Chapter 8
There was too much to do, so I didn’t linger in the prison wing for long after my brief trance. Dulanzo would no doubt try to keep me too busy to bother with the woman I’d left sleeping peacefully. That was fine as long as I got to update Dourlek, have a spy posted on the prison wing, and secure some more supplies for Ozanna. She needed more clothes, a warmer blanket … hygiene items. Damn her for somehow wriggling her way into my care.
But I’d done that myself, hadn’t I? Poor self-control and an obsessive streak that could be exploited if anyone learned of it. I shouldn’t have lingered at her side as long as I had, allowing her aura to caress mine where I held it close and controlled. I shouldn’t have enjoyed the tender contact of her cheek against my collar. At least this care could be explained away as a feeble attempt to pursue her.
I hadn’t been a good enough person to leave her untouched, though. I’d allowed myself a few moments to crouch by the bed and watch her sleep. On impulse I held my breath and oh, so gently pressed my index finger against her bottom lip, indenting the pale flesh just enough to satisfy my curiosity … soft and supple, curved like the rest of her body. My heart raced and my mouth went dry. I released a shaky breath and backed away to leave before I made another mistake that would cost me her trust.
Instead, I left to find Captain Dourlek along an outer passage. It was his duty to oversee the patrols of our surface territory and at that time of day, he would be preparing to leave the compound with the others on his shift. He watched me stoically while I approached and summoned silence—it wouldn’t arouse Dulanzo’s suspicion to do so in such a public place.
Dourlek was younger than I, but one might say he had an old soul to have made his rank before reaching his hundredth birthday. He’d elected to scar his face with jagged, symmetrical lines under his prominent cheek bones when the first strands of noble silver had started showing. While he might be sent away to breed on occasion, the scars meant that the general, or any ladder climbing clergy, wouldn’t want to keep him as a mate. In politics it wouldn’t be acceptable to have a male with permanent marks on their face. Scars that stayed hidden under their clothes were fine, but, again, we all had our roles to play when it came to appearance. And if you couldn’t play the role, you weren’t chosen for them.
Dourlek didn’t smile or frown or anything in greeting. He had either mastered the disinterested, neutral mask of an expression he wore most of the time, or this life had truly broken him to the point he genuinely didn’t feel much of anything.
“Subcommander,” he murmured while his eyes flicked around for unfriendly witnesses. There were none.
“Captain,” I nodded. “I have a quick update.” And I relayed the change in Dulanzo’s redirection, the care to be given the woman.
I couldn’t tell if he disliked any of it, but he agreed it was best.
“I attended the pregnancy this morning,” I added. “If I’m waylaid tomorrow, I’ll want someone that won’t mistreat the mother to see to it. She’s regaining her strength and killed Avry when he was foolish enough to try her.”
Dourlek snorted. “We should keep her then, maybe we could get some decent soldiers out of her.”
“No,” I said. “It won’t be necessary to force someone to do this in the future.”
Dourlek pursed his lips in a half frown that I judged to be a thoughtful expression.
“If you have something to say, say it,” I encouraged.
“You truly intend to let nature take its course when you seize the reins?”
I didn’t bother to scrutinize his words or expression. It would be energy wasted.
“Yes,” I nodded. “I’m confident after watching the outcome of Lhoris’ loose leash on his band of idiots. If they could enter a nearby town to cavort, there’s no reason the more disciplined of us couldn’t eventually build families.”
“You mean to disband this outpost?”
“Not intentionally,” I hedged. “If it comes to it, then I would allow the community to shift into what it needs to become.”
Dourlek’s brows twitched. “I don’t know what to make of this ambition.”
“Living in Irnon’s shadow has wrought nothing but misery for our lot,” I sneered. “Dulanzo wastes the power he has on selfish matters. His ambition died when he took his seat as commander. He squanders resources unnecessarily.”
“That I cannot argue,” Dourlek agreed gravely. “The few children coming from the city these days don’t make up for our losses when half of them die.”
“And Lady Umlern’s hands are tied to stop it.”
“It’s up to us, yes,” he agreed. “Though I fear Lady Umlern’s age is catching up with her. We may have to contend with Colva before long. Our coup might be her opportunity to depose her mother.”
“Which is why I’ve kept in good standing with the cold bitch,” I reminded him. “She doesn’t appear aware of why Dulanzo’s been granted such freedom.”
