Pledged

by Gwynneth White

  Erin bit into a tangy marula and chewed before answering. “Caleb and Jared – Daniel too – were sent to lift the curse. Right?”

  “But obviously they failed, or we wouldn’t be here.” Seth glanced at Erin to assess her mood. The last time they’d had a conversation like this, she’d screamed at him. Now she seemed to be in control, so he relaxed enough to slice the meat with his sword. “Although, Caleb’s doing pretty well. Apart from his train smash with Talitha.”

  Erin felt a growl coming on. She fought it off by taking a swig of water. “Yes. Apart from that little disaster, he’s managed to avoid pledging himself to his father and Reuel. And he’s fighting off Sophia.”

  “With difficulty, given that she’s got some supernatural, hypnotic power over him.” Seth chomped down on piece of meat. “Tasty. Here, try some.”

  She popped the meat into her mouth. “Excellent biltong. That’s what we South Africans call this kind of meat. Or, as you Americans would say, jerky.”

  He grinned at her. “You just can’t help yourself, can you? You have to have a name and an answer for everything.”

  “I like knowing things. But right now there’s a whole load of stuff I don’t know, and it’s driving me wild.” She paused, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

  “Don’t keep me in suspense.”

  “Well, firstly, why are Caleb and Jared trying to kill each other?”

  “Because of the curse,” Seth replied carefully, scared of inciting another attack by stating the obvious.

  “But the curse only kicks in after Reuel’s Sons have made their promise of allegiance to the ruling Overlord, and therefore to Reuel. Caleb and Jared started fighting before Jared was Pledged. Why?”

  “Because they’ve fought like wild cats forever. It was always fight and make up with those two. It’s why they always got along so well, I suppose.” He smiled at her. “Maybe we should try it.”

  She giggled. “You’re not a fighter, so that wouldn’t work.”

  “Good. So let’s give peace a chance.” He said it firmly to make his point. “And, anyway, why’s it significant when they started fighting?”

  “I don’t know. I just sense that it is.”

  They ate in silence. Then Erin asked, “Who destroyed Shenaya? Caleb or his son? And why is everyone so focused on Caleb, when it seems so obvious that the Predictor could refer to the birth of the baby? And why wasn’t the curse lifted when Shenaya was destroyed? Does Shenaya actually still exist on some level? And what are Marlthas and Rustus going to do about Caleb and Daniel? Kill them? And Phineas? How does he fit in all this?”

  “You know as much as I do, Sparkles.”

  Sparkles! Erin suppressed her whoop of delight behind a coy smile. “Seth, aren’t you just dying to find out the answers to all these intriguing questions?”

  Seth didn’t reply. He could feel his spirit smirking, and it irritated him. “Smart girl, our Erin. She knows exactly how to hook you.”

  I have to go back to Kyle. Nothing is going to change that.

  “But you also want all these answers. Admit it. And Erin’s nasty mood swings seem to be under control. Even more incentive to stay.”

  Seth sighed. Then he made the mistake of looking at Erin. She was smiling her most dimpled smile, her green eyes pleading. Knowing he was a complete sap, hating himself for it, he said, “Okay, Erin. You win. We’ve got questions to answer. Let’s move.”

  It took a moment for Erin to understand that Seth had offered to stay in Shenaya. When she did, she shouted a quick Yes! to herself and Stephanie.

  “I said you could do it. You’ve got him roped. Now let’s see if you can keep him on the trail.”

  Chapter 14

  KNIFE-EDGE

  The answer trail led them to a noisy crowd in the Lord’s Hall. It was party-time in Shenaya. The tables had been cleared away and a dozen minstrels gathered in one corner, playing a variety of ancient instruments Erin had only ever read about in history books. Couples of all ages twirled in time to the music. Their faces were hidden behind elaborate bird and animal faces.

  “Not exactly a rave,” Seth said, shaking his head as he watched the couple closest to them. From their stilted movements and total lack of conversation, he guessed they’d been amongst the couples that had offered sacrifice that morning. The boy was wearing an eagle-faced mask made from red and black feathers. His bride looked cute behind a cuddly rabbit face, complete with rabbit ears pinned to her head. Seth chuckled. “Predator and prey. Hardly likely to inspire romance, is it? These Shenayans are totally weird. How they actually managed to procreate is a complete mystery.”

