World in Chains- The Complete Series

by Ryan W. Mueller

  "How are we supposed to know?" Ander said.

  Tylen stayed back about ten feet from Nadia. He'd been paranoid around sick people ever since the plague took his parents. Let others take the risk. He was too important.

  Aric nudged the others out of the way and began examining Nadia, looking as though he knew what he was doing.

  "Is she going to be all right?" Tylen demanded.

  "Give me time," Aric said without turning.

  Tylen tapped his foot. The longer he stood there, the more worried he became. Wouldn't Aric have given a prognosis already if it were something minor?

  "I don't think she's in any danger of dying," Aric said at last. "She's just exhausted. I'd say she ate something that didn't agree with her, judging by the vomit nearby. We'll just have to wait for her to wake up."

  Tylen continued tapping his foot. "I don't like waiting. Wake her up already."

  Aric nudged Nadia, but she didn't stir.

  "You have to try harder than that," Tylen said.

  "She's in a fragile state right now," Aric said. "We shouldn't take any chances."

  "I'm the leader here, and I say you need to wake her up. Now."

  Ander, standing a little away from Nadia, moved his hand to the hilt of his sword. "Tylen, you're going to do as Aric suggests, or you'll have me to answer to."

  "And me," Aric said, getting to his feet and sliding his hand to his own sword. Tylen had heard tales that Aric was a remarkable swordsman, perhaps good enough to best Tylen.

  "Have it your way," Tylen said. He stood silently while the rising sun painted the forest in orange. Stifling a yawn, he looked impatiently to the others, who all stood around as though they had all day.

  Minutes passed with only quiet chatter, and Tylen began pacing. The rest might not want to do anything, but he did. He marched toward Nadia, knelt down beside her, and shook her roughly.

  "What are you doing?" Ander said.

  "Waking her up. What does it look like?" Tylen continued shaking her, and she finally moaned.

  Slowly, her eyes came open, and she looked around in confusion. "No, not you."

  Tylen turned to the others. "She doesn't know what she's saying."

  "No, I know exactly what I'm saying, you despicable monster."

  Tylen felt like hitting her but resisted the temptation. He didn't want to be that kind of man. "That's no way to speak to your fiancé."

  She looked around groggily. "I'll speak to you however I want."

  "Get to your feet," Tylen said. "I don't have time for your insolence."

  Still, she didn't move. Her face remained pale, and her arms collapsed any time she tried to push herself to her feet. Tylen glared at her. "You know, if you hadn't run away, you wouldn't be so sick now."

  "Shut up. I hate you."

  He smiled. "Well, now that you've made your true feelings known, get up."

  Ander stepped between them and offered a hand to help her to her feet, but Tylen pushed Ander away. "She is not yours to touch. I am her fiancé, not you."

  "I don't care," Ander said. "I will not let you treat her like this."

  "I'll treat her however I feel." Tylen shoved Ander again. "And if you give me any problems, remember that I will have the power to make your life miserable. So think carefully before you act. I know thinking is hard for you, but you should at least try."

  Ander backed away, and his hand slid off his sword, but he still looked on with a furious glare. One day, Tylen would make sure Ander was put in his place.

  Tylen tugged hard at Nadia's arm, yanking her to her feet. She swayed and overbalanced, collapsing to the ground in a pathetic heap. A part of Tylen felt great joy in seeing the arrogant young woman so weak now. She deserved it. Another part did feel sorry for her, though. He liked something in her normally fierce spirit.

  "How about we try this again," Tylen said with deliberate condescension. If she was going to act like a child, she deserved to be treated like one. He yanked her to her feet again. This time, her knees didn't buckle, but her face turned green.

  Her mouth opened and vomit shot out, spraying Tylen's face. He closed his eyes in time, but it covered his mouth and nose. Its disgusting taste hit his tongue, and he almost vomited himself.

  Anger took hold of him. He pulled his dagger from his belt, knocked Nadia back to the ground, and pressed the dagger against her face, nearly breaking the skin. Oh, how he'd like to make her pay for this. But he couldn't take it too far. He wanted to scare some civility into her, but he didn't want to hurt her.