Dourlek offered a genuine frown at that. He wasn’t happy that I’d kept Dulanzo’s secret to myself. None of my officers were happy about it, really, but they understood that it would be the source of my power when the time came. They’d just have to figure it out themselves when they decided to stab me in the back one day. For now, it was the secret that would allow us the space to do what needs doing.
“You believe this advantage you’re to take would also dissuade Colva?”
“Oh, yes,” I grinned, “beyond the shadow of a doubt.” But I couldn’t spend any more time reassuring him of my intention. I trusted Dourlek more than any other in this compound. It might pacify his doubts if I gave him a clue. “We’ll be well protected from any forces from the city as long as this mountain stands.”
He glanced around the tunnel, as though appraising the squat mountain by its roots and sighed impassively. “Alright, Zelfek.” He pursed his lips and gave me a level look. “I’ll check with my spies. Let you know if we have any word on our guest’s arrival. And I’ll do what I can to keep an eye on your cum-catcher. Best believe if you’re interfering with Dulanzo’s, he might just do something to yours.”
“I’ve considered it,” I answered as calmly as I could though my stomach lurched at the thought. “There isn’t any place I can keep him safe.”
He gave me an inscrutable look. “I’ll talk to the female that Grelmuh has been humping. She might keep him for a day or two. Least she can do considering we haven’t chased her out of our territory.”
I was a little taken aback by Dourlak’s suggestion, not that I let him see. Of course, I knew the young elf, Grelmuh, was screwing a renegade half-orc that had taken up residence just outside our patrols. It was too dangerous for the males of her clan to approach, but a single female wasn’t enough of a threat as long as she stayed outside the perimeter. It was risky for her, obviously, but it had kept her from the interference of her orcish kinsmen. Surely whatever method she was using to avoid attention could hide my idiot for a day.
I nodded. “Offer her recompence.”
“The only thing Imgo wants is safety.” He paused thoughtfully. “And maybe Grelmuh’s cock. I can’t decide if she’s just using him or not.”
I waved off his concern. “Her safety is a simple matter if this works out.”
“I’ll make sure Rhemvile is hidden away by the end of his patrol.” Dourlak nodded, and then smiled. “I’ll have Lirraco see to the halfie in the prison. I’ll tell him he needs to protect his unborn sibling. Ha! He definitely wouldn’t touch the woman knowing she belongs to his father.”
Dourlak’s unusual show of amusement was telling. I’d never suspected he’d find sedition to be fun. He didn’t bother to say anything in parting, though. Just turned and started up to the commissary to pick up his day’s rations.
I nodded and dispelled the silence. There was time to catch Rhemvile before he left for patrol. He always picked up his rations the night before, so he didn’t have to rush in the mornings. There was every chance I wouldn’t survive the coming days and I couldn’t let the disaster of our last encounter be the way he remembered me. Though I couldn’t understand why that mattered all of a sudden.
I was almost to the living level when Dulanzo cornered me. He was watching the entrance, waiting for me it seemed. I gave him a flat look and braced myself for whatever he wanted. No doubt he had some form of retribution in mind for what I’d just done.
There was always a careful dance of defiance between a subcommander and his commander. It was the nature of our kind to seek opportunities to seize more power by screwing over the next person up the command chain. While I’d been a pain in Dulanzo’s ass at times, I’d never challenged his position before. He was probably livid beneath the cocksure grin on his face.
“I have a job for you, subcommander,” he said, motioning for me to join him inside the entrance to the living level.
“Yes, sir,” I replied.
“I need you to kill the two older of Lobikno’s boys,” he said, almost absently. “My younger brothers should be here soon; I can’t have them both arriving with their feet under them.”
The older boys … killing them would be an incredible waste! They’d survived the miserable gauntlet he’d set them on. They were on the very cusp of adulthood and destined to be excellent soldiers, something I’d seen to personally. He’d denied them names time and time again out of spite. Perhaps it was with this vicious plan in mind. There wouldn’t be any more offspring to torment his younger brother with after these three … at least until Ozanna had her baby.
“What of the youngest?” I asked, only just unclenching my jaws enough to speak. “He’s got more magic than the older two combined.”
Dulanzo nodded. “Oh, I had thought about putting him down too, but Vakrill reminded me of the boy’s potential.” He sighed and his false smile turned sharp, almost brittle. “No, I’m giving him to the woman instead.”
Shit.
If my instinct about Ozanna was correct, she wouldn’t be able to stand by and let anything bad happen to the boy.
“Have the scouts detected my brother’s presence yet?”
