Honor Bound

by Michelle Howard

  Miki fingered the map once more and then slid it into the pocket of her leggings. Shortly, she’d know if the long ago written words spoke truth. Taking a deep breath, Miki moved forward. A cold breeze snapped on the air and instantly chilled her skin. Miki rubbed the pebbled flesh on her arms.

  The low curved ceiling caused her to walk bent over for the first several feet but soon the rough ground shifted downward, revealing a narrow stairway. Above her head the space widened. Miki straightened with her arms to her side for guidance and walked forward. Dampness greeted her hands when she made contact with the cave walls. Miki flinched in disgust and yanked her hands back. Using only her sense of touch, she inched carefully down each carved step.

  The soles of her shoes squished with every step. Miki refused to look down. She didn’t want any details about the things she stepped on. Musty air and putrid rot filled her nose each time she inhaled. She pursed her lips and blocked out the scent.

  Further along when she reached the bottom, the cave widened and light shown ahead. The map offered no further details. Miki plunged forward and came to an abrupt halt. She faced the entrance of a large circular room well lit by glow stones on each wall. At the center of the room, a large fire burned from a rock covered pit. Surrounding the flames as if in rest, sixteen large male bodies lay on their backs stretched out on the stone ground.

  Miki’s breath rasped in her chest. Blessed One, the journal spoke truth. ‘The flame shall burn as ever does my love for my son. May its healing warmth hold him close as I can not.’ As Ashaya’s words from her journal came to mind, Miki did a slow turn, taking in the magnificent sight of the Kabanian warriors

  Arms folded over their bare chest and dressed in black tough skin leathers, they each presented an imposing figure. Warlords without equal and known as fighters who gave no mercy in battle. Miki crept forward, careful of her steps. The first warrior lay closest to her booted foot. His dark hair a sleek fall about his head. Miki kneeled beside him and reached out to touch his tanned arm. Heat. She pulled back. His body was hot to the touch.

  Loosening the pouch at her waist, Miki’s eyes greedily sucked in his appearance. Over six feet in height and thick all over, they were nothing like the small lean figures of the men she lived with. ‘Of course not,’ she chided herself. They were Kabanian warriors, not Raasa males. Unable to resist, she stroked a finger over his bare chest. Again, warm flesh to her touch.

  Her mind puzzled that fact. Where was the hard plated armor they reportedly wore? Had the coccar insects that protected them, died during their forced years of sleep? Had the sleeping mixture damaged them?

  She shook her head. Too many questions to answer when she needed to hurry. Miki looked over all of the men. She wanted to bargain with Vaan Galip. Overlord Vaan’s reputation claimed him the fiercest warrior ever to walk the land. His honor reputed to be equal to his strength and intensity.

  Miki needed a fierce warrior at her side. Warlord Thenl vowed to return soon with a contingent of warriors to force her to join with him. She’d refused his initial request a week ago, having no desire to create a True Union with a man whose actions spoke of a lack of concern for those who stood in his way. The fact that Kaban suffered during his leadership supported her decision. The last three years showed a decline in the people. All of it Thenl’s fault, she believed. Miki did not want that for Raasa and definitely not for the people of her house.

  Miki reached into her pouch and pulled out the first injector. The yellow liquid looked ordinary but the thickness of the fluid assured Miki that the venom she’d added had not lost its potency. She hoped Eran’s explanation spoke the truth.

  One dose of this should bring the Kaban warrior from his deep sleep. She placed the small square on his muscled forearm and pressed down. A small click and the fluid drained out until the injector emptied. Miki licked her lips and leaned back on her heels.

  The warrior’s eyelids flickered. “Blessed One,” she gasped. The muscles in his arms twitched. Suddenly, he jolted and sat upright. Miki tried to scramble backward but the hand closest to her reached out and clamped around her throat.

  “What are you doing?”

  He growled the words in the standard tongue. Miki choked out her response in the same language. “Helping. I’m helping.”

  He released her as suddenly as he’d grabbed her and she fell on her backside. Miki massaged her sore throat, her heart pounding in her chest. The warrior looked around at the prone figures of his brethren. Miki rubbed her hands on her leggings to distill the dampness.

