“He doesn’t care. He knows that he can survive years within the palace, especially now that he has all the food within its walls.”Stanton said bitterly.“He’ll use the city and the food riots as a buffer between us and him. Maybe he even hopes that the people will see us and come and steal our food.
“There has to be a way to help the people and ourselves.”T’Garen said thoughtfully.
“What do you mean, old friend?”Stanton the Reed asked.
“I mean, if we can give the people food we might be able to bring them over to our side.”
Trevor nodded.“It would serve the coward right. But how do we go about feeding untold thousands?”
“We have a limited amount of supplies. As much as I want to help the civilians in the city, the reality is we can’t. We don’t have enough food to feed both them and our men.”Reed pointed out. He turned toward Perela,“Unless, of course, you have some magic trick for endless food?”
“Not in the time frame that we need it in.”The sorceress replied.
During the discussion, Duncan had been thinking. Suddenly he started chuckling. Perela gave him a quizzical look, her hand on his shoulder. Trevor McGill raised an eyebrow at the knight. The previous and current generals narrowed their eyes at him.“I fail to see how our situation warrants amusement.”T’Garon said sharply.
“Sorry, I’m not laughing at the situation.”Duncan said raising his hands in a placating gesture.“I have an idea. Why don’t we make the despot fulfill his duty to his people and feed them? Unknowingly, of course.”
Reed blinked.“And how would you propose doing that?”
Trevor smiled.“I think I know what our monastic knight is thinking. You want to be like a thief in the night.”
Duncan’s smile broke into a full-fledged grin.“Exactly.”
“And how are you thinking of stealing all that food?”Perela asked intrigued.
“Who better to steal then a thief? We just need to figure out how to contact the thieves’guild.”
Trevor rubbed his forehead.“Such a good idea I should have had it. I’ve been in the woods too long.”He muttered softly. He continued at his normal volume.“My men and I used to work with the Thieves Guild when we were causing King Raymond problems in the city.”T’Garon raised an eyebrow when he said‘causing problems’. Trevor caught the look and flashed a quick smile.“And King’s Guard too, I admit it. Anyway, Tommy gave me a revised list of contacts before he left with the others.”
“But what if they changed?”Perela asked.“That was several months ago, after all.”
Trevor snorted. Why would they change them on their leader?”Silence met his response.“What?”He asked.
Perela and Duncan shared a look.“Are you saying that Tommy is the King of Thieves?”Duncan asked.
Eyes widened in surprise, McGill’s gaze flickered between them.“You didn’t know? I thought you knew. After all, you were traveling with him.”
“We knew he was a thief. We did not know,”Perela replied drily“that we were traveling with pick pocket royalty.
“Oh, he doesn’t like being called the‘King of Thieves’. He prefers the title of Director of the Guild.”
“He doesn’t like being called the King of Thieves?”Duncan asked with a raised brow.
“Good to know.”Perela smirked.
***
That evening, Duncan and Trevor slipped into the city of Pershara. The streets were in full panic since the King’s Guard moved into the palace. The two men had their hands close to hidden weapons in case a riot broke out. Which felt imminent; like fire springing from oil soaked straw. A stray spark would explode instantly into an inferno.
Seeing people, children, crying for food made Duncan furious. He wanted to storm the palace’s storehouses with brute force. Only the knowledge of how futile such an attempt would be kept him pacing quietly beside Trevor.
They entered a seedier part of town. The atmosphere was strangely different here. Oh, people were still desperate. But then, they always had been desperate on these streets. Calculating looks told Duncan of the opportunities these people saw. The denizens of the upper city were in chaos. It was the perfect opportunity for the less fortunate but streetwise to take what they could and flee the city. Hopefully Duncan and his companion could convince the Guild to turn this behavior to the palace. To bring food back to the people.
They rounded a corner and Trevor tapped his leg. Seeing the signal, Duncan looked down the street and blinked several times.“She is our contact?”Duncan asked, his mouth going dry.