“No.” I shook my head all but seething on the inside. “But it may be difficult to detect them. They know this place as well as any of us. Its few weaknesses have always been outside these walls. We may not know they’re here until they’re at the gates.” I caught Rhemvile’s curly mop of hair in my peripheral vision, but I didn’t dare draw attention to him. “I’ve already added bodies to the patrols, so those weaknesses are closely monitored. All the scouts will be on a field rotation for the next two days.”
“Even mine?” Dulanzo asked, a slight challenge in his tone.
“Yes, commander,” I answered. “Even their positions are on a rotation, so nobody gets preferential treatment.” It was true, but Dourlak and his people had arranged for positions to overlap. It was quite likely that not all of Dulanzo’s scouts would be returning.
Rhemvile’s head turned to look at me as he and the other soldiers in his patrol passed us by, heading up the tunnel I’d only just come from. I didn’t miss Dulanzo’s eyes flick toward the man, though his expression gave nothing of his thoughts away.
“Now, go see about destroying the boys,” Dulanzo said, and almost casually slid an arm around my shoulders. He leaned in close and said with a snarl in his words, “Make it hurt, make them fear, make it bring Lobikno to his knees. I’ll know it’s done when I can no longer detect their bonds.” He took a deep inhale and arched an eyebrow at me. “You took the woman? I didn’t think you had it in you to get it up for pussy any longer.”
He knew I’d find every word distasteful, so I didn’t bother hiding my disgust. I narrowed my eyes and stared back at him before shrugging off his arm.
My first instinct was to hide the boys, but I quickly dismissed the notion, though not because of what Dulanzo said. If Lobikno were to arrive and issue a challenge, any hostages would have to be presented. Lobikno would know the boys were alive and demand to see them. But, the power Dulanzo had over this place … the way it was part of him … it made sense that he might sense even those delicate threads of magic. Regardless, Dulanzo and Lobikno both had to think the boys were dead.
But I hadn’t taken them under my wing to throw them away either!
“Consider it done,” I sneered and turned away, not even acknowledging his jibe at my alleged preferences. Dulanzo had a way of making the most mundane, natural things sound shameful, but knowing it was part of his game meant I was mostly immune to it.
I glanced around, but Rhemvile was gone, well on his way to the surface, opposite the direction I had to go to gather the boys from the stables. The fastest way to that part of the main cavern required a different route and Dulanzo was no doubt monitoring my actions. There would be the expectation of expediency in my task, but I needed a little time to think through the situation. I took the expected route but didn’t hurry. And by the time the stables were in sight, I had a plan.
I found the two older of Lobikno’s boys moving hay bales along with some of the cavalry. The pair had reached their adult height, though they were gangly, the older of the two only just starting to put on the muscle that came with maturity. But their size meant they could do the tasks that the smaller children could not. The little fellows were stuck cleaning up after the horses, caring for them, and gradually learning how to one day be the soldier riding them.
“Boy,” I called. Every child in the stable stopped what they were doing and turned to look at me with wide, startled eyes. “You and you,” I pointed at two I wanted specifically, “with me.”
“Yes, subcommander,” they both murmured before putting aside their task and scrambling to stand in front of me. They looked me in the eye and waited for my instructions.
“Follow,” I said and spun on my heel. They kept pace, moving light on their feet. I led them further away from the cavern, passed the living level and down to that fucking prison wing where the woman was. All the way to the very last cell … the only place in this gods forsaken shit pit that wasn’t carved from the rock of the mountain.
The gatehouse was a front, of course. The compound itself sprawled out beneath the forest, in the caverns of the mountain’s roots, and this cell was the furthest point from the damned thing. Masonry stone was all that kept loose rock and dirt from backfilling the space. No doubt the slaves that built this place were pushed to complete their work in accordance with the plans no matter the obstacle.
Though I was certain Dulanzo’s ability to hear didn’t extend beyond the mountain roots, I still put up a barrier of silence around the three of us. The boys searched my face for some kind of insight, but I knew they’d find nothing.
“You two have to break your bond to Lobikno. Your life depends on it, do you understand?”
They looked at each other with wide eyes and remained silent, frightened by the peculiar circumstance.
I rested my hands on their shoulders. “Do you trust me, little cousins?”
They nodded, and the use of the familiar term reassured them enough to free their tongues. “What’s happening?” the older asked.
“Much, I’m afraid. Dulanzo has ordered me to end your lives and I have to ask you to become adults ahead of your time to avoid that fate.”
