Chapter Three

Crossing the bridge alongside Kemon, his aids trailing behind, Noah tried not to look far below, where the bottom of the moat was thick with long, sharpened stakes, and the promise of a horrible death were Kemon to decide they weren’t friends anymore and it might be amusing to push him over the edge.

On the other side, the fortified wall connected into a main gate; two half-towers and a portcullis in between. The arrowslits in the towers made Noah nervous"were there eyes peering at him from behind those?

A guard on top of one of the towers, torch in hand, exchanged a few words of greetings with Kemon, and the portcullis was lifted for them.

They advanced onto a path lined with wind-rustled pine trees, softly bathed in moonlight, for some thirty yards then reached another wall, another guard post. Again, a look and a word from Kemon Clay and merrily they went, through the gates.

Stable men carrying lanterns came for the horses. Noah unbuckled his saddlebags and slung them over one shoulder before handing over Shadow’s reins. Then he fell back in step with Kemon, the white gravelly path crunching underfoot. The castle loomed before them, and Noah had to crane his neck to see the top of the keep.

He couldn’t quite shake off an uneasy feeling as they climbed the massive stone steps and passed the ridiculous high doors, using a smaller gate inset. Kemon led the way in silence, their heavy steps echoing across the halls, until they found themselves in a vast high-ceilinged room with a great many marble columns and candelabras that didn’t provide nearly enough light to illuminate all the dark corners.

“You may go,” Kemon said to the three in black and blue, “take the rest of the night off.”

They thanked him with synchronized bows and left.

“Not strong on conversation, are they?” Noah pointed out.

“Just follow me,” Kemon said. “And please be quiet.”

They crossed the room, sidestepped a column and turned into a discreet side hall.

“So,” Noah said, “what’s it like having the name of a god?”

“It’s just a name.”

“But"”

“We’re almost there,” Kemon announced.  

Apparently Kemon possessed the ability to differentiate one particular plain door from a row of identical ones running the length of a dim, narrow hall.

He knocked softly, a feminine voice said to come in, and Kemon pushed the door open, gesturing for Noah to step inside.

The small windowless bedroom suddenly became very crowded.

Two women stood there waiting with two wolf-dogs at their feet, and a young man lay still on the bed.

What caught Noah’s attention first was one of the two women, because he knew her. Very well. Kitera T’Sherazee, his cult leader’s eldest daughter.

The uniform had clearly been tailor-made for her tall, athletic body. The high black boots, tight trousers and blue-lined jacket fit her like a second skin, with the blue star emblazoned on the left side of the jacket. Her long brown tresses were combed back and tied behind her head. Wide dark eyes stared at Noah, her surprise at seeing him reflecting his own.

 “Highness,” Kemon bowed, “it so happens that master Victor Starborn regrettably passed away, but allow me to introduce his son, Noah Starborn, who is quite confident he can save Jaden.”

Quite confident might be a bit of a stretch.

Choosing to ignore Kitera’s raised eyebrow, Noah’s gaze shifted to the queen. He had heard she was the most beautiful woman in Fellera but he had labeled those the words of fools exaggerating everything for attention.

It was not an exaggeration.

~ Oh, so you’ve seen all the women in Fellera? ~

Queen Tessa Nightvale was lithe and graceful, her skin pale and smooth, her face a perfect oval, her lips full, her eyes the deepest shade of blue he’d ever seen.

“What I’m about to reveal is secret information,” she said to Noah, “so I’d appreciate your discretion.”

“Of course,” Noah said.

She spared Kemon a glance. “You may leave us.”

The soldier bowed then left, closing the door behind him.

Queen Tessa’s fingers scratched one of the wolf-dogs behind the ears as she spoke to Noah, her voice soft.  

“My brother just returned from a mission. He infiltrated a black magic cult. They follow a man calling himself the Dragon, and are located in Treon. Do you know of them?”

“I don’t,” Noah lied.  

For a moment the queen simply observed him, and he couldn’t help but let his gaze wander, taking in the pearly blonde curls and night-blue dress, heavy-looking skirts offsetting the tightness of her corset. Her waist was so small, Noah wondered how she could breathe. Around her head rested a silver headpiece with a blue star pendant adorning her forehead, around her neck was a delicate chain with an opal pendant, this one in the shape of a crescent moon.  

“Jaden was successful in spying on the cult from within, but not for long,” she continued. “He was found out and cursed by the black mages. My healer claims this curse should have killed him. She tells me magical curses don’t always work the same way on different people. It would appear my brother is fighting this. My healer is good, Noah. The best I know. Yet she can do nothing for him. The information he gathered on this assignment has great value to me. Should you heal him, the reward will be considerable, as I’m sure lord Kemon has already informed you.”

“He has,” Noah said. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Approaching the narrow bed, Noah noted the resemblance between the queen and her brother"Jaden. Though Tessa Nightvale’s pallor looked eerily beautiful and right now Jaden’s appearance was ghastly, with dark circles under his eyes and dry lips. He seemed as skinny as a rake under ill-fitting clothes; passed out or asleep, Noah couldn’t tell.

