WolfHeart

by K. Allen Cross

  “Tayan, now the dancers have gone, will you listen to me?” Ellie asked from beside him.

  He turned to see her gazing pleadingly at him. Leaning towards her, he whispered, “When I tell you, run into the hall.”

  “Yes, Tayan. Don’t you want me beside you?”

  Nodding, he said, “Don’t ask why, but once things get...confusing, stay as close to me as you can.”

  “Worse than they are now?” she asked fearfully.

  “Much worse.” He grinned, looking over at Toma, who was talking to a messenger and a priest who had come in. “We’ll be leaving in a hurry.”

  She nodded briefly, accepting what he said even though she had no idea what was going on.

  “Now, Tayan, I have been trained for pleasure, all forms of cooking and poison detection--”

  “Ellie,” he interrupted, “just sit quietly until I tell you to go then do it fast.”

  She clapped her mouth shut and sat on her heels.

  A pair of dancers had taken the floor to low flute music and the heavy beat of drums. Splitting up, they danced close to the tables, dropping their sheer silks here and there as they went. One stocky merchant stood and waved a coin at the lighter-haired one as she came close. The woman started to bow in front of him then quickly popped back up and danced away. The man grabbed a couple more coins and called for her to return.

  She did, this time taking the coins from him and laying them at his feet before she moved on. The man sat back down with a satisfied grin.

  More dancers started trickling out one or two at a time. The light-haired one went over and sat with the merchant, first picking up her coins. Soon, another dancer bowed to a man then sat by him. As he watched women selling themselves, he looked for Odif to reappear. He knew she had gotten a good look at the room. What was she waiting for?

  “Excuse me, Lord Tayan,” Toma said formally. When Tayan looked his way, he went on. “Did you know a knight by the name of Sir Arlan?”

  He shook his head. “Why?”

  “I understand he was from Paladnia. I just received word that he has been killed by bandits as he was leaving town.”

  By the satisfied look on Toma’s face, Tayan highly doubted he had nothing to do with it. The priest beside him also looked quite content with this news.

  “Why did he have to die?”

  Toma shrugged. “I heard he found out about you and was heading back to inform his superiors. We are looking for his friend, just to explain the tragedy of what happened, of course.”

  So, Tayan thought, Toma isn’t so noble after all. “I sincerely hope you do not find him.”

  “Her,” Toma corrected. “And, yes, we will find her.”

  Tayan scanned the floor, looking to see if Odif had come out yet. Roughly half the dancers were either dancing or attending men, but no Odif. He was tempted to ask Toma if he wanted to surrender now.

  “She’s probably on the road back to Paladnia by now,” he offered. “Are you ready for a siege?”

  “Oh, yes,” Toma assured him. “Stazor may come, but I’m sorry to say you won’t be here to see it.”

  “You got that right,” he muttered. Louder, he said, “I must warn you--if I do find that you’ve caught her I will have to try and free us both.”

  “I would expect no less.” Toma nodded with a wave of his cup. “When we catch her, we’ll let you know.”

  I’ll let you know, he thought. Growing impatient, he scanned the room again. Still no Odif. What in the abyss was taking her so long?

  More dancers came out until it looked like every one except Odif was here. They were now cycling between dancing and sitting by the men they’d picked. Even the tall, pale-haired woman was walking out onto the floor. He half-expected her to strip off her long silver dress and start dancing. What she did, though, was raise her arms and look at the minstrels.

  The music stopped. When she had everyone’s attention, she announced, “We have a special offering tonight! Two young virgins will be given to the gods of lust!”

  Her announcement caused a roar of cheers and jingling of purses as men offered money for the unseen girls. She waited until the noise died down then said, “The first is Felicia, a prime young resident of Spring Valley.”

  The curtain opened, and a short brunette came out wearing a forced smile as she moved to stand by the woman.

  “Ten gold!” one man cried.

  “Twelve!” cried another.

  “Fifteen!”

  “Twenty-five!”

