by Tamryn Tamer
“I suppose,” Commander Grey answered.
“Don’t worry Commander Grey,” Lysandra smiled politely. “I will be sure to let him know you were kind enough to allow us the wagon for the children when transporting us to be sacrificed.”
“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t phrase it like that,” Commander Grey sighed. “I also want you to know this wasn’t my decision.”
“Obviously,” Lysandra said while looking around at the soldiers accompanying them. “I suppose we should get moving then?”
“Right,” Commander Grey nodded at the soldiers. “Let’s move out!”
CHAPTER 15
Frost wasn’t completely sure what happened, but he didn’t have time to question it as he dashed away from the toppled heroes before they stood back up. One moment they were about to crash down on him and the next it was as if they were hit by an invisible hammer.
“Where do you think you’re going sexy?” A young woman dressed as a butler appeared in front of him. At least he was pretty sure it was a woman based on the sound of her voice. She was short, slim, completely lacking in curves, and had a boyish haircut. But based on the sexy comment he really hoped it was a woman. “Turn that ass around and go get them pretty boy.”
“What?” Frost turned toward the soldiers.
“Shit,” Sir Vance growled. “It’s that fucking bard! Fall back!”
“Like hell!” Danni screamed. “I’m not falling back! That piece of shit killed Danny!”
“Don’t worry,” the butler grinned. “I don’t intend on letting you escape now that I’ve finally come this close to killing you.”
“What’s going on?” Frost asked as the butler twirled a flute. “Bard?”
“That’s right handsome,” the butler said while slapping his ass with her free hand. “The one,” she posed with a finger in the air. “The only,” she said as she twirled. “Black bard of Falion! Brynn the Butler! And you are Frost, the Herald of Shalia.”
“You know me?” Frost said while attempting to scan her but failing. “Should I be concerned?”
“Absolutely not,” Brynn said. “The eight slayers of Blackwater should be concerned though. They killed my family. I’ve been following them for some time hoping for the opportunity you’ve provided today sexy. So, if it’s not too much trouble, I need you to kill them.”
“I’d love to but I’m pretty worn out,” Frost said. “Think we could…”
“No,” Brynn smiled. “We cannot retreat and come back later. Now, get your cute ass back in there and kill them for me Herald Frost.”
“Alright,” Frost sighed realizing he didn’t have much of a choice. His opponents weren’t likely to let him just run away. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to provide support,” Brynn smirked. “Just go with the flow and you’ll be fine.”
“I’m trusting you,” Frost said as the butler placed the flute to her lips. “Don’t let me down.”
“I’ll try not to handsome,” Brynn played a note and Frost felt the wind behind him. “Let’s begin.”
Brynn began playing the flute as Frost drew his sword and rushed forward. He realized the magical wind wasn’t just blowing from a single direction but any direction he shifted to. If he moved to the left the wind shifted to increase his speed and as he jumped it even blasted up beneath him giving him extra height.
“Die already,” the dragoon said meeting Frost midair as Danni fired off a volley of arrows. The arrows shifted direction missing him completely as a wall of wind shot up.
“Get the bard,” Sir Vance said as he and the holy knight rushed toward Brynn. She quickly dashed away like a leaf being carried by the wind and her playing gradually grew more complex. “Danni! Bard first!”
“They’re leaving you to me,” Frost grinned as the dragoon attempted to leapt backwards. He quickly shifted his focus to the bard as well and Frost saw an opportunity. He acted like he was going to chase the dragoon while pulling out a pair of knives from his satchel but turned toward the sniper.
“Danni!” the dragoon shouted but it was too late. As Danni changed his focus toward Brynn, Frost threw the dagger as hard as he could landing it square in his back. It didn’t kill the sniper but caused him to fall allowing Frost to approach and as soon as he was in range, he threw the other knife into Danni’s skull finishing the job.
“Shit!” the dragoon watched as the two plate wearers chased the bard. Sir Vance attempted to use dark magic but Brynn was continually out of range. The butler was jumping around while being carried away as the plate wearers attempted to lock her down.
