‘Shh,’ he said and looked mysteriously bothered. He was sweating and wiped his forehead with his hand. ‘Now listen up. Remember I am a pirate. A scoundrel. I steal, and occasionally I do lie. I’ve caused chaos and turmoil from Himingborg to the Lost Coast.’
‘What have you done?’ I asked him softly, dreading his answer.
‘Cherry,’ he said quickly, licking his lips. ‘After I got the idea that we might break the elven army by lying about our marriage, I had another idea.’
‘You did?’ I asked suspiciously.
He was nodding like an idiot. ‘Well, something else occurred to me. You see, she left with my letter, and she was to tell people in high places about you, to fetch the Bardagoons or their allies from Trad and anyone who might be willing to help us out. Then I realized she is a thin, scrawny human who cannot speak. Hannae’s spell would not last. She looked unimpressive, to say the least. I am sorry to say so, but she did. Malnourished. Skeletal, even.’
I stared at him, realizing he was right. She did look like a beggar. ‘She spoke to me.’
‘She did? That is wonderful, I—’
‘Go on,’ I said, rapping my hand on his palm. ‘You sent a letter with her, no?’ I asked.
He sighed. ‘Quite. She is still a scrawny, dirty human, who is likely half-starved by the way she gets to Vautan’s lands, if she does. She needed something official. Something eye-catching. The letter had my seals, of course, and I told much of your story in that thing. Not everything, but much.’
‘So what is the problem?’ I asked.
‘But it was just a letter. We needed something that makes an impact. I needed your signature to prove I was not trying to save my own ass from an argument with my father with fancy lies. I did state in the letter that I would divorce you to benefit our possible rescuer.’
‘What?’
He took a deep breath and looked down. ‘I gave Cherry two copies of our marriage contract.’
‘What marriage contract?’
His eye had a tick. ‘The one I wrote and signed. For you. The contract—with your signature—would do miracles. They might disbelieve Cherry and my letter, but if she found the Bardagoons, they would not hesitate if there were a possibility someone from the south had married the Hand. It would be a terrible blow to the Bardagoons. They would come here with all haste to stop you from falling into Coinar hands. Even a hint that I might claim to be the Regent would drive them mad as Hel’s jester. So, I made a pompous document, which listed my long lineage, and I declared us married. I did mention in the letter that out of love for you, I’d divorce you if only you survived the siege, and hopefully that would push them to race to our rescue. It was necessary. Congratulations! Wife.’
‘You married us,’ I whispered. ‘You scrawled my signature on a paper for me. On many papers.’
‘I did,’ he said carefully and winced as I was pursing his fingers together in a vice-like grip. ‘But I did forge your signature so well. It looked fine, very good. Nobody will think you are uneducated when they—’
‘You didn’t tell me,’ I hissed.
‘I had no time!’
‘You did!’
He sighed. ‘Well, you were not bothered when I declared it to the entire enemy army,’ he said sullenly. ‘My finger will break soon.’ I let go of his hand and poked him in the chest.
I stared at him for a long time, but he did not break a sweat. ‘That was a lie we both agreed on. But you forged my handwriting into a contract. You—’
He grasped my hand back and tried to look arrogant. ‘I am not sorry. I am a rogue, and it would tarnish my terrible reputation if I began weeping after forging a signature and confessing to some simple lies. I’m supposed to do stuff like that, you know.’
‘You are not sorry?’ I asked him furiously.
He rubbed sweat from his face and managed to look sorry. ‘Fine. I am sorry. And I am, really. You are the last person I’d lie to. But I didn’t think it was important, and we were in a hurry.’ He eyed me carefully. ‘Are you saying you don’t want it now? You just now looked upset when you thought I did not wish to marry you,’ he said with some probing smiles that disappeared immediately.
‘I don’t want it,’ I hissed and pushed him. And then I shook my head. The moons were shining in the sky; their gentle light invaded the room, and I knew we would all die. Even I would, for I would fight the enemy until I did. My shoulders slumped.
‘You do want it,’ he breathed and stroked my face.
‘Yes,’ I said weakly. ‘I do. It will be brief, but I’m happy. I just felt robbed.’
He smiled wistfully. ‘I do rob people, Shannon. But I’ll die the most powerful and influential man in Aldheim. Elf. You are confusing me.’
