It`s a Long Way 10

Jelena`s heart bumped. It had been terrifying to be like she was, naked, bound, gagged and hooded, tied to a packing horse. But now, there had been strange sounds, like small explosions, followed by some non-human laughter. The horse had been unruly, but now, there were steps and a voice speaking calmly to the animals. Jelena was sure she had hallucinations, for the voice somehow sounded Hungarian.

Now, the horses began to move again, slowly this time, as if someone was leading them by their reins. It seemed that whoever was now around them had left the road and was trying to find a way through the forest. After some minutes, however, he stopped and Jelena could hear a rustle, accompanied by a faint moaning and an occasional ache; obviously, their new abductor was heaving Janika from her horse.

A few moments later, it was her turn. Whoever it was, he didn`t seem to be too strong, for he rather pulled her from the horse than carrying her. A bit ungentle, Jelena was dumped to the ground. Then, there was a tearing sound, followed by a mew of surprise by Janika. Next, the burlap over her face was ripped, too. Jelena blinked and stared at the face of – Bela!

»Mhhmmm?«

Like Janika, she had last seen him when the boat had drifted away, leaving the young man behind. Somehow, he had managed to find them. However, neither of them knew if this was a good thing.

»Phew, it was kind of hard to follow these men! After all, I am not the best rider on earth!«

He rubbed his butt and smiled down at them. The two girls mmphed indignantly and he untied the cloth at Janika`s nape, then helping her to spit out the big wad that had gagged her. He then also ungagged Jelena and gave both some water before he asked:

»Where`s the Black?«

Jelena´s lips still felt parched, but Janika now said:

»Untie us and we will tell you what we know!«

»If I do, you will bewitch me and fly away or turn me into a frog!«, Bela replied and although he smiled, there were signs he really believed in such things. Jelena reminded herself that Bela at least knew about magic time travel and thus, it would be no fundamental problem for him to assume that they had magic powers, too.

»If we really were that powerful, why do you think we are in this predicament?«

She writhed in her bonds and Bela smiled at her. Not mockingly, as she first thought, but a bit insecure. Janika involuntarily smiled, too, and this made Bela breathe: »Wow!«

»Wha-what do you mean?«, she asked, looking a bit puzzled. With a now more confident smile, Bela answered:

»It`s just that I have never seen you smile before!«

»Oh, eh, m-maybe that`s because I am usually g-gagged when you are around!«

Janika seemed a bit confused, but she could not help that she again had to smile. Jelena had to admit that it indeed changed her whole appearance. Janika was a tall and sportive woman and also a skilled fighter, but when she smiled, she looked more feminine, almost sweet.

Her reply made Bela giggle and after she tried in vain to look angry, Janika joined in, followed by Jelena. It felt good to laugh after all they had went through and obviously, Bela either wanted them to feel even better or he was indeed bewitched by Janika`s smile, for he then freed them from their bonds.

Now, as they stretched their limbs and massaged their wrists and ankles, Jelena could recognize another change in Janika: she seemed a little bashful, blushing slightly and shielding her body with her arms. It was strange, for Bela had seen both of them stark naked before and in Addition, Janika didn`t seem to be shy about her body, but when Bela draped his cloak over her, she gratefully smiled at him.

»It`s okay, I will help myself!«, Jelena said, covering herself with the torn sack. Bela just nodded absent-mindedly and Janika only seemed to have eyes for him. So, Jelena cleared her throat until both looked at her and asked him why he was here.

Bela told them he had tried to follow the boat, but lost their sight. He had then also went to Pescara and tried to get more information without sounding suspicious, but his first hint had been the announcement of two female criminals who were about to be punished at the pillory.

»Y-you saw us?«, Janika asked with a hoarse voice. Jelena also shuddered from the memory; her stuffed inside the cage and Janika tied inside the pillory, both of them naked and gagged. Bela shrugged:

»It cost me two copper coins!«

Then, when he recognized Janika`s look, he added:

»But I didn`t pay for spanking you.«

»Miser!«, Janika joked, now having regained some of her strength and wit.

»I should have done so for free when I had the opportunity!«, Bela grunted. Janika suddenly bent forward and kissed his cheek.

»Thank you for saving us!«

They looked at each other in a way Jelena again ostentatiously cleared her throat and reminded them that there was at least one unsolved problem: where was Tabea?