  "You messed up my face," he said. "Now I'll mess up yours."

  He pressed the dagger harder, almost enough to break the skin. But he knew where to stop. Upon seeing the fear in her eyes, and feeling a little ashamed of what he was doing, he pulled the knife back a bit. His work here was done.

  Then he felt a dagger pressing against his throat. It was Kara's.

  "Leave her alone," Kara said. If she put any more force on the dagger, it would break his skin.

  "Or what? You're going to kill me?"

  Kara's gaze was murderous. "If you ever threaten her again, I will."

  Looking into her eyes, Tylen knew she was telling the truth. "The high lord will hear of this. I hope you enjoy your time in prison. Threatening the future high lord of Crayden is a serious offense."

  She didn't pull the dagger away. "I'll take my chances."'

  Tylen still had his dagger pressed lightly against Nadia's face. Her eyes were wide, and her breathing sounded ragged.

  What the hell was he doing? A gentleman did not threaten a woman like this. At first, he'd thought he would relish in her fear, but now he felt ashamed at what he'd done. She was sick, and surely she hadn't meant to vomit in his face.

  "You're disgusting, Tylen," Ander said.

  Tylen pulled the dagger away from her face. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me." He narrowed his eyes at Kara. "Now would you kindly remove your dagger from my neck?"

  Kara held it there a moment longer, then backed away. She still looked dangerous, though. Tylen reminded himself never to cross her again.

  Ander drew his sword. "Do you expect me to think you're sorry?"

  "I don't care what you think. Now put that sword away before I'm forced to kill you."

  Tylen stashed his dagger in his belt and drew his own sword. His face burned with anger, and his hand tightened around the hilt of his sword. Time to teach Ander that lesson.

  "I'm a better swordsman than you," Tylen said. "Stand down or you'll regret it."

  "I can't stand down after what you did. You could have seriously harmed Nadia. You can't think I'll just let that go. High Lord Cray will find out."

  Tylen's insides twisted with dread. He hadn't thought of that. Heart pounding, he sheathed his sword and wiped vomit from his chin. "I-I'm sorry. I lost control there."

  Ander kept his sword at the ready. "I won't accept your excuses, Tylen. I know what kind of man you really are. You didn't lose control. That's just the true Tylen showing his colors. You've finally betrayed yourself, and you'll live to regret it."

  Tylen took a few deep breaths. Why had he been so stupid? He was supposed to remain in control. Always.

  "We will all just pretend this didn't happen," he said, looking at the group, all of whom stared back at him warily. "We all do things we regret. The important thing is I didn't hurt her, and I never intended to hurt her, just scare a little civility into here."

  "You expect us to believe that?" Aric said. "That will not happen."

  Tylen turned to him, regaining his composure. "I don't expect you to believe anything. I expect you to understand your situation. The high lord favors me. He does not favor any of you, especially not those of you in the Order. Especially not the commoners."

  "And your point is?" Kara said.

  "He won't believe any of you," Tylen said. "You've set yourselves firmly against our government, firmly against me, firmly for Nadia. You'd do anything to discredit me, so save
yourselves the trouble. If you think what I did now was scary, just imagine what I might do if you make life difficult for me."

  "You threatened her!" said one of the guards. "We can't ignore that."

  Tylen turned to the man. "Oh, yes, you can. You do know how easy it is to fabricate evidence against a simple commoner? A few well-chosen words, and the Imperial Guards will be after you. Remember this. I am your future high lord. Do right by me, and you'll be fine. Do wrong, and suffer the consequences."

  Tylen wasn't sure he could follow through on all these threats, but he had to make them.

  "Then I'll just tell my father," Nadia said from their right, still on the ground. "I will find a way to make you regret this, even if it takes the rest of my life."

  "At least I have some time, then."

  "Not as much as you might think," Nadia said.

  "Empty threats," Tylen said, and turned to the others. "Now, does anyone else want to ruin my life? I have a remarkable way with words. Don't make me use it."

