Harvest Tournament (Sexcraft Chronicles Book 2)

by Edmund Hughes

  The bald man, however, would overwhelm her once added to the equation. Hal tried to scream through the water, to warn his master of the danger. He felt like an idiot, and realized how foolish and childish his immediate demand to know the truth from her had been.

  He collapsed to the ground, staring at one of the walls of the alleyway as his lungs burned and his awareness faded. He saw Cadrian leaping over him and advancing forward on the bald man. The bald man tried the same spell he’d used on Halrin. Hal watching in amazement as the ground itself rose to block his attack in a shield of rock and earth.

  Cadrian pushed her hand forward, and the shield burst into chunks of rock, most of which struck the bald man’s chest and face. He staggered backward, and his control over the spell holding Hal waned.

  Hal rose to his feet in time to see Cadrian striking the man on the side of the head with the pummel of her sword, knocking him unconscious. He stumbled over to Syler, who lay defeated on the ground, and found her in a similar state, her breath steady.

  “Perhaps I haven’t been fair to you, Halrin,” said Cadrian. “But I keep you at a distance to protect you. You must understand.”

  “Cadrian,” said Hal. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that they were following me. If I had known…”

  Cadrian smiled at him. She stepped over the bald man’s body and walked in closer, sheathing her sword as she moved. She reached her hand out and cupped his cheek, her sole eye scanning his face for a moment. Then, she kissed him, her lips soft and tender against his.

  “I must leave the city,” she said, once it was over.

  “To go where?” he asked. She didn’t answer him, and he didn’t expect her to.

  “We will meet again, my apprentice,” she said. “And perhaps I’ll be able to better explain myself to you, then.”

  She turned to leave. Hal grabbed her hand and pulled her to him. He kissed her with far more passion than she’d kissed him with, pressing her against the alley’s wall and letting their bodies connect. Cadrian ran her hand through his hair and let her lips trail across his neck. Hal felt his passion flaring, fueled by the remnants of his Ruby Trance, and she pushed him away a second before he lost all control over himself.

  “Goodbye, Halrin,” she said. “Watch out for yourself.”

  He nodded to her, and watched her disappear out into the street. Hal took another look at the unconscious inquisitors in the alleyway, and then hurried off in the other direction.

  CHAPTER 37

  Hal was halfway back to the guest lodge when he spotted Karnas, or rather, when the baby dragon spotted him. He was circling above the nearby buildings, and all but dove onto Hal once he’d picked him out of the crowd.

  The dragon crashed into his shoulder. Hal pulled the small creature into his arms, scowling and glancing around at the townsfolk on the street. A few of them had glanced over at him, but most carried on with their business with the detached air of people who had a good amount of practice ignoring things that didn’t directly pertain to them.

  “What are you doing outside?” asked Hal. “Laurel is going to freak out when she realizes…”

  Hal trailed off, noticing that the dragon had a thin cut running across his back. Red blood pooled in small droplets out of the wound. Karnas wagged his tail and made a small, anxious growling noise. His eyes carried the message more effectively, wide and terrified.

  “The guest lodge…” said Hal. “Laurel is in danger, isn’t she?”

  The dragon nodded, and Hal felt a chill spread through his veins. He started running up the street toward the castle. Karnas wriggled his way out of Hal’s arms and took to the air, flying just high enough to avoid detection.

  The door to the guest lodge had been left open, and Hal’s heart skipped as he charged inside. Several chairs had been knocked over in the sitting room, and Yua’s crumpled form lay in front of the hearth.

  “Yua!” Hal crouched down at her side, cradling her head. A small trickle of blood ran from a wound on her scalp. “Are you okay? What’s happened?”

  Yua’s eyes flicked open, and she let out a groan.

  “Lord Teymus,” she muttered. “He said he only wished to speak to Laurel. Tried to force himself on her.”

  Hal snarled. He felt his emotions flaring, almost forcing him into a Ruby Trance even with no immediate danger present.

  “Where?” asked Hal. “Where would he take her? Do you know?”

  “His estate is on the eastern edge of town,” muttered Yua. “Next to the gate. The mansion with the red tiled roof.”

