Page 9

“Wait!” I cried out, struggling as they dragged me away. Prince Adan and old Queen Olga never so much as glanced back to see what I was shouting about.

“I’ve come to make a bargain!” I tried again. “My brother is Pavel, the king’s wizard, and I want to bargain with you for his life and for that of Lord Juul! I promise you the bargain would be well worth your time!”

The word “bargain” always caught an Elf’s attention, and this prince was no exception. Or maybe it was because I’d used Pavel and Juul’s names. Whatever the reason, he stopped and turned to look imperiously down his nose at me—before turning away again.

“Wait!” I cried again. “I must have heard wrong about you then! I thought you wanted to be the king of the Quendi!”

He whirled around to glare at me. “Stop,” he called out to the guards who were dragging me away. “Let him go for a moment.” He waited, unsmiling, even hostile, as I shook off their hands and walked a few steps closer toward him.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, almost hissing the words. Beside him, the old queen looked me silently up and down as I bowed low before the two of them.

“I’m talking about striking a bargain. I can procure for you the fabled Sword of Light that once belonged to old King Gratin. I know where it is, and I can give it to you…in exchange for the safe return of my brother and his husband.”

It was Adan’s turn to look me over and he took his time doing it. “What does a human like you know of King Gratin of Midgard?” He waved a hand in the air. “Besides, he’s only a myth. A legend. He never really existed.”

“But he did, Your Highness. And so did his Sword of Light. It was said that the sword shone with its own light and that no one ever escaped from it once the sword was drawn against them. Before King Gratin died, he hid it in a secret place in the Nine Worlds, and there it still waits for someone to come find it. For me to come find it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. How do you possibly know where such a treasure was hidden? Assuming it ever existed in the first place. And how do you propose getting yourself to the Nine Worlds anyway?”

“That’s for me to know, Your Highness. I can’t just give away all my secrets. You see, I went straight to the source. To King Gratin himself. I’m a-a Conjurer of Spirits. A wizard like my brother.”

“I don’t believe you. You’re wasting my time.” He started to turn away again, but the old queen caught his arm.

“Don’t be so hasty, son,” she said in a thin, high, scratchy voice. “There is something about him…and he did find a way inside our hall, after all. I think he was hidden from view or cloaked in some way because I saw him materialize in front of us.” She tottered forward to come closer to me. Her son stopped her from getting too close by stepping in front of her to block her way, but she pushed on his arm in a waspish manner, and he quickly shifted.

She came closer and peered into my face. “I don’t believe you have High Magic at all. It’s Demonic, isn’t it? You have demon blood in your veins. You’re not very good at it yet, but its influence is greater on you than on your brother, I think. Are you a Necromancer?”

I held her gaze, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. I knew Tarrak’s Elves didn’t think highly of Necromancy and in fact, put those who practiced it to death. I didn’t know if Adan’s Elves felt the same way, but I waited to see what she would say next before I dared say another word.

She gave me a smile—it looked brittle and seldom used. “I dabble a bit in magic myself. Let us hear more about this bargain of yours. Do you have the sword?”

“Not yet. But I know where it is, and I can bring it to you.”

“How do we know you can find it?”

“My brother’s life depends on it. You’ve seen my magical abilities. Why do you care how I’ll do it so long as I do? You have nothing to lose here and everything to gain.”

“Tell Tarrak to stop trying to breach my castle.”

“Unfortunately, I have no influence over the king.”

“I’ve threatened to send out his friend Juul in pieces, if he doesn’t stop.”

Alarmed, but trying to hide it, I shook my head. “He will never respond to that kind of blackmail. It will only make him redouble his efforts. Besides, if you harm Juul or my brother, I’ll make my deal with King Tarrak, and he’ll destroy both you and your castle.”

“Don’t threaten me, boy.”

“I beg your pardon, Madam Queen. But it was not a threat.” I smiled at her. “It was definitely a promise.”

There was a moment of silence and then she barked out a harsh laugh. “I think I might like you. What if I kill you first?”

“I remind you I can make myself invisible.”

It was a total bluff because of course, I couldn’t do it at will, but she didn’t know that. I hoped she wouldn’t test the theory.

“Besides, aren’t you interested in owning an invincible sword?”

She smirked at me. “What do you want for your damned sword?”

