His Ancient Heart (31 page)

"I am attracted to him. He is handsome and powerful. He is kind, and he hasn't once tried to force himself on me, even when we were alone. Even with all of his power. I don't care that he's Cursed. Rosalei was Cursed, and she was the sweetest, most gentle person. If he didn't have Eryn... I wouldn't have said what I did."

"I know. He does, too, or will. He'll return soon, and all will be well."

So long as you stick to your decision. Even then, you don't control his heart any more than I do, or Eryn does. It will settle where it will for as long as it will.

It wasn't his business to get involved. It wasn't his problem. He loved Eryn, and wanted her to be happy, but he had more important concerns. Besides, she was certainly strong enough to survive a broken heart.
 

He pulled the final beam into the water, and then returned for the planks. He could see the finished raft in his mind. It was crude compared to the wonders he had helped create, but it would do what it needed to.
 

"You don't need to go to Edgewater," Delia said as he picked up the first of the planks.

"Yes, we do," he replied.

She put her hand on his wrist and found his eyes with hers. "No, General, you don't."

"What do you mean?"

"What you called the farspeak stone. I had brought Rosalei a meal only a few hours before you arrived. I didn't hear the beginning, and it didn't make much sense to me before, but what you said about the Carriers-"

"What about them?"

"I think I know where they're going to be."

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

Spyne

"What time is it?" Spyne asked, rolling over in the large, four-posted bed that had only days ago belonged to the late Overlord of Varrow City.

Adjunct Overlord Sazi stirred beside him, turning herself so that her arm draped over his hairy chest, her face only inches from his. She gave him a wanton smile, eyebrows raised. "I know what time it is."

He felt the reaction in his groin, the interest. He stared into her dark eyes. She was as wild as he had supposed, so comfortable and free with her body and soul. Not like any of the others he had taken over the years.
 

Is it because she is the first who doesn't fear me?

She leaned down and took the end of his beard in her teeth, pulling it and growling like a dog. He felt an emotion form beneath her play. It was rough and dull, like an uncut diamond. He pushed his hand below her, placing it on her backside and pulling her closer.
 

"I have orders," he said. The emotion was growing. It hinted of anger and frustration, and at the same time fascinated him. He hadn't come to Varrow to dally with this woman. He had come to kill Talon. Wrapped up in the blankets with her, her soft flesh against his, he couldn't bring himself to care. Not enough to get out of bed.

"I have different orders for you, General," Sazi said. She put her lips to his, biting down on the bottom one hard enough to draw blood. He welcomed the pain.

Was Tella like this?

Her aggressiveness pushed his memories. He could almost see his wife now, or so he thought. She looked just like the Adjunct. Maybe a little thicker in the hips, and softer in the middle. Each time he took the Adjunct, he thought of something else. She loved the taste of strawberries. She had once owned a dog. They had met in the gardens of... He still couldn't remember the name of the place. It was before Genesia. Before their daughter.
 

I should be out there, hunting down the One Zero. That is what
he
commanded.

He let out a throaty growl of his own. Sazi took it as pleasure, and her lips tracked down to his chest. The emotion continued to grow in him. Anger. Frustration. Sadness.
He
knew the risk when
he
had ordered him to remember Genesia. He would find the Whore when he was ready. She wasn't that important. Talon was, and
he
had ordered him elsewhere.
He
had stolen that vengeance from him.

He
could wait.

He took in a deep, rumbling breath, taking Sazi by the shoulders and pulling her back up, rolling her on top of him.
 

I'll get to the juggernaut when I am satisfied. When I remember all of it.

He looked up at Sazi's unclothed body. He blinked his eyes. Her face became Tella's face, her nose narrowing, her eyes becoming more almond-shaped. Her breasts grew larger, more rounded. Only for a moment. He took another breath. He had orders. He had made a promise.

A promise he wouldn't break.

To Heden with
him
.

"Get off," he said, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth.

"I'm not done with you yet," Sazi replied. Her hips shifted on him.

