Men of Anderas II: Dak the Protector

by Cheryl Johnson

  Three structures comprised this new location. An open stable, large enough to house at least a hundred horses, sat behind the other two. The small building in the center looked to be about the size of a country inn with two stories and a covered porch. The third stood four stories tall with three exterior staircases on each long side and one on either end. If he had to guess, it was the sleeping quarters for the Phantom Riders. So this was Draagon’s base of operations.

  He followed the guards to the stable. His stiff legs didn’t want to hold him steady when he dismounted, but he managed to swallow his groan of pain. You’re getting soft. Suck it up. This isn’t the first forced march you’ve made on horseback.

  “Anderan!” Yelled Jud. “Your mount will be cared for by one of the guards. Come with me.”

  Dak shrugged at the nearest guard and handed over the reins. Jud grabbed the rope around his wrists and led him to the smaller building. A small foyer opened to a hallway leading to the back of the building, a staircase to the second floor and one large room with no windows and very little furniture. Other than a few straight-back chairs and a small table the room was practically empty. In the center of the room something very large was covered with black cloth. Whatever was under there made the hair on Dak’s neck stand on end. A monstrous fireplace filled one short end and the blazing fire warmed the entire room.

  Without slowing his progress, Jud marched him to the far corner, close to the fire. Before Dak realized what was happening, Jud slipped a hook through the rope around his wrists and yanked hard on the chain attached to the hook. When Dak’s arms stretched above his head and his feet barely touched the floor, Jud anchored the chain.

  “Have a good night, Anderan.” He left the room laughing.

  “Son of a BITCH!” Dak struggled against his bonds but all he managed to accomplish was ripping more flesh from his wrists. Just when you think it couldn’t get any worse. How in the hell was he supposed to protect Kierin and get them out of here when he was trussed up like an animal waiting for slaughter?

  “You’ve come full circle.” He muttered under his breath. “You were chained at Murdock’s and you’re chained again. This just keeps getting better and better.”

  “Bad news, baby. I’m hanging from the ceiling. I don’t know what that deranged bastard has planned but it just got a lot more difficult from my perspective.” He didn’t know if she could answer him but he needed to keep her informed.

  “Draagon is becoming over-confident. I think he’s losing his grip on reality. The entire trip he’s done nothing but play with that small misshapen crystal around his neck and mutter under his breath. Even his men have noticed and they avoid him whenever possible. I think that ugly crystal is the source of his power. Dak, I don’t understand. If he wants my father’s crystal, why did we cross the desert? We’re days away from home and getting farther away every second. He just sent more than half of his men back the way we came. Does any of this make sense to you?”

  “Sounds like we need to get that little rock of his away from him. Kierin, there’s something hidden here in the room. It’s big and giving off a strange vibration. It feels wrong.”

  “Focus on the vibration. Concentrate as hard as you can. Maybe I can pick up what it’s made of.”

  Dak turned to face the black cloth and closed his eyes. He opened his mind feeling for the vibrations prickling against his skin. He tried to let her feel what the strange vibrations did to him.

  Kierin gasped in his mind. It’s something made from the same stone that I used on you. Something capable of such a strong vibration has to be massive. Can you describe it to me?”

  “I can’t see anything more than a basic square shape, covered by that black cloth. It’s about half the size of one of the stalls in the stable.”

  “Goddess, protect us,” she whispered. “Dak, certain types of black cloth can block or absorb the power of crystals. For you to be feeling those vibrations, the charge is extremely powerful. Draagon must have used his man-made crystal to charge it. It’s the only answer.”

  “I thought you had the only man-made crystal.”

  “That was my assumption, as well. Someone else created one but it’s not pure. It’s murky and flawed. Draagon wears it around his neck.”

  “That’s not good, Little Witch. What are we dealing with here?”

  “I don’t know, but if an animal--even the largest predator--got caught in that energy it would be incapable of thought or movement. It would die within hours.”

  “I don’t think he’s going hunting, baby.”