“My healer gave him a dose of sleeper’s fix for the pain,” the queen explained.

“Right. Good choice,” Noah said.

Kili?

~ This will cost you. ~

I don’t care. And I don’t want him to have a scar. Take it all out on me.

It would be unwise for the queen’s brother to be all healed up with a black mark to show for it. Noah might as well confess to black magic practice and find his own bloody way to the dungeons.

~ Can’t you find coin for the trip some other way? ~

He could ask Kitera. Or he could just camp outside in the cold, eating the last of his flatbread and dried meat"his stomach lurched at the thought"for a couple of days instead of spending his nights at nice inns.

But it wasn’t just about the reward anymore. Today had been unnerving, and somehow, he had ended up here in the castle of all places, pretending to be a healer"

“Noah?” Queen Tessa called. “What are your thoughts?”

Kitera came to his aid: “I assume your materials are in those bags, master?”

“Yes, my materials, of course.” Noah tossed his saddlebags to the foot of the bed. “But I’d like some privacy, if you don’t mind. I always work alone, you see. Just the way I do things.”

The queen hesitated. “I’m not sure…”

“I believe it is common for healers to make such a request, your majesty,” Kitera said.

“All right,” Tessa said, gathering her skirts. “Onyx, Warrior, come on now.”

The dogs followed her obediently, out of the room.

“You have no idea what you’re doing,” Kitera hissed at him the second they were alone.

“And you do?” he replied. “Since when are you a guard?”

 “Since when are you a healer?”

The queen’s voice came from the hall: “Kitera, shall we go?”

Kitera’s gaze darted from Jaden to Noah. “I know I couldn’t pull this off. You never talk about it, but I’m not an idiot. I know your demon’s more powerful than you let on.”

When Noah didn’t reply, Kitera stepped out and shut the door, leaving him alone with Jaden.

“All right,” Noah whispered, “let’s see what this stupid curse looks like.”

He pressed his hands to Jaden’s chest, feeling his bones through the shirt’s fabric. Jaden seemed very cold, as though deprived of body warmth. But he was breathing still.

Every time Noah used magic, a strange energy coursed through his veins. A non-human, otherworldly energy, yet he wasn’t afraid. He’d never been afraid of Kili.

~ You were a little bit afraid, in the beginning. ~

Why do you always ruin my inner monologues?

Noah focused on Jaden, on feeling the curse that afflicted him. There was something wrong with his blood, a taint, or poison.

He focused his energy on absorbing this curse into himself...

~ It won’t work just like that. ~

Intuitively knowing what she meant, he drew out one of his knives and sliced his palm with a wince. He grabbed Jaden’s hand and cut his skin, too. Glancing at Jaden’s face, he saw his eyelids flutter, but he didn’t wake up. Noah held Jaden’s hand tight in his own, skin touching skin, blood touching blood.

And he tried again. This time, it worked; he knew because it hurt like hell. From Jaden’s blood to his own, the taint left a trail of fire that seemed to burn him from within, as though he’d swallowed liquid fire and it was now spreading through his limbs. He clutched the bed frame with his free hand and gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to cry out in pain as his body was racked with spasms with each wave of pain that rattled him.

It could have lasted thirty seconds or ten minutes, but it was over as abruptly as it began, and he was left panting, beads of sweat trickling down his temples. The burning sensation was completely gone, only the memory of it remained.

But then a familiar, unpleasant tingle spread across the skin of his chest and neck. Shuddering, Noah opened up his coat and tugged at his collar, trying to see as much as he could of the skin there. Sure enough, fresh black lines marred his skin, twisting and undulating from the side of his chest to his neck"he couldn’t see how high it went, but from the itchy sensation the black line reached past his collarbone.

A charm to hide in the summer, that one.

~ Told you it would cost you. ~

Oh shut up.

He glanced at the kid whose life he’d just saved as he heard a whisper.

“Matt?” Jaden’s eyes were grey rather than blue, but as striking as his sister’s.

“I’m not Matt,” Noah said. “Sorry about that. How are you feeling?”

But his eyes closed again, frowning as though the candlelight was hurtful. He still had a fever, maybe. He whispered something incomprehensible before passing out, but at least faint color was returning to his cheeks.

Leaning over the nightstand, Noah dipped a cloth into the pitcher’s water to clean the cut on his palm, then he grabbed another cloth, which he kept dry, to tie around his hand as a makeshift bandage. He did the same for Jaden.

A sudden wave of exhaustion crashing over him, Noah went to gather up his bags.

“Well,” he said, “I’ll probably never see you again, so… have a good life.” 

Reviews

[Sira YR]

I liked this a lot. The plot was intriguing, the description was fantastic and the dialog was spot on. All in all, this was a really great read. I can't wait to see what happens next, so please hurry and post more. Soon. :)

[Catherine]

Thank you so much, that's so encouraging : )

[Sira YR]

You are very welcome :)