"Are they coming for me?" I asked. My legs went numb.
"I can't think of any other reason they would be here.” Beltor pulled on my arm and we hastened down the street. We were still in the heart of the city, high on the cliffs, maybe only a few hundred yards away from the safety of our ship if we were the gulls I had just seen, but a mile or two away on foot.
Screams echoed down upon us from the cliff roads. It sounded like an ocean's wave of terror was descending on the beautiful city.
"Run, Jess. We must make it to the ship. Understand?" I gasped and pointed at the road ahead of us. A small group of armored Ancients had stopped a crowd of humans.
Beltor and I skidded to a halt on the steep street and I almost fell. The soldiers looked past the humans they were questioning and up at us. The three of them had eyes and hair the same color as the ones that visited Rayat's home: red and gray.
"Come over here, humans!" one of them commanded with a yell. Beltor grabbed my hand and sighed. His mouth formed a firm line and his eyes looked at me in sadness.
We were caught.
Chapter 10-The O'Baarni
I couldn't breathe suddenly and my consciousness flew up out of my hazy slumber into the darkness of the night with a choking sound that couldn't escape from my mouth or nose. I struggled against the fingers that held my nostrils and jaw closed, but the grip felt strong enough to rip my face off if it chose too. My arms swam through my bed of hay and grabbed onto the hand that was killing me. I couldn't pull it away or push myself back into my bed to escape my imminent death.
"Shhhhh!” It was her. It took my brain a few seconds to tell my heart and arms to relax. “Do not cry out, lover,” she whispered, and her warm breath tickled my earlobe. It sent shivers down my spine and I tried not to moan in pleasure.
I nodded that I understood and she took her hand from my face. I gulped air in relief. I knew it was still night, but I could not tell the hour, the stable doors were closed, preventing me from judging the time by the brightness of the moon. Why was she here? I could only think of two possible reasons: she either wanted another bout of lovemaking from me, or she had grown bored with our trysts and decided that tonight was the night she would end the relationship. Possibly by ending my life.
I quickly reasoned that if she wanted to kill me, she would have done so by smothering me before I woke. Or she would have done it in front of her entourage for sport. Our masters took joy in causing us pain, humiliation, and death. Iolarathe was known to have special talents in viciousness and I had seen her rip apart one of her prized stallions because the animal had thrown her.
"How can I serve you?" I whispered. I didn't believe in any of the bullshit Gods that most of the human slaves worshiped, but I almost wished that they were real. Then I could pray to them for protection from the fire that was this woman.
"Always so eager to please aren't you, Kaiyer?" Her voice was half purring cat and half honey. It made my stomach flip and a shiver run down the sides of my arm from my neck.
"For you." I smiled as she pulled away from me. I could hardly see her face in the darkness, just the shape of her cascading hair and her eyes. They were such a bright silver that they seemed to pool all of the light in the dark stables and reflect it in a bluish glow.
"You are good with your mouth." The tips of her fingers brushed my face and then traced the outline of my lips. I parted them slightly, and I took a risk by letting the tip of my tongue flick out and touch her. She let out a soft moan and leaned in toward me. The fingers around my lips moved away and were replaced by her soft mouth. Normally when she kissed me it was forceful, it was raw hunger. Lust and desire and need. This kiss was soft and gentle. My tongue explored hers slowly and it tasted of sweet mead.
"Do you remember many months ago, when I told you I would teach you to ride?" Her breath came out in long pants that hinted at her excitement.
"Yes." I tried not to let hope coat my words. Before we had become lovers, she had told me she would teach me. Even after half a year had passed, I had never dared to bring it up again. Iolarathe was still the chieftain’s daughter, still feared by all of her people, and she still visited my stable three or four times a week with her admirers while pretending to ignore me. I was just thankful that she had taught me how to be her lover, even in secret.
I was thankful that she hadn't killed me.
