The Darkest Sword

by Samantha Kroese

  “Never,” the woman vowed and turned to the wall, tears in her eyes.

  “Why?” Ashiyn asked, curious. “I have only known one other human, and he was raised much as I was, in this land with these dragon-kin. I don’t understand. Explain.”

  The woman looked back at him with confusion and doubt on her beautiful features. “Why?” she echoed, “I loved my husband. I have been only with him. I won’t betray his love by allowing any other to touch me that way.” She frowned when she saw his confusion. “I suppose you don’t know what love is either.”

  “He is dead. He will never know.” Ashiyn frowned.

  “No! But I will know,” she snapped as she glared at him. “What? Do women usually just open their legs and lay back for you?”

  Ashiyn laughed, amused. “Actually, yes. That is why you interest me. You are defiant. The more you rage, the more excited I become.” He sobered at the glare he earned from her. “Do you have a name?”

  “Not one I am giving to you, filth. Why don’t you just get out if you’re not going to kill me?” The woman threw one of her empty dishes at him.

  Ashiyn side-stepped, then growled and used his magic to take control of her body, pushing her back on the bed as he advanced on her. He climbed on top of her despite her whimpering and leaned close. “My patience has limits. I am Prince of the world. I will someday be King of it. You would be wise to be more respectful. I don’t want to force you, but I will learn what I want from you one way or another. I am trying to be pleasant about it. I promise you I can be far less pleasant.”

  She seemed to melt with fear and stayed where he had put her when he released her. He got up and retreated to the doorway again, scowling, his amused mood soured. “Tell me your name, woman, or I will make one up for you.”

  “My name is Annalysa,” She muttered, her gaze locked on the floor, even though her fists were clenched and she shook with anger.

  “Where are you from?” Ashiyn asked calmly, though he shifted and prepared for her to strike. He could read it in every line of her body that she wanted to.

  “Sek, a small human town nearby,” Annalysa growled at him. “At least it was until your Master’s armies razed it to the ground. They killed everyone. I’m the last alive.”

  “A fact for which you could be grateful,” Ashiyn suggested.

  “If you think I prefer being your slave to being dead and free, you are mistaken,” She spat at him.

  Ashiyn started to think maybe Rhadamanthus was right about this one. He sighed and stretched out his hand. He used his magic to grab her and yanked her to him then slammed her against the wall and pressed close to her, pinning her there. “I promise you if I kill you, I will make you suffer far greater than you ever will as my slave. Do not test me. Please me and perhaps I will let you free once I am tired of you.”

  She stilled at that, staring into his eyes. “You will grant me my freedom?”

  “Or your death. Whichever you prefer at the time,” Ashiyn agreed as he reached to pull open her shirt a bit more to reveal her ample chest. He pressed closer to her and whispered into her ear. “I am sorry your family was slain. But we do not need to be enemies. I don’t want to be your enemy. Help me, and I will help you.”

  She swallowed, trembling beneath him. “What do you want from me? Besides the obvious?”

  “I want you to teach me about the humans. I want to understand the people I came from. Their ways, their struggles. I want to understand how I ended up here,” Ashiyn said as he traced his hand down over her and used it to pull her firmly against him. “Teach me and I will let you go.” He could feel her heart pounding in her chest.

  “That is not what you desire right now, is it, my Prince?” She asked as she slipped her fingers under his shirt then pulled it apart with enough force to tear it open. Then she tore the shirt from him and trailed her fingers over his muscles in appreciation.

  “I want to have you,” Ashiyn admitted. “But I will not take you by force.”

  “Negotiating a payment for my freedom is not much better to be quite honest,” Annalysa murmured as she trailed her fingers along his belt. “I have made it quite clear I do not want this.”

  “I think part of you does,” Ashiyn said as he trailed his hands down her arms then gently pulled her hands away from his belt before she could undo it. Then he stepped away and released her, retrieving the ruins of his shirt. “I’ve changed my mind. I will not give that to you until you beg me for it. My servants will attend you. I’ll be back with more questions later.”

