“You’re not telling me everything,” Ugoth cried angrily. “Why all these attempts to get both of you back? You in particular? His first attempt was on you. Most of the attempts have been on you. He could get another assassin. He didn’t need you. Why, Herfod?”
Herfod lurched to his feet and made for the door.
“Get back here!” Ugoth roared, rising to a stand. “I said no more secrets!”
Herfod paused before the door with his back turned.
“I mean it this time, Herfod, Kehfrey, whoever you really are. Stay and tell it all, or don’t show your face to me again,” Ugoth said.
Herfod faced about. His skin was white, his lips a grim line. Resolutely, he walked back to Ugoth. “Marun wanted me,” he snarled. “He waited from the time I was seven until I was fourteen. Then he dumped Vik for me.”
Ugoth stared, his face slowly turning scarlet. “You were the sorcerer’s lover too?” he said. “You? You are like Vik!”
“Son of bitch!” Herfod hissed. “You think I had a choice?”
“You said Vik didn’t!”
“Vik! Yes, Vik didn’t! I would have preferred something else!” Herfod shouted. “I would have preferred a woman!”
Ugoth became very still. “Why is Marun still after you?” he said. It wasn’t the first question he’d thought of, but he was afraid to ask the other one, afraid of what he might do if he learned the answer.
“Because he still wants me,” Herfod snapped.
“He loves you that much?”
“He’s stubborn,” Herfod said, his voice reduced almost to a whisper. He turned to the door. “I can’t talk about it anymore.”
“I have more questions!”
“Not now. My head hurts.”
“Herfod!” he began to command, but then watched in astonishment as Herfod clutched his head as if he might crush it.
“I said my head hurts! I need to go back! I can’t heal myself! You know that!”
“All right,” Ugoth relented. “Tomorrow.”
Herfod pulled the door open and stalked away. Thinking feverishly, Ugoth watched a guard reach in and shut the door. Ugoth marched forward and opened it again.
“Get Captain Derell,” he ordered. The guard saluted and sent a page running. Ugoth shut the door and returned to his chair. He sat in it, perfectly still and grave. Derell arrived within fifteen minutes. The soldier knocked, entered and saluted.
“Shut the door,” Ugoth directed him. The captain performed as instructed. Ugoth stared pensively for almost a minute without speaking. The man bore up under the stressful quiet well. He was a tall man. He was handsome in a rugged way. Ugoth knew he was capable and patient. He would do. “Sit,” he commanded.
A worried crease marring his brow, Derell walked to a chair and sat, straight-backed and not relaxing at all.
“I have a favour to ask you,” Ugoth said. “It’s personal and it’s private. I must have your word that you will keep it secret, whether you agree or refuse. I won’t hold it against you if you refuse.”
“You have my word, Majesty,” Captain Derell professed. Ugoth considered him a bit longer and then told him what the favour would be. Derell stared back and flushed bright red in embarrassment.
***
The next morning, King Ugoth summoned Brother Herfod again, but this time met him inside his mistress’s house. He watched the monk carefully as he entered the abode of their mutual female friend. Herfod seemed reluctant to be there. The set of his shoulders was stiff. Bright hazel eyes flashed with wariness.
“Why here?” Herfod said. “After last time? I thought that was enough.”
Oh, he was good. Ugoth stared at him without answering.
Herfod’s gaze fixed on him. The glint in his eyes fired with further suspicion. “What are you up to?” he said.
“I called you here to marry her off.” Ugoth watched him stiffen in shock and then turn white.
“Marry her off? Have you gone mad? She wouldn’t want to marry anyone.”
“I’ve already picked a suitable bridegroom,” Ugoth went on. “He’s agreeable to the union.”
“Why are you doing this? Nicky is …!”
“Nicky is what?” Ugoth demanded. “Were you going to say with child? I know that already. Brother Samel told me.”
“That’s not what I was going to say!” Herfod cried. “You don’t understand. Marriage is slavery to a woman like her.”
“My child needs to have its future secured!” Ugoth shouted. “What she wants doesn’t matter!”
