by Cole Pain
“Hold still,” he whispered. “I’m a friend.”
The woman stiffened but didn’t move away. When the bowl was empty, Ren set it aside. “Finished,” he said. “You should feel better soon.”
The woman pushed herself up. Although her face was bathed in shadow, he could sense her smile.
“My prince,” she said, inclining her head. “Thank you.” Her voice was soothing, almost peaceful, surprising Ren after the beating she had endured.
“Please, call me Ren.”
When she didn’t respond, Ren motioned to the cell walls. “This place commands no titles.”
“But a prince you are,” she said, her smile bringing life to her words. “These stones cannot take that from you. It’s in here.” She leaned forward and placed her hand on his chest.
A slight tingle shivered through him at her touch. Ren strained to see her features, but the shadows lingered around her. She seemed very familiar, although Ren couldn’t imagine how he knew her.
“Do I know you?” he finally asked.
“I’m Aidan.”
Her name wasn’t familiar. Ren searched the darkness, desperate for her to speak. He knew that voice. Ren swept his gaze down the outline of her shape, daring to hope for the impossible.
“Aidan, are you … ”
In response, Aidan touched his check. Inside, something stirred in response.
“Yes.”
Ren yearned to see her eyes, prove to himself she was truly who she claimed, but Aidan stayed where she was, bathed in shadow.
“You told me something when they captured you,” Ren said. “What was it?”
Aidan didn’t reply for a few heartbeats, but when she did her words were laced with conviction. “Time and space do not exist for you and me. As of this breath, I am yours.”
Ren drew a shallow breath as she spoke the words he could never forget. “I am yours,” Ren said, searching the darkness. “What did you mean by that?”
“You would have sacrificed your life to save me that day,” Aidan said. “In exchange, I gave my life to you. The Maker granted my request.”
“I’m sorry,” Ren said. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“I’m connected to you, my prince. We call it the ‘unica’ or ‘union’ in the modern tongue. When your emotions are high I can feel them, just as you can feel mine. At a certain intensity of feeling there’s a type of bridge between us. My thoughts can flow over on this bridge as if I were speaking directly to you. In time you’ll be able to send thoughts to me as well.”
“The Maritium can pair with a mind,” Ren said. “That’s why the wizards valued your companionship. Your link proved to the people the wizards just intentions.”
“Yes and no,” she said. “When the Dark Ages passed, not only were the Lands fearful, but the wizards as well. Because the people trusted us, the wizards asked if we would be willing to help rebuild trust in the Alcazar.”
Ren suddenly understood. “The wizards gave you the link.”
“Yes.” Aidan motioned to her eyes. “The mark of the wizards’ gift. After the Dark Ages the wizards recognized a need for constant testing. They thought of the Druids and the way they could link with a mind. The wizards knew it was the only way to regain the trust of the people, but as you well know the wizards didn’t trust the Druids. By establishing the link in us, we could judge each wizard’s intentions. We established annual tests. If we discovered a wizard with evil propensities he was given to the Druids.”
Ren sat back, wondering why he hadn’t put the pieces together before. It was amazing how two religious races could have such contrasting values. The Druids were the antithesis of the Maritium. Although zealously religious, the Druids deemed it their religious right to control mankind. The Druids could also link with a mind, but instead of reading it, they destroyed it.
Aidan sensed his next questions and answered before he asked. “Barracus tricked us. He passed our tests, but he had split his mind. He painted us a picture of goodness and light when he was just the opposite. Most wizards chose a Maritium guide to prove their goodness. Barracus didn’t request one. We should have suspected something, but in those days we could barely meet demand. Our race rarely married, so our population was on the decline.”
“Some Maritium linked to just one wizard?”
“Yes, like the link between us,” Aidan said. “If Barracus had requested a guide he couldn’t have hidden his true desires. A one-to-one link is intimate and final. If you link to one, you can never link with another. Think of the unica as a marriage. If a righteous woman marries a man she would never defile herself with another. She immerses herself with him and only him. But if she isn’t joined to one she can accept many suitors, judging them superficially but never intimately. It’s the same with the link. Those who choose to guide many can be fooled. Those who choose to guide one cannot. At the height of emotions a person’s true nature is revealed.”
