by JD Franx
Yrlissa smirked, whispering out of the corner of her mouth. “More than one way to defend yourself, nahlla.”
The Chief’s daughter walked up the platform, slid a hook through the collars around Ember and Yrlissa’s necks and led her new slaves away. As quickly as they had been captured, they were now slaves with even less chance of escape.
The first day passed at a snail’s pace for all the new slaves. Giddeon spent the day under guard in the forest picking certain plants and fungus, but was not allowed to watch the poisoner mix any of his creations. Max and Kasik spent a very long day as practice dummies for the young warriors. They were only allowed to defend themselves with their bare hands while the younger students attacked with stick swords and poles. They were returned to the cage that night, bruised and bloodied. Max was also dealing with the intense pain caused by the whipping he received around midday for striking a relentless student. The barrage of attacks made him strike out on pure reflex, and the young recipient suffered a broken jaw. It was something he could never do again; a second offence would result in the removal of his hands.
Ember and Yrlissa had the easiest day physically, but still found themselves on the wrong end of slaps and curses when the chief’s daughter thought they should know the Taktala customs and rituals. They also returned to the cage bruised and sore, but on a much lesser scale than Max and Kasik. Saleece spent the day in her new owner’s hut, experiencing utter terror and pure hell, discovering quickly that her new master felt slaves were good for little besides venting her sadistic anger and desires on. Saleece returned for the evening in a worse condition than the others combined and on the verge of catatonic shock. There was no threat to her life because the punishment for killing any slave, regardless of the owner, was the removal of the killer’s hands, but her mind and soul were in mortal danger after only one day.
Giddeon returned to the cage for the night, and his heart broke at what his group had suffered because of his decision to enter the forest. His eyes immediately sought out Saleece, filling with moisture at what he saw. Kasik held her tight as she shook with tremors and mumbled incoherently.
Guards escorted Ember to the prison cage only moments later. The chief’s daughter kept her longer in an attempt to talk about her red hair but the conversation went nowhere fast because the chief’s daughter couldn’t understand that her red hair was natural and not dyed from the forest plants. Natural red hair was non-existent in the Wildlands, though an exotic assortment of red dyes were abundant and several of the tribe’s women used them to colour their hair.
Ember noticed Saleece the moment she stepped inside the cage, realizing the young wizardess had lived the day with her own greatest fear. She sat in the dirt beside Saleece and Kasik. The Northman looked as lost as Ember felt.
“Help her,” he pleaded. “You cannot leave her like this, and I... I cannot help her.” Desperation radiated off the normally strong warrior. It was the first time she had seen him like that. Her heart ached for both of them. As if finally understanding her birth right and her people’s intense hatred for injustice, an incredible strength of spirit filled Ember’s very being. She took Saleece’s hands in hers, placing both on the terrified girl’s chest.
“Let me try, okay? Just keep holding her,” Ember offered, closing her eyes. In only seconds, her right hand moved up Saleece’s body, cradling her head.
Ember gasped at the overwhelming sensation of power flowing through her body. The euphoria of new magic not pushed beyond its limits—Yrlissa’s words from earlier in the day finally made sense. It was her first time really experiencing magic without the devastating side effects of drawing on too much. The wall inside her mind had been holding back the memories of all she was, and a small piece broke off and tumbled away. There was so much more there—she could feel it—but what she needed right now was available to her, so she used it.
“I can help her, I think,” she said. “But it will have to wait until later when the closer guards move further out for the night,” she whispered. “Just hold her for now and she’ll make it,” Ember added quietly.
As they did every night, the inner circle of four guards moved their perimeter about twenty feet out from the cage, blending into the tropical brush and dark of night.
“It’s to make us think we’re on a lighter guard,” Yrlissa offered. “To see if we’ll try escaping. They are there; I can see and hear them.” She smiled at Max’s questioning frown. “The Elvehn are not Human, Max. We only look it. Kind of.” He grinned back, shaking his head.