Herfod stared in perfect silence. Ugoth called the captain out of the sitting room.
“This is Captain Derell. He is willing to take on the responsibility of both Nicky and my bastard. He’s sworn to keep the child’s heritage secret for the child’s sake.”
Herfod glowered at the tall man. Well, at least Ugoth had picked her something she’d be pleased with. For a while. “Where’s Nicky?” Herfod asked.
“Upstairs. Waiting.”
Herfod nodded. Upstairs. Waiting. Locked in mostly likely. “I won’t perform the ceremony unless she agrees,” he said flatly.
“Then make her agree, Brother Herfod. It’s your duty as a monk and as my subject,” the king commanded.
Herfod saw no affability in Ugoth’s expression, only the impersonal regard of a displeased sovereign. It was over. The friendship was over. “Yes, Your Majesty,” he gritted out and thumped up the stairs without another word of protest. He’d get Nicky to an elven path before he’d marry her against her will. Bastard!
Ugoth began to follow him up. Herfod whirled to face him. “I speak to her alone!” he shouted. “Get your royal ass back down, or you can call another monk to do your stupid will!”
Derell pulled his sword over the offence, but the king backed off and nodded coldly. He ordered Derell to sheathe the weapon.
Infuriated, Herfod stomped the rest of the way up alone. He knocked on the door, unlocked it and entered. He took the key with him. He could get out of the room through the window if they locked him in, but Nicky might have a time of it. She wasn’t a Pek assassin. Perhaps there was an elven path inside the townhouse? All he’d need to do was get her to it.
“Kehfrey!” Nicky cried when she saw him. She jumped up from her bedside. She wore her best violet gown, but it had a tear in the side. He suspected Ugoth had forced her into the dress.
“He’s gone mad! He wants me to marry that captain!”
“Speak elven,” he said while locking the door. She switched, and as he listened to her list of complaints, a muffled curse filtered through the door. As he’d surmised, Ugoth had surreptitiously followed him up to listen.
“Kehfrey! What will we do?” she said, walking toward him.
“This isn’t about you and me,” Herfod said.
She pulled up. “Kehfrey?” Her jaw slackened with disbelief. Kehfrey was abandoning her to this disaster?
“This is about what Ugoth will do to you if you don’t agree,” he continued. “He doesn’t trust you, Nicky. Can’t you see it? He’s lost his trust.”
“But he can just throw me out!” she cried hotly. “I don’t need to marry!”
“I know that. He loves you, Nicky. He’s insane over it.”
“Then why won’t he just keep me?” she demanded.
“Because he can’t trust you!” Herfod bellowed. He inhaled a shaky breath and calmed himself. “And he knows he will kill you if he catches you with someone,” he continued. “And he knows he will eventually. He knows you don’t really love him the same.”
“How! How does he know? Did you tell him?” she shrieked.
“No,” he denied. “But I think he feels it, Nicky. He feels it when we’re together. He’s not a stupid man. He has instincts for things.” Fear for her made his next words almost frantic. “Nicky! He doesn’t want to hurt you! That’s why he’s desperate to give you away. If you belong to someone else, he no longer has the right to hurt you.”
“I can
just leave!” she cried.
“He knows that. But do you think he could bear it for long? He’d have to know, wouldn’t he? He’d have to know sooner or later. He would come looking for you, and then it would all begin again. I warned you. He’s worse than Wilf. You were his mate in his eyes. Only he’s suddenly realized that you’ll never feel the same. You just can’t be the same.”
She turned away, tears in her eyes. “I never promised him anything,” she said in frustration, walking to her dressing table. “I never asked him to promise anything. Most men appreciate that.”
“I know, Nicky,” Herfod said, the anger washing away and letting in melancholy. “Only you were supposed to fill this empty space he had inside. Now it’s just a bigger space.”
She stared at her white face in the mirror. After a moment, she looked down and plucked up the bottle of perfume Ugoth had purchased for her. She gazed at it impassively and then abruptly threw it with all her might. The expensive sheet of polished glass smashed. Jagged shards fell upon the table and crashed to the floor. Unexpectedly, the compact bottle remained intact. Herfod walked up to the table and plucked it out from between shards. He regarded it pensively.
