He reached down and pulled out another morsel of the foul-smelling flesh from a pouch around his waist. Orin’s eyes widened with fear. He didn’t want to become a monster, but he didn’t want to join the evil sorcerer either. Yet surrendering had advantages. Perhaps, if he agreed with Allric, he could find a way to break free of the elf’s control. And if he didn’t, at least he would have hands. That thought was so enticing, he knew what he would do, even though he hated himself for it.
“I… accept.”
Chapter 24
Feray heard the scream and knew she was too late. She didn’t know how she recognized the scream, it wasn’t the same as recognizing someone’s voice, yet she somehow knew it was Orin’s scream. She hurried forward, into a small space between two thick-trunked oak trees.
The magic around her had changed. Normally, the forest radiated a stout, life-affirming magic. It wasn’t as powerful as elemental magic, nor as brightly captivating, but it was there. As she neared the sorcerer’s camp, that same magic seemed twisted. It was like vibrant colors that had mixed together to form a muddy, brown muck. The magic around her wasn’t life affirming, instead it seemed to mock life, to revel in the chaos and disease that endangered life.
Feray felt cold, but she ignored the feeling. She was going into enemy territory and she couldn’t let her fears dissuade her when she was so close to finding Orin. The dire wolves were close by, she could feel them before she saw them. The big predators were stalking the outskirts of the camp. Getting past them was possible, but getting past unnoticed would be almost impossible. Even if she didn’t take another step closer to the camp they would smell her if the wind changed directions. They might even see her if she wasn’t careful. And even if everything went her way they would smell her scent where she crossed their patrol area and follow her into the camp.
The only solution was to go over them. She summoned the magic around her. It was readily available, but completely uncooperative. She felt like a child with fat fingers trying to thread a dropping string through the eye of a needle, but her resolve was like iron. Forcing the magic around her to strengthen and become tangible, then lift her up into the air took concentration and willpower, but she managed it. Thirty feet above the ground, and safe on a wide branch, she took a moment to catch her breath.
Danger, the dark panther said in a low rumble as it hopped from one branch to another in an almost lazy motion that was both graceful and cautious.
“I know,” Feray said. “This is a bad place.”
Follow, it told her, then walked out along the branch Feray was sitting on.
Using magic to steady her balance, Feray followed. She was afraid, yet she knew that hesitation was deadly. Orin, who was no longer screaming in pain, needed her, that much was obvious and she was determined to help him somehow. They moved quickly over the path where the wolves were patrolling to a tree overlooking the camp. The wolves hadn’t caught scent of them yet, and Feray looked across the open space below her. She could see creatures in pens, others chained to trees. None were natural. There was litter, feces, and debris all over the space, which was all the camp truly was. An open space in the forest, where the canopy separated and the area between the trees grew much wider. She saw fire pits and a hut of some type. It looked like it was made of logs all standing upright, with a branchy roof that formed a cone.
Feray’s breath caught in her throat when she saw Orin. He was standing several paces from the ivory elf that she had seen riding the alpha wolf during the attack on Braa’dun. He wasn’t restrained in any way, yet he didn’t try to attack the sorcerer, or attempt to escape. Still, that wasn’t what she found shocking. She could see clearly down into the camp. Orin was only a few hundred paces from where she was crouching on the branch of a huge walnut tree. It was hard to believe her eyes, yet she knew exactly what she was seeing. Orin, the man who was sworn to protect her, who she’d come to care for and rely upon, was stretching out the fingers of his hands.
***
The magic had been painful. Allric hadn’t pressed anything against his flesh. He hadn’t molded some other creature’s flesh to make hands for Orin. He had simply chanted in the strange language he’d used before, and a searing pain had shot down Orin’s arms and into the stump on his left arm, and the fin-shaped appendage on his right. The pain was so terrible he fell to his knees, wailing in agony. He could feel the muscles and tendons stretching, the bones growing. The tough, thick, knobby growths where his hands should have been resisted the magic, but Allric wouldn’t be denied. The magically enhanced growth broke through the thick ends of his arms, and the skin reformed as digits appeared.
When the pain ended, Allric slumped a little. He was tall, and had come to Orin with a regal bearing, but after working magic to form Orin’s hands, he was clearly exhausted, despite having taken quite a bit of time to rest after transforming Horace into what he called a dracon.
Yet it wasn’t the sorcerer or his health that Orin was fascinated by, it was the hands at the ends of his arms. The skin was perfectly smooth, running down his forearms and out across his hands to the tips of his fingers. He opened and closed his hands, marveling at how easy it was. Rubbing the fingers of his right hand across the palm of his left, he wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. He could feel them. He could feel the sensation of skin against his fingertips. He made fists and felt the strength in his new hands. Getting to his feet he waved them around, feeling his fingers flop then flex. He wiggled them and the laughter came. He couldn’t contain his excitement, nor the wonder of the gift he’d been given. His greatest desire had become real and he could scarcely believe it.
“How do you feel?” Allric asked.
“Incredible,” Orin answered.
“Good, that is very good,” the elf replied. “Hollis, fetch refreshments.”
