Controlling Chaos (The Five Kingdoms Book 12)

by Toby Neighbors

  It was close to midnight when the door opened again, much too late to be more food, although Homar had a decanter of wine and two goblets. He smiled, his face already red from too much drink. She listened to hear if the men in the main room of the house returned the furniture that blocked her doorway, and was pleased when they didn't. Homar’s men expected that he could keep her from fleeing, and so they were careless.

  “I have wine,” Homar said, setting the goblets on a chest of drawers. “Would you like some?”

  “Yes,” Danella said, trying hard not to sound frightened.

  “Good!” Homar replied, pouring them both some wine and spilling a little in the process. “I had a feeling you would come around. You're a woman who understands the ways of the world. Some might see it as opportunistic, but not me. When one avenue becomes a dead end, it is only prudent to find another path.”

  He was drunk, his hand unsteady. That was in Danella’s favor, but he was still a man, and still very much capable of causing her great harm if she didn’t time her escape just right.

  He carried the wine to her and smiled, leaning too close as he whispered to her. “The night is ours. And soon every night.”

  “You give me too much credit,” Danella said, sipping the wine to calm her nerves.

  Homar was rubbing her shoulder, his intent unmistakable.

  “You shall join me on the throne,” he said. “That is my promise to you. And for that great honor you shall give me what I want.”

  He reached for her, but Danella stepped back, just out of reach.

  “Don’t play games, girl!” Homar said loudly.

  Then she slapped him, her hand stinging from the blow that left a red imprint on his cheek. His head snapped to the side, and when he turned back to her there was murder in his eyes. Snarling he grabbed her shoulders and threw her onto the bed, then pounced on top of her before she could roll away. Her wine flew through the air, her goblet clattering on the floor. Danella was terrified, but she forced herself not to fight back, not yet.

  “Everything okay, my lord,” came a husky voice from outside their door.

  “Of course it is,” Homar said. “She likes it rough.”

  That was Danella’s cue. She reached over her head as the drunken noble began to grope her. For one fleeting second she didn’t feel the awl sticking out of the mattress and she feared that she’d made a critical mistake, but then her fingers brushed over the short butt of the tool that was protruding from the bed.

  Homar’s breath was hot and rank, his weight made it hard to breathe, and she could feel her hands shaking even as she pulled the awl free of the mattress. In one violent movement she drove the sharp, metal prong into Homar’s temple. One of the drunken noble's eyes turned inward, and his mouth opened and closed several times, but no sound came out. Then a seizure began, his body convulsing on the bed, knocking the breath out of Danella’s lungs but also giving her just enough leverage to wiggle out from beneath him as his body bucked up and down.

  Once she was free she moved quickly to the door, listening. The dying noble’s spasms made the bed creak, and Danella felt a stab of fear that the men outside would come to his aid. But they were laughing, making jokes about what they thought their master was doing to her, never knowing he was shaking the bed in his death throes.

  A short while later the shaking stopped, Homar’s breathing was irregular. It came in gasping huffs, but his face was pressed into the mattress and bed clothes, muffling the sound. Danella moved to where she could see him. Blood trickled from the wound in the side of his head, and his bowels released so that he soiled himself and he mattress. The smell was awful and a moment later he stopped breathing. Danella felt a sense of relief, but she knew she wasn’t safe yet. She had to get out of the house, and away from the village before the body was found.

  Back at the door to her room she pressed her ear against the wood, listening for any sounds. She stayed there for what felt like hours, waiting until the oil in her lamp ran low. It was possible that a guard had been posted, but when Homar didn’t come out his men may have thought he was sleeping with her. Opening the door was almost as frightening as being attacked by Homar. Danella was shaking as she peeked out, but the house was dark and there was no sign of any guards, or even of the warriors that followed the dead noble.

  She slipped out of the room and was almost to the front door when she saw her dagger sitting on a stool next to Homar’s sword and coin pouch. She stuffed the dagger and the coins into her belt, then slowly opened the door. Outside the village was silent. She was afraid to get her hopes up, but at least if she was found out she would be able to defend herself. The warriors would kill her, but they wouldn’t use her.