“May I keep this?” he asked. He looked down at her softly. She nodded sadly, eyes luminous with tears. He pocketed the bottle. Without another word, together they turned toward the door.
Ugoth stood within the open entrance, another key in his hand. “What language is that?” he demanded.
“Elven,” Nicky said.
“Elven?” he repeated.
“I’ll marry him,” she said, cutting his questions off. “But only if he will have me.”
“He’s already agreed.” Ugoth stared from her to Herfod. He’d seen the monk pocket the bottle of perfume and knew what it meant. He’d known it. He’d known it was Herfod!
“No!” Nicky snapped. “The captain will have me knowing what I am or he will not have me at all.” She stomped past the surprised king and down the stairs.
“What is she on about?” he asked Herfod, his fury over the monk’s betrayal momentarily eclipsed by obfuscation.
“Go down and hear for yourself,” Herfod said crossly.
Ugoth snarled silently and followed her down. “You!” he heard his mistress say. “What’s your name?”
“Captain Derell,” the tall man told her.
Ugoth rounded the wall and saw them together. Nicky performed a frank perusal of the bridegroom. She didn’t seem to mind what she saw. She smiled after a second, and it wasn’t a demure sort of greeting, but a candid expression of female approval. Ugoth almost surged forward, but Herfod shoved in front of him and forestalled the angry movement.
“The size of you suits me well enough,” Nicky said, and Ugoth raised his head to watch. “But you need to know a few things before you agree to have me, the first of them being that there will be no more children from me after this one.”
Derell gaped down at her, his face paling from embarrassed red to anxious white. He glanced at the king. “No children?” Derell repeated. He wanted children. He didn’t want just the king’s bastard.
“Nicky!” Ugoth growled.
“This is not a choice!” she shouted. “I’m too old! This is the last! Fools! I am over nine hundred years old! I age! My hair turns white!”
“What?” Ugoth said. “What did you say?”
“I’m half elf!” she hissed. “You baby!” She stared him up and down haughtily. “Human men. They make nice temporary toys for an elf.”
Ugoth coloured with rage. His right arm lifted with the hand balled in a fist.
“Don’t even dare,” Herfod said.
Ugoth looked at the slighter man. Herfod’s eyes almost glowed with threat. “You knew this,” Ugoth accused.
“Of course, I knew this!” Herfod shouted. “I’ve known her since I was seven! She hasn’t changed!”
“Except for the white hairs,” Nicky amended sweetly. Herfod only glanced at her. His gaze raced back to the furious monarch.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Ugoth demanded. “Why didn’t either of you say?”
“Because it wasn’t for me to say,” Herfod answered.
“What has Nicky to do with Ma—” He faltered. Herfod’s fist had lifted in warning.
“Don’t!” Herfod hissed. “Don’t say it! Don’t ask it!”
Ugoth glared until the fist lowered. “You will tell me. Not now, but later. You will!” he said.
“Fine!” Herfod spat. “Let her finish the introduction. Captain Derell seems a bit stunned by it all.”
Ugoth’s gaze jerked forward. The soldier did indeed look flustered. By the sudden revelation or by the obviously troubled friendship, the king wasn’t certain.
Reassured that Ugoth wasn’t about to clout her for her insulting manner, Nicky moved closer to Captain Derell. She was blatantly sexual about it, hands on hips, swaying as she walked. She’d been holding back on Ugoth. She didn’t bother now. Let him see what he was letting go. She was angry and she intended to hurt him before she let herself become a slave to a man again.
“Well, well,” she said. “Ugoth at least knows how to pick what I like.” She rounded the soldier slowly, making the poor captain flush with discomfort. “Just to be fair, Captain Derell, I’ll let you father children on other women. I don’t mind. I’ve raised plenty. You can marry me and still have your own brats. And lovers too. Not many wives willing to put up with that.”
She confronted him, her eyes cold. “The only thing is, if you take lovers, so will I. Do you follow?” He nodded curtly. “So you see? This is what I am. I’m a slut. I don’t care. I do what I please. A nine-hundred-year old woman tends to set certain morals aside over time. You might find it easier, all in all, since men generally don’t have any morals in any case.”
