“Careful, Mord. Push me too far, and you won’t like how hard I push back,” Jess warned, even as Mord strode up to her, bold as brass, his fingers gently clasping her sword hand, his lips softly caressing her own.
She swore to herself that the flutter in her chest was outrage, and nothing more, even as the arrogant lordling gently brushed his lips against her ear, Jess shivering with his whispered words. "Galeck Borson. Beware, Jess. That one has sold his soul for silver." He stepped back, favoring Jess with a cold smile. "A silver tongue, if you will. And if you would save your friend, you had best step to it quick, upon your dainty little feet. For I have only just now found out the news, this man who seeks a prize you would claim for yourself treads within the hallowed halls of Highrock, even as we speak." Mord chuckled softly. "Tread carefully, my betrothed. This man is not one you want to cross."
Jess hissed. “A name, Mord. Who is this Galeck after?”
Her old nemesis quirked his lips in a half smile, giving a slight shake of his head. “Is it not obvious, my fallen angel? What does a man who has sold his soul for silver want more than anything else?”
Jess hissed, her heart suddenly hammering. “Gold. He's after Raphael!”
Mord gave a bemused tilt of his head. “Close enough, my treasure. Close enough. And so you see, in all ways I have held up my end of the bargain, allowing no harm to come to those you value the most, particularly upon school grounds, for all that only my most... peripheral associations can be said to permeate that side of the pond.” He chuckled softly. “One could indeed say that I have, in fact, exceeded my obligations. I do think future favors shall be in order, my dear Jessica. But for the nonce, I would suggest you make haste. You have what will be a most grateful golden goose to rescue, do you not? And time is not on your side.”
Jess grimaced, forcing herself to say what needed to be said as a matter of honor, as much as it galled her. “I sense no malice in your words. No deception. You mock me only with your own sincerity.” Jess sighed. “Thank you for the word of warning, Mord. Were I not well aware of the savagery of your character, I would say that I was in your debt. As it stands, let me instead say I loathe you an iota less than I did but an hour ago.”
Mord flashed a silky grin. "You are indeed in my debt, Jessica de Calenbry. And one day you shall be beholden to me for life, in chains of obligation and vows of marriage." He laughed softly even as Jess felt her lip curl in a snarl. "Get off your high horse, Jess. Billy was but one piece to the puzzle that is my future wife. Had I not discovered how precious a prize you are; fierce, passionate, and oh so very savage as we savored what are far closer to dark rites than your Eloquin will ever admit, I would never have realized that you were the woman I sought."
Jess felt her heart race, cheeks flushing with sudden shame, unable to deny how her blood had boiled with righteous fury whenever she embraced the High Hunt under Eloquin's black banner, reveling in the bloodshed as fiercely as any savage. No matter how just her cause, the dark glee she felt, butchering her foes, was anything but righteous. In those moments alone, it was as if she, Malek, and Mord fought as one, dark souls perfect mirrors of one another.
Bloody revels indeed. No wonder Mord gazed at her so possessively. On some primal level, Jess was every bit the monster that Mord himself was. It only took the exhilaration and terror of fighting for her life to reveal the howling demon just beneath the surface of who she pretended to be.
"You will find submitting to my dominance sweet, my wayward filly, when at last you are ready to abase yourself before me. I promise you that. But keep your fierce temperament for the nonce. You will need it, facing what is in store for you."
His mocking smile turned serious but a moment more. “Remember my words, Jessica de Calenbry. If I were you, I’d avoid all contact with those not of your coterie until you have the people you value so dearly ensconced someplace safe.” Mord gave an almost pitying shake of his head. “Remember, my sweet, a silver tongue can be used to pull strings on many levels. Have you truly yet to wonder why your assigned henchmen have failed to arrive?”
With those final words Mord turned away from a speechless Jess, walking at a brisk pace toward his companions, hanging discretely back until the young lord rejoined them, and Jess couldn’t help but note how cautious they all were, eyeing everyone and everything carefully even as they made their way back to the main keep, for all that Mord's superior smile remained firmly in place.
