The Source of Magic: A Fantasy Romance

by Rowan, Cate

  The strap around her waist loosened. Someone pulled on her legs and she began to slide off the fydd. Her instinct was to stiffen, but she fought to keep her limbs lax.

  She was caught before she hit the earth. The hands around her body were rough, and copped more than an accidental feel of her breasts through the sackcloth. A low guffaw rumbled above her. The pervert was at it again.

  She was carried a few paces before being laid unceremoniously on the ground. Perv grunted as he deposited her.

  “Where’s the powerstick?” the nasal voice asked from a distance. She nicknamed him Toady.

  “I have it,” Perv said.

  “It’s late. Sun’s up.”

  “Shaddup. Weren’t easy to get her tied ‘hind that fydd.”

  “Would’ve been faster if we’d used that powerstick already.”

  “Low-brain! Too risky. They’d’ve known.”

  “Still…” Toady mumbled.

  The sack around Jilian’s head rustled.

  “What’re you doing?” Toady asked in a nervous tone.

  “Makin’ sure she’s alive.” A lecherous undertone to his voice belied his words.

  Jilian shut her eyes and feigned unconsciousness.

  Fresh air rushed over her cheeks, and she stifled the impulse to suck it in. Rough, scratchy fingers rubbed her skin. “Aye there, missy,” Perv whispered with breath that stank like a dumpster. “I think we’ll be acquainted afore long.”

  God, I hope not.

  He pushed her upright and held her there while his fingers slid down to her breasts. Jilian clamped down on the urge to spit in his face.

  Detach, Jil. Those aren’t your boobs, they’re someone else’s. Or better yet, no one’s.

  “Hey, I thought we were gonna wait. At least let me have a feel,” Toady whined.

  Geez, I might as well be a fruit display.

  “Naw, we should get going.”

  Perv’s possessive about those breasts of No One’s, isn’t he?

  He whacked her hard across the face. Despite her resolve, her eyes flew open. Shocked, she blinked several times.

  “Good morning, missy,” Perv said, his hand hovering and ready for a second round. “You might want to be awake to see where you’re goin’.”

  His face was as ruddy and squat as a red potato, with a large, protruding nose and dirty black stubble. He leered as she stared at him, and she turned away.

  Toady was thinner and pop-eyed, with nervous movements that matched his tone. But his bulging eyes seemed no more sympathetic than Perv’s. He, too, got an ugly gleam in them when Jilian looked at him.

  To conceal her shivers, she turned to check her surroundings. It was just after dawn, and the new day bloomed in ironic contrast to her predicament. They sat under a splay-limbed tree beside a rutted dirt road. Two saddled fydds munched grass next to them.

  Far behind them on the road, Ysanne’s spires glinted in the sunrise. She was still close to home! If she could escape…

  “Don’t you go thinking anything heroic there, missy. You’s trussed up like a fowl for a feast. Just thought it would be fun to see your face as we get where we’re goin’.”

  “Where is that?” Her voice came out hoarse.

  “Don’t worry ‘bout it. You’ll find out soon enough.” He chuckled and nodded at Toady. “Make the circle.”

  Toady pulled a large roll of silk cord from his pocket and walked wide around Jilian and Perv, letting the cord fall to the ground. Perv elbowed her—right where she was bruised from the saddle—to force her upright. With a big-barreled heave he stood himself, then reached into his the pouch at his waist.

  He pulled two things from it—a hoop of gold about three inches in diameter and a clear cylinder nearly the same size with a red glow inside it.

  Jilian stared at it. She’d seen a cylinder like that before. Gurdan and his men had used it to suck the power from Rokad, Findar, and Nenth. Later, Varene had spoken of the rumor that Bhruic took kyrra from the dead.

  Bhruic. They were taking her to Bhruic. Panic slithered over her skin, raising goosebumps in its wake.

  Perv whistled tunelessly as he examined the cylinder, holding it up to inspect its surfaces. He grunted at Toady, who unraveled the unused ends of the cord and passed them back into the circle to Perv.

  Her feet were tied—how would she get away? No way could she hop faster than they could run. And there were two of them—she couldn’t knock one out without getting clobbered by the other.

