Squire of War

by M. H. Johnson

  Ubel’s ugly henchmen gazed at Sable with hungry eyes, licking their lips, hands gripping their pants like claws.

  Ubel’s laughter, sharp and cruel, rang through the baths. “And what a wonderful harlot you would be, Sable. But I have no need of your pleasures. Enough girls here shudder at my presence and do as they’re told. And there are far, far sweeter vices than your flesh could ever be, Sable.” His mocking features turned to a hard glare. “No deal, Plaga whore. We will take your child, as we were sworn, and all the power such a sacrifice entails!”

  “No!” Sable screamed.

  In the blink of an eye, Ubel had unsheathed his blade, whipping it through the air with such speed it was by a trembling Sable’s neck faster than she could sob.

  Jess hissed, terror and fury coursing through her, chilled to see the giant of a man move so fast. So vile. Hard to believe he was no older than her.

  Jess felt her heart soar with desperate relief.

  Even though Sable trembled, her flesh did not bleed from the blade pressed so gently against it.

  Ubel jerked his head around. Furious yellow-grey eyes glaring into Jess's.

  “Tell your whore to back off, Mord.”

  And Jess blinked. Chilled to find that as fast as Ubel had moved, she had matched, her blade of wood and thorn kissing his neck. So instinctive was her training, she was only aware of her furious burst of speed after the fact, the tremble of his jugular pressed against killing thorns resonating through her grip.

  But a single slash, and the room would be filled with his blood.

  “And I will slash open this wench you so clearly crave, Calenbry, before my blade tears open your bowels, and all three of us can die together! But unlike you and her, I will rise, stronger than before. Claiming your screaming souls as my own!”

  Massive yellow teeth shown in an eager grin. “Make the first cut, Calenbry. Let the dance begin.”

  “Jess, back off!” Such desperation. She would hardly have expected it of ever arrogant Mord.

  With a trembling breath, Jess stepped back.

  Ubel smirked, shaking his head at a sobbing Sable. “Here you are, raised to our ways, and Calenbry already understands this game better than you. But that doesn’t surprise me. After all, you are no innocent either, are you, Calenbry? Amazing how your barony went from hardscrabble wasteland hardly suitable for sheep to the lushest province in the kingdom in a matter of decades, is it not?”

  With contemptuous chuckle, he stepped away from Sable, resheathing his blade once more. “Your king’s grand gesture, giving his general territories exceeding most duchies, meant nothing, decades ago. Your father, whose only claim to wealth was fertile orchards adjoining the northern wastes. Wastes the king was all too happy to grant him, so a savvy man firmly in his pocket would keep it free of Velheim incursion.

  “And now when the dukes who fail to understand the dark games in play realize what a treasure they let slip from their fingertips, that Arthur might have been cuckolded but never plays the fool, the land granted not an endless source of drudgery but rather of endless harvests, of course those dukes and their pawns are now eager to break your clan at every turn.”

  Ubel gave a contemptuous shake of his head. “Your father was brilliant, but arrogant to deny himself the strength of the Dark Council for so very long. And unforgivably arrogant to forge alliances with the Plaga clan alone, when the Niedrigs are in ascendance!”

  Jess lurched, off balance, horrified by the knowing smile Ubel flashed her. “How?”

  Ubel snorted and spat. “Are you really so foolish, Calenbry? Do you not think we keep tabs on unorthodox surges of power? Meteoric rises to wealth and prestige manifesting for no apparent reason?” He glared. “My clan keeps track of all the pieces on the board. And if you are wise, Calenbry, you will break off all covenant with the Plagas, and come to my quarters on your hands and knees.” He chuckled softly. “I will show you what true power is then, and you will delight in utter submission.”

  Jess felt her guts lurch, looking into his pockmarked, leering countenance. With a final mocking laugh he stormed off, his two lackeys at his back, one smelling of the midden heaps, the other of spice.

  With soothing murmurs, she gathered a sobbing Sable in her arms, helping her to robe herself, bath forgotten. “Oh Jess, by all the gods above!”

  Jess held her for some moments, locking gazes with Mord, shaken and horrified by all she had heard. She blinked. Never before had she seen Mord gaze at anyone so tenderly as he did his sister at that moment. He seemed almost human.