“Well now, what an interesting conversation that was,” a bemused Twilight noted, appearing seemingly from the ether but moments later as a shaken Jess made her way back to her companions.
Jess winced. "Never mind that, Twilight. What about Raphael? We have to keep him safe! What are we waiting for? Let us report this Galeck character to the dean at once!"
Twilight's expression turned grave. “Such would not be wise, dearest Jess. For the moment Mord whispered the name, I felt the man's foul currents upon the ether. Your old nemesis did not deceive you in this, at least. Galeck Borson is indeed making a move, and a direct audience with the dean was the first step. Apparently, he holds a writ of arrest against none other than our dear Raphael diOnni.”
Jess felt suddenly sick. "Let me guess. Accompanying him are the men that were supposed to serve as our bodyguards upon our little sojourn."
Her familiar gave a slow nod. "Dark games indeed are afoot, my mistress. How compromised are we if even Mord was able to surmise at least some aspects of our journey? That this silver-tongued diabolist managed to intercept and hoodwink or mesmerize the very men we were to make use of, is an example of either the random vagaries of battle, or that our own position is utterly compromised. Either way, I think you know what we must do."
Jess's heart hammered with her familiar's words. Even were it by merest chance, this Galeck now controlled the one quartet of men fully armed and armored at this hour who were not school guards. Men that were to aid Jess in a mission of dire import, now at the beck and call of a man hunting down her friend in the halls of Highrock.
Her mission had suddenly taken a grave turn. She feared her friend's very life was now in peril, if a diabolist was the one holding a writ of imprisonment for gods above knew what nefarious end. She still must flee with all haste, but only after rescuing Raphael from the trap even now closing in.
“Come, Twilight. We have no time to lose!”
Twilight nodded even as they strode with all haste back to their friends. “Breathe easy, my mistress, and forget not the lessons of discipline and tactics Eloquin has worked so hard to hammer into your head. The dean, ever our friend, is even now doing what he can to delay this Galeck, but I fear we have little time, even so.”
“Jess, what's wrong?" Malek favored his shieldsister with a concerned glance, having no doubt heard her mutter and curse to herself. "Did Twilight give warning?"
Jess grimaced, gazing intently at her friends. “Raphael is in trouble. Infernalists are even now arranging for his capture and imprisonment with a false writ of arrest. According to Mord, the spearhead of their gambit is a master manipulator of some sort. Who knows how long it will take before he sways the whole school to serve his interests?”
“Bloody hells!” Malek hissed. “We have to make our way to Raphael's quarters. We have no time to lose!”
“Jess, are you sure? This bit of insight was gained from Mord, after all. Who knows what his real motives are?” Alex asked softly, for all that he did not hesitate to pick up his pace as Jess all but raced for the back entrance, planning to go down various rarely used backways that honeycombed through the massive keep. Hidden passageways their band was well versed in traversing, all the better to get to their midnight rendezvous with a minimum of awkward questions from sleepless professors.
Jess glared for a moment, before flashing a tired sigh as Alex visibly blanched before her. “I'm sorry, Alex. Forgive my ire. But yes. I am quite sure.” She took a deep breath as she weighed her words carefully. “I sensed it, Alex. There was no m
alice in his words. No trace of deception. Whatever games Mord may be playing, what he said about Raphael, implying that he was but minutes from being seized and eventually thrown into a cold cell at the hands of diabolists was very much the truth, as he understands it to be.”
Jera hissed. “Bloody hells indeed.”
“Jess, don't go through that door!”
Jess stopped cold at Twilight's alarmed hiss, before ever so softly caressing the thin pine door leading to the main corridor ahead and just a few floors from Raphael's quarters. Jess grimaced and had to fight the impulse to jump back.
She sensed what lay just beyond the door.
Voices she heard then. One filled with a warm bonhomie that Jess recognized instantly as the dean, the other coldly sibilant. She could feel its owner's malice even through the door.
