by Tom Hansen
“And why is that?”
“Because we was fated to meet. Written in the stars it was.”
She stopped putting on her dress and looked at him once again. He was looking up at the stars.
For a split second, she realized how handsome he was, looking at his profile like that, silhouetted against the starry sky as he gazed at the heavens.
Talia also realized just how beautiful the sky was this far north.
She shook her head to break the spell and continued donning clothing as fast as she could.
“And what makes it written in the stars? I’ll admit they are decidedly beautiful, but nothing special about them that I can see.”
He snickered, chancing a small glance back at her.
Luckily, she had just finished putting on her dress and was finally decent to be in a man’s company, but still quite chilly in the windy north. She still had more layers before she could survive the cold.
“I never said you could look.”
“But you are dressed. Besides, I already got a good look earlier.”
“Oh, like what you see, eh?” The irritation she had with him earlier rose once again.
“Of course, lass. It makes it easier knowing how pretty you are.”
This stopped her. “What are you talking about? What does it matter how pretty I am?” She couldn’t believe this man, showing up in the middle of the night, peeping on a naked woman just trying to take a bath. Talia had the mind to slap him right now, but she had to admit, she felt safe around him. He might be big and burly, and carry an axe nearly her size in one hand, but he was sharp, and might be handy if the soldiers found her.
She supposed it could have been worse. At least he wasn’t a soldier, just a villager. She almost felt sorry for him, for bringing the soldiers to his doorstep, before she remembered he’d seen her naked.
Her face flushed and she quickly turned around. He’d seen her naked! While she’d been thoroughly embarrassed by the whole ordeal, it had been exhilarating all the same, to have a handsome man catch you like that.
And he had said she was pretty…
He interrupted her jumbled thoughts. “Because the Fates told me long ago that I would marry the first fire-headed woman I met. I have to say, lass, you’re the first one I’ve ever seen with my own eyes, so I suppose you’ll have to do.”
Chapter Four
Talia stood stunned for a long moment, words refusing to form on her tongue.
Had…had he just told her that she would have to…
It sounded almost daft now that she thought about it. Who was this man who thought he was going to–wait, did he think they were somehow going to get married?
The whole time he wore the dumbest grin she had ever seen on a human.
Despite the anger welling up in her, Talia paused. Perhaps she had misheard him after all. She had just been bathing, maybe she had water still in her ear?
Getting her thoughts about her, she replied cautiously. “I’m sorry, did you just say that I will have to do?”
He nodded exuberantly. His dopey grin turning into a cocky smile. “The Fates said it was so, and I ain’t one to deny the old hags.” His mood changed in an instant, his mouth turning into a concerned frown. “Yer not already hitched to a man, are ye?”
“What? No, I’m not already married!” She knew her voice was getting too loud given the predicament she was in, but she didn’t rightly care about that now. She practically spat back at the man. “I am on the run from soldiers, not out looking for a husband, sir. I kindly request you to get any thoughts out of your head about that matter, as it is the furthest thing from my mind at the moment!”
Talia was in full-on rage mode at this point. She’d always been a bit of a hot-tempered woman, but the sheer audacity of this…this…man was…ugh! Infuriating! “I have more important things to think about right now, so I’m going to collect my things, try to get the image of you staring at my body out of my mind, and I’m going to go help remove the soldiers from your precious fishing village, if that is okay with you.”
Despite her practically yelling the last bit at him, he didn’t seem affected by her outburst. In fact, it almost looked like he enjoying it. His face had relaxed, and she couldn’t be certain, but it seemed like he had leaned in a bit more when she went off on him.
Of course that just made her even more angry.
She was vaguely aware that if she wasn’t so hopping mad at this point, she would have thought that smile to be cute, possibly even handsome.
He scrunched up his bushy eyebrows. “Well, you are a spitfire, I’ll give you that, but there is nothing to worry about with the soldiers. They do this from time to time, show up and make a show of force to scare us for more taxes. But I tell you what, lass, we don’t scare so easily. They’ll hang out for a day, possibly two, steal from our larder, but then they’ll move on, taking some chickens and goats. They’ve done it before, and they’ll do it again. The best thing to do in this situation is to just keep yer head down and wait for them to leave.”
His casual reply seemed to remove some of the fire from her head, reminding her that these were real people with real problems.
Problems I brought to them.
Unfortunately, these were not normal soldiers hunting her. They weren’t here just for some fake taxes. They were here for her, and if they caught any small whiff of Talia around, they would do untold horrors to these villagers to extract information.
If this man headed back right now, he would smell her scent.
A cold chill shuddered through her body at the thought. It wasn’t this man’s fault that the soldiers were here.
It’s mine, and I can’t send this man to his death. Besides, he was probably simply trying to escape the soldiers when he came across me, so it’s not really his fault that he saw me.
“I’m sorry, but what is your name, sir?”