‘And nobody will know it.’
‘Cherry might succeed and everyone will,’ he said cheerfully.
‘You would divorce me for Almheir Bardagoon?’ I asked him, amused.
‘Reluctantly,’ he admitted. ‘Remember. When you leave the land, make sure you see Almheir. None else. You must be taken to him.’
‘I will. You will guide me,’ I told him.
‘I am thirsty,’ he said and I offered him the wine, and he drank it. Then he sat up and placed his hand on my cheek. It was warm, and I shuddered as he stroked it. His eyes were burning embers in the night, and I kissed his fingers. He leaned in to kiss me, and I answered it. It grew in power and passion. Lex’s face flitted through my mind for a moment, even Ulrich’s, and I pushed them away as he pulled me to him. He took off my tunic and kissed my shoulder, even the ill one, and I squeezed his shoulders in gasping ecstasy. We spent the night under the Two Sisters and their soothing light and enjoyed desperate, gentle, burning passion and love that night, and by early morning, he was dead.
CHAPTER 12
I stared at the wall of the cell. I was numb, dead, cold. I had screamed all that morning, then wept in denial. I was conquered by rage and struck down by bottomless sorrow, and when they had finally taken me from the room, it had taken Ulrich and Anja both to calm me down. I had hidden myself inside Silver Maw, and I had snapped orders and marched down to the cells. There, we waited in silence. Dana was standing now in the corner, in the shadows, her face a mystery. Lex was on the side, his face drawn, and I did not have the energy or the will to even guess what he was thinking about the rumors that were sure to be circulating in the Lowpass fort. Ulrich was standing next to Anja, and she was holding her hands across her chest, her eyes guarded. Bulathon was there as well, looking at me expectantly.
The cell door was opened, and two guards pushed a servant and a cook in. The servant, the girl who had given me the wine was called Ikaria, and she was fidgeting by the door until a guard pushed her further, and she took hesitant steps towards me. The cook, Nealla, an older woman with grayed hair strode next to her, looking down.
There was silence. How dare they keep quiet?
‘Where did you get the wine?’ I asked Ikaria with a voice so cold it could have frozen a lake. ‘Tell me Ikaria.’
‘I just poured it, and—’
‘Who gave you the pitcher?’ I hissed.
She hesitated, her face white with fear. ‘Tell her,’ Nealla grunted. ‘Just tell her.’
She nodded, grateful. ‘It was given to me by Nealla,’ she whispered.
‘Her?’ I asked and nodded at the woman. She nodded carefully. ‘Why did you do it?’
‘Why?’ she asked tiredly. ‘You know why.’
‘You admit you poisoned it?’ Ulrich grunted.
‘Yes. As to why?’ she asked and shrugged her shoulders. ‘It’s clear.’
‘Tell me,’ I whispered with a crude, grating voice that made the prisoners flinch. ‘Tell me everything.’
‘I will not weep for the elf,’ she said bravely. ‘That should explain it.’
I looked at the Tears, then Bulathon, but none of them moved. Finally, Ulrich stepped forward, looking terrifying. He was taller and more powerful than Lex, and h
is brown-black hair was in a tight ponytail. He stopped before the thick-necked Nealla. ‘She asked you to tell her everything. Reconsider your attitude,’ he said with a hint of violence in his voice.
Nealla shook her head as Ulrich stood before her. He let go of the fiery spell, and the whip of fire coiled from his hand. Nealla’s eyes flickered to it, and then she looked up. ‘No need for that. I would not have humans spill human blood for elven death. I’ll tell you. I will. I did it,’ she said with dripping spite. ‘I poured poison in her drink.’ She nodded at Ikaria. ‘She had no idea. I did it because he is an elf.’
‘Was,’ Anja whispered, and I looked at her furiously. She looked away, tired and sad.
Nealla nodded. ‘That is a good reason, isn’t it? A splendid reason. Are you looking for something else? If we killed elves out in the Black Ring—’
‘You killed nothing, cook,’ I said with ripping anger. ‘You did not fight—’
‘My man did!’ she yelled. ‘He did! And so did I, I fought my pain all this past week. I did that because he is now in the chasm, fodder for rodents, and birds, and maggots.’