  “What goes on here?” He pinned her with eyes as dark as the coals used to heat the house fires.

  “I am Mikayla,” she started.

  “You are Raasa,” he growled, as if her race were an insult.

  Nerves tangled in a ball in her belly. “Yes.”

  “We were poisoned. Are you a part of Thenl’s treachery?”

  Miki blinked at the mention of the Warlord who would not accept her refusal to be with him. “I had no hand in harming you and your men.” This must be Vaan. The look he aimed her way boiled with fury.

  Miki climbed to her feet. The warrior copied her actions. Moving to a crouch and then rising to his full height. He was indeed large. Larger than Thenl and the band of warriors he’d brought with him to her home. The warrior’s broad shoulders stretched as his head swiveled this way and that.

  “You will explain your actions and why I am up but my fellow warriors remain in death’s embrace.” His hands curled into fists at his side while his dark head lowered to gaze at her.

  Miki backed up a step and stumbled over a warrior behind her. She cried out and fell to her hands and knees. The warrior did nothing to assist her, and Miki decided then and there she would not present her offer to him. She’d choose another. One of the other Warlords who would prove to be as fearless as the Overlord glaring at her would work fine.

  “You were not poisoned. Your mother managed to switch the drink with a sleeping draught.”

  “What?” Surprise flashed across his stern features.

  “Ashaya kept a journal. In it, she detailed Thenl’s plot and how Dakar helped him to betray you and your top Warlords.”

  A longer stare pinned her to the spot. Miki dared not move.

  “How did you…” he waved a hand at his form. “Awaken me from this sleep?”

  She showed him her leather pouch with the injectors. “She used a small dose of sakar to create the deep sleep.”

  He glared but she stood her ground. “You will revive the others.”

  Miki swallowed. “I planned to.”

  Under his watchful stare, she went to the next man and knelt beside him. The heat of the warriors stare burned a hole in her shoulders as she posted the injection. This time, she leaped back when the warrior jerked upright. He stood slowly and looked as if he contemplated Miki’s demise.

  The first warrior said something to him. Miki frowned. They spoke Kaban. After the exchange, the one she identified as Vaan pointed at her. “Continue. Do not stop until they all rise.”

  Legs quivering, Miki hurried to each man and gave him the sakar. After each injection, she observed and tried to discern which warrior would be fierce enough to battle Thenl.

  All of them could crush her with their massive frames but only the toughest would suit her needs. She knelt beside the last man, ignoring the babble of the others as they talked amongst themselves in Kaban. She knew they discussed her but could not focus on that yet. Her heart hammered in her throat as she shook uncontrollably. Her plan must succeed.

  Miki reached into her pouch and her fingers came away sticky. “No.” She opened the leather bag further only to pull out the smashed pieces of the last injector. Her stomach dropped. Broken glass and wasted venom.

  “Why do you stop?”

  Miki held up her hand and showed him. “It’s broken. I have no more.” She moistened her lips and kept her gaze focused. Terror welled up inside.

  The Warlords surro
unded her and the man still to be awakened. Blessed One. Miki thought fast. Fifteen strong males that could hurt her if they wanted. “I can make more. It should work.” She could produce more venom from the sac beneath her upper gum line but she had no injector. Raasa venom was poisonous in concentrated amounts. The injector minimized this risk by directing it to the blood stream.

  “You will make it work,” the first warrior decreed.

  Miki shoved the broken pieces in her pouch, her movements jerky. “This is your fault. If you hadn’t grabbed me, I wouldn’t have fallen and broken the last one. I can use my venom but…”

  “You will make it work,” he repeated.

  The other Warlords eyed her with suspicion. One went so far as to unsheathe his sword from his chest harness. His dark shoulder length hair was a match to his brethren. Miki knew the Kabanians typically sported dark hair and eyes although their skin seemed to change with the climate. Hotter months darkened them enough to be similar to the gold tint of a Raasa.

  Miki took a deep shuddering breath. “I am going to try but now would be a good time to bargain.”