The other man nodded.“Chastity Baker.”
Chastity Baker was, as it turned out, definitely not a baker…or even chaste. Chastity was a well-endowed woman. A fact she made hard for anyone to miss. Such endowment made her successful at her business.
“Keep an eye on your purse. She tends to collect tax for just looking.”Trevor advised.
Duncan snorted. Well that was some creative reasoning on the prostitute’s part. Duncan thought, glancing at her. She was a petite, curvaceous blond who apparently never heard of the word‘modesty’. She wore clothing only big enough to cover the barest minimum. A man would have to be dead not to look. Duncan thought. On the heels of that thought another, more worrisome thought, came to mind. Perela is going to kill me…
How is it going, Dearest? Perela’s voice caressed his mind at that moment.
Duncan stiffened slightly. Um… he thought brilliantly. We found our contact.
That’s good…Duncan, are you alright? Perela sounded concerned.
Um… Duncan desperately tried to think of a way to explain to the woman he loved a situation beyond his control. He wasn’t interested in Chastity. He loved Perela. Perela’s beauty and wit out shown Chastity’s like the sun compared to a candle. He knew that. He just didn’t want to hurt Perela because he couldn’t help but look at this nearly naked woman in front of him. She was in front of him for heaven’s sake and he wasn’t blind.
Perela sensed his thoughts. She was touched by his comparison. His thought that she didn’t trust him enough not to think he was straying, though, had to be fixed. Sweet lad, I know you love me and I love you. As to your contact, I don’t think she can afford proper clothing.
Duncan chuckled mentally. That is one way to look at it. His mental voice was relieved.
Now be safe, dearest. Perela paused a moment. She continued, because she couldn’t resist teasing him. We'll talk more about this when you get back.
Talk??? Duncan’s mental voice rose in near panic.
Love you, dear. Perela’s amused voice faded away, confident in the knowledge that she had rattled him.
Duncan sighed. He was relieved that she knew he loved her. But he was worried about what her‘talk’might be. Really worried. Women, especially sorceresses, were really scary sometimes.
By this time, Chastity noticed the two men. She swayed toward them. Her long, wavy blond hair giving tantalizing peeks at her minimally covered wares.“Good sirs,”she purred“is there anything I can do fer ya?”She raised a brow suggestively at Duncan.
“We have a message for the TG concerning the food shortage.”Trevor said, saving a very uncomfortable Duncan from Chastity’s unwanted attentions.
Chastity raised an eyebrow.“And who are ya?”
“Trevor McGill. I’m a friend of the Director’s.”
The woman’s eyes widened. An expression flitted through her eyes too fast to name. Her violet eyes narrowed.“The guard is coming.”
“Steal, so the guard has a purpose.”Trevor replied calmly.
Chastity eyed him a moment before turning on her heel.“Follow.”She commanded over her shoulder. They did. Duncan followed Trevor, keeping an eye out for trouble. Chastity led them through some very unsavory alleys. They cut through a brothel at one point. The women there came up to them and stroked their arms. Duncan and Trevor extracted themselves from the clutching hands as politely as they could. The women pouted, but eventually let them go.
After the brothel, they went into a tavern that had thick oil char built up above the lanterns. The smells of sour ale and other, more unmentionable things, thickened the air. The straw on the floor had to have been from several years ago. The dirt floor sloshed in some parts. Duncan refused to think about whatmade it slosh. Thick reed smoke clawed at the ceiling. It made Duncan’s eyes water. Chastity led them behind the bar and into a‘private’room.
Chastity turned toward them once they entered the room.“Wait here. Someone will be along to fetch ya.”With that, she left.
Duncan and Trevor glanced at each other.“Now what?”Duncan mouthed.
Trevor shrugged.“We wait.”