He seemed surprised by her question. “The name is Borym, lass.”
“Well,” she folded her arms, then unfolded them, extending her right hand. “Nice to meet you, Borym, my name is Talia, Talia Oblique.”
“Talia, that’s a strong name. Shame yer so skinny, you ought to eat more for a name such as that.”
The familiar rage came back. Any regret she had for sentencing this village to death seemed to evaporate whenever Borym opened his mouth.
Okay, maybe it is partially his fault.
But Talia dropped the thought, pursing her lips hard to keep from snapping back. He was clearly delusional. His thoughts on marriage and the like made that obvious. She was wasting valuable time and mental energy dealing with this buffoon, and she needed to get to the task at hand.
“Well, Borym, thank you for the towel, but I need to be on my way. I will go take care of the soldiers in your town, but I need to know if I can trust that you and the rest of the village will keep hush if I kill them all.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Kill them all? Why not just wait? If yer on the run from them as you said, why not just stay here until they leave?”
“Because they aren’t normal soldiers, Borym. They…they aren’t just here for your fish. It was my fault that brought them to your borders, and I need to make things right, so if you will please allow me to leave, then I will handle this situation on my own terms.”
Picking up her pack, she shouldered it, and stepped past him.
While he didn’t move, he didn’t step to block her.
Talia paused just past him and turned, taking in his profile once again. While he may have been large, it didn’t seem like any of it was fat. He was as big as a bear and strong as one too. Many years spent on the boat pulling in nets must have contributed to his physique.
She studied his eyes once again before speaking, her voice low and careful. “I’m sorry for bringing them here, but I will make it right.”
“No, lass.” His voice matched hers in mood.
“No?”
He chuckled once again. “We will make it r
ight. I’m not going to leave yer side if it means you might be in danger. Yer gonna need my axe if there is a scuffle. Besides, thems my adopted family in there, I can’t risk any harm coming to them. If what you says is correct, and they are all in danger, I have to help.”
She looked over the axe. The only blood it had probably ever spilled was sap from a tree. As strong as he might be for manual labor, Borym had never been in a real fight his entire life. He simply didn’t understand the depths of depravity and violence that the Frost Queen brought upon her subjects, particularly the mages.
It was a sweet, but ultimately suicidal, gesture. She almost felt like cupping his chin and telling him to sit down, but she had a mission to complete and needed to get going.
“I can go it alone, thank you very much. In fact,” she removed the pack from her shoulder and held it out to him. “If you would be a dear and hold onto my pack for me, I’ll be back in no time to collect it.”
Borym took the pack without a word, holding it up with one hand to inspect it.
“I’m sorry, lass, but I can’t let you go in there alone. If what you say is true, then you’ll need my help. Besides, you don’t have any weapons on you. Remember, I checked?”
She smiled, wriggling her eyebrows. “Oh but you didn’t check my backside.”
Chapter Five
Talia pushed out her magic, stopping time in a tight bubble around Borym. She knew using her magic twice out here would send alarms to any looking. It was just a matter of time for the scent of magic to waft into the town, so using it a second time didn’t pose much risk. She had pushed her luck enough already, and her fishing expedition an hour ago had already sealed her fate.
She paused for a moment, taking Borym’s features in once more. He was ruggedly handsome in a backwoods sort of way. Not all that bright, but strong, and probably had a good work ethic.
Talia supposed he might make a good husband for the right woman someday, but it certainly never would be her.
Not after what I’ve been through.
Reyoarfjell had changed her, and there was too much trauma for her to overcome. At this point in her life, she just wanted to be alone with the wind and the rain and the falling snow. She needed to separate herself from society, because she would never be part of anything normal again. She was broken, damaged, and tortured with every breath she took.
The horrors of Reyoarfjell would haunt her to the end of her days, and the thought of ever settling down with someone and finding happiness in the simple farming and family life of the common folk was not in the stars for her.
That glimmer of joy had been taken from her and there was no getting it back.
No, the Fates might have told this man something, but they had lied. The Fates, if they ever existed at all, lied to him, just like they had lied to her, and everyone in that camp.
Fervid girls, strong and sweet.
Sent her low in mock defeat.
Live their long days uncrowned.
Till such time the heir is bound.
She shook the rhyme from her memory.
Talia had already spent too much time wallowing in pity, now was not the time to break down again. She needed to pull her emotions together and steel herself for the upcoming fight. It was time to prepare herself for the hardest thing she would have to do.
Kill him.
Talia wiped away a solitary tear before looking over Borym once more. “Thank you for holding onto my pack, sir.” She pulled open a flap and removed a dagger from its hiding spot, strapped the leather sheath around her waist, and tugged it down to make sure it was all snug. “I’ll be back before you know it.”
As she looked into his eyes one last time, she almost thought she saw something there, a fierceness unlike anything she’d noticed before, but upon second glance, it was nothing.
