by Barb Hendee
He said nothing, but his eyes glittered as he watched in fascination.
Lady Saorise began to chant softly. She placed her hands in the air on each side of the cauldron as her voice gradually grew louder. Amelie couldn’t understand a word.
Then Lady Saorise cried out one final, loud, unintelligible phrase, and she swept inward with her hands, holding the sides of the cauldron. Amelie could only imagine how hot the metal must be and the damage it was doing to her palms.
“Rage,” Saorise whispered softly. “Madness.”
She slumped in exhaustion, and her hands fell away from the cauldron.
“My lady,” Damek cried in what sounded like genuine alarm, and he caught her, holding her up. Was it possible he cared for this woman?
A moment later, she stood on her own power. “I am well. The spell is powerful . . . and draining.”
“Is it done?” Damek breathed.
Reaching down, she picked up the cup and the flask, and as she did, Amelie saw that her hands weren’t burned. They weren’t even reddened. Dipping the cup into the cauldron, she poured a now black fluid into the metal flask—without spilling a drop.
“We must test it,” she said. “You have a subject?”
Nodding, Damek turned and strode across the room to a side door. Quinn and Lady Saorise followed him. Amelie was drawn after them, but she was flooded with a terrible feeling that the worst of this was not over.
Opening the door, Damek turned to Quinn. “You brought the leather gloves, as I asked?”
“Yes.”
Quinn drew a pair of thick gloves from the pocket of his pants, and he put them on.
Upon hearing a rattling sound, Amelie peered around him into a narrow room. A filthy man in rags was manacled by one wrist to the back wall. He looked out in terror at the open doorway.
Lady Saorise handed Quinn the flask. “You only need to place a small amount on his bare skin,” she said. “Just wet your gloved finger and touch his skin. The elixir will absorb instantly. But do not get the smallest amount on your own skin. You must never be careless. It will affect you as it would affect him.”
Taking the flask from her, Quinn wet his gloved right pointer finger with a few drops of the black liquid. Then he entered the narrow room, going straight to the panicked man and smearing the substance on his cheek.
“No!” the man cried, trying to pull back against the wall. “What are you doing?”
Quinn stepped away and looked back toward the door. “How long?”
Amelie almost didn’t recognize his voice. He sounded so cold.
“Unknown,” Lady Saorise answered. “We will have to wait.”
All three of them fell silent, and the only sound Amelie heard was the manacled man whimpering in fear. Inside the memory, it was difficult to judge how much time had passed, but she thought it was less than an hour when the man in the narrow room began gagging.
Though it was difficult to watch, Amelie knew that she was being shown only what was most important, so she looked through a space between Damek’s and Quinn’s shoulders as they stood in the doorway.
The poor man inside began retching . . . and then his hands began turning into claws and his body began to expand. His jaw elongated and fur sprouted from his skin. Amelie watched, numb, as he transformed into a massive wolf with red eyes, and he lunged, roaring, against the chain on his front leg.
The manacle was tight against his fur, but it held.
“By the gods,” Damek whispered in wonder, staring at the mad creature snarling and snapping at the end of its chain. Saliva spattered the floor from its fangs. “Saorise, you’ve done it.” His expression altered to one of someone who suddenly wished to get down to business, and he turned to Quinn. “Kill that thing. We know the elixir works.”
Without a word, Quinn walked to the weapons wall, took down a crossbow, and loaded it.
Amelie did not feel she needed to watch this part, and she turned around as he went back to the doorway and fired. The beast inside the room cried out, but she could still hear it snarling. Quinn loaded a second quarrel and fired again. This time, she could hear only panting afterward, and she looked back to see Quinn frowning slightly.
“I shot it through the eye,” he said. “They are hard to kill.”
Returning to the wall, he took down a heavy spear, and this time he entered the room. Amelie heard a loud sucking sound, and then the room went silent. Quinn reemerged.
“It’s dead.”
Damek seemed to be growing impatient now, and he turned to Saorise. “My lady, you must be exhausted. Would you like to go and rest?”
“Yes, perhaps. You are pleased?”
He took her hand and kissed the back of it. “More than pleased. I will be up to visit you shortly.”
Again, Amelie wondered what these two were to each other—but she received no answers.
As Lady Saorise swept from the room in a rustling of her purple robe, Damek squared off with Quinn, assessing his tall form.
“You do realize this is only the beginning?” Damek asked.
“Yes. What do you want done next?”
“A field test.” Glancing over at the table, Damek’s lip curled up in distaste at the dead Móndyalítko and the partially mutilated body of the wolf. With one hand, he motioned Quinn back toward the hearth, and both men walked over to stand nearer to the fire.
Amelie followed.
“I’m going to have you placed inside my father’s forces as a corporal,” Damek said.
“A corporal?”
“Yes, I need someone who will be trusted but not garner much attention.”
“So you are offering me to your father?”
Damek smiled, and Amelie found the sight chilling. “Oh, no,” he said. “My father would never accept any connection with anyone who’d ever served me. He would doubt my motives. No, I’ve forged a letter from an acquaintance of my father, a Baron Driesè. Apparently, according to the letter, the baron has a high opinion of you and would like for you to be given a chance in the guard of a royal household.”