  The ground near her was devoid of sturdy sticks or anything else she could use as a weapon. She spotted only a few small pebbles, but all out of reach, and with her hands tied, she wouldn’t be able to get much momentum into a throw anyway.

  Should I claim I need to pee?

  Yeah, sure. They’d laugh and make me pee with my legs tied together. Probably right in front of them.

  “Too bad about the fydds,” Toady said with a wistful stare in the animals’ direction.

  “Why? They can’t get us there any faster.”

  “Naw, but they’s expensive.”

  “So what. Wasn’t our coins that bought ‘em.”

  “But they’s worth somethin’,” Toady sniveled.

  “So you think to bring ‘em with us? Pah.” Perv spit on the ground. As he turned, Jilian spotted a knife case attached to his belt.

  That’s it! But how could she distract them long enough to take the knife and free her feet?

  “We could, though,” Toady said defiantly. “What if we took ‘em almost all the way there, then didn’t bring ‘em on the last jump? We could go back and get ‘em. They likes grass. They’d stay put.”

  Perv looked at him, then at the fydds. He grunted. “Mebbe…”

  Toady pressed his idea. “Wouldn’t take much more juice. As long as they’s in the circle.”

  Perv grew thoughtful. “Could be worth 2, mebbe 300 clinks for the right buyer—less than we paid, but still…”

  “It’d pay for a night at Seema’s.” Toady grinned.

  Perv grinned back. “Aye. And a throat full of cold burl besides—and not the watered-down kind. Done.”

  Toady walked to the two fydds grazing fifteen feet away and hauled on the lead ropes. They seemed to resent both his manner and his demand to leave the grass and stiffened their legs. After grunts and leaning on the ropes, Toady swore and dropped the rope of one while he pulled the other toward them. Its six barbell-sized hooves didn’t seem to want to be in the circle all at once, and several came perilously close to stepping on Jilian. She rolled out of the way, her wrists, elbows and still-sacked knees scrabbling frantically in the dust.

  “Get up.” Perv prodded her with his boot.

  She looked up, trying to keep resentment from her face. “Care to help me with that?” she asked, displaying her bound wrists.

  Perv’s expression darkened. He put the cylinder and ring in one hand and hauled her to her feet. She balanced precariously on her new uni-leg and gritted her teeth as the scratchy, rough-hewn rope binding her bare ankles bit into her skin.

  Toady grabbed the lead of the second fydd. It balked like a camel, all six legs braced against the man’s yanks.

  Jilian chuckled under her breath as Toady committed the cardinal sin of leading—he looked at the animal while pulling. Horses preferred to follow a leader who was facing away, and she’d learned early on that fydds agreed.

  She considered the situation. It probably couldn’t hurt to have the fydds along. After all, she’d escape a lot faster on one of them than on her tied feet.

  “Turn away from him,” she suggested. “He won’t follow otherwise.”

  Toady did spin around—to glare at her. But as he stopped pulling, the fydd relaxed and chewed on the grass hanging half-eaten from its mouth.

  “Hah!” Perv sniggered. “This girlie’s got you beat. Better listen.”

  She ignored the “girlie” comment, for which she dearly wanted to knee him, and continued. “Walk back to his head, the
n turn and face us. He’ll follow.” At least I hope he will, you oaf.

  With a look of disgust, Toady did as she told him, and the fydd walked obediently next to him. That didn’t seem to mollify Toady, who headed straight toward her with the fydd, eyeing her belligerently.

  Heart pounding, she hopped to get out of the way, but it wasn’t easy to balance with her arms tied and her hobbled feet encased in a cloth sack. To her left, Perv wore a malicious grin. The other fydd stood solidly on her right. Deciding speed had priority, she gripped the top of the sack under her arms so it wouldn’t trip her and hopped backwards.

  It might have worked, had she not landed with her left foot on a rock. Tipped off balance, she fell on her right side, exactly where the saddle had banged against her.

  Perv collapsed to the ground himself, hooting, guffawing, and slapping his thighs, with the cylinder, hoop, and cord dropped in the dust. Toady stopped his progression and cackled too.

