by C A Nicks
“A little. But mostly a relief.” Fabian straightened and squared his shoulders. Took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Walking around my palace, I realised that no matter how hard I sought or how far I travelled, you would never be there.”
“Really?” She hadn’t mistaken that look when he’d snapped out of the trance?
His words warmed her, washing away the last remnants of their strange afternoon
“You were pleased to see me?”
He shifted closer until the hard line of his body pressed against hers. “More than you’ll ever know.”
He slid an arm about her shoulder, making it difficult to steer. She didn’t complain. He’d come back for her. Only Hal wanted her as much and his devotion had never touched her like this.
“And that’s confusing?”
“Extremely. The problem is that now I’ve seen her power I cannot rest until I test the extent of it.”
“I should have known. It’s the oldest trick – give someone a taste of what they crave and they’ll always come back for more.” Safely away from the haunted farm, the dogs jumped down to stretch their legs and race the rig. Tomorrow she would take Cafino out and give the beast a good run. Since Fabian’s arrival life had been put on hold, her work, the animals all neglected by her fascination for this warrior who’d appeared out of nowhere.
“It is not like that,” he said. “We sought her out. She’s merely supplying what I requested.”
“You hope.”
“I was there, Tig. Don’t be fooled by appearances. That woman knows her craft. The Gerrely’s place has an energy such as I have never felt on your world. We have only to put the two together.”
If you say so.
No point in arguing with a man who’d already made up his mind. Her father would have said, fine, find out the hard way. All well and good if the hard way only involved a soaking in the creek because you believed the box-bridge you made would hold your weight. That witch could send Fabian anywhere. How would they ever find out if she’d cheated on them?
There were times in life when doing the right thing wasn’t necessarily the best thing. She’d thought herself strong enough to forsake her own desires and needs in favour of Fabian’s ambitions. Had never wanted to be the woman who cajoled and schemed and piled on the guilt to get her man. In years to come her lonely old self would look back and rejoice in her martyrdom. A strong woman who’d loved her man so much she’d let him go without a murmur.
Love or plain stupidity? Was she imagining the worst to fit her own agenda? Fitting the madjina with the role of villain as an excuse to get what she wanted?
“Whoa.” Tugging on the reins, she slowed Cafino then carefully guided the beast from the main track. Fabian immediately withdrew his arm and snatched up the crossbow at his feet. She shook her head. “Nothing wrong. Let me park up, I want to say something.”
He placed the weapon on his lap and tilted his head, dark eyes narrowed. “You wish to lecture me further on the merits of this? If you have a solution that will please us both, I would hear it. My mind is in turmoil.”
Easier for her, she supposed. Life with him could only get better. She wouldn’t be giving up the return to a luxurious existence, power beyond imagining.
“Can we get down for a moment? Walk a little way?”
And make it easier for him to simply stay on the road and keep walking if he wanted to say no to her proposition.
He plucked idly at a stalk of long grass, watching her from under his long lashes. A striking man with a beauty hewn from iron and stone. A man to whom life had always come easy until the day it had all crumbled away leaving him lost and confused in a strange land. Fabian needed her, dammit. For all his strength and bluster there was so much he didn’t know.
“The rig will be safe if we leave it?”
“No. First person who comes along will steal it. We shouldn’t go too far.” The words were suddenly stuck in her throat. Say them she must, or she’d spend the rest of her life wondering.
He offered his crooked arm like a proper gentleman. She hadn’t known many of those in her life. Tucking hers inside, she set a slow strolling pace. A little awkward given the difference in heights and she wished they could be in one of the big cities she’d read about in the history books, taking a walk by the river in the balmy evening air, stopping here and there to acknowledge acquaintances, to chat with friends.
“On Guard,” she ordered the dogs when they joined in hopefully. They jumped into the rig reluctantly, whining and throwing her beseeching looks. She knew how they felt.
“So, what did you wish to tell me? I’m quite recovered from the incident back at the Gerrely’s farm if that is your concern. I realise the dangers.”