Quinn frowned. “And you think your father will believe this unselfish act?”
“I do. You see, the baron has done this once before. It is in his nature. My father will accept you. But he and Driesè see each other only every few years at best, and I’ll make certain any letters between my father and him are intercepted in the first weeks after your arrival. The ruse will not be discovered.”
“So I serve as a corporal. Then what?”
“Your first task is to become trusted by your commanding officer. That’s all you need do for now. Later . . . though I’ve not chosen a time or a place, when I give the word, I will need you to find a way to get your contingent assigned somewhere isolated. You’ll then begin to experiment with the elixir. Start slowly, turning a man every few weeks perhaps. Your purpose is to create and incite a complete breakdown of the command structure, to foster such an atmosphere of terror and mistrust that although most of the men will remain healthy and appear capable of battle, it would be child’s play to ride in and destroy them.”
“You’re going to attack your own father’s men?” Quinn asked, but he didn’t sound remotely daunted by the task Damek had just placed before him.
“No, of course not. You are simply carrying out the initial test, but you need to take it to the point where order has broken down, fear has taken over, the contingent could be wiped out with little effort, and yet from the outside, the attackers will appear as the far stronger force. That is the key. I need to create situations where my men always appear as the stronger force. When you’ve reached that point, you may stop and send me word. I trust your judgment. I only wish to know if this will work to the degree that I imagine.”
“And if it does, you will then use it against your real enemies on a larger scale?”
“But why have me try this on your father’s men?”
“So that once you’ve finished your field test, I should be able to swoop in, look the hero as I stop it from happening again, and save the day. We can easily blame someone in the camp.” He smiled again. “Not you, of course. I find you far too useful, but I do need to impress my father on every possible front. Later, if he discovers what I’m doing to our enemies, I can say that I tortured the original traitor and gained knowledge of his weapon to use myself—in defense of our family’s interests. That will make me look even more resourceful.”
“And if I am successful in my . . . field test, you will agree to my reward?”
“To make you vassal of O’Kruge Keep and its fiefs?”
“With me keeping half the rents. And you’ll arrange a marriage for me to a noblewoman?”
“That was the agreement. Others have made promises to me, but you’re the only man to come this far. If you succeed in the next part of this task, the vassalage and rents are yours, and I will marry you to Lord Chaudoir’s youngest daughter. Will that be acceptable?”
“Lord Chaudior?” For the first time, Quinn’s icy blue eyes showed a hint of emotion—possibly greed or perhaps just hunger. “Yes, that is acceptable.”
As those words left his mouth, the room vanished and the mists rushed in. Amelie felt herself being swept forward . . . and forward until she knew some time had passed. When the mists cleared, she was inside the great hall of a castle, surrounded by a din. More than a hundred people had gathered at long tables for a feast.
Prince Lieven, Prince Damek, and six other well-dressed nobles were seated at a table at the top of the hall, upon a dais. Most of the soldiers in the hall wore dark brown tabards, so Amelie reasoned the scene was taking place at Castle Pählen, and Prince Damek was here on a visit to his father.
Looking down, Amelie saw three men seated directly in front of where she stood: Captain Keegan, Quinn, and the handsome Lieutenant Sullian. Quinn wore the brown tabard of Lieven’s forces now. All three men were drinking and laughing, and after only a few moments of watching them, Amelie could not help but note the easy camaraderie among them. Quinn must either be a master actor or so mentally deranged that he could convince himself of the role he was playing.
“A few of Damek’s guards suggested a game of dice after dinner,” Keegan said. “Under the front torches of the courtyard.”
Sullian frowned. “Sir . . . you’re in debt up to your ears to Master Terlone already. Maybe you should stay here and dance with a few girls instead. Keep whatever coins you have. The day after tomorrow is payday, and you told me you owe every penny to Terlone.”
Keegan’s expression tightened. “I can choose my own entertainments, Lieutenant.”
Sullian fell silent, but Quinn was looking at the main archway of the hall. A boy of about ten or eleven stood there, peering in.
“Excuse me, gentlemen,” Quinn said, standing up. “Nature calls.”
He headed toward the archway. The boy saw him coming and quietly put something in his hand before vanishing down the passage. Amelie came up behind Quinn as he opened a note that read only:
The gazebo by the river. At dawn.
The great hall vanished, and the mists rushed in for only a second or two, barely enough time for Amelie to feel much movement. When they cleared, she found herself at the edge of a small river, with a wooden gazebo to her right.
Quinn was already there, and Prince Damek was walking up. The sun was just breaking over the horizon.
“I’ve chosen the place,” Damek said without offering a greeting. “There is an isolated mining camp up north, above Enêmûsk. The captain my father assigned has died, and my father is having a difficult time replacing him, which is no wonder as the place sounds like banishment.”
“He won’t order one of his officers?”
“With such difficult assignments, my father prefers . . . volunteers. He’s a tyrant who hates to appear as a tyrant.” Damek paused and crossed his arms. “This mining camp is ideal for our purposes. Can you manage to place your captain in a position where he has no choice but to volunteer?”