***

In fact, Tabea wasn`t so far away, though she was as unaware as her friends were. Her initial plan had been to get as far away from her kidnappers as possible and then to try to get rid of her bonds. Now, it was getting dark and she still hadn`t found something useful. Of course, there were sharp stones lying around, but she could not hold them tight without her hands; she would need a rock with a protruding sharp edge.

Again, Tabea had to pause. Having to walk whilst being gagged was strenuous and in addition, she could not balance herself with her arms trapped behind her back and therefore had to walk slowly and careful. She was tired and thirsty and still had no idea where to go. She just had decided that trying to leave the hills would lead her to a more populated area.

Suddenly, she heard a voice. Tabea ducked behind a bush and listened. If it was some peasant, she would show up, hoping the best that he would release her instead of running away if a naked black woman suddenly materialized in the forest. But if it were Ettore, Angelo or Pater Michele, she would remain in the hiding.

The voice belonged to a man who was looking around, as if he feared an attack. In his hands, he held a sword, but he leaned it to a tree before beginning to fumble at the front of his trousers. Then, the man quickly relieved himself, almost as quickly adjusted his clothes and, after looking around with the sword in his hand, hastily stumbled to where he had come from. Now, Tabea could also see a light between the trees.

She followed the man and saw a campfire by which four other men were sitting. One of them was Pater Michele, but there was no sign of Ettore or Angelo. Curiously, Tabea sneaked closer.

Except for the monk, these men looked like soldiers, all wearing the same blue and red tunic and each had a sword or a pike lying close by his side. These men looked as if they were awaiting an attack and Tabea could also see that each of them had a makeshift cross, made from branches.

»So, did the demon snap for your dick?«, one of the men asked the one who had been peeing. He and his comrades laughed, but it was clear that they were also concerned. Tabea frowned. Could it be that they were fearing – her?

She tried to figure out what had happened: Ettore and Angelo had kidnapped her, leaving the priest behind. Now, Pater Michele obviously had found some help, but since there was no sign of the mercenary and the cart driver, it could be that they thought she had broken her bonds and eaten the two alive or something like that.

»I wish I would be just strong enough to get free! Then, I would be satisfied with some water and a few berries!«

She shuddered from the cold, but could not even sling her arms around her nude body. The fire promised warmth, but it didn`t reach her. She had sucked all saliva from the cloth stuffing her mouth and only the crackling of the fire prevented her growling stomach from being heard.

CRACK!

Tabea spun around when she heard a twig break behind her, but before she could do anything, a strong hand grabbed her scalp. She squirmed and tried to kick the man, but he shouted for help and soon, he and two of his comrades had overpowered Tabea and dragged her to the fireplace.

Pater Michele jumped up and crossed himself whilst the soldiers reached for their weapons. They all looked down at Tabea who was lying on the ground on her belly, one man`s knee in her back whilst another kept a firm grip around her ankles.

»The succubus!«, one of the soldiers whispered and wanted to stab her with his pike, but the Sergeant stopped him.

»Halt! Let Pater Michele decide what to do with her!«

Tabea looked from one man to the other. They were different from Ettore and Angelo; not keen on screwing her, but alert and ready to kill her, as if she was a dangerous animal. The priest now straightened and said:

»I actually wanted to get her to Rome – but after what I have witnessed today, I will not take any further risk!«

***

»There!«

Though they seemed to be alone, Janika only dared to whisper when she pointed at something right in front of them. It looked a bit uncanny in the dark, but when they came closer, they could see it was just a cart.

Neither Jelena nor Janika had wanted to sit down and wait and so, they had persuaded Bela to start their search for Tabea at once, though none of them had an idea where to go. Bela finally had proposed to just follow the road; after all, this was where the soldiers had gone, too.

Their equipment was good and bad at the same time: since Bela had his horse and they still had the packing horses, all three could ride (though none of them was actually good at it). However, only Bela`s horse had a saddle and Jelena had grinned when he had offered it to Janika.

»Obviously, my smile isn`t charming enough!«, Jelena had thought. She shivered since she still only had the torn sacks as a covering. Janika was little better off, wearing only Bela`s cloak. But now, the cart distracted them from the cold. Bela lit his torch and drew his dagger whilst the girls remained behind him with their makeshift clubs.

»At least, she must have been here!«, Jelena stated a few minutes later. The cart was empty, but the cage inside it and the discarded ropes and chains told their own story. She felt pity for Tabea who had had to suffer so much – and who perhaps still was far from being save.

»Can`t you just cast some tracking spell?«, Janika asked. She tried to sound sarcastic, but there was also some hope in her voice. She picked something from the floor of the cart.

