Traitors (The Traitor King Saga Book 1)

by A. M. Hickman

  The dragon laughed triumphantly, spitting fire into the air. But you do, Blaze. You just need to admit it.

  The Urlificans pressed in and presented the sword to her. Blaze knew that touching the sword would forfeit her life. So, she threw herself between the wall and Urlifican to her right. The Urlifican grabbed her and threw her back against the wall. Then, the outside Urlificans each grabbed one of her arms and held them out while the middle ones prepared to lift the sword into her hands.

  “NNNOOO!!!!” She screeched and struggled to free her hands from the stone grip of the dragon’s slaves. “I will never be your slave!”

  It is too late. You have already chosen. YOU ARE MINE! The dragon roared, and the sword was nearly upon her flesh.

  Blaze cried and pleaded and struggled, but the sword’s hilt touched her left hand. Her scream shook the entire castle as the dragon-fire metal seared her skin, and the sword claimed her as its master’s slave. She was bound to the dragon’s sword with her hate, loss, and anger, until all twisted and merged into Pain. The Urlificans released her, and she collapsed to the ground, unable to release the sword.

  Chapter 14

  A soft rumble sounded in the background. Blaze didn’t want to sleep, but she didn’t want to wake, either. Suspended between sleeping and waking, she searched the darkness of her conscious and senses for something. Was she in a dungeon or on a ship? Was she fighting or resting?

  A crackle sparked to life, quickly rolling into a crashing boom that vibrated the padding she lay upon. Blaze bolted up, searching for a threat, but she found herself in Nathan’s crowded cabin. Peculiar, golden sunlight dimly glowed through the wall slits and sun door. The plunking drum of agitated water beat upon the underside of the Wisp. Lily grunted and stomped in the stall, her ears swiveling to capture all of the audible details of her surroundings as she studied the cabin doorway. The rolling boom sounded again, vibrating all that it rushed through.

  Blaze got to her feet, finding herself very unstable and stiff. A troubled unease also filled her heart. Looking down at her hands, she released a relieved sigh as she found her skin undisturbed by imprinted letters; at least her dream wasn’t as real as it felt. The sword was hanging with her saddle bags upon the wall in front of her, leather wrapped around the hilt again. Blaze made no move to put it on her waist. She was scared of the sword and what she had done with it; the blade was no longer a treasure of Obrae’s. Another bombardment of thunder rolled through the vessel as she made her way to the front of the cabin.

  Dark, angry clouds, reaching for the late afternoon sun, massed and stretched before her. Lightning sliced through the black curtains, and the storm’s battle cry quaked the land and water. Swirling and rushing up the river, the warning wind carried the perfume of rain’s earthy tang. “That looks like a nasty storm,” she noted, and Nathan hummed in agreement, eyes fixed on the shivering waters in front of them as he kept the vessel in the middle of the Thundrum, which had doubled its girth. They stood silently watching the billowing storm, he grasping the wheel and she standing beside him with arms crossed. There was something that needed to be said, but she didn’t know what it was. Tension filled the air, and it wasn’t from the storm.

  “Thank you,” she started.

  “For what?” he asked, turning toward her.

  Blaze continued to look at the storm. “For helping me.”

  “Well, I’m just...”

  “No,” and she turned to him. “Don’t start going into some Traitor speech about duty. You have risked and are risking so much on my behalf, and I accused you of being an Urlifican spy. So, thank you, and I’m sorry for being so ungrateful.” Her pride twisted, but she felt more relief than discomfort.

  Nathan answered her with a kind smile. “Well, then, you’re welcome. What happened is now in the past, and we’re creatures of the present. So, onward we shall continue.”

  Blaze smiled back at him, and they stood in a more comfortable silence as the storm blotted out the sun. “We’re not going to keep traveling through that torrent?” she asked.

  “Indeed, we are,” he answered with a daring smirk. “It’ll be wet, but I want ta reach Lebril by sundown. We can drop off the box of stones and then be on our way ta Eclamai,” and he sang the last few words like it was a children’s rhyme.

  The wind now whipped through Blaze’s hair and clothing, slapping her skin in cold malice. “Plus, river storms aren’t the same as sea storms,” Nathan continued, having to shout a little to be heard above the storm’s stampede. “The waves aren’t as big, and the river’s always flowing; however, the land is closer ta you.” A bark of laughter burst from him at the challenge.

