Betrayer's Bane

by Michael G. Manning

  Kate blinked, “When?”

  “When we killed that warden, and you gave me a speech about killing chickens and dogs, or something like that,” he said bluntly. “I had never seen that side of you, and frankly I wondered if you were a few cards shy of a full deck.”

  “I guess I was a little crazy then,” she admitted. “I was young and full of passion, and you were all I thought about. The world seemed empty if it didn’t have you in it. It’s kind of embarrassing to think about it now.”

  “You were scary. You know what I did then, when I realized I didn’t understand you? When I thought you might be insane?” he asked.

  Kate almost chuckled, “Yeah, you stole the horse, ran off, and left me with a bloody mess to clean up.”

  Leaning over he kissed her ear, “That’s true, but I meant after that. I spent the rest of my life loving you. I loved you when you were crazy, and later, when I discovered you were definitely a lot saner than I was, I kept loving you.”

  Despite herself Kate felt a warm flush rising as his lips and words touched her ears. “When did you decide I was saner than you?”

  Teeth grazed her neck and a shiver went down her spine, but Tyrion answered between his nibbling, “When I returned, and you told me that you were a mother and that your responsibilities to your family were more important than what you felt for me. It was the saddest moment of my life, and yet I admired you, I loved you even more for it.”

  Kate gasped before turning her lips to find his. Her body was reacting, and she could feel the heat rising within her. Damn him! We are supposed to be talking. She ignored that thought and ran her hand down his spine, letting her nails lightly rake his skin. “I’m still going to be angry after this.” Her hand had moved on to grasp the center of his pleasure.

  He gasped, “I wasn’t just trying to distract you. I wanted you to know that my priorities have changed.”

  She stopped. “What does that mean?”

  “That my love for you, for Inara, for my children, that my duty to my family, is more important than my hatred for the She’Har.”

  She could still see the madness lurking behind his eyes, but she also felt the truth in his voice. If nothing else is true, let that one thing be enough. Daniel’s strong hands pressed her down onto the bed, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. It has to be enough.

  Chapter 6

  Tyrion and Kate didn’t emerge from the bedroom until almost noon, and when they did, the first order of business was food. Tyrion ate like a man who had been starving for months.

  He had had food, of course, but his extended experience as a tree trapped in a rocky cave had left him feeling malnourished. He had finished most of the few remaining rations after he had returned to himself, but during the trip back he and Brigid had been forced to rely only on what they could hunt. That hadn’t been a problem, meat was easy to get when you were a mage, but vegetables had been lacking.

  Once that was taken care of, he sent Sarah out to find her siblings. Kate took Inara and Eldin from Layla, thanking her for the break, and Tyrion made a point of spending a short time playing with his small son before the others arrived.

  Every time he looked at Eldin however, he could only think about the fact that the child was doomed to be childless. He was a genetic dead end, and ultimately so were all the humans in the slave camps of the She’Har. They can let us have the slaves and laugh about it later, because they know that in the end we will be right back where we started—no magic, no power, and ultimately doomed.

  The only magic humanity would possess was that passed on by his own offspring, and none of them would have the special gifts that those from the groves had. Unless I can find a way around that. He had an idea, but it was dangerous in the extreme, and he knew that Kate wouldn’t approve. He wasn’t even certain if some of his children would go along with it, and they were all committed to the cause.

  Layla wouldn’t have an issue with it, he thought to himself, but she’s a complete psychotic. Brigid would be fine with it as well, for similar reasons. But he needed more than just those two. In particular he would need assistance from some of his sons. And Emma, of course. She would be absolutely necessary for almost everything he wanted to accomplish.

  A half hour passed before they were all assembled in the common room, his thirteen nearly adult children and Layla. Tyrion activated the privacy enchantment built into the walls of the room, and then he turned to Layla, “Create a privacy screen if you would. Make sure no sounds enter or leave this room.”

  That elicited some odd looks from them, but Layla did it without question.

  He stood and looked over them, “I’m sure you have some questions, but I’ll address the first one on your minds. The reason I asked Layla to create a secondary screen within the enchantment was to make absolutely certain that no one could eavesdrop on this conversation. I’ve recently gained a lot of new information, and I want to make sure our enemy doesn’t learn that.

  “I would also bet that many of you are wondering where I’ve been, but you’ll be disappointed. If you don’t already know, I won’t be discussing it. If you do know, you will not discuss it either. Nothing said here today is to leave this room. No one who isn’t present at this moment is to be told anything I tell you today. Is that clear?”

  Abby held up a hand, and when he nodded at her she spoke, “Except Kate, right?”

  Tyrion’s face was as hard as flint, “Did I say, ‘except Kate’?”

  “Well, no, I just thought…”

  He stopped her there, “Since it isn’t clear, I will explain. If anyone here talks to anyone outside of this room about this, I will kill them, and I don’t give a rat’s ass whether it’s Kate, or Lyra, or your families back in Colne. This stays here!”

  A long pause followed, and once that had sunk in he continued, “After this meeting I will give additional information to each of you, specific assignments, tasks, that sort of thing. You won’t discuss that information with anyone else unless they are also present when I give you your instructions, nor will you ask your brothers or sisters about what their tasks are. Do any of you understand my purpose in giving you such strict rules?”