  Hal nodded. Gently, he lifted the older woman into his arms and carried her into her room, placing her in bed.

  “I’ll be back,” he said. “And I’ll have her with me.”

  “Tell the guards,” pleaded Yua. “Don’t try to handle this on your own. Please, Halrin.”

  Hal hesitated. The guards would investigate before taking any rash action. It was possible that Lord Teymus could even find a way to hide Laurel in the meantime, and claim that he’d released her shortly after the initial scuffle.

  Am I thinking clearly? How much of that reasoning is logic, and how much of it is emotion?

  He didn’t have time to stop and consider the potential danger or his own motivations. Hal made sure Karnas had followed him inside and then left the guest lodge, closing the door firmly behind him and hoping the dragon had the good sense to stay put.

  Few, if any of the people in the street seemed to mind or notice Hal as he sprinted through town. He’d seen Laurel when he’d first arrived back in Meldence looking for Cadrian, so she couldn’t have been kidnapped more than an hour ago, two at most.

  How much could someone like Lord Teymus put her through in that amount of time?

  He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

  Hal found the estate easily enough, and was dismayed to discover that a wrought iron fence cordoned it off from the rest of the city. The allure of entering a Ruby Trance and trying to burn his way through tugged at him even as he recognized how foolish it would be.

  Instead, Hal headed around the perimeter, finding a spot where a few boxes had been carelessly stacked against the fence. He glanced over his shoulder once, and then scaled up and over, dropping into the courtyard on the other side.

  “You there!” shouted a voice. “Hold! Intruder!”

  Hal’s instincts flared, and he dove behind a carefully manicured hedge in time to keep from taking a crossbow bolt to the chest. He pulled his pistol lose from his belt and glanced in the direction the projectile had come from. There was a guard in a small watch post near the main gate. Hal could already hear the sound of the crossbow being redrawn, and knew that the bush he was behind only gave him line of sight cover.

  “Lord Teymus has kidnapped someone,” he shouted. “Does your job really entail allowing your master to hold people against their will? To do whatever he wants to them?”

  “My job is to serve my master!” shouted the guard.

  “Wrong answer.” Hal unsheathed his pistol, took a quick glance over the bush to confirm the guard’s position, and then fired a Flame Shot into the watch post’s window.

  He felt the pull of his ruby as he released the shot, tempting him toward entering a Ruby Trance. Hal couldn’t resist it any longer. Red filled his vision as his eyes began to glow, and all of the hot emotions he’d been suppressing burst into the forefront of his experience. Lord Teymus would die for what he’d done. And Laurel…

  I’ll kill him, and take her to safety! If he’s even so much as touched her, I’ll make him pay for it ten times over…

  The front door was locked. Hal smashed through it with a couple of front kicks to the hinges. A female servant let out a scream and ran past him as he entered, and he heard the sound of clanking armor coming from a nearby hallway.

  “You won’t be able to stop me,” shouted Hal. “Either get out of my way or come face your death.”

  The words felt like they belonged to somebody else. When had he ev
er threatened someone’s life before? Was that just how he was now? Had killing Golden Helm opened up a new, hideous world of possibilities for him? Or was it for Laurel’s sake, one of the many things he’d be willing to do or say to keep her safe?

  Hal didn’t have time to find the answers to his questions. A tall guard clad in clunky plate mail and wielding a massive great sword charged into the foyer. Hal whipped out his short sword and engaged the man, dodging his first strike with a Kye Lornis inspired roll.

  He slashed his sword into one of the gaps in the metal of the guard’s greaves, and heard the man grunt as that respective leg gave out. Hal growled as he pressed his pistol against the guard’s face slit, cocking the hammer and preparing to unload another Flame Shot.

  “Wait!” said the guard. “He’s upstairs! Please… I only work for him.”

  “You only… work for him,” Hal repeated, feeling half numb to the meaning of the words.

  He slowly pulled his pistol back, forcing himself to consider the consequences of his actions. Logic had little place in a Ruby Trance. It was like a loose log flowing down a flooded river, with no control over its destination.