“I want my brother, Pavel, and Lord Juul returned. Both of them untouched and unharmed.”

She raised one heavily penciled eyebrow. “I can’t promise they’ve been untouched, exactly. Juul may be a bit the worse for wear. But I should be able to return them both to you without any serious damage. If you can manage to talk some sense into your brother-in-law.” She pursed her lips. “He’s been most intractable and difficult.”

I could only imagine.

“Might I see them then? I can definitely talk to Juul and get him to calm down, I think.”

Actually, I had no idea if I could or not, but I needed to see him and my brother, so I’d have promised her anything. Unlike the Elves, who valued their “honor” so much, lying to this old queen didn’t bother me in the least. Honor should, in my opinion, be used on those who were worthy of such respect. As far as I could tell, neither Queen Olga nor Prince Adan had ever done anything to merit a word like “honor.”

“It depends. I’m curious. Why wouldn’t you just make this same offer to King Tarrak? Then he could have come in to rescue his friends himself?”

“Because I want to make sure they’re not injured or killed. You have them and can do whatever you want with them before Tarrak can get to them. I’m a human, as you noticed.” I cast a glance over at Prince Adan. “Therefore, I don’t have any real stake in this. I simply want my brother back alive and unharmed, and then I’ll return to the human realm. I decided to first take my bargain directly to the ones holding him captive.”

“I see. Very well, but before we accept this bargain of yours, we need to make sure you understand our terms. If for any reason you don’t bring the sword to us once you have it, then I will personally see to it that both your brother’s and his husband’s throats are cut for your betrayal. In fact, I’ll do it myself. Do you understand the terms as stated?”

“I understand.”

“Do you accept them?”

“If you accept mine, then of course, I do.”

“You have a deal,” she said. “The terms are freely given and freely accepted.”

“Good.”

I glanced over at Prince Adan to see what he thought, and Queen Olga shook her head. “Don’t look at him. I’m in charge here, boy. Never forget that.”

I inclined my head in acknowledgement. “Then, Your Majesty, I need to see my brother and Lord Juul.”

She smiled at me. “Why not? Guards, escort this person to the dungeons. But stand by to bring him back when he’s finished his visit. He has a bargain to fulfill.”

****

I followed the guards down into the castle dungeons, which were every bit as dirty, stinking, and thoroughly unpleasant as I’d imagined they would be. The guards in the dungeon were all ogres, and we encountered a few of them as we came down the steps to the lower levels. Two of them were playing some kind of game using a pair of dice as we walked into the main cell area. The bigger of the two looked up at us and licked his lips when he saw me.

“A new prisoner? A human? He’s mine,” he said to no one in particular and stepped forward to grab me. I jerked my arm away, giving him an evil look. He had a few big bruises on the gray skin of his ugly face and one long cut along his chin. I hoped they were courtesy of Juul. Obviously, he rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. He snarled and tried to grab me again, but one of Adan’s guards stepped in front of me.

“He’s not staying and not a prisoner, so leave him alone. The queen sent him down to talk to the wizard and Tarrak’s officer.”

The ogre grunted and gave me a ferocious frown, which I returned. We might have stood there glaring at each other a while but for the other ogre guard, who got up and shoved the first one aside.

“Follow me,” he said in a gruff voice and pulled down a key from its place on the wall. I noticed a few cuts and bruises on his face too, and again I hoped it had been Lord Juul who’d put them there, but then what kind of damage had they done to him in return? I walked behind the tall creature, anxious and dreading what I might see when I reached Pavel’s cell. The ogre stopped about halfway down the long corridor and stuck his key in the lock. It turned easily and he swung the door wide.

It was dark inside the cell, the only light coming from one small window near the low ceiling. Filthy rushes were spread out across the floor, and I could see movement from inside, but it took a moment for my eyes to adjust. The door clanged shut behind me, and I took a hesitant step inside. “Pavel? Juul?” I said, and I heard a low moan from in front of me. I rushed forward and saw Juul in a chair, his hands tied behind him, and cuts and bruises on his face. A gag made from a soiled rag was stuffed in his mouth. I pulled it down quickly and he took a deep breath. “Sergey,” he said in a hoarse, weak voice. “Water.”

