Marcus had never been one to stand idly by, when he saw Cyhan’s foot hit my belly he stepped up to defend me. He moved gracefully, like a natural boxer, one hand lashing out to strike the bigger man in the stomach. Being quick he almost landed the punch, but the older warrior was quicker, bringing one hand down he knocked Marc’s jab out of line. I rolled out from under his feet as they began trading blows. Marc was quick, he had always been a natural athlete but he was no match for the older veteran.
They ducked and wove for several long seconds, neither seeming to have an advantage, till Cyhan brought his leg up for a swift kick. Marc’s hand instinctively went down to guard his midsection and he turned to avoid it, as he did Cyhan’s right hand rushed forward to slam into his temple. He dropped like a felled oak.
I had not been idle, regaining my feet I rushed my foe from behind. With his attention firmly fixed on Marc he should not have known I was coming, yet somehow he anticipated me. Twisting Cyhan spun and I passed through where he had been standing. He didn’t let me go peacefully by however; he caught the back of my shirt as I went by and lending force to my rush he sent me headfirst into the building that stood by the gate. Despite my shield I almost went unconscious as I rammed into the stone face first. If it had not been for my protection I might have broken my neck. I wound up dazed and lying on the ground. Woozy, it appeared to me as if two or three separate Penelope’s were attacking at least two giant men with large walking sticks. Maybe that was my staff? It was hard to tell, I was seeing double and my vision was blurry.
Wallace had jumped into the fray as well, sword in hand. Cyhan took the sword out of his hands as though he were a child and sent the guardsman down with a simple palm strike. Using the sword he blocked Penny’s next swing of the staff. “Time for the lessons to begin,” he said smoothly.
“Go to hell! You’re just an over-sized bully!” Penny drove the end of my staff at his midsection like a spear but he stepped into it, letting the tip slide by him. Running the sword up along the length of it Penny was forced to drop the staff suddenly, that or lose some fingers. She swung at him with her fist as she let go. You have to admire the spirit of a girl like that.
Cyhan released the sword to fall beside the staff and idly brushed her punch aside. Almost without trying he slapped her across the face with his open palm. I saw her head whip to the side as she reeled from the blow. I was trying to rise but my legs seemed to be made of jelly and I struggled just to stay conscious. Marc seemed to be out cold.
Penny wasn’t giving up. She bore a large red hand print on one cheek, but she wouldn’t quit. Growling she swung at the burly warrior again. Moving lightly on his feet he let her fist glide past and slapped her again. “Good! You have spirit, I was afraid you’d be a shrinking violet,” he taunted her.
They had several more exchanges of blows. Well that might be too dignified a way of putting it. She swung at him and he slapped her... repeatedly. Every time she closed she caught another open palm across the face. She had red marks on both cheeks and as blurry as my vision was I thought she might have a split lip as well. She was watching him carefully though. The next time she attacked it was a feint, pretending to swing at his midsection. He started to move his feet but she planted her foot down hard on top of his and brought her fist up to strike him solidly in the face.
The blow hardly moved him. Cyhan stopped and looked at her calmly, “Excellent, you’re learning already.”
An inarticulate howl issued from Penny’s throat. I had to give it to her; the girl had an excellent battle cry. Without moving she struck again, but he calmly raised his foot, bringing hers off the ground. A small push and she went over backward to land hard on her derriere. “The lesson is over girl. We’ll continue more this evening after you’ve had time to recover your wits,” Cyhan turned away and walked over to check on Wallace who was starting to rise. “Sorry about that, are you ok?” he asked the older man as he offered his hand.
Before Wallace could reply a voice came from the direction of the gate, “Oh dear! Am I interrupting something? Again?” Rose Hightower stood in the open arch. I tried to explain, since I was the nearest to her, “Nothing to worry about Rose, we’re just getting the hell beat out of us,” but my voice didn’t seem to be working properly. All I got out was a gobbledy-gook of mismatched syllables.