"Tonight is the night, Kaiyer. Come down to the horses and we will ride together." She moved to the side of me and jumped down from the hay loft, making an almost inaudible clap when her feet touched the dirt below me. It was about twelve feet to the floor so I felt my way to the edge of the loft where the ladder hung. I had grown up in this stable and knew it better than my own body. When I reached it, I lowered myself to the ground with practiced ease.
"Shhhh. Prepare some saddles. Bring extra blankets." Iolarathe had produced a small flame that she held in her hand like a cup of water grasped at the base. The fire was only as bright as a candle, but in the absolute darkness of the stable it created more than enough light to see. She had opened a stall in the middle of the lane where one of the gaited mares was kept. The horse appeared to be awake and my master's gentle hush was soothing to the animal.
I grabbed the appropriate mare's kit with an extra blanket and tried to quell the sinking fear in the pit of my stomach. The thought of riding the large animal made me nervous. Humans weren't allowed on horses, and if any of the other Elvens saw me riding I would probably be killed. It might also jeopardize Iolarathe. Her kin might ask what she was doing with me out in the dead of night on a horse. Perhaps she would have to kill me to save face with them.
There were many ways this could go wrong.
Yet I had always wanted to ride a horse. I spent all my time taking care of them, I was with horses more than I was around humans, and when I was not dreaming of the Elven woman, I dreamt of riding a horse, controlling its movements, feeling its power beneath me. I imagined galloping faster than the wind through the grassy plains surrounding us. I had never been more than a mile from the smithy and stables where I was raised. A ride on a horse would show me the rest of the world. It could lead to freedom.
Which was exactly why we were forbidden to ride.
"You take this one." She patted the mare after I had finished saddling the beast. I nodded and tried to hide my smile. The horse was of gentle temperament and had never given me any problems in the stable. This was actually going to happen.
“I’ll ride this one, Kaiyer. Saddle him for me?” Iolarathe pointed at the black stallion she had been favoring for the last few weeks. He was new to the chieftain’s stables and had been quite spirited. My lover had broken him quickly and he was now as gentle as a newborn kitten.
“Excellent choice.” I left the mare out in the throughway of the stable and quickly saddled her horse while she perched on her usual stool behind me.
“You are efficient with your hands and body,” she whispered. “It is what I noticed first about you.”
“Thank you, Mistress.” I felt my heart leap with pleasure. She often complimented me during or after our lovemaking, but this was the first time I could recall her saying something like this before our clothes were off.
“Most of your kind are so slow, clumsy, and stupid; hardly a step above the livestock that we slaughter for sustenance. But you are different, Kaiyer. There is something almost Elven about you.”
I tightened the last strap on the saddle and turned to look at her. The magic fire she carried in her hand reflected red in her silver eyes.
“You are quite definitely human. Your body is thick and squat, but you move with grace as our kind does. You also smell interesting. Not quite human or Elven. Perhaps there is magic about you? Some of our kind carry gifts beyond the world. I wouldn’t put it past our Gods to bestow some of those onto one of your kind in jest.”
“I do not know anything about that, Mistress. I am just a stable boy that is honored by your attention.” My head bowed and I to
ok the reins of the stallion to lead it out of the stall. I was not sure how to respond to her. I feared accepting the compliment would anger her, yet I could not disagree outright and downplay my strengths as that would call her judgment into question. I hoped feigning ignorance would placate her. She was volatile and still difficult for me to read, at least when we were speaking.
“My pet is so humble. I will enjoy teaching you to horseback ride tonight. I believe you will learn it as quickly as the other type of riding I taught you.” Her voice ended in a soft laughter that sounded as wonderful as the first spring rain.
“I just want to please you, Mistress.” It was true. Not just out of fear. I was growing to care deeply about her opinion of me. I handed her the reins of the stallion and then opened the door of the stable that led to the pastures.
“You do. You will,” I heard her say to my retreating back. The mare stamped her foot in approval when I opened the doors and exposed the green moonlight. The stallion used to jump and bound about with endless energy. But as soon as Iolarathe mounted him, the stallion seemed to sense the secrecy of our frolic and kept himself calm.