I pulled a small water skin from my side and held it to his lips. He drank greedily but stopped after a moment and stared at me in disbelief. “Wait. How are you here? Why?”

“Trying to help you both,” I said, as I knelt behind him, working on the knots. “As for how, that’s a long story we don’t have time for right now.”

“Is Tarrak coming?”

“No. It’s just me.”

He looked at me in confusion. “Does he know you’re here?”

“No. He wouldn’t be too happy if he did.”

I got the knots untied, and he began rubbing his wrists distractedly but kept gazing at me too, and I thought he looked a bit dazed. The ogres had no doubt been heaping abuse on him.

“Save the rest of the water for Pavel.” He looked toward the narrow bunk that I now noticed once my eyes had adjusted a bit to the dim interior. I gasped at how still Pavel was lying there, his eyes closed, and his cheeks flushed.

“He’s not dead,” Juul said quickly. “But I haven’t been able to wake him.”

Juul stumbled over to the bunk, motioning for me to follow him.

I took a deep gulp and managed to form words. “How long has he been like this?”

“I found him like this when they threw me in this cell.” He knelt beside Pavel and took his hand in his, dropping a kiss on Pavel’s knuckles, as if he couldn’t help himself. “I can’t wake him. They wouldn’t answer any of my questions about him or pleas for help for him.”

“You were captured a couple of days ago. I don’t suppose a healer has been in to see him.”

He shook his head. “No. And when I started banging on the door and insisting on a healer, those guards came in and tied me to that chair.” He flexed his hand. “Not before I got their attention, though.”

“Yes, I saw the bruises. Did they hurt you ?”

He made a dismissive sound and kept staring down at Pavel. I knelt beside him, touching the side of my brother’s face and finding it cool, though his cheeks were pink and flushed. His breathing wasn’t labored, and his lips were parted slightly. He looked like he might suddenly sit up any moment.

“He’s been spelled.” I knew it as plainly as if someone had spoken the words in my ear. Someone had done this to him, likely the Queen. I had to wonder why. Was it because she was afraid of his power? That had to be it. Word had spread over the years about what he’d done to the king of the Dark Elves, and his exploit had been exaggerated, though it was already pretty fantastic. Still, it had been greatly embellished by some, according to what Pavel had told me. Surely, Adan and his mother had heard the wild stories too. Is that why they had kidnapped him? To stop him from being helpful to Tarrak? Furthermore, why had they kept Juul alive when they’d killed the other Elves who had been with him? Was it to keep Pavel compliant, in case he managed to throw off this spell that was on him? I thought that must be it.

“Can you awaken him?” Juul asked, glancing at me with moisture he wouldn’t have wanted me to notice shining in his eyes.

I was a little surprised he’d asked me, considering what I knew he thought of my skills. But any port in a storm, I supposed.

“I can certainly try.”

I put a hand on his forehead and closed my eyes, trying to think what Pavel would have done had he found me like this. He probably would have played his pipes to waken me, but that wasn’t an option, so I began to sing one of the old lullabies he used to sing to me when I was a child. My voice was still as bad as ever, like a rusty gate swinging in the wind, but still I tried. Nothing happened, though he did stir restlessly beneath my hand. It finally occurred to me that a lullaby put children to sleep, so I needed the opposite of that kind of song. I came up with another little tune we used to sing while we worked around the ramshackle old hovel we lived in with our father. Pavel used to say that it made the work go faster and easier if we sang. I couldn’t remember the words to the old folk song he’d taught me, but I did know the tune. I hummed it softly to him, leaning in close to his ear. Again, he stirred restlessly but didn’t open his eyes.

Juul shook his head, looking tragic, but I wasn’t ready to give up. I pulled out my dagger to cut my arm and offer my blood. Juul caught my hand with his.

“What are you doing, Sergey?”

“My kind of magic.”

I shrugged off his hand and made the small cut, letting the blood drip from my arm to the floor. I called on the Demon Lords again, whispering the words to a spell. “ Lords of Darkness, I offer you my sacrifice. Hear me now and come to my aid. Help me save my brother, who shares this blood.”

Nothing much happened at first and then Pavel started struggling to wake up, fluttering his eyelashes and moaning. I could barely contain my excitement, but I knew we needed something more.

“Kiss him, Juul,” I urged him. “Show him how much you want him to wake up.”

