Duel With A Demoness (A Huntsman's Fate Book 2)

by Liam Reese

  “I’m glad to have finally met you in person,” Besmir said quietly, “and want to thank you for coming on this journey. I won’t forget it.”

  “And none of us who saw what Tiernon did will ever forget what you did for them,” Pira said hotly. “My mother and I were lucky enough to be able to live in Boranash but many others were not. We all lost friends and family to Tiernon, but his tyranny stopped because of your actions.”

  “I wasn’t alone,” Besmir said pointing to Arteera and Zaynorth. “There were hundreds of us there in the end. Plus the real enemy, the one who was coercing Tiernon was Porantillia.”

  Besmir felt a pang of guilt slap through him when he realized that Tiernon had been nothing more than Porantillia’s puppet. Zaynorth looked over, reading his thoughts and rumbled.

  “He was always unkind, even before she got her claws into him. Jealous of your father and envious of his position as first born and heir to the throne. Don’t waste any time believing he was different.”

  Besmir let the old man’s words sink in but still wondered if he had been justified in his killing of Tiernon.

  He stood and stretched, lighting a torch from the fire.

  “I’m going to have a look in the other rooms,” he told them. “Keep an eye on the food.”

  With that the king stepped lightly through from the main room into a smaller one at the rear. Devoid of anything apart from three raised blocks that were about large enough for him to lay on, Besmir wandered through into another room.

  This had a large block in the middle, with smaller blocks around the outside.

  Obviously a table surrounded by benches.

  Besmir realized whoever had built this place had used stone to build furnishings as well, meaning the blocks in the first room he had passed through might have been beds. His eye was drawn to a large carving on one wall and he approached, holding the torch high to get a better look.

  It looked to be a map. Similar to the one he had been supplied with but far more detailed. Representations had been made of several different cities, each carved in detail on the wall and joined by almost straight roads. Other roads led to places that were not cities but areas Besmir could not determine.

  Possibly mines or quarries for stone.

  Besmir dashed back to where the others were slowly cooking and rifled through the packs until he found the rolled up map.

  “What have you discovered?” Zaynorth asked when he saw Besmir’s urgency.

  “There’s a map in there that looks to be far more detailed than this,” he said. “I want to compare them and possibly update this one.”

  The old man followed Besmir back through to the room where Besmir spread his map on the table and studied them both. There were numerous similarities indicating the map Vi Rhane had provided was fairly accurate but the map carved into the wall had far more towns and cities on it, all linked by a network of roads. It continued much farther north as well, Besmir noticed. Where his map ended with Ludavar at the northern edge of the map, on the carved map, Ludavar city lay almost at the heart of the country of Aristulia making Besmir wonder if it was the capital.

  Zaynorth approached the wall, running his fingers over the details there in wonder.

  “Incredible,” he breathed, pulling his beard. “All these details yet the surface is as smooth as glass.”

  Besmir felt for himself, astounded as his fingertips drifted over what looked like a carving of a city but felt nothing.

  “Whoever they were,” Besmir said respectfully, “they built a massive kingdom.”

  Zaynorth hummed his agreement, turning to peer through another door Besmir had not explored yet. His gasp and wide eyes told Besmir he needed to see what the old man had found and he trotted across to the doorway, torch in hand to see what Zaynorth had discovered.

  Points of light reflected his torch as Besmir looked into the gloom. His meager flame was barely able to penetrate the vast cavern inside but his eyes picked out enough to be able to understand the civilization had been far more advanced and strange than he had first thought.

  Carefully he stepped inside, gravel crunching underfoot, making sure there was somewhere to put his foot. Just before him stood a railing, the metalwork protected by the building so it remained in place but rusted nevertheless, at the edge of an immense pit. It was impossible to see the far side or bottom of the chasm they had opened in the earth but Besmir could tell it was vast. Nothing echoed back when he called, not a whisper of his voice to bounce off the walls or roof and come back to his ears. Besmir shied away from the edge, not wanting to get too close to what was probably a perilous drop into nothing.

  “By the Gods!” Zaynorth whispered, making Besmir jump. “How did they make this?”

  “I’ve got no idea,” Besmir replied. “But now we know where they got all the stone for the city back there.”

  “Dug it out of here, you mean?” Zaynorth gasped.

  “That would be my guess,” Besmir said. “We should leave, I don’t feel safe in here.”

  He and Zaynorth filed back into the map room where Besmir took another look at the image. If he was right and the building they were in was next to a quarry for the stone, there were seven other similar locations marked on it. He wondered how much rock they had pulled from each quarry and how many buildings it had made.

  “We should get back,” Besmir said. “Dinner must be almost rea...”

  The dire howl that echoed through the building cut his words off.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Ru Tarn screamed as another wave of agony rolled through her abdomen and down her legs. It felt as if she were being ripped apart from within and there was no way she could take any more.

  “I cannot do this!” She screamed as Su Rhane rubbed her back.

  Her body had been trying to lay her egg for six hours. Six long, painful, endless hours.

  “Where is he?” Ru Tarn had demanded, her red rimmed eyes locking onto her aunt.