  “I see two buildings and a stable. I think we’ve reached your location.”

  “Be careful, my love.”

  Dak forced himself to breathe deep and slow. Whatever Draagon had planned was about to start. He needed to be focused and grounded. If an opportunity for escape presented itself he had to be ready.

  Thirty minutes later, Draagon, Kierin and Jud entered the room.

  “I do hope your accommodations meet with your approval, Lord Dak.” Draagon smirked and pulled Kierin across the floor until they stood in front of Dak. “See, dear one,” he stroked the side of Kierin’s face and laughed when Dak growled. “I promised I wouldn’t kill your lover. I will even allow you one final embrace.”

  Jud lowered the chain until Dak’s arms dropped around Kierin. She lifted herself up and kissed him with all the love in her heart. Her cry of despair echoed his when Jud yanked his arms back above his head.

  “Come, Lady Kierin. I’m sure you would like to freshen up before the evening meal. Jud will show you to your room. He will escort you back here in one hour. Do not be late, dear one. I abhor tardiness and tend to be quite … harsh in retaliation. Do you understand?”

  “As you wish, Lord Draagon.” She followed Jud without looking back at Dak.

  Draagon waited until she and Jud disappeared up the stairs before turning his attention to Dak.

  “I haven’t quite figured out how you fit into this situation.” He pulled a chair closer to Dak but made sure to stay well out of reach of Dak’s long legs. “Are you merely the stud she used to get pregnant or are you her bonded mate? It really makes no difference to me since your death would cancel out the mated-for-life issue. So, tell me, Lord Beldon Dak, just what are you to my fiancé?”

  “Why would I bond to her? Because of her lies and her cursed bits of rock I can never return to Anderas. To impregnate an unapproved woman is a death sentence. She’s just a hot piece of ass.”

  Draagon slammed a fist into Dak’s stomach. “You must never speak so disrespectfully of Lady Kierin. I can call her the slut that she is but no one else has that right. Your claim does guarantee you stay alive. At least for as long as she lives. As soon as I can rid her of the brat in her belly, I’ll plant my own seed. The child will be the beginning of my dynasty. Tsk. Tsk, Lord Dak. Your eyes give you away. Despite your hatred of me, I will never allow you close enough to follow through with the promise in your glare.”

  Draagon rose and headed for the door. “Please excuse me while I arrange for a quiet supper for my fiancé. I insist that you join us.”

  Dak shook with the force of his rage. He had to get control. Anger was a greater enemy than Draagon himself. Breathing deep and slow, Dak shifted the small rock from between his cheek and gum. Kierin slipped it into his mouth when she kissed him.

  “You forgot to leave instructions for the rock, love. Although, I enjoyed the delivery method very much.”

  “I told you what it was while I was kissing you. Quit joking around. We don’t have much time.”

  “Kierin, I swear I heard nothing when we kissed.”

  “That is extremely disturbing. It must have something to do with whatever is under the black cover. That means we won’t be able to communicate when I come back downstairs. It’s a sliver of the outlawed crystal and it works like a key, Dak. A very special key. It doesn’t open anything is … changes things. Metal, rope, wood, anything you focus will mutate, is the
best way to describe it. Metal turns soft and formless; fibers separate and ravel. Even flesh can be affected. My father never used it but he thought it would work on practically any item. Rather quickly, I think.”

  “Handy tool to have around--if it works. How do I turn it on?”

  “Like any other key. Jud is knocking on the door.”

  Great. A key that would set him free but he can’t get his hands on it. He’d have to think of something besides spitting it at the hook holding him suspended from the ceiling.

  A squad of guards carried a large dining table and matching chairs into the room. Within minutes the table was covered with a snowy white cloth and set with fine china and crystal. Draagon stood at the open doorway waiting for Jud to reach the bottom of the staircase with Kierin. As soon as she was seated at the table, Jud took up his position by the door and monitored the men serving dinner.

  “Jud, please release our guest so he may join us.”