  “Bargain.” His expression darkened. “I will kill you where you stand, Raasa.”

  “Fine, Overlord. Then this warrior won’t awaken.”

  More grumbles as they talked. An argument broke out among them. They gestured in her direction and then the prone warrior. Their discussion became heated before the Overlord made a slashing motion with his hand.

  “What is your bargain?” He stood over Miki, his hands on his narrow waist.

  Miki sucked her tongue and pushed on her gum to stimulate her sac. Glancing down at this final warrior, she thought long and hard. His build mirrored the others. Tall, she judged by the length of his legs in the black leather. A dagger rested strapped to his right thigh. Muscled, as well, with his chest bare of any adornment save the harness criss-crossing his shoulders and abdomen. The hilt of his sword gleamed visible over his shoulder.

  Again, she noted the smoothness of tanned flesh. No scars marred his upper body. The coccar served them well. None of the men had scarring on their body. She reached up and smoothed back the long black hair from his face. The length probably longer than her own falling to his broad shoulders. Miki was fascinated by the texture. Raasa males lost the hair on their heads as soon as they matured.

  “Woman speak!”

  Miki jumped and pulled her hand back. “I wish a True Union. I…” Could she put her plan in action? “I need a warrior for my mate. The fiercest Warlord possible.”

  His dark eyes stared at her. The men around stayed as silent. Not by a twitch of their unusual eyebrows did they betray confusion at her request.

  “No,” he responded.

  Miki gasped. “You can’t deny me.”

  He waved his hand at the last remaining warrior. “He would rather be dead than bonded for life to a Raasa.” They all sneered in agreement at his announcement.

  Miki gripped her leather pouch tightly. “Then he would be a fool and so are you. The Kabanians of the past no longer exist. They war among themselves and Kaban is a shell of what you made it.” She thumped a fist on her thigh. “I offer a chance. An alliance with my house in exchange for a True Union with this one.”

  She pointed her finger down. “Is his sacrifice too great? One you can afford to pass up? You are not the Overlord I had come to believe who conquered the Kaban lands if this is your thought.”

  He seemed to only hear one part of her rant. “Explain yourself. Kaban has thrived under the leadership of the Overlord and his Warlords.”

  She ran a shaky hand through her hair and wondered if all of them could sense her frustration and fear. Her dreams and plans would be for naught if the Overlord was correct and this remaining warrior denied a bonding with her.

  She had planned to offer an alliance but none of them seemed interested remotely in the idea. The looks on their faces spoke volumes. Her heart sank and a twisting feeling started in her gut. When the Kabanian Warlord Thenl came back in a month, he’d want an answer to his proposed joining. If she refused, he’d force her hand unless she procured a strong defense. A worthy, fearsome male who would put the cocky Thenl in his place.

  Miki glanced down to the last male she’d yet to awaken. People would fear him. Most important, Thenl would fear him. Of that she had not doubt. His bulging muscles spoke to his physical stamina. Raasa males and their lean bodies did not compare.

  Miki considered the Raasa males who’d expressed sexual interest in her, but none of them stirred heat in her loins. She came from a sensual race and the idea of settling for less did not fill her with joy.

  “She will not answer because she lies.” The Overlord wore a smug smile on his face and folded his arms across his chest. His men grumbled and their faces darkened further if possible.

  Miki decided at that moment she did not like him. She didn’t care about the accolades he’d received or the fact that his mother considered him worthy of saving. He was hapfe dung and she glared hard to let him know her thoughts. His thin lips flattened.

  “Ashaya switched the poisoned wine with a drug. She knew she could not defeat Thenl’s and Dakar’s plan but her hope was to save you all.” Miki made sure to connect with each of them. “The council decided you should burn in the courtyard for your crimes with all to witness. The Overlord and his esteemed Warlords will not be welcomed back in Kaban with opened arms.”