Ember waited another hour before Yrlissa nodded her way, letting her know the guards had moved even deeper into the utter darkness. Quietly making her way over to Kasik and Saleece, she could hear the young woman sobbing. She shivered at the thought of what she had been through.
“Everyone gather around,” she whispered. “We have to be sure no one can see what I do. I don’t know what will happen, but it seems like magic has to be bright and colourful in order to work. Come on, we have to hurry.”
Clearly suspicious, Giddeon touched her arm. “What exactly are you going to do?”
“Help her, if I can,” Ember replied, laying her hands on Saleece’s head.
“How? You can’t have circumvented the poghana already,” Giddeon said, dumbfounded.
“It won’t be a concern,” Ember assured him. She could see it only added to his doubt. “I can’t explain it, Giddeon. I can’t feel the collar. It never affected my magic even when that priestess first put it on. It’s a necklace, nothing more.”
“Fair enough,” he said.
Taking one last look around, Ember glanced at Yrlissa and received another nod as everyone held their blankets up in the hops of blocking the light from Ember’s magic. “Let’s hope for her sake this works,” she said. Closing her eyes, Ember opened her mind, focusing on the wall that was holding back what she hoped was more Fae knowledge. The wall crumbled a little more, giving her the words she needed.
“Amaeh Shalaness,” she whispered. A warm, pink and blue glow came from both her hands and slipped into her patient’s damaged mind. Like wildfire feeding on dry grass, it spread, flickering its way down her beaten and ravaged body. A second spell followed the words of the first as Ember shifted her right hand to the tortured woman’s chest above her heart.
“Amaeh Naolass,” Ember said with a sigh. The magic shifted, changing to blue and red, swirling as it infused Saleece with magic that would calm her mind and strengthen her soul. With her body healed and her mind quieted, Ember’s senses returned to her own control. Saleece opened her eyes and stared at her.
“Thank you,” she cried, as tears continued to roll down her cheeks. “You helped. It was foolish, if you were caught...”
“The risk was mine to take, Saleece. Our differences aside, I couldn’t watch you suffer like that if I could help,” Ember said, smiling. “Now listen, closely, please. I can offer you one more thing to help, but it will come at a price,” she offered.
“What exactly are you talking about?” Giddeon demanded. Ember ignored his outburst and spoke directly to Saleece.
“I can place a protection spell around your mind that will keep you from having to endure your time with that she-monster. You’ll have no memory of what happens to you.”
Giddeon persisted with his questions. “You said there would be a price, Ember. What is it?”
“I’m not sure Giddeon, haven’t exactly done this before... She won’t remember the pain or the disgusting things she does to her, but… I imagine she’ll be aware of the gap in her memory. For some people that large of a gap every day, until we are free, may be too heavy a price to pay. For most people even. Do you understand?” she said, looking at Saleece.
Saleece nodded as she implored. “Will you be able to repeat what you have done for me tonight? The idea of losing large pieces of my memory does not appeal to me, but with help like you gave me tonight, I can manage.”
“Yes, whenever you need it, as long as
we are careful not to get caught. And I’ve taken your body’s pain, but I left the bruises and bites so no one will become curious as to how you healed. If anyone else needs the same just ask. It may give us a chance to escape later on if they think we are too beat up to run from them,” she explained.
“Thank you, Ember,” Kasik replied. As everyone settled down for the night it was obvious that something was still grating on Giddeon’s mind. It was not long before it came to the surface.
“Perhaps you would like to explain now how you achieved such a thing while wearing a silencing collar?” Giddeon asked as he stared at Ember. Though Ember shrugged, it was Yrlissa who answered.
“She is Fae, Giddeon. We have no idea what they were... are capable of. We both know that she has no cruus to the earth like us, so who knows?”
Ember held up her hand to stop Giddeon’s argument. “You don’t need to argue with her,” she said. “I don’t understand any more than you do, but it feels like there is a wall inside my mind blocking off knowledge, or memories maybe, about me, my abilities, and my people. A small piece of that wall fell away when I saw what had been done to Saleece, and then the words for the spells were there, if that makes any sense to you?”