“Mount your steed,” she said as she nudged her horse past me. I nodded to the darkness and ran back to the mare. My hands were slick with nervous sweat and I examined the stirrups carefully. I’d never done this, but I had seen my masters do it countless times. I grabbed the loop and slipped my bare foot into it. Then I mustered all my strength, pushed down on my left leg, jumped up with my right, and pulled on the lip of the saddle. Surprisingly, I finished on top of the mare with little fuss.
“Squeeze your heels into the flanks of the horse. It will follow my lead.” She made some small movement in her legs and her stallion meandered out of the stable and into the pasture. I pushed my heels into the sides of my mare and she didn’t move. Then I increased the pressure until she finally did. I wondered briefly if the mare was being stubborn or if I hadn’t used enough of my strength through my heels.
I was riding!
The joy clawed its way from my legs and hips to my brain after the horse had taken half a dozen steps into the pasture. What would Leotol think of this? He’d be envious. We had talked about how it would feel to sit so high, to feel the sky so open, and to feel the wind in our faces as we rode. I almost wanted to jump off the horse, run into the smithy shop he shared with Father, and brag to him right now.
“I can tell you are enjoying yourself,” Iolarathe said as she backed her horse up next to mine.
“Thank you, Mistress. This is wonderful. I have always wanted to ride a horse.” Tears came to my eyes but I blinked them away. No telling how she would respond if I showed too much emotion. Each time she spoke a frisson of fear and pleasure coursed through my body. This was how it always was between us, but tonight I had the added element of fear of being caught riding. I could not fully relax and ignore that fear, though I wanted to let myself go the way I did when we made love. I continued to glance around and worry she was speaking too loud.
“You are not riding yet, Kaiyer.” She let out a laugh of amusement. “You are just walking the horse. It is easy enough, but hardly any fun. Let us trot. Click your heels into the animal’s side twice with force.” I nodded and did as she asked. Suddenly my mare increased her walk to a bumpy jog that threatened to launch me from the saddle.
“Push your legs into the stirrups. Heels down. Back straight!” she instructed while she trotted beside me. The cold night air blew into my face and froze the tip of my nose, but I could observe Iolarathe alternating a standing motion in time with her own horse's steps. I followed her instructions and found that the bumps smoothed. They were still uncomfortable, but I felt more in control of the massive beast beneath me.
“Pull the reins back and down to stop,” she said after ten minutes of circling around the pasture.
I obeyed her command and the mare stopped quickly.
“Trotting is boring. Cantering is much more fun.” She gave me a wicked grin that made me think she might skip some steps with my instruction. “Turn the animal’s head this way with your reins.” She demonstrated, yanking her reins on one side and turning her stallion’s head. “Then you move your same leg back to the horse’s hip.” She looked down at her right leg while her hair draped over her shoulder. I could see her shift her heel toward the rear of the horse. “Opposite leg digs in the same middle flank as a trot. Then she will canter for you. Do it.”
She repeated the steps she had just showed me and her mount launched forward with the graceful stride that I had seen thousands of times. She flew away into the green moonlight. Her dark horse blended into the night and gave the impression she was floating, her hair streamed out behind her and danced to the sound of the wind. I wanted to dance with her across the pasture. She was so free.
I carefully turned my mares head with the reins, moved my heel back, and then I pushed with both heels. I was surprised again when my horse dashed forward in a gentle, loping motion. It was exhilarating. I was really riding. The wind blew cool in my face and I could hear the patter of my mount’s hooves. I had to be moving twice as fast as I could run. It was amazing.
Then suddenly it was too fast. My face must have revealed my panic because Iolarathe was instantly back at my side.
“Move your hips with the animal!” I tried to comply.
“Slow your hips now.” I nodded through gritted teeth and forced my body to do what she said.