  Anthony Long made a shrewd guess, “You’re worried that one or more of us will eventually be questioned?”

  Tyrion smiled, “Tortured, mind-raped, questioned, or otherwise forced to talk to the enemy, yes, that is exactly my thinking. What you don’t know you can’t divulge. Is there anyone here who isn’t still committed to our purpose? Is there anyone who doesn’t understand who our enemy is?”

  No one spoke.

  “I’m not going to punish you. If there’s anyone here who doesn’t feel strongly about destroying the She’Har, speak now. I’ll let you leave, so long as you don’t interfere or discuss our goals with the enemy.”

  He waited again, but there were no takers for his offer. Most of them showed a solid resolve on their faces and in their auras. Only Abby displayed any hint of doubt. Dear Abby, he thought, always the tender hearted one. He didn’t doubt her commitment to their cause, though. She was still feeling uncomfortable about keeping Kate in the dark. I’ll make sure her job is the easiest, and that whatever she learns is safe for Kate to know.

  He wouldn’t tell her that, of course. Sometimes even people with an overly developed sense of compassion were useful.

  “I am going to increase the intake of people from the slave camps. In fact, I intend to bring most of them here within a year, so our work is about to get a lot more frantic…”

  “Sir!” said Ryan, standing up from his seat, “We aren’t nearly ready for that many people. We won’t be for years…

  Tyrion held up a hand, “I know that, allow me to explain. We won’t be bringing them here to educate them, or try to civilize them. We will be bringing them here as slaves, and slaves they will remain. The first groups will be used for labor to create lodgings and farms to support those who follow.”

  “Then they might a well stay
where they are,” objected Ryan. “Why are we wasting so much effort if we aren’t going to free them?” Layla nodded agreement from where she sat.

  “Because we need an army, we need laborers, and most importantly, we need weapons,” said Tyrion coolly.

  Violet looked confused, “You want to use them to make weapons?”

  No, they will ‘be’ my weapons, thought Tyrion. He shook his head negatively, “They will serve in many capacities, but they will be tools. I need their unique gifts, and I need more manpower.”

  Layla spoke then, “So after all you have said before, you intend to keep my people as slaves. How does this make you different than the She’Har?”

  “You will be in charge of them,” said Tyrion, “and we will remove their collars.” He could see the gears turning in Layla’s head already, and he fought to contain a smirk. The female warden was a product of her upbringing, and power definitely appealed to her.

  After a moment she spoke again, “We cannot control them without collars. There are too many, and some of them are stronger than I am. They only respond to strength.” It was a surprising admission from the warden. Back in Ellentrea it would have been unthinkable to admit to any weakness.

  “As I mentioned before,” responded Tyrion, “I have come to learn a lot of new information. I now know exactly how the collars were constructed. I cannot duplicate them, but I can create an enchantment that will allow us to do many of the same things. We can mark them with it, and I will give each of you a matching command enchantment to make certain they obey.”

  That piqued Layla’s interest, “What will the enchantment do?”

  Death and pain should be enough, thought Tyrion, best to keep it simple. “We can discuss that later after I break you into groups. I have one main piece of information to share with all of you before that, though.”

  He had their full attention then.

  “You already know the past. You know what they’ve forced us to do, the fighting and killing. I’ve told you about the war with humanity, when they first came. I’ve learned more about that, and I intend to return the favor, but more importantly, you need to know the truth of this treaty they’ve signed with us.

  “When they told me that they’d free the slaves, allowing us to build a new community, I thought perhaps they were sincere. The She’Har are cruel, but usually in ignorance, or so I believed. What I have recently learned is that the people of Ellentrea, Sabortrea, Garoltrea, and Baratrea, have been poisoned, not in the common sense of the word, but genetically…”

  Violet held up a hand, “Genet—what word is that?”

  “It’s a word I first heard from Thillmarius, though I didn’t understand it then,” began Tyrion. “It’s a human term, one used by our ancestors to describe the way traits are passed down from parent to child.” And I understand it a damn sight better now, he thought silently. “It’s too much to explain now, but this is how what they’ve done works. Those sired by male children of the She’Har can have children of their own, but those children will give rise to only stillborn offspring.”

  He caught Layla’s stare, “You were sired by a Prathion She’Har, were you not?”

  Her eyes were wide, “I was raised in the pens. There was no way for me to know…”

  “You were,” said Tyrion, pressing on though he knew the words were more painful than daggers. “If not, you would never have given birth to Eldin. Your son will never have children of his own; if he tries they will miscarry or be stillborn. This is the ‘gift’ the She’Har have given us.”

  Tyrion turned his gaze back to the others, “The only humans who can reproduce successfully are those who are in Colne, Lincoln, and in this room, and only we can give magic to the future human race.

  “What may be less obvious is what would happen if the people of Colne and Lincoln were allowed to mix with the people of the slave camps. By freeing them, the She’Har all but guaranteed our extinction. It would have taken at least a generation or two before the result of their genetic tinkering was evident. There are not many people left as it is, interbreeding with the slaves would have reduced our numbers several times over.

