Free Jalia At Bay (Book 4) by John Booth Page B

is better than being scared?”
    “I didn’t want him to… and I certainly didn’t want his… not ever… but at the same time as being scared, it was… exciting.”
    Jalia walked Attala to a bench where they could sit together.
    “Woman who go out in the world and act as I do usually end up dead,” Jalia told the girl gently. “Every woman should learn to defend themselves, but better to be raped and living, than dead and unsullied any day. At least, that’s my view.”
    “Have you ever been…?”
    “Yes,” Jalia said bleakly. For a few seconds she was back in a cave facing certain death. “He was a man not unlike Adon in shape and size, but he was evil in a way that Adon could never imagine. He had a knife and he was going to skin me with it. I thought…, no I knew , that I was going to die. It was the first time in my life that I was ever certain of it.”
    “What happened?” Attala asked in a whisper, shocked at the bleakness in Jalia’s voice.
    “My knight in trader-boy’s shoes came along and threw a knife that struck him in the back,” Jalia said, laughing at the memory. “If you think I can throw a knife, you should know that Daniel is better than me when he is motivated.”
    “Is it wrong… that I miss the excitement of being chased by Adon?”
    “Of course not, but it would be wrong to seek that sort of thing.” Jalia took hold of Attala by her shoulders and looked into her eyes. “Your future is here, with your family. There is excitement enough in building a home and having a child or two with a good man. Don’t be seduced into thinking my kind of life is better.”
    “Then why don’t you…?”
    “Because I am who I am. I get bored easily and I would rather die young doing something exciting. You aren’t like me. Be who you are.”
    Attala smiled and hugged Jalia. This was disconcerting for Jalia, who largely associated all signs of affection as a preliminary for sex. It was a long and awkward moment for her. Attala stood and looked again in Jalia’s eyes.
    “Thank you for being honest with me. I feel much better now.” Attala pranced out of the barn, bouncing into Daniel who was in the process of entering. She giggled and ran back to the cottage.
    “What was that about?” Daniel asked.
    “Nothing,” Jalia replied and went back to preparing Swift for the journey.
     
    The village of Sweetwater had gathered to watch them leave. Donal gave Daniel a firm handshake and then clasped him firmly on the back, as did Pender and Walt. They would have done the same to Jalia except the look in her eye stopped Donal, and the other men wisely took their cue from him.
    Before Jalia could mount, Pender stepped forward and drew a knife. Several people gasped in shock, but neither Jalia nor Daniel batted an eyelid.
    “A gift for you, Lady Jalia,” Pender said as he offered her its hilt. “To replace the one you lost in the hall. It’s the only throwing knife I could find in the village.”
    “Thank you, Pender,” Jalia said with a genuine smile of gratitude and took the knife from his hand.
    Daniel and Jalia rode from the village towards the east. This was the Slarn road and, according to Donal, it was not going to be an easy one. Jalia, ever the cynic, wondered if the majority of the villagers watching them go were there to confirm that they were leaving. Heroes can be useful, but nobody wants them around when there is nobody left to kill.
     
    “It was a good thing Donal warned us about Pender’s gift,” Jalia remarked once they were safely out of earshot. “Even as it was, I had to suppress an urge to draw my sword.”
    “Pender would not last long in a city, pulling a knife without the slightest warning,” Daniel agreed. “Country folk, you have to admire their innocence.”
    Daniel and Jalia didn’t see the rider who followed them. That person knew well enough the risk of being seen and circled the village after watching them leave. Their stalker rode far enough behind to