“Good.” How did she say it without sounding too needy? Would it have been better to slip it into natural conversation rather than make this song and dance about it?
“You know I’ve fallen in love with you?” Start with something simple. Something they both already knew.
“And I with you. Go on.”
“I guess with us both being in such close quarters for so long it was inevitable?”
“Not at all. This is a new experience for me. I was not expecting it. You took me rather by surprise.”
“Did I?” She couldn’t help smiling at that. That first meeting had taken them both by surprise.
“You did.” He turned to face her, stopping her on the worn track. A soft smile touched the corners of his mouth. “Tig, I know you want me to stay.”
“Am I that transparent?” Her cheeks warmed. Here came the polite refusal and she wanted to turn and run but he had her fast and wouldn’t let her.
“You should know that I wish to stay, too. But that what we wish to do and what we should do are not always the same thing.”
In the single roadside tree a bird began to sing. A thin, melancholy accompaniment to her hideous embarrassment. Nothing to be lost now by going on.
“It’s not just to save me from Hal. Or to save you from Senna. I couldn’t let you go without saying it. I was hoping you would stay for me.”
“And I was hoping you would ask me to.” He touched his fingers to her lips when she opened her mouth to answer. “Staying means abandoning everything I was, everything I hoped to be again. It would mean the same for you.”
“How so?”
“A confrontation with Warrington is inevitable. You would be consort to a warlord.”
She glanced back at the rig, checking the dogs were still guarding. He hadn’t said wife. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”
Gathering her into his arms, he held her close, stroking her hair, murmuring words she didn’t understand. Enough for now. She sensed the conversation had gone far enough. Didn’t seem right to add that if he stayed she’d gladly have his baby. That did seem too much like blackmail, even if she meant it with all her heart.
Gently, she cradled his face and pulled him down for a kiss that told him she understood his conflict. If she had family out there somewhere who might need her, would she abandon them to run after a man? Marcellus had an equal claim on Fabian’s heart. As did his homeland. A place that had no welcome for her.
On the walk back to the rig he bent and whispered in her ear.
“I love your tenacity, Tig. Do not give up on me.”
She squeezed his arm. Bad timing when he had so much on his mind. Get him through his fight with Warrington. Keep him out of Senna’s clutches. And for her, avoid making any more rash promises to Hal. These should be her priorities right now.
Fabian wouldn’t forget these words. She only had to say them once. And now all she could do was wait and see where his heart led him. And pray to every god she knew, that it would lead him back to her.
Chapter 18
How he wished he could give her the answer she wanted. To compound his guilt at having let her down, Tig had spent the past two days being unfailingly cheerful, agreeing with his every word and being in every way
the perfect mate. Perhaps she sought to scale the mountain by another face? No, an unworthy thought. Tig was the one person he trusted never to play him false.
Human minds were far too conflicted. No black and white, only a constant whirl of thoughts contradicting, clashing and keeping him awake at night as he tried to make sense of it all. He was reminded of a juggler flinging balls into the air until his arms were moving almost too fast to see. His wish to make a life here with Tig warred constantly with his need to return home, to find his brother and restore the name of Lucimanticus to its former glory.
The dilemma tore him in two when he needed to focus and be strong.
With one bound, Fabian leaped and caught hold of the wooden cross-beam spanning the roof of the hay-loft. A thousand pull-ups and then a meditation to clear his mind. A man won no fights with a cluttered mind.
“Were you expecting Hal?” Tig appeared at the barn door, head tipped back, one arm braced on the frame. She waved to catch his attention.
So much for concentration. He dropped and wiped the dust from his hands. “Hal? He’s bringing more food but said nothing about today. Where is he?”
He slid down the ladder and followed her out. A growing speck on the main track signalled the arrival of someone. At this distance it could be anyone.
“Are you sure it’s Hal?”
