The Black Knife

by Christopher Nuttall

  She had grown up on a farm and farm girls couldn't remain ignorant of the facts of life. Hind had been astonished to discover how many strange and stupid beliefs some of her fellow classmates at the Academy had had, or how they’d chatted about sex as if it were a game. She hadn't understood...until she felt her flesh swelling with desire and the pressure of a man’s body against her own. They’d talked about how a man could please them and how they could please a man, but they hadn't talked about how it was suddenly hard to say where one ended and the other began, or how two lovers seemed to merge together. It was hard, almost impossible to undress without tearing anything, yet somehow she managed it. Eric pushed her back on the bed gently, climbing on top of her and pushing his way into her...

  And then they were both lost in the sensation of two lovers discovering one another for the first time.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Hind awoke suddenly, feeling sunlight streaming through the window and onto her naked body. She shifted slightly and froze as she felt the weight of another body pushed against hers, before memory came flowing back and she remembered what had happened last night. Eric and she had finally – finally – consummated their marriage. Her eyes opened and she looked down at Eric, smiling at the odd expression on his face. He looked like a man who had just won the greatest competition in the world.

  She leaned back, feeling a whirlwind of emotions raging through her. Today – yesterday, more accurately – she'd become a woman. It was a silly thought – she hadn't been a teenager for several years – yet there was an odd flicker of truth in it. She had been tempted by a few men in her life – she recalled a crush when she’d been a child that would probably have ended badly if she hadn't come into her magic – but she’d never done more than kissed any other man. Even when she’d been at the Academy, surrounded by girls who were quite happy to explore their sexuality with a man, or each other, she had never surrendered her virginity. It had meant something to her, even though she could have easily avoided any possible consequences of giving it up too early, and she’d hung onto it. Besides, there were spells that only virgin women could use and she’d wanted to continue to use them as long as possible.

  But I am a virgin, she thought, in surprise. Not any more you’re not, part of her mind echoed back, mockingly. She had thoroughly lost her virginity last night. The thought kept echoing round and round in her head. She’d heard about what happened when a girl first slept with a man – some of the girls had complained that virgin men made lousy sex partners because they had no idea what to do with a girl – but Eric had been great in bed. But then, Eric had had the advantage of a ring that allowed him to feel what his wife was feeling and vice versa. He would have known if he had hurt her. All of the stories she’d heard from the girls, all of the conversations she’d overheard from the boys...none of them came close to reality.

  Carefully, almost afraid of what she might find, she allowed her hand to slide down to her groin and felt it, gently. There was a tiny dash of blood there – she felt a tiny flicker of soreness from where Eric had broken her maidenhead, although while she'd slept her body had drawn on her magic to heal herself – but there was no other sign of their lovemaking, apart from a deep and abiding contentment. She concentrated, allowing her magic to sweep over her body, and found no sign of injury. She laughed inwardly at herself a moment later. Women – and men – had been losing their virginity the human race had first walked upon the planet. She was nothing special in that regard, except that she’d lost it to a man who truly loved her and she loved back. She’d heard many tales of women who’d lost it to a rapist, or perhaps even to a man they didn't love, whatever they might have thought at the time. Love and lust were not the same thing. Hind had felt lust, for Eric and for other men, but not love, not until now.

  She looked over at Eric, her mind spinning. Last night, he’d been inside her. She wondered if she should have felt vulnerable, but instead she felt wonderful, as if something natural had happened. It had, she reminded herself dryly, remembering how she’d watched cows and sheep mating back on the farm. Humans might be able to think, something that most unmodified animals could never do, but they still needed to mate...and eat, and drink, and defecate. She leaned over and kissed his forehead gently, hoping he would wake up, yet somehow nervous about what might happen when he did. It was an odd sense of apprehension, a mixture of fear and hope, something that surprised her. She had always believed that sex was nothing more than...just sex.

  Eric’s eyes opened and looked up at her. His blue eyes met hers and they found themselves giggling. Hind’s mother had told her, when she’d turned into a mature woman – or at least one capable of having children – that she needed to be careful when dealing with a man, just after having sex for the first time. For men, sex and violence were linked together and a man could turn from loving to very nasty very quickly, if she said the wrong thing. Her mother had told her that she should praise the man’s performance, even if she’d left her completely cold, yet there was no need. Eric had felt her pleasure through the ring, just as she’d felt his pleasure. She understood, now, why his father had never married again. Once you were bonded to someone through such a ring, you could never see them as nothing more than a convenient receptacle for your lust.

  “Last night,” Eric said, “I...”