  Dropping his head, Tayan tried to block out the sounds of this disgusting auction. Concentrating on his own thoughts, he wondered if Odif had maybe slipped out and was going to come in from the hall behind him. Everyone’s attention was focused on the girl being sold--the time was perfect. He stole a glance behind him; even the guards were watching. He was sure these last two girls would be the finale, so it was now or never.

  The girl went to a richly clad merchant, who gave the pale-haired woman a sack of gold. As he took his prize and left, the woman announced, “And now I present Sarah, who will dance and pick the lucky man who will be the first to know her charms!”

  She moved aside as the curtain erupted and the blonde burst into the room and did a flip, followed by three quick spins.

  The room went wild.

  Not only were men calling for her, they began spilling their purses out on the tables and begging for her to come their way. By the time she had crossed the center of the room in her dance, men were leaving their chairs to wave her to them. The guards tried to shout over the uproar for the men to sit back down. As she passed, men were stepping away from their chairs, shouting louder for her to come back. Amid the howls of lust, Tayan sat back and shook his head. Leave it to Odif to make a grand entrance.

  Then, to his right, he heard a more ominous shout.

  “It’s her! That’s the one right there!” the priest yelled, pointing right at Odif.

  So much for surprise. Grabbing Ellie by the arm, he hauled her up as he got to his feet.

  “Go now!’ he barked and shoved her towards the door.

  Odif was still dancing towards him, unmindful of the priest’s yelling. One of his guard women stepped in front of him. At the same time, he noticed two men jumping up from Toma’s other side, going for Odif. Grabbing the woman’s arm, he swung her around and flung her at them. She managed to keep her feet with a stumbling run into the men. The three fell in a heap.

  ***

  Amber stopped dancing as she saw Tayan in motion. She also saw Father Wright pointing at her and yelling. Her heart went into her throat--they were in deep trouble. Forgetting her dance, she ran straight for Tayan as he twisted a secondwoman around from behind him by her arm.

  Toma was on his feet, screaming for the guards. Tayan planted his foot on the woman’s behind and gave her a shove right at the duke. A third one of his guards grabbed him from behind but suddenly let go with a grunt as Amber kicked her in the ribs.

  The woman stumbling toward Toma collided and, trying to hold him for support, dragged him to the floor with her.

  “Follow me!” Tayan barked at Amber, who was now right beside him. His other guard women thought better of trying to grab him and let them run past.

  The main advantage they had was that most of the room thought this was a fight for the virgin. Not having heard the priest or Toma’s yells, they enjoyed the spectacle, cheering and laughing as people were tossed about. It wasn’t until Tayan kicked one armored guard in the chin then used that guard's spear to kill the other one that they began to realize something was wrong.

  The two had fled from the room by the time a crimson-faced Toma got to his feet. His voice was hoarse with anger as he screamed and jabbed an arm at the door.

  “Seal the castle! I want that bitch’s head on a pole!”

  In the hallway, Amber heard Toma’s command as she ran behind Tayan. Her heart slammed in her chest--she was going to die, she just knew it! Before she did, she had to get Tayan
out of here. Once he was free, they could do what they liked with her.

  In her peripheral vision she noticed a green-skinned girl running behind her. She stopped short and put all her weight into her elbow as she thrust it backwards. Ellie ran into it, taking it in her lower ribs.

  ***

  Hearing the oof, Tayan spun to see Ellie hit the floor on her back. He skidded to a stop and ran back.

  “Odif, no! She knows the way out!”

  Odif gaped at him as he tried to get Ellie to her feet. She was twitching, her mouth and eyes wide open in pain, desperately trying to breathe. Odif helped him get her over his shoulders as men poured into the hall and started towards them. Tayan ran as hard as he could for the storerooms.

  The door underneath the stairs was closed.

  “Under the stairs, get the door!” he rasped. There was no way they were going to get inside and get the door shut again before someone caught up to them. He didn’t relish the thought of trying to fight carrying Ellie, and he wasn’t going to leave her. If only Odif would use some of her magic!

