by Susan Illene
Bailey blanched. “There’s something like that out there?”
“I’m afraid so.” The pendragon’s lips thinned.
“We can’t let her have it.”
“I am glad you understand that,” the pendragon said, nodding at her.
“Where is it?” she asked.
Nanoq didn’t answer right away. He stared at her, weighing her worthiness and all that he’d learned about her today. Had she managed to gain enough of his trust?
“It was lost thousands of years ago. We thought it was only a myth until recently, but now we know it was broken into three fragments. Each of those is hidden somewhere in this region, though we are still narrowing down the precise locations for where to start looking. According to our source, it will require a very specific group of people to recover the orb,” Nanoq informed her.
Bailey frowned. “What kind of group?”
“There must be a member with dragon blood, a sorcerer, a human, and a slayer.” He shifted on his feet. “They must be allied and working together in order to pass the tests protecting each orb fragment.”
“If it’s that hard, Verena shouldn’t be able to get it. Why not just leave the pieces hidden?” Bailey asked.
Aidan had wondered the same thing until his uncle had told him the rest of what he translated from the page.
“According to the prophecy, someone very powerful—we don’t know who—will find a way if we don’t obtain the orb first. A reign of terror will follow once they have it and many will die.” Nanoq’s gaze darkened. “That is not a risk we can take.”
“So what about Danae?”
“If she proves trustworthy, she will be the sorceress to go with you,” Nanoq said.
“Why not him?” Bailey jutted her chin toward Xanath.
The pendragon glanced at the man in question. “He is too old to make such a treacherous journey, and I am unwilling to risk allowing any of the other sorcerers we have at the fortress go, either. We need someone whose magic is used to help, not hurt. Aidan believes your friend could be the right one.”
In fact, Aidan was surprised Nanoq was telling the slayer this much. He’d thought the pendragon would keep her in the dark for as long as possible. Something had happened during the interrogation to make him believe she was at least somewhat trustworthy.
“Will Xanath have to probe her mind, too?” Bailey asked.
“Verena has tampered with your mind,” the sorcerer stepped into the conversation. “From what I saw, she gave you back all of the memories she’d clouded, but I have no way of knowing what she has done to your friend and neither do you. The only way to be certain is for me to look inside.”
Bailey’s shoulders slumped. “And if Verena did do something to her?”
“I will attempt to fix the problem. The sorceress is powerful, but her control over the mind is not as great as my own. As long as your friend does not resist, it should not be a problem. But if not, we will have to judge her as a threat—even if it is not her fault,” he answered.
“And what would you do then?” Bailey’s voice held a thread of anger in it.
Nanoq answered this question, “If her mind has been altered in a way that makes her dangerous, and she cannot be fixed, we will have to confine her. Should we believe that is not enough to guarantee our safety, she will have to be executed.”
“You’re not killing her,” Bailey said, her brown eyes flashing with outrage.
The pendragon gave her a hard look. “There is just as much chance that Verena made her a threat to you and other humans as much as us. Would you want someone around your people who may turn at any moment and hurt them? I believe I saw a pregnant woman among you earlier today.”
Bailey rose to her feet. “Danae has spent the last week using her magic to help people sick with the flu. She has fought to protect her friends countless times since this whole dragon invasion started, and she’s healed me when I’ve needed it. She’s not a threat!”
“Let us hope so,” Nanoq said.
She was quiet a moment, her mind clearly racing. “If you’re going to convince her to cooperate, it would help if you let me out of these shackles. I’ve spent a lot of time around Aidan and trust him, so I was willing to let your sorcerer probe my mind without a fight, but she’s going to be harder to convince. Seeing that you’ve freed me would go a long way to earning her good will.”
The pendragon worked his jaw. “Would you swear an oath to me that you will not harm anyone in this fortress and that you will not attempt to leave without my permission?”
“How long do you plan to keep me here?” Bailey asked.
“I cannot answer that for certain at this time, but it should not be for more than a few days.”
Bailey glanced at Aidan and then back to Nanoq. “And if someone attacks me, am I allowed to defend myself?”
“No one will attack you,” he said, a promise in his eyes. “You and your friend will remain down here, and the guards will have orders not to allow anyone into this area except who I authorize.”
“Fine.” She exhaled a breath. “I promise not to hurt any of your people or try to escape.”
Aidan stepped forward, unable to hold back any longer. “Bailey, do you recall what it means to make that promise?”
“It’s a blood oath, isn’t it?” She swallowed. “The one I didn’t complete before?”
Because he couldn’t bear to make her carry through with it after he saw how barbaric she found it. He nodded. “It is.”
Her shoulders tightened, and everyone waited for her answer. “I’ll still make that promise.”
The slayer never ceased to amaze him.
When the pendragon reached for his dagger, Aidan stopped him. “I will do it.”
“Are you certain you can?” Nanoq gave him an inquiring look.
Even he saw there was more to their relationship than they admitted, which was worrisome, but not something they could do much about now. This had to be done. It wasn’t a matter of whether Aidan could thrust a blade into the woman he cared about or not. He only knew he would rather do it than let the pendragon hurt her—never mind it was the only way to keep his beast in check.
