Shard & Shield

by Laura VanArendonk Baugh

  Maru was pacing the length of the room. She could just see him from where she lay. She tried to move her head, to call him, but the drug was not exhausted enough for that, so she lay in her dreamy, hazy repose and watched him pace.

  Then the latch on the door moved, and Maru whirled, his wings shifting fretfully. A female Ryuven entered, closing the door again behind her. “Well?”

  Maru sank to two knees. “Daranai’rika, please understand, I cannot in good conscience do this.”

  “You choose that conscience, then. I see disobedience to your mistress’s orders.”

  Ariana strained to hear more.

  “Stand,” Daranai ordered.

  Maru rose slowly, reluctance evident in each small movement. Daranai cupped his face with one long-nailed hand. She leaned down, holding him steady by the jaw, and kissed him. Maru remained stiff and unyielding, and as Daranai released him he regarded her with wide eyes.

  “That isn’t what I’m looking for,” she said darkly. “We will try again. Do not disappoint me.”

  “Ri—” Maru’s protest was lost as she covered his mouth with hers. He leaned backward, his hands twitching as if he wanted to push her away but did not dare.

  Abruptly she ceased, giving his face a little shove. “Little nim fool,” she snapped, her eyes flashing. “If you won’t give me what I want, I will take it.”

  “Daranai’rika—” Maru shook his head. “You can’t do this.”

  Her hand cracked across his face and he reeled. “Do not presume to tell me what I cannot do!”

  Ariana was transfixed and horrified. She could not move.

  When Maru straightened, there was a streak of seeping blood marring his cheek. It did not heal as he faced her again, his eyes wide.

  Daranai mollified her tone. “I see you do know better than to defy me.”

  Maru dropped his gaze to the floor. “I cannot do this, Daranai’rika.”

  She laughed. “A fine, healthy male like you? I think you can. I’ll help you.” She placed her hands on his shoulders and slid them inward. “You’ll like it, I promise. I’m not usually cruel in my pleasures.”

  This was wrong. Ariana did not know who this female was, but this was clearly wrong. But she could not speak, could not move.

  Maru blocked her hands with his wrists. “Daranai’rika, please—there must be others who would be glad of your attention….”

  “And why shouldn’t you be?”

  “You are not my bride. If Tamaryl’sho were here—”

  There was a concussion of power and Maru cried out as he tumbled along the floor. Ariana winced as the burst battered her through the deadening potion.

  “Tamaryl’sho isn’t here, is he?” Daranai leapt to where Maru had fallen. “He has not been here for so long. And you are his servant, are you not?” She knelt on his wing and placed the other knee squarely in his chest. “So you should do his work, shouldn’t you?”

  “No—”

  “I told you before,” Daranai warned, “I’d rather not force you. But I will if I must.”

  Maru pleaded, “Rika, please….”

  “Unless agreeing to serve me, you should be quiet before your mistress.” She began to tease him through the thin fabric.

  Maru twisted unsuccessfully. “Stop!”

  “No, no, not yet.” She forced one arm down with enhanced strength and blocked the other with a wing. “Now, let’s have a better view of what we’re doing.” Cloth ripped and slid.

  Maru flinched away from her fingers. “Rika!”

  She laughed, her expression predatory, and Maru recoiled against the floor. “No! Get away! Stop it—”

  Stop it! Don’t hurt him—stop it! Twinges crawled over Ariana’s body with the drug’s fading, but she was helpless to intervene.

  Daranai laughed over Maru. “You didn’t think you’d enjoy this, did you? In fact, I think you’re ashamed right now, ashamed you are excited by it.” She teased her nails over his ribs, making him tremble. “You could have had this—” she caressed his chest—“without all this fuss. But, I’m afraid you chose the more difficult path.”

  Stop it! Ariana wanted to weep, but her body would not respond.

  Maru rolled and succeeded in throwing Daranai off. Daranai twisted and rose, dragging Maru upward and heaving him with a flash of power into the wall.

  Ariana’s cheek was damp. She was crying. Maru…. She had to help him. He wasn’t healing. She had to do something. She slid her arm forward against the fading drug and grasped at the edge of the bed.

