Three men stepped into the dim light, and Connor’s hands balled into fists at his sides. He could smell Mairead on the big man. They were evenly matched in height, but the other was pale, ragged, weathered. Allyn. Connor frowned. I see his transgressions. The atrocities he had committed shrouded him as a cloak of evil and wove around him in dark, oily shadows, carrying lust and greed and abuse in every form. How does a man live with all of that?
Allyn crossed his arms. “Sold her. She’s going to Tal’Amun. You wouldn’t have wanted her, anyway. She can’t keep her mouth shut.”
Anger flared. He fought to keep it from his voice. “Whatever you sold her for, I can pay you more.”
Allyn gave a rabid laugh. “Doubtful. He paid a thousand. But if ye can give me more, I’ll let ye take her.” He waved the guard away. “Ye can go. I’ll take this one to see the girl.”
The guard walked away, and Connor fell in step next to Allyn. Allyn’s two guards walked behind him. “Where did you get this one?”
“One of the men who runs a camp brought her in. Her lover killed my son.”
Focus on the task. Get Mairead, then you can kill him. “Why sell her? Why not use her to get the man you want?”
“Don’t think he’d care. Seems he ran off.” He scoffed. “Not surprising. The bitch can’t keep her mouth shut.”
Connor forced his hands to unclench. I swear, when she’s safe, I’ll shove your heart up your ass. “Why do you want her, then?”
Allyn’s voice turned glacial. “She owes me a son.”
The Morrag fluttered. Destroy him, raven.
Not yet. When Mairead is safe.
Her scent came to him, along with a heavily perfumed scent that he didn’t recognize. Two figures emerged from the dark corridor. If it hadn’t been for the braid and the scent, he wouldn’t have recognized her. Her face was battered, cut, and bruised, and one eye was swelling shut. Her tunic was torn and bloodstained, and she walked with a shaking gait.
A man in multi-hued silks stood next to her. “What’s this, Allyn?”
“This one wants to buy her. Says he can outbid you.” He looked at Connor. “Well? She’s bruised, but if ye can outbid a thousand, she’s yours.”
Her eyes finally fell on him and widened. Please Mairead, don’t say anything. “Eleven hundred.”
Something flickered across the face of the silk-covered Tal’Amuni—recognition? Connor couldn’t tell. “You want this girl?” he asked.
A silken-covered mage, like the song. Could he be the one? He gestured to Mairead. “May I?”
Allyn nodded. “Go ahead.”
Connor fought the urge to take her in his arms and win free of the place. Keep a cool head. Get out with your wits, not your sword. Her lip trembled. He touched her face. His hands drifted down her neck, shoulders, breasts—I have to make this look good—hips. He put a hand on her chin. “She seems healthy except for the beating you gave her. You swear to me no one has used her yet?”
“I can’t be sure she’s a virgin, but I’m the only man who’s been in a room with her, and Phinneas here stopped me before I took her.”
Connor turned back to the men. “I want her. Eleven hundred.”
“No.” The man named Phinneas took a step toward him. “Pay me. I’ll sell her to you for a thousand. Don’t pay him.”
Allyn laughed. “You think you have some kind of authority here, eunuch?”
Phinneas turned a cool gaze on Allyn. “She’s my property. I paid for her. You hold my coins in your hand right now. It’s my choice what to do with her. I choose to sell her to this man for one thousand gold pieces. Until he pays me, she’s still mine.” He stepped closer to Allyn. “Do you wish to challenge me? Even you would not risk drawing the slavers of Tal’Amun into battle.”
Allyn folded his arms, and a muscle twitched in his jaw as he weighed his options. “A thousand won’t buy me a son.” He grabbed Mairead’s arm and yanked her away from the eunuch. “Two thousand. Which one of ye will pay it?”
Connor started to say he would, but Mairead’s hand flicked out from her side with a flash of steel. She spun and thrust in one motion, driving the blade upward under Allyn’s ribs, all the way to the hilt. His eyes widened in pain and surprise, and he gasped for air, but she pulled the blade out and stepped away from him. He fell forward. She kicked him onto his back, spit in his face, and shoved the dagger into his eye and twisted it. His legs twitched and jerked, then stilled.
