by Bailey Dark
The fire was flush with flame, warming the one-room cabin. I looked around and blinked sleep and sorrow from my eyes. My head was groggy from the sobbing, and from something else…
The charzbos moved in the chair to my right and I looked at him, gathering the cloak about me and tucking it close to my body, like a fruitless shield. I wasn’t hurt in any way. I felt no pain or wound anywhere. If anything, I felt protected. Why is he keeping me safe?
His pale green eyes looked at me through the red firelight and he sighed, waiting for me to speak.
“I feel angry at you, yet I trust you.” The words croaked out.
“That makes sense.” He picked up a pitcher and poured me some water, handing me the cup. I sipped it tentatively, then drank the whole thing, handing it back for more.
“Explain it to me, please, charzbos… I’m confused.”
“Call me Cartari.” He handed me a new glass, which I felt satisfied to drink more slowly. “We were in the cell together in the south precinct, do you remember?”
“Yes, I remember. How did we get out?”
“I compelled you to help me escape.”
Compelled me… The hairs on the back of my neck bristled and fire rose in my temples. My fingers clenched the mug tighter. “You controlled my mind.”
Cartari returned my gaze evenly and nodded. “I did. I didn’t realize it would have such strong effects.”
“Had you never done that before?”
“Curans aren’t susceptible to mind control, except the very young, which is just cruel. We are all telepaths. So, I had never really experimented with it. I don’t know if I used too much power or if people from Vailstor are too…” He trailed off and furrowed his brow. I bristled even more.
“Too what? Too weak-minded? Too easily swayed to your wicked ways, charzbos?” I swigged the last bit of water and then threw the mug at his head. He lashed it away with a quick flick of his wrist, telekinetically deflecting the throw without hardly any movement. That just made my blood boil even more. “How dare you take me captive that way! How dare you take advantage of me!”
“I rescued you, didn’t I? And I have been nursing you back to health, keeping you safe in this storm. If I hadn’t been, you would have died.”
“That’s your fault!” I screamed, I looked around for more things to throw, releasing the cloak, struggling to my knees to grab the fire poker for support as I gripped various shards of kindling from the fire bin. I lasered them at his head. My heart was beating fast, my vision blurring a little, as he dodged or ducked or flung aside my little pointless bullets of rage.
“Zaya, please…” He flicked aside the last kindling I could reach and then I struggled to my feet, using the poker as a cane. I held it out in front of me, brandishing it awkwardly like a sword. He crossed his arms as he stood, and a slight smile tugged at the sides of his lips, which infuriated me: it was incredibly cute and incredibly insulting.
I flared the poker at him and took two unsteady steps his way. I wobbled to the side a little. He moved to catch me, but I waved the poker toward him more intensely, its end flaring red from having recently been in the fire.
“Don’t touch me, don’t come near me again! You fooled my brain! You are a charzbos, a true barbarian! How could you do that? Will I ever be the same?” I jammed the poker into his chest, so it sizzled a bit against the fabric of his garment. He pushed aside the shaft of the poker with two of his fingers, releasing the heat. He studied me a moment and I wondered what he was thinking.
“... I can never trust her, though. In the same way she will think she can never trust me….”
I took a step back and dropped the poker. I had heard his thoughts! Clearly and without question! I had heard what he thought!
I put my hand up to my head. Surely, I was just still dizzy and under his control. That was the only explanation… But the echo of his thought, and it wasn’t really words, it was more the impression of exactly what he was thinking… I had heard it! So clearly, as if he had actually been speaking! How was that so?
I moved back to my mound of blankets, towels, and cloak. He settled back into the chair, seemingly unmoved by my half-delirious, half-hearted attack. I sat down, looking at him warily. I decided to try again and wondered what he was thinking.
“I have to ask her… The storm is still raging. We have food and wood left for one, maybe two more nights. Then we need to hunt for more of both… And, hopefully, head north, storm or no. I have a mission to complete… I have to ask her.”
The exigency he felt at asking me whatever question he was thinking of was clear, and he was very worried about it. I wondered when he would actually bring it up. But this was amazing! Electrifying! I could feel his thoughts, hear his thoughts, connect to him… How was that possible? Was that what Curans could do so easily? How did they ever hide anything from anyone?
“What?” Cartari asked with a smile. I had been staring at him. I rubbed my face and looked away.
“Do we have anything to eat?”
“Yes, there are some fruits and vegetables, preserves, that were in the shed here. Then there are some fresh food stuffs, jerky and the like, that I picked up in the market when we were fleeing the city. But we are getting low. We will need to go hunting. We are also running low on firewood.” Cartari stood up and began gathering some food for me to eat. I admired his swift, sure hands as they turned the jars and tore the jerky. I couldn’t help but laugh as he handed me the plate. He had made a smiley face with the food.
He smiled back at me and settled in his chair.
“How long have we been here? When was it that you took control of my mind?” The jerky was salty against my lips and seemed just the spike of electrolytes I had been missing. My body tingled as I ripped into it and slid peaches down my throat. So delicious...