  Hal kicked the guard to the floor, and then ran up the staircase in the back of the next room. It exited out into a regal sitting room. Lord Teymus was there, already waiting with his sword drawn. Laurel was sitting in a chair in the corner with a blanket wrapped around herself. Her hair was messy, and her eyes were red and puffy.

  “Halrin,” she whispered. She wouldn’t meet Hal’s gaze when he looked over at her.

  “What did you do to her?” asked Hal, through tightly clenched teeth.

  “Get out of my house!” shouted Lord Teymus. “This is none of your business! You’re just a servant! You’re nobody important!”

  “Hal!” shouted Laurel. “He’s a gem mage! A diamond holder!”

  Lord Teymus’s hair was dark black with a sheen to it that made it look like a greasy shadow. His face was twisted into an angry sneer, and as he slashed his sword to point the tip at Hal, the air in the room began to stir. Hal saw a vase coming at him from the corner of his vision, thrown by a seemingly invisible force.

  Hal spun and smashed the vase with his sword, but sharp bits of ceramic cut into his shoulder, still carried by the wind of the spell that had propelled it. He stared at the nobleman, feeling more like he had in the arena, facing off against an opponent with unknown abilities.

  “You act like you think I’m evil!” shouted Lord Teymus. “You don’t understand anything! I care for Laurel! And Willum was like a brother to me!”

  Lord Teymus spoke with such genuine conviction that even through his Ruby Trance, Hal found himself almost believing him. He slowly shook his head and drew his pistol.

  “Is that why you kidnapped her?” asked Hal. “Why I found Yua unconscious in the guest lodge?”

  “I was just…” Lord Teymus let out a frustrated snarl. “You don’t understand! And you’re no better than I am, Sir Halrin Kentar!”

  He said Hal’s name with such disgust in the words that again, it almost gave Hal pause. His Ruby Trance fed the fires of his anger, pushing him to attack, to cut Teymus down with his sword and hack the man into bloody pieces. But another part of him was listening, curious of his opponent’s motivation.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Hal.

  “Do you know why Laurel despises me?” asked Lord Teymus. “Because I’m too nice to her. Because I’ve always shown her kindness, and offered to give her what she needed. Laurel… just wants what she can’t have.”

  “No,” said Laurel. “That’s not true!”

  “You told me as much during that night at Precia’s!” shouted Lord Teymus. “That’s right, Halrin! She’s so fascinated by you, with your bold lies of coming from another land, and your brooding quest. And by how blind you are to her, as a young, unmarried woman.”

  “So you thought you’d rescue her from me?” asked Hal. “Is that the fantasy you’ve concocted in your head?”

  He couldn’t keep himself in check any longer. Hal cocked his pistol and fired. Lord Teymus, like most others without knowledge of guns in the realm, reacted too slowly to completely dodge Hal’s Flame Shot. The projectile glanced off his shoulder, knocking Lord Teymus off balance and charring part of his shirt.

  “You…” said Lord Teymus. “I’m not weak! I’m impossible to kill when I choose to be!”

  His eyes suddenly surged, turning bright white as he entered a Diamond Trance. Hal hesitated, unsure of what the limits of Teymus’s magic might be. He forced himself forward, swinging his short sword a moment too late as Lord Teymus lifted into the air.

  The ceiling of the room was high, with at least fifteen feet of clearance. Lord Teymus had plenty of room to maneuver moved through the air faster than Hal could track with his pistol.

  “Hal!” shouted Laurel. He saw her pointing at something behind him, and then felt a wooden chair slam into his back, knocking him to the ground.

  Hal felt his anger flaring in his chest, pushing all other emotions to the wayside. He pulled himself to his feet, sheathing his pistol and dropping into a combat stance with his short sword. Lord Teymus was flying around the edge of the room, and suddenly threw his hands forward in Hal’s direction, buffeting him with gusts of wind that were nearly strong enough to knock Hal off his feet.