“Of course, my lord,” the fat elf replied.
Orin couldn’t help but feel a sense of appreciation for Allric. The man was heartless and cruel, yet he had given Orin something no one else could have given him. He had made Orin whole. All his life the big warrior had felt cursed and cheated of his birthright. Yet he knew without a doubt that he could march back to Floralon and reclaim his rightful place as prince of the realm. He could even cast down his father and make the Raven King pay for his poor treatment of Orin.
He could hold a sword, or spear, he could pick a flower, braid leather thongs, feel the soft skin of a woman. Orin looked around for Via, but she wasn’t there. When Hollis returned with a platter of fruit, Orin reached out and took hold of an apple, wrapping his fingers around the surprisingly large fruit. He raised it to his mouth and took a bite, the fruit crunching in his teeth. Then he tossed the apple into the air, and caught it in his hand. His mind was reeling.
“I must leave you now, Orin,” Allric said. “All will be made clear in time.”
Orin started to ask where the elf was going, or what he meant, but Allric walked away with Hollis following close behind. Via appeared again, but she didn’t approach Orin. He called to her and she hesitated. It was clear that she meant to follow Allric, but she looked back at the big warrior.
“Come look at this,” he said, unable to keep the wonder and excitement from his voice. “Look at my hands.”
“I see them,” she said. “They are wonderful, truly.”
“Where are you going?”
She started to say something but instead turned and ran after Allric, who had disappeared behind a massive oak tree. Orin was looking around, trying to understand what was happening, when one of the wolves howled.
***
She had known it was only a matter of time. The wind had carried her scent back to the dire wolves and they had tracked her to the walnut tree. After the first keening howl, it only took the others a few seconds to converge on the tree. Feray waited for them all to come, stroking the head of the black panther to keep it calm. Orin hadn’t seen her yet, but it was only a matter of time. And the evil sorcerer would return as
well. She would have to act fast she knew.
The magic that seemed stagnant and muddled around her began to move as she coaxed it. The sun’s powerful rays were blocked by thick clouds, and there was no wind, but the ground was saturated with water. The elemental magic was not complicated. In many ways it was a blind force, just raw power, but it often had a natural tendency, so that if left to its own devices over time or in the right circumstances, it would act. Feray was not a warrior. Killing and death did not come naturally to her, and the magic she summoned, as twisted and stunted as it was, didn’t inspire her to fight. Instead her magic fed directly into the minds of the huge wolves. Each member of the pack growling and barking at her like savage hounds, suddenly found themselves growing sleepy.
The spell, if it could truly be called a spell, took only a minute, and each of the wolves dropped to the ground, unconscious. The panther looked at Feray and shook its head.
Danger, it warned still.
“Do what you must,” she told the dark beast at her side.
The magic carried her down toward Orin, and left her panting as if she’d just sprinted into the clearing. Orin looked at her with surprise, then looked around, his fright obvious.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Rescuing you,” Feray snapped.
“I don’t need to be rescued,” he said.
Feray felt the sting of his irritation. She didn’t know what was happening, but she knew he was different, and she was afraid that he had turned against her.
“Well, how was I supposed to know that,” she argued, just as more creatures came rushing toward them.
“Boars!” Orin shouted.
But before they could do anything at all, the big brown bear that had followed Feray through the night came roaring out of the forest. There were three boars, each charging toward Feray, but the bear crashed into them. More animals came, the foxes and raccoons were joined by a majestic bull elk with large antlers and the black panther, with blood on its face. The animals surrounded Feray and Orin.
“We must go,” Feray said.
The birds came to her defense as well. Some were small, others larger predators such as the owls, but they all went to battle over Feray’s head, fighting the oversized raptors who came diving toward the sorceress from the trees inside the camp. Feray reached up with her magic, buffeting the large, magically altered birds and giving the natural animals a chance, but the fighting was very one sided. The larger birds were stronger and faster than the others.
On the ground, the brown bear knocked the boars off their feet, his powerful blows wounding the oversized pigs, but they didn’t stay down long. One went charging past the bear, only to be impaled on the bull elk’s antlers. Another ripped a savage gash in the bear’s hind leg, before escaping the roaring bruin. Feray made the ground between the boar and her protective animals soft and the heavy boar sank down in the bog.
“We can’t leave Via,” Orin said, almost shouting to be heard over the roars and growls of the animals.
“She made her choice, Orin,” Feray said. “Now you have to make yours. Stay here with the sorcerer or come with me. I’m leaving and I won’t be back.”
The third boar fell to the bear’s massive blows and the bruin’s powerful jaws clamped down on the back of the boar’s neck, snapping its spine and killing the brute instantly. Unfortunately, there were more creatures. Huge snakes, and scorpions were approaching. Many of the natural birds had been killed or wounded. Feray pursed her lips and whistled. The panther roared and the animals followed Feray as she ran back into the forest. She saw the dire wolves, their throats ripped open by the panther, but she felt no pity for the huge beasts. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and tears stung her eyes. Running felt good. It let her push all the hurt and loss away as it taxed her physically. She had to focus on breathing and where she was going. In truth, she had no idea where she was running to, she just had to get away from the awful, stunted camp where the sorcerer had perverted the magic of the earth and forest.
