easily.

Luca cussed when the chain smacked his arm and it went numb. Luca tried to get to his sword but her attacks made it impossible. He was getting tired as he twirled and ducked, however he could the girl was just getting started.

Sensing an opening,Luca flung his last dagger. She tried stepping aside quickly but the dagger grazed her cheek, drawing blood. The girl snarled in rage,her chain moving in with incredible speed.

Luca's attempts to dodge proved futile,as the chain lashed him mercilessly. The assault continued until he fell down, exhausted and in great agony.

She grabbed his blonde hair and threw him. Luca flew through the air and crashed into a tree, dying instantly. The girl whistled and a pack of jet-black wolves melted out of the shadows.

"Feed,my children. Feed." She called out to them. They charged on the horse and within heartbeats, had devoured both Luca and the animal.

One of them brought her Luca's head and she placed pit into the mushroom bag. Another wolf brought her Luca's bag. She rummaged through it, retrieving a small cylindrical object.

The girl laughed and her form shifted into an older form. She called to the wolves and together they melted into the shadows, like they'd never existed.

The clouds broke and it started to drizzle.