by C. R. Daems
"Too late," I said, watching Lady Shelly come flying across the courtyard with a captain in a black and silver uniform—Wetzel's colors—trying to keep up without running.
"Zara, you're back!" She grabbed me in a bear hug, then stepped back and looked me up and down. "You appear unhurt."
"I'm well, Lady Shelly." I felt touched by her concern for me.
"Come, you need to get cleaned up, and you can tell me what you have been doing all this time. Oh sorry, Captain Dennis, this is Zara, my absent chaperone and companion, who has been running wild for the past month. Duke Wetzel sent Captain Dennis and ten troopers to replace my detail and see me home when I'm ready."
"Zara, I’ve heard a lot about you. You've quite a reputation back in Calle."
"Nice to meet you, Captain," I said as Shelly grabbed my arm and began pulling me toward the castle. "I think I'm being abducted." I shrugged and gave a wry smile.
"Come quietly, or I'll have the Captain call for help. I've been waiting for weeks to hear what happened. Duke Phipps sent a messenger to thank me for my help in disposing of the Sirens, like I actually did something," she said as she crossed the courtyard with me in tow.
"But you did, Lady Shelly. You kept me from leaving, for which I'm thankful. Otherwise, I'd be a wanted woman throughout Aesona."
"Maybe, but it's thanks to you the Sirens are gone, not Phipps or Bradley or anyone else."
"There’s a chain of reasons, beginning with Duke Wetzel and you. Without him and you, I believe the Sirens would have won," I said as she closed the door, a faint blush on her cheeks.
"Duke Wetzel agrees with you, because … he’s elevated me to Viscountess. I'm the only one!" She was jumping up and down and laughing. "There's more, but you first."
"Congratulations, Viscountess Shelly." I gave a low bow. "You're halfway there."
"Where? Oh, duchess." She laughed. "It's Shelly when we're in private, and you’re stalling."
"As you know, I convinced Bradley that he had achieved what Duke Phipps asked him to accomplish and to forget mentioning anything about Sirens who might have escaped. Judging by Phipps’s message to you, Bradley did just that. Anyway, I followed the trail the three started off on…" I tried to avoid the details, but Shelly wouldn't have it, stopping me time and again for the specifics of each day. The telling was a two-hour emotional ride—she cried over the Indians who were murdered by the Sirens and laughed until tears ran down her cheeks over the wolf-spirit and was intently interested in my feelings during the journey.
"I always think you take too many chances, and you do. However, on reflection, I think that when choosing a course of action, you're careful to take the one with the least risk, although it appears to be the one with the most. Like your wolf-spirit act. I think you carefully weighed your options and decided it had the least risk." She studied me with her eyes.
"True. I'm not suicidal. The Indians believe in the animal spirits, so dressed appropriately—"
"Naked?" She giggled.
"Animal spirits don't need clothes. So with me dressed appropriately, they wanted to believe, and I had to assume the two Sirens had good illusions but their speech and actions had everyone confused. So who would they believe, them or the wolf-spirit?"
"Duke Wetzel has awarded you one hundred gold for taking his assignment and wants to talk to us as soon as possible. He has a schooner waiting for us."
* * *
Duke Brodka raised Shelly to Viscountess when he heard Duke Wetzel had. It meant Shelly could appoint a Baron to manage her land while she was away. She appointed a baron named Massey. Everyone won: Baron Massey had land to manage, which meant income and prestige. Duke Brodka got taxes on the property, and Shelly had additional income and a summer estate if she wished. We sailed a week later.
"What are you planning on doing when we return to Calle?" Lutz asked as I stood gazing at the changing coastline. I had never been on a boat, and I found it an interesting experience, although I wouldn't want to be a sailor. We had one day of strong winds that had Shelly, all the troops, and me sick the entire day.
"I think that is going to depend on the duke. They can be difficult people to refuse. Besides, I've been from Calle to Kariso and didn't find any place I felt like I fit. Actually, I found a lot of places I don't."
"Yes, dukes usually get what they want. I'll tell you, the duke pays well. I've earned more in these past few months than the last five years."
* * *
We reached Calle twelve days after leaving Hipula. I had intended to stay at one of the local inns, but Shelly dragged me to the castle, where I was given my own room. I wanted to run. It felt like a cage, and I had no idea what Wetzel wanted. He had scheduled a private breakfast meeting for the next day.
A knock at the door the next morning felt like an invitation to my last meal. I thought Wetzel a fair man, but he was a duke, and they could be ruthless when they wanted something, as Phipps had proven. When I opened the door, Shelly stood there looking bright and excited in an ankle-length black and green combination dress.
"Come, you don't want to be late, do you?" Shelly asked, excitement in her voice.
"No, I'd like to be absent."
"You like dungeons?" She laughed and grabbed my arm. We had barely arrived when the duke entered. Shelly and I gave small bows. Wetzel said nothing, but his lip twitched watching us.
"I'd like to hear all the details of your trip, from leaving Calle to your arrival back here," he said, and proceeded to drag every detail from Shelly and my perspective. We talked through the morning, stopped briefly for lunch, and continued through the afternoon. He wanted every detail, including my tracking of the three Sirens. When we finished, he sat back, alternately staring at Shelly and me.
"It's as I thought. You two—for whatever reason—are a perfect team. You not only work well together but you compliment each other. I have a proposal for you to consider," he said with a slight grin. I'd like you to consider before you say yes, I mused. "My dukedom runs along the Black Mountains, which have multiple Indian tribes that threaten, rob, and kill my people. My barons do nothing except periodically suggest I give them a hundred troopers so they can wipe the Indians out for good. But I agree with you, Zara: we would only lose a hundred good troopers and wouldn't eliminate one tribe, much less the ten or more in those mountains." He stopped for a drink of his wine. Here comes the punch line, I mused, involuntarily holding my breath. "You accomplished more than I could have reasonably expected when I sent you out to Look, and I think you always will. So I'd like to make you, Shelly, Countess of the Black Mountains, and you, Zara, her Warden of the Black Mountains with my authority to do what you can to protect my lands from the Indians." He laughed. "I don't expect you to take troops into the mountains or to get rid of them. That would be unreasonable. I merely ask you provide my barons with practical advice to reduce the threat and killings and to help like you did for me with Shelly."
Shelly looked to me, knowing the titles depended upon my agreement.
"You'd be free to travel and sleep outdoors," she quipped, but her eyes pleaded. It actually is a good offer and may be where I do fit—helping people like those in the Manola Community. Time will tell.
Check out all my novels at:
crdaems.com
and
talonnovels.com
SCIENCE FICTION
The Riss Series:
The Riss Gamble (Book I)
The Riss Proposal (Book II)
The Riss Survival (Book III)
The Riss Accession (Book IV)
The Riss Challenge (Book V)
The Black Guard
FANTASY EPIC
The Shadow Series:
The Shadow Ryana (Book I)
The Shadow Gypsy (Book II)
Zara the Wolf
Women of Power
Talon of the Unnamed Goddess
Scales of Justice
Blood Duty
URBAN FANTASY
The Kazak Serie
s:
The Kazak Guardians: Lynn's Rules (Book I)
The Kazak Guardians: The Unthinkable (Book II)
PARANORMAL ROMANCE / HORROR
The Seer Renee
The Laughing Hounds
HISTORICAL FICTION
The Stewart Chronicles
A King Ensnared (Book I)
A King Uncaged (Book II)
The Black Douglas Trilogy:
Kingdom's Cost (Book I)
Countenance of War (Book II)
Not for Glory (Book III)
Freedom's Sword