“I used the binoculars. For a moment I thought the pastor had taken it into his head to visit. Now wouldn’t that have been a laugh?”
Screwing up his eyes to better focus, Fabian longed for the enhanced vision that had been part of his father’s gift. The bracelets of An Mur had bestowed heightened senses. A useful asset for a tyrant. His puny human vision showed him nothing but a wagon racing at speed towards Tig’s property.
“Fetch the rifle, just in case.”
“No, it’s him. But why the hurry? That can’t be good.”
“Is he being pursued?” Instinctively, he moved nearer to Tig, giving her a gentle shove towards the porch. Once there, he picked up the binoculars. “It would be wise to assume a defensive position. Fetch me the cross-bow. You take the rifle and stay in the kitchen where you can’t be seen. And my body armour. Bring me the leather vest.”
That she ran to do his bidding without protest was not a good sign. He thought about saddling Cafino and riding out to meet Hal and whatever hounds of hell were at his heels. Hal was his banker. His rabble-rouser. Without him the challenge had a far smaller chance of success.
He could see him clearly now through the binoculars. At one point the wagon nearly overturned as it took a bend far too fast. Hal’s expression certainly looked panicked, but of pursuers there was as yet no sign.
“Here.” Tig threw him the vest and placed the cross-bow and a pouch of bolts on the porch deck. Fabian slid the stout leather garment over his shirt, tying off the laces, motioning her back into the kitchen. Should there be pursuers, she could pick them off unseen from one of the windows.
Pressing a hand to his chest, he breathed deeply and savoured the rush of what Tig called adrenaline through his system, his body preparing for battle and one of the more useful human traits. Hal’s wagon tipped again and Fabian began to wonder if the man would make it to the farm without breaking something. He had the look of a news-bearer. News he felt the need to deliver at the risk of his own neck.
It could mean only one thing. Betrayal. Fabian gripped the binoculars, feeling that rush again. So be it. Without taking the roids, he was as ready as he would ever be. He swapped the binoculars for the crossbow Tig had shot him with on their first meeting. The scar on his arm would be a constant reminder of her.
An odd thought at a time like this. Concentrate.
“Is he here, yet?” Tig whispered from the kitchen doorway. “Tell me what’s happening.”
“Nothing as yet. He’s still a good way off. You know this must mean someone has betrayed me?”
“God, no. But who? He was gathering a trusted band.”
“Obviously not trusted enough. By Jopra, I told him to keep his counsel. To wait until nearer the time to gather support. If I’m betrayed I’ll have no option but to issue the challenge now. Go back, he’s approaching.”
“We could run. If you’ve been betrayed, we could run. They’ll know I’m involved, Fabian. Warrington will show me no mercy if he knows I helped you.”
“It will not come to that. Get out of sight and stay there until I find out what’s going on.”
“Stay safe, Fabian.”
“You too.”
Moving to the edge of the porch-steps, he halted and lifted the crossbow. Hal’s horse reared up as the wagon ground to a halt in a spray of small stones. The sharp rasp of the brake and then Hal jumped down and strode towards the porch, long coat flapping behind him.
“They’ve taken Sunas.” He shoved a strand of hair out of his eyes. “We have to go. Have to get her back.”
Fabian raised the crossbow. “And you led them here? What were you thinking, you stupid fool?”
Hal raised his hands. “No. Do you think I’d do that to Tig? They know about you. Know I was involved and assumed you were under my roof. I was away taking Senna home when they came to my place. Left me a note pinned to the barn saying if I wanted her back to go get her. We’ve got to go, now.”
“They have Sunas? ” Tig emerged from the kitchen, a look of horror on her face. “Oh Hal, I’m so sorry.” Her gaze flickered to the gate. “Are they coming here? Who was it betrayed you?”
“Not one of my men, which means Warrington doesn’t know about your involvement. Only my trusted men knew Fabian was staying with you and they’re on point, up there, back of the ridge. Tig, they don’t know you’re involved. I need you to go into the camp and find out what’s going on. No reason why you shouldn’t visit your old friends there, Warrington did grant you amnesty. Fabian’s coming back with me. Warrington’s laid down the gauntlet. We can only pick it up now.”