Giddeon, obviously at a loss for any explanations, rubbed his chin in thought.
Saleece answered instead, her voice weak and unsteady. “Sounds like the legendary Fae sense of injustice to me, Father. Do you not agree?”
Giddeon shrugged. “It’s possible. Perhaps a discussion for another day, though. If no one has seen anything of value to help us escape then I suggest sleep would be the best option for now.” He received only murmurs of consent as they all wrapped themselves in the single blanket they had each been given to sleep with and called the day done.
As Ember watched him closely, she could sense Giddeon struggle as he continued working on the Poghana around his neck. He frowned, shaking his head as if troubled by not being able to get past its magic.
She smiled at him and hoped he would figure it out, and soon.
Chapter Three
“To love someone who does not love you in return is the hardest feeling to understand. Kalmar told me to be patient, to let Kael heal. I will, even though everything about him makes my heart melt with happiness. To be with him now that we are free would the ultimate reward for so many years of suffering.”
N’Ikyah, Dead Healer
Journal entry found on the shores of Siren’s Bay, 5025 PC
SEA OF STORMS
THIRTY-SIX HOURS EARLIER
After being held captive and tortured for months, Kael, and Kyah—a young slave and exceptional healer—along with two wizards from Cethos, escaped the ancient Dwarven prison of Arkum Zul, where it was located deep below the surface of Tazammor Mountain. After being chased for two days through the catacombs below a long-forgotten Dwarven city by Orotaq guards and the subterranean creatures known as the Mahala, they finally managed to fight their way out of the mountain and across a small valley to Flatwater Bay where they stole a two-masted galleon and sailed to freedom. Though Kyah had been injured and suffered serious wounds in the fighting, Galen had healed her as best he could. Even so, after losing so much blood, an infection and a dangerously high fever quickly set in.
While the two wizards sailed the ship out into the infamous Sea of Storms, Kael laid Kyah on the captain’s bed, stripped off her filthy, damp clothes, and did his best to bring down her fiery body temperature. A quick search of the cabin’s storage chest produced a large blanket. Soaking it in cold water from the pitcher on the table, he covered her body with the blanket and used the corner to wipe the sweat from her forehead and cheeks. Still shivering himself from the cold mountain water and his saturated clothing, he removed his own damp rags and hung them on a chair to dry. Frozen and exhausted, he eased himself into the bed beside her and wrapped himself in dry blankets, hoping to catch up on some much needed rest. In seconds he was asleep.
Kael jerked awake unaware of how long he’d been asleep. Kyah’s hand grazed his cheek and her fingers trailed through his thin beard. He smiled, feeling her forehead for signs of the raging fever. She was still warm, but her body had cooled considerably while they slept. As he opened his mouth to ask her how she felt, he found her lips pressed to his. He pulled back, knowing he couldn’t possibly kiss her without thinking of Ember but one look in her strange silver eyes and his thoughts fled from his mind, vanished as if they’d never been. She slowly removed the still damp sheet from her bare body and let it fall to the floor as she slid under the dry covers with him. His thoughts returned for a moment and he tried to object, to stop what was happening between them, but for some reason, his mouth filled with cotton and his body went to work against him. The thrill of feelings and emotions that were not pain and suffering brought along a quickly building desire. It swallowed all of his urge to resist.
As Kyah snuggled closer and leaned in to kiss his lips, their noses bumped and a nervous laugh escaped her mouth. Being more careful this time, she tried again and he tilted his head as their lips brushed together, soft and gentle like the touch of a dove’s wing. Moving even closer, she lifted his arm and slid his hand around the curve of her waist onto the small of her back as she kissed him harder. Her tongue darted out, teasing his own. Pressed together, her flesh ignited in him an intense need to feel anything that was not the insufferable agony of the past five months.