“Do you have time for that?” Frost said as he slashed at the daydreaming dragoon. He knew what the dragoon was thinking, his party members were idiots. They realized that the support needed to die but they didn’t have a way to reach the support.
“Stop chasing!” the dragoon yelled as he attempted to parry Frost’s attack. “Get over here and help me!”
“Too late,” Frost said while using his bucker to smack the dragoon’s spear to the side. He rushed in and plunged his sword into the dragoon’s stomach and turned the handle like a crank tearing up his guts. “Don’t worry, they’re next.”
Everything was easier with Brynn backing him up. The wind made his movement faster and he imagined she was also debuffing the enemies to slow them down. He pulled his sword from the dragoon’s stomach and rushed toward the warriors.
“Fuck!” Sir Vance glanced at Frost rushing toward them and then back at Brynn. The knight made an immediate decision to fall back and ran toward the villagers. The holy knight took a few seconds to realize he was being left behind and decided to run at the worst possible time.
“Now!” Brynn yelled as a smashing wind came crashing down on the holy knight. He quickly created three separate barriers which Frost slashed through as the knight raised his shield. “Do you have this?”
“Yeah,” Frost nodded as Brynn chased after Sir Vance.
“Fool,” the holy knight said as his mace came crashing down. Frost dodged the blow as well as the attempted shield bash. He may have lost the wind at his back but even in his exhausted state he knew he could handle the equally exhausted knight. “Divine Judgment!”
“Dammit,” Frost said while jumping out of the way. He narrowly avoided the golden hammer as it came crashing down. A series of subsequent hammers came down and Frost avoided them while keeping an eye on the holy knight. He was still grossly underestimating the mental strength and subsequently magical power of his opponents. “I don’t have time for this!”
Frost dodged another hammer and rushed toward the knight as a series of barriers popped up again. He shattered them as the holy knight’s shield came up to defend against his attack. Frost jumped and as the knight lifted his shield to defend from above Frost landed on top of it and propelled himself higher before smashing back down causing the knights shield to fall.
“Now just die,” Frost said as he slipped his sword between the neck of the helmet and the plate cuirass. As he felt the blade pierce the rear of the knight’s neck, he pulled it out while slashing causing the head to fly off as if he’d been decapitated by a propeller. Frost looked around for Brynn but only saw terrified villagers. Then he saw the bard jumping around in the distance he chased after her. “I shouldn’t be wasting my time here.”
It didn’t take long for Frost to catch up with Sir Vance since Brynn had been slowing him down. As soon as he was in range he felt her supportive magic take hold increasing the speed of his approach.
“Shit, shit, shit,” Sir Vance attempted to deflected Frost’s strike with his axe. Frost immediately dropped his sword swapping to unarmed combat, grabbed the axe, and propelled himself around catching Sir Vance’s head with his boot knocking him on the ground. “No, no, no, please, stop!”
“Whose gave the order?” Frost asked while stepping on the knight’s chest.
“What?” Sir Vance asked. “The prince of course! We only answer to the pri
nce! I was only following orders!”
“If you’re thinking about sparing him…” Brynn started to say as Frost picked up his sword and sliced off Sir Vance’s head. “Oh, never mind.”
“Are we good?” Frost asked while glancing south. “I really need to go.”
“You need to rest sexy,” Brynn said while playfully poking his chest. “My, that is hard, isn’t it? Anyway, if you try to do anything in your current condition…”
“I need to go,” Frost repeated while gripping his sword. “You saved me, I killed them. Are we good?”
“Afraid not,” Brynn answered. “Not by a longshot handsome. I saved your life. You don’t owe me their lives. You owe me your life.”
“I suppose right now is your best chance to collect then,” Frost said while taking a defensive stance.
“Don’t misunderstand handsome,” Brynn grinned. “You owe me your life, not your death. There’s a difference. I own you, not your corpse.”
“Good luck with that,” Frost scoffed while walking toward the soldier’s horses.