  Jud released the chain but stepped close to Dak and lowered his voice to a whisper. “If you so much as flinch in the wrong direction, my blade will separate your head from your neck.”

  Dak was too busy trying to figure out how he was going to eat with a rock in his mouth to pay any attention to Jud’s threats. As it turned out, he worried for nothing. Draagon released him and allowed him to sit at the table but didn’t untie his hands or offer him food. As a subtle form of torture it was effective.

  Blood rushing back into his hands was excruciating but his fingers were beginning to work again. Dak began to cough. Nothing big at first just a glorified clearing of his throat. When he worked up to a full blown cough, he covered his mouth with his hands.

  “Must you do that at the table?” Draagon demanded. “It’s disgusting.”

  “Sorry.” Dak apologized between coughs. “Haven’t had anything to drink since early this morning. My throat is dry.”

  “Jud, bring him water. There is much to be discussed tonight and I can’t have him interrupting me.”

  Dak swallowed the cool water and sat back to enjoy looking at Kierin. When she blushed and smiled at him, Draagon exploded.

  “I knew you lied!” He grabbed Kierin and pulled her to the center of the room.

  Dak jumped up, ready to go to her when Jud slammed him back into the chair and held him there. Kierin shook her head warning him to stay calm.

  “You’re as deceitful as my mother!” He snarled, grabbing the corner of the black cloth and jerking it to the floor. “We share the same father! Our combined genius will be unstoppable! Your womb will start an empire but YOU MUST LEARN TO FOLLOW THE RULES!”

  “You’re insane.” Kierin whispered in horror.

  The pulsing vibration flared through the room from a cage made of the same white crystal Dak destroyed so many months ago. Before he realized what Draagon was doing, he’d thrown Kierin into the cage and slammed the door. It was like watching someone pull the power source from a robot. One minute she fought against Draagon’s grip on the door and the next she slithered to the floor and closed her eyes.

  Dak struggled against Jud’s hold and focused all his energy on the sliver of rock in his hand. Jud screamed when his hands, arms and chest disappeared in a cloud of white ash. He was dead before he hit the floor. Dak leaped across the body aiming the rock at Draagon.

  Draagon screamed and grabbed for his amulet as it fell to the floor at his feet. Kierin’s tiny sliver had melted the chain into a gummy lump of metal. Refusing to surrender, Draagon gave a malignant grin and kicked the stone into the cage with Kierin. The shock wave knocked both men to the floor.

  “You have about thirty seconds, Anderan, until the second wave triggers an explosion and kills her. Are you going to come after me or save her?”

  Dak roared his frustration and outrage. There was no choice to be made. Slipping the tiny piece of crystal into his pocket, he yanked the door of the cage open; pulled Kierin into his arms and ran from the building. He had to get as far away as possible before the explosion.

  Draagon and his remaining Phantom Riders were disappearing into the mountains behind the encampment when the cage exploded. Running in the opposite direction, Dak forced his body to move faster. The shock wave knocked him to the ground. Twisting to cushion her limp body, he quickly rolled until his body covered Kierin’s unconscious form, protecting her from the falling debris. When everything settled, he gathered the crystal witch in his arms.

  “Come on, baby. Wake up. Can you hear me, Little Witch? You will not die on me!” Dak breathed a heavy sigh of relief when he felt the steady beat of her heart. What if Draagon’s cage caused permanent damage? They were days away from any medical assistance. He couldn’t even think about what all that energy did to the baby.

  “Come on, love. Open your eyes. Talk to me. We’re safe. I had to let Draagon escape or lose you. Please, Kierin, come back to me.”

  “Why would I go anywhere without you?”

  “By the Beard of the Prophet, don’t scare me like that!” He cradled her against his chest and buried his face in her hair. “I thought I lost you.” He whispered softly.

  Kierin wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed. “Never, my dearest heart. Not even death will separate us.”

  “Let’s go home, Little Witch.”

  Epilogue

  40 Years Later

  “This is much better than the controlled chaos of the palace, my love.”