“I assure you, Lord Borson, no children are lurking about the corridors at this hour. Let's say we head to the grounds outside and enjoy a bracing bit of air and refreshments our cook will whip up in no time. I shall have another look at those documents under better light, and we shall see if there has been, perhaps, some misunderstanding...”
“I assure you, Lord Echobart, there is absolutely no misunderstanding!” The sibilant voice coldly cut the dean off mid-speech. “And I am no fool, whatever you may think. A doorway such as this would be all too easy for wanted criminals to use as an avenue of escape. I think it best if I have several of my... recruits, soldiers who at least know that their ultimate duty is to obey royal writ, guard this corridor. They will bring any riffraff discovered lurking about these hallways to my attention at once.”
“You will refrain from referring to any of the wards placed under my care as 'riffraff', Lord Borson.” The dean's voice was suddenly cool. “Regardless of their reasons for being there.”
"Silence, Echobart, lest you'd make your own situation any worse than it already is, when I tell the Crown Agent that I serve of your reprehensible attempts to delay and displace the direction of my queries!” The man began to pound on the door, Alex and Jera exchanging near panicked looks, Jess smiling, hit with sudden inspiration.
“By the nine infernals, why is this door locked? I thought you said this was a public corridor. There are no locks. Is it barred from the other side? Well, answer me, fool!”
“I have nothing more to say to you, sirrah. And rest assured, the Council will be receiving a most detailed report of your behavior, Lord Borson, and we shall see what they have to say about your utter lack of respect, vile innuendo, and none too subtle threats!”
“You don't want to do that, Echobart.” Galeck's voice, harshly sibilant but moments before, took on an oddly reverberating quality, and Jess hissed as she sensed something vile and rotten resonate from it. She understood at that moment she dared hesitate not a moment longer.
“You all know the back-rout to Jacob's quarters. Take it, get him, and I will meet you all at the stables!”
“Bloody hells, Jess, what are you up to?” Malek hissed, even as Jess shoved him back the way they had come.
“No time, Malek. Protect Jera and Alex. Now move!” And with that, Jess sent a gentle pulse of her will to the rigid pine door that suddenly burst open, a furious Galeck and several of his recruited soldiers literally falling into the side corridor.
With a fierce growl the man lurched to his feet and Jess caught just a glimpse of his dead silver gray eyes before sprinting back down the corridor, sickened by what she saw.
“Wait, you there! Stop at once and identify yourself!” Galeck roared, crashing into the side passage Jess had deliberately popped open, but not before her friends had made themselves scarce going back down the corridor the way they had come. Jess felt a sudden lurch of compulsion then, washing over her like festering lice.
It was then that she felt a hot sting even as the odd feeling left her, surprised to see herself holding a blooded dagger in her own shaking grip, her left cheek throbbing with an oddly comforting ache.
“You there! Halt in the name of the king!”
They were far enough in, Jess reasoned, and she knew that even Malek had had the sense to make himself scarce. With a single gentle command she sprung her trap, the pine door from which one Lord Borson and his henchmen had entered the dimly lit side corridor suddenly slamming itself shut behind them.
And in the moment the furious lord spun around with an angry shout Jess darted about the turn she had been racing toward, making her way for a well-remembered exit even as her dangerous opponent could be heard frantically pounding the door now sealed to him.
“You will pay for this, trollop! Do not think I shall forget your face!” The man shrieked, near incoherent with rage, even as he continued to bang fruitlessly upon stubborn wood that would not yield. “I shall have a king's warrant out for you and your family entire, you little whore, see if I don't!”
And suddenly Jess stopped cold before a second entranceway to the main corridor, her hand spasming reflexively upon her sword hilt, her mind contemplating unforgivable things.
And as quick as that, the door before her was abruptly yanked open. Jess found herself locking stares with the hawk-like gaze of none other than Lord Eloquin himself.
Jess blinked, dumbstruck, mind infuriatingly blank, not knowing what to do or say.
