“Why?” Jaunty shakily asked.
“I hate her most of all! She is in my head and I want to kill her! I hate her!”
“Why do you hate her so much, she is your wife and she loves you.”
“Lies! She is a witch and she has cast her spells on me to enslave me. She put me under her spell, Jaunty. These bitches are her minions.”
“No Winn, she is pure of heart and the epitome of goodness and what is right.”
“I see you are under her spell too. Believe the lies and deceit. It will do you no good. That is until I kill her and set you free.”
“Winn by the gods, they have broken your mind. Are you going to be their servant?”
Winn laughed a spiteful cackling laugh.
“Sure, I’ll be their servant if it gets me closer to who I want to kill. Then I’ll kill them all Jaunty. All of them. I will kill millions, and my thirst will not be satisfied until there is no one left on this world.”
“Except me and your mama?” Jaunty asked
“Tiga too if I recognize her. You point her out to me. If I kill her it is your fault. I want to kill papa and Keyland too. They were mean to me.”
“Your papa is dead, Tiga killed him because he raped her.”
“Ha! She has my blood, my thirst for vengeance. We are of a mind, Tiga and I. I will set her free and she can kill thousands upon thousands beside me. You can too.”
“I will watch and make sketches,” Jaunty said. “Why do you want to kill everyone?”
“I hate them. They must die. Sarah dies. The bastard dies. Then everyone else dies. There is no why. It just is what it is.”
“When does the killing start?”
“As soon as I see her or him.”
“Who is he?”
“The bastard calls himself King. The tall one with the horns and jewels. He will die.”
“King Ajani. You hate Menegar just like everyone else?”
“I hate them more. I will never do their bidding.”
“That was the whole point of this exercise for two months. Do they know you feel that way?”
“Ha! No, I fooled them, the idiots. I swore an oath to them, and they were so happy. They thought I was dumb, that I was compliant. No oath holds me, only hatred and death. Those are my watchwords, my standards, my driving force, and my reality. They will soon find out.”
“Winn, how are you going to kill the King and all his soldiers without being caught and killed yourself? Maybe you need a plan.”
“I am death. I don’t need anything but beings to kill. No one escapes death.”
By the Almighty they have messed Winn up. They don’t even know how bad. If they expected a dark Delver Kide they have another thing coming. He is like an arrow on a taut string aimed at an infant. He is crazier than a white bear in heat is what he is. I wonder if he can ever come back from this.
“I am going to sleep Winn,” Jaunty said. “Please don’t kill me in the night.”
“I only feel hate and the absence of hate, and for you there is an absence of hate. You are safe with me.”
“That is a comfort.”
Jaunty took a long time to get to sleep. Every time Winn moved, he jumped. Eventually tiredness overtook him, and he slept. Winn did not sleep. His hatred was too consuming for sleep. He could see the girl’s image in his mind, and he imagined all the ways he could kill her deep into the night.
The next morning Yhadi came and got Winn and Jaunty out of the cell. This was the first time Jaunty had been out of the cell in months. His eyes burned even in the dank light in the tunnels of the mountain.
They got to the work room of the departed Eksela, and the supernatural beings Melevia, Jezel, and Ures were there. Along with them were Hezza, King Ajani, and Yhadi, who brought the captors in. There also was a little boy of eight tied up to a ring imbedded in the wall.
“Welcome, Winn, and Jaunty,” Jezel said. “Winn you have changed quite a deal sense you have entered this place. I feel the hatred radiating from you. The question is do you have obedience as well?”
“Test him by having him kill Jaunty,” said Ures.
“I have plans for Mr. Chen, big plans. I have another test in mind. What would be more reprehensible than killing your best friend? How about killing a defenseless child? Winn, kill that child with your bare hands.”
To Jaunty’s horror Winn approached the child that was bound by the wall. It was a human boy with dark hair and blue eyes. When reached him, grabbed his chin, and tilted his head back.
