And ever since that night, when gazing into any man's eyes, she had been able to detect deception and malice, should the speaker lie to her with ill intent. Of course, ever since the last merchant she had assured would never again serve as a pawn for their enemies, her father had stopped taking her to town, or entertaining traders or factors at all, save those he had known for years.
Feeling sickened, trapped by Morlekai's gaze, Jess was struck by those ugly memories of past summers, and the real reason why her father traded in nothing save her own exotic herbs and the produce of his fields. It was for fear of treachery and malice, so deep was the animosity Arthur's enemies at Court felt for the upstart baron whose power was now the equal of any Duke's. So too it was because her father knew all too well what his eldest daughter's reaction would be, should other agents of those nobles, or worse yet, the nobles themselves, ever cross Jess's path. For though she remembered well the times her father had gently stayed her hand, only under this strange Delver's piercing gaze did she suddenly recall those occasions when her father had not been quick enough.
Rarely had her gift come into play at other times, though when she did sense darkest malice, it had always invoked the most bitter sense of outrage. She shuddered, thinking how terrible her wrath had been against the soldiers who had been laying in ambush at the diOnni Chateau after she had interrogated two of their number. How she and Malek had reveled in butchering each and every last man who had dared to raise arms against them, even racing to cut down foes desperate only to flee the field of battle, exulting in darkest glory when all their enemies had collapsed in death, thrusting their spears deep into every fallen foe, making sure none lay still out of guile alone.
As savage and ruthless a pair of Squires of War as any king could hope to have killing for his cause, just as their mentor Eloquin had forged them to be.
Jess tore herself free of Morlekai's terrible gaze, so many doors of her psyche tightly locked shut having been burst open to horrid effect. As if she were being judged by an angel of Heaven, all her most terrible secrets laid bare.
She felt utterly helpless, vulnerable, and ashamed, stumbling back in dizziness, choking back a sob of horror, only to be wrapped in his gentle embrace.
Gifts of strength and a way with wood. The ability to sense malice, though at such terrible cost. And such rage had overwhelmed her, a handful of times before. Bodies and memories both carefully buried and forgotten by all, even herself. Most especially herself.
She curled up then, gut twisting in knots, her heart burning in shame.
“Dark truths, no matter how well hidden, always come out in the end, Jessica.”
Morlekai's words washed over her, she too shaken to hide those awful truths from herself any longer. She smiled bitterly. "So much I had forgotten. Yet under your gaze, my soul reveals itself completely. I had forgotten what a bloodthirsty little monster I am."
Jess swallowed, the air grown curiously still.
Morlekai's fierce gaze bored into her once more, and to her acute shame, despite how much she loathed herself at that particular moment, she wanted him still.
Slowly, he shook his head. "No monster are you, Jessica de Calenbry. Brave and stalwart defender of your clan, one who showed no quarter to those who would have happily done their utmost to assure your clan's downfall. Hiding crossbows and poisons in the goods your father had purchased, forging letters conspiring for the king's own downfall in your father's hand even as your dark gifts led you to the packet, tearing it free of the treacherous merchant but an instant before you tore free his life as well, your father's men grabbing ahold of the corrupt guard bribed to press charges upon the journey home, your making use of General Eloquin's darkest skills to force a confession, and Baron Arthur too wise to say a word, knowing as well that his family's very existence was at stake." Morlekai's nod was strangely approving. "And the evidence you did find led to the very captain of that town guard finding his head upon the chopping block, with an accord later reached between your father and various opponents at court, and the matter was done."
Jess gazed at Morlekai in horrified wonder. "How do you know all this? Until but moments ago, I had forgotten it. Forgotten each of those incidents. The rage that had filled me. The... savagery with which I had responded."
It was then that her oddly quiet familiar chose to speak. “Your mother had you use your own concoctions to gently erase away all memory of the events that had occurred, my queen. Sometimes days were stolen from you. Sometimes weeks. Once or twice Malek had been by your side, visiting as he would for entire summers, and not once has he ever broken your family's trust.”
