He stepped in the door and all looked as it had been when he’d left. He hoped the drug they’d given her hadn’t been too strong and that it had done what the healer had promised which was knock her out, not kill her. He was fretting like an old mother but he had so much depending on this witch. He saw her move restlessly and he hoped she’d wake. He would tell her what was expected of her and she would comply or suffer for it. He examined her closely, she was a beautiful woman. Her outside showed no hint of the evil he’d seen when they had come across her in battle.
She’d stood at Knorris’ side, her face a mask of ice. No warmth to be found in her, no mercy to be given. She’d waved her hands and the very air had turned on them. They’d been pushed back easily as if a giant invisible arm had swept them away. He’d seen satisfaction on her face then, just for a brief second. He’d felt relief when his eyes had swept over his men and he’d realized none had been seriously injured. It had been so lucky and a sign that the gods and goddesses were truly on their side.
She moaned and he was certain she was coming awake. He smiled to himself as he thought her head surely ached in the aftermath of the drug and the less than gentle treatment he was sure his men had accorded her. They needed her, but none would ever view her as anything but the enemy. Her headache was a small enough payback for all the harm she had inflicted on them for her lover’s sake. It was even possible that she just enjoyed inflicting pain and misery although his people and the witches had been closer to allies than enemies as far back as anyone could remember.
He decided to wake her, it was too urgent to wait. Just as he stepped forward, a young man came running up to him. “Sir, you have to hurry. The enemy is at the gate.”
He turned calmly even though he was feeling anything but calm. “Take a deep breath, Boy, and tell me all you know,” he replied.
“It’s the Knorris with a thousand men. He’s demanding to speak with you or he’ll launch an attack,” the boy spoke excitedly.
“Run ahead and tell them I’m on my way,” he told him.
He refused to run, it was undignified and best left to those like the young page who rushed off with nary a thought. He followed more sedately even though his heart beat so hard he feared it would burst. He’d not return the witch, he couldn’t. His friend and mentor had no hope without her. He made it to the gate and climbed up to the top. It was necessary although it put him in a position of danger. Once in sight of the enemy, they could shoot him with a spear or an arrow. He took a chance that Knorris wanted to talk to him, not kill him. He would drop out of sight once he denied his request for the witch.
Knorris sat atop his large beast. It had legs the size of tree trunks and tusks with sharp points on the end. Many enemies had found those to be deadly. It had large ears that it moved back and forth and a nose that looked like a snake but was open on the end. It was a grayish color but covered in fur. Knorris’ army had many of them to use to batter down gates and pull their implements of war. The beast seemed happy to be standing still and its tail swished back and forth keeping the flies away.
Knorris sat atop him his bearing that of a king, which he was not. He was a big man, just shy of the general’s height and breadth. He’d never seen a man taller or more muscular than the general. The look on his face was of distaste. He wasn’t happy to be here. Well he could join the crowd, they weren’t happy to have him here either. His lips curved in a sneer as he prepared to make his demands. That was the only way he ever spoke to those he considered his inferiors which was everyone except his king and his emperor. He might consider them to be less than he was as well, but he was smart enough to hide it.
“You have something of mine. Give it to me and I’ll allow you to live another day!” he said a demand and a threat rolled into one.
“There’s nothing here for you but death and destruction. Make no mistake, if you attack we have the means to destroy you,” he claimed but it was all a bluff.
He held eye contact and his face was a mask of calm and confidence. He was shaking inside but seemed ready for battle on the outside. He’d learned from the best and he’d never let that man down by giving in to his fear.
“Where is you fearless leader?” Knorris asked with disdain.
“When I last saw him, he was in bed with a beautiful woman,” he replied.
There was no lie but he let Knorris make of it what he would. His reaction was immediate and his face turned a purplish red. He was so livid he shook and his control slipped. He let loose some words in a language Adame didn’t know. He suspected the lord thought his lover untrue and he was beside himself with fury. He wanted to smile at him, but abstained. To push him now would be a mistake. He saw the effort it took for him to bring himself under control.
“You’ve not heard the last of me, Soldier,” he said it as an insult knowing Adame was second in command and a leader not just a soldier. He didn’t take offense because he’d started as a soldier and had been proud to be one.
He nodded, there was really nothing more to say. Knorris wheeled his gigantic beast about and it nearly fell as it tripped. They were strong beasts, but they weren’t fast or particularly agile. All things have a weakness and he could see now that the witch was Knorris’. He desired her, maybe even loved her in his own sick way. But more than that he feared her power if it were unleashed upon him. That was a very good thing to know. He turned and moved out of his vulnerable position quickly lest Knorris decide to remove him from the game. One carefully aimed arrow and the general’s trusted confidante would be no more. The game had now changed and he desperately needed his mentor to determine how best to use this new information to their advantage.