“Five days ago. You have mainly been asleep. I’ve been feeding you, as much as you will take, and giving you water. We have just been waiting out the storm.”
Five days… Surely the people searching for me would have found out I had escaped from the prison by now. We would be found before long. I needed to tell him that I was being hunted…
“Are you in danger, Zaya?” I looked at him sharply, wondering if he had been reading my mind, in the same way that I seemed to be able to read his thoughts, sometimes, or at least on a whim.
“What makes you ask that?”
“While you were delirious, you often said things that gave me the impression you are frightened of someone, of being found again, and that you are doing your best to run from that person. I need to know if we need to expect to have an angry father, friend, or foe rolling up on this cabin’s doorstep.”
More like legion of soldiers…
“If there was someone looking for me, would you have the ability to hide me? To keep me safe? To get me where I need to go?”
“And where is that?”
“I have friends to the northeast. Astrida, a mining village on the north seas. Rough, but beautiful, country. If I get there, the people chasing me will never be able to find me. And, if they do, they will never succeed in capturing me again. Astrida is ruled by Skarde, the Berserker. He will protect me like part of his family.”
“So, you were taken against your will, originally?”
I looked at him evasively, trying hard to keep my face blank. Was being sold as a bride to a tyrant in order to protect your village’s very existence considered being taken against your will? I would do it again, to protect my family and friends, but I would also run from him again… And again… And again… I would never go back to him. I would never again let myself be held or summoned or commanded by General Blatson.
“Yes, that is so.”
“Ok…” He frowned at my vague answers but shrugged. “I understand your privacy. You don’t know me. I hope you can grow to trust me, Zaya. I can take you to Astrida, if you help me first. I need to go to the north, I have a mission to complete for Farian. But, I promise to keep you
safe, to protect you against anyone who might find us, and never to mind control you again.” My fists clenched at just the mention; isn’t that an obvious promise to make?
Cartari held up his hands as he noticed my reaction. “I promise.”
“I want her to trust me… I want to trust her, too…” I was struck again by how loud his thought was in my mind as I thought of his thoughts, and wondered what the connection was, and why I had it. Was it one way? Could he still hear my thoughts? Had he purposely pulled back and was no longer listening to mine, but could if he tried?
“We will both just have to grow to trust each other.”
The charzbos looked startled at my words but he smiled. He leaned forward and put the last large log on the fire. “This is our last bit of wood. I have some drying in the shed, but it will still be too wet to light for awhile. This is a beast of a storm. We need to hope the storm stops enough to luck upon a woodshed when we venture out searching.”
I yawned and licked my fingertips, feeling much better from the food, much clearer as the mental grip from Cartari lifted. I listened to the fierce storm and looked at the charzbos, knowing a new light shone in my eyes. I may still have a lingering feeling of trust and partnership with him that was from his mental control, but I also had a secret now, too: I could read his mind. I needed to keep working on that, refining it, seeing if it was something I could make stronger.
Maybe I would find a way to control him.
As I stood up to take the plate to the cabin’s little sink, I noticed his eyes glide up my body, following the curve of my dresslet and tight, ample breasts and I smiled to myself. Of course, I didn’t need fancy telepathic mind tricks to control him. I had other skills…
Nine
Blaston
“What do you mean she escaped?” I hovered my fingertips over the candlelight until it started to sear the flesh, the heat baking into my skin, sure to leave a red smear. I swung my eyes to the soldier as I extinguished the flame with a quick breath. The dim light in the tent was even further dimmed. I clapped my hands and fluorescents flashed on. I hated their flickering agony and the way they attracted bugs from the outside. I preferred to light my quarters with just candles, giving an eerie glow to the paperwork and prisoners who passed before my desk.
The soldier gulped, visibly trembling, and clutching his pant legs down at his side. “We just had the return report from the men who went into the city, sir. Lady Zaya was being held at the south precinct. Apparently there was a Curan in the cell with her. He took mind control over her and the guard, and they escaped. There is a severe snowstorm in between us and the city at this time, so we are unable to track them, but we have a contingent on the ground ready to follow their route as best they can. We think they are headed toward Astrida.”
My heart skipped a beat and mouth went dry. Skarde. That bloody Berserker. There weren’t many men I feared, but he was admittedly one of them. He was fearless in battle and a leader whose soldiers followed and loved him unconditionally. He was the leader of Astrida’s mining facilities, usually amassing the most calasis for transport and export that Vailstor produced. He was unpredictable and dismissive of the concerns of Vailstor as a whole. His only concern was for his people. He was meant to be gently controlled and he had I had a peaceable understanding at this time… I didn’t want this woman to come between us. That might spell trouble for my other interests, namely the entire governance of this planet.
“Lady Zaya has contacts there?”
“So it is said. She will plead for sanctuary there, sir. And you know how Skarde treats asylum seekers.”
