Mordred-Night Wolves

by Lisa Daniels

  She did not hear Hisa as he left, her mind completely focused on trying to prepare herself for what she would find within the cell. There was a small wall creating a strange entry way to the cell, almost as if the prisoner could not be trusted to be held by just bars. Within the cell, there were two lit candles on each side. Her eyes went to the bed, her heart beating so rapidly she thought it was going to explode.

  Her heart stopped.

  Cyprian lay on the bed, almost unrecognizable. His face was a patchwork of bruises and gashes, and several of his limbs were stuck at completely wrong angles. Without thinking, Noely ran to the bed, picked up a rag laying near the bucket and began cleaning the man off. The only sound Cyprian made were a few moans as she tried not to move his broken arm or legs. The gashes were deep, but she was able to get the blood off of his face. That was when she noticed the real horror of what they had done.

  A gentle hand reached up and touched her face. Noely placed her hand over his and closed her eyes as she started to cry.

  “Now, now,” the voice was faint but just as lovely as it had been that morning, “it’s not the first time I’ve lost my eyes.”

  Noely sobbed. Fighting the urge to bury her head on his chest, the young woman worked through the tears, trying to fix what she could. There were some incredibly strange things in the medical supplies, things that most humans would not need, but then perhaps Hisa knew that Cyprian was not human. Noely tried not to think as she tried to repair what she could.

  Her voice was choked as she said, “You need to eat.”

  The man said nothing.

  “I will add a couple of blankets under you so that you can sit up. I have soup so you won’t need to chew with your - oh.” For the first time, the young woman noticed that though the guards had done a lot of damage, they had not broken any of the man’s teeth.

  “No, no, they did. Broke my jaw too.” His hand was in her lap as she tried to move him as gently as possible into a sitting position. “But when I realized that he had brought you as my caretaker, I couldn't very well be unable to talk.”

  The young woman sobbed that despite his own condition, the shifter was thinking about her first. “Eat first.” Her voice was thick as she tried to spoon some of the soup. “I’ll help you. You are going to be alright. We both know that this isn’t so bad. You’ll be up and moving again before you know it.”

  The shifter shook his head. “Not this time.”

  Chapter 8

  Recalling the Debt

  Noely’s breath caught as she tried to process what the man had said. Of course she didn’t want to believe him, to even consider that the man could not heal. The captain had sounded incredibly concerned, and judging by the supplies, someone under him must have known that Cyprian wasn’t human. In fact, there were indications that Hisa knew. Still, there was no way that any of the people could have known exactly how quickly the shifter healed, so the fear of death expressed by the captain had been minimized by her knowledge of how adept the shifter was at recovering. Suddenly Hisa’s warning took on a much more ominous meaning.

  Please, whatever you may think of his abilities, the situation is very serious. What he needs goes well beyond the norm.

  The captain had been trying to tell her something. One look at Cyprian’s face, and Noely dropped her spoon and sobbed.

  She was aware that another hand was holding hers and she squeezed it a little. The gentle voice caught her off-guard. “Use one of the rags to cover my eyes. The sight will be less disturbing to you.”

  The young woman moved the tray to the side and picked up a rag almost like she was hypnotized. Instead of going through the rags, the young woman pulled up her dress and ripped off a large strip from her underclothing. With caution and a soft touch she placed the strip over his eyes and took the ends around to the back of his head. His hair was a complete mess, so before tying the corners together, she gently worked out a few of the tangles. Holding the rag with one hand, she dipped her hand in the water and tried to work out some of the blood mingled with his bluish-black hair. Even here in a dark cell, his hair shone and felt like silk. Tears ran down her face as Noely’s mind went back to the day before when she had untangled her hair from his. It was like she had been stabbed in the heart. Trying to suppress a sob, the young woman returned to her work.

  After a few moments of silence, she asked, “What can I do to make you heal? I mean, you were able to repair your mouth, so you should be able to heal the rest of yourself. Or did it take-”

  A cool finger pressed against her lips, and Noely closed her eyes for a moment. “Too many questions. And I forbid you from being concerned about me again. I will not be indebted again.”

  “Indebted?” It was like someone had jolted Noely. She pressed her hand against his and leaned toward Cyprian. “I don’t care about having you in my debt. I’m not trying to get you to repay me. What I want is for you to heal. There must be something I can do.” Bringing her legs up onto the bed, the young woman carefully rested near the shifter on the bed. He immediately moved away from her, despite the intense pain it must have caused him.

  His voice sounded strained. “That is not a good idea in my current state. It will be alright. I promise.”

  “You just need time to heal?” The hope in her voice was unmistakable.

  A faint smile spread across his bruised face, but Cyprian did not say anything else. Noely took that as a yes, and swung her legs off of the bed. “I will still take care of you until you are able to move on your own.”

  The shifter shook his head, “You have other things to do.”

