WINDDREAMER

by Charlotte Boyett-Compo

  She eased off the bed and went to the window, looking at the courtyard. Workmen were tearing down the whipping post where so many Serenian men had met their painful fates, where her love had been so cruelly flogged. "I've something of vital importance to ask you, 'Zelle," she whispered.

  Gezelle joined her mistress by the window. "Anything, Milady."

  For a long moment, Liza said nothing, only stared down as the men felled the central beam of the whipping post. She took a ragged breath as the axemen began chopping away at the thick wood. "I want you to promise me, on the lives of our children, mine and yours, that if something should prevent me from returning, you will love and care for my children as though they were your own."

  "You need not ask, Milady, but--"

  Liza held up her hand. "There's more." Her eyes fused with Gezelle's. She held the woman's hand. "Promise me you will see that Conar remarries and provides them with a good woman to be their new mother." She shook her head as Gezelle made to protest. "Promise, Gezelle! Promise you will tell him of my wishes."

  The former servant nodded. "I--I promise."

  "And swear, on all you've ever held dear, on your love for him, that if the woman he chooses is not the woman I would want mothering my children, you'll see her dead and buried and another in her place, no matter how much Conar might love her."

  Gezelle stared at her. "Milady, do you know what you ask?"

  "I know very well. I also know there are women who would sell their souls to Raphian to have Conar McGregor. Such a woman would stop at nothing to get her claws into him. Should something happen to me, his powers will be greatly diminished. Occultus has not dared to tell him that, but I know it. Without me, he'll be vulnerable to women who'll use their evil wiles to gain his attention."

  "Surely you know he'd not wish to marry again, should you leave him, Milady," Gezelle protested.

  "But I want him to, my friend. He's not a man to be alone. He may not realize that for a long while, but eventually he'll take a lady to wife if just to have someone be a mother to his sons. I'll have no woman hurt my children simply because she wants Conar in her bed!" She jerked on Gezelle's wrist. "Swear to me you will not let some woman wreck my children's lives!"

  Gezelle must have viewed something in Liza's eyes that frightened her, perhaps had even glimpsed a part of what Liza, herself, saw, and suddenly looked as if she would scream. "Please don't go!" She fell to her knees, wrapping her arms around Liza's legs. "I beg you! Don't go!"

  Liza put a loving hand on Gezelle's head. "From the moment we are born, my dearest friend, our fate is sealed. We can not change it any more than we can change the course of the tides." She shivered uncontrollably, then threw back her head, her lips trembling with hopelessness. "We can not alter what is destined to be. Promise you will do as I have asked." Her voice broke as she slid to the floor beside Gezelle. "Please don't let me leave this keep without knowing my children are safe in your hands."

  "But how? I can not..."

  From the pocket of her riding breeches, Liza withdrew a small, clear vial of scarlet red liquid. "This is distolus of Maiden's Briar. It is extremely poisonous. A single drop in an open wound can cause harm. Applied to the skin over several weeks' time, it will kill."

  "Milady, I--"

  "Six drops, Gezelle," Liza said, her face set and cold. "Six drops stirred into the woman's face cream will see her dead in less than a month. The larger the amount, the less time on this earth she'll have."

  Elizabeth A'Lex placed the vial inside Gezelle's palm and closed the woman's fingers around it. "Promise you will look to my children's safety and Conar's happiness."

  Gezelle eventually nodded, accepting the charge her lady had given her. "There is one thing, though..."

  "What, dear friend?"

  Her face crinkled with anxiety, Gezelle took a deep breath and slowly released it. Her voice went so low, it became difficult to hear, but her words poured directly from her heart. "You know I love him."

  Liza understood. Comment became unnecessary.

  The young woman who had traveled from Norus Keep as a lady's companion and had become a Queen's best friend, a Prince Regent's mistress, lowered her head. "I never gainsayed him my body, Milady. I gave it freely, and took great pleasure from his."

  "Conar is a wonderful lover."

  As if gathering her courage, Gezelle looked up. "It was never my intent, nor his, to ever betray you."

  "I know."

