by Brandon Fox
“We’ll leave if you’d like,” Thane said. “Or we can talk of other things. Believe me, we would never impose on you.”
Dannel let his breath out slowly. He bent down and righted his chair, then took his seat at the table. He looked desperately unhappy.
“Zevon was right,” he said, his voice thick. “I should know better. There’s no hope for me.”
Thane handed him a water goblet. “You’ve done nothing wrong,” he said. “We misunderstood, that’s all. It’s a mistake travelers often make.”
Dannel took a drink, then put the mug down and clasped his hands. His eyes remained downcast. “No,” he whispered. “You… you understood what I want. I could see that you’re lovers. I wanted to warm my heart by getting near. Wanted to see if I could get close enough to feel some of what you share.” He took a shuddering breath, his young face a mask of misery. “I’m a weak fool, like Zevon says.”
“I don’t understand,” Ander said. “There’s no weakness in wanting love.”
Dannel looked up, forlorn, and pointed to a small stone on the lobe of his left ear. “Have you ever seen one of these?”
Ander leaned closer. The earring looked like a black pebble pitted with many tiny holes mounted in a silvery setting. Any symbolic significance it held was indiscernible. If anything, the ornament was modest to the point of being drab.
“I’ve never seen one like it,” Ander said, not wanting to offend. “What does it mean?”
“It means I’m indentured to the Aerehoth Guardians. Practically a slave. Sex isn’t allowed.”
“Slaves in Skarn aren’t permitted to make love?” Ander asked, incredulous. “How would anyone even know?”
Dannel’s hands clenched into fists. “Aerehoth Guardians can’t,” he said bitterly. “The firestone prevents it.”
“How?” Ander asked, curiosity overwhelming discretion.
Dannel grimaced. “Take my word for it.”
“Why not take the earring off, then?”
“You can’t do that, either. The hierophants use a spell to affix it. Only they can remove it. Otherwise the guardian stops breathing and dies.”
Thane peered closely at the earring. “Would you let me touch it? I’ve encountered sorcery before in my travels, but never anything like this. Maybe I can help.”
Surprise filled Dannel’s face, followed by doubt. While it was impossible not to notice Thane’s keen mind, he still looked more like a lusty young laborer than a scholar. After a few moments, Dannel shrugged. “Go ahead.”
Thane reached forward with his right hand, moving slowly as if feeling the air for currents. Puzzlement flickered across his face. He lifted his hand higher and touched the dark stone with an outstretched finger. Blue-white light flashed, and he jerked his hand away like it had been bitten.
Dannel rocked back in his chair, nostrils flaring. “What happened? What did you do?”
Thane blinked, looking at him with burning curiosity. “I was trying to feel for a spell or a cantrip. The stone holds a spell, a complex one. And more power than I expected.” He nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, it would easily kill you if you meddled with it.”
Dannel looked near to panic. “How much do you know about sorcery?” he whispered. “Are you a hierophant?”
Thane shook his head. “I don’t even know what a hierophant is. But I’ve studied many strange things and heard of even stranger. That’s why Ander and I travel, to seek knowledge.”
Dannel didn’t appear mollified. “Why did the firestone lash out at you? It’s never done that before.”
“I don’t know. As I said, I’ve encountered magic before; the spell might have responded to that. Maybe I can help, if you tell me more.”
Dannel looked skeptical. His robe had fallen open at the top, and his chest rose and fell with rapid breaths. “How do I know—”
“Wait,” Ander said. The proprietor entered the courtyard, carrying a tray of stuffed peppers. They waited until they were served and the man had left before Dannel spoke again.
“Why would you help me?” he asked. “You felt what the firestone can do. It’s dangerous.”
“Life is dangerous,” Thane said. “And besides, I don’t like slavery.” His expression hardened. “I know what it’s like.”
Dannel looked amazed. “You’re a freedman?”
“Not exactly,” Ander said. “He was born a serf. He defied his shire’s landlord and fled. He’s lucky to be alive.”
