by Lisa Daniels
“Considering I was asked by one of the captains of our military to take care of you, I have a feeling that my responsibilities will be rearranged so that I can continue to take care of you.”
“Then I will have to ask them to switch you for someone else.”
“Why would you do that?” Noely could not hide the hurt in her voice that the shifter would suggest using someone else.
“You know what they plan to do to me as soon as I am healthy enough to move. I do not want you to go through that.”
Noely’s hands stopped what she was doing as the man spoke in a calm voice about his own death. “Surely there is something that can be done. I am not about to have you executed. Not after-” She stopped speaking before she could say anything that would embarrass herself. She had barely any exposure to the man, but the idea of him dying was entirely unacceptable to the young woman.
He laughed for a moment, then used his good arm to hold his sides. From the way he moved, Noely knew that some of his ribs were broken. The shifter coughed and blood flecked the corners of his mouth. Tears started to roll down her checks as the maiden began cleaning the blood. “You hardly know me. What kind of loss would I be to you? A known spy of your adopted city stands no chance. Without Hisa’s interference the guards would have already killed me. No, it is best for you not to have any more to do with me.”
For the first time in her life, Noely brought up the issue of repayment. “I don’t care how little I know you, or what has happened, but you owe me. Remember? You owe me and I will not sit back and watch you die while there is still a debt to be repaid.”
A cold voice behind her caused Noely to spin around. “Is that what this is?” Standing in the door of the cell was the one person that terrified Noely – Captain Hisa.
Chapter 9
Collecting the Pieces
Her throat was dry and her eyes wide as she looked into the black orbs of the captain. His arms were folded across his chest and the look on his face made Noely freeze. Nothing had prepared her for this kind of confrontation. She should have been more careful, she knew that, but the young woman found that her desperation had driven her to say things that she shouldn’t in a place where it was clearly dangerous to do so.
The man paced around the entrance, his eyes boring into her. As he watched her it was so obvious that the whole thing had been a setup, and she had fallen for it without any kind of thought.
The silence was nearly unbearable as the man’s eyes flicked back and forth between the pair. Finally, the man spoke, “Thank you very much for your assistance, Noely. We will see to you later. For now, I dare say that we have some very important business, Cyprian.”
“The answer is still no, Hisa.” The shifter’s voice was far more forceful than the young woman had expected. Her eyes did not leave the captain as she reached behind her back and took Cyprian’s hand. She squeezed it to let him know that she would stay with him. He squeezed back, then pulled his hand out of hers.
The captain let out an exasperated sound, and Noely felt as if the ground shook when he did. She backed up a little and placed a hand on the shifter, as if to protect him from the man.
Hisa looked between them, then turned to face the door. “Carrington, I need you go find someone for me.”
The soldier appeared just outside of Noely’s vision. “Yes sir.”
The captain looked back at Noely. “Where is your date for the night?”
There was a quick spluttering noise from Cyprian as Noely’s mouth dropped open. Quickly closing it, she ran a hand through her hair. “I am not going to let you get him involved in this.”
The way the man moved was much more like a large animal stalking its prey than a man trying to intimidate someone. “I’m not sure at what point you think you have any say in this, but you will tell me where he is, or I will send all of my men out to scour the city for him. As much as it pains me to say, not all of my men are as refined as those I keep close to me, so I could not guarantee the state your Jaylon would be in when they got him here.”
“Why would you-”
“That is not meant as a threat. It is a plain statement of fact. Tell me where he is and Carrington will be incredibly pleasant in his request. Keep in mind, it will be much better for your friend’s reputation for a soldier to ask him to come willingly than for him to be beaten and dragged in. If that were to happen, he would likely lose his position in the palace, and how would that make you feel? Knowing that you caused his dismissal?”
Noely’s mouth worked as she tried to say something, but it was Cyprian who spoke, “Leave her and her suitor out of this.”
“He’s not my suitor,” she responded before anyone else could talk. Her eyes turned back to the captain, “If I tell you will I be able to negotiate something with you later?”
The captain’s eyebrow shot up and a fleeting smile passed over his face as he stood up. His height was impressive as he looked down at her. “I make no promises about the future, but I can promise that Jaylon will have little reason to worry if you do tell me.”
Cyprian’s voice was almost threatening as he said, “I told you to leave her out of this.”
Hisa laughed as his eyes shifted from the young woman to the shifter, “I don’t think you are in any position to tell anyone what to do.”
“I am warning you, Hisa.” Cyprian’s voice was like a solid wall of water at the mouth of a dam. It didn’t sound like it would take much for the man to snap, and even in his current state, Noely thought that the shifter had a good chance of winning.
The captain laughed again, “Oh, please, by all means, I would love for you to come teach me a lesson, Cyprian. It would save me a hell of a lot of trouble. But you won’t, will you.” Noely watched as the shifter appeared to deflate at the words. “You need to work on your bluff if you want to hold any weight. Now, my dear,” Hisa turned his black eyes to the young woman, “where is Jaylon?”