The guards drew swords, but Connor blocked one swing and punched the man hard across the nose. The other guard dove at Connor from the side, but he ducked, twisted, lunged, and took the man by the throat with one hand. He pounded the man’s head against the wall and twisted his head until he heard the satisfying crunch of bones breaking. The man slumped to the ground. Connor went to the other man and snapped his neck.
Phinneas was staring, awestruck, at Connor. “You have the Morrag in your eyes. You are her raven.”
He can see it? Connor pulled Mairead into his arm. “Are you going to cause me any trouble?”
“No, I swear. I seek only to help you.” He ushered them past the bodies. “Forgive me. I didn’t know she was yours, raven. I would not have bought her—” He stopped. Comprehension dawned on his face. “Spirits, she is the ravenmaster.”
“Ravenmaster?”
“Yes. The woman who will gather all of you. Don’t you know of her?”
Connor shook his head. “I thought I was the only raven.”
“No, there are others.” He made an impatient gesture. “Why don’t you know this? Have none of them found you?”
“How would they?”
“This girl calls them. You will have to work with her to defeat the Forbidden. It’s written in the Second Book of the Wisdomkeepers.”
The Second Book? “You don’t know that. The second book has been missing for centuries.”
“I’ve read it in our library in Tal’Amun.” He took a long breath. “The Forbidden are rising again, and only the ravenmarked can kill them. We must meet somewhere—there is much to tell you.”
If we go back to Henry, Mairead will be safe, and I can meet the eunuch in Galbragh. He’s asking for nothing but conversation. The Tal’Amuni wouldn’t do anything to anger Henry. He nodded. “We’ll go to the palace. Can you go to the Golden Goose?”
“Yes, of course. It will take me a few days to win free of my camp, but I will come.” He pushed them down the hall. “There are horses behind the house in a small stable. Take two and go to the palace.”
They followed the corridor and went down the stairs to the front door. “We worked out a bargain,” Connor told the guards. He picked up his sword and daggers. “Thanks for your help.”
He led Mairead around the side of the house. Phinneas followed. Connor put on his sword and pack. “Horses are over there,” Phinneas said, gesturing. “The palace is about a three day’s ride from here.” He spared a concerned look for Mairead. “She’s weak.”
“I’ll take care of her, don’t worry.”
Phinneas nodded. “The One Hand hold you both.” He walked away, his bright silks melting into the darkness.
Connor led Mairead to the stable and went to the first pen with a horse big enough to hold two. “No time to saddle two. You can ride with me.” He listened for sounds of pursuit as he saddled the horse and put bit and bridle on. When he was ready, he mounted, hung his pack from the saddle, and pulled her up behind him. Just as she settled in, he heard shouts from the direction of the house. “Someone found Allyn. Hang on.”
He galloped from the stable as men scrambled to figure out how Allyn had died in his own house. As the horse ran, he cast braids of air down to the animal’s hooves and wrapped them around the sound. They galloped out the back side of the camp until the sounds of pursuit faded.
Connor stopped in a copse of trees. Men shouted in the distance. Connor gathered the braids that held the sound of the hoof beats. He sent the braids to the west, past the camps and the h
ouse, and when they were close enough to the pursuers, he released the sound. The men changed direction, setting their horses in a westward path, and Connor breathed out a deep sigh.
He dismounted and pulled Mairead off the horse into his arms. “By the spirits, Mairead. I was so stupid. I almost lost you.” He kissed her head, hair, and neck, and wrapped her in his arms. “I’m sorry—I’m so sorry. Please, Mairead, forgive me. I shouldn’t have left. I thought you’d be safer without me.”
She shed quiet tears against his chest, her arms folded in against her body, her shoulders shaking as he held her. She lifted her face to his, and he kissed her. She whimpered. “It hurts—everything hurts.”
He tried to gentle his arms around her. “What happened?”