Kyah shifted her body and slid on top of him and her warm breath tickled his ear. “No more games, Kael. Be with me. Let me love you. We need this. I... need this, please.” For reasons he could not fathom, he had no desire to resist. As his mind tried to object one last time, the spicy scent of her body smothered all conscious thought. His heart raced, the heat of arousal lit an urgent need and he no longer cared about whether it was right or wrong. Kyah moaned as he sat up with her nestled in his lap. Trailing his fingers up her smooth legs, he caressed her thighs softly. He smiled nervously and released the faintest amount of black electricity from his thumbs. Tracing along the inside of her thighs, the dark energy gently snapped and popped under his fingers as it reached the soft mound between her legs. A sharp gasp caught in her throat and her breath stuttered as she inhaled. Kael could see the pleasure dancing in her eyes and along her mischievous smile as he rolled the black energy under his thumbs, gently pushing it against every nerve-ending he could sense. Little bumps of bliss rose on the skin of her thighs and outwards to the rest of her body. Her response excited him further and he buried his face in her neck.
Kael continued to explore the tender rise and the moist creases of her flesh as more writhing sparks of magic crawled up and across the flat of her stomach to her chest. A smile crept across his lips when it was clear she was no longer able to stand the mystical teasing. Returning his crooked smile, her fingers traced down his chest and across the muscled wall of his stomach until she found him more than ready. She pushed herself up on her knees and slid onto him, slowly, as her lips pushed against his once more.
Kael felt a shudder roll through her body and he gasped as he slid into her warmth. The slow, gentle, movement forced Kael’s hands out onto her hips as he laid back. She followed him down, nestled firmly in his lap. As their lips parted, he gazed into her eyes, and her mischievous smile returned, fuelling his desire further. As he reactivated his teasing currents of magic under all his fingers this time, his hands moved from her hips up the sides of her ribcage to under her breasts until his thumbs found the soft flesh of her nipples. Teasing, he tickled and tugged gently until the pink flesh swelled with need. With his hands and body sparking her passion to greater heights, she moaned, increasing the pace of her hips. Her enthusiasm spurred his own movements and his own need built quickly.
Kyah opened her eyes and pushed her lips harder to his, crushing his lips into his teeth, her tongue danced along his as her own ecstasy raced to finish. Abandoning her breasts and grabbing her waist, he pulled her closer, increasing the pace to match their mutual need
. Kyah buried her face in his neck, crying out in ecstasy as they climaxed together. She collapsed onto his chest, panting, as waves of intense pleasure rolled through him.
Unable to speak, Kael sighed and held her. Neither moved for several minutes as they lay together, enjoying the glow of emotions and feelings that were something other than the torturous pain of so many months. Kyah raised her head and looked into Kael’s eyes, a tear ran down her cheek. Gently, he wiped the tear away as his thumb rubbed her cheek. She cuddled into him and drifted back to sleep. Kael sighed, his mind a whirl of emotions. As if his own senses were returning, guilt slowly replaced the glow of intense feelings still humming through him. He stared up at the wood ceiling above the bed thinking of Ember as Kyah slept to the easy rhythm of the boat sailing across the ocean.
A loud crack and intense bright light jolted Kael and Kyah from sleep hours later. Seconds passed before Galen stormed into their cabin.
“You two need to get out of here. A storm’s coming. It’s just minutes away. Hurry, Kael, it’s going to be bad.” Another blast of lightening, followed immediately by the pounding concussion of thunder emphasized his words as Galen slammed the door shut. Kael and Kyah hurried to get dressed. Kael heard Kyah complain, but it did not affect the goofy smile plastered to her face.
“I knew it would not last,” she said, shaking her head. “The Goddess of luck has given us all she will.”
Revitalized by the rush of feelings and emotions from the previous night, but still plagued by guilt and confusion as to why it happened, Kael slid into his leather cloak, his new weapons snug in their sheaths sown to the back.
Slinging his backpack over his shoulder he shook his head and pushed the puzzling emotions aside as he chuckled, for her sake. “Lady Lykke doesn’t care about us any more than the other gods do.” The young healer merely smiled wider and wiggled her way into the white bodice, pulling the attached soft leather hood onto her head.