  “I sent him away, dear,” Su Rhane said calmly. “This is no place for a man, let alone a Gazluthian man.”

  “But I want him here!” Ru Tarn had cried.

  Now her aunt stood before Ru Tarn, taking her hands and making her waddle around the room.

  “Come, this will help move things along,” she said.

  Behind her Ru Tarn felt someone massaging her lower back, the relief like bliss.

  “Harder,” she told the servant.

  The Corbondrasi woman obliged and Ru Tarn moaned as the relief from the woman’s hands turned into another wave of agony ripping her in two.

  “If you know what is good for you you will let me in!”

  The shout came from outside the door and in a voice Ru Tarn recognized.

  “Herofic!” She called.

  What followed was a number of shouts, the sound of metal on metal as if weapons had been used against armor and the terrified chirruping of Corbondrasi royal guards.

  “He has gone mad!” One cried.

  “Call for reinforcements!” Someone else shouted.

  After a few moments in which Ru Tarn let herself be led around the room, the door opened and Herofic stepped in. Relief suffused Ru Tarn as soon as she saw him. He looked calm but grim as he stared at Su Rhane.

  “I said I wanted to be here,” Herofic grumbled rudely to the queen.

  “Corbondrasi women have been doing this for centuries,” the queen said. “Without the need for male intervention.”

  “Well we do things a little differently in Gazluth,” Herofic muttered. Ru Tarn was simultaneously shocked and awed by Herofic’s words. No one ever spoke to the queen this way but the fact was he was doing it for her and her hatchling was doubly impressive.. She smiled at him weakly before turning away when the pain started once more.

  “Then it’s lucky we are not in your country but Boranash,” Su Rhane said. “And this is not a birth but the laying of her egg so you may as well leave.”

  “I will not,” Herofic said.
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  Ru Tarn watched as her aunt’s eyes narrowed and she knew the older woman was considering having him removed by force, calling guards in to drag him away.

  “Your majesty,” she said in Corbondrasi. “Please allow him to stay.”

  “Oh, very well,” Su Rhane said after a moment’s thought. “What damage can one Gazluthian do?” Switching to his language, she added. “If you are to stay you must do as I instruct.”

  Herofic nodded, taking one of Ru Tarn’s hands as another wave of agony ripped through her. This time something felt as if it gave way deep inside her and she shrieked as the egg shifted in her belly. She squeezed Herofic’s hand, sure she was hurting him, but he made no complaint, gently guiding her around the room with her aunt.

  “It’s coming!” She cried in Corbondrasi but even Herofic understood.

  “You’re doing an amazing job!” He said. “I’m here and not going anywhere.”

  The queen looked over at him, an odd expression on her face and Ru Tarn thought she could see her aunt reevaluating Herofic by the second.

  Nature took hold of Ru Tarn then, making her knees weaken so the egg did not fall from a great height and become damaged. She crouched, hanging on to Herofic and her aunt for support and stared into his face as she bore down with all her strength.

  Rather than fear or disgust, Ru Tarn could only see wonder in Herofic’s face as she finally managed to lay her egg.

  Panting, sweating and spent Ru Tarn let herself be led back to the bed where she would spend the next day or so sleeping and recovering, her egg by her side. The odd swimming sensation that took hold of her mind was not particularly unpleasant and Ru Tarn was more than happy to give in to it despite the worried shouts and voices calling her name. The floor came up to meet her and she lay there for a few seconds as grayness crept in at the edges of her vision.

  She could hear his voice but it sounded distant and muffled, as if heard through water or from another room. Other voices joined his but Ru Tarn could make no sense of anything any of them said. Something tugged at the edges of her thoughts, something of great importance but she had no idea what it might be. The Corbondrasi knew something had happened to her but the memory of it eluded her completely and so she drifted in the dark haven of unconsciousness.

  Birdsong. The first real sense of anything solid was birdsong. Ru Tarn let her eyes flicker open to see the bright green and cream of her aunt’s private quarters. The tiny birds her aunt doted on, feeding them honey every day, were lined up on the window ledge demanding her attention.

  My egg!

  Ru Tarn tried to call out but her voice was weak and issued from her throat as a weak trill. She tried to move but something deep inside her abdomen tugged hard, sending a wave of nauseating pain up through her. She lay back, panting through her pain as she struggled to recall what had happened. That she had laid her egg was clear but anything after that was hazy and indistinct.

  “Quiet, my little ones,” Su Rhane whispered to the birds as she entered the room with two small bowls in her hands. “You will wake the patient.”

  The queen’s eyes flickered over to Ru Tarn and her expression changed from nervously worried to cautiously hopeful.

  “Ru?” She asked, using the intimate form of her niece’s name. “Ru Tarn are you awake?”

  The Corbondrasi queen dumped the bowls of honey on the windowsill for the birds and rushed to Ru Tarn’s bedside.

  “My egg?” The ambassador asked weakly.

  “Is perfectly safe with Herofic,” Su Rhane said, gripping her hand.