  Settling his tall frame against the trunk of the massive tree behind him, Dak smiled, a deep sigh of peace filling his lungs. He started every morning the same way--sitting beside Kierin’s grave and watching the sun rise.

  “Now that Talon and Shadow have returned, Melodie has declared a holiday. She and JarDan are happiest when the palace overflows with friends, family and children.”

  Gazing out over the lush valley it was hard to imagine the cold winter season would soon be upon them.

  “Look, little witch,” he whispered. “The sun is beginning to rise above Falcon Tor.”

  Another deep sigh swelled his thick chest. “I have lost count of the sunrises I have witnessed on a score of planets. Only here, on Anderas, has such a simple occurrence the power to bring tears to a man's eyes.”

  In quiet solitude, he watched the glowing golden orb turn the clouds from deep amethyst to soft pink to blazing white against a cerulean sky.

  “When JarDan and I were young, this hill was our kingdom and this tree our castle.” Dak gazed fondly at the massive spread of leaves and branches above his head. It would take three grown men to reach around the thick trunk. “But you already know how fond I am of this place.”

  Pushing his childhood memories to their place in his heart, Dak turned with a smile. “You have not met Cordell’s young daughter. Her beauty will one day cause her father much grief, I have no doubt. Although she’s still an infant at her mother's breast, she has a way of looking at you … as if … she can see into your soul.” Shrugging a broad shoulder, he grinned. “She reminds me of you.”

  Memories flashed before his eyes, scenes of the short lifetime he shared with his crystal witch.

  “It is time, little witch.” His ragged whisper was barely audible beyond the shelter of the ancient tree. With trembling fingers he pulled the amulet from beneath his tunic, lifting it over his head. The long, slender crystal pulsed faintly in the early morning light.

  “I have kept my vow.” Emotion tightened his throat. “I returned to Falcon Tor and brought our children.” He swallowed hard against the pain in his chest.

  “You would be proud of them, Kierin. They have found good mates. Cordell’s babe makes eleven grandchildren and I suspect Anne is pregnant again.”

  Brushing the fallen leaves from the cool stone beside him, he gazed at the only physical remains of his crystal witch. His wife. His heart. His very soul.

  “For all their numbers and the love they freely share, I am alone without you.” Tears dropped unheeded against the pale marble. When he could once agai
n speak past his pain, Dak lowered his still powerful body until it covered the grave. Gripping the crystal amulet in his hand, he stretched his arms across the slight mound of grass, seeking an embrace he hadn't felt in almost thirty years.

  “I cannot bear this loneliness,” he whispered. “Keep your promise, Kierin. Please. Come for me, little witch … come for me.” His whispers filled the morning stillness as he raised the crystal and plunged the sharp end into the ground beneath him.

  “Come for me.”

  * * * *

  The children played in the corner of the great hall, unaware of the tension in the adults. When Dak didn't show for the midday meal everyone knew he was at the grave upon the hill. He spent most of his time there. But now the sun had set and still he hadn't returned.

  “Grandma,” asked a small voice beside Melodie's chair, “why did Grandpa take all the men away?”

  Lifting the young boy onto her lap, she smoothed an errant lock of hair back from his face. “They went to find Uncle Dak so he wouldn't be late for his dinner.” Giving him a quick hug, she tried to keep her concern from the perceptive four-year old.

  “He's prob-ly up on the hill.”

  “I know, sweetheart. Grandpa just went to make certain he doesn't get lost in the dark.”

  “Oh.” With the simple understanding of innocent youth, he was satisfied with her answer and scrambled down to play with his cousins.

  “You think something has happened to Uncle Dak don't you, Mother?”

  Melodie nodded in answer to the whispered question of Elizabeth, her oldest daughter. A commotion at the entrance to the room prevented any further speculation. JarDan and Kord walked stiffly into the room and headed straight for them.

  “JarDan?” Melodie asked as he reached for her hand.

  “I will explain in a moment.” Looking at the other women gathered around his mate, JarDan swallowed hard. “Perhaps you should send the children to the nursery for a while.”