Penny spoke up, obviously embarrassed, “Uh, hello Rose. We... ahhh...” She was at a loss for words.
“We were just having a lesson in hand to hand combat while ironing out some personal differences,” Cyhan answered for her. He was trying to wake Marc up as he spoke. “I think I may have hit him too hard. Anyone have some water?”
Hit him too hard? He had knocked him cold and then tried to use me as a battering ram. The warrior had a talent for understatement. “Msh goon keek err ash ooo bshtid,” I said clearly. I won’t bother to translate but you can rest assured it was a dire warning to him.
“Once you cool off you’ll rethink that,” Cyhan looked at me. He was fluent in ‘incoherent-rage’ apparently. Either that or he simply knew whatever I was saying must be a threat.
“What is going on here?” James Lancaster was standing in the yard. I hadn’t noticed his arrival but then my powers of observation weren’t at their best just then. It took several minutes of explanation to satisfy him. A bucket of water had roused Marc so he was able to answer a few questions. Eventually the duke got enough information to have an idea what had happened, “So you knocked my son on his ass...” He was giving Cyhan a hard look.
For his part the veteran trainer didn’t look the least bit embarrassed, “Yes your grace.”
“A week ago I might have had you flogged for such an insult,” James stepped forward and held out his hand. Cyhan took it and the two men clasped arms. “Thank you,” James said. I might have agreed with his sentiment, except that I had just had the sense knocked out of me.
Half an hour later we were all safely ensconced in the duke’s house, drinking tea and nursing our wounds. I had gotten the worst of it, my head still felt a bit dizzy. Marc was a bit unsteady as well, but Penny showed the most obvious outward signs. Both of her cheeks were red from repeated slapping and her lower lip was swollen. The looks she gave Cyhan across the table might have burned a hole in the wall. I’ve never understood how women do that, but having been the recipient of a few similar looks in the past I found it unsettling.
“My apologies for insulting you Mordecai,” Cyhan said, quite unexpectedly. “I spoke only truth, but I did it with the deliberate intention of testing you.”
“Being tested isn’t big on my list of favorite things,” I replied. “I hope you learned what you needed. I won’t go easy on you next time.” By that I meant I wouldn’t refrain from using magic against him. It was clear that the man was nearly invincible in physical combat.
He laughed, “I warned you to use magic at the start as you’ll recall. In any case I learned what I needed to know.”
Rose was intrigued, “And that was?”
“That he’s not afraid to take on a larger opponent, if he feels that he has been wronged. Many men shy from such a fight.”
I felt a bit better hearing that, till Rose continued, “Is that a good thing?”
Cyhan frowned slightly, “In most ways men are measured, yes, if he was to be a soldier or knight, certainly. As a leader, and as a wizard, it isn’t so good. He let his emotions take charge of him, overruling his better judgment.”
Rose grinned impishly, “Does that apply to the others as well?”
“Not at all,” Cyhan answered immediately. “They all fought for different reasons. Marcus for example, he didn’t step into the fight until it was clear I might seriously injure his friend. That’s a mark of strong loyalty and a sense of fairness. He didn’t intervene till it was clear I meant to take advantage of his friend once he was down. On the other hand, he fought as if we were in a boxing match. There are no rules in a brawl, such foolishness cost him a headache and a taste of dirt.
”
“I’m not sure that it would have mattered, you fought like a lion,” Marc interjected. “I’ve never seen anyone move like that.”
“You have a lot of natural talent. You could be a real threat with some training,” Cyhan said. “Penny on the other hand, was my primary target for the test and I was pleased with the result.”
Penny bared her teeth at him. I swear the girl is half wild-cat. “You’ll be less pleased next time,” she warned.
“You mean in an hour?” he smiled at her.
She lost her fire, “What?”
“From here on we’ll be training every evening. While we travel you’ll train during the rest stops as well. You showed some good instincts, a quick eye, and a lot of spirit, but you fight like a child. That must change.”