Juul cast me one disbelieving glance but then covered Pavel’s mouth with his. He kissed him for a long time before my brother’s arms lifted and wrapped around the back of his neck. Juul gasped and pulled away to stare down at his face, and we both saw Pavel’s beautiful dark eyes blinking up at him.

Juul gave another soft gasp and clutched Pavel to him even tighter, and those same dark eyes of Pavel’s shifted slowly over toward me behind Juul. “Sergey,” he whispered.

“Give him the water,” I urged Lord Juul and he finally let Pavel go long enough to feed him a little of it. Juul looked at me over his head with glowing eyes and gripped my hand.

“Thank you, Sergey, for bringing him back to me.”

I was surprised at his words to say the least. It was true that Juul had mellowed a little over the years, but not that much. It was truly a sign of how frightened he’d been that Pavel wouldn’t ever wake up again that made him say something like that to me. I smiled back at him, but all of us were a long way from being out of the woods yet.

“What happened?” Pavel was saying softly, holding onto his head. “I-I remember those creatures coming out of the woods and attacking us. Then nothing after that.”

“You were captured,” Juul said. “I went after you, and my men and I were ambushed. My men…” He broke off, looking anguished, and I laid a hand on his shoulder. Pavel threw his arms around him and pulled Juul’s head down to his shoulder. Pavel gazed up at me for answers, and I shook my head.

“I’m so sorry, but everyone was killed except Juul. They must have only kept him alive to use against you and Tarrak.”

Pavel gasped, looking horrified, and kissed Juul on the side of his face, murmuring to him. I stood up then and gave them a moment, turning around to give them at least a semblance of privacy. I listened to them for a little while and then turned back.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know how much more time we’ll have. The old queen allowed me to come down here to see you, but she could change her mind at any moment. I didn’t get the impression that she’s all that reliable.”

“No, she’s insane,” Juul said. “Adan is no king, and she has to know that, but she clings to any power she has. But to do this …to kidnap Tarrak’s wizard and one of his lords. She’s gone too far now.”

“Tarrak’s army is outside, laying siege to this castle.”

“Good. I thought so. I’ve smelled the smoke and heard the shouting, even from in here, so I dared to hope. Perhaps he’ll break through the gates soon then. Adan and his mother will be able to hold out for a while longer, but it’s inevitable that the castle will fall, even with their ogre army. I don’t know what she hoped to gain from all this. Tarrak needs to put an end to this once and for all.”

“She means to hold you both as bargaining chips. She won’t let me stay long, so I need to remind her of the terms to our bargain.”

“What are you talking about?”

“A bargain I made with her. I offered her something I thought she’d value if she’d release you. But she had to promise me that you’d both stay alive and unharmed. I just hope she has enough honor to keep her side of the deal.”

“She’ll keep it if she can,” Juul said. “Even the way she is, she’d be one who would follow the old traditions, the ancient ways, when to break your bargain was to lose your reputation.” He regarded me closely then. “Forgive me for being blunt, but what possible bargain could you make with a queen? What could you have that she would value enough to bargain for it?”

“I told her I could get the fabled Sword of Light for her and her son. The one old King Gratin of Midgard used when he made himself invincible in sword fights.”

“What?”

Both of them stared at me like I’d totally lost my mind, but Pavel was the first to speak, his voice a bit weak and thin from disuse. “Sergey, what are you talking about?”

“King Gratin of Midgard. The one in the books you gave me.”

“He’s a myth.”

“No, he isn’t. I’ve seen him.”

“Seen him? But… oh, Sergey, what have you done?”

“I’m trying to save you and Lord Juul.”

Juul looked confused. “Wait. I don’t understand what you’re talking about. How would you find this Sword of Light if it’s not even real?”

“It is real, though. I told you.”

“Yes, but just because it was in a book doesn’t mean anything. I never expected you to act on it because it’s just a book about old legends.”

“All the ancient ones, yes, but some of them had a basis in reality. Midgard, for example, was a real place. I think the other Nine Worlds may have been based in some reality too.”

“How exactly do you think you found Gratin and his Sword?” Juul interrupted, looking suspiciously at me.

“I don’t just think it. I used my magic to call the spirit of King Gratin, and then I compelled him to answer my question. And it worked.”

