Free The Tessellation Saga. Book Two. 'The One' by D. J. Ridgway

soldiers as he led the horses off, behind
him the soldiers approached the cottage.
    Gideon senior
opened the door of the cottage with his wife close behind him both
clearly afraid.
    ‘I be Gideon
Green, what can I do fer yer,’ he said to the men crowding his
front door, the men turned to Toby at the mention of the old man’s
name.
    ‘Ner, it’s not
‘im, we be lookin’ fer a younger man, twentyish!’ Toby said
roughly, recognising Gideon’s grandfather. ‘Yer grandson I
believe,’ he added, addressing the old man as he looked past Gideon
senior and his wife and into the cottage interior.
    “E ain’t ‘ere,
he lives with ‘is Da in Green ‘ome,’ began Gideon senior attempting
to block the view of his home.
    “Old ‘em...’
Toby replied turning to his men and smiling, watching
dispassionately as the old couple struggled and were quickly and
violently overpowered. Toby walked toward the cottage and stepped
inside, intent on finding the younger man himself but as he passed
the threshold, he stopped, suddenly feeling ill, his stomach
clenched hard and his bowels turned liquid. Cold sweat began
running down his back and fear ran through him, fear, as he had
never known it before. He could not understand it; the house seemed
to scream at him, its malevolence almost palpable. In absolute
terror, he turned away from the house and his dread subsided almost
immediately but was quickly be replaced by shame. His embarrassment
at his fear in front of his men made him lash out at the old woman
held captive before him, she screamed out in pain and her mouth
dripped with blood.
    ‘What d’yer
want?’ Pleaded her husband as he watched his wife helplessly, her
face red and bruised. ‘Please…, what d’yer want?’ He asked again as
Toby lashed out once more, this time at the old man himself.
    ‘Search the
‘ouse,’ Toby screamed at another of his men. Duggan, the searcher,
again spat black liquid from between his teeth at the ground in
front of him and grinned, enjoying himself immensely.
    ‘Yes sir,’ he
said and smiled revealing a row of stained and rotten teeth, black
spittle dribbled down his chin and he wiped it with his sleeve as
he walked toward the house. Toby waited, expecting the soldier to
refuse and back out as he himself had done. Deep shame once more
overcame him as Duggan walked on into the house without so much as
a pause and angry again; Toby lashed out once more, this time his
fist catching the frail old man in the solar plexus. Painfully
winded, he sank to his knees.
    ‘Can’t find him
sir, I’m going upstairs…’ Duggan called, his voice echoing in the
empty house. Toby threw another punch, this time catching Gideon
across the jaw, the force of the blow causing the man to drop prone
to the cold earth.
    ‘The house is
empty sir.’ The soldier called out from within the cottage.
    ‘I know ‘e’s
‘ere somewhere, where’s ‘e ‘idin’?’ Toby screamed in fury.
    ‘I be Gideon
Green.’ The old man said again stubbornly as blood poured from his
mouth and pooled on the cold earth beneath his head. Gideon stared
at Toby with defiance in his eyes as Toby stepped in front of his
wife and taking a knife from his belt, held it to her throat.
    ‘Where be yer
gran’son, old man, tell me now or she dies…’ he said, pressing the
blade into the skin just deep enough to draw blood. Gideon looked
at his wife in terror as she tried to shake her head.
    ‘I be ready fer
me journey Gid,’ she cried quietly, tears running down her face,
‘don’t yer go an’ give the boy up,’ she added as the knife pressed
harder. From the ground, Gideon senior sobbed, seeing abiding love,
understanding and acceptance in her eyes.
    ‘I love yer
woman…, don’t yer see, I ‘ave ter,’ he replied as he looked to
Toby, his face full of tears. The boy’s in the woods, yonder…’ he
sobbed and pointed unsteadily toward the trees. ‘Please…, let me
wife go now... she ain’t done nowt, the boy