  The door swung open; and a male slave came out carrying a basket of corn. Seeing the people barreling down at him, he froze.

  “Move!” Tayan roared. The startled slave tried to get out of the way but not fast enough. Tayan caromed off him and just managed to keep from falling or dropping Ellie as he staggered through the doorway and against a wall. Odif slammed the door shut, holding the ring in both hands with a foot braced against the frame. Thinking quickly, Tayan grabbed a torch from the wall and wedged it into the ring just as someone yanked it from the other side. The torch bent with a cracking sound but held. He knew it wouldn’t hold for long.

  They were in another small hallway with four doors to the left and another three to the right. He hadn’t planned on a whole section of storerooms. Ellie was making small movements, gasping in tiny breaths. She wasn’t going to be of any help. In fact, she needed help. He didn’t dare put her down yet.

  He had to find the right door but there was no time to open every one. Starting down the hall, he told Odif, “Look for one without hinges.”

  “Why?”

  He glanced at her, not too surprised she even sounded like Amber. “That means the door opens in, we can block it. It also might mean that’s the one with the tunnel.”

  Behind them, the torch cracked louder as more men pulled at the door. Someone yelled for a pry bar. Another yelled that the doorframe was starting to burn. Glancing back, Tayan saw he was right. The torch had ignited the frame; fire was creeping towards the ceiling. With any luck, even if they didn’t escape, the damn place would burn down.

  At the third door, he found what he was looking for. Kicking it in, he saw steps descending into darkness. “Get a torch,” he ordered Odif.

  She snatched one from the wall and followed him down a couple steps. She shut the door as the sound of splintering wood told them the torch had given way.

  Gently as he could, Tayan squatted down and set Ellie on the steps. She gritted her teeth and hissed, but thankfully she didn’t scream. Above him, Odif slipped the bar attached to the door into its brackets. From outside, the first sounds of doors being slammed were accompanied by Toma’s voice demanding that the search be quick.

  Below, the room held stacks of crates. It looked to be about thirty feet square, with walls of smooth worked stone. He didn’t see any other way out, though he was sure there had to be one.

  “Well, if we can’t get out, at least we have a few minutes before they get in,” he said quietly. “Let’s get Ellie off these steps.”

  He picked her up as gently as he could, but she let out a short yelp of pain as he lifted her. The door above rattled as someone banged on it.

  “They’re in here!”

  “Get axes!”

  Taking her down to a short stack of crates, he laid her on them. Beside him, Odif was shaking with fear, glancing up at the door.

  “What is wrong with you!” he asked harshly. “I could have used some more help up there! And what’s with using Amber’s shape? She would not appreciate you prancing about like that. Now do what you can for her--I’m going to look for a way out!”

  He stormed away, hoping she would drop the façade and change back into herself. Odif acted weird sometimes, but this was the first time she had put their lives in danger.

  Amber looked down at the greenish girl holding her hands to her lower ribs. She knew they were broken and that quite possibly the girl was bleeding on the inside. If she weren’t healed, she would die. If Tayan didn’t find a way out, they would all die. This wasn’t what she had planned at all.

  Ellie spoke a couple gasping words. “Leave me.”

  Amber laid a hand over hers and tried to smile. She wanted to tell her it would be all right, but she didn’t believe that herself. She noted there were now chopping sounds at the door above. Soon, it would be her neck they’d be chopping at.

  In the dim light of the single flickering torch, Amber knew she had to make her peace with Leighna now. Her robes didn’t matter, neither did the fact she was going to be killed. What did matter was her soul. Closing her eyes, she began whispering her prayer for healing, for if Leighna healed this girl, she knew she was forgiven.

  Tayan hurried down the third aisle of crates to slide his hands over the wall. He could make out enough detail to keep from running into objects thanks to his elven heritage. This wall felt the same as the previous two. Smooth stone, no cracks or indentations that meant there might be a door. Giving a huff, he started down another aisle, and his foot kicked something that sounded like metal. Bending down, he felt around for what might be a weapon. What he found was a small ring attached to the floor.