  Erin said nothing. Although she had just lured Seth into giving up his hunt for Reuel’s helper with a line about needing answers, she was suddenly tired of being a spectator in other peoples’ lives. She took Seth’s hands and tried to pull him towards her. “Dance with me.”

  Seth dug his feet into the floor. As much as he liked the idea, he just wasn’t sure he could trust himself not to do more than just dance if he held her. “I’ve got two left feet.”

  “I don’t believe that.” She was about to drape her arms around his neck when Seth forestalled her. He took her hands and pulled her towards him, swaying tantalisingly close, but not quite touching her. Erin leaned in, needing to make contact with him.

  He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest, keeping her hands trapped in his. “So, Sparkles, how about doing some sleuthing? You like rummaging around in these Shenayans’ minds. Find out what’s going on.”

  She wriggled her hands free and traced her fingers up his arms. Although he did his best to hide it, a shiver trilled through him; he wondered if she’d noticed. She was smiling as she held him, so he guessed she had. Not good, he told himself.

  “Yes, it is. You’re about as bad as these pathetic Shenayans,” his spirit chirped. “In fact, you’re such a wuss, you don’t even qualify for an eagle mask. A cute little bunny wabbit will have to do.”

  Seth allowed Erin to put her head against his chest, praying his galloping heartbeat wouldn’t betray him.

  “I’ll sleuth later. Now, I want to take a break from Shenayans and their curses and just be.” With you, she added silently. Dancing in your arms, praying that you’ll tell me that I mean more to you than your promise to Kyle.

  When Seth said nothing, Erin’s delight faded. To make matters worse, she could feel tension building in his back muscles. He obviously wasn’t comfortable with her in his arms. It was heartbreaking. A teary lump threatened to crush her trachea. Please. No more crazy tears. Stephanie. Help! Keep me sane.

  Stephanie flitted over and brushed her fingers across Erin’s face. “Anyone would think I’m your personal mood adjustor.” She spoke in Erin’s mind only, so Seth couldn’t hear.

  You are. And I’m so miserable. Seth doesn’t . . . Erin stopped. Stephanie was rolling her eyes. Okay. Get a grip, right?

  “Right.”

  As Stephanie smiled at her, Erin’s tearful mood passed. Respecting Seth’s wishes, she reluctantly broke away from him.

  “Oh man!” Seth’s spirit breathed. “In the nick of time. If I’d had to breath in her smell for one minute longer, I’d have made you kiss her.”

  And you would have succeeded. This is a killer! Cuddly wabbit or not, I have got to keep my distance from her. Not wanting to make eye contact with Erin, Seth smiled at Stephanie. “So, angel, what’s the buzz here with all these weirdo Shenayans?”

  “Glad you asked, Seth. What you’re seeing is a primordial mix of fear and lust.” Stephanie laughed at Seth’s puzzled expression. “Or, simply put, just another part of the marriage ceremony.”

  “And the masks?” Erin asked.

  “According to these very odd Shenayans, these hours of darkness during which the marriage is to be consummated are the most perilous of times.” Stephanie waved her hands in front of her face, making ghost sounds. “Evil spirits are abroad, you see. So everyone gathers for
a masked ball on the wedding night. The idea being that the Gefallen won’t recognise the newly-weds. Then, as the night progresses, the newbies vanish to consummate their marriages while the adults dance.”

  “And that works?” Erin asked.

  “No. Of course not,” Stephanie replied. “The living can be really dumb.”

  “Talking about the dumb living – what’s happened with Caleb and Sophia?” Seth asked.

  “You tell me, Seth. After all, you’re the one feeling Caleb’s heartbeat.”

  Seth and Erin faced the crowd, looking for Caleb and Sophia. Erin spotted Sophia first. There was no mistaking her, swirling past them in a black silk dress. Her face was dramatically masked with the black and white feathers of the long-tailed bush shrike. From her past research into African myths and legends, Erin knew this bird was regarded as ‘the scatterer of enemies.’ Only warriors, determined not to return from battle without having won a victory, ever wore the feathers of the butcherbird. She wondered if Sophia had chosen the shrike on purpose. Knowing Sophia, she probably had.