  Jess’s racing heart eased as the threat of imminent death appeared to have past, yet the dark insinuations Ubel had let slip chilled her to the quick.

  “What the hell are you all playing at?” Jess hissed.

  Malek’s lips hardened. “Not here, Jess. Come. Let’s see Sable safely squared away.

  But a shaking Sable was not so easily consoled. “Oh gods, Mord, what are we going to do? They still know! After all we did… they still know!”

  “Silence!” Malek hissed. “You know how important that is.”

  Jess frowned, gazing all around. She turned to her familiar.

  Twilight dipped his head, oddly still for some moments, his tale bobbing back and forth. “No eyes mystic or vile gaze upon us at this moment, mistress.”

  “Thank you, Twilight.” Jess turned to Sable, shuddering to see the dark lines of corruption struggling to entwine her beautiful soul.

  Jess hissed and turned away.

  “Jess? Heavens' mercy, please don’t turn from me now!”

  Jess grimaced and forced herself to face her, seeing naught but a beautiful girl once more, desperately afraid for her child.

  Throat dry, she forced herself to speak. “You play dark games, Sable. No. Don’t flinch. Don’t turn away. You need to hear this. Say nothing, Mord!” She snapped, Mord blinking and stepping back, unspoken words swallowed, listening to her for once.

  Jess turned back to an awed Sable. “I do not know what foul games you play, nor do I want to. I can only tell you this. You need to cut all ties. You dare not stay. Whatever alliances your jaded clans have all forged, it is somehow… corrupting you. But you still have free will, Sable, you can still get out!”

  Raw and vulnerable, Sable’s jaded smile had been replaced with a girl’s naked fear. “Julia, Jess. If… Oh gods, our souls are in peril no matter what!”

  Jess gave a furious shake of her head. “I know not what Ubel was raving about, but I can tell you this. The sins of the sire are not those of his offspring. Your father can sign his soul away, gods save us all if the lords of Erovering are actually engaging in such foul practices, but he has no truck over your soul, or Mord’s, or Julia’s.

  Jess swallowed even as Sable blanched.

  She said it, she knew. But she would not shame Sable until she was ready to say it aloud herself.

  “Oaths, Jess. Goddess help me, I have made promises...”

  Jess kissed her forehead. “Consider yourself released,” she whispered.

  Sable shuddered and lurched back, swallowing. “Jess, please, this is no game!”

  Jess’s gaze hardened. “Leave. No enemy can compel you to follow orders if they fail to reach you. Just as no commander can castigate troops who never received their orders. You need but assure you never hear their demands.”

  Twilight smirked. “Stretching the mandates to their breaking point, but it is permissible, I suppose. Sable is your piece, dangerous a game as free will is. You are well within your rights to protect her when a threat manifests itself upon the board.”

  Jess frowned, but kept her focus on her friend. “Protect the ones you love, Sable. There is no more sacred duty than that, no higher calling. Protect them. Let that be your duty. Break off all other games, all other distractions, and you can blossom free and whole, dark vines withering away to nothing.”

  Sable blinked, gazing at Jess so intently, with such fragile hope, that Jess found herself blushing a
nd looking away.

  A soft hand gently brushed Jess’s cheek. “Maybe there is merit to what you say. Thank you, Jess. I will think about it.” Sable turned to Mord, utterly still, gazing at Jess with such intensity that it left her breathless.

  “Come, Mord, let’s leave this place. The faster the better.”

  Mord flashed a bleak smile. “To the Healers Wing, then.” He turned to gaze at the comatose figure splayed upon the floor, which Jess was relieved to see was breathing, letting loose a loud snore. “If this fool hadn’t fallen asleep when she should have been watching out for you, Ubel would never have gotten the drop on you.”

  Sable glared, Jess catching sight of the wine flask by the servant’s hand. “She was passed out when I got here. Convenient, I thought, for a private bath, and more the fool I.”

  Jess caught Mord’s gaze. “Don’t kick her. She’s not trained for it, and you could rupture an organ and kill her with a blow you or I would shrug off, wearing gambesons, our muscles tensed to counter. There has been enough folly this evening.”

  Mord’s gaze hardened, before giving the slightest of nods. “I’ll deal with this fool another time. But you’re right, Jess. We have more pressing issues before us.”