  She moved quickly to the street, trying not to shiver from the cold. She still had her cloak, Homar had taken her dagger but nothing else before locking her into the bedroom for the day. But the night was cold and she felt exposed out in the open, unable to see if enemies were lurking in the shadows. There was noise from the military camp outside of town, but the keep was silent and dark. It stood like a shadowy sentinel over the village, an ominous sign of the events to come. She felt the danger she was in, it coiled around her and made it difficult to breathe.

  When she reached the old barn where their horses were, she felt a little more safe, but she couldn’t shake the urgency to get out of the town. She threw a blanket onto her mare, then struggled to get the saddle onto the animal. It took several tries but she managed it and then got the girth straps tightened. There was very little food left in the saddle bags but she put them on the horse behind her saddle, Her pack hung from the saddle horn and once she got the bit into the horse’s mouth, she was ready to leave.

  “Tell Mansel I am sorry,” Danella said to the big gelding that she had left tied to the iron ring. “I had to flee. I didn't want him to get hurt, but I couldn't save him. I tried to persuade him to come with me before things turned bad. There's nothing but death for me here now. If he comes searching for me, lead him south.”

  She stroked the horse’s soft nostrils and then pulled herself up into the saddle. Riding out the door she was afraid she would be discovered, but the town was still abandoned and silent. There was no one in sight. The moon was setting, and it was only a couple of hours until dawn. It wasn’t much of a head start, but it was something. She walked the horse to the edge of town, and when she wasn’t discovered she kicked her mount into a gallop, and fled the village, leaving her old life behind and riding into a future as dark as the night.

  Chapter 30

  Brianna had never met Roleena, but the infamous pirate was unmistakable. Her long hair fell across her shoulders in wet clumps and her skin was pale. She was being held aloft by one of the sea monster’s tentacles, but Brianna’s keen eyesight revealed the pirate’s own tentacle leg, entwined with the creature from the sea.

  Ferno’s attack was so loud that it assaulted Brianna’s ears. There was blood and fire and steam from the dragon’s ferocious attack, but none of it deterred Brianna. She was diving down toward the pirate who controlled the sea monster, bouncing from invisible air currents like a child hopping from rock to rock in a gentle stream.

  Fire erupted from Brianna like the blast from a volcano, but Ferno’s attack had alerted Roleena to the danger she was in. Her own powers were formidable and Brianna clung to a thermal updraft as a huge wave rose up in front of Roleena and blocked the fiery blast. Brianna managed to drift up above the wave, but then she dropped quickly, racing to catch the pirate before Roleena could find safety in the water.

  It took a tremendous amount of concentration to produce the dozens of fire balls that Brianna hurled down at her enemy. She knew that the attack wasn’t enough to kill Roleena, or even do much damage to the sea monster, but she hoped that she might catch the pirate off guard. The sea monster was lowering her quickly toward the surface of the water, but Brianna’s attack was faster. The firestorm fell around the pirate, who managed to evade being hit directly
by Brianna’s attack, but the sea monster wasn’t as fortunate. The tentacle that held Roleena writhed, flinging Roleena first one way, then another. Once the firestorm ended, Brianna had just enough time to catch up with her foe.

  Brianna was covered in bright red flames as she smashed into Roleena. The collision nearly knocked the pirate free of the tentacle’s grasp, and succeeded in breaking several ribs, but the attack cost Brianna as well. Her lighter body was damaged almost as much as Roleena’s, with several ribs snapping on her left side and her shoulder popping out of its socket.

  The smell of burning flesh was unmistakable, and had Brianna been able to hold on to the pirate she might have ended the sea queen’s life simply from proximity to the Fire Spirit. But as Brianna dove toward her enemy, Roleena had drawn a knife with a slender blade the length of her hand. Even as she burned in Brianna’s embrace she managed to stab the knife into Brianna’s hip. It slashed across the muscle and wedged into the hollow bone.

