Savage Kingdom

by Deanna Ashford

  Senshu had once, by accident, touched the stone and she’d experienced the anguish and agony of those tortured souls trapped within its crystalline depths. Naga had owned the stone for many years and as far as she knew was immune to the agony. Either that or he had a way of overcoming it. Jaden planned to break into Naga’s quarters tonight to steal the stone and kill the mage. He’d not bothered to acquaint Senshu with his plans. If he was unsuccessful tonight, then he’d need her help.

  Senshu’s hand shook as she patted her hair in place, then she leaned forward and stared at her reflection in the mirror. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “Could I not avoid seeing him?” She twisted round. “Please, Jaden. I could claim I’m unwell. Why did he suddenly decide to send for me this evening?”

  ”You have to go, Senshu. Everything must appear normal. We’ve no wish for him to suspect anything is amiss.”

  “But he’ll know something’s wrong.” She ran her hand through her blonde hair. “I won’t be able to conceal it from him.”

  “Senshu.” Jaden strode across the room and pulled her upright. “I told you, he can’t read minds. He just pretends he can to scare people, but he doesn’t have the ability.”

  “How can you be so certain?” Her eyes filled with tears.

  “Because I’m a Dai’Shi-en.” He spoke in a calm, reassuring voice. “I can sense it,” he lied. Jaden was certain Chang was right in his assumptions. “You told me yourself you sometimes resent what he makes you do to him. Yet he has no idea you feel like that. Does he?”

  “And he would if he could read minds,” she concluded in a shaky voice.

  “Precisely.”

  “I know I’m appearing weak and foolish. It’s quite unlike me.”

  “You must understand. Fear is our own worst enemy.”

  She frowned. “I don’t understand.”

  “I’ve learned over the years that fearing what’s to come is always far worse than what actually happens. You just need to pretend this is a day like any other day. Please him in any way he wants.” He stroked her cheek as if he genuinely cared for her. “Just like you please me.”

  “It sounds so simple.”

  “And it is. You’re a strong woman. No doubt you’ve done many things in the past in order to survive.”

  “Yes.” She sighed, and her gaze slid down his body. Damn! He should have thought to put on some clothes. He had no wish for her to be unnecessarily distracted by her desire for him. It appeared insatiable at times. She needed to go to Naga now so he didn’t suspect anything. “I’d prefer to stay here with you, but you won’t agree to that, will you?”

  “There’s always tomorrow.”

  “So there is.”

  “If you do this for me now. Then tomorrow, I promise, I’ll do all I can to please you in return.” He pulled her closer, running his hand caressingly down her back. “There are things I’ve not yet done to you that’ll give you unbelievable pleasure. Would that be a fair reward in exchange for going to see Lord Naga?”

  “It might be.” She pursed her lips.

  “Then you’ll go to him?”

  “If I must.” She trailed her fingers across his chest, delicately circling one nipple. “I’d like to try some of those pleasures you promised later tonight.”

  “Not tonight,” he insisted, unable to face having sex with her again this evening. “I have other matters to attend to. Tomorrow we’ll have far more time.”

  “So we shall. I’ll look forward to it.” Senshu smiled. “I have one or two special pleasures in mind.”

  “You shouldn’t make him wait any longer,” Jaden reminded her. He had no desire to even think of what sexual perversities she might demand of him. If he succeeded tonight, he’d never have to couple with her again.

  “Don’t be concerned. Lord Naga will think I’m late because I’ve been diverting myself with my new slave.” Her gaze briefly rested on a door on the other side of her chamber. “When I’ve been enjoying myself in that way, I always make an extra effort to please him.”

  Jaden’s expression didn’t change. He’d always thought the door led to a closet of some kind. Could he be wrong?

  “Then you must try to do as he expects.”

  “Of course,” she agreed as she fingered the diamonds she now wore constantly around her neck. “Maybe he’ll have another generous reward for me.”

  “Who knows?” Jaden guided her toward the door. “You should go.”

  “Yes.” She paused for a moment. “Jaden, I’ll be eagerly looking forward to tomorrow.”

  “As will I,” he lied.