  “That will never happen,” Annalysa promised, as he closed the door behind him.

  “Oh, yes it will,” Ashiyn muttered beneath his breath as he started away. It always did. None could deny him forever.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Ashiyn sat on the cool grass near the pool and looked down over the world below. Nearby Illusion snorted and gobbled up grass like he was half starved. Soryn sat next to him, silent, staring in wonder at the world laid out beneath them. They were so high they could see for many miles. Ashiyn had learned of this place from one of the army scouts and had immediately seen better purposes for it, so he had volunteered to scout today and brought Soryn with him.

  “It makes me feel so small and insignificant,” Soryn said after a while, glancing at Ashiyn. “How do you feel?”

  “Confident it will all belong to me one day,” Ashiyn shrugged as he glanced at his friend. “I will kill Rhadamanthus and become King of this world one day.”

  “Why stop at King? I’m sure you could manage god if you really put your mind to it,” Soryn laughed, teasing. Then he leaned closer. “I know I would worship you.”

  Ashiyn sighed and leaned away. The woman he wanted wouldn’t submit to him and the one he wanted as his friend wouldn’t stop suggesting things. “Why do you want me so badly, Soryn?”

  Soryn blinked at him, then turned to stare out at the landscape blankly as though he had to think for a few moments before he answered. “Don’t you know? You know. You have to know that you are perfection. Beautiful. There is no other man on this world that is your equal. You are trained to seduce.”

  “Women. I assure you that I am not attempting to seduce you,” Ashiyn snorted.

  “You don’t even have to try,” Soryn murmured. “I’m drawn to you for no reason other than you being who you are and the way you are. I would give anything to be with you as your lover.” Soryn furrowed his brows. “What’s bothering you?”

  Ashiyn picked a blade of grass and used his magic to wither it, drawing the life out of it to fuel his power. “There’s a woman I want, but she will not submit to me. I can’t seduce her. My attempts to do so only anger her.”

  “Idiot woman. Kill her. Take me to your bed instead. I promise I could outdo her anyway,” Soryn mumbled. Then he blushed when Ashiyn looked at him. “Sorry, did I say that aloud?” Soryn cleared his throat. “What woman?”

  Ashiyn rolled his eyes, and ignoring Soryn’s other comments, responded, “My slave. I saved her when Rhadamanthus destroyed her family,”

  “She’s a slave? And Rhadamanthus murdered her family? Having sex with you is going to be the last thing on her mind, Ashiyn. Honestly, you may never convince her.” Soryn shook his head. “Why do you want her so badly?”

  “Because she doesn’t want me. It confuses me,” Ashiyn grumbled. “Everyone wants me. Even you do.”

  “It’s not you. She’s broken,” Soryn said, then gently reached to trace his fingers over Ashiyn’s hand. “Can I show you something without you killing me?”

  “No promises,” Ashiyn said, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

  Soryn hesitated for a moment. “For purposes of seducing your woman, I will teach you something they like.”

  “How do you know what they like?” Ashiyn asked, skeptical.

  Soryn laughed, his eyes full of mirth. “I like women too.”

  “You like both?” Ashiyn asked, confused again. “I thought you told me Rurik only keeps boys at t
he tower.”

  “I am not always at the tower. Yes, I do like both. Now be quiet and let me show you,” Soryn mumbled then leaned close and pressed his lips to Ashiyn’s.

  Ashiyn balked back and glared at Soryn. He’d kissed plenty of women at Diredin’s palace, but always as part of something more. “Soryn.”

  “I promise I’m just teaching you a trick, don’t be absurd,” Soryn grumbled. “Now be quiet and learn the lesson.”

  Ashiyn stilled and Soryn tried again. Soryn kissed him slowly but didn’t try anything else. After a while Ashiyn pulled away, skeptical, eyes still narrowed as he eyed Soryn. He wasn’t sure how to feel about Soryn kissing him. Or rather, the fact that he enjoyed it. “I know how to kiss, Soryn. Isn’t that part of something else?”

