Tested by the Night

by Maxine Mansfield

  Mia sighed. “But I don’t have that much time. What I need, I need now, today.”

  “Then tell us of your great need, child. We’ll listen.” Grandmother Bear smiled. “We are a reasonable species, after all. If there’s any way we can help, we will consider it.”

  The grandmother bear along with the four cubs walked toward her. When they were within touching distance, the smallest one, though he was almost as tall as she, nuzzled her cheek.

  Talon growled low in his throat, and Mia turned and glared. “Stop doing that. They won’t hurt me. We’re chatting.”

  Grandmother Bear chuckled again. “I had a mate like that one once. Though he wasn’t ugly and almost hairless like yours. But we can’t all be so lucky in the choices we make, now can we? He was overly protective, though. Just like that one. I miss him. As a matter of fact, I do believe that’s a piece of his fur you’re wearing.” She sighed. “Makes me nostalgic.”

  Mia gulped and wrapped her arms around the warm, snow white coat. “I—I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t mean to offend.”

  Grandmother Bear chuckled yet again. “Nothing to be sorry about, dear. It’s our way to give back to our Father Draka what we can. In our society, when we get too old or too feeble to be of use anymore, we have a sacrifice offering ceremony. We go out onto the ice not too far from where you uprighters live and have ourselves one last good brawl That way we get to die with honor. Our spirits go onward and upward to be with Father Draka, and our Albrathian remains stay here to be become food, clothing, and utensils for others. Why, I’ve even seen jewelry made from our bones. Quite lovely trinkets if I do say so myself.”

  The bear tooth necklace she’d worn for years suddenly felt ice cold against Mia’s skin, and she shivered.

  If the grandmother bear noticed, she didn’t let on. “We don’t believe in wasting what others may be able to use. In our culture, it’s considered a great sin to do so. And we are really no different than your kind in many ways. When one of us wins a battle against one of yours, trust me, we consume every single morsel of the fallen. It shows respect to both the victor and the slain.”

  Mia shivered again.

  The bear patted her hand with its great paw. “Now, dear, what is it you need?”

  Talon tossed Mia an extra fur and for a moment she wondered which of Grandmother Bear’s relatives it had once belonged to. She shook her head and put the morbid thought from her mind as she carefully laid the fur on the frozen ground before settling herself upon it.

  For the majority of the next turning of the hourglass, she did her best to explain who she was and exactly why she was here. She told Grandmother Bear about Queen Adrina’s Challenge and about the council and the quest. She even explained how she longed to be a good and fair ruler of the barbarian people someday and how this was the only way she could accomplish her goal.

  Throughout the entire dissertation, the bears listened without comment, and the littlest bear, the one called Wispy, even laid his huge head upon her lap, closed his moss green eyes, and fell fast asleep.

  “In the spirit of cooperation, I’ll do it. I’ll send my youngest grandcub, Wispy, with you,” Grandmother Bear said when Mia had finished. “Perhaps with you as the ruler of the uprighters someday, we may all learn to live together. For the most part anyway. Except of course for our sacrifice offerings and the last hunt of the season. Unfortunately your people are an important part of our food chain as we are of yours. But I’m sure if we sit down and discuss it, we can work out an agreement that benefits both parties when you return.”

  Mia smiled. “Thank you, I’ll have him back home safe and sound before you know it, and we’ll talk more then. I give you my word.”

  The bear growled. “Oh, I’m sure you will, dear, for there are conditions you must agree to before my little grandcub Wispy steps one paw off of Bane ice.”

  Mia’s smile faded. “Conditions?”

  The bear nodded. “Insurance, so to speak. You’ll be taking my grandcub with you, but I’ll be keeping your mate with me until you return Wispy safely home. But keep this in mind. If you aren’t back before my clan’s fishing expedition concludes, I can’t guarantee your mate’s wellbeing. And I won’t be responsible for what they may do to him. After all, Wispy is the youngest cub of our leader, and a favorite of all.”

  Mia gasped. Leave Talon? She couldn’t leave Talon here. Not with the same creatures that’d killed his father. She shook her head. “Not him. I need him.”