Jess frowned, even as Morlekai stiffened and squeezed her hand before abruptly relaxing and smiling, as if he had heard not a word.
Jess blinked at her familiar. “So you knew. Even... Malek knew.”
“Of course.”
“But why, why did you never tell me? How could Malek even stand to be near me?”
Twilight sighed. “Because you asked me to hold that secret close, Jess, and Malek is your Hound. You begged me to let you forget, you begged Malek not to hate you, even as you drank your concoctions down with trembling hands, for all that we both assured you that they were the most righteous of kills, that you had saved your family twice over from darkest treachery. And save for keeping a careful eye on the lesser lords and the Duke that had moved against your clan during those Summer trading seasons, a duke who I am quite happy to say is no longer among the land of the living, his son being a far more amicable sort, we have honored your wishes, treating those nights of righteous savagery as if they had never happened.”
Jess grimaced. “Do I want to know what really happened to that duke?”
Her familiar's eyes glittered like chips of ice. “No, my beloved mistress, I don't think you do.”
Morlekai held her close. She felt her heart race from within his powerful, masculine embrace, even as he strove to soothe her. "You have nothing to be ashamed of, Jessica de Calenbry. You did but save your clan from treachery and horror. Never have you knowingly killed an innocent, Jessica, and no soldier who takes arms upon the field of battle is an innocent."
He smiled then, and Jess couldn't help smiling back, doing her utmost not to think about how Morlekai had not at all interrupted her conversation with Twilight, nor seemed to think her speaking to an empty space at all strange. He seemed, if anything, gently amused by it all. She told herself there was no way he could sense Twilight, but she didn't really believe it. Jess doubted anything could hide for long from those eyes.
Jess swallowed. “How do you know all this?”
Morlekai shrugged. "Perhaps it is the Pull. Delvers, as you may know already, often share very strong connections. Perhaps it is how you are gazing into my eyes right now, like nothing would please you more than to feel my lips pressed against your own." He smiled then. "Or perhaps it is because I once wore an angel's wings, but refused the final Fall. Or perhaps it is simply because the Guild has tendrils in places even the King's Men would be jealous of. But you have nothing to fear from us, dear Jessica. For we never betray our own."
Gently, she placed her fingers on his lips, and oh so gently, he removed them, still smiling, his eyes seeming to take up her entire world as she tilted her lips slowly toward his, her pulse racing as she sensed his own growing excitement.
“Jessica…” he began, voice guttural as he too struggled for control. Then she kissed him.
Fierce, hot, passionate, their lips fit together like fire and ice, tingling and sizzling as his rough tongue explored her gentle giving mouth and she began to moan, even as he squeezed her close, his powerful hands massaging and kneading her back, stroking her hair.
She felt like she was on fire. She wasn’t even aware of when they crashed to the ground, moaning, writhing like animals. How she hungered for him. How she hungered to lose herself in his embrace, to forget horrors long suppressed once more. Their lips, hot with passion, awakened other fires, now burn
ing brightly with need.
“Jess? Is that you? Are you back there?”
Geoffrey. She did not want to deal with her brother. Particularly not now. Not when she was locked in the powerful embrace of this animal, feeling his hot tongue fill her mouth with shivers of utter bliss. “Jessica!” Her brother’s voice was now sharp with anger and a tinge of fear. Alarmed, Jess sprung up, passions instantly in check with concern for her brother.
“Geoffrey? What’s wrong?” She realized that the foliage was much thicker than she recalled it being but moments ago. Strange.
"Geoffrey?" She gazed in wide-eyed disbelief, catching her brother's reproachful look, tangled up as he was in rose vines.
“Geoff, what happened?” Jess asked in near panic, hurriedly untangling him, thanking justice he hadn’t been pricked by a dozen wickedly sharp thorns. Her vines responded instantly to her unspoken command, seeming to curl about themselves into the simple humble little bushes they had been but moments before, playing innocent and almost seeming to wilt under Jess’s reproving glare.