  Brianna jerked away, falling toward the water, but Sorva swooped down and snatched her up. The fiery woman didn’t faze the dragon, who flew up into the air, carrying Brianna’s wounded body. At the same time the sea monster plunged Roleena into the sea, extinguishing her burns and pulling her down into safety, or what it thought was safety.

  Brianna was in agony, but with her good arm she pulled the knife from her hip and tossed it away. She wanted to go after the pirate, but there was no way she could chase Roleena into the water of the ocean. Brianna could swim, but her fire would be useless in the water, not to mention her light, hollow bones would make diving down under the surface incredibly difficult. Even if she hadn’t been wounded by her collision with Roleena, she wouldn’t have been able to dive beneath the surface with any speed or power.

  Hanging from Sorva’s talon, Brianna saw Ferno break the surface of the water, spread its massive green wings, and climb toward the sky. There was still no sign of Zollin, but cutting across the white-capped waves was the unmistakable sight of dozens of tall dorsal fins. Brianna didn’t know much about the ocean or the creatures that lived in the briny depths, but she had heard of sharks and knew that the tall fins meant death to any creature still in the water.

  She searched frantically for Zollin, but there was no sign of him. She feared that the sea monster had pulled him back down, or perhaps some other danger from beneath the sea had befallen him, but she didn’t know what she could do. She was hurt and needed help, that much was clear. Sorva howled in sorrow as the black dragon flew back toward the village of Bonom Bay.

  “Keep looking,” Brianna said, sending the mental image of Zollin to Ferno.

  The green dragon roared defiantly and Brianna felt a sense of reassurance from the beast that loved Zollin almost as much as she did. Then the world began to flash in and out of focus. She saw the water, then the land, and darkness loomed in her vision despite the rising sun. She saw sailors pointing up at her, there were shouts and people running. The snow seemed dirty even on the rooftops as Sorva flew near them. Her mind was filled with pain as the dragon gently laid her on the ground. She heard the black dragon growl, then it took to the sky and Brianna’s world went black.

  When she opened her eyes she was in a soft bed. Thick blankets covered her body, which ached, but the pain wasn’t overwhelming the way it had been. Her arm was in a sling, and thick bandages wrapped tightly around her body. Her hip was bandaged too, and she felt weak, but it was warm in the room where she lay.

  For a long time she didn’t move, but just stared up at the ceiling, waiting for something to happen. Her mind was on Zollin, but she was afraid to find out the truth. She was afraid that he was still in the ocean, lost forever, and she simply couldn’t deal with that reality. Her heart was just too fragile at the moment. She had seen him being pulled down into the water after almost being devoured by the sea monster. There was so little hope to be had, yet she clung to it like a sailor who is lost overboard in a storm might cling to a bit of driftwood.

  “Yer awake,” said an old man who hobbled over to look down at Brianna. “If yer in a lotta pain, I can give ye somethin’.”

  Brianna shook her head slightly. The man had on a gray apron and his lips smacked as he talked, making it obvious he had no teeth.

  “Never worked on soul like you, lass,” the man went on. “They say yer light as a feather. I got yer shoulder back in place, no problem, and there’s a few broken ribs that’ll give ye trouble, I suspect. That gash in yer hip is all sown up and covered with a poultice I’m quite famous fer.”

  “What about…” Brianna tried to ask, “…about Zollin?”

  “The wizard, ha!” the healer said. “There’s stories floating aroun’ but no one’s seen ‘em. The sharks fed out there fer hours. Makes a soul wonder if anyone could survive in those waters.”

  Tears filled Brianna’s eyes. She felt hopeless, but she knew that Zollin had defied hope before. She sent a questioning thought to the dragons, hoping they were close enough to hear her weak request. An image came back almost immediately. She saw the town of Bonom Bay, with people going about their daily business. It made her angry to think that they could go on with life while Zollin was missing. Hadn’t he just saved their village, she thought. Hadn’t he risked his life to keep them safe? They should be searching for him, but instead they were cleaning up the shore and repairing the pier. Then the image zoomed down onto a small cottage which is where she guessed she was. The room she was in had only one small window, and Brianna saw it from the outside, glazed with ice and dusted with snow.

