"Sergeant," James began. "Would you care to fill us in on the situation?"
Before he could answer, Alyssa barked, "Brody, step away from him!"
The man backed away without hesitation, though confusion showed plainly on his face, her tone had brooked no argument. Meric had still been watching her and had noticed the look of fierce concentration on her face as she studied the man tied to the chair. While he could understand her interest, he thought her focus was a little too intense. He was a bit mystified as well and was about to ask her what was wrong when the older man spoke commandingly.
"Sergeant, if you will take your four men out into the front of the warehouse, we will take it from here."
Woodard did not hesitate before gesturing to the men to proceed him toward the door. Meric exchanged a look with Brody, but did not move and was about to ask (maybe even demand) what was going on when Alyssa spoke again.
"Meric and Brody should stay. They will need to know what is going on," she said, somewhat forcefully to the older man. Meric was a bit impressed, since the man was obviously someone of note, judging from the deference being shown by James, Wood, and until just then Alyssa.
"Not this time, Alyssa," he said, in a voice that expected to be immediately obeyed. "James can stay, but no one else."
"They are just as much involved as the Captain or I," she argued. "Father... trust me. They know even more about what is going on than the rest of us. I trust them. Completely."
The last was said with some significance that only the two speaking understood. Meric might have enjoyed the warm feeling he got from her trust a little more if not for the shock of finding out the man's relation to Alyssa. Father and daughter faced off for a few moments before the man finally spoke again.
"Very well. Just be certain, because you will be required to explain your actions to the King."
She nodded. "I am and will."
The man signaled Woodard to go ahead with the other two men, then looked expectantly at James once the door closed behind those leaving.
"Lord Marshall Barclay Camden, may I present the men who saved your daughter's life back in Yost? Meric Vettor, former Commander in the Rennick Royal Guard. His associate is Brody Sonder, former First Sergeant in same." He pointed to each man as he introduced them, and Meric saw recognition in Lord Camden's eyes at hearing their names. He was not surprised, as he also recognized the name of the leader of Glendon's military forces and knew Brody would as well. The chagrin he felt at not putting Alyssa's last name together with the Lord Marshall was something he would deal with later.
Lord Camden nodded thoughtfully then asked, "Well Mister Vettor, would you care to tell me what kind of information you expected to get out of this man while choking him to death?"
Meric knew from the heat creeping up his neck that his face was probably bright with embarrassment, but he also knew he deserved much worse than the light rebuke in the man's voice.
"I overreacted when I recognized him for who he is. It will not happen again, my Lord."
"Right. So who is he?" The older man began to slowly pace around the prisoner, inspecting him from every side. Fenton had sat quietly the whole time, seeming to calm down once Meric was no longer closing off his airway, but was in fact squirming slightly and sweating profusely.
"His name is Terrance Fenton. Several years ago, before the war, I was sent south to the city of Warrick to investigate a string of murders there that the local Watch could not get a handle on. Without going onto all of the details, it seemed that Fenton had started making a name for himself as an assassin with a particularly brutal signature. I eventually caught him and while returning him to Parna for judgment, we were intercepted by Xavier. He took charge of the prisoner and sent me on my way with new orders that would keep me occupied in the South for weeks. I did not have the authority to disobey him, but I did look into the disposition of Fenton's case when I returned. Xavier had arranged for him to be pardoned in exchange for his services. Of course, he did not fully disclose all of the man's crimes or what those services would be when he got King Titus to agree to the pardon, but by the time I returned and found all of this out the man had already disappeared . Xavier had spent the time I was away doing everything he could to convince the King he had changed his ways and was going to be a proper little prince, acting for the good of the realm. King Titus was loath to disrupt this attitude hoping that his son had finally come around. That was the only time I had ever been disappointed in the man I so looked up to."
Meric paused for a few seconds, but before anyone else could speak he uttered one last sentence. "Fenton's particular method of killing was with a garrote."
Alyssa's sharp intake of breath was clearly audible due to the absolute stillness of every one else in the room. All focus was now on the man in the chair, with varying degrees of anger or horror.
Brody knew from the time it happened, being with Meric when he received the news. James had heard the story from Brody and Malina one night at the inn after a few too many ales. Lord Camden had most likely read it in a report from Glendon's spy network. Alyssa, however, had only been told recently when she hesitantly asked Meric one night about how exactly Princess Arianna had died. The look of horror on her face now, matched the one from that night as he told her about the brutal assault, rape, and strangulation by garrote that had been described to him in the letter from Xavier he had received years ago.
This time it was Brody that moved toward the man responsible, a painful death foreshadowed in his eyes. Before he reached Fenton, the man began squirming in earnest and pleading desperately.
"Wait! You can't hold me responsible for that! I was following my King's orders!"
Brody grabbed a handful of hair and snatched the man's head back. The prisoner started yelling, while trying to look at Lord Camden.