“I don’t understand why she has to be trained like a soldier,” I put in. “We can form the bond without any need for that.”
Cyhan raised one eyebrow, “It has everything to do with the bond, but not for the reasons you might think.” He stood up, “Follow me; it’s time for your second lesson.”
I winced, I had a feeling this would hurt.
Back in the yard Penny and I stood side by side, for some reason he wanted us both there. I stared at him uncertainly, “Alright, so what do you plan to teach us, oh wise master?” My sarcasm was legendary. It didn’t seem to faze him though.
“Let us assume, for the present, that you and she are already bonded. Why do you think that Anath’Meridum are taught to fight?” he said.
“Presumably to protect their wizard from unscrupulous thugs,” I said, giving him a pointed look. “But I don’t need someone else’s protection. My magic shields me more effectively.”
The big warrior chuckled, “It does eh? Prepare yourself then, I’m going to try to kill you. Put up your defenses and show me how impossible it is.” His confidence was unnerving.
I already had a shield around me but I reinforced it just to be sure. As long as he didn’t fling me into any more stone walls it would be very difficult to wound me and if I was using magic against him he would never get the chance to do that again.
“Ready?” he asked. I told him I was.
He went from motionless to blinding speed almost before I realized it, but I was prepared nonetheless, “Shibal,” I said as he came at me. Nothing happened.
Rather than strike me directly he stepped past and his arm came up. He’d put one leg behind me and his arm swept me from my feet with very little force. I hit the ground hard but my shield kept me safe regardless. “That sort of thing isn’t going to be enough,” I snapped at him as I rolled away. He didn’t reply, but I heard a sharp yelp from Penny.
My eyes took in the scene quickly and I felt a fool. He still stood where he had tripped me but his hand held a sharp blade to Penny’s throat. He looked at me without moving the cold steel, “You’re dead.”
I stared, uncertain while my mind worked out what had happened. His attack on me had been a decoy while he got close to her. Finally he removed the knife and stepped away. “Now do you understand? Anath’Meridum are trained, not to protect you, but to protect themselves. Once you form the bond the easiest way to kill you will be her, and there are a thousand ways to do it.”
“Why would any wizard consent to such a thing then? It makes no sense,” I blurted out.
“Because they were going mad… she’s your only hope for sanity. The bond will anchor your mind to hers. Madness drove Jerod Mordan to form a pact with Balinthor and nearly destroyed our world. That is why they agreed to it, to prevent such a thing from ever happening again. The bond will not only ensure your sanity, but will make it impossible for any being to enter either of your minds again. Tell me the truth Mordecai... you’re hearing voices already aren’t you?”
I stared at him blankly. What he said was truth, I’d heard it before, but I hadn’t realized he knew about the voices. “Well... no, not exactly.”
“The bank shook while we stood inside. I don’t know what you told that fat banker, but I’d guess you threatened to destroy the entire place. That’s not the sort of thing a sane man would say. Just an hour ago I saw you muttering to yourself when we came in... talking to things only you could hear. Don’t lie to me; your sanity is hanging by a thread. What will you do when it is gone? Who will you kill? You might even hurt your friends. That is why your ancestors agreed to the bond.”
I listened and even as he spoke I could hear a massive drumbeat beneath us. The earth was alive, even if I was the only one that could feel it. Lies; do not listen, they want to geld you. You cannot trust their words. I closed my eyes, wishing I could shut out that voice but then the voice of the wind began whispering to me again. In my mind I could see the forest beyond the city, where the wind was capering among the trees while the birds kept up an incessant chatter. Maybe I was going insane.
Chapter 14
We spent the night at the Lancaster’s house. Cyhan began Penny’s training in earnest while I spent considerable time in the room I had been given. I meditated, hoping to calm my mind and shut out the voices that seemed to swirl around me. Most of them were soft and diffused, like the wind, but one voice seemed much stronger, the one warning me against being bonded. That voice was strong and clear, as if someone stood beside me speaking in my ear. The others, I tried to name them according to where they seemed to come from, the wind, the trees, and the giant beating heart of the earth, those voices were less well defined. They weren’t human and they used a language that couldn’t be understood in words, it was more primal.
