by Mark Albany
I leaned over him and pressed my blade to his neck.
He looked up at me, touching his face where I’d struck him. He turned and spat a couple of teeth to the ground. “You ignorant prick,” Drucio hissed at me with a lisp. “Do you realize how painful it will be to get those back?”
“I wouldn’t worry about that if I were you.” My sword drew blood from his neck. “Tell your men to drop their weapons.”
“Take a look around, cur,” he smiled, showing me the pair of incisors I’d knocked out. I did as he asked, seeing that Kalna and Leena were both backing away as a pair of Trelans with crossbows pinned them down. Most of the warriors were down, with Ker and two others similarly cornered. Ker himself was sporting a handful of heavy wounds.
“Tell your men to put their weapons down,” I repeated more insistently.
“Well, you should know that I’ll command no such thing,” Drucio lisped, turning away to spit more blood onto the ground. “I have another offer. Put your delightful blade down, or your friends die.”
“If I do, they’ll die anyway.”
“Normally, you would be right.” He looked bored now. “But I’ve been told that you and your friends are wanted alive, so I’ll offer you something that has not been offered to any of the pagans on this fucking island. Surrender now, and you’ll live.”
I looked over at Leena and Kalna, both of whom shook their heads. I could understand their hesitation. Knowing what we did about this Drucio, surviving this might not be the best option. Even so, I didn’t really need my weapons to fight. I didn’t want to be the reason for Kalna or Leena dying.
I sighed deeply, letting my sword slip through my fingers, dropping it to the ground.
“I must commend you on your most excellent choice,” Drucio grinned, pushing himself up. “For a moment there, I thought you were going to kill me. It’s what I would have done.”
“I thought you said I’d made an excellent choice,” I commented as a pair of Trelans came up behind me, gripping both my arms.
“Well, I’ve never been known to pass up on a good execution, fuck the consequences.” Drucio smiled. “Of course, I’ve been told that I only need you and the two birdies. So if you lot wouldn’t mind?”
I only needed a moment to realize what he was talking about. A moment was all I had as I watched Ker and the last of the warriors fall back, three arrows puncturing each of their chests.
“You said—”
“That I never could pass up a good execution,” Drucio cut me off.
I watched as the life drained from Ker’s eyes. I turned back toward the prince, a cold fury starting to build in my stomach.
“You’re going to regret that,” I vowed in an icy tone.
“Ooh, chilling. I’d almost believe you if you hadn’t just given up your beautiful sword—Oh, fuck!” He’d leaned over to try and pick my blade up, but his hand snapped away when it started burning from the touch.
I was in no mood for a witty response to that as he looked at me in surprise. He’d seen how I fought and knew I had some sort of power, but he hadn’t expected it to be in my sword, too.
“Well then.” He clutched his hand. “Aren’t you full of surprises. You!” He pointed to one of the soldiers who wasn’t restraining me, Kalna, and Leena. “Wrap that damned thing in a blanket and carry it back to the fucking castle.” With that, he turned and marched away with an honor guard following closely behind him.
I gritted my teeth as I felt ropes wrapping around my wrists too tightly. Once we were all bound, we were prodded to follow in the direction the prince had taken.
“Tell me you have a plan,” Leena whispered as we were pushed together.
“I have a plan,” I replied. I didn’t, but they didn’t need to know that. It was all I could do to maintain my calm, which was the only reason why the rest of them, even the Trelans, were doing the same. I didn’t want to lose control until I was close enough to that fucking bitch to squeeze the life out of his throat.
Chapter 15
The sun was already starting to rise by the time we arrived at the castle. It sat high atop a hill outside the massive expanse of a city that I could only assume was the capital, giving an impressive view of the sprawling metropolis. I wondered if whatever king or ruler lived in this castle had built it here for the better view over the territory. Or maybe it had been the ego of the man or woman who’d wanted to feel like the city was at his or her feet.
We were pushed through gates, which defended an impressive wall constructed from thick logs supported by dirt stacked behind them. The whole thing propped the castle up higher than the hill it crested. The castle proper was a massive building of that same mud-brick construction but much larger and more ornate, with wooden columns carved with beautiful depictions of men and women on ships, likely telling the history of these people.
But we weren’t given enough time to actually study them. Instead, we were guided down into a tunnel that led underneath the building. The fact that it was underground did not inspire a lot of happy thoughts, but I still managed to keep myself calm.
We were pushed into a room together. The walls were lined with torches, giving us a fair view of the various instruments of torture that were stored there. Whether these had been here before the invasion or whether the Trelans had brought them here would remain a mystery.
Our bindings were connected to iron rings in the walls. The men guarding us took a few steps back, keeping their weapons pointed at us. They must have been ordered to do so. Or maybe memories of the three of us cutting their comrades down made them think that caution was the greater virtue at this point.
“Well now,” came a voice that was starting to be as familiar as it was grating. Drucio stepped into the room. He’d changed out of his armor and was wearing long robes of red and black silk. More interesting, though, the teeth that I’d knocked out were back, with no trace of them having been missing. No blood, no swelling, nothing. I knew that there was magic in the world that could do that, but it just felt so futile. It had felt so good to knock the prick on his ass earlier.
