Daryk Warrior

by Denise A. Agnew

  Emrond walked toward her and Finny. Mia put her arm around Finny’s narrow shoulders.

  “I don’t have any money. A little food. You can take that and get out,” Mia said.

  Emrod laughed. “I don’t think so. We have time to play and we’re taking advantage of it.”

  Play? Mia quivered again, unable to shake the fear that gathered in her bones, in her skin like a sickness. She glanced at Finny, who still clung to Mia’s arm. Something else wasn’t right. Finny looked pale, as if she might fall to the floor any minute.

  Finny’s hand loosened its grip on Mia’s arm and down the woman went. Mia gasped as she grabbed Finny before she could hit her head. They sank to the floor.

  “Finny!” Mia cradled the woman’s head in her lap. “Wake up.”

  “What the fuck is wrong with her?” Kemrond prowled the room looking for valuables, his attention only half drawn to the commotion.

  “Stupid bitch fainted, looks like.” Emrond smirked and crouched next to them.

  Finny’s breathing seemed sparse and too quick. Mia’s instinct told her whatever had happened to the woman had nothing to do with mere fainting. “No. This is much worse.”

  Emrond grunted and stood. “Let her die.”

  “No.” Fierce anger outstripped her ability to keep her mouth shut. “I can fix her.”

  Emrond scowled. “Fix her?”

  Though as far as she knew most Dragonians had nothing against healers, she couldn’t be sure about these men. Old fears rose within. She struggled to force words out. “I’m a healer.”

  Kemrond snorted this time. “That’s shite.”

  “It is not.” Mia closed her eyes and tried to squelch her trepidation. She sensed a disturbance, a deep illness inside Finny that had festered for months. Finny hadn’t sought treatment, Mia doubted the woman knew she needed it. Now, on this horrible day, the body she’d depended on for so many years refused to cooperate a moment longer.

  “What’s she doin’?” Kemrond asked.

  “Beats me,” his brother said. “Let her do it if she thinks she can resurrect the dead. I’d like to see that.”

  Glad the men didn’t try to stop her, Mia allowed her mind to drift to that place again. The place where quiet and darkness held power and she could gather the light within and around her to harness its healing. Mia placed her right palm over the woman’s sternum. Concentrating, she imagined the strength of internal fire radiating outward from her center. Gathering strength, the healing warmed her shoulder and formed in a large tingle that flowed down her biceps and forearm and into her hand. She opened her eyes, hoping to see healing in action.

  Light glowed from the point where she touched Finny. Finny’s eyes opened.

  “Easy.” Mia kept her in place. “Don’t move. I’m healing you.”

  Finny closed her eyes again and Mia did also, sending the flowing, warm heat to wherever Finny might need it.

  For long moments Mia kept her hands on the woman’s body. She would cure her. Would assure she’d live to see another day. Then something happened that Mia didn’t expect. The heat and energy pulsing from her hands slowed. Wavered. Began to weaken.

  No. Magon, no.

  Finny’s body shivered and a long moan parted her lips. Her eyelids fluttered open and the haze of illness lifted from her gaze. Mia let out a gasp as her remaining energy sapped low. She sank next to Finny, boneless and so tired she couldn’t move.

  She reached for Finny’s hand and held on, willing to give her whatever strength the woman needed to recover. Finny’s grip tightened but she didn’t speak. Both men laughed and the sounds were cruel. Mocking. Renewed energy suddenly sparked, pulled her up from the depths of weakness into amazing power.

  This was just like the last encounter, when she healed Eryk. The strange power she’d never experienced before reaching Dragonia.

  Before she could do more than pull herself into a sitting position, Emrond hauled her off the floor with a growl. His strength shot pain through her biceps. She flinched and instinctively pulled against his assault. She couldn’t let him take her out of this room. Finny needed her and Magon only knew what these men would do if they took her away from here.

  “Stop it!” She struggled but the bruiser kept his hold.

  “Bitch, if you don’t stop squirming, I’ll do more than fuck you when we get out of here.”