Juul made a sound of disbelief. “That’s impossible. Even if Gratin was a real person, your magic never works properly.”

“It did just now when I woke Pavel. And it did when I used it to get inside the castle. I used Infernal Magic to call Gratin’s spirit.”

“What?” Juul said again, in a horrified voice. “You-you used Necromancy? That’s punishable by death by the king’s decree.”

“King Tarrak already knows about it. He was there and saw Gratin for himself.”

Both of them were looking at me with raised eyebrows, like I’d lost my mind, so I tried to explain, leaving out the parts about all that had happened between me and Tarrak afterward.

“Look, King Tarrak wasn’t happy about it, but he understood. I was going to give the Sword of Light to Tarrak, so he could be invincible in battle.”

“But why? What would make you even think of such a thing?”

“I had my reasons. Anyway, he overheard me tell the spirit that I didn’t want it for myself. He-he forgave me, I guess.” I glanced over at Pavel. “He did banish me though. He told me to go back home to our old village. He said he thought it best.”

Pavel got a shocked look on his face. “Oh, Sergey, no.”

Juul put a hand on Pavel’s back to soothe him and turned to me with a spark of anger still in his eyes. “So, to punish him for that, you decided to do what? Give the sword to Adan and his mother instead?”

“ No. I’d never do that, no matter what I said to them. I’m not angry at Tarrak. I was only trying to save you and Pavel. It was all I have that I could bargain with.”

“If you were to find such a thing—and I still don’t think you could—and if you gave it to Adan, then he would take over as king and would have Tarrak put to death. Are you aware of that?”

I thought I could literally feel my blood turn cold. “I-I would never let that happen.”

“ You wouldn’t? How would you propose to stop it?” Juul jumped to his feet with his fists clenched. He was shouting at me, and Pavel was trying to wedge himself in between us, but Juul put him aside by simply picking him up around the waist and depositing him on the other side of us. It was easy to forget sometimes how strong the Elves were, but things like that never failed to snap me right back to reality. I took a quick step back toward the door and away from him, but he followed, his hands balled into fists.

“Undo this now, Sergey. Tell the queen you’ve made a mistake—tell her you made a bad bargain.”

I shook my head. “But then she’d kill me. More importantly, she’d take it out on both of you. No, I can’t do that, Juul.”

He went for me then, and it was so sudden I barely saw him move. I was just suddenly hanging in the air, my feet inches from the ground, with his hand wrapped painfully around my throat, and I was gasping for air. Pavel had stumbled to his feet and was beating on his back with his fists, begging him to put me down.

I had begun to black out when the door slammed open behind us and both the ogre guards came storming in, one of them tackling Juul around the waist while the other one grabbed for his arm to pry his hand from my throat. We all went down to the floor and Juul went wild, fighting the ogres like a feral thing until one of them broke free, grabbed Pavel, and held his dagger to Pavel’s throat.

“I’ll kill this mate of yours, Elf! I mean it—let him go!” he shouted, and only then did Juul stop fighting. He pulled his hand away from me and slumped to the floor of the cell. The bigger of the two ogres immediately started kicking him.

“Stop that, or I’ll tell the queen!” I shouted and punched an ogre as hard as I could on the side of his head. It was like punching a rock wall. He stopped kicking though and turned his ugly face incredulously toward me.

“He was killing you!” he shouted.

“Not really. At least I don’t think so.”

I shook my head and glanced at Juul on the floor as Pavel knelt beside him. Pavel looked shocked and a little sick. I knew the feeling. I touched my throat gingerly, and though it was a little sore, I knew that what I’d said had been mostly true. As bad as the attack had been, if he’d been actually trying to kill me, I’d already be dead.

“He was just angry. I, uh, I think I’d better go now, though, and not push my luck.”

The ogre shook his head and then shoved me toward the door. I glanced back once at Pavel as I went out into the corridor and saw his face, though I wish I hadn’t. Juul was sullen and never even looked at me as I left. I couldn’t blame him, really. He loved Tarrak like a brother, almost the same as I loved Pavel, and he had fierce loyalty to him. He also had no idea of my own feelings for King Tarrak and simply thought I had betrayed him. Which, of course, I had on the surface of things.

Only I knew what my true intentions were, and I only hoped I’d live long enough to make Juul understand.