  Maru slid along the wall, raising one wing as if to shield himself. Ariana flinched under the tremors Daranai’s magic left in the air as she stalked Maru like cornered prey.

  Chapter 42

  Shianan burst into the office, moving directly to the desk. “Luca, my friend, I have a task for you.” Luca blinked at him, not trusting his ears. But Shianan rushed on, a frantic edge to his voice. “Where is that roll of accounts which arrived last week? From Fhure?”

  “In the bottom drawer there, my lord.”

  “I want you to take it to my steward. Say I am not sure he has the accounting right, and I would like him to check and return it. You understand?”

  Luca nodded, confused. “But, Master Shianan—”

  “Quiet. Those are my orders to you.” He twisted and slid something from beneath his cloak. “You’ll travel with this pack, which you’ll find partly filled. Do not unwrap the bundle inside. Somewhere between Alham and Fhure, find a lonely bit of road and a readily identifiable marker, and bury it deep. Make sure no one sees you. Then forget about it and go on to the estate, where you’ll do as I have already said.”

  Luca nodded again, more slowly. “Yes, Master Shianan.”

  “Good.” Shianan pointed across the desk. “In that top drawer, on the right, you’ll find a sealed document. Carry that with you. If there is any trouble when you return, if for any reason, you cannot find me or if anyone is—worrying you, then open and use that letter. Do you understand?”

  Luca hesitated. “Master Shianan—is there anything…. Can I help?”

  “You can do as you’re told,” Shianan answered curtly. “Do not uncover that bundle, and I’ll swear on the rack you knew nothing of it. Hurry. You’ll leave now. I’m giving you money enough so you needn’t wait to pack provisions.”

  Luca’s mind whirled. He took a few spare pieces of clothing and pressed them into the bag above the wrapped bundle, tucked the sealed letter and his master’s coins into a travel pocket, and shouldered the heavy pack. He looked at his master, uncertain and uncomfortable. “I will return as soon as the steward has given me a new accounting.”

  Shianan seemed distracted. “Good enough. Now go. Hurry.”

  “I’ll hurry, my lord.”

  Shianan swallowed visibly. “Good-bye, Luca.”

  Daranai held Maru’s jaw and gestured toward Ariana. “Are you worried about her watching? Don’t be. It’s like a little pet in the room.” She laughed.

  Maru pressed himself against the wall. “I cannot.”

  “You will not, you mean.” She sighed, her voice deceptively regretful. “This is not how I’d prefer it, nim.”

  Cold terror bit through Ariana, bleeding into hot rage. Let him alone! She wriggled, sharp pains shooting through her. The drug was wearing dangerously thin, and she would soon lose her shield against the painful atmosphere. She reached toward Daranai. Don’t!

  Daranai shoved a forearm across Maru’s collarbone, pinning him. Her other hand drew a small, hard object from her belt and angled it carefully toward him. Magical reverberations filled the room, ripping across Ariana.

  “Stupid nim. Is there even enough magic in you for this to work?”

  Maru made a pained sound. Ariana thought of all the attacks she had learned, of the defensive spells which might protect Maru, if she could but act. She tried to hold the magic about her, but it was everywhere, everywhere, and it threatened to overwhelm her if she touched it—
>
  Maru cried aloud.

  Don’t hurt him! Ariana closed her eyes and saw the brightly glowing power that was Daranai. Where Maru writhed against the wall was a flickering, weak light, burning orange where the small object brushed it.

  “Stop,” Ariana whispered aloud. “Don’t.”

  Daranai paused in her arcane attack, rotating the object’s face away. “This is your choice, Maru. Am I really so revolting that you prefer this to me?”

  Maru only panted for answer.

  “Stop.” Ariana’s weak voice frustrated her. Her fury mounted, making her limbs twitch. How dare she—how dare she…!

  Daranai reapplied the torture, moving the object so the magic flamed a hungry red. “You think you’re so favored!” She leaned hard into her forearm as it slid from his chest to his throat.

  Maru cried and choked.

  Force begets force. It is always more efficient to channel power than to counter it.

