Artesans of Albia

by Cas Peace

  Rienne grabbed a cloth and wrapped it tightly around the collar. With her other hand, she placed the key in the lock. “I’m ready.”

  “Go ahead.”

  She turned the key and removed it. Holding the awful collar by the cloth in one hand, she lifted it, letting just the very end of the silver arc touch the raw skin of Sullyan’s throat.

  Immediately, a blinding flash of pure metaphysical energy pulsed into the room as Sullyan’s powerful but tormented mind made a frantic leap for freedom. Rienne gasped. She had never felt such pain and desperation. She was caught in Sullyan’s turmoil, whirled and buffeted by a cyclone of tortured emotions. Confused, wracked by pain, she nearly released the collar. She caught herself just in time.

  A moan escaped her as she sensed Robin rushing to block Sullyan’s escape. He was calling her name, over and over. The other three men gripped his arm and held onto each other, steeling themselves against the drain of their powers as Robin wrestled with Sullyan’s insane desire to die.

  Rienne was shocked, afraid, realizing they hadn’t reckoned on the depths of the Major’s despair. Robin’s hold was failing, she could feel it. He was an Adept-elite, but despite the energies contained in the Powersink, he couldn’t possibly hope to breach the impenetrable defenses Sullyan had raised against the agony and violation she had suffered. She was two full levels above his skill and had walled herself away behind an unbreakable shield. Rienne sensed his fear as he realized he could never breach it. Sullyan’s puissance overwhelmed him, and his soul despaired.

  She felt his flash of insight as he understood why he was doomed to failure. Rienne nodded sadly. He was a man, and although Sullyan loved him intensely, a man had betrayed her, abused her trust and her love. A man had brutally violated her body. She would never submit to a man in this extremity, no matter how deeply she loved him.

  Robin knew it too, Rienne could feel it. Despite his frantic care, his deep and abiding love and desire, he knew he couldn’t put Sullyan through any more pain, not even to bring her back to him. She was too damaged for him to heal, and what she needed, he couldn’t give. His soul was an aching well of grief and pain as Rienne sensed him preparing to let her go.

  He pulled back, and even Rienne could feel the others’ frantic resistance. She thought she heard Bull shouting. The Powersink was failing, fading, and Sullyan’s screaming psyche barreled through it. Rienne felt the tortured spirit brush past Robin and sensed Sullyan’s recognition, her loving, anguished farewell. Robin called her name, his throat raw with grief and desperation, but Sullyan didn’t slow. She was intent on annihilation.

  Rienne felt her heart would burst and pressure built behind her eyes. She couldn’t bear it, couldn’t stand the thought that Sullyan would die despite being surrounded by friends who could save her. A savage feeling of injustice surged through her soul, the emotion too powerful to contain. She wanted to scream her rage and desperation, but before she could open her mouth, Sullyan’s escaping psyche exploded through her mind.

  Rage met rage in a maelstrom of emotion. Robin was flung violently out of the Powersink, and Rienne heard his cry of loss and pain. His heartbroken torment burst something within her. The incredible pressure behind her eyes disappeared, replaced by warmth. Strength and power flooded the substrate around her, capturing Sullyan’s psyche, calming the frantic whirl of violent emotion. She watched it in wonderment. It felt so different, almost alien. It had a color and vibrancy all its own, although Rienne could never have described it. It was insubstantial, even capricious, but it spoke to Sullyan’s essence as if to a kindred spirit and drew a response from her that Robin could not.

  Tentatively, almost fearfully, the healer gathered this new power to her. Gentle in her hands, it obeyed her slightest whim. Still not quite believing what was happening, Rienne directed it to envelop Sullyan’s damaged soul, tenderly but firmly drawing it back from the abyss. The annealing power was soft, unobtrusive, yet immensely strong. It surrounded the Major’s tortured psyche like a mother’s womb, sealing Sullyan away from harm.

  Rienne had forgotten the others around her, and so the moment of the collar’s removal came as a physical shock. Within the substrate, she saw Robin start toward the place where Sullyan’s essence now slept, peaceful at last and at rest. There was no leap for freedom now. All was quiet and still. Yet he couldn’t reach through that warm and gentle barrier any more than he could through the spellsilver field, and she saw him draw back, puzzled, amazed, even hurt.