  Seth was stunned to see Caleb dancing with her. He turned to Stephanie. “Has he lost it completely? After all that scary hypnotic stuff today, I figured he’d only ever talk to her again at gun point.”

  “Gun point!” Stephanie chuckled. “You can be so funny, Seth.” Then her voice became serious. “I remember the first time Lucien saw me. He hated me. And his father for forcing him to marry me. But he couldn’t resist me. Any more than Caleb can resist Sophia. A Norin temptress completely scrambles her Shadow Lord’s brain. He hates her, but he wants her. He loves her, but he wants to kill her. He wants to run away, but he keeps coming back. Reason has no sway.”

  “And it’s been like that since you married Lucien?” Erin asked, awed by the power Stephanie was describing. It was almost frightening.

  “Unchanged.”

  “So today, Sophia with her eyes . . .”

  “Every Norin temptress affects her Shadow Lord differently.” Stephanie flicked her long, silky brown hair over her shoulder. “With me and Lucien, it was my hair. I could tie him in knots with it. Literally.”

  Seth and Erin exchanged glances. Somehow neither of them wanted to explore that thought any further.

  “So how does a Shadow Lord resist his temptress?” Erin asked, watching Sophia twining herself around Caleb.

  “We’re all still waiting for a Shadow Lord to show us,” Stephanie admitted. “As you know, we have great hopes for Caleb.”

  Caleb move away from Sophia, holding her at arm’s length.

  “Hey,” Seth suddenly said to Stephanie, “does that mean you don’t know the future?

  “Only Gideon and Nathan have been into the Mists of Time. The rest of us operate on faith. Just like you mortals.”

  With that sobering thought, they listened in to see how Caleb was doing with his temptress.

  “Oh, yes, Sophia,” he was saying, “I almost forgot. Ambassador Previs had a few instruments – a harp, a lyre, and a flute – delivered here. For you, I understand.”

  “Oh, thank goodness! I was wondering if they’d been lost in the boats that went down as we were coming over.”

  “You lost some boats. How could you be so careless?” His voice held a smile, removing the worst of the sting.

  “We hit a storm, the worst I’ve ever seen. Two of our boats are now lying at the bottom of the lake. It was as if the gods themselves was trying to stop us getting here.”

  Pity it wasn’t your boat that landed at the bottom of the lake, Caleb thought. But when he spoke he injected a measured amount of interest and concern into his voice. “How thankful we can be that both you and your instruments survived. Maybe you can play for me sometime. I happen to like the flute.”

  “I’d love to. Just say when.” She looked at him expectantly, her eyes startlingly blue through the slits in her mask.

  He gave a hollow laugh and looked away before she could hook him again. “I think we’ve done our bit for dancing.” He pulled off his honey badger face and flung it down onto the floor.

  Sophia made a show of prodding his mask with her toe. “And the evil spirits? Aren’t they going to attack us now.” She hid the derision in her voice; no one in Norin believed in something as ridiculous as evil spirits haunting peoples’ marriages.

  “Too late for that. They got me sometime round dawn this morning. When I took you to the altar.” Caleb walked away from her, over to a drinks table. After grabbing a goblet of palm wine, he leaned against the wall, morosely watching the dancers.

  Sophia pulled off her mask and joined him. The silence between them allowed her thoughts to wander.

  Erin listened in until she noticed Seth walking off towards the minstrels. She grabbed his shirt. “Are you getting this?”

  He turned to face her. “Getting what?”

  “Sophia’s thoughts.”

  He shook his head. “It seems my frequency has become limited to Caleb and Jared.”

  “That’s because you care about them more. But you’ll want to hear this because it’s all about Jared. And, oh boy, is she thinking about him!”

  “A girl’s version of ‘I want sex,’ I suppose.”

  “No,” Erin giggled. “Nothing as blatant as that. He looked after her all day while Caleb was gone.”

  Seth dug into Caleb’s head to find out why Sophia had spent the day with Jared. After dumping her, Caleb had gone for a long walk into the bush to check his snares. He’d arrived back at the Fortress just moments before the dance started. “So what’s Jared been up to?” Seth asked, not sure he really wanted to know.