  “Considering I was asked by one of the captains of our military to take care of you, I have a feeling that my responsibilities will be rearranged so that I can continue to take care of you.”

  “Then I will have to ask them to switch you for someone else.”

  “Why would you do that?” Noely could not hide the hurt in her voice that the shifter would suggest using someone else.

  “You know what they plan to do to me as soon as I am healthy enough to move. I do not want you to go through that.”

  Noely’s hands stopped what she was doing as the man spoke in a calm voice about his own death. “Surely there is something that can be done. I am not about to have you executed. Not after-” She stopped speaking before she could say anything that would embarrass herself. She had barely any exposure to the man, but the idea of him dying was entirely unacceptable to the young woman.

  He laughed for a moment, then used his good arm to hold his sides. From the way he moved, Noely knew that some of his ribs were broken. The shifter coughed and blood flecked the corners of his mouth. Tears started to roll down her checks as the maiden began cleaning the blood. “You hardly know me. What kind of loss would I be to you? A known spy of your adopted city stands no chance. Without Hisa’s interference the guards would have already killed me. No, it is best for you not to have any more to do with me.”

  For the first time in her life, Noely brought up the issue of repayment. “I don’t care how little I know you, or what has happened, but you owe me. Remember? You owe me and I will not sit back and watch you die while there is still a debt to be repaid.”

  A cold voice behind her caused Noely to spin around. “Is that what this is?” Standing in the door of the cell was the one person that terrified Noely – Captain Hisa.

  Chapter 9

  Collecting the Pieces

  Her throat was dry and her eyes wide as she looked into the black orbs of the captain. His arms were folded across his chest and the look on his face made Noely freeze. Nothing had prepared her for this kind of confrontation. She should have been more careful, she knew that, but the young woman found that her desperation had driven her to say things that she shouldn’t in a place where it was clearly dangerous to do so.

  The man paced around the entrance, his eyes boring into her. As he watched her it was so obvious that the whole thing had been a setup, and she had fallen for it with
out any kind of thought.

  The silence was nearly unbearable as the man’s eyes flicked back and forth between the pair. Finally, the man spoke, “Thank you very much for your assistance, Noely. We will see to you later. For now, I dare say that we have some very important business, Cyprian.”

  “The answer is still no, Hisa.” The shifter’s voice was far more forceful than the young woman had expected. Her eyes did not leave the captain as she reached behind her back and took Cyprian’s hand. She squeezed it to let him know that she would stay with him. He squeezed back, then pulled his hand out of hers.

  The captain let out an exasperated sound, and Noely felt as if the ground shook when he did. She backed up a little and placed a hand on the shifter, as if to protect him from the man.

  Hisa looked between them, then turned to face the door. “Carrington, I need you go find someone for me.”

  The soldier appeared just outside of Noely’s vision. “Yes sir.”

  The captain looked back at Noely. “Where is your date for the night?”

  There was a quick spluttering noise from Cyprian as Noely’s mouth dropped open. Quickly closing it, she ran a hand through her hair. “I am not going to let you get him involved in this.”

  The way the man moved was much more like a large animal stalking its prey than a man trying to intimidate someone. “I’m not sure at what point you think you have any say in this, but you will tell me where he is, or I will send all of my men out to scour the city for him. As much as it pains me to say, not all of my men are as refined as those I keep close to me, so I could not guarantee the state your Jaylon would be in when they got him here.”

  “Why would you-”

  “That is not meant as a threat. It is a plain statement of fact. Tell me where he is and Carrington will be incredibly pleasant in his request. Keep in mind, it will be much better for your friend’s reputation for a soldier to ask him to come willingly than for him to be beaten and dragged in. If that were to happen, he would likely lose his position in the palace, and how would that make you feel? Knowing that you caused his dismissal?”

  Noely’s mouth worked as she tried to say something, but it was Cyprian who spoke, “Leave her and her suitor out of this.”

  “He’s not my suitor,” she responded before anyone else could talk. Her eyes turned back to the captain, “If I tell you will I be able to negotiate something with you later?”

  The captain’s eyebrow shot up and a fleeting smile passed over his face as he stood up. His height was impressive as he looked down at her. “I make no promises about the future, but I can promise that Jaylon will have little reason to worry if you do tell me.”

  Cyprian’s voice was almost threatening as he said, “I told you to leave her out of this.”

  Hisa laughed as his eyes shifted from the young woman to the shifter, “I don’t think you are in any position to tell anyone what to do.”

  “I am warning you, Hisa.” Cyprian’s voice was like a solid wall of water at the mouth of a dam. It didn’t sound like it would take much for the man to snap, and even in his current state, Noely thought that the shifter had a good chance of winning.

  The captain laughed again, “Oh, please, by all means, I would love for you to come teach me a lesson, Cyprian. It would save me a hell of a lot of trouble. But you won’t, will you.” Noely watched as the shifter appeared to deflate at the words. “You need to work on your bluff if you want to hold any weight. Now, my dear,” Hisa turned his black eyes to the young woman, “where is Jaylon?”