Dannel took a bite from his stuffed pepper and chewed in silence while looking at Thane thoughtfully. Ander could tell his feelings toward them had shifted. They shared a bond in addition to desire.
Dannel took a few more bites and then put down his fork. “What do you want to know?” he asked softly.
Thane leaned forward, ignoring his meal. “These hierophants, are they mages or sorcerers?”
“They’re priests who know ancient secrets. Some people call them wizards.”
“You said you’re some kind of guardian. Do you share any of this old knowledge?”
Dannel snorted. “Aerehoth Guardians keep watch over places where the records are kept. We protect the hierophants when they leave the citadel, do what we’re told. We’re not given secrets.”
“But you guard them,” Ander said. “You know where they’re hidden?”
Dannel shrugged. “That’s hardly a mystery. The citadel’s library is huge. Some scrolls are so ancient nobody even knows their age. The guardians defend the citadel, you could never get in. And everyone knows the Aerehoth Gate is in the Forbidden Lands.”
“The Forbidden Lands?” Thane asked. “Where’s that?”
Dannel pointed east. “High in the Khepera Mountains. A few days’ travel. The Aerehoth Gate is in a remote valley. You have to know the right paths and passes, but of course only the hierophants and guardians can go there. There’s a pilgrimage every year.”
“What is this Aerehoth Gate?”
Dannel eyed his dinner as if he regretted inviting Thane’s questions. “A huge entrance, carved into a mountain. I’ve never gone through it. There are hundreds of stories, but only the hierophants have gone inside the mountain. Only they really know what’s beyond the Gate, and they reveal nothing. Everybody else is guessing. The hierophants give us a sleeping potion before they start working magic at the Gate.” He grimaced. “Makes you feel terrible when you wake up. Like you’ve run for three hours.”
“I’d like to see this Gate,” Thane said, a determined gleam in his eye. “I’ve felt something here, a power. The Gate might be the path to it.”
Dannel shook his head. “You’re not listening. They’re in the Forbidden Lands. Your life is forfeit if you go there.”
Ander suppressed a laugh. Telling Thane something was impossible only piqued his interest. “Were you born into these Aerehoth Guardians?” he asked, hoping Thane would remember his meal and not press their guest too hard.
It was the wrong question to ask. Dannel’s features filled with unhappiness. He pushed his plate away as if he’d lost his appetite and looked down, his tightly clenched fists resting on the tabletop. At last he looked up and met Ander’s gaze. “No.” His voice was strained. “I wasn’t born to it. Nobody is. My parents indentured me to the temple when I was ten. They… they wanted money more than they wanted me.”
“I’m sorry,” Ander said softly. Dannel’s pain made him ache. “I don’t understand how any parent could do that.”
Dannel rubbed angrily at his eyes. “They made excuses. Said it’s not really slavery since Aerehoth Guardians are freed when we turn thirty, if we meet our bond. They said it’s a sacrifice I had to make for the rest of the family.” He laughed bitterly. “Thirty! I don’t think I can stand nine more years like this.”
Thane raised an eyebrow. “I’m surprised they free you at thirty. Did they tell you why?”
“It’s obvious. When you get that old, you can’t defeat younger opponents. Your flame cools.”
“Your fl
ame?” Ander asked. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s why we can’t have sex. The hierophants say that making love weakens a fighter. When the flame of desire starts to fade, so does your strength.”
Thane looked fascinated. “I wonder…. Certain crystals and minerals can channel anima, the energy of life. This firestone you wear might be more than a simple shackle. It might be drawing anima from you, what you call your flame.”
Dannel shifted nervously. “How much do you know about sorcery, anyway?”
Ander understood the reaction. Most sorcerers wielded power ruthlessly and were rightly feared. Only Thane and his band of mages pursued a different path, using anima drawn from pleasure to weave reality’s hidden fabric.
Thane leaned forward, his eyes shining with conviction. “We should go to the Aerehoth Gate. If my guess is right, the hierophants have been lying to you. They could be using anima drawn from the firestone to work their magic. It explains why you’re tired when you wake from your sleep. The key to your freedom might be there, if we can learn how the firestone works.”