“It was him—the Forbidden. He had Melik try to sell me. Melik took me hunting one morning, and he had slavers set up to come buy me. They gave me snake venom. I saw the Forbidden come and go in flashes of light. He killed Melik, and then the slavers took me to Allyn. He beat me and almost—” A sob caught in her throat. “How can a man do that? How can he treat a woman that way?”
He pulled her close. “I don’t know. I would never treat you that way. I love you.”
A choking laugh escaped. “This is what it takes for you to admit it? I have to nearly be raped and sold into slavery?”
He put his hand on her head and pulled her back to look at her. “I swear. I’m never leaving again.”
Her eyes searched his. “You gave in to the Morrag.”
The presence inside him ruffled and resettled its feathers, content and peaceful at last. “I did. I had to. I had to get to you. It was the only way.”
“And now? What will she demand of you?”
“I don’t know, but I know you’re part of it.” He kissed her forehead. “I was wrong. Our destinies—I thought they were separate, I didn’t want to hurt you, but I was wrong. I’ll serve you the rest of my days, however you’ll have me.”
She closed her eyes. “How did you know? How did you get here?”
“I heard you in my head. You called me. I knew you were in danger. The Morrag promised if I submitted I could get to you.”
Her body started to relax in his arms. “I hurt so much. I thought I was going to end up across the world. That man told me he wouldn’t make me a concubine. He said he had other plans for me, but the first test was to kill Allyn. He gave me the dagger. I don’t know what he wanted. I didn’t know if you’d get me out of there. I had to kill him. I had to pass his test. I couldn’t be a concubine.”
“Shh. It’s all right. I’m here now. I won’t lose you again. I won’t leave you.” He shut his eyes. “At least Allyn is dead. You gave him what he deserved.”
“He got what we all deserve.” She pulled away from him and wiped her eyes. “This is all such a hopeless place. Those people—they kidnap the least of the least, they sell their children, their wives, their enemies just for a few coins. And these traders have no consciences. Allyn was just one. Someone will rise up in his place. What if it’s someone worse?” Raw emotions shook her voice. She turned back toward the camp. “This is why I’m here—to stop this. To bring order to this place.”
“I believe you. You are meant to be here. You are meant to be their queen.”
She turned back to him. “Remember how you told me some men can’t be redeemed? I didn’t believe you. But that man—Allyn—he was irredeemable.”
“Perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps it’s not up to me to decide who’s irredeemable.”
She lifted a hand to the leather lashing around his neck. “You’re wearing the bear claw.”
His hand went to it. “I put it on a new lashing as soon as I—” He stopped. As soon as I left you. He couldn’t say it out loud. He took the leather lashing from his neck and put it over her head. “You should have it. I won’t need it now. I’m not leaving again.”
She fingered the claw. “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too.”
They mounted the horse and rode deep into the woods until he found a small grove where they would be safe. He pulled his blanket out of his pack and wrapped her in it, then built a fire. When the flames lit the clearing, he knelt in front of her. “Tell me where you’re hurt.”
She told him everything Allyn had done. “It’s my belly that hurts the most. And my side where he kicked me.”
He touched her face, and she flinched and hissed. “You’re pale. I’m summoning my mother. She can send healers.”
“Can you still do that now that the bond is broken?”
“I have an idea.” He began to weave braids of air, stone, and water together.
Within moments, Maeve landed in the clearing, and the air dissipated around her. “I thought that might summon you,” he said.
Her face was anguished and drawn. “You broke the bonds in your blood.”
He straightened. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
She let out a long breath. “I found you weaving the braids when you were only two. I feared you’d be uncontrollable, so I bound your talents—all but enough air talent to satisfy the people. I feared what would happen if the Sidh knew a man had all three talents.”
“We’ll talk about it later.” He gestured to Mairead. “Right now, I need your help.”
Maeve gasped. “What happened?”
“It’s a long story. Can you summon healers?”
