A Kiss of Magic: A Kiss of Magic Book One

by Jacquelyn Frank

  “Be careful,” she murmured.

  Then she fell asleep.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Dendri, Ky and Jal rode the entire day. It was unnerving to see just how close to the capitol Delongo was. A day’s ride—about two day’s march—was not far at all. But Delongo had not made moves toward the capitol, instead circling it slowly, pillaging the villages and towns in a perfect circumference. They had just taken over a town called Vannendale the day before, entrenching themselves in the buildings of the town.

  Delongo, from what they could see at a distance in the dark, was holed up in the Vannendale Inn. It was the central building and it was by far the most comfortable in the town. Multiple beds provided adequate shelter and comfort for Delongo and all of his most trusted men.

  If such men could ever be trusted.

  The best time to go after Delongo was when he was asleep. When his guard was down and his defenses were for naught. But sensing such a moment could give Dendri away. Just the act of sensing if he was asleep could alert him to their presence.

  So the best thing to do would be to enter the mind of another close to him. One close enough to see him fall asleep. But selecting such a person would be tricky. Any halfway decent majji would know they were being invaded. One of the first things they learned was how to keep others out. Just as he had taught Yasra to keep others out. She was not yet strong enough to sense when someone was making a purposeful intrusion, but that was a short time in coming.

  So that meant a non. But if Delongo were wise, he wouldn’t be keeping any nons that close to him. And Delongo was anything but stupid.

  “I can go in there as smoke,” Jal said.

  “No. You would be seen or smelled.”

  “They’re bound to be cooking something,” he argued. “Or have a fire in the hearth. They could easily mistake me for burning wood.”

  Dendri thought about that a moment. Not all Torrenic majji could turn into smoke. It was a very advanced skill only high level majji could master.

  “But smoke or no, you’ll still have your thoughts. He’ll be able to sense any bad intent toward him. You won’t have the mental control to keep from being detected.”

  “So we need a non in there. But how do we get that?”

  “I can’t just skip through minds searching for the right one. I’ll be detected,” Dendri said. “I need someone to come out of that building that I can see…and hope they go back in.”

  “That could take all night.”

  “Perhaps. But I can read a non’s intent easily. I can sense if they are planning to return to the building. I can sense if they are close to Delongo.”

  “And Delongo won’t sense you in their minds?”

  “No. As long as I don’t push my will on them and use them only to observe.”

  “This is a tricky business.”

  “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, Ky,” Dendri said grimly.

  “I know. As soon as he’s asleep, you can crush his mind. Give him a stroke or something. Then we’ll go in and mop up some of this mess. There’s a camp full of rogues here.”

  “Yeah but you can’t take them all in at once. You’d be outnumbered. Focus on getting the main lieutenants. The ones in the building with him. The triumvirate has given us permission to kill them with impunity. The rest of these,” he said indicating the camp, “we’ll have to gather together at a later date. Get them to face justice. Keep you rogue hunters busy for a while.”

  “Good. Nothing worse than being bored and out of work,” Ky quipped.

  “I’d prefer to be out of work,” Jal said. “Then it means none of these bastards are out there hurting innocent people.”

  “True. Forgive me,” Ky said with a wince.

  “No. You love the hunt. There’s nothing wrong with that,” Jal said. “I know the feeling well.”

  “Still, you’re right. I’d be nice to have to find another line of work.”

  “Maybe we’ll reform and become diplomats like Dendri here.”

  Dendri chuckled. “You? A diplomat? Jal, you can’t be bothered to say hello to people. In fact, I think you once said you hate people.”

  “Sounds like something I would say,” Jal agreed grimly.

  “Look. There’s someone. Non clothing. I’ve seen her go in and out of the building twice.”

  “Poor kid. She looks scared to death,” Dendri said, anger lacing his tone, but he controlled the emotion. He would have to be completely placid for this to work. Calm and cool. Unobtrusive. A passenger not a conductor. “Stay quiet. I need to focus.”