  Then came another image, this time it was a visual of Ferno far out to sea, circling. The dragon’s keen eyes searched the water relentlessly and Brianna felt a spark of hope. If Zollin was alive he would have to come to the surface sooner or later. One of the dragons would see him, they were tireless in their search for him. Brianna felt a twinge of guilt, knowing the dragons were surely exhausted from their long flight the day before. They had gone into the fight without rest, and apparently were refusing to rest until they knew that both Brianna and Zollin were safe.

  She sent them both a sense of gratitude and then focused on the old man again. He was hovering over her, his face seemed too jovial to be taken seriously, but she could also see the deep concern in his eyes.

  “I take it he meant somethin’ to ye?”

  “Yes,” Brianna said, her voice little more than a dry croak. “My husband.”

  “I thought as much,” the healer said. “Those dragons yers too, I suspect. They make the locals nervous, but not me. I seen beasts before that were dangerous, some even with madness. Those dragons, grand as they are, seem more concerned than wild.”

  Brianna nodded.

  “Well, rest easy, they’re not far away. Ye took quite a blow and ye need rest. Leave it to old Casper to keep an eye on things. That’s what I’m good fer these days.”

  Brianna didn’t want to sleep, but as he dribbled some warm broth into her mouth with a pewter spoon she soon felt exhausted again. Her eyes simply wouldn’t stay open and she fell asleep again.

  “Wake up, lass!” Casper was saying.

  Brianna heard the old man’s voice as if it were calling to her from far away. He was gripping her good shoulder, squeezing it but not shaking her, and she woke up slowly.

  “Wake up, there’s news!” he said.

  Brianna’s eyes fluttered open and after a moment they focused on the old healer.

  “It’s yer man, he’s here. The green beastie found him bobbin’ in the ocean like an empty bottle.”

  “Zollin?” Brianna said, trying to sit up.

  Pain rippled through her body and made her cry out. She had to close her eyes tight to fight the waves of pain that made even breathing difficult.

  “No need to move aroun’, yer not ready fer that by a long mile, I’d say. He’s right over there, by the fire.”

  Brianna turned her head and saw Zollin. He was wet, his hair clinging to his forehead, and his thick wool shirt and pa
nts clung to his body. His skin was very pale and he looked sick, but the most disturbing thing was the fact that he appeared to be floating just above the hearth stones.

  “What is happening to him?” Brianna asked.

  “That’s a good question,” Casper said. “He’s inside something and we can’t reach ‘em. Looks sickly, but I can’t say fer certain. There’s bumps on his skin. Looks like goose flesh, but I don’t think it is. Maybe it’s a sting of some kind. That’s what it reminds me of, but I can’t get close enough to say fer certain.”

  “It’s magic,” Brianna said. “He uses his magic to make a shield around himself when he’s in danger.”

  “I’d say it saved his life,” Casper went on. “Sharks aren’t particular ‘bout what they eat. He was covered in seaweed, which is probably why it took so long for him to float to the surface. Somethin’ pulled him down into the deep. He’s lucky to be alive, but I can’t help him… not while he’s in that magic bubble.”

  “Help me to him.”

  “That’s not a good idea. Yer in no shape to be movin’ about.”

  “I need to go to him,” she said. “I will, whether you help me or not.”

  “Yer spirits are up, that’s good,” he said with a smile, his thick lips creasing his face. “I’ll help, but let’s take it slow.”

  Moving was pure agony. Brianna’s shoulder was sore, but it was the stabbing pain in her side that made every move torture. Yet she didn’t complain or even cry out. She clenched her teeth and fought through the pain. She wasn’t wearing any clothes, but the bandages covered her for the most part and she ignored the embarrassment she felt in front of the old healer. She could have covered herself in flames but they would have consumed the bandages, and a blanket would have slowed her down.