  Grandmother bear shrugged and turned as if to walk away. “Then I’m afraid I can’t help you, dear.”

  Mia hung her head. She couldn’t ask it of him. She wouldn’t. Instead, she carefully slid out from under the sleeping baby bear and stood. She wished she could leave Alistair here with the bears instead of Talon. After all, hadn’t the duke’s son left her standing all alone two years ago when he’d told her she wasn’t worthy of his attention? But it was imperative he report back to the council and ensure his father the rules had been followed.

  Guilt filled her for her unkind thoughts, and she pushed it away. She’d be sorry for even thinking about leaving Alistair behind later, but right now she needed a plan. There was one other option, something she’d always heard and now hoped desperately was true. Gnomes were inedible.

  She lifted her eyes towards the heavens and sent a quick prayer her cousin would understand and not hate her for what she was about to do. “I could leave Pierced here with you instead.” Mia gestured toward the gay-goth gnome, who cuddled his blow-up barbarian with one hand while scratching his butt with the other. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to shudder or laugh. “He’s a fine rogue in his own right and my very favorite cousin to boot. He’s precious to me. I promise I’ll return for him.”

  The look of horror on the bear’s face was almost laughable. “Gross. My clan would flay me alive if I brought a gnome into our cave. Disgusting little creatures. There meat is tough and stringy, and they always smell bad, like garlic mixed with claw jam. No self-respecting bear would ever consider eating a gnome, unless they were starving, let alone welcome one among us. It must be your mate as collateral or nothing.”

  “What’s wrong? What did she say?” Talon asked?

  Mia glanced everywhere except at the man she loved with all her heart, and tears burned her eyes. “They’re willing to do it. The grandmother bear says I can take one of the cubs back to The Academy with me but at a price.”

  The feel of Talon’s arm slipping around her waist and pulling her close into his embrace was both ecstasy and torture.

  “What price, princess?”

  She shook her head. “I can’t do it. I can’t.”

  “He turned her in his arms and gently lifted her chin. “Tell me.”

  Mia had no choice but to look him in the eye. She dug deep and gathered her courage as she locked gazes with him. “You.” She gulped. “Grandmother Bear insists you remain with her in Wispy’s place until I return.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  He was never going to be warm again. As a matter of fact, even the memory of warmth was elusive.

  Talon shivered and wrapped his fur closer around himself and made yet another promise. The very next time he was face to face with Zander Hammerstrike, he was going to punch his best friend right in the nose.

  “Do what she asks of you,” he’d said. “Within reason,” he’d said. Well, that’s exactly what Talon had done, and look where it had gotten him. Trapped in a cold, dark, stinky cave, surrounded by man-eating bears, and without so much as a blade to defend himself.

  He scooted farther up against the wall, but there was only so far he could go. Being crammed in a corner of a Bane bear’s den was like sitting inside a smelly refrigerator whose light had gone out the moment the door closed. It was a cavernous space of total unending darkness that reeked suspiciously of old fish and meat. And to make matters worse, it was arse-numbing, leg-tingling, nosehairs-sticking-together, balls-shriveling cold.

  But unlike a
nice quiet refrigerator, the bear den was filled with constant noise. There was growling and scratching and burping and claws constantly scraping along the cave’s ice floor. And snoring, lots and lots of very loud snoring. His ears hurt from listening to it.

  One of the bears let out a loud fart, and he almost laughed. After all, farting had been the only obnoxious sound missing. He didn’t laugh, though, he gagged as he quickly covered his head with his fur and tried to breathe as little as possible. His eyes burned, and his throat constricted. God Draka help him, the odor was nasty, like something dead had crawled up the bear’s ass and, with the cover of darkness, slithered out again to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting.

  He shuddered and knew for as long as he lived, whether it be a few more moments, a few more hours, a few more days, or many, many years into the future, he’d never, ever completely cleanse the stench of wafting, foul bear gas from his mind or body.

  “Did you smell that?”

  Talon turned his head toward his cousin Jaxson. “You’re joking right? Of course, I smelled it. I’d have to be stone-cold dead not to smell that stench.”