  The other majji nodded.

  Dendri focused on the girl. Gently he read her thoughts, not entering her mind fully as yet. He wanted to make certain she would be returning to the building at a later time. She would be. She was frightened, had been victimized, and had only been allowed escape to run an errand for the men inside.

  I don’t want to go back! I saw what they did to Ayyla. They’ll do that to me next. Maybe I can run away!

  Dendri tried not to react emotionally to the girl’s thoughts. He resisted the urge he had to help her as men in the camp accosted her, coming up to her and trying to grab her or fondle her.

  “N-no! I h-have to go back t-to your g-general!” she would cry, using it as a talisman to keep them at bay.

  “You’ll be ours soon enough. Once General Delongo gets tired of you,” one of the coarse men said.

  General. He was calling himself a general. That had the sounds of someone truly marshaling an army bent on destruction of more than just villages and towns.

  I have to run away! the girl thought. I have to go!

  But she knew she could not possibly make it. Not even in the cover of the night. There was a perimeter of guards all around the town. It would be difficult for even a majji to make it through that perimeter.

  Other majji. Not majji like Dendri, Ky and Jal.

  Most of the majji on guard were lower level majji. They didn’t score above tenth level if Dendri had his guess. In fact, the camp was full of low level majji. There were even non followers, whores and servants and the like. But Delongo using nons for those purposes would be his downfall. A wiser man would keep away anyone whose mind could be easily controlled by an invading source, but it appeared Delongo’s hubris was getting the better of him, Dendri thought as the girl did her errand and came back toward the inn. He was clearly thinking that any attempt to reach him through a non would be detected by himself or another. More than likely himself. An Aspano that high in level held life and death easily in his hands. It had the potential to make a man feel like a god. Especially a man as arrogant as Delongo was. He knew Delongo very well, their past history writing similar yet different paths for them. They had both known what they were at an incredibly young age. They had both grown into their majic showing high levels of aptitude. They had both outstripped most of their mentors long ago.

  Before he had turned to this lawless behavior, Delongo had carried around a thin veneer of civilization. He had been one of the Heddah, the body of representatives and advisors who came from all over the country of Saren. The Heddah were elected into their positions by the people’s districts Saren was divided into. Delongo’s district had elected him at a young age, their respect for his power overwhelming. He was a handsome and dynamic man, reeking of self-confidence and arrogance. It had seemed he would be happy with the voice he had in the government.

  But he had quickly become frustrated by the true lack of power the Heddah could have. They could propose dozens of things to the triumvirate, but with unilateral vetoing power, the triumvirate didn’t have to accede to a single one of them.

  The Heddah, a group of about fifty men and women, each controlled the armed forces, laborers, trade and taxes of their district. That was where their true power lie. But the district leaders could only make suggestions to the triumvirate who could choose to accept or disregard those suggestions, as they desired. As Heddah to the Granu district, one of the large
st and most powerful districts, Delongo had had access to monies and a small army. When he had decided he had had enough of the triumvirate’s power over him, he had taken that money and a good deal of the armed forces and broken away from the district. After a while the decent men in the ranks had deserted the increasingly perverse ranks of Delongo’s army…provided they could get away. There had no doubt been a severe punishment for those caught deserting. The nons of the armed forces may just be following Delongo out of fear of him and the other majji in the ranks.

  There was also the matter of the Kiltian war. Many men and women were afraid to fight the powerful Kiltians. They would much rather follow Delongo if it kept them off the front lines of the war. If Delongo was making promises to the effect that they would have glory and riches without having to die in the process, it was no wonder his army was growing.

  Dendri focused on the girl as she headed back into the inn. He quieted his mind and hid himself behind her thoughts. He saw everything she saw as she entered the building.