“Look into my eyes,” Winn told the child. The child did, and Winn took his hand off the child’s face. Winn punched the child in the throat so hard his windpipe caved in. The child struggled for air for about a minute and a half while Winn stood there. When the child quit breathing, Winn looked at Jezel.
“Happy?” Winn asked.
Jaunty stared in disbelief at what used to be his friend. Winn was telling the truth last night; he was a cold-blooded killer. A murderer. Winn had killed a lot of people, but he never murdered anyone. Until now. His only excuse was he clearly wasn’t in his right mind.
“I am satisfied for now, are you all?” Jezel asked.
No one dared question Jezel.
“Right then, on to the stage,” Jezel said.
Chapter 11: Make Sail
August 8, 850 A.A.
Resa met Resbon the next day at the bank and got her advance. She had bought some new clothes and looked like a poor day laborer rather than a homeless person. Vant thought it was an improvement, and that she might fit in. To his word he didn’t let her out of his sight after that. She had a small bag with what he thought were her essentials with her. He was sure there was no makeup in that bag. She looked worse in the light than she did during the night. He thought he saw puss on her face and gagged a little. He avoided looking at her as much as possible, which was fine with Resa.
He took her to a nondescript dwelling where Vant had some rooms. He offered her water but no ale or wine. He fed her some mixed vegetables and lamb for lunch. After that he led her back out of the building and across the street to the livery. He pointed out a horse for her to ride and he mounted another horse. They rode north out of the city on the road to Azure until night began to fall. Vant stopped at a small game trail that led into the forest and took it. Resa followed and after a ten-minute ride on the small trail they came to a campsite.
There was a fire burning and five horses tied to a line. Vant dismounted and tied his horse to the line and indicated to Resa to do the same. After she did, he led her to the middle of the fire. There were two women and three men there. The women were dressed in breeches, blouses, short jackets, and riding boots. They carried swords. The men were attired in similar clothing, but they wore tunics. They also carried swords. The blond woman stood up to greet her.
“Hello Resa, I am Svae. This is Alana and the men are Metto, Peders, and Ferris. I am in charge of this mission and Alana is second in charge. Do you understand where we are going and why?”
“Yes, Resbon told me. We are going to rescue Kide. We are passing ourselves off as spice merchants and I am the translator.”
“We are going to Menegar, you realize that? We will be in mortal danger if they find out we are Avish.”
“Yes, I am not worried. I can speak every Aurellan language and Xi En if necessary.”
“I am glad we picked you then. There is no telling where we will end up.”
“Thanks.”
“Have a seat at the fire, have some dinner, its stew. Ferris made it. It’s not bad.”
“Not bad?” Ferris said. “It’s the best stew you ever tasted. Sarge even said so.”
Resa sat down and accepted a bowl from Ferris. She tasted the stew and it was not bad. It wasn’t the best she had but she wasn’t going to say so in front of this group.
“Where are you from Resa?” Alana asked.
“I consider myself to be from Alexandra, but I have lived all over the place.”
“Why is that?” Svae asked.
“My father was an exporter of goods, that being the nicest way to say what he was. Really, he started businesses and they would fail. He moved from country to country every time he was about to be thrown into debtor’s prison. Finally, an angry creditor caught up to him and threw him in prison in Fessien. My mother left a long time ago, so I was on my own. I decided to move back to Alexandra because it was home.”
“Resa, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what is wrong with your skin?” Alana asked in a kind way.
“I am allergic to almost everything. Grass, most foods, trees, wood, dust, you name it. I have been to several healers, but they all say the same thing. My condition is not healable unless I go to live in a desolate freezing wasteland. I don’t want to do that, so I deal with it. I don’t want a man, and I like to be left alone. People tend to steer clear of me. Sometimes a mean person says something, but I ignore it. If they try to rough me up, I teach them that ugly doesn’t mean defenseless.”
“Is that how you got that scar?” Svae asked.
