Outlaw

Outlaw by Ted Dekker Read Free Book Online Page B

Book: Outlaw by Ted Dekker Read Free Book Online
Authors: Ted Dekker
Tags: adventure, Adult
His name was Kirutu, fearless leader of the Warik, one of three valley tribes coexisting in a fragile balance.
    Never again would I be so fortunate.
    As soon as he left, two older women entered the hut through the same door. For a brief moment the three women stared as if unsure what to make of me. Then they approached and touched my skin, expressing their astonishment.
    The eldest, a woman of about thirty with heavy breasts and a scarred chin, began to speak in a harsh tone. She was lecturing me, waving at my body and then at the skulls on the wall, scrunching her nose and pointing accusingly at my skin and my hair. With each exclamation, the woman who’d accompanied her voiced agreement. I didn’t know any of the words, but their eyes and gestures spoke a language shared by all women.
    Clearly these savages who were as black as midnight and wore little more than colored mud for clothing did not approve of the way I looked or smelled. But their opinion outweighed mine. I was at their mercy and I quickly felt as ugly and stinky as they seemed to believe I was.
    The eldest must have decided to correct my flaws, because she scooped up a handful of black soot and began to rub it over my belly and chest. The other newcomer joined in, heaping the soot on my head and my shoulders, smearing it over my whole body.
    The show came to an abrupt end when the youngest, the woman who’d helped me undress, picked up a burning stick from the fire and threatened to burn the other two if they did not leave. They argued with her for a moment, then left, uttering their disapproval.
    At first I thought I had been spared, but it soon became clear that the gods of that earth were fickle, and there were only very faint lines between salvation and damnation.
    The young woman walked around me, frowning, then tapped me on my head and pointed to the line of skulls. She snapped a clear warning, threw the stick back into the fire, and followed the others out.
    I was alone with the fire. Alone with the human skulls. Naked and shivering, but unbound.
    Free.

Chapter Six
    MY FIRST thought was to run, but before I could properly consider where I might run to, three men stepped in, hastily shoved the bag over my head, and marched me out of the hut. I was confused, I was in shock, and I was terrified.
    But another thought gave me a hint of hope as they steered me down the path. Although the hole they’d thrown me into was its own muddy hell, I’d found some solace there. Now without the gag, I could speak to the man who’d called out to me.
    And yet they weren’t taking me to my hole. That much became clear five minutes later when we began trudging up a steep incline that I couldn’t remember.
    I had difficulty walking on the stony path barefoot, but I wasn’t exactly in a position to complain, so I stumbled forward as best I could. When I tripped on a rock that sent me to the ground with a sharp cry, the men argued for a few seconds, then pulled off my hood.
    “ Naneep .” They motioned up the path. This could only mean “go” or “walk.”
    I could see the trail well enough by moonlight to avoid most sticks and rocks, but the bottoms of my feet were already bruised. The underbrush on either side was thick and the trees a tangle of branches. After three days I’d seen only brief glimpses of the land itself, and I imagined the worst. It didn’t matter that I had yet to see a snake; I was sure they were there, just out of sight, as were crocodiles and lizards and every other kind of crawling creature. Truly, I was surprised that I hadn’t been attacked.
    I struggled on, panting and sweating.
    It took us at least an hour to reach our destination on a barren hill that overlooked two draws, one on either side, just visible by a three-quarter moon. Now I could see more of the terrain. We were nowhere near the river, which I assumed lay far behind us where this sweeping valley met the swamps we had crossed in the canoes. Beyond each draw, tall

Similar Books

Thrilled To Death

Jennifer Apodaca

I See You

Patricia MacDonald

Sad Cypress

Agatha Christie

Loving Angel

Carry Lowe

Wronged Sons, The

John Marrs

Wreathed

Curtis Edmonds