by Tenaya Jayne
Forest laughed too. "I don't know. It just fell out of my mouth. I guess I've wanted to tell them all off for a long time."
"You did awesome."
"Thanks. How would you like to come work for me? As my personal assistant?"
Kindel leaned back in his chair smiling. "I'd expect a raise from my current pay grade and four weeks paid vacation every year."
"Three."
"Done."
They chuckled and shook hands on it. "Thanks, Kindel. I appreciate it."
"I'm honored, Forest."
"I bet you never thought I'd be your boss."
He looked at her seriously. "I wouldn't wager too much on that bet."
Forest squeezed his hand. "Get your stuff and move it to my office. I expect you know where it is."
"Ha! That I do. We've all been suffering with the racket of construction for weeks."
Forest pinched herself on the way back to her office. She sank back down behind her beautiful desk and sighed. The adrenaline rush from speaking to the high council members burned off, leaving her light headed. Baal continued to hang around like a bodyguard.
After a little while, Kindel came in carrying boxes.
"I've got something I need you to do, Kindel."
He set the boxes in a corner. "All right."
"Well, it seems I need a secretary for the front office. And I'm not paying your rate for you to do that work."
"Have someone in mind?"
"Yeah. Ena. She's a servant in the Onyx Castle. Would go and present her with my job offer?"
"No problem. I'll go there now."
****
Kindel found himself feeling more optimistic than he had in longer than he could remember as he walked through the halls of the Onyx Castle. Nothing really looked different, but the inhabitants moved about more cautiously. And where his visits to the Vampire's castle had been infrequent before and those who lived there treated him as inferior, now despite that he was obviously not a member of the Rune-dy, the fact that he was an elf, afforded him a new measure of respect.
He was about to grab the next female he saw and ask her where he could find Ena when he spotted Redge walking toward him, his nose stuck in file. Kindel didn't know Redge very well, but what he did know earned his respect.
"Redge."
Redge looked up at Kindel, the frown on his face easing into a smile. "Kindel." He nodded. "What brings you here? The council send you?"
"No, not the council, Forest. Or Madam Hailemarris I should say."
"Ah yes. She told me about that. How is she managing so far?"
Kindel told Redge the short version of what had happened that morning in Fortress.
"Well, here," Redge said handing the files he'd been looking at to Kindel. "These are actually for Forest. They contain my initial findings of the investigation she asked me to conduct. I didn't even know where to find her, but since you work for her now…Tell her I'll come around and see her in a few days to report."
Kindel tucked the files under his arm. "Okay…So, now what does the future hold for you?"
Redge sighed. "I wish I knew. I have no idea what I'll be doing or in what capacity. Syrus doesn't need me anymore. I'm not sure the military is a right fit for me anymore either."
"You might consider joining us over at Fortress."
Redge shrugged. "Maybe."
Kindel extended his hand. "I'll see you in a few days then, when you call on Forest. Oh, and could you tell me where I can find a young woman named Ena?"
Redge sent him in the right direction to Ena, who enthusiastically accepted the job offer as soon as he mentioned Forest's name. She followed him so closely, he almost tripped three different times. Anxious to get back to Fortress, Kindle was stopped dead in his tracks by a young ogre.
"Please, sir, you work for the Lady Forest do you not?"
"How do you know that?"
The ogre looked flustered. "Ogre's know everything that is said in the Onyx Castle."
Kindle smirked. "And you are?"
"Merhl, sir. I owe the Lady Forest a great debt. Please see that she gets this."
Merhl thrust a small sealed envelope into Kindel's free hand.
Kindel came back to Forest's office with an excited Ena practically bouncing in his wake. Forest didn't really know how to train her, seeing as she'd never done that type of work herself, so she let Kindel get her settled.
He stuck his head back in her office a little while later. "I almost forgot, while I was at the Onyx Castle, Merhl the ogre, gave me this to give to you. And here is a preliminary report on the investigation you had Redge do."
He placed a sealed envelope and the files on the desk and left the room. Forest opened the envelope first. Inside was a short letter and a shimmery End of the Bridge. His handwriting was barely legible.
The note read: To the Lady Forest, I'm so sorry for failing you. I know I can never atone for it. I hope you accept this gift along with my continued apology. It is not a normal End of the Bridge. I made it special for you. You can use it over and over and it will take you to wherever you desire to go at the time. All you have to do is think of where you want to go as you hold it. I hope you find it useful. And again, I'm sorry. –Merhl
Forest picked up the little thing and looked at it for a second before pocketing it. "That's handy," she said to herself.
She turned her attention to the file sent from Redge and was astounded at his speed and efficiency. Of course, he hadn't unearthed everything in the few short hours since she'd seen him, but what he had discovered made her head spin. She'd need time to consider what to do about the knowledge there.