  "He was so lonely when you left him. So hurt. He used me to ease that hurt, and I understood. It was never anything more." She shook her head. "Or rather, not for him."

  Liza put her arms around her friend. "You are very dear to him. He told me all there was to know about his times with you. He felt great shame at having treated you so. He still agonizes over making you abort his child."

  Tears falling down her cheeks, Gezelle lowered her head. "Forgive me, Milady. Forgive me for every hurt I've ever caused you..."

  Liza's arms tightened around her. "There's nothing to forgive. Instead, I would thank you for helping my love in whatever way you could."

  "I promise, Milady...if the poison does not work, I'll cut her throat myself," Gezelle pledged, sealing the great friendship that had long ago formed between them...

  ----

  "Are you ready, beloved?"

  Snapping back to the present, Liza turned to face Conar. She forced a confident smile to her lips. "Aye, Milord."

  "Is something wrong?" He touched her cheek and smiled when she turned her face into his palm. His smile wavered as she cupped his hand closer. "Has something happened?"

  "I was just thinking of our children, that's all. I miss them."

  He sighed of obvious relief. "Is that all?" He drew her into his arms. "We'll be home before they hardly know we're gone."

  Against his warm chest, against the fabric of his silken shirt that smelled of cinnamon oil and sensuous male, she pressed her cheek. "I hope so, my love, I truly hope so..."

  Chapter 3

  * * *

  Legion held out his hand to Brelan. "Take care. See that you come back nonetheless for wear, will you?"

  Brelan laughed. "I intend to. There's a certain young woman who would have Conar's hide, otherwise."

  "When does the ship sail?" Chase asked.

  "As soon as I get there. They should already be on board by now. It won't take long to get there on the sloop if I leave within the hour." Brelan pointed his finger at Teal. "Make sure my nag is taken care of until I get back, du Mer."

  "I'd be afraid the bugger would wager it away," Chase quipped, laughing at Teal's snort of disdain.

  "I wish you were going with us, Montyne," Brelan said.

  "He is," Legion answered, surprising both men.

  Chase raised a brow. "It's the first I've heard of it. I thought Conar wanted me here in case there was trouble."

  Legion shook his head. "Wait here for me. I'll see Brelan to the sea gate, then you can join him on board the Mystic Wind."

  "Does Conar know?" Brelan asked, a worry crease in his forehead.

  "He told me to do what I thought best in his absence," Legion answered, "and I am. Now, go on ahead, Bre, and Chase will join you shortly."

  Brelan sighed. "I'm not sure Conar's going to like this." He eyed Legion. "I'm not sure I like it."

  "It doesn't matter whether either of you do. This is one decision I feel compelled to make." Legion opened the library door and started along the flagstone path, his steps heavy as he walked toward the sea gate.

  Brelan had to walk fast to keep up with his brother. "There was a reason Conar wanted Chase to remain here. Our brother does nothing without a good reason. You know that."

  Legion didn't answer until his hand gripped the wrought iron ring that opened the tall gate. He looked down the curving stone steps, bordered on either side with thick clumps of prickly briars. He could just see the harbor from where he stood, the dredging operation that had prevented The Ravenwind from dockin
g at Boreas in full swing.

  "I feel this great weight on my chest, Brelan," he said, turning to face his brother. "I want to go with you. I feel a need to be there."

  "We all do, but there are more precious things to protect here than on The Ravenwind. Elizabeth's counting on you to keep watch over the children. She'd skewered us all if one scratch touched her babies."

  Legion's lips trembled. "See that no harm comes to our lady, Bre," he whispered, his heart in his voice.

  "You know I'd give my life for her."

  Something dark and painful stirred in Legion's soul. He wanted to shout to the guards to keep Brelan there, to send every available soldier at Boreas to bring back Conar and Liza. It was all he could do to pull his brother into his arms. He brought him to his chest in a hard, protective pull. "Be careful, Brelan. Be very careful."

  Brelan hugged Legion, slapped him heartily on the back, then slipped out of his arms and shook his head. "You sounded just like Papa." He smiled. "The older you get, the more like him you become, big brother."