  He shifted his balance, relying on his naturally strong balance to keep from leaving himself open. Lord Teymus came in closer, pulling back a dagger and trying to sneak in under Hal’s guard for a fight ending stab. Hal used his spark ring and cast Flame Shield, taking advantage of Teymus’s proximity to scorch him with the spherically targeted spell.

  Lord Teymus let out a wounded shout and fell from the air. Hal gripped the hilt of his sword tight enough to make his hand hurt as he prepared to deliver the final blow.

  “Don’t!” shouted Laurel. “Hal, please! I don’t want you to kill him!”

  She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. He needs to die.

  Hal lifted his sword.

  “Stop! Please!” Lord Teymus crawled backward along the floor, frantic and desperate. “I’ll tell you everything! If you kill me, you’ll never know!”

  “Halrin!” screamed Laurel. That one sound was finally enough to get through to him. He forced the anger of his Ruby Trance down, letting his perception return to its normal state. His eyes stopped glowing, and he let out a small exhalation as he returned to Baseline.

  “Start talking,” he said, still threatening Teymus with his sword.

  “It wasn’t wolves, Laurel!” said Lord Teymus. “You were right. I am a liar…”

  Laurel stood up from the chair. She kept the blanket wrapped around her, and Hal felt his fury threaten to resurge as he realized that she was naked underneath. She put a hand on his shoulder as she passed by him, her expression reassuring.

  “Tell me the truth, Reyon,” she said, in a soft voice.

  “Our hunting party was captured,” said Lord Teymus. “I know it sounds crazy, but we were taken by… by elves. With strange magic abilities. One of them was riding a dragon. I know how it sounds, but I’m not insane! I was there…”

  “And my brother was with you?” asked Laurel.

  “He was the only reason I was able to escape,” said Lord Teymus. “One of the elven women… favored me. She would bring me into her tent on some nights. Willum organized a distraction so I could use the opportunity to run. I was… supposed to bring help.”

  “But you never told anyone…” Laurel’s face was suddenly a mask of hatred. She drew her hand back and slapped Lord Teymus across the face, hard, almost dropping the blanket covering her body in the process.

  “What was I supposed to say?” shouted Lord Teymus. “They would have thought me mad, had they known. I have a reputation to uphold!”

  “You have no reputation worth losing,” said Laurel.

  “Here!” Lord Teymus hurriedly reached into his pocket. Hal tensed as he bro
ught his hand back out, but all that he held within it was a small ring, with a tiny ruby set into it. “It’s Willum’s ring. He told me… he said to bring it to you. To let you have his ruby.”

  “All this time… you’ve known the truth,” said Laurel. “And you’ve had my brother’s ring. And you’ve just been acting as though nothing happened.”

  She took the ring from his finger. The glare she gave him made Hal think she was considering spitting in his face.

  “Hal,” she said. “I… don’t want to be here anymore.”

  “Yeah, neither do I,” said Hal.

  He brought her into Lord Teymus’s tacky bedchamber so she could pull her clothes back. Hal stood with his back turned, feeling a lump form in his throat as he struggled with a question he knew might hurt her to have to answer.

  “Did he… do anything to you?” he asked.

  Laurel was silent for a couple of seconds.

  “No,” she said. “He forced me to undress, and then… well, he made an attempt of it. Forced me to kiss him. To… touch him. But I stopped him from doing anything more.”

  “He deserves to die, for that alone,” said Hal.

  “Lots of people deserve to die. That doesn’t mean that you have to be the one to kill them.”

  Laurel came up behind him and pulled him into a hug, burying her face briefly against his shoulder. Hal squeezed her hand.

  “Let’s go,” he said.

  CHAPTER 38

  They left Teymus’s estate and headed straight back to the guest lodge. Yua apologized to Laurel for failing her, though Laurel insisted that it had not in any way been her fault. The matronly woman spent the next few hours doting over her, drawing a bath, preparing comfort food, and recounting her version of events to the guards.

  Laurel seemed less than optimistic that Maxim Cedric would be able to do much to punish Lord Teymus, given his status in court. Hal still felt like he was struggling with an emotional hangover from his Ruby Trance, and had to work to keep from making good on his many offers to return to the Teymus estate and take revenge with his sword.