Her eyes turned glassy for a moment, and then multi-colored braids of the different talents trickled into the clearing. In moments, three Sidh women appeared. At Maeve’s command, they knelt around Mairead, and braids of stone, water, and air wound around and through her. Mairead shuddered and sighed. When the bruises on her face had faded to little more than slight discoloration, the women stood. “You may be weak for a few days,” one of them told her. “There were bruises inside. We’ve repaired them. We removed the venom in your blood, repaired the skin on your belly and ear, and drained the fluids from your bruises. You need to eat well. You are not Sidh, so you need meat—as soon as he can find some.”
Connor helped Mairead to her feet and put an arm around her. She relaxed against his shoulder. “I’ll be sure she eats well.”
Maeve took a deep breath. “I have news. Do you want me to share it in front of her?”
“I have no more secrets from Mairead.”
“Mac Rian is dead. Edgar killed him.”
Anger Connor spent six years building tumbled like an unmortared wall. “What about Olwyn?”
“King Braedan killed her. There was a battle. Edgar drove Mac Rian’s men out of the forest, and Braedan saved an earth guardian from Olwyn’s sorcery.” She put a hand on Connor’s arm. “Braedan is going to give you the Mac Niall and Mac Rian holdings. He plans to abolish the laws of inheritance that kept you from them, and he will name you Culain’s son.”
Connor’s mouth worked around words that wouldn’t come. “I didn’t want it,” he finally said. “I don’t want it.”
“Perhaps not, but it is yours. Braedan promised Edgar that he would appoint a steward to care for the holdings. Edgar and I will be sure they are cared for until you return to Taura.”
“Mother, I’m not going back to Taura. My place is with Mairead. Not there—not with you or the tribes or as lord of some property I barely know. Can’t I give it up?”
“That’s up to you, of course. Perhaps you’ll have a son one day, though, and perhaps you’ll want to pass your land down to him. Don’t give up anything just yet. Think about it. You are the last Mac Niall. You have a responsibility to your father’s name.”
He nodded. “You’re right. You are. I’ll consider it.”
Maeve blinked. “I’m right?”
“Leave it, Mother.” His tone softened. “You were right about a lot of things. I forgive you for bonding me. Can you forgive me for being such an ass for the last six years?”
She smiled. “Of course. Yes.” She pulled him into an embrace. “Come back and see Edgar. You need to forg
ive him.”
He nodded. “I will. When I can.”
She seemed to want to say more, but then shook her head. “Will you be able to get back to Galbragh safely?”
“We have a horse. I can catch some rabbits or fish. We’ll be fine. Do you think you could go to the palace—tell Henry where we are? He can send someone north to meet us.”
“Yes. I’ll see to it.” She paused. “You will need time to practice your talents. There may be Sidh who don’t trust you.”
“I have the Morrag inside me, and you’re worried about the Sidh power? I think I can handle it.” He bent and kissed her. “Goodbye, Mother.”
Maeve nodded. “Be careful.” She drew up the braids of air and disappeared.
When they were alone, Mairead gestured to her bloodied, torn clothes. “Do you have a fresh tunic?”
He gave her a fresh tunic and turned away to allow her privacy. When he turned around again, she was chattering with cold. He put the blanket around her and rubbed her back. “Better?”
“Yes.” Occasional snowflakes sparkled in her hair. “I don’t know how to feel,” she said, quiet. “I want to believe that you’re really here and you’ll really stay, but—”
He tightened his arms around her. “I swear to you, I’m never leaving.”
“You promised you would stay for the winter, and then you left. You told me you wouldn’t break a promise, and you did.”
He closed his eyes. “I wanted to protect you.”
She sighed and rested her head against him. “I need time.”
“You will have all the time you need. I will wait for you.” He buried his face against her neck and tightened his arms. “I love you,” he whispered.
She let him hold her for some time. “No promises. No swearing oaths.”
“Mairead—”
She shook her head. “No. We aren’t bound only to each other. There’s still too much we have to learn.”
He stroked her cheek. “Whatever happens, know that I don’t ever want another woman.”
Ravenmarked (The Taurin Chronicles) Page 48