"Kindel," she called through the wall.
He stuck his head around the door. "Yes."
"I need to issue arrest warrants. Can you do that? I don't know how. "
"Sure. Who are we going after?"
"Vladien and…Dracula."
Kindel flashed a broad, amused smile. "Dracula, huh?"
Forest groaned and put her head in her hands. "It's only my first day."
"I knew you'd waste no time stickin' it to 'em."
Kindel left the office, and Forest went back to contemplating how to structure the new judiciary system. She made notes, borrowing from her knowledge of past Regian practices and what she knew of American policies. The Rune-dy's library came to her mind, and she wondered what she might learn of the justice systems of other worlds. Determined nothing she created would be corrupt, broken, or inefficient, Forest didn't realize how long she'd been working when Kindel popped his head in again.
"We didn't discuss my hours, but I was hoping I could go home before the moon hits its zenith."
Forest glanced around the room, noticing for the first time there was no window. "I'm sorry. Is Ena still working?"
"Yeah. We've been waiting for you. I wouldn't worry about her, though. She's still giddy with excitement." Kindel came over and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Go home and get some rest. It's just your first day. The job will be here tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that."
Forest nodded and put her notes in the desk drawer. "I'll go home soon. Please make sure Ena gets back to the Onyx Castle safely."
"No problem."
Forest locked her office an hour later and walked out into the deserted lobby, Baal walking beside her.
"You did good today," he said. "I'll be here at your disposal for the next few days."
"Thanks, Baal. I appreciate it."
He waited while she told the ogre by the entrance where she wanted to go. Forest waved to him as she stepped into the blackness.
The weight of the day crashed onto her shoulders as the portal dropped her in the fringe close to her house. She wished Syrus was there. Her stress lifted a fraction as she entered her garden.
"Hello? I'm back. Netriet?" she called as she unlocked the front door.
The house was dark and empty. Forest switched on the lights and went through the house. Netriet was gone. Forest was disa
ppointed. She'd wanted to tell Netriet about what she'd done and how things went since she'd left.
She went back outside. "Netriet?"
Nothing.
Forest shrugged and went back inside, locking the door behind her. Was she gone for good, or would she come back?
Exhaustion took over. She turned the lights out on her way to the bedroom, pulled off her boots and sword, and fell onto the bed, fully clothed. "Syrus," she sighed before falling deeply asleep.
****
Rahaxeris crossed his arms and surveyed Syrus across the table.
"So?" Syrus asked.
"I think it's a great idea, Syrus. I've got all kinds of information about such things." He stood and walked over to the wall of books, scanning the titles. "Here we go. This one."
Rahaxeris set the heavy tome on the table in front of Syrus. Syrus clenched his eyes shut and muttered his new incantation a few times before looking down at the words and pictures. Rahaxeris let him read for a few moments in silence.
"Here. This is the right thing," Syrus said turning the book toward Rahaxeris. "Can you make those?"
Rahaxeris looked. "No problem. Just give me a few minutes."
Syrus waited as Rahaxeris went into another room. He came back with a small sealed box. "Here you go. Both are in there."
Syrus tucked the box into his cloak. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it…By the way, your sight intrigues me. You're able to see by your own words."
"Yeah. It doesn't last, and it's not very clear. But I've been changing up the words, and sometimes I get more time or more color."
"Maxcarion offered no help when you sought him?"
"That's right. He said my blindness was permanent."
"Hmm. Sounds like you hold the key to your sight within you. Maybe you just haven't figured out the right combination to heal your eyes completely. You should keep trying."
Syrus contemplated. "Perhaps you're right. I will keep trying."
Rahaxeris opened a portal for him back to the Obsidian Mountain. He landed at the base and began the long climb up to his room, his prize tucked safely next to his chest. Ithiel, Guyas, and Taurus were in their nightfall mediations and didn't come out to greet him. He rested his elbows on the window ledge in his room, his sight sliding back into darkness. He didn't want to sleep on the floor, alone. He wanted to sleep wrapped around Forest. The constant pain of separation pricked and stung.
She'd had her first day of work and yet they weren't together, celebrating. She said she would kill Leith as soon as she accepted her title, and she'd accepted it. Rahaxeris had confirmed it. Her slave mark would be gone. His mind flooded with images of making love to her for the first time as a free woman. The fantasy overwhelmed his body. His feet weren’t nailed to the floor. What the hell was he doing here?
He turned around and headed back out the door he just entered. Halfway down the stairs he stopped. His hair stood on end, goose bumps spreading over his skin. Icy fear dropped into his stomach as intuition piqued. Syrus continued down the stairs in a break-neck run.
