The Fallen (Book 1) by Dan O'Sullivan

smell mutton cooking and she wondered if they would be fed. There was no noise close by and she decided to risk lifting the dirty blindfold.
    There was no-one near the cart. About sixty paces away, there was a small fire and Immosey could see several people cooking and preparing food. There were small groups sitting and talking together but they were too far away for her to hear them properly. She glanced around in other directions. There were no guards nearby. She wondered about this for a moment but she knew that even should they escape from the cart, they had no idea where they were or which direction to go, and she had no doubt the fallen could track them and recapture them easily.
    ‘ Immy?’ Elena had wriggled herself closer and Immosey saw she had also raised her blindfold.
    ‘ Ellie, are you hurt?’ Immosey’s voice was barely a whisper.
    ‘ I’m alright, but I think Louisa was injured when she tried to fight them. Did you see what she did?’
    ‘ You mean when she pushed one of them away from me?’
    ‘ Yes. Though ‘pushed’ is an understatement. I would not have believed she had the strength to send him flying as she did.’
    ‘ Ellie, he was going to rape me. Sometimes when people are frightened or stressed their bodies can find strength they would not normally dream of using.’
    ‘ It was more than that. For a moment she looked like she would kill him.’ The girls were silent for a moment.
    ‘ Are you cold?’ asked Immosey.
    ‘ I’m trembling with cold and I’m really hungry, as no doubt you are also.’
    ‘ Can you think of any reason why the fallen would kidnap us?’
    Elena pondered the question. She could think of several reasons why they might be abducted but none really made sense. ‘Maybe someone wants to use us as hostages to demand something from our father, or from Kelian, or even the King; ransom?’
    ‘ That doesn’t explain why Louisa wasn’t killed outright when she fought back, they would still have two of us. But the fallen have no interest in wealth.’
    ‘ What about the Daoine Maithe? The fallen and the guardians have ever been enemies.’
    ‘ Do you think the fallen want to have the guardians come after us? No doubt the guardians would feel it was their duty.’
    ‘ No. I don’t think so. The fallen fear the guardians. They would be more likely to take a path which would make it difficult for someone to track us.’
    ‘ Maybe they just decided to keep us as slaves. I’ve heard they do that with captives.’
    ‘ But why were they at Three Ways in the first place. It’s strange, Immy. It’s like they were waiting for us.’
    There was a movement behind them and both girls fell back into sleeping positions pulling the blindfolds down over their faces. Nothing happened for several minutes, and then there was a small creak as though someone had leaned on the side of the cart. Elena was trembling more from terror now than from cold. A dark shadow moved over the side of the cart and someone crouched beside the three girls. Elena gasped in shock as a man’s voice whispered in her ear.
    ‘ Share this.’ A piece of mutton was thrust into her hand then her other hand was lifted and placed on top of what felt like a leather water bag. She raised her hand to move her blindfold but a strong hand stopped her. ‘No,’ the voice said firmly. ‘That would not be wise.’
    ‘ We need to relieve ourselves,’ she pleaded. There was a short silence.
    ‘ It’s easier to keep you weak, hungry and vulnerable lest you attempt to escape. Tracking you would be ridiculously simple but a waste of time. So no-one cares if you must lie in your own filth.’
    Tears of frustration soaked through Elena’s blindfold. ‘Please, we’re already so very cold. It would be horrible to…’ Her voice trailed away.
    He sighed. ‘Two minutes. You all go together and you must be back in the cart in two minutes. Don’t be deceived. Should you attempt to escape, I assure you that you will be