Eielawyn [The Maidens of Mocmoran 3] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Wynette Davis

  Raenos cried out, as the intensity of the electric volts poured through his body, making him piss himself before he passed out. But the last thought he had was how much pain he would cause Zhoardaeash. Then his world went black.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The slight buzzing beside her woke her up. She was lying on a makeshift bed on the floor of the cabin with Kinsbithu lying on another next to her. For a second, she didn’t remember where she was at. But then clarity slapped her in the face all at once. Everything that had happened to them in the past day or so. Leaving her home in Yaesdrah. Trekking through the hills and forest to the cave. Filkothinor’s death. Raenos being taken by the royal guards, and coming to the cabin after she’d made the guards that had taken her and Kinsbithu into the woods kill themselves. It seemed like a lifetime ago, but in actuality, it had only been hours since they’d come to the cabin.

  She realized the TCD was still buzzing. She first thought it was the one Laeros had left for them before he left. But the familiar buzz came from her own that she’d stuffed into her pocket while running down the street toward the beach in Yaesdrah. After they’d paid respect to Filkothinor’s essence, Laeros had to quickly leave for Zinvia on pressing business, promising them that he would return to the cabin as soon as he could, leaving Kinsbithu and her alone in the cabin to mourn Filkothinor, and pray for Raenos’ safety.

  She found the TCD, recognizing the wavelength as she put it into her ear. “Glywyn. By the goddesses, it’s been a long time since I heard from you.”

  “Eielawyn,” Glywyn said to her. “I’ve been trying to contact you all day. Theoch told us about you and your friends. Are you all right?”

  “Me and Kinsbithu are fine. The guards killed Filkothinor, Eielawyn.” Eielawyn glanced over to where Kinsbithu was still sleeping. She walked out the door of the cabin, so she wouldn’t disturb her. “They took Raenos. I don’t know where.”

  “Theoch mist walked to where they’re holding him. He would tell you this himself, but he had to go back to the meetings,” Glywyn said. “I don’t want you to worry about Raenos. He’s alive. Theoch said that the guards won’t be moving for a few days. Balaedras has ordered them out of Yaesdrah.”

  “Out of Yaesdrah? All of the guards? Why?”

  “I have no idea.”

  That tenseness in her gut began again. She didn’t trust Balaedras. She was known to raze entire towns in her own kingdom out of petty spite. The fear that Balaedras would do just that to Yaesdrah filled her with not only fear, but anger. “Is she going to raze Yaesdrah?”

  “Theoch doesn’t know. If she did something like that, she’ll basically be hurting her own kingdom. Teveoch depends on the tourist drokols that Yaesdrah brings in. It’s why she sent the guards there in the first place. To protect her income. But I don’t want you to think about Yaesdrah right now, Eielawyn.”

  “I’m not. I’m thinking of Raenos. If the guards are pulling out of Yaesdrah, we have some time. Theoch said he has someone that’ll help us. A baenthahndorse. I’ve never heard of anything called that. Have you?”

  “Theoch has met many beings and people I’ve never heard of before, Eielawyn. Just trust him. But there’s something else I need to talk to you about.”

  There was silence from Glywyn. “You’ve had a dream, haven’t you?” Eielawyn asked her.

  “Yes. It’s us, Eielawyn. At least I think it’s us.”

  “What’s us?”

  “In the dream I had…it was weird, as most of my dreams usually are. But we were all here, Eielawyn. In Yaelvoch. You, me, Faeswyn, Trikyia, Leiahrahwyn, and she was all grown, Eielawyn. She was a grown woman. And there was another woman that I’ve never met before. She was beautiful, and I’m pretty sure she was a vaedra. We were all gathered in the throne room here in the palace. I felt that we were there for a purpose. Six of us, Eielawyn.”

  “O-kay. And?”

  “And…? When I was pregnant with Leiahrahwyn, I couldn’t do much. I was huge with her. So, I spent a lot of time reading. King Lavaerion let me have free roam of the palace. I think it was the whole I’m-carrying-the-future-ruler-of-Ai thing. But I read the book of the ancients, Eielawyn. All of it.”