“I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to see you here, all trussed up and ready for carving,” Drucio declared. It was annoying how good-looking he was. That smile was just so charming. I would have believed he was a genuinely nice person if he hadn’t just killed those warriors in cold blood.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” I kept my eyes locked on the man as he moved around the room.
“I know you wouldn’t.” He moved in close to me, running his fingers over my jawline. “You’re just a delight. I’m really thrilled that you came along. I was growing so bored out here, terrorizing these primitives. I’m so glad someone with my kind of stamina showed up. Oh, I believe I owe you something. What was it again?” He tapped his chin lightly, as if he was struggling to remember. Then he twisted around and hammered his fist into my jaw with enough force to knock me into the wall behind me.
I dropped back, seeing bright white spots swirling in my vision. I struggled to regain my feet without the help of my hands. I managed it eventually. I took a deep breath before spitting out a mouthful of blood.
“Who taught you to punch?” I asked, licking the blood off my lips. “Your grandmother?”
Drucio laughed and grinned widely. He gripped my ear to pull me to him. “Ahh, yes. I needed this. Someone who isn’t terrified by the very mention of my name, much less the sight of me. It’s so much more satisfying if I have to beat the fight out of someone the hard way.” He switched his grip to my sore chin, lifting me up almost off the floor. “You look like you could take a rough beating, too.”
“Let him go, you useless cocksucker,” Kalna snarled.
Drucio released my face and turned his gaze on Kalna. Despite my sense of relief at being let go, I would have preferred it if the creep kept his attention on me instead of Kalna or Leena.
Drucio walked over to the elf. “If I’m being honest, I’d always thought that fuckin
g an elf would disgust me. But seeing you here and now, I can’t imagine why. You’re such a delectable specimen. Lean and petite, and yet with flesh in all the right places. Yes, I think I’d take great pleasure in making you scream in all the wrong ways.” He reached out to touch Kalna’s chin, making her pull away, repulsed.
Now?
“Now,” I snarled, feeling a rush of power filling my body. I tore through the ropes binding me in a single tug. The guards seemed slow to react. I rushed Drucio, and my fist crushed into the prick’s chest, sending him flying across the room.
I caught sight of a spear moving toward me. I grabbed the weapon by the head and twisted it off before jamming the spear point into the man’s face. He fell back, screaming, just in time for me to backhand a third man hard enough to crush his skull.
Drucio’s composed façade disappeared, and he jumped to his feet. He didn’t have his weapon on him, and he was probably just realizing that he had no way of besting me in single combat.
“Get in here now!” he screamed, trying to scramble for the door as I charged at him again. I was going to grab his neck and twist, and keep twisting until there was nothing left but blood and sinew left in my hands.
“Braks, no!” Leena screamed. Or I thought she did. A sudden ringing assaulted my ears, and the closer I got to the prince, the louder it got. As I stood less than a pace away from him, it was loud enough that I couldn’t hear anything else. Pain arced through my body, starting at the base of my spine and spreading over the rest of me. I screamed in agony, but I couldn’t hear it. I dropped to my hands and knees, and then rolled onto my back. My hands searched along my body, trying to find the source of the pain and make it stop.
As I looked up, I could see a familiar face peering down at me. It was bearded, but gone was the ragged, hungry look it had when I’d seen it last. His teeth were the same clean white though.
“You see, Braks,” Strange Man chided with a small smile, “I know your power is… well, quite impressive, but you need to understand that my power is just so much more.”
His accent was different, closer to what I’d heard from the Trelans. Odd.
“Stop it, please!” Leena cried out. “You’re killing him!”
Oh, right, the pain. Odd how something like that slipped your mind when you were confronted with the literal face of betrayal. I was still writhing on the floor, even though I could feel the pain lessening. A pair of hands roughly picked me up off the floor and tied me against the wall again.
“Fuck!” I finally managed to growl, dropping slackly down against my restraints.
“I’m terribly sorry about that, Braks,” Strange Man said. “I really, honestly, don’t want to cause you any harm. Partly because I do feel quite kindly toward you all for the kindness you showed me, but it’s also in part because of, well, the frankly quite fascinating power you have inside you. Again, no match for my own, which is powered by the men killed by this unfortunate specimen.” He nodded toward the prince, who was still struggling to recover his composure after I’d tossed him around like a ragdoll.
Drucio was staring bloody murder at me, but it seemed like he was under the thrall of the man in front of me, who I was now convinced was the wizard the others had spoken of. Or had someone mentioned the word Vizier?
He was clearly more powerful than the prince and most definitely the one in charge.
“So,” I said as the pain receded to manageable levels. “What is your real name? We can’t keep calling you our strange friend anymore, now can we?”
He smiled and shook his head. “No, I don’t think that would be appropriate. I had a name before I was taken into the thrall of the God-King, but all names are discarded when you enter into His service. I am simply called the Vizier now.”
“Well, Vizier. What happens to us now?”
He came closer to me, almost completely ignoring the other two. “The power inside you is old. Unrefined and definitely in need of proper guidance. I mean, I can’t imagine that it came to possess you out of its own choice.”