His men moved out of his way as he headed back to the room the general was kept in. Only the most trusted of his personal guard was allowed in. All food, drink, and medicine was fed to the preparer first to ensure its safety. Something he suspected should have been done to start with to avoid the current situation. Two guards were at the door just as he’d ordered. Sabin and Guthry, they were two of the best. He suspected Guthry had powers of some sort but he denied it. It was wise not to tell all you knew in this environment of hate and distrust that the leaders of the west had fomented. He couldn’t blame him and he thought the general knew all there was to know and that was what was important.
He stepped through the door relieved that the general still breathed. It was his greatest fear each time he left that he would be cold as a stone when he returned. He looked better as if even just the closeness of the witch had aided him in some unknown way. It made the hope that was barely there bloom and grow. He was beginning to believe he might save the man that could save them all. If there was any hope, it lay in that bed with the one barely hanging on to life.
He stepped up to the bed where the witch lay twitching restlessly as if she wanted to wake but somehow couldn’t. Fear hit him again, what if the drug had worked too well and killed her instead of just making her sleep? Without her all hope was gone. He debated what to do and wondered what would the general do if he were in this position? He’d wake her, he was sure of it.
He held her by the shoulder shaking her lightly and watched carefully for any sign that she was waking. She drew in a deep breath and her eyelids fluttered. Her eyes slowly opened and he saw the universe in them. They were a swirling pattern of blue and white with shiny dots like stars in them until they settled down and she once more looked human. It had been her magic he’d seen first and she was a powerful witch. Not the most powerful, but in the top five. Now she had the blue eyes of a regular person except they were the most beautiful blue. They were jewel toned and shone like beacons. He could see how a man could be drawn in and lose his soul to a woman such as this.
Her head turned and she looked directly into his eyes and if he didn’t know what she was he would say she was pure and kind. He saw no sign of the evil that he knew dwelled in her soul. No hint of the ugliness that she’d brought into the life of his people, not even an inkling of
the malice she held for all of them. He was glad he knew and wouldn’t be taken in by this witch, by Knorris’ whore. She deserved nothing but contempt but he wouldn’t mistreat a woman, not even one like her.
“Why have you brought me here?” she asked her voice melodious and sweet. It seemed everything about her was misleading.
“You’ve a task to complete if you want to see tomorrow,” he informed. He might not abuse her, but if she didn’t do as he asked he’d kill her without regret. She would be executed in the yard in front of all his men. They would celebrate the death of such a powerful enemy and if nothing else, morale would improve.
“And that would be?” she asked pointedly. It was clear she wanted to get out of the bed but he blocked her movements by standing where he did.
“The man next to you is deathly ill. Your life continues as long as his does. I want you to heal him,” he instructed.
She moved her eyes to the general. An odd expression of pity came over her face. “He’s been poisoned by lorea berry. You may have waited too long before seeking me. He’s in the final stages just before succumbing to death,” she declared.
“You’d best hope you can save him because it’s all that will save you,” he said and he meant it. He hoped she realized that.
“I will try but not because you’ve threatened me. I can see by his bright aura that he’s a good man. Red shows he’s a warrior, purple shows he’s a leader, and the gold that edges his whole aura shows he’s kind and thinks of others before himself. He’s the kind of man our world needs more of,” she observed.
“And your lover Knorris, what kind of man is he?” he asked.
“He’s not my lover nor has he ever been. Knorris is as black as pitch. His soul decays from the inside out with the evil that taints it,” she explained.
“Why did you stay with him?” he asked curiously.
“Who says I had a choice?” she said her voice filled with bitterness.
He started to question what he had seen with his own eyes. No, it was just a witch’s trick to gain sympathy. “Do you need anything?”
“Many things,” she intoned. “Give me a paper and quill and I shall write them down. Once someone goes to fetch them we must move him from the bed and sweat him.”
“Won’t that kill him in his condition?” he asked shocked and concerned.
“Not if we watch him closely and fill him with liquids. Warm water to start with and then the tea I’ll make and a broth made from whatever game birds you have handy. He needs as much of the lorea berries removed from his system as possible. Once that is done we will give him something that will counteract what is left. After that he’ll need sustenance, fluids, and rest. At that point, it will be in the hands of the goddess,” she explained.
She neither gave him hope nor did she take it away. She felt he might make it, but it was uncertain at this time. He was grateful she didn’t spew false hope because he would be crushed if the general died. She wrote out the list quickly and he was glad for something to do. He told the guards to help her do whatever she instructed. He had to put his trust in her. He knew at this point the general was dead without her help. If he died anyway, it was the will of the gods. He had done all he could. He put the note in the hands of a page. It was one who was educated, a rich man’s second son. They were often sent to the military to make a career for themselves or die trying. He sent the boy to the healer because he trusted her more than most. She had tried to heal the general but it had been beyond her ability to do so. It was the healer who had suggested a witch, one of the high five, to heal him.
He rushed back to supervise the care of his mentor. He felt less helpless if he watched, though why he couldn’t say. A table had been moved into the room and the general had been stripped and lay on it. He was near the fire but not so near that he was in danger from it. The fire had been started and was already hot since this was spring and a warm day at that. He could see the general was already slick with sweat. He was quite the man and while Adame had no interest in men, he admitted that the general had a beautiful body. It would be a loss to women everywhere were he to die.