  After she’d left, Jaden reached for his breeches. He dressed swiftly, pulled on his long boots, then buckled on his sword and tucked his dagger and keitan into his belt.

  He’d learned Tarn was confined somewhere close by, but hadn’t expected him to be here, in Senshu’s quarters. Not at all sure what he was going to find, Jaden strode over to the wooden door. Taking a deep breath, he pulled it open.

  The room was small and windowless, lit only by a flickering lantern. Manacles attached to chains hung from the ceiling and there were a number of rings on the walls, where presumably Senshu could chain her prisoners. Jaden tensed. The king of Kabra lay on a low pallet, clad only in a pair of breeches.

  As soon as he saw Jaden, Tarn sprang to his feet. “You! What do you want with me, Dai’Shi-en?” he snarled.

  “Tarn, I came to see how you fared.”

  For once, Jaden was grateful for the many painful months he’d endured while being indoctrinated as a Dai’Shi-en. It had taught him to take control of his emotions and bury them. He needed that control now as he witnessed for himself Tarn’s humiliation and suffering at Senshu’s hands. His friends had lash marks, cuts and bruises all over his body.

  “I don’t know who or what you are, exactly,” Tarn scoffed as he pulled at the chain tethering his left wrist to the wall. “But you’re no longer my friend. You betrayed me. You betrayed Sarin. And my son is now destined to remain in this terrible place forever.” Tarn choked on the words. “How could you do this to me…to Rianna?”

  “What I am does not matter.” Jaden stepped closer to Tarn.

  “Don’t come near me.” Tarn stiffened and clenched his fists, his blue eyes filled with pain.

  “Brion has not been harmed, Tarn. He’s well cared for.”

  “My son?” Tarn’s voice wavered slightly, then he recovered. “Senshu also told me he’s safe, but I can’t bring myself to believe her, or you, for that matter.”

  “Be assured he’s well and as safe as he can be in the circumstances. Lord Naga bears your son no ill will. He was only a pawn to lure you here.” Jaden sighed in frustration, eager to convince Tarn he spoke the truth. “I’m not lying. Nerya visits him often. Brion enjoys her company.”

  “Nerya?” He seemed thrown for a moment. “She sees him?”

  “Yes. I had her taken from the seraglio. She resides in my chambers where she’s safe from Lord Naga’s attentions.” Jaden realized he was absentmindedly fingering his gold amulet again. It was becoming too much of a habit. He’d no wish to let its compelling power overwhelm him again. He jerked his hand away and dropped it to his side.

  “Why did you come here?” Tarn pulled at the chain tethering him to the wall. “Was it to gloat? To rejoice in the fact those you serve now have me in their power?”

  “No. I’ve come to warn you.”

  “Warn me!” He pointed to the red welts on his arms and chest. “Am I not warned enough? Senshu spends her time punishing me in a variety of very unpleasant ways, because she believes I once did her and her family a great wrong. She even makes me couple with her, and she’s nearly insatiable.” He glared at Jaden. “I heard that loathsome bitch having very noisy sex in her bedchamber with someone a short time ago. Was that perchance you?”

  “I need you to concentrate on only one thing, Tarn.” Jaden had no wish to admit he’d been coupling with his friend’s tormentor. “Your li
fe may well depend on it. If you haven’t heard from me to the contrary, then tomorrow night you’re to do exactly what Senshu tells you to do—however strange it sounds.”

  “Do what Senshu tells me?” Tarn sneered. “Why should I? I hate the bitch.”

  “Tarn! This is important, very important,” Jaden insisted. He couldn’t tell Tarn the truth while he was still in Senshu’s hands. “If ever you believed me to be your friend, then do as I ask.”

  “Friend?” Tarn repeated. He clenched his fist. Jaden withdrew his dagger from its sheath. Tarn’s eyes widened as he took a step back. “Do it,” he snarled. “Kill me, you bastard.”

  “Kill you?” Jaden frowned and shook his head. “Why should I kill someone I consider a friend? Here.” He held the dagger out to Tarn. “Take it. Plunge it into my heart if you have to. Do you truly believe I want you to be here, confined in this room, a prisoner of that despicable woman? If I do, then perhaps I deserve to die.”