“Perhaps you can tell me, sister mine?” Geoffrey glared at her while taking a few seconds to recover from nearly being entombed in vines. “Apple said you had ensconced here with a chance met man on a whim. I thought that highly unlikely, even for someone as famously impulsive as you! But Apple was looking daggers at me, and I know that she knows about… you know. So I agreed to come out here, just for a casual look, you understand, and the moment I enter and call your name, I am suddenly attacked by vines!”
Her brother's angry gaze locked upon Morlekai. “Ah. I see the aforesaid individual is behind you. No need to bow, sirrah. I am afraid we are far past those niceties now.”
“Geoff! No need to be rude. This is Morlekai. He’s a Delver, like me. He and I were, um, getting acquainted. You know, talking Delver business.”
Her brother just looked at her and Jess felt her cheeks start to blush. “What?”
“Nothing.” Geoffrey just sighed and shook his head. “Dust yourself off, Jess. Mother’s expecting you back at the party, and she is not happy.
“Geoffrey! Are you okay?” At that moment a near panicked Rena stumbled in. Almost without thought, her hand reached out to touch Geoffrey, but she held back at the last second. “I was helping with the plating and had stepped outside when I thought, I thought I heard you call out.”
“I am all right, Rena. Thank you so much for your concern.” Geoffrey started to flush, catching sight of Jess’s own bemused glance, Rena flushing in tandem.
"I see things are quite interesting at the Calenbry Estates," Morlekai said. "Geoffrey de Calenbry, I take it? Greetings to you. I am Morlekai. And of course you will do me the honor of shaking my hand, as you would any man you did not intend to slight."
“Geoff!” Jess voice held a curt intensity, sensing a dangerous tint to her new companion’s wildness.
Grim-faced, her brother nevertheless did the courtesy of a formal shake. Fierce demeanor gone as quick as it had come, the smiling Morlekai bowed. “It is a pleasure to meet the brother of the already legendary Delver Jessica de Calenbry. And this would be your… companion?”
Rena’s perfect features blushed prettily under Morlekai’s gaze. Indeed, she seemed more a panicked deer than anything else, gazing into the eyes of a lion that could devour her in a heartbeat. She was petrified, Jess realized.
"This is Rena. A very sweet, very gracious servingwoman of our House. She came outside because she was worried for the well-being of her master's eldest. As any good servant would be." Jess gazed daggers at Morlekai.
Morlekai’s lips curved into a smile. “Of course. I understand completely. After all, inappropriate dalliances between people of different stations would be… unthinkable." He smiled, his fingers gently caressing Jess's own. Jess blinked, not even recalling him having clasped her hand.
Geoffrey took a deep calming breath, focusing his attention solely on Jess. “Brush yourself off, sister, and attend to Mother. She is most concerned.” He then turned to Morlekai, obviously reining himself in. “And if you could tell us how we could best assist you, good sir? We would not want to detain you unduly from your obligations.”
Morlekai gazed at Geoffrey with the fondness a cat has for a particularly amusing mouse. Almost as fun to watch for entertainment as to devour in a single bite. "Stop that!" Jess hissed, squeezing Morlekai's fingers fiercely before catching herself. She gazed at him in concern, suddenly panicked that perhaps she had crushed his hand. But no. His look of… yes, amused affection, let her know that for him it was no different than any girl squeezing her man's hand in reproof. Her man. She found herself flushing suddenly even as Morlekai turned to her brother, his expression amicable.
"I am here on Guild business, Lord Geoffrey de Calenbry. An arrangement was made between Jessica's party and my own, and we of the Guild always honor our obligations."
“I see. And what is the nature of this debt?”
Morlekai looked pointedly at a still flustered Rena.
“It's all right, Rena,” Geoffrey gently soothed. “You did well to check up on me when you thought you heard my call of distress. Please go on about your duties, and I will be sure to convey my compliments regarding your diligence to the steward."
“Of course, my lord. Thank you my lord.” The girl bowed low and with some relief, darted back towards the kitchens.
