by Mark Albany
I looked up, not seeing Kalna’s light shoes or Leena’s cured leather boots, but rather ragged sandals. I saw strange, panicked eyes looking down at me from a frightened, scraggly, bearded face that froze when he saw me waking up.
More importantly, in his hands, I saw the pack that held our supplies, including all that was left of our food.
“Oh no, you don’t,” I snarled, jumping to my feet. As old as the man looked, though, he was more than a little spritely on his feet, smoothly dodging my hands as I reached out to grab at him. He pushed me back and darted for the door.
He was out before I could recover my balance, but I was after him a few seconds later. I spotted him trying to make for the tree line.
As quick as he was, his age began to show on him. I quickly closed the gap between us, reached out to grip his shoulder, and dragged him to a stop. He spun around quickly as the piece of cloth tore away. His fist arced toward my jaw, and I jumped back. Suddenly, my senses were swarmed with an awful-smelling green smoke.
I felt a spike of anger surging through my mind like a wave.
I want to kill him.
“No,” I roared aloud. Despite that, I still dragged my sword from the sheath, powering through the foul-smelling fog that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. I pushed through it, quickly finding the man who was still trying to escape, even as my eyes watered and I fought the need to gag.
I didn’t find him so much as I crashed into him, sending both of us sprawling to the ground. I recovered first, however, pressing my blade to his neck before he could get up.
He stared wide-eyed at the sword. His lips parted and a low groan escaped from them. Then he finally fell still and looked up at me.
“Please,” he whispered in an accent I didn’t recognize. “Please don’t kill me.”
I quickly brushed some hair from my face and looked at the man, confused. “Well, give us our food back, and I won’t have to.”
The man looked at me, tilting his head. “I’d prefer it if you didn’t hurt me, either.”
“Drop our bag of supplies, and I won’t hurt you either.” I kept the sword pressed to his neck.
“You know, I really need some food too…” The man started to say but was cut off when I increased the pressure on his neck. “Oh, all right, all right.” He dropped the bag and put both his hands above his head.
I took a moment to pick the bag up and make sure that none of the supplies were missing. Then I pulled the blade away from the man’s neck. He crawled a few paces away but turned back to look at me as I sheathed the sword again.
“Who are you?” the old man asked. I peered back at him, narrowing my eyes. It was an odd question, but then again, to his mind, we were probably the invaders. He didn’t look like one of the locals, though. The brown hair looked like it had once been straight, and his skin was too pale.
Before I could answer, though, Kalna and Leena came into view, weapons in hand and looking around for something to strike. When all they saw was me and the old man, their weapons came down, especially when they saw that my sword was back in its sheath.
“What’s happening?” Kalna looked confused.
“And what is that smell?” Leena looked like she was about to throw up.
“That’s a good question. What is that smell?”
The old man offered a noncommittal shrug. “Stink bombs. I’ve been making them for years.”
“Out of what?” I shook my head. “Actually, I don’t want to know.”
The man grinned, pushing himself back to his feet. “It’s just as well, for I would not have told you. It’s a trade secret.”
“You trade in stink bombs?” Leena asked, still keeping her distance, even though the cloud was starting to dissipate.
“Of course not,” the man replied with a small smile. “Though if you would share some of your food and your fire for the day, I wouldn’t mind telling you what my trade is.”
I gritted my teeth, but as I looked at Leena and Kalna, neither seemed overly opposed to the idea. I was warming to it as well. While I had no interest in what his trade was, I did want to know more about him and how he arrived on the island. We might even be able to glean some information that could be put to good use later.
“As you can see, we don’t really have much,” I said. “But what we do have, we can share.”
The desperate look on his face disappeared and turned into a wide smile that showed off a row of gleaming white teeth. “Thank you, kind strangers. You shall not regret it.”
Chapter 11
Kalna built a fire inside the house we were using, and lit it with a soft-spoken word. The man narrowed his eyes at seeing magic being used, but he made no mention of it. Instead, he seemed far more intent as Kalna added some salt, dried meat, oats, and water to a pan she’d found, which she placed over the flame.
When the food was cooked, both Leena and I kept a close eye on the man as Kalna served him a plate—another happy find—first, along with a cut of some dark bread we’d brought along. It was simple fare, but the man attacked it like he hadn’t eaten in days, Which, judging by his gaunt looks, he probably hadn’t.
The rest of us were served, and we ate together in silence. It was nice to have a warm meal after the past few days, having seen cold and uncooked affairs.
The food was quickly exhausted as the man wasn’t the only one who needed nourishment. We would need to refill our food stores before too long, since there wasn’t enough left over to make another meal like this. What had been served, though, seemed like it was enough to loosen the stranger’s tongue.
“I would kill for a sip of some red wine now. Not enough to get drunk on, of course, but enough to settle the stomach. I’m not complaining, mind,” he added quickly. “The food was excellent.”
“So, Strange Old Man—” Leena started but was quickly cut off by the man himself.