“I would prefer not to talk about that if you don’t mind,” Resa said.
“Of course, I didn’t mean to offend,” Svae said.
“If I may ask a question, what is Kide to you?” Alana asked. “Why are you going on this mission?”
“For us men, we all served under his first command, its why we call him Sarge,” Metto said.
“What was that like, having a young commander like him over you?” Resa asked.
“It was rough at first, let me tell you. We played a little joke on him and he got so mad he beat the whole platoon up. After that we resented him, until our first battle, then he turned out to be the bravest, most unselfish, and wisest commander you could ask for. Everyone that served under Sarge loves him.” Metto said.
“My, such a strong endorsement,” Resa said. “Do you ladies love him as well?”
“In my own way, yes. He is like an older brother to me,” Alana said.
“He is actually my second cousin, so he is family to me,” Svae said. “I love him like family.”
“I know he is married to Princess Sarah, I always wondered if he was faithful to her,” Resa said.
Resa saw that Svae colored a bit and Alana quickly glanced at Svae.
“He is an attractive man. At least one woman has tried to get him in her bed, but as far as I know, he has never strayed. He was always fiercely loyal to the princess,” Alana said.
“Yes, he was loyal to her, to a fault.” Svae said.
Resa wondered what that meant. She changed the subject though.
“What is the plan to find him?”
Svae looked instantly more at ease.
“We are to sail to Menegar and rendezvous with an Avish spy,” Svae said. “If they don’t have information, we are to work the bars and restaurants to see if we can figure out where he is being held. If that doesn’t work, we have enough coin to bribe several guards or officials. Once we find where he is held, we most likely will have to break in and fight our way to him. We will attempt to use surprise and subterfuge to our advantage. If we are lucky and he is to be transported, we will hijack the transport.”
“That doesn’t sound like much of a plan,” Resa said.
“If you think of a better one, let me know,” Svae snapped.
The rest of the conversation was small talk and soon they set a watch and bedded down. The next morning, they broke camp and rode hard toward Azure. They rode all day making a few rest stops. When night fell, they kept riding, luckily the moon was full, and they could see well. Around midnight they reached Azure. They found a livery and paid for two months of feed and stabling for the horses. They walked to the docks and found a small merchant ship named Lydia. They walked to the plank and asked for permission to come aboard. A lady in a three-corner hat, open blouse down to the top of her chest, a scarf tied around her neck, a short jacket with at least twenty buttons in the front, five more on each shoulder, and five on each sleeve, and hip hugging black breeches with knee high boots stood before them. She had long, wavy red hair that hung over her shoulders.
“Ahoy there, permission granted. First Lieutenant and acting Captain Bevy Nonce at your service. Come aboard. We have been waiting for you so we could cast off. Your just in time, the tide is high but starting to ebb. Head aft, you will be bunking down in the main hold with all the spices. We left a little room for you.”
They headed for the rear of the ship and saw the ladder that led down to the main hold.
“Go ahead and store your gear and claim your hammock,” Bevy said. “If you want to come back up after we set sail, I am going to have a late dinner and you all are welcome to join.”
They thanked her and went below decks and found the area where they were bunking. They all put their things down and went back up on deck and watched as the ship casted off. Once they were underway, Bevy waived them into the dining room. They all sat down, and a cook came out and served them some hot fish and corn.
“I know you are all wondering,” said Bevy. “Yes, Fleet Admiral Nonce is my father. If he wasn’t, I would be a real captain by now, not a lieutenant. I am the best seaman in the entire navy. I learned from the best and now I am the best. Papa won’t let them advance me too fast because he doesn’t want any accusations of favoritism. I understand to a degree, because I want it clear that I earned my way up. Take it from me, there are lots of men that don’t want to answer to a woman on a ship. They are going to have to learn though, if I have to keelhaul ‘em they will learn.”
“As a woman in command, I understand,” said Alana. “How old are you by the way? You look so young.”