  As they each emerged from the metalink, Rienne looked round at their faces, seeing the same exhausted astonishment in everyone. Then Bull beamed a huge smile and gathered her into a warm, enveloping hug.

  “Well done, lass,” he breathed, “you did it!”

  Robin gaped at her, dumbfounded.

  “That was you? But how …?”

  She glanced up at him. Her whole body was trembling, both from the effects of her emotions and also the shock of what had just happened.

  “I don’t really know, Robin. I could feel your despair and I knew we were going to lose her. I got so angry I just had to do something, so I did. But please don’t ask me how!”

  Chapter Two

  Robin helped Rienne wash Sullyan’s wasted body, using warm water steeped with herbs. At the Captain’s insistence, Rienne also washed Sullyan’s hair. He was adamant that no dirt should be left to infect any of the open wounds.

  She understood. Dirt was inimical to her healing instincts anyway, but during her time in the Manor’s infirmary she had learned how vital cleanliness was beyond the Veils. She used a salve on Sullyan’s wounds, pleased to see there was no obvious sign of infection. Most of the injuries were not life threatening; loss of blood and shock were her main concerns.

  A couple of the deeper whip cuts on Sullyan’s back needed stitching, and Rienne closed them neatly. There was nothing she could do about the broken ribs except to salve the bruised area and apply a supporting bandage. She also cleaned and wrapped the raw sores around Sullyan’s throat and wrists where the skin had been burned by the spellsilver.

  She left the worst job until last. The torn and bloodied flesh where Rykan’s brutality had left its most obvious mark needed a delicate touch. Robin turned white when he finally summoned the courage to look, but he made no comment. Cal assisted Rienne by handing her the implements she needed, but he avoided looking at Sullyan. The wounds were still weeping, re-opened by the roughness of their ride, but when Rienne began cleaning she found that the damage was not quite as bad as she had feared. Cal handed her the needle and suture thread and Rienne took a stitch.

  She heard the sound first in the back of her mind and wasn’t at all sure it was real. Shaking her head, she put it down to the effects of exhaustion. Their daring rescue and panicked flight had taken its toll on everyone. Focusing her weary eyes on her work, she passed the needle through the torn flesh once more.

  This time there was no mistaking it. Her head snapped up. “Can’t you hear it?”

  Robin frowned uneasily. “Hear what?”

  She studied Sullyan’s unresponsive face. “I’m sure I heard her voice. As if she was crying out in pain.”

  Robin shook his head. Rienne began her work again, and this time the noise in her mind was so loud that she dropped the needle. Clamping her hands to her ears, she tried to block out the screams of terror and pain.

  “Robin, surely you can hear her? You have to help her, deaden the pain or something. I have to do this, but with all the abuse she’s suffered, she just can’t bear it.”

  Robin closed his eyes, still shaken by his inability to prevent Sullyan’s rush to suicide. His failure to sense what Rienne could hear only sapped his confidence further.

  “I don’t think I can reach her, Rienne. I couldn’t before.”

  “Try again. I think you’ll find you can now.”

  Somehow, Rienne knew this would work. She didn’t fully understand it, but it felt right, and Robin’s power slipped easily through the
annealing cocoon she had wrapped around the Major. She knew it when he touched the familiar, strong presence of Sullyan’s spirit, stilled the panic he found there, and flooded the half-aware consciousness with soothing sleep. They both watched Sullyan sink into blessed oblivion.

  Robin nodded briefly at Rienne. “Go ahead. She won’t feel you now.”

  Her work was delicate and took some time. Afterwards, Rienne straightened her aching back and wearily rubbed her eyes. Lack of sleep, too much adrenaline, and hours of concentration had left her feeling worn. Exhausted, she watched Cal pack her things, leaving some of the implements still in the boiling water.

  She moved aside as Bull helped Robin wrap Sullyan in the clean, warm blankets. They laid stones heated in the fire alongside her. Once the unconscious woman was resting peacefully on the bed, they made a quick meal. Rienne thought it must be noon, judging by the light outside. They had been awake now for around thirty hours, most of it spent either in fear or in flight.