  His threat slowed her by a hair but she renewed her resistance. He shoved her roughly against a nearby stone wall and she cried out with pain. He pressed his huge body into hers and the force of his thick erection pressing against her stomach made nausea pour into her throat. She shoved against his chest, full-blown panic threatening to swallow her alive. He grabbed her throat. Her breath seized. Panic threatened but she was determined she wouldn’t die this way. Not when she’d come so far, worked so hard to reach Dragonia and freedom. But perhaps Dragonia wasn’t a land of freedom at all. Spots dotted her vision as pain racked her throat. She tried to suck in air. Tried. Fierce energy returned, moving through her limbs, strengthening her resistance. With a growl she directed that energy outward toward Emrond.

  His eyes widened as he flew backward and landed on his ass. Triumph gave her strength even as the short burst of energy crackled and hummed within her.

  The door blew open and Emrond scrambled to his feet. Knees wobbly, she stayed pressed against the wall and tried to remain upright. Kemrond, eyes wide, held his sword up and backed away a few steps.

  Eryk and a very ugly companion barged into the room. Both men held their swords at the ready, their faces murderous. Although it couldn’t have been long, the seconds stretched. Eryk took in the situation and his mouth twisted into an angry scowl. His fiery gaze clashed with hers, almost as if he was angry with her. He turned his rage on the other men in the room and his brutal-looking partner faced Kemrond. Finny remained on the floor, barely moving.

  “Get away from her,” Eryk practically growled.

  “Your woman is tasty.” The bastard who’d tried to strangle her smiled as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “She was interested in letting me taste her cunny. I would have if you hadn’t interrupted.”

  Eryk’s eyes burned with red, glowing like an angry fire. “I’ll give you one chance to run and never come back.”

  “Or what?” Emrond asked.

  “Or I’ll kill you.”

  Kemrond shifted on his feet and Mia took in the man’s expression. Fear crossed Kemrond’s face. “We better leave. He’s a Daryk One. And she just knocked you on your ass with some sort of power.”

  Emrond shrugged. “So?”

  “He’ll kill us.”

  The bruiser who’d come to the rescue with Eryk said, “I’ll help him kill you.”

  The brothers slowly lowered their swords.

  “Get out.” Eryk’s eyes gleamed with leashed violence.

  Emrond moved, a flash of metal gleamed as he lunged toward Eryk with sword at the ready. Mia couldn’t scream, her terror choked off in her tight throat. Another slash of metal and Eryk’s warrior growl filled the room. Emrond dropped to his knees, eyes shocked, and the man fell on his face. Blood poured from under the body. The other man, facing Kemrond, made a motion with his sword and Kemrond fell to the side, as dead as his brother.

  Shaking with elation, Mia forced strength into her legs. Eryk moved swiftly and before she could take a step he stood in front of her. Eyes narrowed, he touched the side of her neck.

  “By all that’s holy. Draconus! That bastard hurt you,” Eryk said.

  She shook her head. “I’ll be fine.” She moved out from under his touch. “I need to help Finny. She’s very ill.”

  Eryk followed her to the fallen woman. The brute of a man who’d accompanied him stood over Finny’s prone body.

  “Too late,” the man said. “She’s gone.”

  Tears filled Mia’s eyes as she crouched next to Finny and tested for a pulse. The woman wasn’t dead, but close. “No. She’s not. I need to get her to a
bed and work on her.”

  “Work on her?” the man asked.

  She remembered that Eryk had cautioned her against telling people about her healer abilities. She decided to ignore that warning. “I’m a healer.”

  Eryk threw her an exasperated look but he lifted Finny into his arms and settled the woman on the bed. Eryk’s eyes were skeptical and she wanted to punch him in the nose for his disbelief. Aching from head to toe, her throat sore, she glared at him. “I healed you, didn’t I?”

  He glared at her, his gaze hard and not the least understanding. He didn’t say anything and Mia sat on the bed. She ignored his negativity and quickly placed one hand on the woman’s upper chest. Weakness threatened to drain the burst of energy she’d received earlier but she concentrated on Finny with everything she had. She’d never lost a person yet and she wouldn’t lose one now. Eryk and his compatriot took the bodies out of the room and she heard them talking but not the words. Finally the door closed and noises faded. She expected battle sounds but the eerie quiet was almost as worrisome.