“I am twenty-one,” Bevy said. “I know I look sixteen. It’s a damn curse. I wish I looked forty. Maybe that would get me more respect.”
“If you are the admiral’s daughter, why did you volunteer for this mission?” Svae asked.
“I am always looking for a way to prove myself,” Bevy said. “What better way is there than to sail in enemy waters and bring Aviel’s Champion home?”
“Have you ever met Colonel Kide?” Resa asked.
“No, I would like to,” said Bevy. “Maybe he will be so grateful that we rescued him that he would take a roll in the hay with your captain, huh?”
Alana noticed both Resa and Svae make strange expressions. Svae colored a little, but it was hard to tell with Resa because of her skin condition. No one said anything for a moment. Bevy was undaunted.
“He looks good in the newssheets, and I bet he has muscles all day long. Ladies don’t you love a muscled-up man?”
“I have no use for men, muscled up or not,” Resa said rather forcefully.
“Poor thing, I imagine you don’t,” Bevy said.
Resa chose not to respond to that.
“I like my men to be intelligent, charming, and witty.” Alana said.
“Excuse me, I think I will turn in,” Svae said. “Thank you for the lovely dinner, captain.”
“My pleasure,” Bevy said. “Have a good night.”
Once Svae left Bevy looked around the room.
“Was it something I said?” Bevy asked.
“No,” Alana said. “Svae can be unsociable at times. Don’t worry about her.”
“I apologize if I offended her,” Bevy said. I can hardly help it though. When Delver Kide is brought up I get a little weak in the knees. I would be so naughty with that man the princess and my papa would kill us both!”
“Excuse me I am turning in,” Resa said in a huff as she stormed out of the room.
“Poor girl doesn’t want to hear about someone else having what she can’t,” Bevy said.
Alana shook her head in agreement as she stared after Resa. There was something about her, but she couldn’t place it. Alana looked at the men and they were a little intimidated by Bevy. She decided to take pity on them.
“I think we all need to turn in, captain. We had a long day.”
“Have a good n
ight then. We can sail by moonlight tonight, so we will get a jump on the week-long journey. You all are welcome to dine with me tomorrow night.” She looked at Vant when she said that. “Especially you big boy.”
Vant just nodded and walked out. He caught up to Alana.
“That woman is crazy,” Vant said. “I am scared of her.”
“She is just a young woman with a little power, you are used to that.”
“Not one that has made eyes at me.”
“Now you know what it feels like to be a woman.”
“No, I’ll never know what that feels like. I don’t have babies, I make them.”
“Vant, you are a Neder man. Tell Svae that, I dare you.”
“No thanks.”
They all slept fitfully that night. They were not used to being on the open sea, and the constant movement of the waves. At least none of them were seasick. The next morning, they got up at dawn and ate some breakfast. Thankfully Bevy was already busy with her duties as captain. They watched her command the vessel after they ate. She had the respect of her men and gave sharp, clear commands that were instantly followed. She cussed and cursed every third breath about something and one of her mates said something to her and she blessed him out for five minutes. She was not to be taken lightly and the crew knew it.
For the first few days they didn’t see a sail on the horizon. The third day they saw a Menegar patrol, but since they were flying LaVoran colors the patrol left them alone. A day out of Menegar they were in heavier traffic. Then the first tense moment happened. A patrol boat sailed alongside them and hailed them.
“What is your business in Menegar waters?” An official on the Menegar ship asked.
“We are spice merchants from LaVore,” Resa said. “We have many valuable and rare spices to trade.”
“Prepare to be boarded.”
Sailors on the Menegar ship threw grappling hooks onto the bulwarks of the Lydia. They pulled the ships together then the Menegar official and two guards boarded. Resa and Bevy, who spoke LaVoran also, greeted them.
“Welcome aboard our humble ship. We come in peace to provide the Menegar people with rare northern spices,” Bevy said in LaVoran. Resa translated.
Trials of a Champion Page 13