  Jaxson coughed. “God Draka, it’s rancid. What or who do you think they could’ve eaten to cause such an odor?”

  Talon shrugged. “How should I know? But if you don’t appreciate the ambiance of the bear’s den, then why’d you insist upon joining me in the first place? I told you to go back to the village with the others, didn’t I? You’re the one who had to play hero in front of Mia.”

  “Hero,” Jaxson scoffed. “I wasn’t trying to play hero. I was trying to watch the back of my one and only cousin. Unlike you, family means something to me. I couldn’t simply walk away and not look back like you did.”

  Talon shook his head. “That isn’t what happened, and you know it. We’ve already been over this. Leave it be.” He held his nose and took in tiny, little breaths. “You’ve got nothing to worry about, Jaxson. You don’t have to stick by my side like you’re afraid I’ll leave again without you. I spoke with Mia before she left, and even if the bears eat my sorry ass, she promised to take you away from here. She’ll find you a place in her father’s service if nothing else.”

  He heard Jaxson gulp. “You couldn’t be more wrong about me. I know I told you I wanted to get as far away from Bane as I could, but I’ve changed my mind.”

  Talon shook his head again. “What?”

  His cousin chuckled. “I know, I know. I’m probably throwing away a great opportunity and the only chance I’ll ever have to get the VoT out of here, but with Mia being able to communicate with the bears, don’t you realize what this might mean for our people? Together we could sit down and discuss hunting guidelines, even become allies of a sort. Within reason of course. Why, we could even negotiate terms, set limits, and in the end, possibly for the first time in our history, coexist in peace.” He shrugged. “And Father is getting older, Talon. I’m next in line as lead hunter. I feel it’s my duty, my obligation, my calling, my honor even, to remain here in Bane and someday take my rightful place. I can make a difference. I know I can.”

  Talon reached over and ruffled his cousin’s hair. “I’m truly proud of you. You’ve grown into a good man, Jaxson. I do, however, suggest you get some sleep. Tomorrow may prove to be a very long day.”

  He smiled for the first time since he’d watched Mia walk away, into the setting son of Bane earlier that day, and he chuckled. “As for me, I’m wide awake, and that raw fish old Grandmother Bear tossed us for our supper isn’t setting well in the pit of my stomach. I do believe I’ll pay back those farting bears with a few offerings of my own.”

  He let a really loud one rip and was greatly rewarded when Jaxson gagged and at least three bears growled.

  ****

  It had taken every single moment of the three days remaining to her to get back, but finally Mia glimpsed the gates of The Academy in the distance. Her heart leapt, even though she was exhausted and her head pounded miserably. She needed to see this quest completed, and she needed to see it completed now. Time was running out to talk to the council, take the cub back home, and rescue Talon.

  The man she loved wouldn’t be safe much longer, she could feel it, and neither would his stubborn, young cousin Jaxson.

  But getting back to them in any kind of a timely manner seemed an almost impossible task at the moment. The return trip alone had taken more than a half day longer than she’d anticipated. But then she hadn’t counted on Pearl’s constant grumbling about having to hunt, not just for herself but for everyone’s meals, including the bear cub. And she certainly couldn’t have predicted Wispy’s never ending questions or his need to eat, sleep, or break out in tears because he was home sick. And without a doubt, she hadn’t expected his hourly need to stop and poop or to smell every bush they passed and mark it with his scent.

  Not that the entire trip back had been without its redeeming qualities, because it hadn’t. The wonder on the bear cub’s face the first time he’d seen green grass and towering majestic trees had been priceless. Somehow along the way, she herself had forgotten how wonderful God Draka’s miracles really were. Watching them unfold through Wispy’s eyes had reminded her of what a wonderful, magic world she really did live in.

  But all the wonders of Albrath couldn’t begin to make up for Pierced and Alistair’s constant bickering over every subject imaginable. She was pretty sure her head hadn’t quit hurting from the moment they’d left Bane.