The general made it his personal mission in life to satisfy as many women as he could. He had no interest yet in claiming a wench insisting that he’d know when he found the right one and until then the one he was nearest was as good as any. He never stayed with one long, he’d always said he didn’t want them to get too comfortable in his bed. It was the one area in his life that the general wasn’t disciplined. Now that he’d thought of it, maybe it hadn’t been the enemy that had caused the general’s dilemma. There was more than one bitter and rejected lover hanging about with ill intent on her mind.
He’d follow up on that thought later, for now the general lay on the table with sweat pouring off him and the witch dripping water into his mouth. “What the purpose of this, Witch?” he asked.
“This is a cleansing. The poison must be flushed out or nothing will help him. Do you smell the sour, bitter scent on his skin?” she asked.
He moved closer and breathed deeply. He grimaced at the putrid odor of the sweat on his skin. It was foul, but at least it wasn’t strong. “That’s the poison?” he asked and reached out as if to touch it.
“Don’t,” she advised. “I don’t know how strong it is, but some people can die from a small amount. He seems to have had a strong tolerance for it. Anyone else I know would be long dead but he refused to die. This man has a stubborn will.”
“You can’t begin to imagine how true that is,” he agreed thinking on the things he’d seen his friend do over the years.
He watched the witch carefully as she took a cloth and wiped the contaminated sweat from his friend’s skin. She washed the cloth, wrung it out, and wiped more sweat from his skin. “Why do you not fear the poison?” he asked curiously. It was funny but he believed her when she said it could be fatal.
“When we are young we are fed small amounts of certain poisons until we build up an immunity. There are few venoms or plants that can kill me. If he recovers, lorea berry will never cause him harm again,” she explained
He thought that might be a good thing if his friend continued his conquests among the female population. He’d always been jealous of the easy way the general had with women but now he was rethinking things. He’d always heard a woman scorned could be dangerous but he’d never realized they could be fatal. The more he thought on the matter the more he thought a woman had been his friend’s downfall, or nearly so. He looked better and he moved restlessly about the table he was on.
“Next we’ll need to bathe him in warm water. Can you bring something in here he’ll fit in?” she asked.
One of the general’s few vanities was a large brass tub. They’d take him to it instead of trying to take it to him. He sent one of the guards to see it was filled and return when it was ready. The general’s movements were increasingly restless and his eyes opened briefly. He stared at the witch as if enthralled and grabbed her wrist planning to pull her to him. Either she was stronger than she looked or he was as weak as he looked because she dug in and refused to allow him to pull her in.
“Who are you?” the general rasped.
“Your savior, now lie still and behave!” she admonished him. He dropped the hand that he’d held her by and his eyes closed again.
Adame was still cheered with the obvious improvement he had just seen. The general had not opened his eyes in a week. He’d not spoken in longer than that. Relief was rolling through him he just hoped he wasn’t premature. In honesty, he’d give his life for this man. They were that close and with good reason. The general was loyal without a fault to those of his men who earned that loyalty. He’d saved Adame and many of his men in battle and he saw their needs were attended to after battle. Most loved him and would do anything he asked of them giving him complete trust. He was honest to a fault. He’d never lie if the battle ahead would be hard won. He’d never send you on a mission doomed to fail, he took those himsel
f and always managed to succeed.
To most of his men he was a hero. That was the way Adame viewed him and the men present right now viewed him that way too. It was hard to see your hero flat on his back naked and weak as a babe. He hoped once the general was well never to see that again. He watched the witch closely as she wiped the sweat from his body. Her touch was gentle, but she didn’t seem to take note of the attractive man she cleansed. He could have been a woman for all she seemed to notice. Not even the general’s impressive man root seemed to capture her regard.
ChapterTwo
Captured
It was the same thing once more. Roxen had thought the easterners would be kinder but she’d been a fool. They intended to use her just as Knorris had, for their own goals. She saw the esteem that these men held their leader in and he deserved it. Maybe if he recovered, he would set her free. It was a thought with little hope. She was a pawn now for one side or the other. They’d not risk freeing her in case Knorris recovered her. Knorris had kept her for nearly a miserable year. She’d spent most of her time fending off his lust. She’d told him if he took her unwillingly, she’d cast a spell that would leave her with no magic at all. He could kill her at that point for all she cared.
He’d believed her and she’d meant it. It still hadn’t stopped his unwanted comments and caresses. He’d known where to stop so that she would allow it. Each touch had turned her skin to ice. It had been like a nasty insect crawled on her. He was evil and it was there for anyone to see that could see his aura or smell the stench of decay that rose from his body. He’d long left behind any chance at redemption and he needed to die. It was not something she declared easily and it wasn’t just for revenge. He would help to defeat the east and then he intended to take out his king followed by his emperor. They thought him loyal and he was, but only to himself.
Beyond The Veil: A Paranormal & Magical Romance Boxed Set Page 224