  “No.” Tarn lifted his free hand in a gesture of submission and took another step back. “I cannot kill you, Jaden.”

  “You claim I’ve betrayed you. Yet still you can’t bring yourself to harm me. Perhaps deep down you question your own beliefs?” Jaden tucked the dagger back in his belt. “Tarn, your life may depend on you doing as I ask. Do it for Brion, if not for yourself.”

  “Brion…could I see him?”

  “Not yet.” Even if he could have arranged the impossible, he had no wish for Tarn to discover Brion didn’t even know he had a father anymore. “But if all goes well, I promise you’ll see him again very soon.”

  “In this world or the next?” Tarn asked bleakly.

  “It all depends on whether you do as I ask and are prepared to put your trust in me.”

  The late afternoon sunshine filtered through the branches of the trees and the leaves rustled in the soft, warm breeze as Jaden strode across the lush green grass. Birdsong filled the garden, and calm enveloped his troubled mind for a moment. Brion lay on the grass giggling as Nerya tickled his toes. The sound of the innocent childish laughter brought a twinge of pain to Jaden’s heart. What it would feel like to have a wife and a child and to watch them playing together happily in the garden of his home in Iberim? Jaden shook his head. Since losing Eridea, he’d discovered such happy illusions never became reality.

  One of the grey kittens bounded toward Jaden and rubbed itself against his black leather boots, purring loudly. A Dai’Shi-en would have ruthlessly kicked it away, dispatching the little creature without a second thought. Jaden picked up the kitten and stroked its back, enjoying the purring and the warmth of its soft body in his hand as he walked over to Brion.

  The boy jumped to his feet, still not fully at ease in Jaden’s presence. “Chang says it’s time for your pets to be given something to eat,” Jaden said as he handed the kitten to Brion.

  “Are you hungry, little one?” Brion murmured, lovingly cradling the kitten against his chest.

  “Here.” Nerya picked up the other kitten and gave it to Brion, ignoring its little mewling complaint. “Go and feed them now, sweetheart.”

  The child scampered off. Chang waited for him by the doorway. Putting an arm around Brion, he ushered the child inside. Two days ago Jaden had chanced trusting Chang enough to ask for his help, and to his relief the enigmatic man had readily agreed. At least he had one more person on his side.

  “Let’s walk a while,” he said to Nerya. It was such a relief to be away from Senshu at last. He despised her even more now he’d discovered what she was doing to Tarn. He also despised himself for having sex with her when he loved Nerya, but it had been an unfortunate necessity.

  Nerya brushed the grass from the skirt of her tight-fitting, emerald green gown. The color, only a shade deeper than her eyes, suited her. It brought out the reddish highlights in her chestnut hair, which she wore loose, spilling in waves down her back. She looked beautiful and he was now unsure which he preferred, Nerya the warrior or Nerya the woman. If he were honest he found both sides of her equally compelling.

  Now that she was no longer permanently confined to his room, she looked happier and a little more at ease. Nevertheless, Chang had told Jaden she’d been asking a lot of questions about the layout of the citadel and the positioning of the guards. Jaden was a little surprised it had taken her so long to even think of planning an escape attempt. Nevertheless he had to stop her even thinking about doing so. It was far too dangerous. Maybe the truth at last would help placate her and convince her to wait and rely on his judgment. He was aware she doubted him at times. He was asking too much to have her total trust without knowing the entire truth.

  “I love it here.” She tucked her arm in his. “It’s so close and yet it feels so far away from the citadel.”

  “So it does,” he agreed as they strolled across the grass toward a flowerbed filled with fragrant roses. “Chang assures me we can talk here in safety without any chance of being overheard.” Jaden guided her to the stone bench where he’d once sat and talked with Chang.

  “It is strange to think we’re so high.” Nerya sank onto the bench and Jaden sat beside her.

  He glanced up at the tower which rose another three floors above Brion’s quarters and housed Lord Naga’s sumptuous private quarters. The other three towers of the citadel were plain stone, but Naga’s was decorated with massive carvings of mythical beasts. One of the huge gargoyles stared down at them, almost as if it could come to life and spring on them at any moment.