"I said get off." The words came out harsh and low. Even one as bold as Sazi didn't dare question them. She rolled back away from him, sliding right out of the bed and walking naked across the room, to the Overlord's dresser.
 

"It is just as well," she said. "The assembly is waiting for me." She opened the dresser and began picking her undergarments from it. She carried them with her to an adjoining room, where a warm bath was always waiting.

Spyne took hold of the covers and threw them away from him, exposing his hairy and scarred body. He slid off the bed and followed Sazi into the bath, sliding into the warm water with her. She began to float his way, and he waved her off.

"Enough. I've been here too long already. You're fortunate I don't kill you for holding me back."

"Holding you-" Sazi began to argue, and then quieted.

"Wash my back, and then go and tell your underling to get me my clothes." He turned around so she could run the rough soap over the large expanse of equally rough flesh. She did as she was told, scrubbing it quickly and then removing herself to summon her servant. He was already out of the bath by the time she returned.

"Will you be coming back to Varrow?" she asked.

"When Talon and the Whore are both dead. Not before."

"What of the new Overlord?"

"You will remain Adjunct for the time being. The Mediators are tied up with more important business."

"More important than ruling a province?" She said it as though there was no such thing.
 

"Yes. Your hands are capable."

She smiled at him, a low purr in her throat. "Aren't they, General?"

There was a knock on her chamber door. She vanished from the bathroom for a moment, returning with his black uniform in her arms. She still hadn't bothered to dress herself at all.

"My parents always wanted me to have such small dreams," she said.
 

"I don't care about your parents or your dreams." He took the clothes from her and began to dress.

"I know you don't. I don't need you for that. Your power gives me legitimacy as Overlord. If I can prove myself worthy, perhaps
he'll
let me remain in the role?"

"Perhaps."

She approached him, pressing her body against his. "Perhaps you can speak on my behalf?"

He was tempted to carry her back to the bed. Instead, he pushed her away. "I have no power over
his
decisions. Run the province well, keep the rebellion quiet, provide workers for the mine, collect the taxes, and do not allow the Cursed to roam free. Make decisions with your head, not your heart or your sex. That is what will impress
him
."

She stared at him a moment, and then bowed. "As you say, General."

He pulled his cloak over his shoulders and clasped it. His hand went to his hip out of habit, though his weapons were still in the barracks with Peyn. He turned and stormed from the chamber, leaving without another word.

The Overlord's chamber was near the top of the second of the paired towers that were common to all of the palaces in the Empire. It was a location that offered a view of the entire city and some of the surrounding countryside, from windows that faced in every direction. While even Sazi believed the Overlord's perch was so high because of their status, Spyne knew it was so they could respond to threats with their Curse.
 

When Talon wasn't killing them first.

He reached the bottom of the stairs and swept past the guards stationed there, drawing surprised knees from them as he passed. He received a surprise of his own, finding Worm already waiting for him, holding his sword belt over his shoulder.

"You knew I was coming?" Spyne said. He hadn't sent a signal to them ahead of time.

Worm held out his sword. He took it and strapped it to his waist, closing his eyes as he ran his hand along the top of the hilt.
 

"How did you know?"

Worm was silent. His eyes were flat, more emotionless than he could remember them ever having been. Spyne hadn't seen much of the man in the days since the Whore had escaped, but he was certain the event had changed the Historian somehow.
 

The Whore's Curse didn't knock him down. Had it hurt him in some other way?
 

"Where is Peyn?"

Worm pointed in the direction of the barracks. Spyne headed that way at a fast walk, the tattooed man trailing behind him.

Spyne found Peyn not in the barracks, but in the courtyard, running a company of soldiers through drills. His voice was harsh and loud, and he screamed and cursed at the men as he walked the line of them, watching them spar. The ground beneath them was still black from the Whore's fire.

"Get your elbow up, you sorry excuse for a man," he shouted. "You! Knees bent, sword lower. You want to get run through? You! I bet your dead mother fights better than you."