Swallowing hard, Noely knew that it was a difficult decision. She had no doubt that her friend was currently suffering right now, but the idea that his grief could be compounded made her make a hard decision. “We went to Saskia’s Sake where he ran into a friend of a friend.” The captain raised an eyebrow again, but said nothing. “He has just found out that one of his good friends has died, so I don’t know that he will be in a very good state to help serve tonight. Maybe if you asked him to come-”
The captain turned around. “You heard her, Carrington?”
“Yes, sir. I will start at Saskia’s and will bring him back within the hour.”
“Very good.” The only sound after that was that of the soldier’s boots as he marched up the stairs and away from the trio.
“Couldn’t you have left him alone tonight? Just one night to grieve for what he’s lost?”
Hisa shook his head. “Things are about to get messy, and I really don’t want that boy against me when the time comes.”
Noely looked up at the captain, confusion clearly written on her face. The captain moved over and picked up a chair. Placing it near the bed, he looked at the spy. “It looks like I made the right choice. Last time I saw you, your jaw and nose were broken and you were missing all of your front teeth. Funny how you can be persuaded to do something for yourself to help someone else.”
“Dammit, Hisa, this is not one of your games.” Cyprian’s voice was venomous as he turned to face the captain.
“No, because my games don’t involve getting nearly beaten to death and an executioner’s block.” He paused, then added, “Not usually, anyway.”
“I am warning you, Hisa, this is not something I will negotiate.”
“No one is asking for negotiations. I want you to come to your senses. Did you know,” the man turned to face Noely, startling her as he did so, “the only reason my men were able to catch this idiot was because he was insisting – and I do mean insisting, you will never see anyone pitch a fit like this guy – that he was going to pay back his debt? I’m just glad I was
able to figure that one out this evening.”
Noely looked between the two men and was suddenly completely confused. “I don’t understand what is happening.” Two hands reached out to pat her, one gently stroked her back while the other patted her hand resting in her lap. The captain snorted as he pulled his own hand back, “Do you know that little seaside city of Talto, just about 5 miles from here?”
Noely nodded.
“Well, they were attacked today by a strange ‘monster,’ the same one that has been reported by sailors for months now. Guess Yuezhi isn’t going to be able to ignore that problem for much longer either. And I say good luck to them trying to settle a Kraken. But this strange serpent-like creature materialized out of nowhere and drove that horrible beast away. I am not claiming to be an expert, mind you, but Krakens are not known for running away, and I do know that has only happened twice before now. And do you know what drove the Kraken away both times then?”
Noely shook her head.
“A strange serpent-like creature that came out of nowhere. It’s almost as if this creature isn’t afraid of a Kraken. A Kraken! If I were to ask you what the five beasts you would not want to encounter are, I have no doubt that a Kraken would be up at the top of that list.”
Noely looked at the man as if he had lost his mind, but given the situation, she felt it best not to upset him. Instead she played along. “Well, yes, right under dragon. I think a dragon would be more terrifying because there is nowhere you can go to escape a dragon.”
The captain gave her a surprised look, his eyes shifting toward Cyprian, then back to the young woman. “Surely you can find safety in the water away from a dragon, or just go into a small opening. That is what I hear they do in Senses and Volsci.”
Noely shook her head, “Sure that will get you away from the fire breathers, but those are hardly the only kinds of dragons.”
The man rested an elbow on the table and looked at her as he rested his chin in his hands. “You don’t say.”
“Hisa.” Cyprian’s voice was a warning that the captain simply waved away.
Noely had gotten started though, and it was an area in which she had some very intimate knowledge. “Fire breathers are the most common, but they tend to keep to themselves over in Senones and Volsci. Over here we have much stranger kinds who are much more adept at not being found by humans. In Kanza we would see ice dragons a couple of times a year, and the ground dragons were always one of my favorites. I even got to pet one when I was little.”
The captain’s eyes had widened when the young woman mentioned Kanza, and now he seemed completely enraptured by her words. So she continued, “I heard there are a few other types, but we never saw them, not in our little village. I had always hoped to see a water dragon, though, because we lived by the sea. It seemed like it was bound to happen someday, but even the eldest people in Kanza could not remember the last time a water dragon had been spotted.”
A wide grin covered the captain’s face. “Surely they were picking on you when they said those things. Who has ever heard of non-fire-breathing dragons?”
“Hisa, that is enough.” Cyprian’s voice was forceful as Noely turned to look at him. He was sitting up without any assistance.
“There you go, Cyprian. I knew you had it in you. Noely, I must ask you to please keep it up. That old fool is hell bent on self-destruction, so I need you to make sure he doesn’t have the chance to achieve it.”
“I don’t want to help you if you are just going to kill him as soon as he is healed.” She stood as the captain did and tried to look at him defiantly.
There was a flash in his eyes as he looked down at her, then he burst out laughing. “Why do you think I’ve sent for Jaylon? Now if you will excuse me, I can hear some commotion up there and I really need to tend to it. Noely, work your magic. I will return directly.” With that the captain strode out of the room, leaving the young woman more confused than reassured.