  Soryn smirked and sat back, looking quite pleased with himself. “It can be. Maybe you should just try starting slow sometimes. Don’t jump right into bed, warm them up first. It was fun wasn’t it?”

  Ashiyn gave him an irritated look and got up to retrieve Illusion. “We need to go back now before we’re missed.”

  “As you say,” Soryn replied and followed, but he couldn’t stop grinning.

  Ashiyn returned Soryn safely to Rurik’s tower with no one the wiser, returned Illusion to the stable, and was quite pleased with himself. Their excursion had ended in plenty of time. His Master would never know he was gone. Or so he thought, until he neared his chambers. His main servant, a frail old lizardkin, trembled in the hall outside his chambers, head bowed in shame. Ashiyn immediately knew something terrible had happened, and he glanced toward Annalysa’s cell. The door was ajar, and his magic told him that his Master lurked inside the room.

  Ashiyn closed his eyes. Nothing good would come of this. He took a deep breath and glared at his servant. “Did he say anything to you?”

  The servant groveled low to the ground. “Sorry, Master. So sorry. He asked about Master and the woman. Asked what you were doing. Tortured. We had to tell.”

  Ashiyn steeled himself. So Rhadamanthus would know he hadn’t been using Annalysa for the stated purpose for which she had been spared. Well, there was no delaying the inevitable. Either she was dead already, or Rhadamanthus would try to force him to do something terrible to her himself. He was betting on the latter. Rhadamanthus took joy in forcing Ashiyn to do horrible things while he watched.

  Ashiyn had already made up his mind he was going to die again today by the time he shoved open the door. Rhadamanthus sat inside with a terrified Annalysa curled in the corner. Her clothing was in shreds and she cowered, desperately trying to cover herself. Ashiyn turned his cold gaze to Rhadamanthus instead. “Master, I thought you didn’t wish to waste your time on my slave?”

  “I was just warming her up for you, boy. I heard she was still being difficult. It’s well past time you taught her how to serve you. Now,” Rhadamanthus said, his black eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Unless you would rather watch while I teach her. I doubt she will survive if I do it. Human women are so frail.”

  Ashiyn clenched his fist as he met Annalysa’s eyes. Tears streaked her face already, but he didn’t think Rhadamanthus had touched her beyond tearing up her clothing and terrorizing her a little. How could he stop Rhadamanthus from harming her though without obeying?

  “Choose, boy. We have other business today,” Rhadamanthus growled, impatient. “Either take her, or I will.”

  Ashiyn held Annalysa’s gaze for a moment longer, then he let his cold gaze drift back to Rhadamanthus. “I will not. And neither will you. She is mine.” He slipped the blade off his back and stepped between her and Rhadamanthus, blade drawn but tip pointed at the floor, a threat. “Perhaps our time is better spent on that other business you mentioned, Master?”

  Rhadamanthus let out a long, draw-out sigh as he rose. “When will you learn not to defy me, boy? Why must you insist on these tiresome lessons?”

  Ashiyn braced himself and glared. “Perhaps you haven’t taught me well enough yet, Master.”

  “Is it worth dying for this worthless slave?” Rhadamanthus asked, scowling. “Make no mistake, if you do not take her, you will die.”

  Ashiyn rolled his shoulders then swung his blade. “Perhaps I thirst more for battle today, Master. Come, teach me.”