  He broke off and they started giggling again. Hind pulled herself out of bed and stood up, feeling the sunlight caressing her body. It was midmorning, she figured, although no one had come to disturb them. In fact, now she thought about it, who would have disturbed them? It would be at least two days before Bran was ready to leave and his daughter, who might have disturbed them, couldn't have gotten through the ward on the door. She looked down at Eric and felt another wave of contentment passing through her body. His emotions were strange, yet they were somehow part of her. A warm glow...and a desire to do it again.

  Eric’s eyes sharpened suddenly. “Hind,” he said, in some alarm, “were you protected?”

  Hind found herself laughing, a deep throaty laugh that somehow banished all the shadows that had been clustering around her mind. “Fine time to think of that,” she pointed out, between laughs. Eric stared at her and then he started laughing too, even though she could sense his worry. They would have to have children sooner rather than later, if only to ensure that there was a Heir to the Golden Throne, but now wasn't the time. There were ways – potions and magic – to abort a child, but aborting a Heir could be considered treason. “Why didn't you think of that last night?”

  Eric blushed. “I was distracted,” he admitted. Hind laughed, enjoying his minor discomfort before she let him off the hook. “Your kisses were driving away thought of everything, but pleasing you.”

  “Well,” Hind said, archly. “I’m glad to know I was in there somewhere.” Eric flushed again and she took pity on him. “Yes, I was protected, so” – she touched her belly lightly – “there’s no chance of me getting pregnant, not this time.”

  “That’s good to know,” Eric said, with some relief. Hind made to slap him and he twisted away from her. “It’s just...”

  “I know,” Hind said. They were on the run. Even if they reached safety – whatever safety there was in a world threatened by necromancy – they would still be hunted. Herod couldn't leave them alive, even in exile, and he couldn't leave any child of hers – theirs – alive. As long as they were alive, they were a threat to his throne. “I do understand.”

  She turned suddenly and kissed him, feeling the kiss growing deeper and deeper. A new wave of passion flashed through her – his or hers; it didn't matter – and she pushed him back on the bed, impaling herself on him. She felt his growing lust even as her own built up and found herself calling out with delight...

  They were very late for breakfast.

  ***

  Eric wanted to cheer as they took their places in the dining hall; he wanted to shout out loud and dance around the room, sharing the news with everyone. He’
d finally lost his virginity and he’d given a girl pleasure! He’d done it! As a Royal Prince, very little had been denied to him, but sex – even casual sex – had been one of the few things he had been forbidden. His father had hammered it into his head, time and time again, that they didn't dare bring bastards into the world, but it hadn't been easy. He still remembered finding that one of the secret passages in the castle allowed him to peer into the chambermaids dressing chamber, a passage he’d used extensively until his father had found out and taken a stick to his behind. It hadn't grown any easier as he’d grown older, for none of his fellow aristocrats had had the same prohibition.

  He remembered endless sessions when they’d shared stories – lies, he suspected now – about girls they’d tumbled behind the bushes, or convinced to visit their bedchambers late at night. The maids, being under loyalty spells, had never been able to resist their advances and most of the young nobles had lost their virginities to them. The noble girls were different; no one, not even a Royal Prince, could force himself on them...so winning one of them, even for a single night, was something to boast about. The girls had played the same game, but it had been different for them. Their goal was to marry another noble...and some of them had believed that he could marry them, even though he had to marry a commoner. He still remembered coming to his bedchamber one night to find Melissa, a tall dark girl from the eastern kingdoms, lying naked in his bed. He had been very relieved to discover that she had never told anyone about her attempt at seduction – she’d been the object of many young male nobles and they would have laughed their heads off if they’d discovered that he’d turned her down – yet it had been frustrating as hell. It was one story he’d never told anyone, even his father...or Hind. It dawned on him that it might not be such a bright idea to tell her, ever.

  But Hind...Hind had been a friend long before she'd been a lover. His father had been right after all. It had been worth waiting for, definitely. He found his gaze dropping to her breasts, decently covered under a leather shirt and remembered what they looked like when she was naked. He felt a sudden rush of lust spinning through his body and fought to control it, feeling almost like a teenager again. It was on the tip of his tongue to suggest that they went back to their room when the server arrived with breakfast.

  “I know,” Hind said. Perhaps she’d been having lustful thoughts too. “Maybe later.”

  Eric flushed and bent his head to the breakfast. He hadn't been expecting much from the inn – it wasn't a very good inn, not compared to some of the inns from the Golden City – but the cook hadn't done a bad job. There was a kind of grainy porridge that tasted rather bland until he scooped some favouring spices onto it, some sausages that smelt wonderful – even though he couldn't identify the meat – and a plateful of scrambled eggs. The server offered a choice between wine, beer or water to go with the meal and Eric went with water. He’d heard all kinds of stories about what might happen to a man’s potency if he drank too much alcohol and he didn't want to risk it. Hind clearly had the same thought; besides, magicians were not encouraged to drink. A drunken magician losing control of her powers could be very dangerous.

