Betrayal's Hands

"Other things?" Cor was curious, even if the question bordered on the inappropriate.

Teri blushed but would not relinquish his gaze nor the rare moment of openness between them. If it meant spilling her soul to him she would do it, if only it would get him to open up to her in turn. She would do anything to help him, she realized. Anything at all.

"Yes, other things. He taught me how to pleasure a man with my mouth and hands, and taunted me with the threat that one day he would take me back... well, my maidenhood would remain intact, at least."

Cor watched her carefully for her reaction. She spoke openly and honestly, it seemed, and though she was embarrassed she confessed willingly to him. "And these are the things you offered to me once?"

Teri nodded, a fresh surge of redness appearing on her cheeks. "Yes, I did," she said softly. She wondered if he wanted them now. In spite of the sadness she felt at the thought that he might use her thusly, she felt a tingle in her belly and in her loins at the thought of it.

"And do you still offer them?" He pressed.

The excitement at her progress with him dropping considerably, she nevertheless held her ground. "If you desire me in such a way, yes."

"Sounds like it must have been horrible," he muttered before he could bite off the bitter sarcasm. He did, indeed, desire her, but not like that. No, if that was all she offered then he was by far better off abandoning her as soon as possible. Once she was safe, of course.

Teri blinked the moisture from her eyes that his verbal slap caused her. She took a deep breath and said insistently, "There was no pleasure from it for me. He was a cruel monster that used me for his pleasure and beat me if I refused or did not perform to his liking. With you it would be different, I think. I hope."

Cor looked at her, at a loss for words. He opened his mouth and then shut it, deciding he dare not say anything before thinking it through. Finally he nodded and said, "Yes, I would never beat you."

Teri smiled sadly. "That's a kindness, but it's not what I meant."

Cor nodded, suspecting as much. "I... yeah, well, I'm going to make sure nothing followed us out of the swamp. Get some rest, we've a hard day ahead of us tomorrow."

Teri nodded and watched as he turned and left the campsite. He looked back at her once then was gone into the darkness. She sighed longingly. "Why won't you love me?" She asked softly of the night.

Chapter 16

Dawn was barely breaking as Cor and Teri started back into the fens. This time their trip was not hurried, they picked their way carefully though, avoiding the pits of slimy mud wherever possible. At one point Teri slipped, and only Cor's hand on her arm prevented her from taking yet another mud bath. She grimaced, feeling the dried mud on her body flaking away, leaving her skin tight and itchy.

"Will there be water when we get out of this place?" She asked mournfully, feeling somewhat sorry for herself.

Cor chuckled, "Yes, we'll come out of the fens where they join to Long Lake, you'll be able to bathe there, little princess." He shook his head, thinking that a bath sounded fairly good to himself as well.

As they moved through the marsh, Cor tried to keep his focus on dangers ahead, knowing full well that the fens were not so innocuous as they seemed. While staying alert, he tried not to be show his concern. He did not wanting to frighten Teri unless he had ample cause. His concern about being concerned, however, proved a distraction that nearly cost him dearly.

Directly in front of his left foot, a creature burst from the dark water, slimy and dripping with mud. It howled in no known language and then attacked. Teri screamed behind him and stumbled backwards, falling into the water as she tripped over a slimy log.

Cor twisted away, smacking what turned out to be little more than a giant swamp rat with the back of his hand to knock it aside. He drew his blade and lunged after the giant rodent, only to find himself surprised when it turned back at him and jumped for him. He ended up kicking it, and took a bite on his shin for the effort, then finally managed to stick his sword through the unusually aggressive thing.

With the swamp rat quivering in death, he yanked his blade free and turned back to the rotting stump it had emerged from under. A careful glance and he understood why; inside of the base of the stump were several hairless baby swamp rats. He had killed their mother and she had only been protecting their young. He scowled and turned away, wondering at how easily he killed those not deserving of it, human or not.

"Let's go," he said gruffly, not wanting her to see his face for the shame that burned red in his cheeks. When she did not reply he risked a glance behind him and saw her struggling in the water as she was being dragged away from him.

Cor cursed and ran after her, kicking up sprays of water with each plunging step. He caught up to her shortly and saw thick tentacles wrapped around her. The skin on them resembled bark, making them seem to be logs or thick vines. He knew better though, it was a trapper.

Trappers could grow to immense sizes and inhabited only the deepest and darkest areas of swamps. Whenever one was discovered they were usually hunted down and destroyed by whoever or whatever was around, for they were insidious and deadly to the ecology of the swamp. Their tentacles grew to hundreds of feet in length and lay in wait for unsuspecting victims to wander by, then they moved rapidly, immobilizing their prey and drawing them back to the grisly fate of having themselves die as the trapper injected an agonizing poison into them that slowly liquefied their insides. The trapper then sucked the juices free of the victim, leaving only an empty bag of skin over bones behind.

Cor grunted and lashed out with his sword, hacking into the ropy tentacle. While only as thick as his forearm, it took three swings to sever the first one. Another one had wrapped around her neck, stopping her breath long enough to have her eyes fluttering shut. Cor lashed out at that one as well, noting from the corner of his eyes more tentacles moving through the fetid waters towards him.