“I am.” Aidan pulled his dagger and turned to Bailey. “Do you remember how it is done?”
She nodded slowly. “Yes.”
“It will hurt, but you will heal,” he said as a reminder.
And by stabbing her, he would be proving his loyalty to his toriq and the pendragon. His true reasons for doing this didn’t matter. Aidan knew where to strike to bring about a believable amount of pain, but cause the least amount of damage. It was the best he could do for her. Pain and blood were part of the dragon way of life. By swearing a vow to one of their kind, she’d agreed to step into their world, and she could not take that back. He’d taught her enough to know that.
Bailey stared into Aidan’s eyes, her gaze becoming resolute. “Do it.”
His respect for her grew. His little dragon slayer had grown into a strong woman during these past months.
Aidan pulled up her camrium top enough to expose a small section of her stomach. It was all he could do not to admire her flat belly and light olive skin as she continued to stare at him, trusting him despite what he was about to do to her. Just two months ago, he’d kissed her in this spot and reveled in the softness of her skin. Aidan hated to mar such perfection. His only consolation was that she would heal without a scar. He waited until she exhaled her breath, then thrust the blade into her. She let out a small cry and bowed over, the chains at her wrists rattling as she pulled at them. He couldn’t allow her discomfort to affect him—not now with the others watching.
Aidan pulled the blade from her and set it on the table. “Sit.”
He couldn’t help her in any way. According to custom, that would be an insult and imply she was weak. This was the reason only the strong were even allowed to give such oaths. He had to watch, hiding his emotions, as she unsteadily fell back into the chair. B
lood poured from the wound he’d given her, leaking onto her camrium pants. Aidan couldn’t see Bailey’s face since she’d ducked her head down, but he could hear her ragged breathing. She was bravely doing everything she could not to make any more sounds of pain.
He pulled a key from his pocket and came around behind her. Wasting no further time, he took the shackles off her wrists. Slowly, she brought her hands around to grip her belly. Some of her hair fell into her face. Aidan wanted to push it away and look into her eyes. Instead, he retrieved his blade and drew a cloth from shiggara to clean it before putting it back in its sheath.
A few minutes later, Bailey removed her hands and checked the wound. Because he’d made it a clean cut, the bleeding had already slowed. Soon it would stop, and her skin would begin to knit itself back together. In another day, only a faint trace of the wound would remain, and a day after that it would be gone entirely. Aidan reminded himself of these things in an attempt to make himself feel better about it.
Bailey lifted her head and gave him a weak smile. “Can I have a cloth?”
He gave her a fresh one. She used it to clean up as much of the blood as she could, then pulled her top down to cover the wound and handed it back.
“We can talk to Danae now?”
Aidan looked at the pendragon.
Nanoq nodded. “Bring her in.”
Chapter 7
Bailey
I stood slowly, gripping my belly. My aching shoulders begged me to stretch them after having my hands shackled behind my back for hours, but I couldn’t bear to do it. My stomach hurt too much. The sharp pain wasn’t nearly as bad as the time a dragon knocked me off an office building roof—that had been much worse—but I definitely didn’t feel all that great.
Aidan had stabbed me just as hard as I’d stabbed him last summer. From a human woman’s standpoint, it hurt that he could even do that to me. From the dragon’s view of things, he’d just shown how much he respected me. When had my life become this complicated? I hoped he understood how much pride and fear I’d had to swallow to let his people take me, confine me, invade my mind, and then stab me. Never mind the promises I’d made. This kind of thing didn’t happen to normal people, but life on Earth hadn’t been normal for a while now. I could either roll with the punches or get slapped down by them.
Taking a fortifying breath, I shuffled my way to the wall. Danae was going to need the chair, and I wanted to present a strong front, even if all I really wanted to do was lie on the floor and curl into a ball. Better yet—sleep until the pain went away. Rest always sped up the healing process, but it wasn’t a luxury I could afford at the moment.
Aidan returned with Danae a few minutes later. Once she was in the room and he’d shut the door, he pulled the hood over her head. Had they left it on her this whole time? Her blond hair fell in tangles to just past her shoulders. The look in her eyes said her patience was wearing thin, and she wasn’t going to tolerate their crappy treatment for much longer. I understood how she felt.
“Sit,” the pendragon ordered, indicating the chair I’d just vacated.
She took the seat and glanced at me where I stood leaning against the wall. Her brows drew together. I probably looked pale, but at least the black camrium cloth hid any blood stains, and I’d wiped the excess off before my bleeding made much of a mess.
“Are you okay, Bailey?” Danae asked, running her gaze up and down my body.
“Just peachy.” I forced a smile.
Nanoq glanced at Aidan. “Peachy?”
“Humans say strange things. What relation a fruit has to her current condition, I do not know,” he said, then came to stand next to me. He winked at me before focusing his attention on Danae. I’d told him what “peachy” meant months ago when he heard it the first time, but he probably enjoyed keeping his pendragon in the dark about that one. If you couldn’t defy your pendragon in a big way, do it in a bunch of small ways.