Genuine or a trap? Fabian watched Hal bend, arms on knees, heaving in lungfuls of air to recover his breath. When he straightened his eyes misted with tears. Convincing. But then Hal was a master of subterfuge.
“The note was written in blood. They left me this.”
In a small cloth parcel lay a blooded scrap of flesh, a thin gold band tight around the base.
“Tig, that could be anything,” Fabian said. He hadn’t managed to push her back in time. Eyes wide, she gazed in horror at the finger. Colour drained from her face, and when she swayed, he put out a hand to steady her.
“Go back inside. Let me deal with this.”
“No. Was a shock, that’s all. I’m okay. Fabian, we must help her.”
“It could be a trap. Look more closely. Is it hers?”
Hal came forward without being asked, thrusting the grizzly find at Tig. “You know what she’s like. Easy touch. Poor woman wouldn’t have realised they were pumping her for information.”
“You think Sunas betrayed you?” A quick glance and Tig turned away, hand over her mouth. “It’s her wedding ring. She lost the tip of her finger to the thresher couple of years’ back. Hal, she’s a good, loyal wife. If anyone betrayed you it was someone from the camp. Someone playing both sides.”
“Not saying she did it deliberately. A careless word. You know how it is?”
The care with which he folded the cloth around the severed finger did not speak of a man who would use his loved one so callously. Tig seemed convinced. The crossbow trembled in Fabian’s hand. An excuse to act. What they’d all wanted. Whether set up by Hal or not, now there was no going back.
“I’ll drop Tig off near the camp and then come back for you. We can spend the night at my place or the Gerrely’s. Wait for Tig’s report and then send out the challenge. There are formalities involved.”
“Tig is going nowhere.” On that matter Fabian was adamant. “Not handing Warrington another hostage. Send one of your men.”
“No, it has to be someone we trust without question.” A tear tracked
down Hal’s cheek “Tig? You know they’ll send her back in pieces.”
“I’ll go.”
“You will not.” Fabian blocked her way, both irritated and terrified by the determination in her voice. No match for his strength, she’d fight him with everything she had but didn’t see she was playing right into Hal’s hand.
Ducking under his arm, he nearly lost her. “Your loyalty is to be admired,” he said blocking her again. “In a war, there are casualties. You will not be one of them.”
“I’ll be careful. Let me go inside and change my clothes.” Her eyes pleaded with him. “Sunas is my friend and Warrington will kill her. I have to help her.”
“And what of me?” It irked him to make this display in front of Hal. Not that he expected anything else from Tig, but how could she not realise the extent of the man’s guile? How satisfied Hal would be to see them arguing like peasants high on barley-brandy?”
“You’ll be safe with Hal. Please let me go.”
“We have only his word you have not been betrayed. If they take you I’ll have no choice but to surrender myself and we’ll both die. If I’m taken I will lose my right to challenge. Do you understand? Let’s think this through without doing anything rash.”
A nod, a sniff. Tig wiped her nose with the back of her hand. Almost convinced, then with a soft cry, she clutched at the side of her face. “Stop it, Hal. I believe you.”
“Get out of her head.” Fabian roared the command without turning around, his attention focused solely on Tig. Hysteria and panic did not make for rational decision making. Right now they needed to think rather than rush like suicide-rats into danger. Grabbing Tig’s arm, he shouted Hal to stay put and then dragged her into the house and pressed her into the armchair beside the hearth.
Dropping to one knee, he took her hand. “Tig, look at me.” She was staring past him, at the open door. Probably calculating her chances of getting through it before him. “I value your involvement. You have a role to play, but this is not it. If I lose the challenge, or if I’m taken I will need someone who can walk unhindered in the camp. You need to remain anonymous and impartial. Do you understand?”