“Excellent. If you are skilled, you can canter as slow as a trot. This will tire the horse though.” I nodded and gasped to catch my breath. It was much more comfortable to canter, but I wasn’t happy with how quickly the animal traveled.
“You are good at this, Kaiyer. I think you already ride better than any of my suitors.” She laughed again and spun the horse. Then she somehow made it trot backward to keep pace with me.
“We’ll go a few more times around the pasture.” She smiled and the moonlight reflected off of her eyes and teeth. I nodded and tried to focus on my legs. They were already sore from trying to hold the right position to make the horse canter.
“Pace me, lover!” she commanded and then spun her mount again before cantering away from me. I tried to adjust my hips, but it took me a few minutes to figure out how to get the horse to obey. By the time we matched her speed, she had already done a lap around the fence and I was able to stay right behind her.
We spent another ten minutes riding around the field until I grew more comfortable with the speed and feel of my steed. She watched me and barked instructions to help improve my technique. I followed her instructions and she appeared pleased with the results. Finally, she yelled at me to stop and we rested in front of the gate at the far end of the pasture opposite the stables.
“You are ready to go out into the grasslands.” I nodded and licked my lips nervously. Occasionally I would help my father mend the fence at the end of the feeding pasture, but I had never gone beyond it to the rolling green hills that surrounded our home. Iolarathe seemed to sense my fear and reassured me. “Do not worry, lover. I often ride out there. I assure you that there is nothing more dangerous than me within a few thousand miles. Open the gate,” she commanded.
I nodded and tried to dismount with some sort of agility. I didn’t fall on my face, but the newness of the movement made me feel clumsy and slow. Especially when compared to her. The grass was cold on my bare feet and covered in night dew. I nervously flipped the wooden latch on the gate that opened to the fields and then pushed it ajar.
“This will be fun. I want to show you something. Let’s go,” she said once I had climbed back on my horse.
“Yes, Mistress,” I answered, but she had already taken off and I reset my heels and pushed my mare to keep up with her.
The rains had been plentiful this year and the grasslands were thick with fresh green growth and laced with streams. Our horses seemed to sense their freedom and they joyfully skipped across the endless rolling hills and splashed through the creeks with aba
ndon. On top of the mare I felt as powerful as one of my masters. I was fast, tall, and invincible. Space and time did not matter while I covered ground so quickly. I felt no fear. No fear of the speed, no fear of capture, no fear of Iolarathe.
Her hair was a fire laced flag. The light of the moon shone green, but the color of her mane overpowered it, possessed it, and turned it a deep blood red. She looked over at me and smiled across the span of our horses.
She pushed her mount into the lead and steered the creature right, past the shore of a stream. Then we rode up a slope next to the water and approached something so unusual I almost stopped my horse to stare.
A series of tall, white stone walls rose in a row that spanned the moonlit horizon, each one higher than the largest building on Iolarathe’s estate. Beyond them stood an even taller structure that appeared to reach the moon.
“What is this place?” I whispered when Iolarathe stopped us in front of the wall.
Now I was afraid.
“Ruins of a forgotten time,” Iolarathe said. The crumbling stone walls looked like the marble floors the Elvens used in their homes, though the stone was ancient and decayed.
“Forgotten time?”
“Your forgotten time.” She smiled at me. “It doesn’t matter for you now, Kaiyer. What I want to show you is inside these walls.” She nudged her horse forward to a jagged break in the thick stone.
“Did something move over there?” I asked as I walked my steed after her. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and my stomach spun in knots. We should not be here.
“It was a carrion beast. They haunt ruins like this,” she said nonchalantly without looking at me.
“Are they dangerous?” I was surprised at how confident my voice sounded. Either the cold or my fear made me shake.
“Not to me, and therefore not for you, lover. Come.” She increased the pace of her horse when she passed through the other side of the wall and I followed.
There were countless ruined stone slabs and toppled pillars inside of the walls. At first they seemed arranged in a haphazard way, but my brain attempted to organize the ruins into a pattern.
The Destroyer Book 3 Page 19