Dannel gaped, hope warring with doubt on his face. At last he shook his head. “No. You don’t know what you’re asking. You were lucky when you escaped your shire, but luck wouldn’t help you in the Forbidden Lands. You’d die.”
“Don’t judge Thane too quickly,” Ander said. “He knows more than you’d expect. You want your freedom, anybody can see it. Maybe we can help.”
“Freedom.” Dannel shivered. “You can’t know how much I want it.”
“Then give us a chance. I trust Thane with my life. You can trust him too.”
Dannel reached out, his hand stopping an inch short of Ander’s, his eyes filled with yearning. “I found what I sought tonight. I can feel what it would be like to have a lover.”
“Will you show us the way?” Thane asked again.
Dannel paused a few seconds, then stood. “I’m sorry.” His voice was heavy with unhappiness. “Leading you to your deaths would be no favor. You have each other. Be grateful for that, and forget about me.”
“Wait!” Ander stood, but Dannel turned and fled back into the gaming room.
“Should we follow him?” Ander asked, knowing in his heart it would be futile.
Thane shook his head sadly. “We have no claim on him and wouldn’t want one. He has too little freedom as it is.”
Moonlight bathed the orchard in pale light, making the leaves shimmer. Ander’s heart ached for the lonely fighter, but he knew Thane was right.
Chapter Five
SKORRI was baffled. “Is he a eunuch, then? How else could you keep from having sex?”
Thane shook his head. “He didn’t say how it works. Just that the firestone won’t let him have sex. And that he’s been stuck with it since he was ten. He wants to make love but can’t.”
Skorri scowled and rode in silence, ignoring the basalt pillars laced with white crystal and black obsidian that towered beside the trail like petrified giants. The idea of forced celibacy had horrified him.
“Wait up,” Ander called from behind. “There’s someone following us. Whoever it is, he’s moving fast.”
Thane twisted to look. A hundred feet back, Ander had brought his horse to a halt and was staring west. Skarn was a smudge in the distance. A plume of dust was rising where the trail from Skarn entered the foothills.
“Ride ahead and tell Erik to wait for us,” Thane told Skorri. He nodded and spurred his horse ahead to where his partner was scouting the trail.
Thane turned and backtracked. Shielding his eyes against the hot sun, he looked where Ander was pointing. Dust and boulders obscured the view, but he caught glimpses of a rider galloping away from Skarn at breakneck speed.
“Only one,” Ander said. “And he’s not trying to hide.”
The distant rider rounded a corner and pounded into view, less obscured by dust. This time Thane got a better look. “I think it might be Dannel.”
Ander squinted, then slowly nodded. “You’re right. But why? Last night he thought this journey was folly.”
“We’ll know soon enough.” He drank from his water skin, then handed it to Ander before waving at Skorri and Erik. The pair started back down the trail. Once together they dismounted and found shade beneath an upward-tilted slab.
Thirty minutes later, Dannel rode into the rock-strewn field where they waited. He reined in his horse and approached at a trot. His black leathers were soaked with sweat.
Thane walked forward to greet him. “I didn’t expect to see you again. I hope you’re not going to try stopping us.”
Dannel wiped his brow, pushing wet curls out of his eyes. His gaze flickered across the rest of the group, lingering a moment on the hunting bow Erik held at the ready, then returned to Thane. He looked somber, even frightened, but not threatening.
“I tried stopping you last night,” he said at last. “I failed. You and your friends might be fools, but I can’t fault your courage.”
“Then why are you here? Did you change your mind about coming with us?”
Dannel dismounted while the others clustered around. Erik watched the young guardian warily, and Skorri scrutinized him with morbid fascination.
“Well?” Thane asked again.
Dannel looked embarrassed but stood firm. “I dreamed about you last night,” he said at last. “You and Ander. I kept remembering how you made me feel. It hurt. I couldn’t think about anything else. Then the news this morning made me wonder whether you truly might be able to help me.” He sighed. “I’m not explaining this well. Maybe I’m the one who’s crazy.”
