The Testing (8 page)
Authors: Jonathan Moeller
Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Genre Fiction, #Horror, #Dark Fantasy, #Science Fiction & Fantasy, #Fantasy, #Epic, #Sword & Sorcery
The slave boy Rachaelis had rescued from the overseer sat huddled in one corner, nose buried in a book. Nazim had been teaching him to read. Arthain would have been scandalized.
The door opened, and Sword-Captain Marvane walked into the room, helmet under one arm.
“Well?” said Nazim, looking up from his desk.
“His name was Mabignon,” said Marvane. “A Jurgur, like you said. The seneschal bought him six months ago. No useful skills. Truculent fellow, too; he’d been whipped three times in the last month alone.”
“What about that dart?” said Rachaelis.
“There was poison on the tip,” said Marvane. “Not lethal, though. A paralytic. Crooked innkeepers use it, sometimes; they’ll spike the drinks and rob a man blind when his limbs freeze up.”
“So he wasn’t trying to kill Rachaelis,” said Nazim, “but capture her.”
“Capture?” said Marvane, blinking. “If you say so, Magister.”
“What do you think this was about, Sword-Captain?” said Nazim.
Marvane shrugged. “I don’t rightly know. But rape, if I had to guess. Forgive my bluntness, Magister, but Lady Morulan is a pretty young thing, and a man gets it into his head that he wants a certain woman…well, he’s liable to do stupid things. Especially if the woman’s out of his reach.”
“Like a slave and an Adept, for instance?” said Nazim.
“Aye,” said Marvane.
“Thank you, Sword-Captain,” said Nazim. “Please let us know if you discover anything else.”
Marvane bowed and left them room.
“What do you think?” said Nazim.
“I don’t know,” said Rachaelis. “I’d never seen this Mabignon before in my life, I’m sure of it.” She hugged herself tighter, thinking it over. “Marvane’s right. He must have wanted to…to force me. But…he seemed terrified.”
“Facing an angry Adept can frighten the bravest of men,” said Nazim.
“He was trying to sneak up on me,” said Rachaelis, voice distant. “Which meant he knew that I would be there.” She blinked. “Someone told him that I would be there?”
“He may have been lying in wait,” said Nazim. “It’s well-known that you often visit your father alone.” He sighed. “This is troubling. Marvane’s explanation makes the most sense. And yet…no. There must have been something else going on.”
“I think you’re right,” said Rachaelis. “I’m not a child. I know what it’s like when a man stares at you.” Not the she had ever been with a man, but she knew what it was like to be stared at. “And I didn’t get that impression at all. He didn't...he didn't want me. He was too scared of me for that. He was forcing himself to face me. I thought he was going to run away.” She remembered the corpse sliding to the floor, chest a charred crater. “It would have been better if he had.”
“Do you think he had any grudge against you?” said Nazim. “The Jurgurs have – or had, anyway – a brutal code of honor.”
“I can’t see how,” said Rachaelis. “I’d never seen him before.”
“What about a relative of his?” said Nazim.
“Possibly,” said Rachaelis. “But…I avoid the slaves whenever possible. I won’t use them. If I did offend his family, it must have been something I didn’t even realize.”
Nazim sighed. “This is…a very strange business. Perhaps Marvane was right. But I do not think so. A slave attacking an Adept with a paralytic and a sleeping drug? Very strange. I doubt Mabignon could have planned this on his own. For the next few weeks, I would like to have some Swords accompany you. Sword-Captain Marvane, I think. At least until I can get to the bottom of this.”
Rachaelis nodded. “What should I do now?”
“Now?” said Nazim. “Now you go to Thalia’s rooms. She is most eager to plan a banquet in your honor, after all.”
Other books by the author
The Third Soul Series
Computer Beginner's Guides
The Windows Command Line Beginner's Guide
The Linux Command Line Beginner's Guide
The Ubuntu Desktop Beginner's Guide
The Windows 8 Beginner's Guide
The Linux Mint Beginner's Guide
The Ghosts Series
Ghost Dagger (World of the Ghosts novella)
Ghost Aria (World of the Ghosts short story)
Ghost Claws (World of the Ghosts short story)
The Demonsouled Series
The Dragon's Shadow (World of the Demonsouled novella)
The Wandering Knight (World of the Demonsouled short story)
The Tournament Knight (World of the Demonsouled short story)
The Tower of Endless Worlds Series
$1.99 Dark Fantasy
About the Author
Standing over six feet tall, Jonathan Moeller has the piercing blue eyes of a Conan of Cimmeria, the bronze-colored hair a Visigothic warrior-king, and the stern visage of a captain of men, none of which are useful in his career as a computer repairman, alas.
He has written the DEMONSOULED series of sword-and-sorcery novels, and continues to write THE GHOSTS sequence about assassin and spy Caina Amalas, the COMPUTER BEGINNER'S GUIDE series of computer books, and numerous other works.
Visit his website at:
http://www.jonathanmoeller.com
Visit his technology blog at:
http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/screed
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