  This had to be it! Feeling around it, he found the edges of a two-foot-square trapdoor. He pulled on the ring; it stayed in place at first then broke free with a pop and the squeal of rusted hinges. From below, cool, musty air wafted up. He had found the tunnel.

  He left the door open and went back to Odif and Ellie. As he passed the stairs, he looked up at the door that was now leaking light down the stairway. The light shook and got a bit brighter as another ax slammed into it. They had a way out, but not much time to take it.

  Ellie was sitting up holding the torch as he returned. Odif was wiping her face like she had been crying. He’d figure out what was wrong with her later; right now they had to keep moving. Jerking a thumb back over his shoulder, he said, “I found the way out. Let’s go!”

  She shook her head and unhooked her top. “Even if we get away, I’m sure they have dogs to track us.” Taking the clips off the cloth, she shook it out and opened it up. It was a bag. “You have to get in one more time,” she told him.

  Tayan gaped at her. Although he didn’t mean to, his eyes fell on her breasts. They were soft and pillowy...he had a hard time forcing his eyes back up to her face. She had gotten the bag from Amber--that’s what had given her the idea to take her form.

  He shook his head. “Odif, I can’t. I’ll tell you why later, if you must know.”

  Taking a step towards him, she grabbed him by the front of his shirt. Daggers were in her eyes as she growled, “You call me Odif one more time, with Leighna as my witness, I will knock out every one of your teeth!”

  Her face was inches from his. Part of the makeup on her left cheek was peeled away, showing the pockmarks. His mouth worked up and down twice before he managed to speak.

  “Amber?” It had been her all along? His face flushed as the realization hit. By the gods, he never would have thought...

  “At least you got my name right. Now get in the damn bag!” she barked, interrupting his thoughts.

  Behind what was left of the door, Toma called out, “We’re almost through. Bowmen, at the ready!”

  The next ax blow was followed by a crashing noise and one of the boards from the door came bouncing down the steps. If the door wasn’t breached yet, it soon would be. To get to the tunnel, they would have to cross through the light
now pouring down the stairway. He had to think of something else, quickly.

  “Tayan, now!” Amber hissed. “I do not want to die for nothing!”

  Turning to look at her, he knew she would suffer horribly before Toma finally had her killed. He grabbed the bag from her and held it open. “You first, just dive in.”

  “And how will you get out?”

  “The same way you will. Hurry, please!”

  Placing her hands on his shoulders, she jumped up. For a brief second, her breasts hung in front of his face then she disappeared.

  Ellie’s jaw hung open as he held the empty-looking bag out to her.

  “Ellie, I need you to do something very important,” he told her.

  She nodded vacantly as she took the bag. “Yes, Master?”

  “After I get in, hide this bag. Tell anyone who asks that we left through the tunnel--are you listening?”

  She shifted her eyes to look at him. “Yes, Master.”

  “You tell Toma I gave you to Arthur Cooper, who lives in Tolina. Take this bag to him or his wife and explain what we just did.”

  “Yes, Master.”

  “You won’t forget now, will you?”

  “No, Master.”

  Creaking steps got his attention. He got up on the crate as legs appeared. Taking a deep breath, he dropped in.

  Ellie rolled the bag up and was tucking it into her waistband as the first bowman descended the last few steps. Leveling his crossbow on her, he demanded, “Where did they go, slave?”

  “They left through the tunnel.” she replied dutifully.

  “They’re in the tunnel!” the man cried up the stairs.

  A short while later, as armed men ran by, Ellie walked up the hall to Duke Toma. Seeing her, he planted his hands on his hips and asked, “So, what did your Master do with you?”

  She replied as ordered. “He gave me to Arthur Cooper, who lives in Tolina.”

  “Do you know where Tolina is?” he asked with a smirk.

  She shrugged nervously. “No, but I must find it.”

  Sweeping her body with his eyes, he sighed, “You are a very good slave, Ellie.”