  Ander looked down at the ground. "I see your points, Tylen. Unfortunately."

  The others all voiced their agreement. It must have been his strange persuasive abilities at work. He hadn't been sure they'd work this time. At some point, they might bring this up, but he'd have time to outmaneuver their efforts.

  "Now let's get back to Crayden," he said. "I've had enough of this forest." He stepped over to Nadia. "Get up."

  That had come out harsher than he'd intended.

  "Do you want to go through this again?" she asked with a fiery gaze.

  Captain Davis approached them. "Come with me, Lady Nadia. I know you don't like Tylen, but we'll make sure he doesn't cause you any more problems."

  Nadia let the captain help her to her feet. She wavered, then steadied her balance, looking for a moment as though she might vomit again.

  They walked slowly for Nadia's sake. Tylen hated the pace, but he had to show he could be accommodating. Marriage would be a lot easier if he could gain her approval, but was that even possible now? And a part of him really did want her approval.

  He'd worry about that problem when the time came.

  * * * * *

  Darien sat on the stone floor in the room where he read the Webs of Fate. He closed his eyes, focused his thoughts, and called the Spirit of Malavia to him. It appeared in the room a few moments later, bathing him in frigid air. He shivered, but he was used to it.

  The spirit spoke in a low hiss. "What do you require, master?"

  "Nothing for the moment. I wanted to congratulate you on your performance."

  "I do my best, master."

  "For a moment there, I was almost convinced you do detest me."

  The spirit remained silent, and Darien scooted away from its strengthening chill. In truth, he didn't trust the creature. He didn't know where it had come from or who had created it, only that he had found it deep within the jungles of Malavia more than five hundred years ago.

  But all indications said that he had it under control. It had never disobeyed a command he'd given. If it had ulterior motives, it hid them well.

  Regardless, he needed it. The spirit was his best way of controlling events outside the Empire. It took longer to summon it over such great distances, but he had to settle for what he could do. He still burned with anger whenever he thought of Cyrus and the others imprisoning him within the Empire. They'd been friends, and they'd betrayed him.

  He still didn't know how they'd done it.

  But he did know the barriers were weakening all over the Empire.

  "You may go," he told the spirit. He had almost forgotten about it despite its chill. That horrible cold vanished moments later, and warmth washed over Darien. Introducing Nadia to the spirit and calling on her to save it from its servitude were key events according to the Webs.

  Darien smiled. He was one step closer.

  Chapter 23: Dangerous Plans

  Rik remained in Crayden, trying in vain to think of a way to free Markus. He had one plan, but it struck him as more insane than his usual. Maybe he could get the Order involved. But why would they agree to help him?

  His steps carried him into the blacksmith shop where Tomas worked.

  "What brings you here, Rik?" Tomas asked in a subdued voice, his face lined with worry.

  Rik approached the counter. "Is everything okay? You seem like something's bothering you."

  "I could say the same about you. I've never seen you without a smile. I wonder, could the same thing be bothering both of us? It's Markus, isn't it?"

  Rik's heart fluttered. "So you know what's happened to him?"

  "All I know is Imperial Guards took him away."

  "Well, he's in prison," Rik said, resting a hand on the wooden counter, looking longingly at all the weapons and armor he couldn't afford.

  "That's better than I expected," Tomas said. "I thought they'd kill him."

  "Well, they don't want him dead for some reason. But they're gonna leave him in there as long as they want."

  Tomas frowned. "What can we do? We can't break him out."

  "I know. I was thinking maybe the Order could help. You never know."

  "Why would they help?" Tomas asked. "He doesn't mean anything to them. The Order can't help every person Warrick's done wrong." He rested his elbows on the counter, covering some of the cracks in its surface. "I don't know. Maybe I could talk to my friend Kara. She's in the Order. But don't expect much. From what she tells me, the Order isn't all that effective."

  Rik turned away in frustration. He could hear, from the next room, Tomas's master working at the forge, probably unaware of their conversation. Still, Rik felt anxious. Imperial Guards offered large bounties for anyone turning in Order members.