Eloquin gave a sad shake of his head. “Why is it that as brilliant as you are at seizing the Vor upon the battlefield, you are a poleaxed sheep when it comes to dealing with the political currents within your own camp?” His wry tone immediately became the clipped voice of authority she knew so well, springing instantly into action at his words.
“Do what you need to do, Jess. And do it damned quick. You and Malek were sent on a training mission last night, and I don't expect to see the pair of you for at least two weeks with a full report of any suspicious activity at our border. Am I clear, Squire of War? Now move!”
And without further word Eloquin spun on his heal and sauntered back the way he came, as if nothing were out of the ordinary, completely ignoring the screams and curses emanating from the doorway nearby, fluidly accosting a confused looking dean who even Jess could tell from a distance looked as if he were lost in a waking dream.
Jess gave a shuddering breath of relief, determined to make good on her commander's act of grace on her behalf. Having no desire to risk running into Galeck's remaining henchmen still in the main corridor, Jess made a beeline for her friend's quarters, Twilight gamely informing her of any and all parties crossing their path.
Just in time Jess spotted a pair of the overzealous guards making a beeline for Raphael's quarters before she slammed into them from behind before running off, the two roaring after her, Twilight gamely helping her to avoid too many witnesses as she led them on a merry chase deep within the keep, until they stumbled upon one of the all but forgotten reading dens, the guard's guttural shouts of triumph sounding sickeningly like the grunts of beasts who wanted to do far more than capture her. And though Jess would never be a scholar she was still a fair hand with books, particularly at throwing them, and two bloodied noses and a slammed door behind her that would not budge no matter how hard the guards banged and carried on, left her laughing with relief as she once more made her way at a mad sprint towards her friend's quarters.
“An interesting use of Pontiff's essays, my dear Jess, and quite frankly, more than that blowhard ever deserved. Still, though our oaken friends are no doubt happy to keep those vermin contained for a bit, there is no telling if that Galeck has managed to free himself from the backways yet, or how many people he has managed to sway to his cause by way of writ or his infernal tongue.” Twilight's grim expression instantly stilled Jess's ebullience at having so bested the men behind her.
“And of course, now that pair knows exactly who I am. Best we make ourselves scarce. We can always claim that we received warning that a dire plot was afoot weeks from now, when our enemies have hopefully crawled back into the woodwork, or even that we thought it all a test.”
&
nbsp; Twilight gave a solemn nod. "Assuming our foes do not use this opportunity to hammer the first spike into this ill-sprung crack to assure our downfall, no doubt all misunderstandings can be mended. Weeks or months from now. 'Til then, best we make ourselves utterly scarce. And I do believe that is Raphael's door ahead.”
Even as her familiar made the observation, Jess was already knocking on her friend's door with some urgency, her fierce pulse of anxiety causing the stout oaken door to spring open of its own accord, locks flying off and spell wards fizzling away harmlessly at her entrance. Wasting no time, Jess raced within the chambers, caring little for Josie’s flustered squawk, Raphael gazing at Jess with a look of supreme exasperation even as he did his utmost to cover Josie and preserve her dignity, the pair only separating with Jessica’s abrupt entrance.
“No time!” Jess curtly declared. “Get dressed and get that which you most value ready to go, just as soon as you can! You have enemies, my brother, of a most vile nature who even at this moment come for you with writs sealed in blood and lies, and a dagger no doubt waiting in the dark of a nameless cell. We need to go, and we need to go now!”
Raphael’s gaze turned grim, all pretense of modesty instantly superseded by the gravity of his friend’s news. “Are things truly that bad, Jess?”
Jess sighed. “Perhaps it is all a bloody misunderstanding. Perhaps in between snuggling with your beau and your sardonic observations regarding our school's martial training programs you actually found the time to commit a crime so foul that a lord with a king's writ and an agent's influence has been given leave to bring you in, by any means necessary.”
For the first time in her life, Jess saw Raphael gaze at her in speechless befuddlement, a look of frightened confusion as he strove fruitlessly for the words to somehow clear up the horror of the predicament he now found himself in.
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