“You were saying?” Geoffrey pointedly asked the amused looking Morlekai.
“I was saying, Lord Geoffrey, that the Guild owes Jessica a debt. And we always honor our debts.” His intent gaze captured Jess’s own. “Always.”
“And what obligation does the Guild have to me?” Jess asked, feeling suddenly breathless.
Morlekai’s smile was gentle. “Nothing but benevolent business, I assure you, dear Jessica. For you are a Delver, and the Guild has a sacred bond with all Delvers. We are a community, if you like. A family.” He paused for a moment. “There is definite interest in having you formally join our ranks, Jess. There are significant advantages to having the Guild at your back, and we would love to have another of your caliber among our fold.”
“And the Guild is also known for having quite a bit of clout behind the scenes.” Geoffrey’s voice was cold. “Pressuring key nobles into voting in certain directions, doing their best to sway policy from behind the scenes. Shadow politics, I hear.”
Jess gasped, startled to hear Geoffrey speak so bluntly, insulting the lion in their den, so to speak. Father would have a fit did he but know his eldest spoke so uncouthly. In the wrong place and time, such hotheaded comments could spell his political doom, if not worse. But Morlekai only laughed, amused.
“An honest opinion, not couched in obsequious drivel, self-interest, or fear. How novel. Dangerous, in the wrong circles, but refreshing to hear, nonetheless.” He smiled and nodded. “I would be lying if I were to say the Guild did not have influence, as all powerful organizations do. We simply differ from most in that our members have the strength and guile to take care of themselves, so can’t be casually swiped off the board as if we never existed, if some noble suddenly finds us… inconvenient.”
Morlekai’s lips curled in momentary contempt, eyes flashing with hot anger before instantly fading back to calm. “As for influence, rarely is it the stuff of poison and shadow, bodies mysteriously disappearing in the dead of night, dear Lord Geoffrey. We save that for the most troublesome of political opponents.” His wild grin left Jess chilled, not certain if he was having her brother on, or reveling in darkest confession.
The fey moment passed, and Morlekai assuaged her brother with a chuckle. "I am afraid most of the time our means are far more mundane, and very much in keeping with the general way of things at Lords Council. Fat purses filled with silver, and mutually profitable trade arrangements. Much as has been the case with all lords and trade guilds, since time began." He then smiled and bowed low to Jess. "Fat purses such as this one, my fiery rose."
With that, he casua
lly tossed a soft doeskin pouch that jingled. Not with the bright ring of silver, but rather the soft murmur of gold.
With trembling hands Jess caught it and opened it, finding it filled with burnished golden crowns that sparkled with fiery reflections of the sun's final hour, before it sunk beneath the horizon.
“By the angels above! How much gold is that?” Geoffrey asked in hushed awe despite himself.
"Five hundred gold crowns, her share of the prize, as per the Guild's agreement with Jessica's adventuring party, when we met last winter."
Jess gazed up at Morlekai. “I have no memory of any such meeting.”
"Of course not." Morlekai smiled. "You were asleep, astride a mystical hound straight from the Abyss… or should I simply say Malek de Sousel, your shieldbrother in his true form? No matter. In any event, you and your three companions had survived a most terrible ordeal, facing down nothing less than an entire village of townsmen warped and twisted by nightmare into hideous apparitions, or so went your friend's broken account. The valiant battle had sapped the last of your strength when you unleashed a final telling blow, slaying the puppet-master behind it all, I was given to assume, and the town and all its citizens that once had prospered there for centuries have now all faded to faintest dream, gone from all memory save bardic lore, as if they had never been."
Morlekai paused as Jess and her brother took in the tale. "In any event, you had succeeded in your commission to retrieve the Wand of Dreams, or should I say, the Wand of Nightmares. A commission I suspect was laid out by your College. Not an official Guild sanctioned expedition at all, however." His cool tone was belied by his grin. "But no matter, all have the right to adventure, should they have the knack for it. However, that did leave the commission open to contest.
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