  If Pierced grumbled about the overcast skies, Alistair countered with a diatribe about how dry the winter had been and how we all should be grateful for the clouds and the chance of precipitation. And then Alistair complained about the lack of proper cooking facilities, dining implements, or sleeping arraignments, and Pierced chided him for being a pansy.

  The two couldn’t seem to agree upon anything. If the meat being served for their supper was too stringy for one, it was too mushy and overcooked for the other. If the beds of pine needles they’d made each night to sleep upon were too hard for one, then they were too soft for the other. And God Draka help them all if anyone dared mention politics, race, religion, or the practicality of blow-up dolls, butt plugs, or ménage. Mia cringed even now at the memories.

  But the disagreements between Pierced and Alistair hadn’t been the worst part of the trip, either, and neither had Pearl’s grumbling or the fact Wispy was homesick. It hadn’t even been that she’d been forced to leave Talon behind in a situation that could turn hostile at any moment. After all, Talon was a barbarian warrior, one of the best she’d ever seen. Even without her, in the end, he’d be fine. And though she didn’t like to admit that to herself, she knew it to be true.

  Oh, no. The absolute worst part of the trip back to The Academy had been the never ending chatter. Not only could she hear and understand every syllable the dragon, the bear cub, Pierced, and Alistair uttered, but also every single conversation between the birds and bees and flies and mosquitoes. Even the ants marching upon the ground drove her crazy with their incessant two word chant of “keep moving, keep moving, keep moving, keep moving” when they were anywhere within her hearing range.

  It was maddening. And though she’d tried over and over to block out the ambient sounds with her mystic abilities, she’d failed.

  All she wanted in all of Albrath, what she desperately needed, was to lock herself inside a sound proof room for a little while. To hear absolutely nothing but silence and the beat of her own heart. Even one turn of the hourglass before meeting with the council would surely be enough time to return at least a fraction of her sanity. Wouldn’t it?

  Oh, yes. It was a very good thing they were almost home, because if she had to spend one more full turn of that very same hourglass, let alone another day, in the presence of anyone or anything else that made noise, she was going to hurt someone, badly.

  The moment she stepped through the gates of the Academy, she turned toward her companions. “Pierced, go tell Uncle Leeky we’re back, and Alistair, please i
nform your father and the council I’ll meet with them in precisely one hour. But first, I’ll take Pearl and Wispy upstairs with me. I have a need to refresh myself and gather my thoughts.”

  Both men nodded, thankfully, without comment, and she turned to go.

  “You can’t tell me what to do. You aren’t the boss of me,” the adolescent dragon huffed.”

  “I’m tired,” Wispy whined. “I’m hungry. I wanna go home.”

  Mia rubbed her temples. “Then stay out here if you’d rather, Pearl. Wispy, follow me. I’ll find you something to eat when I get to my room.”

  Without another word, she headed into The Academy. She took the three flights of stairs to her suite without looking back and gladly shut the door behind her the moment Wispy was also inside.

  “Took ya long enough.”

  Mia jumped at the sound of Pearl’s voice. “How did you—”

  The dragon shrugged her thick, white scaly shoulders. “How do you think? I’m a dragon, duh” She pointed toward herself with one long sharp talon. “Magic, duh.”

  “God Draka, you are such a pain in my ass.” Mia sighed.

  That made Pearl smile.

  Mia tossed Wispy an apple from a bowl of fruit sitting in the middle of the table. “Here eat this.” Then she looked up at Pearl. “Please watch him for a little while longer. I really need a quick bath and a clean tunic before I meet with the council.”

  Pearl’s response was to throw a dead mouse carcass toward the bear cub.

  The last sound Mia heard before she closed her bedroom door was Wispy saying, “Yum, this is good. I want more.”

  She shuddered, not sure if it was the apple or the dead mouse the cub was talking about and pretty certain she didn’t really want to know.

  Within five minutes of closing her door, she was neck deep in soothing hot water and fragrant lilac and vanilla scented bubbles. Silence, complete and total silence enveloped her. It was heavenly. She laid her head back against the rim of the tub and focused on relaxing every muscle in her body one at a time. Slowly, the tension of the last few days eased, and her mind drifted to Talon.