»Here`s even one of her hairs.«

»I am not a tracker dog!«, Bela grunted, but he reached for the torch and examined the ground around the cart. Then, he said:

»The soldiers have continued their ride, so much I can say. Well, let`s hope they have stopped for the night so we can catch up to them!«

***

Under other circumstances, Tabea would have considered the crude mixture of superstition and what these men thought to be science as ridiculous. However, in her current predicament, there was nothing to laugh about.

Two of the soldiers had insisted that a witch must not be able to touch the earth and so, they had tied her feet to a thick branch, spreading her feet wide. They then had tied a rope to this stick, slung the other end over a branch fork and pulled her upwards until Tabea was dangling in the air, her head some five feet above the ground. Her arms still were trapped inside the armbinder and there had been consensus about keeping her tightly gagged. None of them seemed to be concerned about the Evil Eye this time and so, Tabea could at least see what they were doing. Her ankles hurt from having to carry all her weight, but she felt that this would soon become one of her least concerns, as the men now began to pile up logs and branches directly under her, whilst Pater Michele was praying in Latin, raising his cross to the air.

»Mmhhrrmmmmm! Uuuhmmmmm! Hhhmmmmmmmph!«

Tabea screamed and struggled, but all she could do was some swinging around as the pile of wood grew. The fire and her upside down position made things seem a bit surreal; the praying monk in his black and white habit and the men carrying the logs, their eyes glooming from the reflecting flames.

»Help, somebody, help! Please!«

She tried to raise her body, but she collapsed after a few seconds. Now, she would have appreciated even Ettore and Angelo. They had intended to rape her and maybe then sold her to a brothel, but they didn`t want to kill her at least! Again, she screamed into the cloth stuffing her mouth, but when one of the soldiers was close to her face, he just grinned. Then, he put his hands on her naked boobs, squeezed them and pushed her, so she was swinging around like a big, helpless pendulum.

Pater Michele had finished his prayers and now gave some finishing orders:

»Use only dry wood so the flames will become higher! And put some oil over both her and the pile of wood! We don`t have pitch, but I don`t want her to choke from the smoke but to burn ablaze!«

He didn`t sound like a madman or a gloating villain. It was just a careful man telling these soldiers how to best get rid of a demon. Tabea whimpered and almost wished she would faint.

One of the soldiers had found a small jug with olive oil and now, he poured it over Tabea`s naked body. Two others began to rub it all over her, greasing her as far as they could reach. Even in that situation, they took advantages and took much more time than necessary for kneading her boobs and one even climbed on the pile to reach her pussy and butt. Then, they stepped aside and Tabea could see Pater Michele who had folded his hands. His expression was stern, but calm.

»Innocentia, I hope that the demon who took possession of you will be killed by the cleaning power of the fire. May God have mercy to your soul!«

He sank to his knees and, after an inviting gesture from him, the soldiers did the same, except for the one holding a burning torch. Pater Michele now began to speak the words of the Pater Noster and Tabea knew that this short prayer would be her grace period until he would order the man to light the pile under her.

***

»What the-«

After another mile or so, they had seen a light and when they had dismounted and carefully approached, this had turned out to be a campfire not far from the road. There had been a few horses nearby, but it was what was happening on the little clearing that drew their attention.

Beside the fire, under a huge tree, there was another pile of wood and from a tree, a person was dangling. She had been tied upside down and hung from a stick her feet were bound to. Even in the bad lighting, Jelena immediately saw that the woman was black. She wanted to scream, but Janika clamped her mouth shut.

»Shhht! Do you want to alert them?«

Silently, they watched in terrified fascination as two men thoroughly oiled Tabea`s naked body whilst a monk was praying.

»Do they intend to do what I think they will?«, Janika asked. Jelena just nodded, her lips trembling. Then, she whispered:

»We can`t let her burn! We must do something!«

»But what?«, Janika replied. »They are six altogether and they have weapons!«

Then, she reminded something and asked:

»Bela, do you still have those smoke bombs you used to rescue us?«

With a sad expression, the young man shook his head.

»I only had two of these left. But let me think!«

He stared at the clearing where now were on their knees praying. He knew that the Pater Noster wouldn`t last long, since it consisted of just some 70 or 80 words. Of course, he could run forward and yell, but even if this would distract the men from lighting the pile, his sacrifice would only buy Tabea a few minutes. Unless-

At the fire, the men now rose from their knees and the priest gave an order to the man with the torch.