  The inn was a wooden structure, something old built many years ago. It was basically a large wooden box with three levels to it. Upon entering, the girl, Henni her name was, saw a large square main room. Directly across from the door, on the far wall, was the taproom and kitchen. On either side of the kitchen were two large fireplaces, which were built up strong and hot, warming the expansive room. There were booth tables lining both the left and right side of the walls and several long wooden tables of varying length and size in the center of the room. There were stairwells to the immediate right and left of the doorway into the inn that led upstairs.

  The tables were full of boisterous, drinking men. The only women in the room appeared to be non females, some of whom had been stripped to their waists and were being fondled roughly as they were made to serve the crude majji. These were all powerful majji, Dendri sensed. He did not probe them in any way, but he could feel the majic that ebbed off of them. He could see the auras that limned their bodies. Each house of majic surrounded the majji in a specific color that Dendri could see with his advanced ability. The brightness of that color varied with the amount of power the majji had. These were very bright auras indeed.

  Henni had something in her hands. Yes. She had been sent out to fetch a specific bottle of fine wine from one of the plundered stores. All the rest of the wine was currently being put into the soldiers’ bellies, but Delongo had seen that specific ones were put aside for himself and left in the private supply tent Henni had just come from.

  She stood in the doorway drinking in the wild scene before her. These men were high on their victory over the defenseless townsfolk of Vannendale. It meant nothing to them that it had been an easy target and they should be ashamed of themselves for their victimization of those more vulnerable than they were. They were bullies and they were bent on the harassment of those weaker than they were.

  “You! Girl! Don’t just stand there! Your master awaits you upstairs!” one of the men barked out to Henni as she stood there shaking in fear.

  She turned to the stairs to the right and began to climb them, hurrying and then slowing and then hurrying. She couldn’t decide how she wanted to proceed. To go fast to keep from displeasing the general or to go slow to delay the inevitable she would find once she got to his rooms.

  She knocked shyly at the door, and then stood shifting her weight nervously from one foot to the other. The door was pulled open so suddenly that Henni jolted in surprise. A man, tall with grey-white hair and two shaggy brows reached out and grabbed her by her arm, jerking her forward into the room. Henni was trembling uncontrollably as she was pushed toward the inside room. There were two rooms connected to one another. In the outer room stood two men—the one who had opened the door and a heavier, shorter man with greasy brown hair and unshaven cheeks. Both men sported the auras of high level Torenic house majji. Torenic house, known as the house with the most powerful offensive abilities, was nothing to fool around with. It made sense that Delongo would protect himself with the sheer firepower of a Torenic house majji.

  The connecting room was clearly the bedroom. The front room had a table in it four chairs at the table, one of which was occupied by the man with the greasy hair, and a long sofa with a high back and thin cushion. The tall grey-haired man took a seat on the sofa and indicated to the inside door.

  “Well? What are you waiting for?”

  Dendri held his breath as Henni, dragging her feet, made her way into the bedroom. Once she was in the doorway, Dendri could see a lone large bed in the center of the room and a dressing table with a mirror in it and a small chair before it. There was a stand with a porcelain pitcher and basin sitting on it.

  Delongo crossed into her field of vision from the opposite side of the room and went to the basin. He poured water from the pitcher into it, setting the pitcher down on the small lower shelf below the basin. He then dipped his hands into the water and scrubbed it over his face.

  Delongo was a tall man, just shy of Dendri’s own significant height. He kept his auburn hair cut short to the back of his neck and head, with longer length at his forelock. The straight wave of it rested casually against his forehead until he wet his face again and pressed it back with his hands running through his hair, smoothing it wetly into place. He had a roughly handsome face overall, a wide forehead, dark reddish-brown brows and lashes, a blade of a nose, and a squared jaw. He had a full, cruel mouth bordered by a goatee that gleamed with burnished light in the gaslight.