  Both ducked as lightning split the sky above them, instantly followed by the crushing blow of thunder. “Nathan!” Blaze shouted as a wall of rain traveled upriver to meet them. “I really think we should anchor and head inside! I don’t think getting struck by lightning is a very helpful option.” Lightning stung a tree to her right, as if to prove her point.

  “Very well,” Nathan conceded, and spun the wheel to send the Wisp into a sharp turn to the left. Water splashed up over the port side in an icy mist as the vessel traveled sideways down the river. “Hold the wheel!” he commanded, and she fought to hold the twisting wheel in place as he rush to the front of the boat.

  On either side of the pointed bow, he loosed the iron anchors by pulling the levers from the chain bobbins just inside of the wooden sidings. Chain turned to rope and sailed through the anchor holes until it went taunt. The Wisp jerked to a stop, and Blaze let go of the wheel, which rapidly spun until the vessel was facing upriver.

  Lightning repeatedly stung the earth on either side of them, and the wind developed a raging howl. Drops the size of pebbles plopped heavily around them. “Let’s get inside!” Nathan shouted. She pulled the carpet aside, and he rushed in after her, just as the cliff of rain collapsed on top them.

  Water poured into the cabin from the sun door and wall slits. Nathan quickly grabbed the wooden door propped to the side and closed the entrance while he tried to shout instructions to her above the din. “Clothes asunder!”

  Blaze turned toward him, “What?”

  Nathan pointed to the sun door. “Close it! Close it!”

  The rain beat down upon her like an icy waterfall. Groping for a box, she pull the crate under the cascade of water and stood up through the opening. The elements were at war around her. Water and wind whipped and slapped her face, attacking her ability to see and breath. What the rain and wind couldn’t conquer of her senses, the lightning and thunder obliterated with blinding flashes and pounding roars. For a moment, Blaze was lost in the onslaught, unable to move or think. She just stood and wondered at the force around her. Lightning’s tongue forked across the sky, and she saw the outline of a struggling eagle. Only, it was too large for an eagle.

  Nathan grabbed hold of her waist, and she reflexively threw her knee into his chest, sending him back into crates. “Nathan!” she screamed and quickly grabbed the hatch to close the sun door. The moment the wind could get any leverage, it sent the wooden hatch smashing shut with a splintering bang. Blaze jumped off of the crate toward where the captain fell. “Nathan!” She couldn’t see him anywhere, and while the storm was muffled by their shelter, Lily’s panic added to the whirling chaos. “Where are you?”

  A cough and a grunt came from beneath a collapsed pile of cargo, “Over here.” Blaze moved the crates and pelts aside, glad that he had lit a lantern before startling her. Nathan started shifting the cargo off of him from underneath until they freed his head and arms. “Help, I’m stuck!” he begged while turning red. He had landed onto a crate and broke through the top, his rear-end stuck in the wooden trap.

  “Nathan! I’m so sorry. Are you hurt?” Blaze asked in concern while grabbing his arm. They pulled together to get him onto his feet, but the box traveled with him. Losing balance, he fell backwards, still trapped in the box.

  Nathan struggled to loosen himself.
“No, but I’m remarkably stuck.” Blaze pressed her lips to suppress a laugh at the comical sight. “Oy, no snickering, Karnsbane. This isn’t funny,” but he couldn’t help the grin spreading his lips.

  Blaze started laughing at the flustered man before her, who had been reduced to a head with wiggling arms and legs sticking out of a box. “Haha, I’m sorry, but you look like an overturned beetle.” He started squirming even more at her humor and intensified her laughter. He sat still and stared at her with miffed eyes and a suppressed smile. Biting her lips, she tried to control herself.

  “Are we done?” he asked.

  Blaze smiled and offered her hand to him, but snickers still escaped. “Absolutely, Captain Driftwood.”

  He accepted her hand, and they pulled slower this time, easing him to his feet and out of the box. Rubbing his rear, he smiled sheepishly, “That’s better. Although, I don’t think we’ll be able ta sell those turnips too easily now.”

  “I’m so sorry, Nathan,” she apologized and then teased. “But, you shouldn’t startle a girl like that.”