»Abra kadabra! Buga buga!«

Bela suddenly approached, waving his arms. He knew he was just reciting nonsense spells, but it didn`t matter. All that mattered was that he was concentrating.

He had magic power, that was for sure. His problem was, however, that he could hardly canalize it to actually do something supernatural. It had taken him years to work out how to manage time travel and it still wasn`t a save thing. But Bela speculated on a side effect of his powers.

Whenever he really tried to use his skills, his body began to gloom. Sometimes, there were even little lightnings and sparks coming from him and his eyes were like two bright rubies. In fact, it was nothing but an optical effect; the fire was cold and could not light anything and one of his assistants had once touched him and found that it was absolutely harmless. But the effect just looked impressive.

»In nomine Satanas et Beelzebub!«

The men spun around, pointing at him. One of the men raised his sword, another his makeshift cross and the priest just stood there with his mouth open.

Bela hesitated. He had drawn their attention and frightened them, but now, he had to do something. If he continued shouting some random words, this would soon lose its effect; if he told them to let the girl go, they would perhaps notice his Hungarian accent and notice he wasn`t Satan or one of his demons.

The loss of concentration caused the sparkling and glooming to cease. Bela saw that one of the men now grabbed his pike and slowly approached him. Encouraged by their Sergeant, the other soldiers followed.

»Hokus pokus!«

Raising his arms, Bela yelled, causing the men to stop for a moment. He spun around and ran for his life.

»Get him!«, Pater Michele cried. He had recognized the person that had frightened him earlier and now, since this creature didn`t seem to have any real power, he wanted it to die. When he saw the soldiers run after the fleeing man, he grabbed the still burning torch from the ground.

»Whatever it was you tried to save your rotten life, it won`t save you! Burn in hell!«

Making the sign of the cross, he threw the torch on the pile of wood under the dangling Tabea.

***

»Hhrrrrrrmmmmmm! Uuuhhhhhhhhmmmm!«

In sheer panic, Tabea screamed her lungs out as she saw the wood catch fire. She had not been able to see what had caused the delay, since the campfire had been between her and Bela, but she had felt wild desperate hope that she would be rescued in the nick of time. But now, all was over!

She tried to flail and squirmed, dancing on her string over the growing flames. She already felt the heat and with a last desperate gasp, she finally lost her consciousness.

***

Pater Michele had begun to pray again, his head lowered and his knees bent. So, he didn`t see it coming until it was too late. Janika`s stick hit his temple and without a sound, he collapsed.

»Quick! We must choke the fire!«

Elena had already ripped the sacks from her body and was trying to do so. Janika jumped to the other side, using her cloak to throw it over the flames. There was a lot of smoke and with burning eyes, Jelena now hasted for the rope that held Tabea in the air. With all her strength, she pulled on the knots whilst Janika still tried to kick out the flames. Had the soldiers come back right now, the sight of two naked girls dancing around the fire would have convinced each of them that witches and demons existed.

»I`ve got it!«

Jelena had finally managed to loosen the knot and Janika managed to grab the falling Tabea, though both of them landed on the ground. She quickly came back to her feet and managed to put the unconscious woman over her shoulder.

»To the horses! Quick!«

They stumbled through the woods until they reached the horses of the soldiers. Janika heaved Tabea over the back of one of them and then mounted it herself whilst Jelena loosened the reins of the others, kept one for herself and shooed the others. Since they had seen the flames, the horses indeed made their getaway and Jelena had some difficulties in getting into the saddle and to follow Janika.

They rode for some mile until they had reached a river before they dared to stop. Jelena jumped from the saddle and helped Janika to lower Tabea to the grass. She still had her eyes closed, but her heaving chest told them she was still alive.

»Some water, quick!«

She had ripped the bandage from Tabea`s mouth and handed it to Janika who ran for the river to moisten it. When she came back, Jelena was working on the straps of her ball gag and now, Tabea had opened her eyes.

Without really looking, Jelena took the wet cloth and began to wash Tabea`s face. With her other hand, she managed to open the buckles and tore away the gag. Then, she pulled the large sodden cloth from Tabea´s mouth and dribbled some water on her parched lips.

Tabea panted and coughed and, crying from relief, Jelena embedded her head in her lap. She looked for Janika and found the blonde sitting on the ground, her head covered by her hands. She was sobbing.

Carefully, Jelena put Tabea`s head on the grass and went over to Janika, putting an arm around her shoulders. The blonde sniffled and looked at her with tearful eyes.

»Bela?«, Jelena asked carefully.