Ren didn’t know how to respond. When she had linked with him, had she read his every thought? Color rose to his cheeks. He quickly changed the subject.
“You said the Maritium rarely marry. Is that due to the link?”
Aidan nodded. “In a way, the link is a marriage, but it’s rational, not zealous. The unica is intimate, but it can never be passionate. Yet because of it I can never marry. Our link is too strong to allow my feelings to drift to another. With a one-to-one link marriage isn’t only forbidden, it’s unpalatable.”
Her words left him slightly shaken. He remembered the jolt he had felt when she first touched him. Its intensity had left him slightly off balance. Ren clenched his fists, forcing back the thoughts she had negated. Taking his silence for acceptance, Aidan lifted her hand and cradled his cheek.
“You feel this?”
Ren nodded, unable to find the words as his feelings rose to the surface. They were like the waves of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. They overwhelmed and comforted at the same time. Ren closed his eyes, shivering as the sensations grew hot.
Aidan took her hand away. Ren could hear her shallow breath in the silence of the cell. He wondered if she had felt his reaction, but remained silent.
“That’s the bond,” Aidan said simply, as if proving her point.
Ren nodded and turned away, unsure if he wanted the bond or not. If the bond was as confining as Aidan described, why would he?
“Aidan, I can’t – ”
“Ask me to sacrifice a normal life? You’ve just given me one. My people were born to link, to help guide those chosen. I’ve been waiting for you for a long time, my prince. I regret nothing.”
Ren leaned back against the cold stone, unsure whether to feel elation or horror. She had yielded out of duty, but he had yielded out of something far greater. In the days to come how would that affect him? And if she ever discovered the truth, how would she respond?
“Would you like to denounce me?”
Ren turned, surprised. “I can do that?”
“Yes.”
“Would that set you free?”
“No,” Aidan said. “I would be free of you but never free to join another. I would be alone.”
“Then of course not,” Ren said, unsure if he was relieved or disappointed. “I would never denounce you, Aidan, I promise you that. You’ve become part of my life. I’m honored you chose me, but I hurt for you as well.”
“Why?” Aidan asked.
“If the bond is as confining as you say, you’ll never know the beauty of love.”
Aidan leaned forward until the torchlight from the corridor cast her face in a gentle glow. All Ren’s apprehension melted away. He knew without a doubt who she would become to him. Whether or not she could or would he refused to consider or question.
She arched her eyebrows, drawing attention to her violet eyes. They drew the torchlight like jewels, so vibrant and pure they shook him like the sea at sunset.
As the corners of her mouth lifted into a smile, Ren found himself grinning back
.
“The union is beauty enough,” she said. “Now, I give you my vow.”
Aidan lifted his hand. “We join in faith, blind faith. It’s this faith that bridges the way between us, even if we cannot see. Everywhere you go, there I’ll be. Have faith in that, and have faith in me, as I will have faith in you – blind faith.”
“Aidan,” Ren said, bowing his head, “it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
Aidan’s smile widened, lighting the dark corners of the cell. “The pleasure is all mine.”
- - -
Lazo looked up when the library door opened, unsurprised to find Ramie Augustus and his captain, Fraul Joste, silhouetted against the light of the great hall. Lazo had been expecting the king of the Old Lands since that morning.
Bentzen and Galvin, two of the castle guard, and Quinton, Ren’s captain, rose from their seats. Quinton flashed Lazo a look of caution, but Lazo quickly dismissed it. Quinton didn’t trust outsiders, but Lazo had a feeling Ramie would be needed in the weeks to come. Valor was now the recognized leader of Zier, hence the supreme ruler of Newlan. The only man who could possibly unseat him would be Ramie, the supreme ruler of the Old Lands.
Lazo leaned back in his chair and glanced at his siblings, Jasta and Justin. The twins’ pale blue eyes barely moved in Ramie’s direction. Both were chattering with their inner voice, reviewing laws and treaties in search of one that could free Ren. To anyone else it would sound like nonsense, but to Lazo it was order in chaos. Jasta and Justin were trying to solve many mysteries at once.