  "Well, I guess that's something at least," Rik said. "I hope we can figure out a plan. I'm out of ideas. It feels wrong."

  Tomas laughed softly. "Rik without ideas? That is strange."

  Rik couldn't bring himself to laugh in return.

  * * * * *

  Nadia felt sick as she walked up the path toward the castle. Was it the berries or her nerves? She trembled at the thought of her father's anger.

  She'd stayed as far away from Tylen as possible, talking to Kara instead—mostly about Markus. What had become of him?

  Of course, she already had enough to occupy her mind.

  They reached the open gate and stepped into the foyer, where her father waited in a chair. Dark circles sat under his eyes, and his hair was a mess. His expression became stern.

  He rose and strode over to Tylen. "Thank you for finding her."

  "Anything for you, my lord," Tylen said with his fakest sincerity, bowing his head.

  Nadia felt like vomiting again, and it wasn't the berries. How could her father not see Tylen's true nature? Nothing would ever make him believe what Tylen had done in the forest. Not even if they all told the same story.

  She felt trapped.

  Her father turned to her with narrowed eyes. "Words cannot describe how angry I am with you, young lady. Get out of my sight. It's enough that you're safe. I intend that you stay that way. You won't pull that stunt again, not with guards stationed at the bottom of the tower." He turned away from her. "Now go. Just go."

  Nadia had never seen this cold anger before. She would have preferred it if he'd yelled at her.

  Two guards led Nadia up to her room, and she saw no reason to fight them. Her legs collapsed a few times on the stairs, forcing the guards to support her weight.

  When she reached her room, she strode to her bed. None of the search party accompanied her, as they knew her father would not permit any visitors. There was little hope of his mood turning around any time soon. She felt a miserable knot in her stomach.

  She had failed. Now she would have to marry Tylen.

  She could still feel his dagger pressed against her face, feel the pressure as she was sure he would cut her. He would have done so if Kara and Ander hadn't interfered.

  Tyle
n was a monster.

  But what good would crying do her? Instead, she contemplated how she'd escape her situation, for she would find a way. Perhaps she could behave and convince her father to give her freedom again. Her father had always been soft, easily swayed. If she acted contrite and expressed a change of mind about Tylen, perhaps he'd buy it.

  Now she had to wait for her father to calm down. For the rest of the day, she went downstairs only for meals, accompanied by guards, and if her father saw her, he left the room. She'd call after him, but he would ignore her. This felt worse than his anger.

  She went to bed that night worried her father would never speak to her again. She didn't know what to expect of him now. At least she hadn't been forced to deal with Tylen again. She wasn't ready

  That knife. That cruel grin on his face.

  Those images lingered in her dreams that night and still bothered her as she went down to breakfast the next morning. She approached the table hesitantly, seeing her father. He had shaved and tidied his hair. Though he didn't leave this time, he stared at her with narrowed eyes. She ate in silence, feeling his cold gaze, and put down her fork halfway through breakfast

  "I'm sorry, Father," she said, meeting his brown eyes. When he didn't respond, she continued. "I shouldn't have run away. I was immature and selfish. I didn't think of how much my leaving would hurt you, but I can see it in your eyes, and I am deeply, deeply sorry."

  "Thank you," he said quietly. She couldn't gauge his emotional reaction.

  "I've had time to think now, and I understand that you have my best interests in mind. My time away from here proved to me how much I have yet to learn about the wider world. I need you in my life, Father, and I missed you when I was gone. The whole time, I couldn't stop thinking of how horrible everyone back home must feel."

  She was able to make her words sound sincere because they were, for the most part, true. Yes, she'd embellished parts and told minor lies. The next part, however, would test her ability to fake it.

  She took a deep breath. "I will also give Tylen another chance. I was the most unfair toward him. With the shock of Varek and Len dying, I wasn't in the right frame of mind. I know it doesn't excuse my actions, but I've had time to calm down now. Tylen has given me no reason to hate him, and I will apologize to him as well."