And that was all the reason she needed, I thought. ‘Did you try to poison Hannea Coinar as well?’
She hesitated. ‘No, mistress. I did not. I had not lost my man then.’
‘Ompar Coinar gave everything to fight for us,’ I said. ‘And you reward him with death.’
‘Ompar Coinar,’ she said slowly, ‘gave everything, yes, but only to be elevated by marrying the Hand. Do not trust a Coinar. His father hated him. And you, the Hand of Life could have made him what he was not in his father’s tables. A high, noble lord. He was not humble. He was—’
‘He was married to a human before,’ I said spitefully. ‘And his father had her killed. He married a slave for love.’
She chuckled. ‘Gods know what he did and why, then. Old sorrows are soon forgotten. I have a fresh one. I did not hesitate, Hand. We lost our men out there,’ she said. ‘Begging your pardon, lady, but the elves are not our friends. Not one of them. And you will see that when they finally march over the towers. We will all die terribly. At least Ompar will not crawl back to Gold Hall to fawn over his father. He would, in the end. Would you not, lady Hand, if you were offered a chance for survival?’
Dana snorted, and I knew she agreed with her. I opened my mouth to curse her, but Ulrich was shaking his head gently. I went quiet for a time, wondering at the situation we had put ourselves in. ‘And so you poisoned him,’ I hissed. ‘What poison was it?’
She hesitated and licked her lips. ‘Mother knew her herbs, my lady,’ she said proudly. ‘She knew them well. Taught me. Forget the poison. Know I did it for you as well. I did you a favor. He was out to take advantage of you. They would have turned you from your path. And I did it for my Galatir. And did you not tell us you would fight for us? Against the elves? Did you not tell us the humans would be free if only we fought?’
I looked at her eyes. They were mad with hate and rage and loss. In their eyes, Ompar was the lord of the elves. Not of the humans. It did not matter the elf had led them up Black Ring. One day, the story would be told, and there would be no elf striding with the human heroes. Ompar had been right. I sighed. ‘My path. What do you know of my path? My path has been to tumble from one place to another, and the only bit of happiness I found has been torn from me.’ Lex looked away from me at that, and I saw his heart was broken. I growled and pushed that issue away.
I saw she had a pouch. ‘Take that and open it up.’ Ulrich saw what I pointed at. Nealla’s eyes bulged as her hand slapped over the thing, but Ulrich slapped them away and tore off the pouch so hard Nealla went to her knees. He opened it up and emptied it in his palm. There were buttons, yarn, needles.
And a small wooden bottle.
He opened it up, frowning at it. It was still sloshing with liquid.
‘That is nothing, lord,’ Nealla said. ‘My medicine.’
‘Have your medicine, Nealla,’ I told her coldly. ‘Drink it up.’
‘I …’ she said and went silent, looking down.
‘Know your herbs?’ I whispered. ‘You cooked it?’
‘Yes,’ she said softly.
‘I don’t believe you.’
She hesitated and looked away. ‘You don’t believe humans. You would Ompar Coinar, would you not? You turn your back to us. Did he already corrupt you? He said you would be corrupted.’
‘Who said?’ Ulrich asked her, perking up as he put away the poison. The whip was again sizzling on the floor, burning at dust and cobwebs.
She was shaking her head, cursing herself. ‘Nobody, lord.’
‘Who?’ Ulrich growled.
‘Who gave you the poison?’ Anja said from the side.
She waved her hand. ‘I don’t know,’ she said forcefully. ‘The masked one. That one close to you. He said the lord had seduced you. First, you told us to take the Black Ring. To fight them and never to forget, and then you fall into his web. Well, you are just a woman, despite being the Hand.’
I cursed her under my breath, holding back aggression. I felt it calling to me and had not Euryale said there was a dark speck in my soul? She had. There was. I felt it then. It was enticing, dangerous, and demanding blood. I had loved Ompar.
But was it not my fault as well? That is what the less sad and wrathful girl asked, the old Shannon. It tried to reason with the Shannon that was left after Ompar’s death. I had called for murder and death of the elven armies. I had told them to fight. Had I not? ‘What masked one?’ I asked her. ‘Tell me all you can.’
‘I said a masked one,’ she said bravely. ‘He wore … shadows? A mask of deep shadows. It looked strange. And a cowl.’