  Legion lifted his eyes to the heavens. "The gods forbid!" He gripped his brother's wrist, and before Brelan could see the tears gathering in his eyes, he hurried up the flagstone path.

  * * * *

  "Conar told me why he didn't want you at the Monastery, Chase" Legion began when he returned to the library. "He feels you would not deal well with being there again." When Chase started to speak, Legion held up his hand. "And I know I should not ask, but I have no one else I can turn to that I trust."

  "What is it you want me to do?" Chase asked.

  Legion could barely answer. He had never felt so much agony, so much worry. It was as though his very heart was being torn out. "If, by some wild fancy of the gods, Conar or Liza, or both, should fall prey to Kaileel Tohre, I want your solemn and sacred vow you will find a way to free them."

  Chase drew in a long breath. "And if it means their very lives?"

  Legion held his friend's gaze for a long time. Everyone knew Chase Montyne had powers he seldom used. As a young man, he had trained with one of the best--Tolkan Coure. He had, like Conar after him, been installed at the Abbey of the Wind, and had become one of the greatest sorcerers Ionary had ever known.

  During the time of the Great Upheaval, when Domination-led troops invaded all the Seven Kingdoms, Chase had gone to Tolkan for help, but the old man refused him, reminding Montyne that he had never joined the Domination. Upon the death of his family at Tribunal hands, Chase had renounced his magic, vowing that using it would have been a slur to his lost family's honor.

  "Answer me, Legion," Chase said. "What if it means their lives?"

  "If Tohre captures them, he will kill Liza. Only you know what he might do to Conar. I will not see my lady slain nor my brother destroyed. Protect Liza as best you can. If it comes down to it, if there is no other way to save Conar, take his life. I could not ask it of the others, for I doubt any of them can do what you can."

  "Shalu could," Chase replied. "So could Jah-Ma-El. Both are capable of taking a life."

  "But would they take Conar's?"

  Chase didn't say anything for a long time. "No, they would not."

  "Then it rests with you, old friend. Would you have him once more in Tohre's hands?"

  "Never again."

  "Then you will do it?"

  Chase nodded. "I will see to it, Legion."

  After slipping the black crystal dagger from the sheath at his thigh, Legion flipped over the blade and extended the grip to his friend. "It's the one Regan used on him. Occultus tells me this is the only weapon that can"--he swallowed hard--"kill my brother."

  Montyne stared at the deadly looking dagger, as if loathe to touch the thing.

  Legion saw the uncertainty and dread in his friend's face. "There's no other way. I'm told he can be hurt, but not killed, by other weapons. This is the only device that will see the deed done..."

  "Aye, it is." Chase took the dagger, then quickly slid it into the waistband of his breeches. "You have discussed this with Occultus?"

  "He sees no threat to Conar, but we would be sure. He said, if the need arose, you would be the only man in the Force who loved Conar enough to kill him." Legion put his hand on Montyne's shoulder. "He said you were the only one who understood just how terrible Conar's life would become if Tohre should win."

  Shivering, Chase covered Legion's hand with his own. "I swear on my family's honor, should it come down to it, I will make sure Conar never falls into Tohre's clutches ever again!"

  Legion drew Montyne into a fierce embrace. "Do it quickly, Chase." His voice broke. "Please, Alel, don't let him suffer..."

  * * * *

  Conar held his beloved's hand as they walked the length of the quay at Marengo harbor. Gathered along the shore, at the top of the hill overlooking the harbor, standing in every available spot, their people kept silent vigil as the Wind Force boarded The Ravenwind, the sleek black schooner straining at anchor. The people made no sound, as if a single voice might break the magic circle of protection their love had encircled around the ship. Lips mumbled silent prayers to Alel for the safety of the journey.

  Brelan passed his brother and Liza, smiling at them, and went up the gangplank. He glanced back at them as he stepped onto the teak deck, looked at the people gathered, and apparently marveled at their displayed devotion.

  When Chase Montyne passed the couple, however, something broke Conar's composure. He stared after the Ionarian Prince, a heavy frown of concern on his face.

  "Don't scowl," Liza said. "You knew he wouldn't stay behind."