  “You had a lot of free time, huh?”

  “Eielawyn, there’s a passage in the book that tells of a six-point star that defeats evil and becomes the catalyst of good. There’s a lot of other shit in there about it, but I wasn’t so interested back then. But then I had this dream, and it has to mean all of us.”

  “I don’t know about that, Glywyn. You said there was another woman that you’ve never met? Are you sure you weren’t just having some normal weird dream that means nothing at all? Maybe it was pregnancy brain.”

  “I had the dream last Fourth day.”

  “Shit,” Eielawyn whispered. “So, what? We’re supposed to be some kind of team that defeats Balaedras? No, Glywyn. I’m not some strange supernatural being with superpowers. I read thoughts and suggest. And I’ve learned that my gifts aren’t worth shit, because I can only use them on three people at a time. Balaedras has an army of thousands. Tens of thousands. Six women can’t do shit.”

  “I believe in the ancients, Eielawyn. That book is real. I didn’t want to believe in it before, but it says so many things—events—that I know have already happened. My gift wasn’t well-honed at first, either. I had to learn what my dreams meant when I dream them. Faeswyn can glamour humans for almost half an hour now.”

  “Half an hour? How the hell did she manage to—?”

  “Exactly,” Glywyn interrupted. “She had to learn how to use her gift. She’s still working out some of the kinks, but that’s not the point. You have to learn how to use what the goddesses have given you. Once you learn more about your gift, I believe that we’re supposed to be a part of this six-point star in the book. We’re all vaedra. Well, for the most part. I have no idea if Leiahrahwyn will be, or if the unknown woman is. But the rest of us…? Eielawyn, there has to be a reason we all met, we’re all vaedra, and we’re all converging on Yaeltaran. In Yaelvoch.”

  It was all too much for her to take in. One thing at a time, she told herself. “Okay. I believe you had a dream about us, but can I hold out judgement on whether we’re all supposed to be this star that brings down Balaedras? Because to tell you the truth, it freaks me out.”

  “It freaks me out, too. Do you honestly think I want to go up against Balaedras? Shit no. But if there comes a time in the near future where certain things start to come about, I want to hear you say it to my face.”

  “Say what?”

  “Say that I was right. That what I dream comes true.”

  “I know you have the gift of dreams, Glywyn. But this…”

  “I get that you’d rather not believe it. It’s easier. I get that. But at least I told you, and you can be prepared when it happens. I’ll see you when you get here.”

  “Glywyn, we might not. I don’t know what we’re headed into. This person that Theoch says will help us? He may not be able to.”

  “I’ll see you when you get here, Eielawyn. Love you.”

  Eielawyn sighed in resignation. “Love you.”

  * * * *

  Laeros told them to wait at the cabin until either he came back, or Theoch misted back to them. But the figure walking toward Kinsbithu and Eielawyn wasn’t Laeros. She glanced around them, but saw no telltale mist to suggest Theoch had come back with the figure. Fear creeped up her spine. Because whoever it was steadily walking toward them was very large. Royal guards were tall, large muscled men. The figure on the steady path for them seemed somehow larger than a guard. She could tell from that distance that he had a mane of long blond hair that hung to his shoulders in unbound layers. He walked with determination and will. With confidence.

  “Who is that?” asked Kinsbithu.

  “I don’t know,” Eielawyn said, glancing at her. “But he seems to know where he’s going.”

  “Sh-sh-should we get something to protect ourselves?”


  “If he wanted to hurt us, I think he would have gotten to the point. He’s just on a determined path. It may be the baenthahndorse Theoch told us about.”

  “I am the baenthahndorse,” the man said, suddenly standing feet from them. Both Eielawyn and Kinsbithu screamed. “I’m sorry to startle you, but I thought it would be best to introduce myself instead of letting you continue to guess. I am Tythahn,” he said, bowing low to them.

  Eielawyn had to look up into Raenos’ eyes. He was a little more than a foot taller than she was. But Tythahn seemed to be enormous, yet she couldn’t say that he was much larger than Raenos or any of the other royal guards she’d seen. It was his presence. His essence. There was something about him that lent to his larger-than-normal persona.