“Old? Hardly.” He laughed. “I’ve been living out here in the wilds and it hasn’t done my complexion any favors, but old? No, I do not think so.”
I shrugged. “Well, Strange Man, then. What kind of trade requires a man to know how to make stink bombs?”
He laughed. “Well, if you must know, I was raised a trapper. Up in the mountains north of Alta, where the massive wolves have thick fur that make the finest coats. Of course, there are bears in those mountains as well. Their fur is much richer, but the animals themselves are difficult to kill or trap, and men die when they attack. The best way to survive is to use these little preciouses.” He held up a small glass vial with green liquid inside. “They have very sensitive noses and run when they smell this.”
“If you were a trapper, how come you have difficulties finding food?” Leena asked, picking at her teeth.
“Oh, I’m many, many years removed from actually practicing it, my dear.”
Despite his wild look, his voice was taking on a decidedly pompous note, even if I still couldn’t place the accent. I had no idea where this Alta was and I’d never seen the mountains north of it, but I assumed his accent was from there.
“No,” Strange Man continued, “I have been trading in those same furs that are trapped in those same mountains. That trading brought me to these isles just in time to be stuck here when the invasion destroyed my ship. I saw what they were doing to the survivors of the battles and decided I’d best take my chances out in the wilderness. Of course, the wilds are just as difficult to survive in. I have no traps and no resources with which to build them. Besides, the animals living on this island are… different. Wilier and harder to trap than the wolves and bears of my homelands.”
“What happened to the survivors of the invasion?” Kalna asked.
Leena and I joined Kalna in looking at the man expectantly. It was a pertinent question. The man looked down, clearly weighing his words.
“Well, I assume you saw the pile of bodies in the center of the village?” he finally asked.
The three of us exchanged knowing glances that told him we kn
ew exactly what he was talking about.
“The leader of the invasion, Prince Drucio, came here after they took the capital city,” the man explained. “The villagers here had offered me shelter, and were preparing to flee with the rest of the ships when the Trelans arrived. There were no fighters amongst the villagers, so they surrendered without resistance. Even so, after they were all captured the prince ordered that they be brought to him one by one, and killed them all himself. I’d managed to escape before they arrived, and watched what happened next from the jungle. It was…horrible. He killed them all, and he did it because he enjoyed doing it.”
“Why didn’t you do something to stop them?” Leena asked.
He looked at her with an annoyed expression. “There were almost a hundred of his black-clad soldiers corralling the victims, plus the prince himself, wielding black magic right along with his wizard. What could I have done against…against that?”
Leena sighed and shook her head. “Well, I guess that’s true.”
“So, this Prince Drucio. He travels with the wizard?” The man nodded. “Would you say that the wizard was there to help keep the prince under control? That he would be the true power behind this invasion?”
The strange man shrugged. “It was difficult to tell from my vantage point in the jungle, but…maybe? I don’t know enough about magic to know who is in charge.”
“Well, if the wizard is the true power here,” I followed up on my train of thought, “maybe we don’t need to stop the whole invasion. Maybe just killing him would bring it all to a halt.”
“We should probably kill the prince too,” Kalna added. “Since we are taking on impossible tasks.”
“You’re an assassin.” I raised an eyebrow. “Why would killing a prince and a wizard be impossible for you?”
“I was an assassin,” Kalna corrected. “And killing a prince and a wizard who are at the center of an army would make any person in the profession, man or elf, shy away from the job.”
“I guess.” I gave a small shrug and turned back to where Strange Man was sitting, only to find him gone.
“He left,” Leena said. “I suppose he didn’t want to stick around and talk about what I’m guessing is haunting his nightmares after he’d just eaten.”
I tilted my head. “I guess I can understand that. Something about him just didn’t add up, though.”
“What do you mean?” Kalna asked.
“I don’t know,” I shook my head. “Just, something about his story didn’t fit in my mind. I’m probably being paranoid.”
“You’re probably tired,” Leena said softly. “And the sun is starting to set. I say we stay here for the night and get moving again in the morning.”
Knowing that the strange man was out there made me wonder if travelling at night was the right choice.
“Maybe just one night,” I nodded.
“It’s decided then,” Kalna replied with a smile. “I can take first watch.”
“I could—” Leena started, but Kalna jumped up to her feet, quickly grabbing all the utensils used during the meal.
“Please, I can do it,” she grinned, winking at Leena. “Besides, with the sun setting, who will be better at tracking Strange Man’s footsteps to know which direction he disappeared in?”
Leena tried to reply, but Kalna exited the house before she could. I kept my eyes on the floor. I knew why Leena wanted to take the first watch. She didn’t want to be alone with me, and honestly, I didn’t know if I could blame her. I didn’t like being alone with me either.
A few moments of silence passed before I heard her push herself to her feet, walk over to me, and drop to sit at my side. She’d probably felt my low mood through our connection and felt bad for making me feel that way.
She pressed her lips to my cheek, and I smiled.
“So, what do you think of the man’s story?” I asked, mostly to break the silence.