  “Humanity would not have survived that final blow, and they knew it!” finished Tyrion.

  “How did you learn all this?!” asked Piper suddenly.

  “I stole their secrets,” answered Tyrion, “but I won’t share how. If they were to learn the slightest hint of that, they would wipe us out. The more important question is what we will do about it now that we know?”

  Brigid activated the tattoos on her arms, showing the razor sharp aythar that sheathed her arms to the others. Her eyes were fever bright, and a feral grin was on her face.

  “There aren’t enough of us,” reminded Abby cautiously.

  “There are almost a hundred thousand mages living in the slave camps,” countered Tyrion.

  Anthony broke in then, “Even if we make all of them into soldiers, it still isn’t enough, not to mention that we won’t be able to protect the people of Colne and Lincoln. Assuming you’re serious about preserving our race.”

  Anthony’s statement surprised Tyrion. The boy was one of the quieter ones among his children, quiet and thoughtful. He took several steps forward, bringing himself closer. “You’re right Anthony. It isn’t enough, but I’m not going to make them soldiers, or at least, not just soldiers. That won’t be your job, however. I intend to put you in charge of protecting those people you just mentioned.”

  ***

  “What I am about to show you is based on the spellweave that the She’Har use to preserve fallen victors in the arena, to keep them from dying before a healer can see to them,” explained Tyrion. “I call it a stasis enchantment, and it has a lot of very handy uses.” Four of his children stood around him attentively, Anthony Long, Ashley Morris, Violet Price, and Blake Cruz.

  “It looks complicated,” commented Ashly. “You want us to learn this?”

  His gaze was flinty as he looked down on the stocky girl. Ashley had never been as quick to learn as most of his other children. He blamed that on her mother, Peggy. That woman was so dense I probably needn’t have bothered using magic to seduce her.

  Nonetheless, he still felt a certain fondness for the girl. She had a small upturned nose that was cute despite her overly wide cheekbones. Combined with a sprinkling of freckles, pale eyes, and blond hair, she was somehow adorable despite being the least attractive of his daughters.

  His expression showed no hint of affection toward her, however, and she wilted under his stare. She mumbled an apology, “Sorry, Father.”

  “A dog could learn this, if it was shown enough times,” he said bluntly. “I expect you to do far better. The pattern looks complicated, but if you look closely it repeats after this stretch here. Keep the geometry of the pattern in alignment, and you can adjust the number or repetitions to cover containers of almost any size.”

  Anthony spoke then, “Is that what we will be making, containers? And if so, what size?”

  Tyrion stretched out his hand, and using a fine line of aythar he sketched a long rectangle in the dirt. “Most will need to be about six feet in length and three feet wide, but there will be some variation…”

  “Like coffins?” put in Violet. She was the most artistic of his children, which was one reason he had chosen her for the job. She had a good eye for detail which made her a natural when it came to enchanting.

  “Exactly like coffins,” he agreed, “made of stone.”

  Everyone groaned then, for they knew it would mean frequent trips to the quarry. While magic made cutting and moving heavy slabs much easier than it was using traditional methods, it was still extremely tiring.

  “You aren’t planning to bury all of our enemies are you?” joked Blake.

  Tyrion lifted one brow, “That would be impractical.”

  “So what will you store in them?” asked Anthony.

  “Bodies.”

  Violet sighed, “So they are coffins?”


  “No, they’ll be alive. If you’ll recall, I told Anthony earlier that he would be in charge of protecting the villagers,” reminded Tyrion.

  Four teenaged wizards stared at him with mouths agape. “That’s several thousand people!” exclaimed Anthony after a second of reflection. “We can’t make that many!”

  “You’ll have help.”

  “Even if all of us work on them, we couldn’t make enough…” began Violet.

  “Think about it a moment,” said Tyrion.

  The four of them looked at one another for almost a minute before Violet’s face lit up, “Oh! I see.”

  “What?” asked Blake.

  Anthony filled in the blank for him, “Slaves.”

  ***

  Most of the afternoon was taken up giving instructions to each group. After starting the stasis enchantment assignment, he moved on to assign Thaddeus and Sarah to convincing the villagers to relocate.

  Of course, ‘relocate’ was a euphemism, and strictly speaking they had a considerable amount of time to get the villagers moving, a lot of preparations had to be finished before they could actually take them.

  Layla and Ian would be tasked with managing the influx of slaves. Tyrion had made it especially clear that his son was to defer to Layla. Ian’s cruel temperament would make him ideal for the job, but he lacked her sensibility.

  Emma and Ryan, along with Piper and Blake would oversee the construction of the new living quarters and ‘other’ more sensitive locations. The biggest part of the job would be handled by Emma, under her brother, Ryan’s watchful eye. However, the details and cleanup would require a lot of effort to finish after her part was done. Piper and Blake would handle the labor, with a lot of assistance from the newly rehomed slaves of the She’Har.

  Once he had finished giving orders, Tyrion headed back to the main house and his shadow, Brigid, fell in beside him.

  “You do not intend to use me?” she asked as they walked.

  “Do you want to build boxes or dig holes?” he asked her.