The Sartious Mage (The Rhythm of Rivalry) (13 page)

I needed to make sure the horse felt safe. I found doing so was the best way to gain his trust. So I stayed away from streets with shifty looking people who might startle us. If someone had a sword on a belt or a dagger on a hip, I chose a different path.

While feeling safe was the best thing for the horse, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was the worst thing I’d done for Lisanda. She clearly believed she could get away with screaming and fighting me.

The problem was that I wouldn’t hurt her. I knew so, and I was beginning to think she realized that also. Why else would she show such little worry about going against me?

I felt myself sighing as I thought about it. I couldn’t make her fear me, not without hurting her, which I was unwilling to do. I wondered what Micah Vail, the King’s adviser, had expected me to do with the Princess to keep her obedient. He couldn’t possibly have thought I would hurt her. He never would’ve suggested taking her otherwise.

Maybe he really did know me as well as he pretended to, but how?

I shook my head. This was not the time to think about Micah. I needed a plan for Lisanda.

When I came out of The Desert and into another part of town, I had an idea.

I found a road that twisted up a slight incline. Some of the ground here was cracked from an earthquake that took out the houses along these hills long before I was born. With plenty of other places to live in The Nest, no one had rebuilt in this area. It was probably my last chance to deal with my captive without being seen or heard.

The dream dust would be wearing off soon. I was a little jealous that she’d slept so much more than I had. But when I removed the cloth from the cart and stepped into the cage, that jealousy quickly faded.

The chickens must’ve gotten used to Lisanda because many were walking around on top of her. One was pecking at her hair mopped around her head. She was on her side with her cheek pressed against the ground.

I flipped her on her back and pulled her up to a sitting position. Her tunic had some stains, and her hair had collected a copious amount of muck. The smell inside the cage was a little past unpleasant.

I used Sartious Energy to bind her hands behind her back. Then I bound her ankles together. Feeling dizzy when it was done, I stepped out of the cage to regain my focus.

When I was ready, I went back in to try to wake her.

Every time I climbed in or out, the chickens clucked and rustled their wings. The cage was too low to stand in and hardly wide enough for me to fit with Lisanda and the chickens. Many of them jumped around my feet as I navigated through while crouched. I knew it would be much easier to be in there without them, but I couldn’t get rid of them. They still had a purpose in my plan.

I sat Lisanda up again, holding her back to keep her upright. I brushed her hair out of her face. Unsure of the best way to wake her, I started patting her cheek.

“Lisanda, wake up.”

Nothing.

I patted harder. “Lisanda.”

She made a grunt. Her eyes opened soon after, looking around for a few breaths until they eventually turned and found my face.

“Weth am I?” She looked down at herself and her eyes filled with anger. “I’m thilthy!” Her face tightened when she saw a chicken. “Thickenths? Geth me outh!”

She squirmed away from them, pushing herself into me. The birds were frightened by her movement, hopping around and clucking loudly. She lowered her head into my chest and mumbled something. I couldn’t tell if she was frightened or just really didn’t want to touch them.

“They can’t hurt you.” I took off her gag. “Listen—”

“Get me out of here!” she interrupted. Her voice was pleading, her head still against my chest. She really did seem scared of them. This was far better than I’d expected. She must never have been around chickens before. Of course, I realized. Why would she? And it probably made her fear worsen that her hands and feet were bound.

I wrapped my arms under her shoulders and maneuvered her out of the cage. Then I stood her up and shut the cage door behind us to keep the chickens inside.

“Listen, Lisanda—”

“I can’t believe you got me filthy again!” she interrupted before I could explain the situation.

“It was my only choice,” I told her.

“What happened?” She looked around us frantically. “And where are we?”

I told her what happened, the bedsheets, the guard trying to cut us down, the injured innkeeper, and so on.

She sat down and lowered her head when I was done. She seemed to be in pain.

“Are you hurt?” I asked.

“A headache,” she admitted. “So, are you going to leave me bound like this?” She kept her eyes on the ground between us.

“That’s what I was going to tell you.” I sat down in front of her, holding out the flask of water.

She made a sour face.

“It’s only water,” I explained.

Her face loosened while I took out the bread and apples as well.

“Here’s your first option. I’ll unbind your hands and feet, you’ll share a meal with me, and then we can ride the horse together out of the city.”

“What’s the other choice?” Her voice was skeptical.

“I’ll feed you, but you’ll stay bound. After we eat, I’ll gag you again, and you’ll stay in the back with the chickens until I’m ready to get you out.”

“What’s the catch? Why wouldn’t I choose to ride up front, unbound and ungagged?”

Smart girl, I thought to myself with a smile—though I wasn’t sure if ungagged was a word…it didn’t matter. “If you choose to ride with me unbound, you must promise
that you’ll cooperate with me from now on.”

Her eyes bounced around my face, settling occasionally to stare at me intently. I was glad to see her taking her time. It meant she took promises seriously.

I tried to ease her into the right decision. “As you can see, I’ll find a way to get you out of the city and trade you for the cure no matter what. It’s up to you how long that’s going to take and how comfortable you’re going to be during your time with me.”

“Do you have a plan yet?” Her eyes fell to the flask of water.

I took a breath. It was hard for me to say it aloud, as I knew it could be dangerous for Sannil and Kalli, but I hadn’t come up with anything else.

“I’m taking you to my farm for a night and then into the forest nearby. My father can deliver a message for me to set up a meeting while I remain hidden with you.”