  He locked gazes with her then. Jess swallowed, heart racing still, knowing exactly what those issues were.

  And soon enough Mord and Jess had led a still shaken Rowan to the Healers Wing. She gazed at her brother, curious blush touching her cheeks. “Mord, I...”

  Mord smirked. “I know you favor him, Sable. And Liam’s not a complete ass, for all that he fell in his first engagement. Most importantly, Julia’s safe in the Healers Wing. It is the only spot I trust in this whole damned college to keep her safe.”

  Her cheeks flushed in a smile. “Thank you, Mord. You're one of the very few I can trust.”

  “But don’t you ever do anything stupid like that again!” Mord roared, Sable blanching. “If you need to take a bath so damned bad, tell me. Or Jess. Or Liam, if he’s sufficiently healed to actually protect you.” His gaze turned hot. “And you may rest assured, that bastard won’t be bothering you again.”

  Sable swallowed. “Please, Mord. Please. Don’t do anything foolish. You know the consequences would be horrific.” She turned to Jess, pinning her with a hope-filled gaze. “Besides. There just might be a way to keep us safe. Trust me, all right, brother?”

  Mord sneered. “For you alone, sister. For you alone.

  Sable smiled at that, kissing her brother’s cheek, squeezing Jess’s hand. “Thank you. Thank you both.”

  A gentle knock, a sleepy-eyed healer answering the door, smiling and bowing Sable in before closing the door behind him, pointedly ignoring the weapons and armor worn before him.

  Jess sighed, relieved beyond words that the girl was now safe.

  She flinched as a powerful hand squeezed her arm, Mord’s intense gaze locking upon her own.

  “You and I need to talk. Now.”

  Jess couldn't agree more.

  “What the hell just happened, Mord?”

  Yet despite the words of a moment ago, he just shook his head, refusing to say a word as they raced down winding corridors until Jess found herself beside her own quarters once more, the hallway free of any student or proctor.

  Jess blinked and frowned, Mord now pinning her a cold little smile that didn't touch his glittering eyes. She swallowed, realizing how vulnerable she was before a fully armed and armored Mord, her hand tightening upon her sword of wood and thorns.

  Mord smirked. "Don't be pathetic, Calenbry."

  "Then back off, Mord. I'm not Usel, so don't glare at me as if you want to cut my head off."

  Mord chuckled softly. "That would be one way to keep certain secrets secret." He smirked even as Jess felt her heart pound frantically in alarm, before his eyes turned flinty. "But I don't stab people in the back who do me a good turn. You did well, coming to Sable's aid. I won't forget that when it's finally time for you to wear the dress and collar." Handsome lips curved into a cold smirk. "I will be far gentler with you than my father was when he broke in his concubines, I promise you that."

  He loomed over her, whispering as she lurched. "Who knows, Calenbry? You might even find you like it. Some women do. Others grow to like it, especially when laudanum is the prize they yearn for, the sweet reward for obeisance, abstinence being an agony to them far worse than the whips and bindings that are but a form of delicious play."

  "Back off, Mord!" Jess snarled, a hot bolt of fury roaring through her, shoving a fully armored Mord back so hard he slammed into the stone wall behind him, protected by his considerable armor, though now gazing at her with stunned surprise.

  "Jess, now!"

  Jess blinked, realizing at once what Twilight meant, sliding past her suddenly pliant door and slamming it in the face of a suddenly roaring Mord, her nemesis hammering the door with fist and foot before abruptly laughing with darkest glee.

  "What fine games we play, my prize. You shall whelp strong get! For you alone I shall line a collar with softest silk, see if I don't"

  Jess shuddered even as she sensed Mord whistling a merry tune that slowly faded away, as if satisfied with his move upon a board only he could see.

  Jess frowned even as she shivered, find solaced in the familiar contents of her room, cabinets and armoire of finest oak, her hardwood bed lined with feather stuffed mattress and downy soft pillows, her study table covered in military treatises that fascinated her and the tomes of other courses she hadn't cracked open in months, colorful tapestries and rugs of wool a pleasing sight for restless eyes. Yet as her mind relentlessly went over the night's events, certain things became painfully clear.