“Hold it,” Brynn commanded as he felt a gust of wind slow him.
“Are we doing this?” Frost asked as he turned to face Brynn. The bard was smiling and shaking her head at him. “What?”
“You’re lucky you’re pretty because damn you’re stupid,” Brynn said while pointing at the corpses. “You need better gear than flimsy iron swords and low-quality leather, right?”
“Right,” Frost said suspiciously as he approached the corpse of Sir Vance and used a harvesting gem to separate his loot from his body. “Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me yet handsome,” Brynn said. “I can’t have my property dying.”
“Property?” Frost scoffed.
“Yes,” Brynn smirked. “Property. You are mine. A life for a life.”
“I gave you eight,” Frost said while looting the items. Not much of the gear was likely to fit him but the gloves and boots might, even if they were a little snug. He rushed toward the other corpses with Brynn casting her support magic. “We’re more than even.”
“You gave me eight corpses,” Brynn said smugly. “None of which equates to a life.”
“Okay,” Frost said while ignoring the fleeing villagers as he looted the dead heroes. “So, I guess I have to save your life?”
Brynn followed him as he walked from corpse to corpse accumulating weapons, armor, and accessories. Every one of the eight heroes he killed was holding onto several swords, daggers, maxes, bows, and even a few weapons he hadn’t seen. He was actually concerned his pack was going to run out of space but fortunately, the dead heroes had extra packs.
When he got to Sir Thomas’ corpse, he found a spellbook full of elemental magic and wished he had time to thumb through it. He also wished that the priestess hadn’t turned to ash along with all of her items.
“I can’t agree with that trade,” Brynn said. “My life isn’t as valuable as yours. So, I’ll be keeping yours.”
“We can talk about this another time,” Frost said as he headed toward the horses. The one he’d ridden there had already run off and even if it hadn’t, it was exhausted. “Right now, I have to save my friends.”
“Your friends?” Brynn grinned. “The way I heard it, you’re a little more than friendly with them Herald Frost.”
“Do you have a problem with that?” Frost asked while climbing on a horse. He immediately felt his riding ability kick in and the horse was his. It was faster and stronger than his previous mount and would easily make the trip to Blackwater.
“Of course I am,” Brynn jumped up and landed in his saddle. “I don’t mind if you’re a deviant as long as you know you’re mine.”
“Why don’t you take one of the other horses?” Frost said as she wrapped her arms around him. “You’re going to wear this one out.”
“I’m light weight,” Brynn said smugly. “And my riding skill is only level three. We’ll make better time sharing the horse.”
“Fine,” Frost said as he sensed the horse could still easily make the trip. It probably was faster to share the horse and he might still need her assistance rescuing the elves. “Just so you know I sleep with the elves.”
“And?” Brynn said while squeezing him. “You can bed whoever or whatever you want as long as it doesn’t interfere with your marital duties handsome.”
“Marital duties?” Frost laughed. “You think I’m going to marry you?”
“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice,” Brynn said. “You owe me your life. As I’ve been saying, I intend to collect it.”
“We’ll talk about this later,” Frost said while focusing on his riding. He hoped he could make back in time to protect them. As he looked at his strength, he was also concerned about whether or not he’d recover enough by the time they arrived. “The priority right now is saving the elves.”
“Of course,” Brynn said. “Now, let’s see. Oh, you’re going to want to turn two degrees that way.”
“I’m heading toward Blackwater,” Frost said. “I need to…”
“You need to free the elves,” Brynn interrupted. “Which is best done before they reach the city. They’ll be traveling to Blackwater by foot making them slow. So, maybe we can intercept them at Nemisol Bridge and avoid invading Blackwater.”
“Will we make it there in time?” Frost asked while slightly shifting direction.
“I don’t think that’ll be the issue,” Brynn while pulling one of her hands from Frost’s waist. She played a few notes on her flute and the horse started moving faster. “Now, aren’t you happy we decided to ride together?”
“I suppose,” Frost said while focusing on the road in front of him. He could sense both the horse’s excitement and concern as it galloped faster than ever before.