Her lips twisted. “If I cooperate, can I have a bath, a bed, and a meal—a real meal?”

I opened my mouth to answer, but she kept going.

“And a toilet, a real toilet, not a chamber pot.”

I tried to hold in a mocking look. No farm had access to the sewage system. I figured by her comment that the palace must, but besides the palace, only some bathhouses had a system that flushed away the waste with water. A bathhouse was also the only place to find a shower, and that was rare.

“Well, unless in the last year my father has found access to the sewage system,” I teased, “a toilet isn’t something I can promise. But a bed, a nice meal, and a warm bath? Certainly.”

“You haven’t been there for a year?” She looked surprised.

I shook my head. “I’ve been here in The Nest working with a blacksmith, a friend of my father’s.”

Her eyes stayed on me a moment before falling to the ground. She looked to be searching for a decision. “I take promises very seriously.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Promises seemed to be the only currency between us. If one of us didn’t take them seriously, we’d have nothing to keep this civil.

Her eyes fluttered back to me. “What do you mean
exactly
by cooperate? What will I have to do?”

“Instead of working against me to escape, you’ll work with me until I’ve traded you for the cure.”

She waited silently with a curious look, expecting something more specific.

“So, I’ll need you to do everything I ask,” I said.

She tightened her mouth, clenching her teeth under closed lips. “No. I can’t make that promise.”

My heart fell. I thought for sure I had her cooperation.

I stood up and pulled a loaf of bread from my pocket, getting ready to feed her.

“But,” she continued, leaning away from me, “I’m sick of the gag, of the dream dust, of being hungry and thirsty, and worst of all, I’m sick of being dirty.”

She thought I had more of the dream dust, good to know.

“I just want to go home, but I see you’re too stubborn to let that happen until you get what you want.”

“So…what are you saying?” I leaned forward.

Lisanda started pushing herself to her feet awkwardly. I reached out to help her up, but she twisted away. “I’m tired of always being nothing but a pawn in someone else’s story.” She looked hard into my eyes.

A guilty feeling turned me away from her. The Princess was right. I was using her.

She continued, “I helped my sister meet her first love and purely by accident. Then I was always covering for her when she sneaked out of the palace to see him. I even helped convince our father to arrange the marriage eventually. Although it ended in tragedy, it was Jessend’s story, not mine. Whether I hated him or loved him, it made no difference. I could either help or hurt, but that’s all. So, I decided to help.”

“What happened to him?”

“No.” She shook her head at me. “You don’t get to know that.” She shifted her shoulder with a grimace, trying to find comfort with her hands bound behind her. “Then this turmoil started between Goldram and Zav, so my father found a family with a powerful army and offered me to their prince. Without someone else to marry, I had no say, no control over whether my marriage to him would even matter. I’m nothing in this story of war, either, just a piece on a game board controlled by someone else.”

“That was wrong of your father—”

“And
you
!” she shouted. “
You
are the worst of all, taking me against my will, wrapping me in a disgusting tarp, stuffing my mouth with a sweaty bandana, and dragging me out of the city like I'm nothing but currency! I’m fed up.”

I bit my lip. This wasn’t going well, but I couldn’t argue against it. Everything she’d said had been right, but what was she going to request? To be taken back?

“I sympathize.” I held out my hands. “I really do. But I can’t let you go.”

“Of course not.” There was heavy attitude in her voice. “Only when you don’t need me anymore will you let me go. I’m just being used like always.”

Some hair had fallen over her cheeks, giving her face a menacing look as she looked through the tops of her eyes.

“I want my own story—a love story.” She turned to look at the city around us. “Maybe this is my story after all. Maybe my prince, Varth Farro, will come save me from you.” Her shoulders slumped with a sigh, and she shook her head.

“Is there even a point to hope?” she whispered. I couldn’t tell if she wanted me to hear or not.

“Things could be worse,” I said.

She turned with a sharp stare. “How?”

“I could be married to your sister. Then you’d never see the end of me.”

She lowered her head in thought. A wry smile twisted her lips. “I suppose you’re right. That would be truly awful.”

“Will you cooperate so we can be done with this?”

She sighed again. “I can’t promise anything without knowing how long it will take for you to get the cure. It could be weeks, even months! I’ll never agree to cooperate that long. But I’m
not
getting back in that cage with those chickens, so come up with something else.”

“Fair enough,” I said. “Promise me three more days then, one to get you out of the city, the second to set up the trade, and the third to meet with your father to complete the trade. Three days of cooperation. You’ll do whatever I ask to ensure we make it to the farm by sunset. Then, you’ll continue to cooperate in the forest the following days.”

“You’re going to have to offer me a lot more than stale bread and sharing a horse saddle with
you
for that.”

“What else?” I was willing to offer more, but I didn’t know what else I could do for her without letting her go.

“You have to promise not to gag me ever again. Not with your sweaty bandana, not with anything.”

I gave it some thought. I shouldn’t need to gag her if she was going to cooperate.

“I agree.” I flicked my wand to break the Sartious rings around her wrists and ankles.

She walked toward me, rubbing her wrist.

“One more thing,” Lisanda said. “If you haven’t traded me for the cure by the end of the third day, you let me go.” She extended her hand.

My hand retreated. “I’m not sure about that.”

“Think about it. If you don’t get rid of me in three days, you’ll wish you had.”

I imagined being stuck in the woods with her, unable to leave her side. She was right. If this wasn’t over in three days, it probably never would be. I’d be better off letting her go and searching for a cure outside of Goldram than being stuck with her.