  Nathan coughed a laugh while rubbing his chest. “Girl? I don’t think your horse could have kicked me any harder.”

  Blaze crossed her arms, “Oh ha ha. I bet that complementary chatter just makes the girls ooze over you in town. I’m going to sit next to Lily now, who has much better manners.”

  With the lantern light and protection of the closed cabin, the mare had calmed down considerably; although, she shifted in her stall every time the thunder drummed. Lily nuzzled her hand, looking for a treat, but Blaze was out of the dried water chestnuts. “Well, since no one wants to buy what your stink hatch has been on, mind if Lil gets a turnip?”

  Nathan retrieved the pale bulb and tossed it to Blaze. The mare accepted the treat greedily and seemed to forget the storm around her for a moment. “So, how’d you train her ta kick like that?” He made himself comfortable on a pile of furs.

  Her stomach twisted, unsure of how much conversation to encourage about that morning. Absently massaging Lily’s neck, she answered, “I don’t know. Lily’s smart, I needed something to do when I was younger, so I just saw what tricks she could learn.”

  “And what came ta your head was, ‘let’s teach her how ta kick on command?’ I mean, how’d you even start?”

  Blaze shrugged, a small grin playing her lips at the days she had spent with the younger Lily, training in Jonathan’s fields. Her heart contracted in pain, grief striking her like the lightning outside.

  “Blaze, what happened this morning?” Nathan asked hesitantly. “Ta be honest, I didn’t believe the things I was hearing about you, how you defeated Kent and his troop single-handedly, in the middle of Srift. But after this morning...after...” He trailed off in almost a fearful tone.

  He was afraid of her! That fact made Blaze both proud and horrified. She also thought of herself with fear. Why was her reaction to his fear pride?

  And, how had she done what she did this morning? The sword swayed as the Wisp rocked in the storm, and she shivered involuntarily. Blaze didn’t want to talk anymore, but she owed Nathan, so she decided to share a little detail of Srift.

  “Well, I didn’t fight the whole troop.” Nathan sat up straighter at the volunteered information, eager for more. “They had crossbows and too many numbers. No, I had to take them out all at once, so I convinced them to toast to the Traitors’ demise with ale I had laced with fireleaf. Kent was the only one who caught on before he could be properly poisoned, and there was a Junior Officer that received my mercy, who’s ale I mixed with a powerful sleeping tonic. Although, that might have been a mistake.” She trailed off, thinking of how Obrae’s advice of mercy gave her more trouble. Burdock wouldn’t rest until she received his revenge, of that she was certain.

  “Sparing a life’s never a mistake,” Nathan comforted while getting up.

  Blaze’s rage flared. “So, I supposed you think saving your stink hatch this morning by killing those kaffing Urlificans was a mistake?”

  Nathan held his hands up at the venom. “Whoa, Blaze, I didn’t say that.”

  “But you think it. I know what you Traitors think of defending yourselves.”

  “Blaze!”

  “And, it’s because of your kaffing docility that I’ve had to kill in the first place. You kaffing Traitors will still bleat even when the bloody wolves are in front of you!”

  “Blaze!” Anger and hurt narrowed Nathan’s eyes, but she couldn’t stop the torrent of her frustration. Blaming someone else for her troubles and guilt was too good of a balm on her tortured heart.

  “And even this morning. You just stood there like a mute idiot while the Urlificans took us captive. Well, don’t worry, Nathan; I did the kaffing dirty work for you!”

  “At least I give a kaff about who I injure instead of biting every living thing like a bloody cohe!”

  They glared at each other, seething under the sound of pattering rain. Nathan pushed past her, “I think it’s time ta go.”

  “Oh, don’t bother telling me; I might bite you,” Blaze snarled.

  Nathan lifted the door from its frame and thrust it aside in anger, nearly tearing the drenched rug down as he passed outside. Blaze’s breath hissed between her clenched teeth, and her finger nails dug grooves into her palms.

  How dare he say that she didn’t care. How dare he call her a monster! With a shout, she turned and punched a crate to her left, covered with furs. Despite the pelted cushion, the force of her throw sent the crate sliding back and slamming against the cabin wall, jamming her wrist. She cried out and waved her hand to ease the throbbing. Lily, pressed to the end of her stall, stared at her with ears back. “And I suppose you...”