  “Fool of a boy,” Rhadamanthus growled then used his magic to yank Ashiyn’s blade from his hands and throw Ashiyn hard against the wall. Ashiyn had the brief thought during the horrible death that perhaps he’d pushed his Master just a little too far that time. He had expected a beating. Being shredded to death by His Master’s talons because Rhadamanthus wanted to teach the woman a lesson wasn’t exactly what Ashiyn had counted on. He barely heard Annalysa’s horrified screams over the pain. At least this death was swift.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Ashiyn scowled as he walked alongside Rhadamanthus. He couldn’t even remember what Rhadamanthus had done to kill him, but from the gnawing pain in his organs as they healed he probably didn’t want to know. He had awakened in a tent to oversee the army as was planned for the day. Rhadamanthus had scolded him as if he had merely overslept. Annalysa had not been mentioned, so Ashiyn thought perhaps Rhadamanthus had been sated with his death. He was certain Rhadamanthus would have bragged if he had raped and killed Annalysa. Ashiyn had only bought them time, though. Rhadamanthus would try again if he could not convince that woman to serve the purpose he had saved her for. At least the purpose he given Rhadamanthus.

  Ashiyn got jarred from his thoughts by a loud screech. Dark creatures swarmed the skies on leathery wings. They were coming up from the roiling ocean past the nearby cliffs, and they were hungry. Flesh-eating, flying fish. Wonderful. Ashiyn raised a brow when several descended on one of the guards and stripped him to bare skeletal bones within seconds. He drew his sword, a little nervous. Coming back from that sort of death would take more time and be more painful than he cared to experience. “What are those? Why are they here?”

  Rhadamanthus growled. He stepped up to the edge of the cliff and with raised hands, he summoned lightning from the storm clouds above. It danced through the air and fried the flying fish, then up the water as well. The smell of cooked fish filled the air and Ashiyn glanced over the cliff to see them popping up dead on the surface of the water. “Darkness wants to consume this world,” Rhadamanthus said as he turned away in disgust. “No heroes want to come deal with man-eating fish.”

  Ashiyn glanced away. The world had many heroes, so he had heard. But they never seemed to appear when they were needed and, if they did, they seemed inept at actually saving anyone, even themselves. Hero was just a name for an adventurer bold enough to try to hunt the black magic poisoning the land. He had his doubts that the fish were what kept the heroes away from Rhadamanthus’s lands though. Rhadamanthus was not known to be hospitable. In fact, the last one still hung impaled on the front gates when last he had noticed. “What is the source of the darkness?”

  “That is what I am trying to determine,” Rhadamanthus said with a shake of his head, his long black dreadlocks flying with the movement. “Take a battalion over the ridge there and see if you can find anything.”

  Ashiyn bit back a groan. His body still ached as it healed, and the last thing he wanted to do was ride one of those bumpy-gaited bulls that would jar him with every step. But there was nothing to be done for it; Illusion was far away, safe at the castle. “As you say, Master,” Ashiyn bowed to Rhadamanthus, though his Master didn’t even acknowledge it. Then he stalked over to one of the bulls and mounted while barking orders for the nearby soldiers to follow him.

  It had taken many years and a lot of battle and bloodshed to get his Master’s armies to respect him as their commander. Now they followed him without question. Sure enough, the bull’s lopsided canter jarred everything that was healing in his body with every step and Ashiyn grimaced against the discomfort.

  As they rode up over the ridge, it became quite clear what was causing the darkness in this section of the land. A broadsword
made of black metal stuck out of a platform of black stone. It was surrounded with runes of obscene ritual magic, each complete with a sacrifice impaled on a stick. An entire town lay sacrificed in the field around the blade, including women and children.

  The army balked behind him, superstitious and afraid of the magic. Ashiyn, could care less. What was the magic going to do? Kill him? What was another death today to add to the tally? He rode the bull as close as the beast would go and, when it balked and tried to unseat him, he dismounted and stalked through the field.

  The magic bounced like lightning between the ritualistic circles and crackled through the air. The smell of burnt flesh might have deterred even bolder soldiers, but Ashiyn barely noticed it. He walked right up to the podium and the blade. He heard whispers as he got close to them. The blade was speaking. No, not aloud, he realized. He was not hearing it with his ears. The whispers were echoing through his mind. He could not understand what they were saying, but they were seductive, and they pulled him closer to the sword. Pick it up. They wanted him to pick up the sword. Claim its darkness for his own.