  “Tythahn? Okay…um…you have really good hearing,” Eielawyn said, looking at him warily. “And you’re fast. Very…um…fast.”

  “All baenthahndorse do, and yes, I can move fast,” he said with an infectious smile. “Among other traits.”

  Kinsbithu smiled back at him, and she was surprised to notice that she was also. It was easy to do so. His bright blue eyes were kind. His skin was light tan as if he stayed outdoors most of the time. He was clean-shaven, with full lips, and a strong, firm chin. Handsome? She would say he was handsome. But even as she looked at him, he could never compare to Raenos.

  “Theoch said you can help us. I don’t see how. Are there more of your…kind here?” she asked.

  “Perhaps we can talk more inside your dwelling, and I can give clarity to many of your questions.” He said it more as a statement of fact than a question of possibility, as he walked toward the cabin, leaving Eielawyn and Kinsbithu running to catch up to him.

  Eielawyn felt defensive of the small cabin that she and Kinsbithu had only arrived at hours before. But Tythahn walked inside, looking around the one room as if he were trying to decide if he would stay. He finally walked over to the hearth and took a seat on the edge of the stone.

  “There are some furnishings that don’t accommodate me well,” he said. “I’ve traveled from the north, and I have to admit to being tired from my journey. But the pieces in this room won’t hold me. I apologize.”

  “You’ve come from the north just today?” asked Eielawyn. “How?”

  Tythahn seemed to think to himself. He then looked up at both of them. “I know that you’re worried about your friend—”

  “He’s my man,” Eielawyn said with emphasis. “He’s the man I love. Theoch said that he was alive, but I need to get him back, now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. If you can’t help us, I’ll fuckin’ do it myself and be damned one way or the other, but I won’t leave him with the guards.”

  “I will be helping you,” said Tythahn. “And don’t worry. It’ll be today. I know you’re worried about your love, but Theoch assured me he’s safe. Celled, but safe. We have time. But before I do anything, I believe it’s only fair that you know who I am, and what it is I will do. Truth?”

  He spoke differently than any man she’d known. She didn’t know anything about the people in the north, what a baenthahndorse was, and how one man could take on a unit of the royal guard. But he seemed intent on telling them about himself, even as she felt the overwhelming urge to grab him by the collar of his black shirt and shake him into understanding her urgency. Because with each second that ticked by, Raenos was still held by the guards. Perhaps they had beaten him. Perhaps they were continuing to shock him with the shackles they used to capture him, or worse.

  “Fine,” she said. “But we need to hurry.”

  “After I tell you about myself, we will travel to where they have your love in less than one minute.”

  Kinsbithu frowned at Eielawyn. “Shit. What are you?” she said, staring at Tythahn.

  Tythahn smiled at Kinsbithu. “I am baenthahndorse. Many believed we were only myth. Somewhat like they did with vaedra,” he said, nodding to Eielawyn. “There are only a small population of us left. We live in the far north. Past regions and kingdoms you’ve never heard of. To put it into a distance you can understand, my home is seven thousand miles from here.”

  “And you travelled here today?” Eielawyn asked. “How?”

  “Like I said,” he smiled at her, “I’m baenthahndorse. We all have abilities. There are many stories of how we came to be, but it’s time-consuming, and time is something we don’t have. I can travel thousands of miles in a matter of minutes. Not through teleportation, or some technologically advanced instrument. I run. Fast.”

  Eielawyn and Kinsbithu glanced at each other as he continued. “But the way I will take you with me when I run to free your man—”

  “Raenos,” Eielawyn interrupted. “His name is Raenos.”

  “Yes. When I free Raenos, you’ll have to be absorbed into my body.”

  “Oh, hell no,” Kinsbithu said, standing up and starting to pace the room. “Absorbed?”

  “Trust me,” Tythahn said. “It’s the only way. Theoch told me the camp is about fifty miles away on the other side of the Yaelbahs River. The river is rough and dangerous. We don’t know if he’s hurt. I can carry him inside of me to safety. Can you? Can you get him to Yaelvoch on foot? No. So, trust me.”

  “Okay,” Eielawyn said. “I trust you. What else.”