He was an enigma, that was for sure.
At that thought, Talia turned and jogged up the beach toward the town.
Memories of the bath and hot meal brought a wry smile to her face, but the brief joviality dissipated quickly as she studied the methodical route of the soldiers patrolling the town.
As brutal as she knew the soldiers could be, they didn’t seem to be unleashing their unique fury on the villagers. If anything, they seemed to be acting like most other normal soldiers; eating, sleeping, and commandeering homes. If it wasn’t the dead of night, they might have been turning out homes in a ruse for taxes, but she supposed they might be just as tired as she was after three solid weeks of running and hunting.
At least the Gods Below have small mercies.
If there was one thing the Queen’s Enlightenments did well, it was to train the soldiers’ magics, bending them to her will. But it did little against the mind, and soldiers were still mortal despite all the training. They still needed rest and downtime lest they go insane. Regardless of the maniacal advances of the Queen’s torturers, there was only so far you could push a man.
She surveyed the landscape below, noting the four soldiers patrolling the streets. Nearly every home had a lantern burning in a window, signifying the villagers had been sent back to their homes.
In the center of the village, close to the makeshift harbor, was a large building. While still not nearly to the scale of any other town she had seen in the last few weeks, it was the biggest in this town, possibly owned by the mayor, and she was sure that the remaining soldiers were holed up in there.
She knew where they all were, or at least where he would be.
“Got you.”
It was time to make her move.
Glancing back at the coast, she recognized the need to plan out her entry carefully.
Any magic would alert the enemy to her presence, so no matter what she did, she needed to make it to the hut before casting.
The town, despite the small huts, was fairly spread out. Meaning if she was going to affect this large of an area, she would need to expend an incredible amount of energy.
Talia had learned with her new-found ability that magic requirements were exponentially larger the bigger her area of influence. This meant she could hold a large area in place for a short time, or a dozen smaller locations for longer period of time.
It would have been easier coming in from the sea, given how the soldiers spent most of their time patrolling around the outskirts and center of town.
It just meant she would need to be sneaky.
Lacking any rope or ability to climb, Talia didn’t think she would be able to get down any of the cliff faces unscathed. Besides, if she tried to go over the edge to the beach thirty feet below, someone would definitely see her.
Having planned out her route, she released her magic and let the oaf Borym out of her spell. It would take him at least five minutes to get back to this spot, and by then she would be down in the town taking out the soldiers.
Of course Borym would have questions, like how did she manage to vanish from his sight from one moment to the next, but he didn’t seem to be the type to think too hard on things like that. If she distracted him with a little butt wiggle, he’d forget all about her magical disappearing act.
Talia backed away slowly from the rise, and made her way around to the road so she could enter from the east.
She crept slowly, watching carefully before her in the moonlight to ensure she didn’t make any errant noise with her footsteps. It wouldn’t do to be discovered because of a poorly placed boot.
She relaxed her hand on her dagger. She hadn’t realized how hard she had been gripping it.
One step at a time, Talia. You have plenty of time to make it in there. Don’t rush and make a mistake.
She paused while a soldier marched past her location, a good thirty feet from where she crouched. She realized she hadn’t tied her bright red hair back, and pulled a ribbon from a pocket to do just that once he was out of earshot.
She chastised herself. “You’re making dumb mistakes already, woman. Keep your focus and remain aware.” Her nerves were on edge, ca
using pains and odd itches to dance across her skin. It was a significant distraction, but she powered through, focusing her mind on the soldier’s footsteps and blocking the errant thoughts from her mind. She had a mission to complete, and couldn’t allow any mistakes.
After sneaking past, she waited once more for the next sentry to casually make his way through the route.
The two soldiers met at some point in their track and stopped to chat. She couldn’t make out what they said from this distance, but it was as good a time as any to use this opportunity to sneak past both of them.
Soon she was behind the main building.
One more guard roamed to the north, and another to the south, but she was finally here.
Her heart pounded in her chest. Talia desperately wanted to force it to slow, but she knew if she did it would lead to her being discovered. In fact, being this close might allow her to be sniffed out, but she had used the rosemary in her bath for more than just to smell nice.
It blocked the scent of magic, at least for casual observers. He would notice if he was awake.
Taking another deep breath, she flexed her hand once again on her knife, then stood.
Chapter Six
Talia’s heart thundered through her chest as she stood against the back wall of the structure, counting slowly in her head.
The soldier to the south turned around, heading back toward the center. That meant the northern soldier must be at his closest route to the center of the village.
She made her move, padding as swiftly and as quietly as she could.
She came around the corner just as the northern soldier made his turn.
Perfect timing.
She pushed out her magic, halting him in place. After a few more steps, she easily slipped the blade between his ribs.
Talia stabbed him two more times, partially to get the soldiers back for the many times they had done it to her, and partially to ensure he would not survive the wound.