At times Lazo found himself wishing he wasn’t part of the trio. Although he had been honored his entire life for his intellect, trained at the Advisor Convent where all twins went to train, he was a triplet, separate from the twins yet isolated from the rest of society.
Twins could hear each other’s thoughts. While one studied mathematics, the other could read the histories, but both learned at the same rate. A triplet learned even more rapidly, yet was excluded from the twins in subtle ways. Although he could hear the twins’ thoughts just as they could hear his, he was a separate entity, yet forever joined to the twins by a curse called the Mar. The Mar meant sure death. No twin had ever survived it; no triplet had ever tried.
Jasta and Justin ceased their incessant chatter when they realized another had walked into the room.
Lazo didn’t have to motion for Ramie to enter. The king of the Old Lands quickly made his way to the table. Lazo had yet to meet a man shorter than the Augustus leader, but when Ramie entered the room everyone seemed to shrink by comparison. Ramie had a commanding presence that demanded total submission, if not fear.
“How long?” the king of Yor demanded.
Lazo didn’t have to think on the question’s context. There was only one subject dear to Ramie’s heart – his brother, Nigel Augustus.
Although Ramie seemed furious, underneath his strong exterior Lazo could sense his unease. Only seventeen when he took the throne, Ramie had earned Oldan’s respect and reverence. Two years before Jarek Augustus’ death the Druids had claimed Nigel, Ramie’s older brother and true heir to the Yor throne. Although everyone knew Ramie was the stronger leader, Nigel’s death had devastated the Lands.
Lazo frowned. He and the twins had met Nigel the year prior to his death, when Nigel had first discovered he had the Druid power of calling. It had been revealed in front of many, and word had spread like the ten winds.
After the Wizard War, people feared anything akin to magic, and the Druids loathed others obtaining a power they saw as their own. Druids had a unique sense of body and spirit, giving them special abilities. Druids could call objects to themselves with a mere thought. At times that ability was born in the masses, challenging Druid superiority. That’s when the Druids used their second power, a power only Druids possessed – the power of closing.
Lazo had seen a few Druids in his day and he never cared to see another. They were hard men with hard eyes, the type of men who would kill without reason. Religious zealots, the Druids preached their superiority and never missed an opportunity to try to claim it. Fifteen years ago they had almost succeeded.
The Druid closing power could not only change a man, it could destroy him. When Druids entered a mind, they would force what they could from that mind and lock it away forever. In times past they could even lock away magic. They claimed to open an internal mental door, force the vice or memory behind that door, and lock it away. Once the trait was locked away it could never be retrieved. And if the Druids locked away the calling power, an innate ability and not a learned trait, some died, some went insane, but all changed – drastically.
Seventeen years ago the Druid leader, Kasim, decided it was the Druids’ religious right to rid the world of corruption and began closing people from anything he considered vile, including the calling power birthed in those non-Druid. Soon their cleansings grew to unfathomable levels. People were locked away from wanting drink, craving sex, or any number of things. Mass panic claimed the Lands. Many didn’t even leave their houses.
Then the Black Knight rode, driving every last Druid back to the island of Dresden.
How the Black Knight evaded the Druid power still remained a mystery, but he did. If the Druids refused to leave the Lands, he killed them. It was that simple. No one knew the Black Knight’s identity, and no one cared. He was a hero to everyone but the Druids.
Nigel’s calling ability came before the ride of the Black Knight. When the Druids came for Nigel, he was killed, along with his sister and future bride.
Lazo studied the king of Yor. Ramie had loved his brother fiercely and Nigel’s death had devastated him. Many believed Ramie had hired the Knight, but no proof existed. To this day the Black Knight remained anonymous, but Lazo had his suspicions.
“Ren discovered he possessed the calling ability when he was twelve, my king,” Lazo replied. “He kept it hidden, knowing, as you do, the people would fear the Druids’ return.”
Ramie’s dark eyes flashed with something Lazo had hoped to see - fierce protection. Ramie had currently substituted Ren for Nigel. In Ramie’s eyes, Ren was his brother, and this time Ren was a brother Ramie could save.