  “He took Sophia to Daniel, to meet his hawk. Sophia loved that. The hawk, I mean. Then Jared spent the rest of the day making her laugh. Teasing her. Flirting.” Erin frowned. “The swine basically did everything in his charming power to confuse her. Right now she’s so torn between getting to know Jared better – with all the risk that entails – and saving her parents’ lives by sticking to the original plan.”

  “He’s definitely smooth. Next time we see each other – eyeball to eyeball, that is – I’m going to tear his head off his shoulders.”

  “I’d like to see you do that, my pacifist.”

  “I might like peace, Erin, but that doesn’t mean I appreciate guys who use and hurt people they’re supposed to love. To be honest, it just sets up a slow burn.”

  Erin leaned back against the wall, thinking about her father and Frank. Both of them had used and hurt the people they were supposed to love. It was comforting to know that Seth was different. Caleb’s voice broke into her musing.

  “Come, Sophia.” Caleb took her arm and led her outside onto the battlement. The rest of the revellers flocked out behind them. “Watch down there in town,” he said. “Opher is about to close the marriage sacrifice.” As he spoke a plume of orange flame leapt into the night sky.

  “He’s burning it! All those weapons,” Sophia said, wide-eyed with astonishment.

  “Yes. Sadly. There goes my bow. The best in Shenaya.” He frowned. Then his voice dropped to little more than a whisper. “But I suppose I shouldn’t whinge. I can always make another one. It’s the Outcasts who really suffer.”

  Startled by that remark, Sophia really looked at Caleb, seeing past his beautiful face and body, and her own revulsion at marrying him. “What do you mean?”

  He hesitated before whispering, “For us to give up our weapons is really no big sacrifice. The Armoury reopens after the marriage festival and everyone will be rearmed. But the Outcasts sacrifice their clothing and household goods, and those are not so easily replaced. It’s a huge price for them to pay.”

  Sophia studied his face as he stared down at the flames, trying to understand the emotion behind those quietly spoken words. “You sound like you don’t approve,” she finally said.

  He turned to face her. “Well, do you?”

  She shook her head. “I believe it should all change. That’s why I’m here.”

 
; “That’s why you’re here,” Caleb repeated. “Of course that’s why you’re here.” In an instant, he was back on the corpse-strewn hill, watching a Lightning Bird consume itself, listening to a disembodied voice telling him that Sophia’s son would destroy him. Hate and anger, more intense than any he’d ever experienced, engulfed him. “I’ve already told you, our so-called marriage will never be consummated, so you can forget about having a son.”

  In Sophia’s mind she could see hordes of Pledged swarming into Norin, murdering her parents, and everyone else she loved. “Caleb,” she pleaded. It was too late. He had already fled.

  Isobel and all the other Gefallen threw back their heads, shrieking with laughter. In a blur of black and crimson, they swarmed the rampart, leaving an icy trail of fear upon the living. Everyone except Sophia, Seth, and Erin stampeded back into the Lord’s Hall. Now alone on the battlement, Sophia buried her face in her hands.

  From out of the deepest shadows, a familiar voice spoke: “What an entertaining evening, my lady. Short, I have to admit – but definitely amusing.”

  Fighting joy she knew she should not be feeling, Sophia whispered Jared’s name.

  He leaned forward into the moonlight, holding out a goblet. She hesitated, then sidled over to join him, disguising her joy behind a scowl of disapproval. “You have a habit of standing in dark places, listening to conversations not intended for your ears, Jared. How much of this one did you hear?” She took the drink.

  “That would be telling.” He smiled and touched his goblet up against hers. “Now, my Sophia, another warning. Shenna is lethal stuff. Drink it slowly – if at all.”

  “Thank you. That’s all you ever do . . . warn me about things. And let me remind you, I’m not your Sophia.” She took a large gulp of the palm wine and doubled-up, spraying it over him. Coughing, eyes streaming, she flung the goblet over the battlement.

  Jared laughed quietly. “My lovely, will you please see that I’m on your side. And listen to my warnings.”

  “Ugh.” She wiped her mouth and tongue on her dress, not caring what Jared thought of her. “What is it with you Shenayans? Everything you do is disgusting.”