Rain started to fall again, and the animals converged around Feray, who dropped to her knees sobbing. She felt betrayed, but she knew that Orin had been seduced, he never would have hurt her on purpose. Still, the pain of losing Orin, no matter how she rationalized it, was worse than she feared and brought back the death of her husband in all its agonizing horror all over again.
“Why are we stopping?” Orin said from behind her.
Feray looked up, shocked. He hadn’t run with her and she thought he had stayed behind. She thought he had chosen the sorcerer over her, and it had broken her heart. But she had been wrong. He had lingered only long enough to ensure that none of the beasts followed them into the forest. And he was with her. He had chosen her. She jumped up and fell into his arms, the tears still flowing but in the middle of a rain shower it didn’t seem to matter. He stroked her hair and held her for a minute, until she realized what he was doing. Then she looked up, grabbing his shoulders, and said, “You have hands!”
Chapter 25
“What happened? How did you get hands?”
“The sorcerer,” Orin said, stepping back from her. She could hear the shame in his voice.
“How?”
“Magic,” Orin said. “I don’t know what he did, but he wanted me to train his dracons.”
“Dracons? What do you mean?”
“He’s capturing humans, Feray. He’s mixing them with dragons.”
“He has a dragon?”
“I don’t think so. I think he only managed to get piece of dragon skin. There was some tissue clinging to it. I really don’t know. But he turned Horace into a creature with skin like a dragon. The hands and feet became talons, just like on the dragons we saw. And they obey him. He’s creating an army.”
“How many humans does he have?”
“I don’t know. I really don’t. I only saw about a dozen. He led them all away, just before he created my hands.”
Orin looked at his hands with a mixture of awe and revulsion.
“I should have resisted,” he said.
“Don’t do that,” Feray said. “Don’t doubt yourself now. All that matters is that you’re alive and safe. We have to find Crucifus and tell him what the sorcerer is planning.”
“Allric is his name,” Orin said.
“The Ivory Clan will be crushed when they learn of it,” Feray said.
“Feray, you shouldn’t have come. You risked too much for me,” Orin said.
“Are you saying you wouldn’t have done the same for me?”
“How did you know I was captured?”
“An elf saw it,” Feray explained. “They’ve been searching for the sorcerer’s lair. I had to try, you know that. I couldn’t leave you there with that monster.”
“Where’s Luc?”
“He’s safe. We must go to him now. He’ll want to know that you’re okay.”
The animals came and Feray took her time thanking each one. She healed the bear, and a few of the birds who had survived the fighting. Then she urged them all to return to their places in the forest. The panther was the last and it was obvious that she wasn’t interested in leaving.
I stay, the panther said in a deep, growling voice.
“I’m going north,” Feray warned the big cat. “Across the mountains. It will be dangerous.”
I with you, the big predator said, swishing her tail back and forth.
“I won’t argue. You are more than welcome with me.”
The panther seemed to purr and then quickly made its way up into the canopy of tree limbs overhead. Orin paced, not nervous about the animals, but impatient for something. Feray could tell that he was conflicted, but she didn’t pry. He would open up to her when he was ready.
“We should go,” Feray said. “This way.”
She started through the forest, letting the magic guide her steps. An hour later they found her horse, which gave Feray a little more confidence that she wasn’t lost in the forest a
nd could find the outpost where Terreek was watching over Luc. Orin didn’t talk as they traveled, even after the rain stopped. He was lost deep in his own thoughts, and while she was madly curious about what he was pondering, she forced herself not to pry.
The big panther followed them, staying in the trees, like a silent shadow above. Feray never heard the big cat, and often had to look for several minutes before spotting her. Feray knew that Luc would be overjoyed at the addition to their little family, but she wasn’t sure how much the panther would enjoy his attention.
***
“It is time,” Allric said as he gazed out over the carnage of his camp.
“Are you certain, my lord?” Hollis asked.
“Of course I’m certain,” Allric whirled around to face the fat elf. “We must have more subjects and we need more time. The elders will learn of our camp here. Would you like to stay and wait for them to come?”
“No master, I would not.”
“I didn’t think so,” Allric said, turning back to the pack of dire wolves.
They were all dead. Enchanted by the sorceress, and their throats torn to ribbons while they lay helpless. The waste was atrocious to Allric. Not that he cared for life of any kind, he was not sentimental, but he had spent many weeks magically coaxing the wolves from their dens and enhancing their physical abilities. Controlling their minds hadn’t been easy either, not with creatures that were so driven by instinct, but he had managed it. Now they were gone, just so much rubbish left to rot. It made him furious, but he held his emotions in check, letting the anger simmer. He knew who was to blame, and when the time came he would make her pay.
“We’re leaving?” Via asked as she approached. She had learned to announce her presence before getting too close to the volatile elf.
“We have no choice.”
“We could fight?”
“Our resources are depleted,” Allric said. “We need more time, more subjects.”
The Man With No Hands Page 18