  “I have my…other,” he said, looking cautiously at them.

  “You have an extra dick?” Eielawyn asked, with her eyebrows raised, as she glanced down to his groin.

  Tythahn roared in laughter surprising both Eielawyn and Kinsbithu. “No. No, I don’t have an extra dick. That would be a waste, and I do fine with the one I have. My other is…it’s what makes me baenthahndorse. It would be easier to show you, but please don’t scream and go running off into the woods. I’m not dangerous to anyone that I don’t want to be dangerous to. I’m in complete control, and I’m fully aware. I won’t hurt you. So, trust me.” He glanced at them. “Again.”

  He took a deep breath before Eielawyn yelled out. “You don’t have tentacles, do you?”

  Tythahn frowned and shook his head. He took another deep breath, and Eielawyn stared at him, not in fear, but in wonder. His muscle mass increased, ripping the seams of his shirt, and he grew at least a foot in height, bending over to fit his new height in the low ceiling of the room. The bright blue of his eyes had turned silver-white. Eielawyn felt Kinsbithu grip her arm, but she wasn’t afraid of what she was seeing. She was intrigued. His hair grew longer and wild about his head like the mane of the lions they have in Jahlmerikahl. His teeth were now long and fang-like, but unlike fangs of anything she’d thought she would ever be close enough to see. He seemed feral, dangerous, and at the same time erotically sensual.

  In the next instant, he was Tythahn again. “My other.”

  “Um…okay,” Eielawyn said, as Kinsbithu released some of her death grip on her arm. “Impressive. Large. Very large.”

  “While I’m my other, I can do a lot of damage,” he said, sitting back down on the hearth. “But I will have aid.”

  “Who?” Eielawyn asked.

  Tythahn looked as though he didn’t want to answer her. He shook his head. “I have to ask that you trust me. Those that will come to my aid to help free Raenos are not always well received. So, please. I ask you trust me.”

  Eielawyn looked at Kinsbithu, who nodded to her. “Okay. We trust you.”

  Tythahn stood, stooping in front of them so his head wouldn’t hit the ceiling. “Then we should leave. It’ll be dark soon. Theoch told me it would be best to attempt this in the cover of darkness.”

  “Attempt?” Eielawyn said with a worried expression. “You aren’t sure you can free him?”

  Tythahn placed a large hand on her shoulder. “I’m one hundred percent sure that I can. It was a word, Eielawyn. Only a word. I’m going to ask for us to go outside, so that I may pull you into me. Once we’re at a safe location, you need to stay hidden until I come back with Raenos. And whatever you see, stay calm. Don’t bring any attention to your
selves. For your own protection. Agreed?”

  Eielawyn didn’t know what she and Kinsbithu were about to go into. But it didn’t matter. None of it mattered, as long as she had Raenos back with her. They walked outside into the dusk of the coming evening. And as she stood looking at Tythahn, she felt at peace. As if she were about to lay down to take a nap. The next thing she remembered was standing in the middle of the woods with Kinsbithu beside her, wide-eyed and smiling. Tythahn stood in front of them and nodded.

  “That was it?” Kinsbithu asked him.

  “Yes,” he said. “The guard camp is over that hill there,” he said, pointing through the brush. “I know you won’t stay here. So, if you must, watch from that hill. And stay quiet. Your lives and the life of Raenos depends on it.”

  Tythahn ran toward the hill, unlike a large man that could lift a mass transport over his head without breaking a sweat. After he’d gone over, Eielawyn grabbed hold of Kinsbithu’s hand, and they made their way to a vantage point. And may the goddesses protect Raenos’ essence. May the goddesses protect all of their essence.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Eielawyn and Kinsbithu crawled along the ground to a vantage point where they could look out to see the camp. It was nestled in a clearing, surrounded by rocky cliffs on one side, the green hills that alluded to those of Yaeltaran on the other, and wide river rushing through the valley in front of the clearing. Its swift waters seemed angry and wild, cutting its way through rock and land, as it had done for thousands of years. A bridge had been erected over the river using one of Teveoch’s many technologically advanced machinery, making it the only way in or out.