The wordless ones calmed me, for they seemed natural and without motive, but the other voice frightened me. It was too human and it had definite opinions. I was afraid that it was a sure sign of my shaky hold on reality.
After dinner we planned our next steps. Marc wanted to travel with us and although I feared his goddess I trusted him. He seemed to genuinely want to help and apparently his goddess agreed with him. Rose still planned to remain behind. I had given her the letter of credit and explained my thoughts concerning the bankers and their motives. She probably understood them much better than I did. She was certainly surprised at the amount of money that would be available to her.
“Who would have thought that Tyndal Illeniel was so rich?” she said. “He never flaunted it or showed any sign while he was alive. Not that I knew him personally, but if anyone knew he had such a fortune I’m sure I would have heard of it before now.”
“The real question is what you’ll do with the money, gold won’t stop an army,” Marc opined.
“As I understand it, Mordecai needs several things, men and weapons, raw materials, supplies and food, and as much of all of them as he can get,” she replied. “I will begin sending wagons with materials and supplies as soon as I start making arrangements. I will follow with the men later.”
I was still unsure. I had never been a political genius but I had read a lot and mercenaries worried me, “Are you sure sell-swords are a good idea? From what I’ve heard they’re as dangerous to their employers as they are to the enemy, perhaps more so.”
Lady Rose’s eyes lit on me, “Actually I need to discuss that with you. Mercenaries are much less trustworthy than men fighting for their homes, that is certainly true. I wonder if you would consider offering them more than gold?”
I wasn’t sure what she meant, “What else do I have to offer?”
“Land,” she stated simply. “Offer them land for farms and homes, with money to build once the fighting is done. There are a large number of men in Lothion who would jump at such an offer: the poor, the unemployed and dispossessed, the younger sons of farmers with nothing to inherit. The chance to become a freeholder with their own land would be a powerful incentive. It would give them a strong reason for fighting to win rather than just to survive long enough to collect their pay.”
That had never occurred to me. In fact most of the Cameron lands were uninhabited, more so now after seventeen years with no lord to
maintain them. New freeholds would mean more taxes, more farming, and more men to defend the land in the future, not just today. If Dorian’s remarks about a lord’s power being built upon the strength of his people were correct then I was a relatively weak lord. More people would change that dramatically.
“I think you may have hit upon an excellent idea,” I replied after some thought. No man can own the earth; merely share it for a while. “Shut up!” I shouted at the voice. After a pause I realized everyone was staring at me. “I’m sorry, that wasn’t directed at you Rose.”
Rose studied me for a moment, I could almost hear the gears turning in that keen mind of hers, “The voices are getting stronger aren’t they Mordecai?” Concern was clear on her face.
“Not exactly... maybe, I’m not sure. Please, let’s move on. I’m fine and we have a lot to decide,” I said. The discussion continued but I kept catching my friends giving me worried looks from the corner of their eyes, whenever they thought I wasn’t looking.
You aren’t mad. It only seems so because they can’t accept the truth. Stop denying and accept it, this is what you are. The only insanity is your struggle to deny reality.
I closed my eyes again while everyone discussed what sorts of materials would be most useful for stopping the forces of Gododdin. Tears welled up from the corners of my eyes. I’m going insane, right in front of them, I thought. The voice was so clear; I could even tell it was a woman’s from the tone.
I was a woman once, the words answered my unspoken question.
What are you now? I thought back at it without meaning to.
I am not sure. Time is different now. No one can hear me, an age has passed and men have forgotten me.
Who are you? I asked. I had given up but shame had the tears flowing freely down my face.
I don’t remember. But I loved a man once... he bore your name.
He was an Illeniel? I thought back.
Yes, Mordecai Illeniel was his name. The voice paused but I could almost feel the pain behind the memory, then it continued. He was much like you.