»He – he sacrificed himself, just to help us!«

Again, the girl sobbed. Jelena wanted to say something to ease her pain, but then, there was the sound of an approaching rider. It was a single man, but towed to his horse were two others.

»Phew, if I have to ride another ten yards, I will-«

Once she had recognized Bela`s voice, Janika jumped up with a shrill cry and ran over to him. She literally pulled him from the saddle and threw herself upon him, covering him with kisses. When he had recovered from his surprise, Bela slung her arms around her, too, and kissed her back.

»Am I – in heaven or – in hell?«

It was Tabea who had managed to raise her head and watched the scenery with astonishment. Jelena went over to her and hugged her friend.

»We are once again without any clothes, but we are free and you are alive! So, I would call it heaven!«

She kissed Tabea on her lips and the Black whispered:

»I would agree if you could get this dreadful thing from my arms!«

Quickly, Jelena began to work on the buckles. Then, she suddenly giggled:

»At least, we now know for sure we are both witches!«

»Eh?«

Jelena pointed at Bela and Janika who were still kissing. The fact that the blonde was some five inches taller than him didn`t seem to bother any of the two.

»Well, he wanted us to help him find true love! And now, he has developed from an annoying brat into a man and has saved our lives! And now, I think he is experiencing something that is at least close to true love!«

She had loosened the straps now and carefully pulled on the armbinder. Tabea ached and gasped:

»If I will ever – ouch! – be able to use my – ouch! – arms again, I will call it a happy ending! Ouch!«

***

The next morning, despite being totally exhausted from her ordeal, Tabea woke up before dawn. She and Jelena had cuddled to each other in the grass, since this was the only way to stay warm. Well, perhaps one of two ways, she thought with a smile. Janika and Bela had soon withdrawn and though she hadn`t seen or heard anything, Tabea was sure that the two hadn`t slept much.

»Saved by that little pest! Who would have thought that?«

She would have expected to be physically exhausted and mentally broken, but obviously, surviving certain death was quite revitalizing. So, Tabea stretched her still slightly aching limbs, got up and quickly relieved herself before drinking some water from the river and washing herself a bit. Meanwhile, Jelena was awake, too, and they rummaged through the saddle bags of Bela`s horse, finding some bread and cheese. A little later, the two lovebirds appeared.

»What`s that on her face?«, Tabea asked. Giggling, Jelena answered:

»A smile. But be careful, yesterday, it totally bewitched Bela!«

 Bela only was wearing his trousers whilst Janika was dressed in his shirt that barely covered her buttocks. She indeed smiled and when she saw the two others, she stretched and yawned ostentatiously.

»Ah, I am hungry! Have we got ham and eggs?«

When she approached her friends, Bela playfully slapped her butt and Janika added to the other´s astonishment by giggling like a schoolgirl.

»I miss the old Janika!«, Jelena sighed jokingly. Then, she suddenly grew serious.

»But above all, I miss Goran!«

Tabea felt a painful stitch in her heart. During the last days, she hadn`t thought much about Androsch, but now, the memories came back at once. Sure, he and Goran already knew that they never had reached Venice. But with no idea where they were now, what would they do? Forget about the strange girls who had pretended to be from another time? Or would they try to turn every stone in the world to find them?

So, during breakfast, both she and Jelena were quite silent, only occasionally smiling over Janika`s flirting with Bela who still seemed a bit clumsy, but obviously adjusted quickly to his new role as a lover.

»So, what`s wrong with you?«, Janika finally asked and so, they told her and Bela. After a while, he nodded and said:

»So, let`s go to Venice! After all, it`s the best place to start a search and besides, I can visit the library then.«

When they all looked at him, Bela explained:

»Well, my notes about how to send someone through time are currently missing. I am quite sure that I can reconstruct them, but for doing so, I will need some books that are not available everywhere. But the Venetian library is quite big and so, I might find what I need there.«

He kept on telling more details, but Tabea didn`t really listen. Perhaps, he would really find a way to send them all back to the 21st century, but before, they would have to get to Venice – or maybe, even further, if Androsch and Goran had returned to the Balkans or were somewhere else, trying to find her and Jelena. Maybe, they would not even want to go back once they had reunited with the two men.

»Maybe, the trip to Venice will only be the beginning!«

»Maybe«, Jelena agreed and Tabea realized she had thought loudly. Then, she looked into the direction where she supposed Venice would be.

»Anyway, a long way lies ahead of us, Nelly. But however it will end, it will start by getting somewhere where we can buy some clothes!«

The End