  Senshu’s rooms were close to Naga’s. Jaden had been to the tower often, but he’d been inside the mage’s quarters only on one occasion. At least that brief visit had given him an idea of the layout of the rooms. Most times he’d met up with the mage deep within the bowels of the citadel where Naga conducted his foul, magical experiments.

  “Jaden, you wanted to talk,” Nerya reminded him. When he didn’t answer, she added, “I wandered to the edge of the garden yesterday. I had to stand on tiptoe to see over the balustrade. It’s a long way down. Heights don’t normally worry me, but the drop is frightening.”

  “No doubt it is,” Jaden said. He couldn’t change his decision to try to steal the stone tonight—it was his last opportunity to do so. However, he didn’t even want to think about how high they were. This part of the citadel backed onto a deep ravine, and the windows of Naga’s chambers didn’t overlook the garden. They overlooked the ravine. Jaden knew he couldn’t just casually stroll past the guards as he did when he visited Senshu. He had to find another way to reach Naga’s rooms, a way other than the stairs. He had no choice but to chance climbing the outside of the tower.

  “There are things I need to tell you, Nerya.”

  He absentmindedly fingered the dragon pendant again. When he realized what he was doing, he pulled his hand away. The comforting warmth of the amulet drew his touch. Against his will it was becoming part of him again. He needed to be rid of it as soon as possible and if the gods were on his side he would be. Nevertheless, he had enough control over his mind and thoughts at present to be able to confide in Nerya without putting them both in jeopardy.

  “What things, exactly?”

  “Those pitiful creatures in the citadel…”

  “The soulless ones, Asumi calls them.”

  “Yes.” Jaden frowned. “Lord Naga intends to change Tarn and Sarin in a similar way.”

  “What!” She clutched his arm, her eyes wide with concern.

  “It won’t be quite so extreme. Not like the servants in the citadel. He’ll take just their self-will away from them so that he can control them,” Jaden explained. “Then he intends to send them back to their respective kingdoms.”

  “And use that control, so when the forces of Acheron invade, they’ll order their armies to submit without a fight,” she rightly concluded.

  “As I understand it. Yes.”

  “You surely won’t let that happen, Jaden. We have to find a way to stop him.”

  “Of course we have to. The
y’re my friends.”

  She frowned as if she didn’t believe him. “I’ve heard that Dai’Shi-en have no friends.”

  “I am Dai’Shi-en, and yet I’m not. It’s complicated, Nerya.” He glanced at the sky, trying to find the right words. “It isn’t easy to talk about. The only person I’ve ever confided in is my friend Nerus, the emperor of Marquab.”

  “When you put on the amulet, I see the light go from your eyes, and you become a Dai’Shi-en.” Her green eyes shone with love and compassion. “I’ve watched you struggle to control the darkness inside you.”

  “I had no choice but to assume my identity as a Dai’Shi-en when we were all captured. Someone in the citadel would eventually have seen the mark on my wrist and known what I was. It was the only chance I had of helping you and the others.” He sighed deeply. “It wasn’t easy to let myself be sucked back into the darkness and fall under the power of the Dragon Lords again. Ever since we entered Acheron, I’ve been fighting their sinister presence and the dark urges that invaded my mind. It’s difficult to explain, but when I had to put that damnable amulet around my neck again, I almost lost myself for a time. It merges the power the Dragon Lords control with the Dai’Shi-en and its seductive magic is hard to resist. Yet I had to wear it. No Dai’Shi-en would appear without it. Those born in Acheron can sense the magical bond between the Dai’Shi-en and their masters. That’s why they fear the Dai’Shi-en so much.”

  “How did this all happen in the first place?” she asked, taking his hand in hers. “Do you really come from Marquab, or was that a lie?”

  “No, it wasn’t a lie. I am who I say I am, Jaden of Iberim. Iberim is only a small country and, by necessity, we’ve always allied ourselves with the Marquabian Empire. When I was much younger, I was in love with a beautiful woman.” The muscles in his jaw clenched for a moment. “Life was so perfect. I never believed I could be so happy. She was on her way to Iberim for our marriage ceremony when the ship she traveled on was attacked by pirates and she was taken prisoner. I was devastated when I heard the news, and I vowed I would find Eridea and rescue her.”