"Grant me clemency and I'll tell you everything you want to know. I swe-"
The man suddenly twitched hard enough to pull his hair from Brody's grasp, and began screaming in such agony that it chilled Meric down to his bones. Brody looked at his hand, then at Fenton and after hesitating at the sound the man was making he went to grab him again, if only to hold him steady, when Alyssa shouted at him.
"Brody, get back!" Then several things seemed to happen at once.
Meric saw Brody stagger back a few steps as if someone had shoved him. Steam started rising from Fenton's body as Alyssa stepped toward him with her hands raised. As James went to grab her arm, a bright flash accompanied by a loud thumping sound, like would be heard when an empty ale cask was struck, erupted from the area of the trussed up murderer. It was so blindingly intense even through tightly shut eyes that Meric tried to block out the light with an arm, but the flash had already started to subside before he could complete the motion. As he cautiously peeked around his raised arm he could see Alyssa still standing with raised arms in front of where Fenton had been replaced by an object that he could not identify, her beautiful face strained as she slowly sank to her knees. He darted around the shimmering sphere that contained what looked like thick, roiling, black smoke and slid to one knee at her side in time to keep her from toppling sideways, throwing an arm around her waist. Not knowing what else to do, and not wanting to interrupt her still obvious concentration, he glanced around to see if the others were alright.
Brody was seated on the floor with his legs stretched in front of him and a dazed look on his face as he rapidly blinked. James was kneeling with a hand covering his eyes, and Lord Camden was wiping tears from his face as he tried to focus on his daughter. Seeing no apparent damage Meric looked back to his fellow Rennick native.
Brody had recovered somewhat and was now looking between Alyssa and the sphere. "Huh... not exactly how I thought this would turn out."
Meric grinned despite the seriousness of the situation.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The Gift
Alyssa sighed in relief as she lowered her arms and sagged against Meric's side, her head
coming to rest on his shoulder. She knew she was practically a dead weight he had to hold up, but she was just too fatigued to care at the moment. She was pretty sure he would not mind, though after what he had just witnessed, there was no telling how he would react. She had seen everything from wonder, to disgust, to horror, and in almost every case an accompanying fear. In fact, it was her own fear that was keeping her from looking up at his face to see his reaction to what had just transpired. Feeling him start to shift, she prepared for him to let her go and back away, but was surprised instead when all he did was tighten his arm around her. Though it was still too early to tell how he was really feeling, she was almost embarrassed at the amount of relief she felt at his continued closeness. She had not fully realized just how much his opinion of her had come to mean, and the thought worried her. She did not want to start moping around the man like some simpering noblewoman, sighing and batting her eyes constantly. She had seen how ridiculous the ladies at court in Parna had been, not to mention her own peers in Dallena. Would he expect that, was that how all women were supposed to act around their man where he came from? Not that he was her man, or that she had any intention-
These absurd thoughts were thankfully interrupted by Brody. "Young lady... I think you have some explaining to do."
When she shifted her head enough to be able to see him she almost laughed out loud. He was still sitting on the floor with his long legs stretched out in front of him. He had his thick arms crossed and a decidedly petulant look on his face as he studied the shimmering globe in front of him. She could feel as well as hear Meric chuckle lightly at his friend's words. That, more than anything, eased her apprehension and allowed her to lift her head and glance at him quickly before turning to Brody's sulking form. Meric was looking at the sphere with some of the wonder, but thankfully none of the fear. Releasing the tension that had come with his earlier shift, she relaxed back into his side and looked at Brody with a raised eyebrow. She waited for her father to pass between them as he headed toward the magical construct, before speaking.
"Whatever do you mean?"
The hulking Rennick native snapped his head around to her and narrowed his eyes at the innocent look she had plastered on her face. She just could not help teasing the man, especially with the ever improving mood she was in. The fact that Meric had not dumped her on the floor and run screaming out of the room had made her almost giddy, even more so, when she saw no fear in Brody either, when he looked at her. She was rewarded with a rich laugh from Meric and an indignant snort from the big soldier turned innkeeper. He opened his mouth to speak when James' voice stopped him.
"I guess I am the only one in the room that thinks that what just happened is supposed to be impossible," he said from behind Alyssa?
Meric spoke up before she could think of what to say. "Orc shaman use magic, though I am pretty sure most of them would be unable to pull off anything near as impressive as what we just witnessed Alyssa perform." He kept his eyes on the sphere the whole time he was speaking. "I doubt any of us in this room would have survived that."
She decided not to correct him, since there was no reason to add any unneeded fear by telling them that it most likely would have taken out the whole warehouse.
"More like the entire building," Brody said seriously, voicing her unspoken thoughts.
She shot a sour look at him and turned back to speak to her father, only to notice Meric now looking at her. She locked eyes with him for a second before self-consciously looking away. That was definitely not fear in the look he turned on her. She cleared her throat and looked again for her father, only to see him watching Meric with a heavily furrowed brow, on the other side of the globe. She waited until he was looking back at her before speaking.