  She sensed Finny improving inch by inch. Finny sighed deeply and Mia smiled with satisfaction. Finny was healed completely but she’d need significant rest to restore her energy. Mia didn’t try to stand. She didn’t think she could. A few moments later the door opened behind her and she turned. Eryk stood there, alone. His expression had altered from annoyance to wonder, as if he’d been hit over the head and still didn’t understand what had happened. At some point he’d sheathed his sword. Muscled and big, he commanded attention. Even as tired as she was, her body responded to him in a feral way she couldn’t ignore. She stared, unable to utter a word.

  “Is she all right?” he asked.

  “She’s completely well. Healed. She needs rest now. Sleep.”

  His frown deepened as he walked toward her. “Are you all right?”

  “Just tired. I’ll be fine in a few hours.”

  “A few hours?”

  “Yes. I’m…you’ve seen how it drains me.” Sarcasm rose in her throat. “Oh wait. You don’t believe in healers.”

  He drew a deep breath and walked toward her. He kneeled at her side, one knee on the floor. His big, warm presence gave her some strength.

  He ignored her slight surliness. “Is she permanently healed?”

  “Yes. Whatever was wrong has disappeared.”

  After contemplating Finny for some time, Eryk stood. He reached out slowly and brushed a tendril of hair from her face. “You haven’t recovered from the shipwreck and now this.”

  She shrugged off his concern even as it soothed her a little. “Is there a battle going on out there? It’s gone quiet.”

  “We’ve killed the ones who snuck into the castle. It was a small group of rogues like the two who broke in here.”

  Mia shivered and the trembling wouldn’t cease. Eryk touched her shoulder and then he was lifting her in his arms.

  “Put me down.” The heat of his arms was delicious, filling her with a sudden comfort and solace that made no sense.

  “No.” He carried her to a chair in the corner and sat down. “Rest.”

  That one word sank into her like a balm and before she could struggle against it she fell into a semi-sleep. A state where her mind wanted to ignore the hard, sturdy body cradling her like a babe and where her body soaked up his male attention. He caressed her hair with one big palm. For a big, agile man, he stroked her with awkwardness. As if he expected her to run away or break into a thousand pieces. It amused her the way nothing had in a long time.

  “Who was that man with you?” Mia asked.

  “Boltga.”

  A movement on the bed across the room made Mia open her eyes. Finny sat up, blinking and looking bewildered.

  “What happened?” Finny asked as she swung her feet off the bed.

  “Mia healed you.” His voice rumbled, a little hard and edged with disapproval.

  Finny smiled but immediately it disappeared. “Is she hurt?”

  “I’m fine.” Mia sat up straighter, half tempted to move out of his arms but still too weak to do so. “You collapsed.”

  Finny nodded and stood. “I remember that. Just not the healing. What was wrong with me? I feel completely fine now.”

  Mia smiled, deeply gratified. “That’s wonderful. You were so ill I wasn’t sure I could save you.”

  Finny’s expression held two parts wonder and a part sadness. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.”

  “You should rest,” Mia said.

  “You sacrificed some of your strength to help me.” Finny’s eyes teared.

  “No. I didn’t.”

  Finny managed a smile that barely removed her frown. She placed her hands on her hips. “I feel even better than I did before. Brand new.” She strode to where Eryk held Mia on his lap. “I can never thank you enough. But I’m certainly going to try.”

  With that Finny left the room and closed the door. Mia felt strength returning to her, the slow and occasional movement of his hand over her hair bringing vitality back to her limbs. Along with something far more distracting. She moved in his arms and inhaled sharply. A long, thick column of male flesh—a very solid erection—pressed against her bottom.

  “Rest easy. It will go away in time.” Amusement laced his voice but so did a smoky sensuality.

  Tingles raced over her skin. Through her weariness, a throbbing awareness bubbled under the surface. Heat pooled low in her loins and she groaned softly. She looked up at him, at a loss for words to describe how he made her feel.