Quinn remained quiet for a few moments, as if thinking. “Yes, I can manage.”
The gazebo vanished, and Amelie was caught up in the mists, moving forward.
When they cleared, she found herself seeing a memory she’d already experienced. She was back inside the stable, directly following the dice game where Keegan had lost his money on payday.
Just as before, Keegan was leaning forward with his hands on his knees, as if he was about to be ill.
“What can I do?” he said. “Master Terlone is coming tomorrow. He said if I don’t settle my account, he’ll go to Prince Lieven.”
Both Sullian and Quinn looked on. But this time, Amelie noticed how Quinn’s eyes glowed. There was no way he could have orchestrated the happenstance dice game in the courtyard, but beneath his false concern, she could see he was pleased.
“Could you not give some of your purchases back to him?” Sullian was saying. “The pewter goblets?”
“He won’t take them!” Keegan snapped. “And I cannot give a season’s worth of wine back. It’s already been drunk.” He stood and ran his hands over his face. “The prince cannot find out how much I owe. I’ll be ruined.”
The rest of the conversation continued as before, only this time, Amelie focused entirely on Quinn.
She did turn to Keegan when he closed his eyes and said, “I have to do something. The prince cannot hear of this.”
“Wait . . . ,” Sullian began. He hesitated and then said, “Quinn, what about that game of Hard Tens you promised to deal tonight? Could you get the captain in? He’s better with cards, and he could win his wages back.”
Keegan stood straight, his eyes filling with hope. “Hard Tens?”
Sullian nodded. “With Prince Damek here on a visit, a few of his officers asked Lieutenant Tanner to put a game together, and Tanner asked Quinn to deal.”
“Can you get me in?” Keegan asked Quinn.
Again, Amelie stopped listening to the words as Keegan begged. Quinn glanced away. “All right. I’ll speak to Lieutenant Tanner.”
But as she moved to see his face, she could also see his hidden relief. He must have been the one who’d arranged for the card game with Damek’s officers, and he’d probably offered to be the dealer.
The scene in the stable vanished, and Amelie saw only a blink of the mists before they disappeared and she found herself in another small, windowless room.
Again, she was back in a moment she had already seen—the card game with six men sitting at a round table. The same goblets and pitchers of wine were scattered about on the table. Candle lanterns burned from small tables in the corners of the room.
Quinn sat there dealing, and she realized how easy this must have been for him. No one would suspect the dealer in a game of Hard Tens, as the dealer had nothing to win or lose. He didn’t need to win here. He needed only to make certain that Keegan lost.
Walking up behind Keegan, she realized at what point in the game she’d come in. He had a two of clubs showing, and when he peeked at his hole card she saw the ten of diamonds. Amelie moved over to stand next to Quinn. No one else even glanced his way, but she noticed he had a card palmed in his hand. The men began placing bets, and by the time they were finished, Keegan had put in almost every coin he had left. One of Damek’s officers raised an eyebrow.
“Looks like a do-or-die hand for you, Captain,” he said.
Keegan didn’t answer and nodded to Quinn that he wanted another card.
Quinn dealt him the ten of hearts, and Keegan closed his eyes, knowing he’d gone over. Amelie watched the rest of the sc
ene play out, knowing Keegan would jump up, leave the room, and come back with the bag containing his men’s payroll.
He did.
Quinn was staring at him as he sat down, and just as before, Keegan glared across the table. “Deal the cards, Corporal.”
Only this time, Amelie saw the gleam of triumph in the very back of Quinn’s blue eyes. No one else saw it. No one else even noticed him.
The room vanished, and the mists closed in, rushing her forward in time.
When they cleared, she was in the Ryazan encampment, and it looked to be in the same state of setup it had been in when she’d seen Keegan’s memories. Only now, she was watching Quinn. The early evening was breezy, and he wore a cloak over his shoulders.
He was outside, among the tents, and he glanced through the flap of a deteriorating small one, barely large enough to stand in. But he entered, and Amelie followed to watch.
First, he put on his leather gloves, and then he took the metal flask from the pocket of his cloak. Removing the stopper, he covered the tip of his pointer finger with the black elixir. Closing the flask, he put it back into his pocket.
Emerging, he seemed to choose a man at random, but Amelie could not be sure about that. His gaze paused on a soldier with a crooked tabard. Amelie noted the men were all clean and shaved at this point in time.
“Guardsman,” Quinn called. “The state of your tabard is a disgrace.”
The soldier turned at the sound of his voice. Quinn walked up quickly and straightened the tabard, and as he did so, Amelie saw his pointer finger brush one side of the man’s neck. The black spot left behind vanished into his skin.
“Better,” Quinn said, completing his adjustment of the tabard. “Just never let Lieutenant Sullian see you like that.”
The guardsman nodded and walked away.
Quinn watched him leave. “Less than an hour,” he said to himself. “It begins.”
The camp vanished, and the mists closed in.
Chapter Fourteen
As Amelie came out of the memories, she found herself looking up at Quinn’s face, but his expression was faraway. At some point, he’d taken his hand from her jaw and now had both palms pressed against the ground.