They waited for a long time. There was nothing to do. Duncan was glad he had learned meditation. It gave him time to think. A strange dream that he had had once kept nudging against him. Something about threes and something important being lost…
“Duncan.”Trevor’s voice caught his attention. The knight looked at his companion. Trevor’s eyes were wide. A strange scent filled the room. The thick smoke got even thicker. Duncan swore as the substance made itself known to his lungs. Coughing and wheezing, the two men collapsed. Just before he lost consciousness, Duncan saw black boots step from a secret door…
***
19 years before present- Arathin (Marlhema)
Jewel walked through the night time forest. She had lived centuries now in this strange land of Arathin. Over the years she had discovered that she could take the form of another creature. Jewel had discovered that she enjoyed the form of a wolf. In her wolf body, Jewel perched upon an outcrop of rock and howled to the moon. When she trailed of, the fur along her spine stood on end. There was a scent in the air. If destiny had a smell, this would be it…
***
The blinding light had faded and her senses returned. Ainara was not dead; she hurt too much to be dead. It seemed an eternity since she had been sliced by monstrous claws. Decaying leaves and damp earth provided a very comforting mattress. It was a nice scent to breathe after all the horror of this night. Only two things soured the comfort of the forest floor. The first was the large stick that was digging into her ribs. The second was focused on the crazy red eyed man. Where was he?
Sometimes ignorance truly is bliss.
“Time to rip, time to rend. Time to kill.”The man hissed. His voice sounded more labored than before. That didn’t seem to matter to him. He was coming closer to her. She could hear his shuffling tread in the crunchy leaves. Her fingers wrapped themselves tightly around the stick. She would have only one chance…
The creature kicked her onto her back. Luckily it hadn’t kicked her wounded side. Still hurt though. “Time…to…die.”It rasped. Ainara whipped the stick up opening her eyes at the same time. Just in time to watch her attack miss. The crazy man appeared not to have even noticed. Splendid…Ainara planned on swiping at it with the stick again, hopefully hard enough to spin its head. Maybe even knock it out. But her aching body would have none of it. She missed. Using the colorful language that she had picked up from the soldiers, Ainara pumped herself up. The crazy man was leaning over her now, its rotting breath repugnant. NOW! She swung the stick. Luck of the fates, the damn thing finally connected. The third time truly is the charm.
Ainara tried to roll away from its stunned position, it sort of worked. Pain grated through her torn side; her body whimpered. The small voice in her mind that worked to galvanized her to move whispered. It really wouldn’t do to still be near it once it got over its stunned state.The stunned state wouldn’t last too long; the attack having not been a stellar example of stick vs. head. How she had wanted the blow to have been as spectacular as it had been in her mind’s eye.
The monster in the shape of a man growled and started to move. There wasn’t a word in her expanded soldier-fed lexicon that could encompass what she felt at that moment.
GO!The voice within forced her to ignore the pain and scramble to her shaky feet. She ran like a colt who hadn’t found its legs yet. She could hear it behind her. The stick was still gripped in her hand. It gave her strength. But that didn’t mean it couldn’t betray her too. It got snagged in some bush or other. The unexpected break wrenched her to the side, her foot stumbling over an upraised root. She fell onto her back with a grunt. Her traitor stick broke free of its snag. Before Ainara could get her bearings, the man pounced.
He screamed in her ear, his dead weight pressing into her. Wet warmth washed over her hand that was between them. The hand holding the stick. In panicked horror, Ainara flailed at the body. Pushing and kicking it off of her. Finally free, Ainara rolled to her knees and stared at her hands in the frail moonlight. They were dark, wet and sticky. And warm. What was left of her gown was as well…Oh spirits and Fates… Ainara glanced at the man. He lay where she had pushed him, her stick buried in his chest. It was as black as her hands.
Ainara shuddered and tried very hard not to retch. She hurt too much to do that. And her child was not helping. She put a bloodied hand to her swollen stomach.“Stop kicking.”She begged of the child. Trembling, Ainara worked her way to her feet with the help of a tree. She looked around at the shadowy forest. She had no idea where the village was that Seith told her about. Nor did she know where Seith was.“Seith?”She whispered to the darkness. Nothing replied. She was alone with a corpse. And she was lost. Ainara leaned her forehead against the smooth bark of her support tree. The pain in her side made her thinking sluggish, not to mention ill. And her child was fussing again.