  Conar sighed. "I thought for once he'd do as I asked." He helped Liza up the gangplank and onto the deck, then searched Chase's eyes. "You knew I didn't want you to come."

  "So, sue me," Montyne quipped.

  Holm's voice blared, and the great anchor began to rise, its chain squealing in protest. In cadence with the noise came a low chant, staggered here and there among the crowd, gathering in volume and voice, soft and barely audible at first, then growing in depth and tone until the words could be distinctly heard.

  Everywhere Conar looked, people went to their knees, their right hands over their hearts.

  He had heard this cry before. Many times. The last time being in Chrystallus, five years before. It always brought a lump to his throat. It had become the battle cry for freedom in his land.

  "You have your people's love, little brother," Brelan said, slipping his arm around Conar's shoulder.

  "I know it well," Conar answered. "As they have mine."

  The great sails filled with the freshening breeze and it tacked toward the north, the chant ringing across the sea.

  "The Wind be at your back, Lord Raven!" someone shouted above the chants. The young man struck his arm straight out in front of him, fist clenched, thumb and little forefinger crooked in the sign of the Raven.

  Conar returned the salute. "And the Wind be at your back!" he called.

  ----

  Chase Montyne turned away from the love and adoration he saw on the faces of the people of Serenia. He needed to be alone, to think over the horrible promise he had made to Legion A'Lex.

  "Sweet Merciful Alel," he prayed to the heavens. "Please don't let me have to kill him."

  Chapter 4

  * * *

  Waves crashed into the craggy slope of the mountain and sent spumes of iced white foam high up the rockface. A dull gray sky hung heavily above and blended into the gunmetal color of the onrushing waves. A sharp chill hovered in the early morning air where no gull or tern flew in the harsh North Boreal sea wind.

  Below, in the cresting, heaving sea, the black ship rode at uneasy anchor, pitching and tossing, heeling over to the starboard side with every advancing wave. Even the high winds and high seas could not capsize The Ravenwind, but its shrouds dipped ever closer to the murky gray water.

  "Damn this wind," Holm van de Lar growled as he squinted into the teeth of the chill blow. "Why the hell couldn't he just
have gone up that mountain pass and invaded the place like any ordinary warrior."

  "Because there'd be no way to get in without being slaughtered," Paegan answered. "Conar said there's no room to maneuver on that mountainside."

  "What if Tohre has men waiting atop that mountain?" Mister Tarnes asked. "The bastards could just push our boys over the side and be done with it."

  "Conar knows what he's doing," Paegan admonished. He staggered against the push of the howling storm. "The wind's supposed to help us, not hinder us."

  Dropping a jolly boat over the side of the ship, Holm and Paegan had twice rowed across the span between The Ravenwind and the jutting rocks at the base of the mountain. Twelve members of the Wind Force were offloaded, each soaked wet long before stepping foot on the barren reef from whence their journey would begin.

  Now, Holm lifted his spyglass to the rugged cliffs and tried to keep sight of the climbers. The ship pitched and rolled beneath him like a bucking horse. "Give me that damned rope, brat!" he ordered Paegan. After lashing himself to the railing to avoid being thrown overboard, he brought the spyglass up once more.

  "Can you see them?" Paegan shouted. The wind flung him heavily against the captain. He skidded across the deck and grabbed the rail.

  Holm's fingers clutched his hand. "Why ain't you below like I told you to be?" Holm bellowed. Sea foam and droplets of rain speckled his face. His oilcloth poncho shone like polished steel in the fading light.

  "I wanted to see how they were!"

  "Here!" Holm ordered, handing the spyglass to his second in command. "Look your fill!" He held Paegan's arm to brace him.

  Though Paegan's fingers were numb from the cold, he took the glass. He scanned the cliffs and focused in on a climber, struggling to advance up the rock face, the high winds buffeting him against the stone surface. Paegan moved the glass a few inches and saw two others, staggered along the rock face, clinging desperately to the handholds and footholds carved by the wind and sea. The climb would have been hard even in good weather, but with the storm's punishing waves, the trek proved more difficult than anyone had expected.