  Once they had eaten, Robin lay down alongside Sullyan and wrapped his arms around her. He fell almost instantly asleep. Taran cleared away the remnants of their meal and rolled himself in his blanket. Cal did the same, beckoning Rienne to join him. She glanced at Bull, who was also showing signs of the strain and emotion of the last few days. They all had dark rings under their eyes and unhealthily pale skin.

  “Is it safe for us all to sleep?”

  He nodded. “I think so. I’ve had a brief scout round. There’s no one for miles, so we should be safe enough. Get some rest.”

  “I will. I just want to check on Marik. He shouldn’t be on his own.”

  The big man shrugged. Rienne cast an apologetic glance at Cal, opened the door, and stepped outside.

  The air was chill and Rienne hugged herself as she glanced around for the Count. She felt sorry for the Andaryan in the face of Robin’s fury. The man had obviously given Sullyan what care he could under the circumstances, and he had put himself at considerable risk to help them free her. In fact, she thought, without his help they probably couldn’t have done it.

  She eventually found him in the barn, moodily cleaning grime from one of the horses’ bits. He glanced up fearfully when she entered, then relaxed. Rienne noticed that the rest of the horses’ gear was also clean and that the animals themselves had been tended and curried.

  She sat on a bale of hay beside him and indicated the gear. “Thank you. You needn’t have done all this by yourself. I’m sure the others would have helped.”

  He didn’t look at her, but rubbed vigorously at a stubborn spot on the metal bit in his hands. “I wasn’t doing much good anywhere else.” After a pause, he asked, “How is she?”

  “I think she’ll live.” Rienne glanced at the Count, noting the sudden tears in his alien eyes. “Don’t take what Robin said to heart. He was distraught, feeling guilty about not being there when she needed him. He’ll realize he was wrong, you’ll see.”

  “But he wasn’t.” Marik looked up, the bit lying forgotten in his hands. “He was quite right. Had I stood up to Rykan, not been so spineless, none of this would have happened.”

  Rienne sighed. “From what I understand, you didn’t have any choice in the matter. You didn’t know what Rykan had planned when he ordered you not to warn her, did you?”

  “Of course not. Rykan’s never trusted me, and anyway, he’d never tell a lowly Count his plans. He was at my house when her request came through and I just thought it was coincidence. He’s heard me mention her before. I just thought he wanted to meet her. He can’t resist beautiful women ….”

  She smiled gently. “Then the blame doesn’t rest with you, does it? From what you’ve said, you managed to help Sullyan when you could. Would she blame you, do you think, or be grateful?”

  “Oh, I don’t know.” Marik’s head drooped. “She knew I was there, of course. She knew I couldn’t do anything. Rykan would’ve killed me if I’d interfered. And the few times I managed to get food and water to her, she never mentioned it.” Abruptly, he flung the bit out the door and it landed with a clang, startling the horses. “Gods, but she didn’t deserve to suffer like that! What he did to her was brutal! He’s worse than an animal. I swear he actually enjoyed torturing her and hearing her scream. She was very strong, but I’ll be surprised if she can ever speak again, the amount of screaming she did.”

  Rienne’s eyes filled with tears. Trying to keep her voice level, she said, “I heard her once or twice.”

  Marik nodded. “That’s how she knew someone would eventually come. She was sure she’d managed to reach one of you, though how she got round the spellsilver, I’ll never know. She told me she’d used her pain and panic to lend her strength, but she was afraid that whoever she’d reached would just assume they were having nightmares.”

  Rienne inhaled sharply. That was exactly what she had thought.

  “That’s why she made me promise to free her horse.” Marik shook his head. “She said it would find its own way back, but I just thought she was raving. I was glad to do it, though. Rykan was taking his anger out on it. He was as determined to break the horse as he was Sullyan.” He turned to Rienne. “Was she right? Did it get back by itself?”

  Rienne nodded. “Robin said it was badly injured. I don’t know if it survived.”

  He sighed. “Don’t tell her that, if she asks. She was more concerned for the horse’s welfare than her own.”