  Blaze was interrupted when the whole boat jerked as Nathan raised anchor, knocking her and the mare off balance. Lily whinnied in surprise and stomped, annoyed with all of the commotion around her. Sighing, Blaze rubbed her hand while retrieving more turnips, her anger slipping away. She presented the peace offering to the mare. “I’m sorry, Lil. I really am.” Extending her neck, Lily sniffed at the root, then cautiously accepted it. “See, I’m not all that bad,” Blaze soothed while offering another turnip. Lily stepped forward this time and grunted in thanks as she gobbled her third treat. When Blaze didn’t offer any more, the dun nuzzled her hand for another. Smiling, Blaze rubbed the mare between her brown eyes. A spicy breath exited Lily’s nostrils as she quietly whinnied to Blaze. “Whew. Lily, turnips are not something you should eat when there is company around.” She patted the mare one more time and turned to leave.

  Not wanting to speak to Nathan yet, Blaze drew the box back under the sun door, unlocked the hatch, and pulled herself through the hole. The rain was still falling, but she didn’t care, still being wet from the storm’s onslaught. Nathan had hoisted the anchors, allowing them to travel down the river once again. All was quiet save for the scattering plop of tiny raindrops upon the rushing waters. Occasionally, the wind picked up to swirl the falling water into a small funnel that quickly drifted apart.

  Walking to the back of the cabin, Blaze sat down on the edge and closed her eyes, letting the rain cool her temper even more. The storm had brought a chill to the air and drew goosebumps on her arms, but spring’s warmth still lingered. Looking down, she saw that a bruise was already forming on her right knuckles, and her wrist throbbed slightly. The punch had been sloppy. Shaking her head, Blaze felt ashamed at her outburst. It wasn’t fair to blame Nathan for her troubles. The day wasn’t done, and yet he had shown more loyalty than she warranted.

  Her mind slipped to the morning with its waking and sleeping nightmares, and dread tightened her chest. She was so tired. Tired of thinking, figuring, and planning for the worst, and tired of high emotions and low ease. Like Lily, she wanted everything to calm down and remain constant.

  Even though it had just been eleven days since she left Srift, her old life seemed like a distant dream. Blaze rolled onto her stomach and rested her head upon her hands, th
e rain softly pattering upon her back. She happily focused all of her thoughts on the tingling pressure and watched as trees receded upriver.

  As the day grew darker, the rain kept coming, and the river never ended. A nippy breeze made her consider moving back inside, but she didn’t have the energy to move. A creak sounded behind her. “Blaze, you alright?” Nathan asked while climbing onto the roof. She bolted upright onto her knees, the sudden movement making her realize how cold she was.

  “I’m fine, I’m fine,” she reassured, holding her hands up before he could grab her in assistance. His smooth face squinted against the light rain, and his once untamed hair laid plastered to his head as he fumbled with his hands.

  “Look, Blaze, I’m sorry for what I said. Twas hurtful and cruel, not ta mention disgraceful language.”

  “And I’m sorry for my outburst as well.”

  “And you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t care about others.” He held out his hand, and she took it as he helped her up, wincing as he squeezed her bruised knuckles. “What happened to your hand?”

  Blaze waved him off. “Minor bruising. I’ll survive.”

  “Well, you’re also soaked through and freezing! Let’s get you inside and warmed up before a cold strikes you,” he ordered.

  “You’re in no fairer shape.” She tugged on his plastered tunic, then descended back into the cabin. The contrast of still warmth from the moving chill of outside caused her to start shivering, so she walked with motivation to her saddle bags for a clean shirt and her leather pants. Nathan dropped into the cabin and headed to a dresser that sat to the right of the doorway after closing the sun door.

  “Here,” he said while throwing a towel toward her, then got one out himself, aggressively freeing his hair from its watery weight. Blaze encased her face with the soft, cotton fabric, then proceeded to twist her long hair dry in the towel.

  She didn’t mean to, but she glanced toward Nathan, who had taken his soaked tunic off. In the amber light of the lanterns, his golden skin seemed deep and pure. While his skin was smooth on top of his toned muscles, a long straight scar ridged from his right shoulder down to his hip. The abhorrent interruption of his healthy skin shocked Blaze and awoke in her a healer’s concern.