Now it was time for me to play my part. If I wanted Danae to survive, I had to make sure she didn’t fight Xanath or the shifters. I gave her a meaningful look. “I need you to cooperate with these guys.”
Her expression turned flat. “After one of them stabbed you in the stomach? I can sense your injury from here, Bailey. Why would I cooperate with them after they hurt you?”
And this was the main reason I’d chosen to stand. If she’d found me huddled on the floor, I wouldn’t have stood a chance of convincing her. At least if I acted like my wound wasn’t a big deal, she might consider listening.
“Don’t worry about me.” I waved a hand. “I asked for it.”
Danae narrowed her eyes. “Nobody asks to be stabbed in the stomach. That’s ridiculous.”
“Dragon customs are a little different from humans, and anyway, you know I’ll heal in no time,” I said, forcing myself to stand a little straighter. Please, God, let this wound heal soon. It was all I could do to hide the pain radiating across my abdomen and play it off like it was nothing for Danae’s benefit.
“If you think I’m going to let them stab me, you’re crazy.” She scowled at the shifters.
“That will not be necessary, and I would not ask it of you.” The pendragon moved closer to her. “But we will need you to answer some questions.”
She gave him a suspicious look. “Like what?”
“Tell us about your relationship to the sorceress, Verena.”
Danae’s face twisted. “She helped train me when I first discovered I had healing powers, but I stopped going to see her a couple of weeks ago.”
“Why?” I asked, already knowing the answer but needing her to tell them.
“There’s something…dark about her.” She paused, and a shudder ran through her body. “Like if I stayed around Verena much longer, she’d taint me, too.”
“That was a wise decision,” Xanath said, easing into the chair next to her.
“You’re a sorcerer too, aren’t you?” She studied him. “I can feel the magic coming from you.”
“The fact you need to ask tells me you are still quite new to your abilities.”
She lifted her chin. “Maybe, but I’ve learned a lot.”
“That is what the slayer tells us.” Nanoq drew her attention back to him. “But we need to assess how much the sorceress has affected you. To do this, you must allow Xanath to probe your mind.”
She pulled back in her seat. “Uh, no. I’m not letting anyone mess around in my head.”
“Danae, he really needs to do it.” I pushed off the wall and came closer to her, ignoring the pull of my wounded stomach. “Verena messed around in my head, and Xanath thinks it’s likely she messed with yours too, especially because you spent more time with her.”
“I also believe that your instinct to get away from her was your subconscious trying to protect you,” the sorcerer added.
Her green eyes sparked. “How do I know you won’t mess with my mind, too?”
She had a point, but the whole time Xanath had been peering into my head, he didn’t hide his activities. He was very careful to keep me aware of what he saw and did, including sharpening my memories of Verena. It made it a lot easier to trust him and let him keep going. If he’d rooted around in there while obscuring his actions, that would have made me fight against him. When he’d showed me the cloudy scenes with Verena, I’d seen what she’d done. How she’d made me forget the exact location of her home and even visits I’d had with her. The sorceress had invaded my mind and manipulated it, leaving me feeling violated, but Xanath hadn’t been that way. He’d been kind and gentle, pushing no more than absolutely necessary. I didn’t get the bad taste in my mouth with him that I did with Verena.
I related all of this to Danae, explaining why it would be a good thing to let Xanath inside.
“It’s still an invasion of my privacy,” Danae argued.
“Don’t you want to know what she’s done to you?” I asked, giving her a pleading look. She didn’t know yet that this would happen whether she liked it or
not. Better to let her think it was a choice. “There’s a possibility Verena has put subliminal commands in your mind for you to hurt people. Do you really want to find out about that after it’s too late?”
Danae gazed at the back wall, her jaw hardening as she considered it. “How do I know this sorcerer won’t do the same thing?”
“I would not,” Xanath said, appearing offended. “You need only open your mind, and you will see.”
She sighed. “Will it get me out of these shackles?”
“Once we are assured you pose no threat to us,” the pendragon responded.
“Please, Danae. Cooperation between them and us has to start somewhere.” I gave her a pleading look. “We both know they have the power to force us to do whatever they want, but instead they’re asking first.”
Danae’s shoulders slumped. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”
The tension in me eased. Danae was a smart woman, and she had to see we only had one way out of this mess.
Xanath pulled the chair closer to her and gave her the same instructions he’d given me. “I need you to relax and open your mind as much as possible.”
“Easier said than done,” she grumbled.
It took a minute before the tension lining her face eased. Slowly, Danae took deep breaths in and out. Her eyes closed and her body relaxed a little more as the sorcerer’s calming voice rolled over her. Now that I watched from a distance, I saw how his power could mesmerize a person. No wonder I’d managed to let my guard down. It had been a lot easier than expected when he’d worked on me.
Danae jerked hard when he began his infiltration.
Xanath blanched at whatever he found. “The sorceress has put strong barriers around your mind that I cannot penetrate. Only you can find a way to unlock them. Imagine there is a large door in front of you, and you need a key to open it. Envision the key in your hand.”
Thick tension filled the room. It was all I could do to stand there while my friend struggled against whatever was going on in her mind.
“Okay, I’ve got it,” she said.