Chapter 10
A Haphazard Plan
A hand took hers and pulled her back down onto the bed. Noely turned and looked at Cyprian, but as her eyes took in the bandages, she choked back a sob. It was clear he had healed himself some more, but there were still some marks and bruises. Noely leaned over and hugged Cyprian as gently as she could in case he was still hurting.
“I want to say he means well,” Cyprian’s voice flowed through and around her, “but sometimes it really doesn’t feel that way.”
“Please get better.” Noely pushed a little harder against the shifter, and she felt his arms wrap around her, pulling her to him.
“Why is it so important that I get better?”
Noely shook her head, “I asked you to save someone, and you saved an entire town, didn’t you? You were weakened, and that was why the soldiers were able to capture you. Captain Hisa all but said that.”
“Yes, he said everything except that, and made sure you came up with the conclusion that he wanted.”
Noely looked up at the shifter. “Is that not what happened?”
“Not exactly, but it would be lying to say that he was too far off. The reason they caught me was because I had no reason to run any more. My debt was repaid and it was my time.”
“I don’t understand.” Her eyes searched the shifter’s face for the answers.
“Noely, how old do you think I am?” His voice was level as he pulled her to his chest and stroked the back of her head.
“You are a shifter, so that is nearly impossible to guess by looking.” She pushed her face into his chest, not wanting to talk anymore.
“But you must have an impression, an assumption for what you think my age is.”
The young woman shook her head, “I don’t see how that is relevant. I don’t care how old you are, I don’t want you to be so accepting of your own death. It makes no sense.”
The shifter sighed. For a second his hands were on her shoulders as if he was going to push her back, then he appeared to think better of it and again wrapped his arms around her.
“You were going to look at me, weren’t you?” Her voice was low as the young woman remembered the way the shifter’s eyes had once looked. She felt the man nod. “Then heal your eyes and look at me.” She pulled away from him and tried to stare him into doing the right thing.
“If I look at you, I will lose my resolve, and I cannot allow that again.”
“Why? Why are you so willing to accept dying?” Her voice rose as she tried to understand how anyone would willingly accept the kind of pain this man had and such a terrible end.
“How old do you think I am?” His voice was strong and unflinching, almost as if he were instructing her.
“Well,” the young woman thought back to everything that had happened, “if I were to base it on looks, you would be in your late twenties or early thirties. If I were to base it on the way you act, I would say probably a couple hundred years. You are far too mature to be young for a shifter.”
“And what if I were to tell you that I am over 1,000?”
Noely stared at Cyprian for a moment. “Is that a hypothetical?”
He laughed a little, and she was pleased to see that it did not cause him pain. That meant he was healing remarkably well. “Unfortunately, no, it is more a statement of fact disguised as a hypothetical. But I know that you can understand what that means.”
Noely shook her head, “It means you feel you have outlived your time, but what you did today proves that you are not done yet.”
He pushed her back. “Then I will never be done. Look, I have felt more with you in the last 24 hours than I have felt with anyone in almost a quarter of a century. I was ready to go, and finding you should not change that.”
Noely took his hands from her shoulders and held them tight without saying a word. Without warning, she threw herself on Cyprian, her head buried in his neck. “I should have allowed you to pay me back the way you wanted.”
She felt his body stiffen, but he did not push her away. His hands
slowly moved around her back as if uncertain. “That certainly would have changed things, but it was best that you didn’t.”
“What about now?” Her hand moved under his shirt, and she felt Cyprian tense at her touch. His skin was smooth and cool, like the beach on a cool spring day. Her other hand went around his neck and she began to kiss the shifter.
His right hand moved down her back and around her thigh. Noely responded by straddling Cyprian and leaning her body into his. His other hand went under her arm and pushed her upper body against him. Noely’s body began to move against his and his hands began to pull at her dress.
Then he suddenly stopped and pushed himself as far away from her as he could. They were both panting as he spoke, “This is neither the time nor the place for that.”
“If it will convince you that you should not give up, it is the perfect time and place.” She tried to move closer.
He shook his head, “Your first time will not be in a jail cell with a creature almost old enough to be your grandfather.”
Noely froze for a minute and thought about what he had said, her breast moving up and down as she tried to catch her breath. “You know I’m not human?”
A voice from the door turned both of their heads, “What do you mean she isn’t human?”
Standing there, his eyes a little puffy, was Jaylon. The captain pushed past him and sat in a chair at the table. “Of course he isn’t human. Use your powers to sense that.”
“What?” Jaylon and Noely asked in unison.
From the bed, a much firmer voice asked, “You brought a half-pixie?”
Noely’s head whipped around to look at Cyprian, then her eyes went to Jaylon. “You’re half-pixie?”
Hisa laughed, “Do you know any other species that has platinum-colored hair? Of course he’s half-pixie. Leave it to the backward seven kingdoms to be unable to identify a pixie on sight.” The way he held himself and the way he talked was completely different from the way Hisa usually acted, but something told Noely that this was who the man really was.