  Rienne’s heart suddenly faltered and she bowed her head. She only just heard the Count’s soft murmur.

  “Is there any one of you who isn’t in love with her?”

  She raised her head in surprise, but when she saw the look on his face, she smiled. “Ah, you too?”

  He paled visibly, and she laid a soothing hand on his arm. “It’s alright. Bull says she has that effect on most people. He says it’s her generous spirit. Most of the men in her company are in love with her one way or another, so I’ve heard, and I suppose it’s no surprise. How many people with that much power can be as selfless as she is? Bull says she’d give everything she had to any one of her command, even the rawest of new cadets, just because he was her responsibility. As long as they’re loyal, he says, she’ll forgive them anything. So, Count, how much more readily would she forgive her friends?”

  Marik stared at her. “But am I still her friend?”

  She stood, smiling down at him. “You’re here, aren’t you?”

  He rose and walked out of the barn. Rienne followed him back to the hut and gazed round at the sleeping bodies. She stepped over to the bed, relieved to see that Sullyan’s breathing seemed stronger and her face had a little color in it under the bruises.

  Marik touched her shoulder. “Get some sleep. I’ll watch.”

  She smiled gratefully. “Thanks. If there’s any change in her, anything at all, wake me or Bull. Leave Robin to sleep. He’s completely exhausted.”

  Marik nodded and turned to settle on a stool. Rienne lay down next to Cal, who didn’t even stir when she snuggled under the blanket and wrapped her arms around him.

  + + + + +

  The sound of movement roused Rienne and she reluctantly opened her eyes. When her bleary sight cleared, she realized it was evening again. The windows were darkening, but someone had stoked the fire. Its heat and flickering light filled the hut.

  Beside her, Cal was still soundly asleep. She frowned. He wasn’t the reason she had woken. She raised her head and glanced around. The dark mound that was Taran lay still, his breathing deep and regular. It wasn’t until she turned toward the fire that she saw what had roused her. Count Marik’s hand was on Bull’s shoulder and the big man had just woken. Rienne saw him frown and glance up. Marik made a gesture, and Rienne followed the line of his fingers. She gasped. Sullyan’s eyes were open and her pupils were enormous, like two black holes in her ashen face.

  Rienne shivered. The whites and irises of Sullyan’s beautiful eyes had disappeared entirely, swallowed by the vast pupils. Her face had taken on an al
ien cast, and with a sinking sense of shock, Rienne recalled Marik’s comments about her sanity. Watching her, it was impossible to tell if Sullyan’s eyes were focused, where her gaze lay, or if she saw anything at all. She made no movement, and Robin still slept deeply in the same position behind her.

  Rienne kept completely still as Bull sat up, slowly raising his head to a level with Sullyan’s. She could hear the Major’s breathing and knew she wasn’t asleep. Tentatively, almost fearfully, the big man reached forward, one finger brushing Sullyan’s cheek.

  “Sully?”

  Rienne held her breath, barely noticing as Marik withdrew to one of the stools by the table. Sullyan’s eyes, those deep, ebony pools, contracted very slightly, showing some of the dark gold iris. She was trying to focus on Bull’s face, and her fine brows knit in concentration. Then she gave a tiny gasp.

  “Bulldog?”

  It was the hoarsest of whispers, but it made Rienne smile with relief. Bull’s pent up breath released audibly as he said, “I’m here, love, it’s alright. You’re safe now.”

  Sullyan seemed to struggle with consciousness, and Rienne thought she might slip away again. Then she stirred, one small hand creeping out from the blankets, seeking Bull. At once, the big man grasped it, and Rienne saw the stark white of the bandage standing out against Sullyan’s bruised skin. Her eyes were more normal now and she was focusing on Bull’s face. She took a breath, almost a sob, and her voice was husky.

  “I am so very thirsty, Hal. Is there any fellan?”

  This simple question seemed to completely overwhelm Bull. He bowed his head over her hand, and Rienne watched his shoulders shake with muffled sobs. Sullyan’s hand tightened briefly on his and he pulled himself together with a visible effort. Sullyan smiled at him, although Rienne could tell that it hurt her. When she spoke again, Rienne had to strain to hear her words.