  One of the men spat out a nasty curse she was sure in the Kaban language. Since she only spoke a few words, Miki couldn’t translate but had a good idea of what was said. “I agree.” She relaxed her posture and further explained. “With the help of another, Ashaya hid you all here, intending to use sakar to wake you but by then rumors flew rampant and the tide turned. More villages were discovered destroyed and Thenl lay claim they were the work of the Overlord and his top commanders. It seemed fitting to leave you in the deep sleep while she sought another plan.” Miki paused to let them absorb the story. A story she’d read enough times in Ashaya’s journal. “She died before having the chance.”

  “Blessed One have mercy. How long woman? How long have we slept?” Finally, the Overlord asked the most important question.

  “Three years have passed. Years in which Kaban has fallen into war like times again.”

  They were stunned and dismayed as Miki could very well imagine. Their years of battle wasted.

  Chapter 3

  “Tell us again what you offer?”

  Miki pressed her arms around her middle. She realized she would have no greater opportunity to convince him. Her words needed to convince them. Unfortunately, the unrelenting frown on the Overlord’s face showed his lack of faith in her answer.

  For the first time, Miki considered the thought of failing. Dread curdled in her belly. If these warriors refused to aid her and the Raasa, her people would present easy pickings for the Kabanians. Thenl would come through and rule them with his harsh ways. “I seek a warrior for a True Union. I am the head of the S’Apul house. One hundred Raasa live under my family protection.”

  The Overlord ran a finger across his lip, eyes narrowed and spoke softly. “We are no mere warriors. We represent the top Warlords in our region. If what you say holds truth, many of our friends and family may have gone to the Hills with the Blessed One.”

  Miki’s heart dipped. She hadn’t considered the impact on all of them. They appeared accepting of what she told them. A few of them listened to her in disbelief but the rest carried the same neutral expression as this one.

  “I am sorry.” Her regret meant nothing but her sympathy compelled her to speak. “Peace has not come as they promised. Thenl and Dakar boasted of a time when mothers would no longer mourn the loss of sons. Instead, their treachery ruined all that was done and there are skirmishes and battles daily. Raasa has been caught in the middle.”

  Another Warlord spoke up. “Did none stand up to the hapfe dung?”

  Miki’s snicker caught her off-guard. “I wis
h they had. Or perhaps Thenl silenced their complaints. It is true that things held together for a brief period, but the death of so many created distrust and fear. Having no one to blame forced others to question Thenl. The Kaban Council did not give any help nor did they control Thenl who quickly rallied the warriors to his side during the turmoil. Soon the agreement with the Desani fell through.”

  She witnessed some of them wince and couldn’t blame them. The tentative alliance had been years in the making. It would have been the first of its kind. “Now he seeks to join with me and convince the Raasa to support his cause against the Desani.”

  “If what you say is true, you will pick another.” He moved a large blunt finger in a circular motion to include the others around him.

  ‘Pick another?’ She liked her choice enough of the sleeping man in front of her. As the last to awaken, he’d have no choice. The others looked none to eager to accept his offer but as true warriors, they would not protest. “Including you?” she asked for spite.

  His glare spoke volumes. “As you see, we would not suit. I believe a woman should know and accept her place.”

  Miki hissed in annoyance. “I want this one.” Besides, as fearsome as they all looked, the more she studied the male on the ground the more she wanted him.

  “You. Will. Choose. Another.” He grit out. The harsh order was accompanied by the flexing of his fist.

  Miki could not let fear overcome her. A look on the other warriors’ faces expressed a sincere desire that she not choose them. The range of horror and disappointment could not be feigned.

  “No offense but I don’t like any of you. A True Union is for life to a Raasa and I will not curse myself to a loveless bond with a man I don’t like. Not even for my people.” The one holding his sword had the grace to look away. “I want youngling and the making of such should be a joyous activity for both parties.”

  This brought on a wave of grimaces and frowns from all of them. Were they all like this? She hadn’t interacted much with many Kabanians but they had to be the stiffest bunch of males she’d ever been around. Miki forged on. “This Warlord here has the mark of battle about him.” While there were no scars and wounds to mar his body, the small lines at the corner of his eyes and mouth could not be missed. They spoke of life lived hard. Even with his long curled eyelashes to distract.