“I have morals!” Derell protested.
She laughed at him and quite mockingly. “Do you buy the services of whores, Captain?” He flushed again. She nodded her victory, lips curled in a scathing smile. She faced Ugoth. “Men don’t have morals!” she repeated. “They’re all easy!”
Ugoth didn’t flush. “All except your wonderful Kehfrey!” he sneered.
She laughed immediately. “Kehfrey? That pie thief!” She sauntered up and set herself in front of the slighter man. “Saint Herfod,” she breathed. “Keeper of Heaven’s Pies.”
He scowled. “Knock it off, old woman,” he said testily. “I never held myself up as a cussed saint, to you or anyone.”
“No,” she answered. “You just act like one anyway.”
“Shut up!” He turned her about and shoved her toward Captain Derell. “Hurry up and make up your mind,” he snapped at the soldier. “Do you still want her or not?”
Derell looked uncertainly from the monk to the king to the woman. His anxiety over the decision was obvious. He shifted on his feet as if readying to escape. Feeling penitent, Ugoth sucked in a deep breath to excuse the poor man. He’d sunk Derell into more trouble than he’d suspected, much more.
“Yes,” Derell said abruptly.
Ugoth glowered. Just when he’d been ready to change his mind! “Yes?” he repeated.
“Yes!” Derell said firmly. “I’ll take her. I could do worse.”
Nicky laughed at that. “What did he offer you as payment, you big slut?” She crossed her arms over her nice bosom and eyed him sardonically.
Derell flushed. “Land and a minor title,” he admitted. “A flat in the city for you until the war is over.”
She laughed again. “Fair enough. You made a good deal. I think we’ll get on well. I just adore sweet big babies like you.”
He flushed redder, but this time smiled as well. He glanced at the king and saw that His Majesty was scowling. Derell wiped the smile off quickly.
Ugoth jerked his chin at Brother Herfod. “Get on with it,” he snarled. “Get her married.”
Sighing, Herfod set himself in front of the captain and the elderly but very stunning bride and sa
id the words to bind her. He uttered them calmly, but inside he screamed. He was doing the unthinkable. He was enslaving Nicky all over again, but at least it wasn’t to another Marun.
He ended the ceremony and watched in silence as Derell kissed his wife for the first time. After, Nicky turned to her true love and beheld the agony hiding behind his calm.
“It’s all right,” she whispered in elvish. “I forgive you.”
“But I don’t forgive Ugoth for forcing me to do this.” He didn’t look at the king let alone ask permission to withdraw. He simply walked out of the house.
***
Queen Eshaia smiled to herself. She had succeeded! That vile Brother Herfod was in disfavour with Ugoth. Ugoth’s mistress was being married off, and she had Ufrid again. Soon she would have no more Ugoth!
“What are you grinning over?” Ufrid said.
“The end. I’m grinning over the end.”
Ufrid rolled back on top of her and smiled down just as coldly. “I don’t like the end you foresee.”
Her conceit plunged into a icy lake. “What are you on about? You’ll be the regent!”
“I could be the king,” he said. He rubbed his bristling chin against her ear. “You could be my queen.”
She shivered. “But I already am queen. And there are my children.”
“Your children can be set aside for the one we start this day, my love,” Ufrid whispered. “My own true love. Let it be our child that rises to the throne after us. Not his!”
She stared at him, suddenly frightened. “But my children!” she repeated.
“Will be fine! They are young. The boy will forget. We will send him to Amek. The Amek treat children well. The ambassador says there are ways to make them forget the past.”
“But I love my children!” She shoved at his chest.
He pressed down all the harder and kissed her hungrily. “His children!” he hissed between assaults. “Not ours! Take your revenge completely, my beauty! Be the queen you were meant to be! Make Ugoth crumble!”
She gasped beneath him. He moved inside her, thrusting hard and furiously, exactly the way she liked it. He treated her like a whore. Just like a whore. “Oh!” she cried. “Oh!”
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