Chapter Twenty-four
Forest nestled down into her pillow, dreaming. She looked up, surrounded by trees, as dark clouds spread over the sky. The wind howled and beat down on the trees, their branches cracking from the strain. Scraping and crumbling noise filled her ears and as the trees continued to break, they began to scream. Forest covered her ears as the screaming grew louder, and louder, and louder…
Forest woke up, the sound of her alarm screeching. She sighed, annoyed, and clambered off the bed. How had Netriet tripped it again? Forest rubbed her eyes as she opened the front door and stepped out into the velvet darkness. Full lucidity had not yet taken a hold of her. She squinted at the gate. No one was there. Her eyes darted over to the flashing red lights on her alarm system. Forest ran and punched in the code, silencing it.
She turned a full circle, now fully alert. Her heart galloping up to her throat, blocking her breathing, as her eyes landed on it. There, on her stonewall, drawn in blood, was the design that used to disfigure her neck and shoulder: her slave mark entwined with the seven crescent lovers marks.
The front door of her house stood open, creaking on its hinge. Her eyes darted around again. Her tree that stood close to the wall had two broken limbs. Leith must have scaled the wall. His laugh sounded from inside the house before he stepped into the light of the doorway, smiling, and holding her sword.
Unarmed, she had no choice. Forest ran. She ducked under the archway and out into the woods before he'd taken two steps in pursuit. She heard him follow. She circled around the backside of her property. Stopping behind a tree trunk, listening. He was quieter than she knew he could be. The hammering of her pulse made it harder for her to hear minute noises.
She'd never feared him like this before. He wasn't here to rape her. He was going to kill her. Her scar began to burn. Forest bit down on her knuckle to keep from crying out in pain. What was he doing to cause her this pain? Lava ran through her veins.
The sound of his quiet footfalls sounded to her right. Forest pushed off from her hiding place and bolted, the heat rising up her neck, spreading into her skull. Her vision doubled.
"How does that feel, love?" his taunt sounded behind her. "You should have killed me when you had the chance."
The heat was unbearable. If she would have had a weapon, she'd have cut open her head to relieve the volcanic pressure. Her steps faltered as black spots popped up in her blurry double vision. He was behind her.
She faced Leith, pulling her hair. "What are you doing to me?"
"You're my slave. I'm ordering you to feel what I want you to feel. You see how benevolent I've been to you all these years, how loving. I could have inflicted this kind of pain on you any time I wished, but I never wanted to hurt you, love. "
Forest turned to run again…but she couldn't move. An odd feeling pinned her to the spot. She looked down. Her sword, bright with blood, protruded from her stomach. It didn't hurt so much, she thought, until he twisted the blade to the side.
Forest's scream rang through the trees.
Leith put a hand on her back and pushed. Forest slid down the length of the blade to the ground. He threw the sword aside and turned her over, face up. He straddled her and sat down on her wound.
She couldn't breathe. The world dimmed. I'm dying.
Leith leaned close and kissed her bloody mouth. "I'm breaking up with you, Forest. I'm sorry it couldn't work. We're just too different. It's not you, it's me."
Her time was closing in. He kissed her again, a tear falling from one of his eyes. "I did love you, Forest. I gotta hand it to you. You almost beat me. You would have, if it weren't for your love for me. Your love stopped you again and again."
Forest's vision jittered for a second, and then everything went smooth, too smooth. Colors began to bleed into one another. She closed her eyes. She didn't want Leith's face to be the last thing she saw. Syrus reached out to her in the ebony abyss, and she floated to him.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Leith gazed down at Forest, her lifeblood running from her body into the thirsty ground. He wasn't happy about it. He hated having to break his doll.
A roar of rage and agony blasted through the woods like a shockwave. Leith jumped and turned around, instantly caught in the grip of hands so strong, his bones broke under the fingers.
Leith's cry for mercy landed on deaf ears. He jerked and squirmed as electric objects entered his body from the hands that held him. His icy eyes met the hard steel of Syrus'. He recognized his captor.
"So, you're the one who took her from me, cousin…You're too late, Syrus. She's dead."
Syrus didn't bother releasing Leith to pull his short swords from his belt. He opened his palms and filled Leith's body with sphere after sphere of his rage. And the second he was full, Syrus broke them all open, shattering through Leith's body like glass.
Leith fell to the ground, eight-ball hemorrhages in his eyes, long jagged
cracks snaking over every inch of his skin, bleeding out.
Syrus lifted Forest off the ground and carried her back to her garden. The magic at the gate let them through. He fell to his knees, clutching her to him, and wept. "Forest, don't leave me," he whispered. "Please. Please. I cannot live without you."
He laid her gently on the ground and placed his hand over her wound. The same words he used to regain his sight, he now chanted over her, pulsing power from his palm into her injury. He'd never tried using his power to heal.