A tingling sensation curled up her spine. It was like something was watching her. Ainara turned her head. She expected to see the man standing again. She did not expect to see the silver and black wolf that was sitting there. It gazed at her with intelligent, gold flecked green eyes. Odd color for a wolfshe thought.“Sieth?”She asked hesitantly. Seith was a shapeshifter, but it had green eyes. A shapeshifter kept their eyes in whatever form they took. Now that she really thought about it, they were vaguely familiar. She hurt too much to puzzle it out further. The wolf cocked its head questioningly.“That’s a no, huh?”Ainara asked tiredly. The wolf blinked and yawned. It stood and stretched. There was something feminine about it. It really wasn’t Seith, he had told her that he couldn’t change sex when becoming something else. Could it be a true wolf? Crap. She was too tired to run, couldn’t out run a wolf anyway, and she had no weapon. Crap, crap, crap… “Don’t eat me, please. I just want to find that village.”Ainara whispered.
The wolf yipped and wagged her tail. She looked off to her right and glanced back at her. Ainara had the distinct feeling the wolf was pointing with her nose. She even took a few steps in that direction before looking back at Ainara. She yipped again.
“You want me to follow you?”Bark. A few more steps. Ainara stared, blinked, and then shrugged. Weirder things had happened to her. She followed the wolf. The canine set an easy pace and was patient. Even so, it had to be the longest walk Ainara had ever taken. It seemed to be miles and miles. In truth it was probably no more than a mile…The leaf strewn floor was slanted and hilly. Fallen trees loomed out of the dark and holes snatched at her feet. Stray branches snagged her ruined gown and tangled hair some more. She tripped often and was punished by her side. When she tripped, the wolf came back and helped her up. Every time she made a sudden movement she felt the hardened blood crack and she felt warmth flow farther down her side. She begged the steadiness of many trees as she waited for her swimming head to slow down. Breathing was getting harder and harder. She coughed a lot too. It was a warm and sticky substance that would come up into her mouth. She would spit it out only to have the tangy taste remain; in moonl
ight it was the same black as that on her hands.
By the time Ainara stumbled into the village there was nothing to show she was really a high born lady who was married to the dragon prince. But at the moment she could not really care. She was delirious and light headed. Her breathing was shallow. It would take but a breath of wind to knock her down. The she-wolf left her at the edge of the village. She hardly noticed. Her eyes settled on a lit window and her blind feet followed. Her foot found an uneven part in the path and down she went. She put her arms before her so she did not smash her baby and she settled on her side. I made it to the village Seith…can I rest now?Her thoughts asked…
Maybe time passed. She couldn’t tell. There were voices and there was pain. Voices prodding and needling. She told them what had happened, but they kept asking. It was infuriating. There was so much pain. Spirits take her! There was so much. Then the pain faded away as she drifted closer and closer to the edge of oblivion. A soft, whimpering cry brought her halfway back. A little bundle wrapped in cloth with copper fuzz on its little head was near her gaze. Her baby, she knew instantly. A voice told her the bundle was a girl. She had already known.“Ter…ana.”She gasped.
“Terana?”A male voice asked.
She summoned her strength to answer him.“Terana.”She sagged a little and focused for the first time on hazel eyes.“Will you take care of her? Love her?” Vaguely she heard something that she hoped was assent. She was so tired, everything felt heavy. She would close her eyes for just…a…sec…ond…
In the distance a she-wolf howled.
Chapter Thirteen- An Eagle’s Awakening
1,715 years before present day- Thioden
The man gasped. His leg was throbbing. His head pounded and he was having trouble seeing through his swollen and blood-encrusted eyes. He had lost somebody... Somebody near to him but his mind refused to focus.
The Ways of Mages: Two Worlds Page 10