  “Don’t look at me like that.” His words came out sharp.

  “Like what?”

  “Like the fresh, innocent woman you are. It’s driving me out of my mind.”

  The tension rose higher, building inside her and pushing her tiredness aside. It was almost as if his strength replenished her. Normally a healing like the one she’d performed on Finny would put her to sleep for hours, and now that she understood what more was wrong with her…

  “Are you certain you weren’t out of your mind to start with?” His expression was so ferocious she hovered between fright and wanting to giggle. “Well thank you for everything you did. For saving my life twice.”

  He didn’t speak but he reached out to touch her throat. “Does it hurt?”

  “My throat’s a bit sore. One unfortunate side effect is that sometimes when I heal I hurt myself.”

  She shifted on his lap again and he sucked in a breath. “Keep doing that and I’ll—”

  “You’ll what?”

  “You do not want to know.”

  The idea of him doing anything in retaliation shot thrills of excitement through her belly. She couldn’t imagine what he’d do but it sounded interesting. Then she recalled those men, killed right in front of her. She shivered in revulsion.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “I’ve never seen anyone killed before, and now two days on Dragonia and I’ve seen more than one dead body.”

  He hugged her closer and she lapped up the sensation of perfect safety and comfort. “But you’ve seen a lot worse on Magonia, haven’t you?”

  “What? Is there anything worse than murder?”

  “Oppression.”

  She dared look up at him, into those sinfully dark eyes. “Have you ever been oppressed?”

  “Not the way you have.”

  She could have said that she’d already told him what happened to her and yet she didn’t. His understanding took her off guard and softened her toward him. His gentleness shook Mia into putting up her defenses. Despite physical weakness, she sat up straighter and pushed away from his chest.

  “Let us attend to Finny.”

  Mia’s anger at what had happened to Finny overwhelmed her fatigue. Restlessness burned along with a primal desire she couldn’t recall feeling at any other time. Except when she’d healed Eyrk.

  “I need to walk. To do something. Anything.” Mia headed for the door.

  “No.” Eryk
stood and reached for her arm, his grip firm but not hurtful. “It’s too dangerous out there if you go alone.”

  She sighed with frustration. “You said that in the cave.” She pulled against his grip. “You know what happened after I healed you. You didn’t see how I tossed Emrond on his butt a moment before you broke in.”

  “I wondered about that.” Doubt filled his eyes. “I thought perhaps those energy spurts were an aberration.”

  “I feel it now.” Her skin started to tingle. “This healing force feels alive and unleashed.”

  Something that looked like frustration crossed his face. “You controlled it before. You can control it now.”

  More tingles radiated in her body, her skin and bones crawling with need for action. Her body’s erratic attitude, first tired then full of energy, was driving her mad.

  His eyes went liquid and hot with intent. She shivered as his warm touch slid upward over her arms to her shoulders. He pulled her into his arms. He tangled his fingers in her hair, his other arm bracing her against his hips.

  His mouth tasted hers, gently at first, but his cock pressed urgently against her, reminding Mia how potently his sensuality acted upon her senses. His tongue teased, tasted until her lips yielded. Raw desire rose with amazing speed. She yielded to his heat and strength. Prickly urgency drained from her limbs, the restless need to move dropping by degrees until it vanished. As her body lost the overrun of energy she sighed and forgot where she was and what she’d experienced a short time ago. Her hands slid from his shoulders as she linked her arms around Eryk’s neck. She ached in her core, felt moisture dampening between her legs. She longed for a deeper connection and suddenly didn’t care if she left behind her honor and purity, the code of a Scribe. Her body wanted and wanted with a fierceness that superseded her last such encounter with him. She wriggled against him and he grunted.

  Suddenly he pulled away. His eyes were glazed with unmistakable need. His cock pressed hard and large against his trousers.

  “Not in here. Not where men have died,” he said.

  Shame burned her cheeks. She couldn’t believe she’d ignored the blood on the floor. “Of course.” Her cheeks filled with heat.