  "Bloody hells. He played me, didn't he? It's plain as day that he, Usel, and poor Sable are up to their necks in foulest intrigue, yet instead of answering my questions, he shows me such an ugly side of himself that it's all I can do to escape his presence!"

  Twilight flashed an enigmatic grin. "Interesting how that happens, isn't it?"

  Jess's brows furrowed at that. "What do you mean, Twilight?"

  Her familiar shrugged. "It's not the first time he's thrown you off the scent, nor is it the first time he's insinuated darkest connections."

  Jess frowned. "What should we do?"

  Twilight tilted his head. "Considering that accusations of diabolism will result in the destruction of his entire family, or yours for levying such vile slander, and considering that Sable and her child are both perilously vulnerable with not a single ally in their corner save you, Liam, and Mord himself, I say we do nothing."

  Jess frowned. "Nothing?"

  Twilight nodded. "Nothing that would put Sable or her babe at risk, nothing that would put you or your clan at risk." Her cat flashed a teasing grin. "When he actually has you writhing in bondage, desperate for laudanum as he torments you with darkest passions, then we can act with a killer's grace. But tell me, Jess, even with those vile insinuations, did you sense malice parting from his lips?"

  Jess swallowed, forced to shake his head. "Not a trace. Perhaps that's why his words shook me so. the vile taunt was completely unexpected."

  "Yet perfect for throwing you off balance. You fleeing him, not the other way around, as he avoided your questions yet again."

  Jess clenched her fists. "Damn it, he's playing me. His taunt was nothing but a feint, a bluff as he retreated."

  "Pretty much. In any case it's been a long night, and you could use some rest if you're going to be worth anything tomorrow."

  Jess couldn't hold back a rueful chuckle, putting away her gear and slipping at last under cool linen sheets, gazing fondly at the brilliant moon from her open windows before sinking at last into deepest sleep.

  21

  Come, my queen, the sun has risen and new adventures await.

  Jess blinked herself awake, flashes of the day before coming to her as she washed face and hands at her basin before donning fresh attire. “Aren’t Alex and Jera heading off today
on an unofficial expedition exploring the boundaries of whatever enchantment gives us constant good weather?” She smirked. “Endless summer. And wouldn’t that be a dream come true. I swear, by day, his theory sounds about as sensible as a child’s fable.”

  Twilight grinned. “Or perhaps you have been trapped for years in endless summer, forever a beautiful young damsel just on the cusp of adulthood even as your soul quickens with a woman’s wisdom, your body potent with a warrior’s skill.”

  Feline shoulders flowed into an effortless shrug. “Or perhaps Alex is just bored, and is looking for something exciting to do that gets him off school grounds. Either way, they will at least get some fresh air for a few days.” For a moment she was touched by the plate of beans and rice waiting for her upon a delicate hardwood stand someone had left just outside her door, somehow just knowing it had been left by shy, affectionate Abe. As awkward and clumsy as he could be, he truly was one of the sweetest students she had ever met.

  She frowned then, gazing at the beans more closely.

  “Is something wrong, my mistress?”

  Jess shrugged. “You mean besides the fact that now I have to worry about Abe getting himself killed if Mord suddenly sees him as competition?"

  "Yes, besides that."

  Jess frowned. "I think the helpers undercooked the beans. Worse, I sense that there was some mold in this crop. Nothing fatal, but stomach cramps are a certain risk. Thorough cooking is the only way to eat them safely. Even better would be an uncontaminated sack of beans."

  Jess winked at her grinning familiar. “Don’t worry, I’ll give you full credit for the discovery. The less people know about my knack, the happier Eloquin will be.”

  Twilight dipped his head. “Your tactics are sound, and your sense of all things that grow under the sun is beyond reproach, my mistress. Too bad the same can’t be said for your luck with suitors.”

  Jess grimaced her agreement, changing as quickly as she could into her Highrock uniform, her exotic thorny sword of wood put away and a far more mundane baton put in its place and she was off, enjoying the scent of warm summer air, the feel of the morning sunlight caressing her features as she raced by the numerous opened windows, pointedly ignoring the occasional frown sent her way, focused only on those students whose eyes were lit with the warmth of friendship, calling out jovial greetings to her, which she always returned in kind.