Teri fell free and gasped for breath, inhaling some of the foul water as she did so. Cor turned and swung his sword again, cutting into a tentacle that drew close to him. Another began to wrap around his leg, pulling him dangerously off balance. He pulled a hatchet free with his other hand and fell to one knee, driving the blade of the axe through the tentacle and making the end of it that was wrapped around his ankle spasm and fall free of him.

"Can you run?" Cor yelled at her, spinning warily and watching the waters move as the trapper sent more tentacles their way.

Teri coughed and gasped, unable to answer. She nodded, however, and stumbled past him towards the drier area they had come through. Cor followed, walking backwards and keeping an eye on the water. The trapper's tentacles followed him, but remained out of site beneath the murky water. He stepped up on to the shore and told Teri to keep going.

Teri looked down and gasped. Leaches, some several inches long, clung to her arms and legs. She whimpered but her throat lacked the strength to scream. She stopped and looked at Cor, only to see him ignoring her and watching the water for whatever it was that had tried to kidnap her. She reached for the leaches and tried to pull them off her arms, finding them slippery and disgusting and difficult to dislodge.

"Move, woman!" Cor all but yelled at her when he backed into her.

She jumped and hurried forward, still trying to pull the bloodsuckers from her skin as she did so. They moved for several minutes until Cor felt certain they were out of the trappers range. Only then did he call for her to stop.

When he looked at her and saw the disgusted look upon her face, he nearly laughed. With hardly any thought to it, he reached into his pack and pulled out a pouch filled with salt. He sprinkled some on the leaches, which caused them to writhe and release their hold on her, falling to the soft ground.

Seeing the blood running from the circular wounds on her skin, Teri whimpered and then collapsed, fainting from the fright of it. Cor looked at her and chuckled anew, then set to making sure he had gotten them all off of her. Propriety nearly stopped his search at one point, but then he shrugged and decided she was best off asleep, especially if any had worked their way inside her clothing to more delicate areas.

"What are you doing?" Teri asked softly when she came around and saw Cor had lifted her skirt up. Not only that, but the front of her dress was untied and only barely covered her breasts.

"Making sure no leeches remain," Cor said, standing up quickly.

"Oh," Teri said, uncertain and confused. She remained shaken from the encounter as well.

"What was that?" She asked him, putting the matter to rest.

"A trapper," Cor explained, reaching his hand out to help her up. "They are beasts that lie deep in swamps and pull their prey to them, sometimes smothering them before they get their, other times waiting to poison them and kill them slowly."

Teri's eyes widened. "Did it... am I..."

"No, only their short tentacles have stingers," Cor said, smiling. "You'll be fine, I think. No leeches left either."

Teri blushed and stood up, feeling helpless. "Thank you," she mumbled.

Cor shrugged, indicating it was no matter to him. Secretly though Cor had to admit that helping her felt good to him. It reminded him of a man he had once known. A man he had once been. A man he desperately wanted to be again.

"We'd best be off," he said, not wanting to dwell on the topic. Teri nodded and stepped close behind him as he turned towards the north again.

They climbed up a mossy embankment and were about to start down the other side of it when Cor stopped abruptly. Teri peered past him and gasped. She felt the urge to faint threaten her again, but she fought it off. Nearly a dozen trolls stood waiting for them, spears and clubs at the ready.

Cor put his arm out to hold her behind him. His other held his sword between him and the trolls. A quick glance showed him to already possess the finest strategic ground available. He was elevated several feet, making it to his advantage to let them attack him, instead of the opposite.

"Hold," one of them said, his accent thick but manageable.

Cor stared at him in surprise, then realized that he should not be. Mung was a troll that spoke perfect Suvonian, the language spoken by men on the continent of Suvonia.

"You would parley?" Cor asked, orienting on the one that had spoken, but keeping the others in mind as well.

"Northman you be?" The words were very slow, the huge Troll obviously being very careful to be understood. Many a war had been started over simple miscommunication. "From Crossing?" The Troll's face was set, he was unsure of his footing in this strange relationship.

"I am." Cor kept his words small and simple, speaking clearly. It was obvious to him that something unusual was happening, and he really did not want to fight an entire cadre of armed and ready Trolls.

"Told were we. Passing to have, you are." The leader of the group, not the speaker, indicated the well worn game path with his big gnarled arm. "Trag show." The smallest of the trolls spoke, seemingly the only one who could understand the humans' language. "Take you." The trolls began to filter onto the path, only the speaker waiting. "You come." He gestured for the two to follow the trolls.

Taking Teri's hand, Cor tugged her along behind the group of hairy hunters. "There must be a reason for this." He spoke quickly and quietly to her, "They want us to follow. The big one behind us knows of me, and they have said they will give us passage." He squeezed her hand. "Stay close to me, just in case."

"I know," she whispered back, "I can hear them too."