"Someone did not want him spilling his secrets," she informed all of them. She took a steadying breath before speaking to Meric next. "I think I am ready to try and stand up."
He gave her an assessing look one more time before nodding and smoothly standing from his knelt position, effortlessly taking her with him. She latched on to his arm until she felt able to stand on her own, then regrettably turned him loose. He still stayed close to her, and her legs were shaky enough that she was not going to discourage him. That had been a ridiculously strong enchantment, and even more troubling was the fact that the spell was not on some item the man had carried, but instead was laid directly into his flesh. Only someone with the skill of a master practitioner could have accomplished it, but even worse was the fact that it reeked of dark magic. The kind of things Gifted are not even supposed to think about, let alone attempt. The old stories, in the Secret Archives kept by the Guild of the Gifted, that spoke of this kind of magic always ended with a doomed Novice or Adept and corruption of the soul. She shivered at the thought and then let it go for now.
They had all gathered around the construct and were looking at it with varying expressions. Instead of trying to puzzle out everyone's thoughts on it, she decided to move on to more important matters.
"There was an enchantment on him that- Brody!" Alyssa's urgent call froze the man's outstretched finger as it neared the sphere. "Unless you have grown tired of that appendage... Do. Not. Touch."
His eyes grew wide and he quickly pulled his hand back and for some reason began to wipe it on his shirt.
"The surface is quite volatile, and while I do not really think it would have torn your hand off, it most certainly would have broken that finger. Now... as I was saying. I believe the enchantment on him was designed to be keyed to his mind, setting off the destructive force when he decided to betray his master or masters. It was a very dark, nasty spell. Applying that sort of thing to anything living..." she did not know how to finish that thought, but was sure that the horror on her face spoke loudly enough.
"Alright," her father began. "I believe we are finished here. We can discuss this further at the garrison." He was moving to the door while he was speaking.
"What about this?" Everyone looked at Alyssa for an answer to James' question.
"I will allow it to dissipate once we are clear of the warehouse. I do not think anyone wants to smell what is going to be released." By the time she finished everyone was advancing a little faster toward the exit.
As they passed through the bare main storage space of the warehouse, they found Woodard waiting by himself. At a look from James the man simply said, "We didn't really need them anymore, so I told them they could go."
"I was hoping to, at the least, thank them for their assistance."
"No need to worry about that, Sir. You rewarded them very generously." Woodard grinned and led the way out the front of the building.
James closed his eyes and tilted his head skyward. "I need to keep him away from Brody," he mumbled.
Alyssa could see that her father was grinning along with the rest of them as he followed James out the door. Once they were all outside with the four men that her father had brought along as an escort, they wasted no time heading back to the center of town. It was readily apparent that Meric, Brody, James, Woodard, and she were a little more vigilant in keeping an eye on their surroundings than her father and his men. They glanced down any alley they passed keeping a constant watch to all sides, because while she could not blame the newcomers for their lack of wariness, she was not about to let her own guard down too much. As she finished scanning an alley to her right for enemies lurking among the detritus, she found herself now walking alongside Meric. He flashed her a tight grin before continuing his watch on the rooftops to their left. She waited, wondering if he was going to say anything, and half dreading what that might be. She did not have to wait long.
"So... I bet you are great at parties?"
She let out a quiet laugh, a mixture of humor and relief. "For some reason, high society prefers jugglers and acrobats to having their hair set on fire. Maybe I just need to work on some new material."
"Depends on whose hair we are talking about."
"Sadly, I have been ordered
to restrain myself."
He was still smiling, but remained silent for a moment. She could imagine he was trying to think of a way to ask her about her Gift, but probably did not know how. Since she had wanted to tell him about it already she decided to make it easy on him after quickly ensuring that her father's guards were far enough away that she would not be overheard if careful.
"I was four when my parents realized there was something different about me," she started softly. "Being that young I had no idea why the ability to light the candles in my room from five feet away was anything special, so I never thought to try and hide it. Luckily, my father had been a member of the Royal Family's inner circle and a well trusted adviser for several years by that time. He understood what was going on and that there were options that most people are not privy to. I was taken to someone who could train me to use my Gift, at first to have enough knowledge not to hurt anyone and later if I chose, to actively master the ways of the arcane. Being of a naturally curious nature I have always had a thirst for knowledge, constantly trying to learn as much as possible and academia seemed to come easily to me. I chose the path of the Gifted and have not had much reason to regret it." Even though he had seemed to take her magical abilities in stride back at the warehouse, some part of her was still worried that it would change how he acted around her. Even after such a short acquaintance his friendship already meant a great deal to her, and she hoped to keep his respect, whether or not there would ever be anything more.
A Soldier's Honor: The Scepter of Maris: Book One Page 12