  Great. Kidnapped for the second time in weeks and now, bonus, I’m the object of ridicule. Jilian pushed herself up onto her elbow and glared at the two from behind her tangled curtain of hair.

  “Hey, what’s that?” Toady said, peering down the road. A cloud of dust was rising, the cause too far away to determine.

  Hope sprouted up. Could it be Alvarr?

  “Dunno, but let’s get goin’.” Perv picked himself up and retrieved the ring and cylinder while Toady maneuvered the second fydd into the circle. With the two objects crammed into one meaty hand, Perv grabbed Jilian’s tied arms with his other hand and dragged her, prostrate, into the center. He’d inadvertently pulled her out of the sack, but didn’t seem to care.

  “Is they in?” he asked. When Toady nodded, Perv grunted. “Gimme the cord then.”

  This was her chance—but what the hell could she do? Perv was still too far away for her to grab the knife.

  She cranked her head to look at the dust cloud, but couldn’t spot its maker. Probably a slow-moving caravan. And why would Alvarr come for her, anyway? He’d decided she was a traitor.

  “Don’t bother tryin’ to escape, missy,” Perv said nonchalantly. “We’ll be furthings from here in a second. Might as well get used to yer fate.” He slid the cylinder into the golden hoop. “Or then again, don’t.” He ogled her. “I likes a woman who’s wild.”

  His lip curled up to reveal yellow, broken teeth. She shivered despite herself.

  After a glance around the circle to be sure all was in order, he looped both ends of the silk cord around the cylinder.

  Then he looked at Jilian’s face with sadistic anticipation and whistled three high-pitched notes. All went black.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  The rough dirt under Jilian’s elbows disappeared.

  She lay on nothing—the earth had dropped off into blackness. The silence was absolute.

  She blinked once, twice. The world returned with a blast of color, but as a new landscape. The ground now tilted at an angle, lush grass poked her elbows, and a forest had dashed up beside her.

  The fydds bolted. Jilian curled up protectively while Perv cursed at the hairy tail that nearly smacked his eye. When she unrolled, the fydds had gone only a few strides, heads in the air, eyes wide and uncertain. Much like Jilian.

  Perv sniggered at her and Toady cackled in the background.

  “Tol’ ya not to bother tryin’ to escape!” Perv said, his yellow teeth gleaming.

  Toady turned to him. “How many more jumps?”

  “Four, mebbe.”

  “Four?” Toady looked troubled.

  So was Jilian. Four more jumps, then they’d reach Bhruic. And what would happen then?

  “Aw, shaddup,” Perv told his associate. “S’better than riding, ain’t it? That road’s long.”

  “Yesh,” Toady mumbled, and glanced out of the circle. Jilian followed his gaze to her left and saw a dirt road winding up a hill. A road to where?

  Toady retrieved the first fydd using Jilian’s previous advice, but refused to look at her while doing it. At least he didn’t try to run her over this time.

  Wary, she maneuvered her body farther from the fydds, then regretted it, since she still needed one to escape. Well, it was better not to be stepped on, on top of everything else. Though maybe that would create a distraction…

  She glanced at Perv, who was watching Toady bring back the second fydd. She doubted he would be fazed if she were injured further. But if he were injured…

  The knife still hung tantalizingly at his waist. But how could she get it from him?

  With the both fydds now in the circle, Perv whistled the three notes again.

  Two blinks into darkness, and they arrived at a new location. The fydds shied again, but mildly, as if they were becoming used to the strange goings-on. High hills rose around them, and cool, clean air wafted over Jilian’s face. The ecology had changed, too, now resembling the area just past Resara and Mellec’s house.

  She turned sharply to her left. A dirt road wound next to them, a hundred feet away. Had she been here before?

  The fydds took their now-familiar place in the circle. Perv whistled again and transported them into darkness.

  When the sun shone on Jilian’s eyelids, she opened them—and stared in shock. She knew this place. It was near the camp she and Alvarr had made the night he’d stalked her into the woods.

  I know the way home! It’s a long way, but if I can just get on that road… She turned to her captors, who conferred about the cylinder.