“What news?” Thane asked.
“The rumor is that hierophants met with a visitor last night. A traveler from Izmir. That’s where you’re from, isn’t it? I can tell by your accent.”
Thane stiffened but nodded. There was no use trying to deny it.
“They called the guardians together after morning exercise,” Dannel continued. “We’re to watch for a young man with gray eyes. Someone fine enough to warm the bed of royalty, they said. There’s a prize for his capture.” He paused, watching Thane closely. “For your capture?”
Thane’s stomach knotted, but Dannel wouldn’t be telling him this if he meant harm. “You’re not here to hunt a bounty,” he said. “But you still haven’t said what you’re seeking.”
Dannel looked at his feet, his body tense. Then he straightened and met Thane’s gaze head-on. “You fled your master. Even though you knew it might mean your death. Last night, I saw my own cowardice. I’ve never tried to escape. They bought my obedience with a bribe. But I can’t stand it any longer.”
“I couldn’t stand it either,” Skorri said. “You might as well be dead if—”
Erik’s kick to Skorri’s shin interrupted the outburst, but Dannel still blushed scarlet. Ander held out the water skin as a kind of peace offering. Dannel took a long drink before handing it back.
“I’ll show you the way to the Aerehoth Gate. Maybe you can free me from the firestone. If you can’t, your friend is right. I might as well be dead. At least I’ll die fighting for freedom, not serving my masters.”
Thane saw the determination in Dannel’s stance and the way his gaze lingered every time he looked at Ander. Newfound resolve might have led to Dannel’s decision, but desire was the heat that forged the resolve.
“We’re grateful for your help,” Thane said. “Welcome to our band. These two are Erik and Skorri.” Dannel bowed but didn’t offer the customary handclasp. His aversion to touching had apparently not changed.
“Apologize,” Erik whispered to Skorri.
He rolled his eyes but cleared his throat and dipped his head. “I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what it must be like. I mean, doesn’t it make you crazy, not to—”
“That’s enough,” Erik said, clamping a hand over Skorri’s mouth and giving Dannel a nod. “He means well. It’s just that he’s always horny.”
The tension went out of Dannel’s stance.
“Then we have something in common. No offense taken.” He turned to Thane. “We should be away. Whispers about gray-eyed boys are already filling Skarn, and the reward is generous. No one would dare search in the Forbidden Lands, but these hills won’t be safe.”
GIVEN the danger that would already be spilling out from Skarn, they rode as far as they could before night fell and the trail grew too treacherous. Stars glittered like jewels in the depths by the time they made camp beside a dry creek bed. Aspens lined the banks, drinking from an aquifer that dampened the soil even though no water flowed. They shared their rations, then spread their bedrolls near the campfire.
Despite their exhausting ride and the rapidly cooling night, Dannel insisted on going to a clearing to exercise and stretch. The others sat around the fire and watched in bemused admiration.
“How does he do that?” Skorri asked. “Not even acrobats can bend that far.”
“He’s been training since he was ten,” Thane said as he watched the young warrior balance on one foot with the other leg held straight out, his foot higher than his head.
“Where does he get the strength?” Erik asked. “He must be as tired as us.”
Thane leaned over and rubbed the hunter’s crotch. “Think how much energy you’d have if you never had sex. But there’s something more, a power in him.”
“You still think it’s because of that firestone?” Ander asked.
“Probably. But the stone’s still a mystery. We’ve always used crystals to work magic. Whatever the firestone is, it’s not a crystal.”
“How are you going to find out?” Skorri asked. “If he can’t have sex, you can’t use the art to learn about it.”
Thane nodded, watching Dannel move smoothly through his exercises. “He doesn’t even like being touched. The lack of love has made him wary, I think. Being touched torments him with hints of what he can’t have.”
“Then maybe we should do without too,” Ander said. “We don’t want to make him feel any worse than he already does.”
Skorri groaned. “For how long? It makes my stomach ache to think about it.”