“I don’t trust him,” Leena tilted her head. “And the fact that I can’t put a finger on why is probably more upsetting than the man’s presence on its own.”
“I feel the same way. We should probably keep an eye out for him. He might be under the influence of the…whatever, the magic that they use. He might be a spy, even if unknowingly.”
“That’s assuming he’s not working for them knowingly.” Leena draped an arm over my shoulders and pulled herself closer.
“He doesn’t look like a soldier.” I turned to face her.
“I mean, he doesn’t have to be a soldier to be working for them.” She looked into my eyes.
“I guess.” My voice softened as I returned her gaze. “What’s the matter?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” she replied a bit too quickly.
“I know you’re upset with me.” I turned away. “You can’t stand what I have inside me, and you’re angry. I can feel at least that much from our bond, but I don’t know how to fix it. How to put it all away. I can’t change it. I don’t know how.”
“No,” she whispered, pulling herself closer. “It’s not that. Well, not just that. The sailors who died, especially those I left on the ship back at the island…their deaths bother me too. But you’re right, it’s the Darkness inside you and the way you act when it takes over that I don’t know how to get past. I wish I did.”
“Stop.” I turned to face her. My hand came up to her chin, lifting her head until she was looking at me again. “It’s natural to feel some guilt for surviving when others died, but you’re not responsible for that. Remember what you told me?”
Her chin moving against my fingers indicated her slight nod.
“I don’t know how to put things right between us, because I can’t get rid of the Darkness. All I can do is tell you that when I’m with you, or the others, it’s all me. Just me, Braks, loving on you and what we do together. You know that, because you can feel it through our bond. The Darkness doesn’t like it when we’re physically intimate and loving, so it retreats rather than share the experience.”
Leena smiled and raised her hand to gently caress my cheek. “Thank you. I’ve been trying to say, I mean…” She paused, the connection between us showing a struggle, slowly moving toward a sense of acceptance. Her eyes were what truly spoke, though—of a need to reconnect, physically. “You’re a good man at heart.
“You really… believe that?”
“Of course, you are.” She smiled, leaning back into me. “You’re only half senseless, after all.”
“Hey—”
She cut my retort off by leaning in and tenderly pressing her lips to mine. It started as a soft kiss, but she deepened it. Both her hands gripped me and held me in place as she half-pulled herself onto my lap.
My eyes remained shut as she pulled away, a small whimsical smile on my face.
“What was that for?” I asked quietly.
“I… I just forgot how delicious you are,” she whispered. When I opened my eyes she wore a smile like mine, but there was a look in her eyes of almost primal hunger. It was a look I recognized but hadn’t seen in a long time.
It drew a similar feeling out of me.
She pulled herself fully on top of me, straddling my lap as her fingers curled through my hair. She gripped the back of my head, crushing her lips on mine. I grunted softly. Her hips started to grind into me, causing a low moan of pleasure to rise from my chest and vibrate into her mouth.
Her hands grabbed at my vest, pulling it over my shoulders. She parted from my lips only for the moment it took to slip my shirt over my head. Then she threw it aside before letting her fingers splay over my chest. It was her turn to moan as she pressed her hips more insistently to me.
“Undress,” I ordered as she pulled away to breathe. “Now.”
She licked her lips, her eyes still hooded in need.
“Yes, Captain,” she whispered, lightly pushing herself off me to stand up. She took a few steps away, letting me have a full view as she stripped. She kicked her boots off first. Then she slid her
shirt over her head and threw it on the growing pile of clothes. With a grin, she turned to face away from me to give me the full view of her bending over to push her trousers to the floor.
I moved before she could straighten up, taking advantage of her exposed position to run my tongue lightly over her lips and press it into her pussy.
“Oh fuck,” she gasped in response, taking her time straightening back up as I teased at her already-wet sex.
“You have no idea how much I missed you,” she whispered, looking down at me as I dropped back, watching her coming toward me. She dropped to her knees, thighs spread around my legs as she undid my pants. I lifted my hips to let her pull them down, her eyes brightening visibly when she caught sight of my growing cock.
She pulled my pants the rest of the way off with one hand. The other gripped my shaft at the base. Her thumb rubbed lightly over the head, and she stroked it a few times, licking her lips as she watched it grow larger.
Impatience and heated arousal came through our link and showed in her movements as she pushed me onto my back and straddled my thighs. Her hand gave my cock a few more strokes until it was fully erect. Then she climbed over me and guided me between her legs. With a low, sultry moan, she let it slip inside her and sank down on me until I was fully sheathed in her wet heat. She let her hands run over my chest as she ground her hips into mine. Then she started to ride me in earnest.
My eyes closed as the feeling of her body writhing on mine overwhelmed me. For all that things had been hot and heavy between us more than once before, this was the first time I’d actually had her this way. By every god in existence, it was an amazing feeling.
She took one of my hands by the wrist, pulling it up to cup her breast. I kneaded it slowly. My other hand gripped her hip, feeling the roll of her body on top of mine and matching it stroke for stroke.
“Fuck,” she whispered.