Cor glanced at her and saw her smile. She was terrified, but in spite of it all still found the strength to tease him. He scowled to hide his own rare smile, and to draw attention away from the redness coming to his cheeks.

They moved in behind the group, with the speaker taking up the rear. Teri's eyes were wide and frightened. What was she doing out here in the wilderness? Falling in love with a crazy Northlander, and following a group of hairy, smelly trolls. She shook her head and laughed ruefully, drawing another look from Cor. Seeing her humor fading into fright, he squeezed her hand reassuringly. She squeezed his hand and tried to keep pace. They seemed to be safe, although only because of the strangest of circumstances. She turned her thoughts to her remaining fears: that of the great unknown future.

Epilogue

"Baron Makan, it's been to long!" Baron Darleth said as he entered the dark and smoky study of the increasingly withdrawn King's Baron. Makan feigned a smile, but it was obvious that it was far from genuine.

Makan was a shadow of the man he had once been. In the months since the disappearance of his eldest daughter, then the murder of his youngest one, he had grown increasingly paranoid. He forced his servants to test his food before he ate it, and even then he often imagined that it was poisoned. Once hale and hearty, he had grown thin to the point of emaciation.

He went nowhere without an armed contingent of guards, and spent all of his time at his estates in Duth Darek. Visitors were seldom allowed entrance, and those that were had to endure a rigorous screening process. Darleth had accepted it as the price of doing business, and he expected that things would change soon in his favor.

"Any news of T'lerin?" He inquired smoothly.

Makan jerked as though he had been stabbed. He looked at Darleth, a pained expression in his eyes, and shook his head. "Have you come to mock me?" Makan asked, disregarding his former concerns about the man. Makan felt he had lost it all, first his children, then his wife -- for he had learned of her adultery with his captain -- and then his very health and will to live.

"Far from it, my friend," Darleth said, coming closer than any visitor had been allowed in months. Two guards moved to intercept him but he held his arms up peacefully.

"Send them away, Baron, I would discuss things in private with you," Darleth asked.

Makan snorted. "No one to see you plunge the dagger in me then?"

Darleth frowned. "I would do no such thing, My Lord. I have news. News that could very well change your life. I am but a Lord's Baron, my position sealed for life. I have no line of ascension to you or the throne."

Makan stared at him for a long minute behind sunken eyes. Finally he nodded and waved for the guards to leave them alone. The soldiers saluted and left, surprised at his change of heart and hoping he might indeed come to his senses.

"Speak of this news," Makan bade his visitor.

"My men have intercepted some Nordlamarian spies that sought to infiltrate our borders," Darleth began, moving closer and deigning to sit upon the edge of Makan's desk.

"What of them?" Makan asked, growing interested in spite of himself. He wondered if this might have to do with his search for the murderer of his daughter.

"They revealed that the devils in the north have another plot afoot," Darleth confided. "The kidnap and butchery of your children was only the beginning. As a lesson to our great nation, they seek the same fate for the Prince and Princess!"

Makan's eyes widened. He stared at Darleth, life rekindling slowly in his shrunken frame. "Who have you told of this?"

"You are the first, Baron. You are the King's nephew, I thought it might come best to him from you."

Makan nodded, looking past Darleth at a painting done of his family when his youngest had been still in swaddling clothes. He ground his teeth and straightened in his chair. "Yes! It should!" He slammed his fist onto his desk and rose up on legs that stood firmer than they had in weeks.

"You're sure of this?" Makan asked him.

Darleth nodded, hiding his excitement. "Yes, I obtained the information from them myself."

Makan knew of Darleth's investigative ways; he believed him. Few could withstand the tortures used by the ruthless man, and those that could, it was said, still gave him the answers he sought after they died. Rumors and superstition seemed to surround the man, but Makan had never seen any substance to it.

"Then I had best be off, I'll not let him endure such grief," Makan insisted. He stepped out from behind the desk and started to head towards the doors to his study. He stopped and turned back to Darleth. "Perhaps my children had to die to make me see the greater good for Aradmath."

Darleth nodded, hiding his sinister mirth. "It is a bitter medicine, Baron, but you bear it well. Such is the sacrifice of the greatest men of our Kingdom."

Makan nodded again, his back straightening a little more. "Yes, as it must be, I suppose. Come with me, Darleth, and tell me what you know on the ride to the palace."

Darleth nodded and followed him happily, answering Makan as he knew he should along the way. Secretly he rejoiced that his plans were working as well as he had hoped. Makan, the King's only remaining male relative save for the prince, would ingratiate himself to the King. News of the Prince and Princesses assassination would reach the king almost at the same time, drawing the two closer together. It would also make Makan certain to be the next in line for succession.

Darleth's claim to nobility was tenuous, at best. A border baron with naught but land to his name, his family had risen to royalty out of simple chance two generations back. While that was fine for his grandfather and father, Darleth's ambition was greater than theirs. He sought to dine at the finest tables and to pull the strings that controlled every aspect of Aradmath. And once he had that, then finally he could see Nordlamar crushed and turn his eyes to expanding his realm.