Hey, I’m starting to like this one.
Just hearing the voice was enough to send another shot of pain through my body. I jerked in response. The Vizier smiled, closing his eyes.
“Ah, yes, there it is,” he whispered, sounding almost entranced. “I can feel it roiling inside you, trying to take over. It is wonderful, isn’t it? I mean, I would never be possessed by a power like that myself. Which is why I have this one.” He pointed at the prince again, who was still cowering in the corner of the room. “And, well, now I have you.”
“You don’t have anything.” I gasped as the pain intensified again.
“Now, now, let’s not put up any useless resistance.” He lightly patted my cheek. “I can hurt you, but I also have two others you care for that I can hurt as well. Well, three, once this Eira returns. I can’t wait to find all your thralls and bind them to me as I’ve bound you.”
“Do you still need me, Vizier?” Drucio asked, his voice trembling, though I couldn’t tell if it was from rage or fear. Maybe a combination of both. I wasn’t sure I could make out anything at this point. The pain was washing over me in waves, ebbing and flowing, but always there, always present. I’d almost forgotten what the world felt like when I didn’t feel this.
“No, you may leave, my prince,” the Vizier replied softly, waving him away. “For myself, I’m too tired to work competently, so you’ll be allowed some respite for the moment, my pet. But rest assured, you will feel the full power of my mind on you later.” He patted me on the cheek. “Rest well.”
As the Vizier left the room, the intensity of the pain withdrew to the point where I sagged toward the floor, ignoring the hurt caused by the ropes digging into my wrists.
“Are you all right, Braks?” Kalna asked.
I didn’t have the strength to lift my head.
“I just need a moment,” I mumbled, my eyes closing as if of their own accord. The pain of the ropes around my wrists was almost lost in the relief I felt as the magical pain caused by the Vizier withdrew. I was unable to keep myself conscious, even in that uncomfortable position.
Chapter 16
Gone was the heat and humidity that had been pervasive since we’d landed on these isles. Gone was the heavy sweat and the agony of being twisted in a position I was too fatigued to get out of.
The clean smell of pine filled my nostrils. I felt the cool touch of a snowflake landing on my cheek. I doubted that it had snowed on these isles in fucking forever, so this just seemed impossible.
I opened my eyes. The wondrous, welcome view of Okiim’s Forest greeted my eyes. I was less surprised by that than I should have been. I inhaled again, loving how the cool air felt in my lungs, smiling like a child when I saw my breath come out in a gentle fog.
This couldn’t be real, but I just wanted to stay there and never go back to the jail where the Vizier would most definitely torture me some more.
“Braks.”
I turned around. My back was to the Peak, and the snow came down with more intensity. The air felt cool on my skin, but it was pleasant, like a cool swim on a hot day. Through the snow, I could see movement. The barrier was back, and Eira was on the other side, looking through it at me. She was smiling and running her fingers through her long purple hair. She wore her light dress and that beautiful crown.
It was all blurred, of course, like I was seeing her through a magical, icy barrier.
“Braks, what’s the matter, my love?” she asked. Her voice sounded like it was coming from far away. The barrier was there, and I could see her reaching through it, but it was like the barrier was too thick for her to cross through on her own.
“To hell with this,” I said, pushing my fingers into the barrier. The ice wrapped around me, sending a chill up my spine as I reached through. It pushed the chill up my arms until I could feel her warm fingers tangling with my own. I gripped her hand by the wrist, and with all my strength, I pulled her to me. I remembered how sh
e had been the one doing the pulling the last time we’d done this.
She came through, colliding with me as we both tumbled through the snow head-over-heels. We came to a stop with me on top, and I realized that her clothes and tiara were gone. Her long hair was a delightful mess.
“How do you do that?” I stroked her cheek gently. Her pale gaze met my eyes.
“Trade secrets, my love,” she whispered. Her hands gripped my ass and pulled me closer. I, too, was naked.
“Did you do that?” I tilted my head and groaned as she wiggled her hips underneath me.
One of her hands slipped down between us. “No, but I’d love to know how you did it,” she whispered, craning her neck up to press her lips lightly to mine. “Getting clothes out from between us would be such a delightful trick to learn.”
“You just need to touch your clothes, and they’re gone,” I noted. I leaned down to kiss her lips, pausing to groan as her fingers wrapped around my growing cock. “And your tiara disappears too, somehow.”
“Well, yes, the problem of my clothes is easily solved,” she whispered, running her tongue up my lips as her thighs spread around me. She guided me between them. “The problem is your clothes are too difficult to get rid of quickly.”
“Agreed.” I moaned as she gripped my ass tighter, driving my hips forward. I thrust into her, filling her up to the hilt. Her fingers glided lightly over my side to tangle with my hair.
“Oh fuck, I’ve missed you.” Her hands gripped me tighter, and I bottomed out inside her, grinding my hips gently into hers.
“Is this real?” I whispered. It was an odd time to think and especially ask that aloud, but it was the first thought that came into my head.
“It feels real.” She wiggled her hips over me. “Yes, definitely real.”
“How is this happening?” My mind wouldn’t let go of the thought of us somehow making love despite being hundreds of miles apart.