  “Let him be!” Ariana flung out her hands and seized the swirling power that filled the room, blinding her. The protective levies of her frail resistance crumbled and the magic crashed over her, crushing her, suffocating her, but she was desperate for it and did not fight it, she dove into the torrent, and it scorched excruciatingly through her and filled her, overflowing her organs and mind and bursting through her fingertips and crackling through her hair and—

  Daranai swore.

  Ariana opened her eyes and saw the room in gaudy color, glowing with unreal energy. She was looking down upon the two Ryuven who stared open-mouthed at her, half-standing on the bed and half-suspended on the tide of power rushing through her. “Let him be!” she snarled, and her voice reverberated in the small room.

  Daranai stumbled backward, her eyes wide. “What—how….”

  Ariana’s hair crackled. “Let him go!” she ordered, and Daranai stepped away from Maru without looking at him. Maru gaped with naked fear.

  The power did not hurt her. She was numb with rage and fear and exultation. “Get out.”

  “But—”

  “Get out!” Invisible lightning sparked around her, hissing her wrath.

  Daranai ducked beneath her wings and ran for the door, pulling it closed behind her.

  Ariana’s fury ebbed, and the agony of the too-full power pushed itself on her again. She fought the instinctive urge to resist. She could not fight it, she must control it. With every grain of concentration she visualized the power, saw it pouring through her in a rainbow of brilliance, possessing the blood vessels and nerve paths and bubbling through the very pores with its pressure, and she carefully slowed the flow, damping its rushing entry, until it merely burned in her. Her ankles took her weight. She blinked, seeing nothing of the room, only the multi-hued energy, and watched the power fade under her concentrated command. The burn faded, and her hair drifted to her shoulders, and only a tingling in her fingertips remained to testify to the mighty crash.

  Her vision returned to normal. She took no time to marvel at her accomplishment but stumbled forward on awkward tingling feet to Maru, collapsed against the wall. He shifted weakly as she approached, his eyes wide and staring, shaking with pain.

  “Maru!”

  He recoiled. It was not pain that made him shiver, but fear. He was terrified of her.

  “Maru, it’s all right. I’m all right, I feel better. I—I won’t hurt you. Maru!”

  He stared at her as if she were a demon of flame. “A—Ariana’rika….”

  She impulsively reached for him and caught his wrist, making him jerk backward. “Maru, wait. We’re friends, aren’t we?” Holding him, she moved forward. “Let me help you.”

  He held very still. He was hurt and frightened, and his natural power was weakened, burned away in the red-orange glow. She could not restore it to him, and she had no chocolate to offer as they had given to Tam. “Maru,” she said softly, “please don’t be afraid.”

  He blinked at her, conflicted.

  “Please, Maru. Let me help you as you helped me.”

  His lips worked tentatively. “Tamaryl’sho—he said you called him Tam. He said you would not open battle here.” He looked at the fingers still on his wrist. “Tamaryl’sho said you would remember us. That you would not hurt us.”

  He was afraid of her. “Maru…. You’re hurt. What can I do to help?”

  “I don’t know.” He looked at her, wide-eyed, and hesitated. “I just—thank you.” He swallowed.

  “Rest,” Ariana said quietly. “It’s all right.”

  Maru, pale and staring, looked at her and nodded.

  Chapter 43

  Tamaryl soared toward the Palace of Red Sands, overlooking the city spread beneath him in happy bustle. A few other Ryuven were in the air, waving politely or intent on their own business. Tamaryl cupped his wings to slow his speed, banking toward the gardens of the palace.

  An explosion of power rocked the air around him. Tamaryl’s wings stuttered and he looked around as he stabilized, but he saw only two other fliers looking stunned as well. He turned and searched in the direction from which the jarring sensation had come.

  That was Daranai’s roof.

  Tamaryl raked his wings through the air and dove. The burst of power had ebbed, but something was still very active in the house beneath him. Tamaryl reached for it, but he could not identify the Ryuven who had called forth such a marked blast.

  What if someone had come for Ariana? Some would resent the human mage’s presence—some rika might have decided to take matters into her own hands, or perhaps a group had come for her.

  He rocked his legs forward and landed running, folding his wings behind him. Maru would have been helpless against that kind of power. Daranai was capable of deflecting most of it, but it would have cost her.