  Ru Tarn frowned. It was unheard of for a male to care for the egg. He may have some supporting role in its care but it always fell to the mother to care for her egg. Su Rhane laughed at her expression.

  “He is certainly a wind for change that one,” she muttered with a giggle. “Your Gazluthian friend flatly refused to let me or anyone else look after your egg. He wears a sash with it nestled against his skin, strutting about the palace proudly and talking to it!”

  Su Rhane held her hand up when she saw her niece’s expression of concern.

  “No need to worry,” she said. “He has cut a path through the ladies at court. They all think it’s the greatest, sweetest thing anyone could do and have been berating their husbands for not being as forward as he is”

  The queen helped Ru Tarn sit up a little and offered some sweetened fruit water to sip.

  “What happened?” She asked her aunt when her throat was lubricated.

  “You had some complications,” Su Rhane said in a strained voice. “Whether it was because your egg came early we’ll never know,” the queen paused when Ru Tarn went to speak. “I have no doubts about Herofic,” she said, frowning as she looked away. “In fact if he had not insisted on being there, you may not be here now.”

  “Just what did happen?” Ru Tarn asked, concerned now.

  “You laid your egg,” her aunt explained in a gentle voice, “and all seemed well for a few seconds but you fainted and as you fell...there was bleeding...clots almost the same size as your egg and I believed you were...”

  Su Rhane’s eyes teared up and she pulled Ru Tarn’s hand up to kiss her fingers, stroking the side of her face.

  “My dear girl,” she said in a hoarse voice. “I thought that day I lost my sister was the most painful thing I could go through but seeing you laid low like that...” The queen took a deep breath and continued. “Herofic was incredible,” she said. “Almost as if he had done it before he used pads and cloths to stop the bleeding and then carried you to the healer. He would not leave your side until we were sure you would live...”

  “How long has it been?” Ru Tarn asked.

  “Just over a week,” the queen replied. “Let me send for Herofic,” she added.

  “Yes I’d like to see my egg but I must look a complete mess, not fit for visitors.”

  Su Rhane smiled and went to a chest of drawers, removing a delicate brush and bottle of expensive plumage oil.

  “This is the good stuff,” she said with a smirk. “Don’t think you will be having it often.”

  Ru Tarn let the queen of Boranash oil and preen her feathers, making the coral and pink plumage shine in the morning sun.

  When Herofic entered a little later she took in the sight of him, proud and happy to carry her egg.

  The taut, thick muscle and sinew he had built up over a lifetime of wielding a heavy battleaxe were now the cradle for a light blue, oval egg with just a sprinkling of darker speckles.

  Herofic’s dark eyes met her lavender ones and something passed between them. An unspoken communication that spoke volumes, telling her everything she needed to know. She watched his smile of relief widen as her own face stretched into an expression of joy.

  “You tried to die,” Herofic said gruffly.

  “Herofic was not letting me,” she replied.

  The warrior crossed to her bed, sitting gently on the side and reaching into the length of cloth he had slung from shoulder to waist and up his back. Nestled within was her perfectly formed egg and he brought it out to lay on her chest.

  “Meet Orlane,” he said.

  Ru Tarn frowned not knowing what he was talking about and he laughed.

  “My family has an odd tradition,” he explained. “No one knows exactly why, but any unborn baby we call Orlane.” Herofic looked at Ru Tarn and shrugged. “Does your family not have any strange traditions you can think of?”

  “Not being as strange as Herofic’s family,” Ru Tarn replied with a smile.

  She tried to lift her egg but felt so weak her arms could barely support themselves let alone that. Herofic reached gently and took hold of the precious thing, lifting it to her ear.

  Among the rushes and squeaks, thrumming and low growls coming from within was the satisfying thump of a rapid heartbeat and Ru Tarn felt her face grinning again. “Good and strong,” he muttered.

  Ru Tarn reached slowly across and took his rough hand in her feathered one.

/>   “Thanking you for saving Ru Tarn’s life,” she said. “And thanking you for not leaving Ru Tarn.”

  “Why would I leave you?” Herofic asked in genuine confusion.

  “Ru Tarn was being nearly dead,” she said in a strained voice. “Ru Tarn would not be blaming you for leaving.”

  “I said I’d help look after Orlane and I will,” Herofic rumbled in a deep voice. “Leaving was never an option.”

  Ru Tarn listened to the sound of her hatchling inside the cocoon of its egg as a lump rose in her throat.

  Collise couldn’t understand what the people of Morantine wanted from her. She had arranged a street party for them with free food, wine, musicians and entertainers yet still they spurned her. They avoided her in the street, especially since word had spread of her burning of the old woman, and some still called her names but from the shadows where they could not be seen.

  The young girl sighed as she walked down the steps from her house, alone as usual. People melted from her path as she turned to walk up the tree lined avenue towards the old palace complex.

  The great buildings hadn’t really held much interest to her before but recently she had wondered if there was anything in her father’s palace that could help guide her. Give her some idea as to how to make people like her. Branisi had told her that King Besmir had the palace locked up tightly to stop anyone from getting inside but Collise wanted to go and see for herself.