"Captain Peyn," Spyne roared, getting the man's attention. Peyn turned and dropped to his knee.
 

"General."

"We leave in an hour. Are any of these men worthy?" He motioned for Peyn to stand.

"Two hundred men, General. There are ten that I would trust to hold a sword next to me."

"Make sure they are properly outfitted. Ircidium blades and chain. You and Ollie, as well."

Peyn bowed. "As you command, General. Your timing is impeccable."

Spyne furrowed his brow and glared at the Captain. "How do you mean that?"

Peyn's face paled. "My apologies, General. I only meant that we received a report not four hours past from a soldier, badly burned. The Whore was spotted with the... juggernaut, was it?"
 

Spyne nodded.

"With the juggernaut, forty miles east of the city. The soldier was part of Colonel Wolm's company." He paused and bit his lip.

"What is it?" Spyne said, angry.

"She burned them, General. All of them. There were no survivors."

He nodded, not surprised. Without a Mediator, or at the very least ircidium weaponry, the soldiers were sure to be slaughtered. Even with ircidium, he doubted any of those men could have held their own against the juggernaut. Not without a juggernaut of their own, or at least one of the Nine.

"You said no survivors. What of the rider?"

"He died of his wounds an hour ago."

"Where are they headed?"

"They appear to be making for Elling."

"Elling? Why? Talon is to the north, and Elling is dust."

Peyn didn't answer.
 

"Go, pick your men and arm them. Pass word to Ollie." Spyne turned to Worm. "You can track her Curse, yes?"

Worm nodded.

"Good. The destruction of the juggernaut is
his
primary concern. Let us not fail in this."

A creature of magic and metal, and the first model, no less. Why is it so important to
him
?

CHAPTER FIFTY

Talon

"You're sure this is the place?" Talon asked.

"I know what I heard," Delia said. "The voice,
his
voice. It made my skin crawl every time that orb started spinning."

They had left Fulton three days ago, using Talon's hastily constructed raft to travel upstream against the flow of the river. The raft was well-made despite its crude materials, and Talon was able to row for hours without tiring. It allowed them to travel nearly thirty miles west and another ten north, first on the Gorge River and then on a smaller, calmer tributary which brought them into Edgewater Province. From there, they had gone on foot for another twenty miles until they had reached Gilspie, a medium-sized town nearly eighty miles from Edgewater City.
 

Delia swore she had heard
him
speaking to Overlord Olmas of Edgewater, warning him of Talon's imminent arrival and ordering him to send an envoy of Mediators and a squad of the Overguard to rendezvous with the Carriers in Gilspie.
He
didn't want the Carriers coming to Edgewater, not when Talon would be there. Once the envoys had collected the cure, they would travel from the town to the provinces that had need of it, bypassing Edgewater completely.
 

It was clear to Talon that
he
knew exactly what his objective was, and there were signs that
he
was concerned he might actually achieve it. Talon took it as good news.

Delia had also told him that the farspeak stone had spun a second time only minutes after the first. General Naille had been ordered to return from Evergreen, and other troops had been put on the move to ensure that if Talon entered Edgewater City, he would never leave it alive.

Except, I'm one step ahead of you. Not that your plan to capture me in Edgewater would have succeeded. I'm the Champion of Ares'Nor, and General Naille is no match for me.

They had arrived in Gilspie an hour ago, on the day the envoy was scheduled to arrive. They were fortunate, because Delia held papers that allowed her to enter tax-free. Between her legitimacy and the fact that the soldiers believed Talon was going to Edgewater, it made getting behind the stone walls of the town a simple affair. They had visited a clothier from there, exchanging their soiled traveling clothes for something of higher quality and more suitable to merchants. It didn't slip Talon's or Wilem's attention that Delia held a preference for things that exposed a lot of skin. "A wise merchant uses every asset," she had said. "Dal always said it was the same for a victorious warrior."