  “Glow’s gettin’ low,” Toady said.

  Perv looked at the cylinder and scratched his bristly chin.

  Jilian glanced at his knife, then at the fydds. There was only time to try for one, knife or fydd. Pick.

  “What if there’s not enough left for the next trip? Or the one after?” Toady’s eyes darted nervously at Perv.

  She eyed the weapon, but the thought of a knife fight while her wrists and legs were tied churned her stomach.

  Perv waved the question away. “He said it would be plenty.”

  “Yeah, but he hasn’t done this himself. I don’t want to get lost ‘tween!”

  Jilian scooted closer to the fydds.

  Perv hesitated, then grinned at his associate. “Good thing we have the fydds then, ain’t it. We’ll ride ‘em.”

  Hell, why’d he have to bring them up? But neither man looked at their mounts, which had wandered only a few feet away.

  “Yesh,” Toady preened, then narrowed his eyes. “But who gets to ride with the girl?”

  Perv sneered. “She’ll sit in front a’ me, of course.”

  Toady raised his chin. “And what about me?”

  Slowly, slowly…just three more feet. The folds of her cloak or gown could so easily trip her. She eyed the arguers sidelong as she moved on elbows and knees like an inchworm to the fydds.

  Perv waved his hand again. “If ya had her you’d prob’ly steer your fydd into a creek. Me, I can do two things at once.” Then he leered, licked his bulbous upper lip, and turned to Jilian.

  Now! Pushing off her arms, she rolled onto the balls of her feet and leapt to the saddle like a misshapen dolphin. Her stomach whacked painfully on the saddle, arms and head on one side, legs on the other. With splayed fingers she grabbed the saddle’s edge, anchoring herself as the fydd bolted into a head-banging gallop. She clung on and wrapped around the fydd as best she could, limp as dirt and struggling to ignore the battering.

  Perv bellowed furiously behind her, augmented by Toady’s surprised shouts. It was nearly impossible for her to see where she was going while draped sideways over the saddle, face bashing into it with every stride. A neck-aching glance back at the pair of kidnappers showed Perv mounting the other fydd, his gaze clamped on her retreating form.

  It took all of Jilian’s strength to hold the saddle’s edge. She had no chance to steer, and just prayed that her fydd kept running. She’d have to ride this way until she found something to cut her bonds. If she stayed on, that is.
Her headache flared again, this time from the bruising of her brain against her skull.

  A particularly agonizing clout of her head against the saddle brought tears to her eyes. Her legs caught on something hard—a tree. As the fydd galloped on, the tree dragged her toward the fydd’s tail. She clung hard to the saddle, but something popped, then both the saddle and her body floated free of the fydd’s stride. She fell through the air, and opened her eyes to see a large tree trunk racing toward her head.

  Blackness reigned again.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  Morning light sneaked into Alvarr’s chambers, but it wasn’t a welcome visitor. He wished for a different one, with green eyes and sable hair.

  It was too damn bad that he’d done an excellent job of ensuring that would never happen.

  He ground his teeth, but there was no help for it—he had to go talk to her. He’d give her the opportunity to explain herself, including what, if anything—and he dearly hoped there was nothing—linked her with Bhruic.

  He took a quick bath (recalling by memory the latest ledger balances and calculating the volume of the castle’s granaries to avoid remembering certain things that had taken place in his tub) and dressed, but this time he refused to check the gilded looking-glass as he passed it.

  Outside her room, he stared at the closed door, his shoulders rising for a deep, fortifying breath before he rapped on the dark wood. “Jilian,” he called firmly. “I need to speak with you.”

  Long seconds ticked away, but there was no answer.

  He glanced about the corridor for a moment to be sure it was clear, and then leaned against the doorframe, staring down at his boots, the flagstones, the carpet runner… “All right, I know I’ve been unfair. I should have let you explain everything, so… Give me the chance to hear you out.”

  Nothing.

  He opened his mouth to speak again, then closed it. She was obviously angry, maybe furious. Well, he probably deserved that. So he’d take it, even if she knocked his head off.

  He turned the knob. To his relief, it was unlocked. Perhaps she wasn’t as angry as he’d thought.