  Delongo looked up and Dendri could see the blinding brilliance of his power aura. Delongo had grown strong. Very strong. He may have even advanced beyond the level they had last suspected him of attaining. That was a concern. Dendri could be detected even as a nearly non-existent presence within the girl if Delongo was strong enough. Had it been Dendri, he would have been able to detect his presence.

  “Good,” Delongo said when he saw her standing there. “Well? Bring it in here girl!” She gave a little start at his barked command, and then fearfully moved into the room. “Pour it in the cups,” he said, indicating the two wooden mugs that were well aged and worn with many washings and many patrons’ handling. She moved to the dressing table where they sat and, her hands shaking violently, she filled both of the cups with the wine.

  “Good. Put down the bottle and bring the cups here,” Delongo said as he moved to the bed and sat upon it. “Sit down,” he said, patting the bed beside himself.

  Afraid to do anything else, she obeyed him. She held out both cups.

  “One is for you, sweet little thing,” he said silkily. He took the cup and began to drink from it in steady gulps. Henni took a tentative sip of her wine. It was a good wine. Far too good to be drunk so gustily. But Delongo didn’t seem to care. For all he tried to put on airs of refinement, Delongo was little more than a brute who happened to have been given the face of a prince.

  “Go on, drink it,” he urged her. He reclined back on the pillows at the head of the bed, lying half on it and half off of it as he regarded her. “So tell me Henni,” he said, taking the name from her mind with ease. “How would you like to be the general’s woman?”

  Henni froze, going stock-still. She was so frightened she couldn’t even shake with her fear any longer.

  “Come now,” he said with a chuckle as her thoughts raced around themselves.

  Oh no! He’s going to rape me! I’ll be soiled. Shamed. Granio will never want to touch me again! Where is Granio? Is he still alive? Oh if something has happened to him, please god let me die too!

  “So you have a man,” Delongo said, his lips turned up in cruel amusement. “Shall I find him for you?”

  “No!” she cried.

  “Why not? You want to know if he’s alive don’t you?”

  “No,” she whispered.

  “You can’t lie to me you know,” he said with a chuckle. “Come. Let’s find this fellow, shall we?”

  He sat up and she leapt forward into his personal space, her hand go
ing to his chest, which was bare. Her fingertips brushed through the wiry hairs there.

  “Please no. I-I’ll be your woman. I-I’ll do anything you want.”

  “As long as I leave Granio alone?” he said, a knowing, satisfied gleam in his eyes.

  “Please,” she repeated. She didn’t know how else to beg him, save with the willing use of her body.

  Dendri would have loved nothing more than to vacate the young girl’s mind during the following hour, but he could not afford to break the connection. So he remained in the mind of the poor, innocent non as she gave herself to Delongo. She disappeared into a far corner of her own mind as she did this, detaching herself from the actions of her body. It was not over quickly. Delongo fancied himself something of a magnificent lover. He would not have satisfaction until he had made her unwilling body respond to his. Using sex majic he could make her feel and behave as if she were getting pleasure from the entire process. In the end it would make her shame compounded.

  The girl then curled up in a ball on the other side of the bed while Delongo stretched out with a satisfied yawn. He closed his eyes and obviously relaxed. For a moment Dendri worried Henni might fall asleep, which would keep him from seeing when Delongo finally went to sleep, but he realized then she could never fall asleep by his side. She could never let herself be that vulnerable. Bad enough as it was that she had had to give him everything.

  So she turned and huddled on the bed as far away from him as she could manage.

  Once he is asleep, I will sneak away. I will find somewhere else to sleep.

  And she was tired. Exhausted. Living on tenterhooks and being made to service Delongo had taken everything she had as far as strength was concerned. She cursed herself. Cursed her own beauty which had attracted Delongo to her to begin with. She hated everything about herself. She hated him. She had to keep herself from thinking it too strongly. She didn’t want him to hear her thoughts. Didn’t want him to feel her loathing. She didn’t realize that the act of suppressing those feelings were just as clear as the feelings themselves.