  He nearly knocked her to the ground as he tore around a corner, one wing extended for balance. He slid to a halt and turned back. “Daranai’rika! What’s happened? Is she all right?”

  Daranai stared at him. “You—she—you!” Her face twisted in fury. “You brought her here!”

  They had come for Ariana, endangering the entire house. “I’m sorry, I have to go to her.”

  Daranai screamed something after him as he swept down the corridor. He flung back the private door.

  Ariana knelt on the floor, obviously well, with Maru’s head cushioned against her shoulder. She looked up as he entered, her fingers on Maru’s neck. “Tam!”

  He stared. She was not injured—Maru was not moving—she was not even ill—the power….

  “Tam, can you help him?”

  Sweet essence, Maru. “What happened?”

  “She hurt him.”

  “Don’t trust her,” Daranai said from the door. “Come with me, Tamaryl’sho, and I will explain—”

  “Get back!” ordered Ariana in a tone Tam had rarely heard. She rose on her knees, her eyes hard, and a small eddy of power whipped up about her, tugging at her loose robe and hair.

  “Human toad,” snarled Daranai. “I would not need to be near you to kill you.” But she retreated a step.

  Tamaryl stared between them as the eddy spun away and was gone. “That—that was you?”

  The magic and Ariana’s movement had roused Maru. “Ryl!”

  His clothing was torn, and his innate energy was unnaturally thin. “Maru, my friend, what happened to you?”

  “She did,” Ariana muttered viciously.

  “I’m sorry, Ryl—I’m so sorry.”

  Something enormous had happened, something no one wanted to say directly. “Tell me! What happened here?”

  Ariana turned icy eyes on Daranai. Maru looked sick. “I—she wanted to bed me. I refused.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Daranai snapped, tearing Tamaryl with denial and accusation.

  Ariana leapt to her feet, swaying. “You lie!” Her hands rose to form an attack.

  Tamaryl shaped an inversion well and absorbed the stinging power Ariana had gathered. “Stop! I—”

 
“She came for him! And when he refused again and again she hurt him!”

  There was nothing but anger in her expression. Tamaryl turned and looked at Daranai, who elongated her slim neck and raised her chin indignantly. “This is a nim and a human—a sick, weak human who has not even been able to speak or move until this hour. You take their word against me, a rika and your betrothed?”

  Things broke inside Tamaryl. There could be no good end to this. “Daranai’rika—what happened?”

  “Your servant came to me—”

  “He didn’t!” Ariana shouted, her hands clenched into fists. “I saw everything!”

  “You lie!” Daranai snarled. “You were a senseless, oblivious heap!”

  “Never senseless,” Ariana countered with a weird grin. “Never senseless. No, my affliction was sensing too keenly. I heard everything and saw much.”

  Maru grasped at Tamaryl’s wrist. “Ryl,” he whispered, “it is true. I’m sorry—I’m so sorry.”

  Tamaryl’s heart seemed to stop beating. He rose and turned to face Daranai.

  She knew his decision. Her expression changed, her eyes narrowing from wide indignation to a feline sneer. “Oh, don’t play at the high ground, Tamaryl’sho.”

  “What?”

  “Come now, do you mean to say this human you brought and kept—in my own house, mind you—is nothing to you?”

  Tamaryl’s jaw slacked. “Lady Ariana is….”

  “No?” She smirked. “Then why do you guard her so carefully? Set your precious Maru to watch her?”

  “She is my friend.”

  “A human friend,” Daranai’rika repeated scornfully, as if the words betrayed themselves. “And as you value your friends so well, of course, you held her in a world which might have killed her?”

  “I didn’t know how the journey would harm her!”

  “Of course,” Daranai agreed smoothly. “Staying was deadly torture to her, but she couldn’t risk a brief leap across the between-worlds.”

  “That’s ridiculous.” How had he taken the defensive?

  “It’s clear she is either too dear to release, or her use to you is greater than your concern for her.” Daranai shrugged. “So, is she your plaything, or something more serious? And I know how those lines can blur, but don’t worry, I don’t really mind. And Maru—no, I don’t mind him either, so much. Bring your nim, bring your human, bring whatever you like. I’ll make no jealous demands on you. But don’t pretend to be shocked. We are more sophisticated than that.”