“Tell me what you know, Lazo. I want to help.”
Lazo motioned to a chair. Ramie shook his head, indicating he would stand. Fraul took it instead and propped his boots on the table. Although a casual act, Fraul’s gray eyes were intense. Fraul’s lanky appearance surprised many soldiers, but Lazo had never seen another best the man. Despite his thin, gray ponytail and well-weathered skin, Fraul had the brawn of a soldier half his age. Fraul gave an imperceptible nod as his eyes drifted to the library door.
“I’ve called Bentzen and Galvin to recount that night,” Lazo said, glancing at the two motionless men beside Quinton.
Ramie turned to face the trio he had failed to acknowledge before. After a brief inspection, he inclined his head. “Quinton,” he said in greeting before he focused his hawk-like gaze on Bentzen. “You confirmed Ren’s presence in Wyrick’s chambers?”
Lazo winced at Ramie’s chosen words. Bentzen blamed himself for Ren’s capture. The look on Bentzen’s face wavered between dismay and horror. It was the first emotion Lazo ever recalled seeing on the soldier. Bentzen was a harsh man, as tall as a mountain and as hard of heart. No one could befriend the guard, and few knew his name. But in all of Lazo’s years he had never seen greater loyalty. After fulfilling his duties, Bentzen voluntarily stationed himself at Ren’s door every evening: a silent, trustful companion. Ren had tried on numerous occasions to lure Bentzen away, but Bentzen merely met his eyes and shook his head. Ren had finally given up, and over the years an unbreakable bond had formed between the prince and the guard.
“Yes,” Bentzen said, intense blue eyes filled with self-loathing. “Valor asked us who entered Wyrick’s chambers before we knew of the murder. We would have never – ”
“We know, Bentzen,” Lazo said in reassurance. “No one questions your lo
yalty.”
Bentzen nodded but his face flared with shame. Galvin fared no better. His deep brown eyes were bloodshot and weary and his long blond hair was tousled from turbulent sleep. If Bentzen was the mountain, Galvin was the stream. When you looked in Galvin’s eyes you felt cleansed in some profound way. His eyes held his heart and his heart belonged to his prince. Both would die before betraying Ren.
Lazo turned back to Ramie, trying to keep the regret from his voice. “When the guards entered Wyrick’s chambers they found him dead and immediately reported it to me. Valor was conveniently with me at the time and came along to question Galvin and Bentzen. When Ren was implicated, Valor immediately took command as ranking king.”
“And Valor has the right?” Ramie asked.
Lazo gave a grim nod. “Valor has every right. The only Razon heir has been accused of treason, and Ren’s closest relatives, Paul and Sass of Ketes, are related to the queen, not Wyrick. Ren is the last of his line. With Wyrick dead and Ren sentenced to die, Valor’s kingdom reigns supreme.”
“But didn’t Wyrick have a brother?”
Justin nodded. “Michel Razon lives at the base of the Sierra Mountains. He left Stardom over twenty years ago, but he still breeds stallions for the crown. I fear for him,” Justin said, pale blue eyes filling with memories, “but Valor refuses to let anyone leave the grounds. We tried three times to send a messenger to warn Michel of the danger. It’s been days now.”
Although Jasta murmured internal reassurances to her twin, she said, “We fear Michel is already dead.”
“Not yet.”
Lazo blinked in stunned confusion as Michel emerged from the far side of the library, strides away from the door. Fraul rose to his feat, sword in hand, poised to strike on Lazo’s word.
Michel was filthy, covered from head to toe in dirt. Blood seeped from a wound on his shoulder, and his hands were raw and bleeding.
“Fates, Michel,” Lazo said. “How did you get through the guards?”
In reply, Michel stepped aside and motioned to a section of the library wall. It was hollow.
“There are false walls all over Stardom,” Michel said in explanation. “Their secret was given to me and only me. They saved my life when Wyrick … ” Michel let his voice trail off as he glanced at Ramie. “When Wyrick and I had our disagreement.”