‘He?’ I asked, confused. ‘Not a she?’
She looked to her feet as if there was something superbly interesting there. ‘He. And yes, he gave me a vial of poison. And how in Hel’s rotten tits could I know who it was? I do not know you people. But he was wise. Very wise. Looking after your interests, really. Ompar would have betrayed us, and the masked one told me he would.’
‘How do you know it was one of us?’ I asked, the raging Shannon climbing over the old one.
‘He wore this kind of armor, and he threatened me with such.’ She plucked at Ulrich’s armor and nodded at the whip.
‘You …’ Ulrich began. ‘No! You bitch! Are you saying—’
‘I had nothing to do with it!’ Lex yelled. ‘Now I shall be like Anja, eh? Under suspicion! We had nothing to do with Ompar’s death! And was it not a she whom Tiria mentioned, eh?’
Ulrich slapped the whip in the dust and the floorboards sizzled. ‘It might be an elf. Someone else might know such spells as we used on Cherry. Masking spells. And that Hannea? Maybe she works for her father. Maybe she cast the spell on someone—’
‘Hannea is under guard,’ I said slowly, eying them all. ‘She did not do it.’
‘You are protecting his sister, then, my lady?’ Nealla said spitefully. ‘The last elf of Lowpass.’ She spat before us.
Ikaria was shaking. ‘Nealla. Please. Do not—’
‘Silence!’ I yelled, and they went quiet. Dana was smiling a small, sarcastic smile, and Anja was hugging herself, frowning.
‘What will we do with her?’ Ulrich asked. ‘This lying—’
I watched the two women. ‘Ikaria.’
‘Lady?’ she asked, shaking with terror.
‘Humans should be free to choose their own destinies if they have been downtrodden by an elven lord, but they should not murder those who aid them and those who are not guilty of their misery,’ I said darkly.
‘Yes lady,’ she said carefully.
‘And tell them there is a punishment for killing the innocent.’ I gathered powers of ice and weaved them together. And then I forced myself to release them. Ice hands grew under Nealla and grabbed her. She looked down with horror, and then she shrieked in pain. Flesh was torn from her legs, and I watched impassively as she fell amidst a small se
a of such hands. She twitched and shrieked briefly; Ikaria cried, and Nealla died. She was twitching on the floor as the hands kept at it. I ignored the gory death by the reddened ice hands that were now cracking bones, ignored my friends backing off and Ikaria’s sobs. I savored the death and found some satisfaction from it. to my horror.
Then I knew Ompar was still gone, and I let go of the spell.
Blood and flesh were everywhere. The sight made me retch, and I took a step back, swaying and trying to gather my thoughts. The others eyed me incredulously, and only Dana was nodding.
‘You killed her,’ Lex whispered.
‘Silence!’ I roared.
‘You just became a ruler, Shannon,’ Anja whispered. ‘A tyrant.’
I eyed her dangerously and nodded. ‘Yes. A tyrant. A widowed tyrant. And one of you,’ I looked at Lex and Ulrich, ‘has still to face judgment. Which one?’
‘I would not trust anyone, sister,’ Dana said.
Ulrich stepped in front of Lex. ‘Stop this,’ he hissed, his whip still alive though unthreatening and trailing him. Ikaria was backing off to a corner. I stood there, hesitant and brooding.
I turned to look at her. ‘Get out of here.’
Ikaria addressed me very softly. ‘I thank you, lady. I did not know.’
‘I hope that is the case,’ I whispered. ‘If I find otherwise, I shall feed you to the ice as well. Go away.’
I turned and stared at the lot. I could not trust any one of them. Anja stepped forward, holding herself. ‘I don’t like you, Shannon. I didn’t like him, Ompar. I might have, one day, but he liked you, and so I disliked him. But I didn’t betray you. The boys didn’t do it. There is something strange going on here.’
‘She didn’t,’ Ulrich said in a subdued voice. ‘And we did not.’
I ignored him. ‘I want you gone at the earliest possible time, Anja,’ I said slowly.
‘The sooner, the better,’ Dana said softly. ‘We are not safe.’
‘And you as well,’ I told Lex and Ulrich.
Eye of Hel: Stories of the Nine Worlds (Ten Tears Chronicles - a dark fantasy action adventure Book 2) Page 17