There was a slight glimmer of fear in their eyes as they processed the information.
“I don’t know how,” the younger said, his voice cracking. “How do we do it, cousin?”
“There’s no easy explanation,” I shook my head and thought furiously for the right words, to at least try. “You need to reject it, though I know you rely on it still. Your father is a great survivor, and you’ve learned much from him already. Perhaps you’ve learned even more on your own. You have to be confident in your own abilities and … trust yourselves.” I squeezed their shoulders. “I trust you to do this, because my own life is forfeit if we don’t accomplish this thing.” That, and I was all but certain I couldn’t lift my hand to end them.
They gathered close and put their arms around me. Giving me the affection that was due their father. But I embraced them in return. They deserved better arms and a heart that could love them in return, though I wouldn’t deny them what I could offer.
“Can you help us?” the older asked. “You’re strong enough to do what mother did, aren’t you?”
“Not on my own,” I hedged. What their mother had done was another gift from Irnon, to dissolve the bonds to sons she didn’t want in order to move on and focus on her daughters.
“I’ve never tried to sever someone else’s bond,” I admitted. “But if you try along with me, we might manage it.”
I held out a hand to each boy. They swallowed and exchanged glances again before accepting my hands and joining their own.
I closed my eyes and let my power cycle through us, drawing out the threads of their magic and allowed it to mingle with mine. Our currents intertwined and gradually blended until we were in tune. And when I opened my eyes, I could see the bond sprout from their chests like thin, scraggly vines. Bonds that had never been nurtured. Not for lack of desire on their father’s part, though. They’d never been permitted nurturing aside from my cold hand.
I stared at those shriveled vines and ground my teeth. This is what Irnon and Dulanzo did to all of us here. Deprive us of those things that would make us thrive. For what!? And I let the rage those sad little vines stirred fuel my will.
I let go of the boys and reached for the vines, wrapping them around my forearms before giving them a tug.
The boys rocked forward and grimaced. The younger whimpered.
“When I pull again, you must push it out, reject it. The roots are deep and strong, I cannot do this myself,” I ground out between clenched teeth.
I pulled again and the roots gave a little, though not without painful cries and whimpers of grief from the boys. “Strangle the root, force it out!” I barked at them. Sweat dripped down my face while I exerted myself pulling, digging my heels in, as did the boys.
“It hurts,” the younger gasped and stopped resisting.
“Would it hurt less to have a blade in your chest?!” I bellowed. “Fight it boy! Push it out!”
He sobbed but continued to pull and the roots were suddenly no more. I almost stumbled with the lack of resistance.
And with a final, furious cry, the older pulled free of his.
I gasped and let my arms fall to my sides and took three wobbling steps back to lean against the nearest wall.
The boys collapsed into each other and curled into a tight ball of gangly limbs and tears, much like their father and I had as children.
Lobikno and I didn’t have the benefit of a sibling group like they did, just each other when the beatings were too much, or we were denied food for failing a task, and we couldn’t sleep for the pain in our bellies. These two were so lucky to have their older brothers to look out for them.
Their auras were all over the place, though, thrashing and writhing in pain. Lashing out as if searching for the bond we’d just violently ripped out of them. I felt it lap over me, their agony vibrating through the remnants of their magic mixed in with my own. It made me nauseous.
Perhaps killing them would have been the kinder act.
I sat beside them and offered my own aura. It didn’t seem to know what to do at first. After a lifetime of keeping it locked down, as was expected in our culture, asking it to do what it was naturally intended for was just foreign. The thing awkwardly flopped over the boys like a wet blanket instead of the reassuring brush I experienced with Ozanna. At least it stopped their energies from thrashing.
The sound of their sobs though, that did not relent. “Hush, boys,” I murmured. “You don’t want anyone else to hear. They’ll come for us if they hear you cry.” Because I’d exhausted myself and the shield of silence was gone.
My words triggered a well-trained reflex to freeze and be silent in the pathetic pair before me. Their eyes were too wide while they clutched each other, listening for the approach of footsteps. I knew nobody was going to come, but they needed to martial themselves before I could leave.
“You’ll have to stay here for a time,” I murmured, the words slurring and slow. Gods, I was exhausted. “Just a day or two. Lirraco will be here soon. Maybe one of your other brothers too,” I explained, head in my hands. Especially now that there would be four people down here to worry about once the baby was dumped on Ozanna.