“Yes. We must make sure we stop her before she gets to Astrida. But… if she is still with the Curan, I don’t think that will be a problem…”
I rubbed my beard and mustache. This had to be the emissary from Farian. It was surprising that they had only sent one, but then, they were a very proud, almost arrogant, warrior race. And if he was just charged with giving me the offer of alliance, then, there would be no need for back-up. I had no need to feel threatened by him.
Why he had escaped with my soon-to-be new bride, I didn’t know. She may have told him some tale that pulled at his heartstrings. He might just be using her, in which case his head would be one for the slaughter, too, regardless of the deal Farian might have to offer. Who knew? Regardless, when he realized it was my bride that he was interfering with, I was sure he would back off. Curans were nothing if not rational and prudent, and particularly loyal to the Beast King and his throne. If it wasn’t just some strange coincidence, then we didn’t have to worry about them going to Astrida just yet: they would come straight north, they would be headed right into my hands.
I had paid a pretty price for Lady Zaya, and not just monetarily compensating her father and the chieftain of her village in the northeast mountains. I had chosen not to burn down and pave over their village, instead moving my route through the mountains just a few miles south. It didn’t seem like much of a cost, but it left us more open to attack in a certain pass, particularly from Skarde’s men, if he ever chose to take sides, say with General Truloy, if it came to blows between her and I over who ruled this planet. The road wouldn’t even be able to be constructed until this next summer, and I was already reaping the rewards of the deal.
Sometimes, I still worried that I had made the right choice. Had I chosen my own happiness over the power of my military’s might? Had I potentially put young soldiers and my throne in danger during some future battle?
But Zaya was so beautiful… I licked my lips and my pants tightened just a bit, just thinking of the way her hips swayed and her breasts swelled when she gasped out my name.
I had wanted her. So I took her. But, I was trying to win the favor of the populace, since I was the leader of the world now, so I compensated her father, quite generously, in my opinion. Granted, it had been a: “give me your daughter and I will give you money and not destroy your homes” type of situation, but he was a wise man, understanding to the ways of the world…
She had seemed happy the first few months, adjusting to life in army barracks, training in the weapons she chose to with my most elite soldiers, but then she started to turn sour and run away for hours at a time, hard to find, and she would refuse my advances…
I hit my fist in my hand. I thought it was just because we weren’t married yet, so I had commanded some of the women to start laying those plans with her. I was kind of busy these days, couldn’t she understand? Bloody woman…
I would find her. I would find her and I would teach her a lesson, and then I would show her what love with me could be like, and she would fall for me, like I planned her to all along.
She would be my Queen once my plan was complete, standing next to me for all to see, with her gorgeous turquoise eyes and cunning wit.
My plan was for conquest of the planet and General of the military wasn’t enough:
I wanted a crown. I wanted to be called King.
Ten
Cartari
Frost was starting to show on the inside panes of the window glass. The storm was still roaring outside and it was threatening to break down the door. The warm, rosy glow of the cabin had been reduced to a slight hue just around the fireplace. Zaya was snuggled deep into her towel mound, huddled as close as she could to the fire. I could just see the shine of her turquoise eyes, tracing my movements as I rose and put on my cloak. I had been delaying that move as long as I could, but now I could see my breath inside and my fingertips were starting to stiffen with cold. I slipped on my gloves.
I dug into one of the baskets that had held the towels and pulled out a pair of slender, kid’s leather gloves. I tossed them to Zaya. “They are better than nothing. Will your hands fit?”
She pulled them onto her dainty hands and balled them into fists. “Thank you. That’s much better.”
I rolled over the logs that lay in front of the fire. They were just too damp. I had pulled them inside hours ago, to try and dry them
out more quickly, but they had been rescued from under days of snow pack. I put one on the fire, anyway. The flame feebly licked at the dried bark. Maybe it would help.
If the storm lasted many more days, it might start to get difficult for us, here. We could try to sleep close together, keep each other warm, but I doubted Zaya would be on board for that… There had to be a break soon, or we would start burning the furniture. It might come to that, anyway. Those towel-holding baskets would be first to go.
I looked down at Zaya and she was staring at me with such earnest concentration that I laughed. “What? Do you have a question?” She shook her head and her eyes refocused on mine. She had had the look of someone trying to read someone’s mind, actually… I grinned… Was she trying to reach me telepathically? I had pulled back from reading her mind at all, out of respect. But I had been pretty lax about my own guards. On Farian, we were trained from a very young age how to put up mental boxes and blocks, so that people couldn’t just easily read your mind. I hadn’t really bothered here, knowing it was unlikely I would stumble across any other telepaths.
But, was it possible some sort of connection had transferred to her from the mental link I had created when controlling her mind? I didn’t know all the nuances of how that worked… It was possible…
I moved back to my chair and settled in. I pulled the fur collar of my coat up close around my mouth, so she couldn’t see me smiling, and then closed my eyes, mostly. They were still open just a slit and I could see her from my leaned back position, the chair propped back just on two legs, my boot holding it steady against the wall. She was staring at me eagerly, earnestly, again.