“So,” Brynn said cheerfully while wrapping her hands back around his waist. “Since we have almost a full day’s ride ahead of us, let’s talk about the wedding.”
“I said we’d talk about it…”
“I heard you before sexy,” Brynn said. “But you’re a captive audience now. So, we should probably discuss the Shalia thing. Technically, I’m a worshipper of Ziralia but I’m non-practicing so I suppose I’m willing to become a follower of Shalia but I’d have some conditions.”
“I don’t care what religion you are,” Frost said. “And now’s not the time for this. The elves are…”
“Not going to be rescued any faster by avoiding the conversation cutie,” Brynn interrupted. “Do they have a temple in their village? I’d like to be married as soon as possible. You kind of seem like the type of person who’ll die an untimely death so I’d like to…”
“I don’t want to marry you,” Frost argued. “And I don’t want to talk about this!”
“It’s so cute that you think you have a choice,” Brynn teased. “But unless you have a good reason to oppose the marriage it’s happening.”
“You’re too young,” Frost replied.
“I’m twenty,” Brynn said. “And some people get married disturbingly young so it’s not really an excuse. Try again.”
“You’re twenty?” Frost said while staring at the boyish bard. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t know you.”
“That’s common in arranged marriages,” Brynn said. “Consider this an arranged marriage. I own you and I’ve arranged it.”
“I’ll sleep with other people,” Frost replied hoping it’d get her to drop the subject. “I’m not loyal.”
“Good one,” Brynn nodded. “But no woman marrying a herald expects them to remain loyal.”
“You’d let me sleep with other people?” Frost asked.
“I don’t see how I could stop you,” Brynn answered. “But most heralds have several wives so it’s not as though I didn’t expect it.”
“I wouldn’t want you sleeping with other men,” Frost said. “How do you feel about that?”
“Aww,” Brynn squeezed him. “You’re already being possessive! I know you’d come around
.”
“I’m not coming around,” Frost argued. “I don’t want to be married and I’d make an awful husband.”
“That’s for me to decide,” Brynn said teasingly.
“I refuse,” Frost said.
“You can’t,” Brynn said smugly.
“I just did.”
“Doesn’t matter. It’s up to me. I can accept the proposal in your place.”
“You’d just be marrying yourself,” Frost said as he pictured her at an alter doing all of the work. “Might make for an interesting honeymoon.”
“You have to marry me before I’ll let you bed me,” Brynn said. “And you want to bed me.”
“Elves are prettier,” Frost said. “I’d rather bed them.”
“Now you’re just being mean,” Brynn said. “You should be nicer. You need me after all.”
“Need you?” Frost scoffed. “You’re helpful but I don’t need you.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Brynn said. “I’m Brynn the Butler, The Black Bard of Falion, but most importantly I’m a princess of Zira.”
“A princess?” Frost asked while resisting the urge to stop the horse, tie her up, and hold her hostage in Blackwater.
“Don’t get any strange ideas sexy,” Brynn chuckled. “The king’s second wife only had boys, but she’d always wanted a girl and begged the king to allow her to adopt me. He gave in and I was raised with four brothers. Of course, none of them liked me because my mother doted on me and when she passed away, they cut my hair and made me a servant. I suppose it was their way to get back at me. If I’m being honest, I was a little bit spoiled. But, the fact I looked like a butler is also what saved me when the eight slayers came to kill my family.”
“That’s why you wanted to kill them,” Frost said. “But shouldn’t you be killing the one who gave the order?”
“Why do you think I’m so willing to help you kill Prince Erik?” Brynn said. “You see, my stepbrother…is he my stepbrother? He’s my adopted mother’s husband’s fourth wife’s son. Whatever that makes him. It doesn’t really matter. What matters is he has been rather aggressively eliminating any potential threats to him inheriting the throne. That includes me. Hence why I maintain the butler persona. But, if you were to marry Princess Brynn Hilde of Zira, that would make your goal of running your own territory pretty legitimate.”