  Swallowing hard, Noely knew that it was a difficult decision. She had no doubt that her friend was currently suffering right now, but the idea that his grief could be compounded made her make a hard decision. “We went to Saskia’s Sake where he ran into a friend of a friend.” The captain raised an eyebrow again, but said nothing. “He has just found out that one of his good friends has died, so I don’t know that he will be in a very good state to help serve tonight. Maybe if you asked him to come-”

  The captain turned around. “You heard her, Carrington?”

  “Yes, sir. I will start at Saskia’s and will bring him back within the hour.”

  “Very good.” The only sound after that was that of the soldier’s boots as he marched up the stairs and away from the trio.

  “Couldn’t you have left him alone tonight? Just one night to grieve for what he’s lost?”

  Hisa shook his head. “Things are about to get messy, and I really don’t want that boy against me when the time comes.”

  Noely looked up at the captain, confusion clearly written on her face. The captain moved over and picked up a chair. Placing it near the bed, he looked at the spy. “It looks like I made the right choice. Last time I saw you, your jaw and nose were broken and you were missing all of your front teeth. Funny how you can be persuaded to do something for yourself to help someone else.”

  “Dammit, Hisa, this is not one of your games.” Cyprian’s voice was venomous as he turned to face the captain.

  “No, because my games don’t involve getting nearly beaten to death and an executioner’s block.” He paused, then added, “Not usually, anyway.”

  “I am warning you, Hisa, this is not something I will negotiate.”

  “No one is asking for negotiations. I want you to come to your senses. Did you know,” the man turned to face Noely, startling her as he did so, “the only reason my men were able to catch this idiot was because he was insisting – and I do mean insisting, you will never see anyone pitch a fit like this guy – that he was going to pay back his debt? I’m just glad I was able to figure that one out this evening.”

  Noely looked between the two men and was suddenly completely confused. “I don’t understand what is happening.” Two hands reached out to pat her, one gently stroked her back while the other patted her hand resting in her lap. The captain snorted as he pulled his own hand back, “Do you know that little seaside city of Talto, just about 5 miles from here?”

  Noely nodded.

  “Well, they were attacked today by a strange ‘monster,’ the same one that has been reported by sailors for months now. Guess Yuezhi isn’t going to be able to ignore that problem for much longer either. And I say good luck to them trying to settle a Kraken. But this strange serpent-like creature materialized out of nowhere and drove that horrible beast away. I am not claiming to be an expert, mind you, but Krakens are not known for running away, and I do know that has only happened twice before now. And do you know what drove the Kraken away both times then?”

  Noely shook her head.

  “A strange serpent-like creature that came out of nowhere. It’s almost as if this creature isn’t afraid of a Kraken. A Kraken! If I were to ask you what the five beasts you would not want to encounter are, I have no doubt that a Kraken would be up at the top of that list.”

  Noely looked at the man as if he had lost his mind, but given the situation, she felt it best not to upset him. Instead she played along. “Well, yes, right under dragon. I think a dragon would be more terrifying because there is nowhere you can go to escape a dragon.”

  The captain gave her a surprised look, his eyes shifting toward Cyprian, then back to the young woman. “Surely you can find safety in the water away from a dragon, or just go into a small opening. That is what I hear they do in Senses and Volsci.”

  Noely shook her head, “Sure that will get you away from the fire breathers, but those are hardly the only kinds of dragons.”

  The man rested an elbow on the table and looked at her as he rested his chin in his hands. “You don’t say.”

  “Hisa.” Cyprian’s voice was a warning that the captain simply waved away.

  Noely had gotten started though, and it was an area in which she had some very intimate knowledge. “Fire breathers are the most common, but they tend to keep to themselves over in Senones and Volsci. Over here we have much stranger kinds who are much more adept at not being found by humans. In Kanza we would see ice dragons a couple
of times a year, and the ground dragons were always one of my favorites. I even got to pet one when I was little.”

  The captain’s eyes had widened when the young woman mentioned Kanza, and now he seemed completely enraptured by her words. So she continued, “I heard there are a few other types, but we never saw them, not in our little village. I had always hoped to see a water dragon, though, because we lived by the sea. It seemed like it was bound to happen someday, but even the eldest people in Kanza could not remember the last time a water dragon had been spotted.”

  A wide grin covered the captain’s face. “Surely they were picking on you when they said those things. Who has ever heard of non-fire-breathing dragons?”

  “Hisa, that is enough.” Cyprian’s voice was forceful as Noely turned to look at him. He was sitting up without any assistance.

  “There you go, Cyprian. I knew you had it in you. Noely, I must ask you to please keep it up. That old fool is hell bent on self-destruction, so I need you to make sure he doesn’t have the chance to achieve it.”