  “You’re awake,” a voice said, in delight. Eric looked up to see Branet running over to meet them, pulling a tall stool behind her. “You’ve finally got out of bed!”

  She pulled herself up and sat on the stool. “You’re both glowing,” she said, in some surprise. “What have you been doing?”

  Eric and Hind exchanged glances of shared amusement. “We both had a swig of potion,” Hind said, quickly. “I brewed a tiny amount of energy potion last night and we both had some this morning. It will wear off sooner or later.”

  “Great, Branet said. “Can you show me how to make it?”

  Eric broke down into very unmanly giggles as Hind glowered at him. “Not until you’re older,” Hind said, finally. “It’s a very complex potion and you need to have exactly the right ingredients...and a great deal of luck. If you get it wrong, you can poison yourself for the rest of your life.”

  “But you said I have a great deal of promise,” Branet said, turning her gaze on Hind. Her big brown eyes seemed to grow wider. “Please teach me. I’ll follow all of your instructions and...”

  “No,” Hind said, firmly. “You shouldn't be learning anything like that outside a proper potions chamber, with proper wards in place to make sure that any accidents aren’t fatal. I only made it here because we both needed it and I shouldn't have done. The Academy would not be happy with me if they ever found out the truth.”

  Branet looked rebellious, so Hind distracted her with tales of her years at the Academy, including a whole series of mishaps involving potions and young students, which rarely mixed very well. There was the young boy who created an invisibility potion – a fairly simple recipe – and done with it what any boy would, except it had worn off while he’d been in the girl’s dormitory. There was the girl who had accidentally turned herself into a frog, another who’d somehow managed to shrink herself to about the size of a fist and one who’d somehow managed to give herself massive breasts. Eric had heard about that one himself; the boys had considered it a vast joke, even though the poor girl had had to go through months of hell before her breasts were finally shrunk back down to a more normal size. Rather less amusing, at least to him, was the story of the boy who’d had a massive crush on a girl and tried to improve his genitals. After everything had been sorted out, the boy had always sworn that his penis was smaller than what it had used to be.

  “But I wouldn't do anything like that,” Branet claimed. Eric resisted the temptation to point out that she didn't have a penis to shrink, although there were some spells that could change that. The story of the boy who’d accidentally turned himself into a girl was still passed down from year to year at the Academy as a cautionary tale. He’d wanted to stay that way, but the girls hadn't wanted him in their dorm. “I’d be very careful.”

  “You have to learn to walk before you can run,” Hind said firmly, and terminated the discussion. “Now...how about you show us some of the town, eh?”

  ***

  The next two days passed slowly for Hind and Eric, although not for Branet. The young girl finally convinced Hind to show her a few advanced recipes and they spent hours together in a hall, brewing various potions. Hind was enjoying herself so Eric chose to spend the time exploring the city and learning what he could from the various rumours spreading through the bars and taverns. Garstang – not entirely to his surprise – was not one of the kingdoms that allowed broadsheet writers to ply their trade, leaving the citizens dependent on rumours spreading from person to person. Eric found them depressing after what he’d been accustomed to in the Golden Palace, although some of the rumours were entertaining rather than worrying. One rumour concerned a series of tax gatherers who had gone missing; no one, he noted, was concerned in the slightest about it. The tax gatherers were not popular.

  Bran finally pronounced himself ready to depart and called them back to the convoy house. This time, there were only going to be three coaches – although Hind and Eric would have their own private one again – and a handful of wagons. Most of the guards had been paid off and left behind, where they would sign up with a different convoy operator. There was no shortage of work for them in such troubled times. Eric had watched as, pushed by the rumours, other convoy operators upped their prices and hired extra guards.

  “Make sure you bring something warm,” Bran warned. He’d inspected their clothing and pronounced it too thin for the mountain weather. Eric hadn't liked the sound of that, but there was little other choice. Going to Pittenweem was their only way out of the trap he knew Herod would be setting for them. There was no way of knowing if Herod knew where they were – Hind had assured him that her wards would suffice to defeat any attempt to find them with magic – but he didn't feel like taking chances, not with her life at stake. Bran led them to stores where they stocked up on furred coats and rugs, enough to keep them warm e
ven in the coldest of weathers. Hind had expected to see charmed garments, but there were few magical cloaks on sale and those that were seemed to be very expensive.

  Two hours later, the convoy lurched towards the gates and stopped. The guards insisted on searching the coach again before grudgingly admitting that they weren't taking anything from the city and opening the gates to allow them out of the city. Eric looked into the distance, towards Pittenweem, and saw the mountains rising up, covered with white snow. He felt a chill running down his spine that had nothing to do with the weather. Once they reached Pittenweem, they would have to cross those mountains.

  Hind reached for him and he fell back into her embrace. It would distract him from the horrors to come.