Betrayal's Hands

A small group of warriors had gathered to watch, and now they cheered and applauded her. She rose, looking down at the dead Kingdom warrior and feeling her rage drain and leave her empty. She smelled his urine and the feces his body had voided from it at the moment of death and the strong scent of it in her nostrils nearly caused her to be sick again. She spat on him and turned away, heading out the open gate and taking her sword and shield.

She walked away in a hurry, wanting no one to see her if she did, indeed, need to be sick again.

*****

Corillius heard of the incident with the prisoner. He was tempted to seek Anna out, but he opted against it. He was not proud of her, as the others were. He knew too well what had happened. She had lashed out in anger, he supposed, wanting to kill a Kingdom man. Perhaps in the hopes of venting some rage at what had happened to her. He wondered if Makan's leering face had been what she had seen when she snapped the prisoner's neck. Cor hoped so, if only so that Anna could become herself again.

He had more important matters to attend to, however. Cor finished throwing the last of his equipment into his pack and lashed it tight. He looked at his tent a final time, then slung the pack over his shoulders and slipped a shield over it. He grabbed up his spear and emerged from the flap of the tent, stopping to let his eyes adjust to the receding sunlight. He wore the clothing and leather harness of a mercenary. It was studded with bits of metal as well. He wore a cured fur cape from a Kodiak, and dented metal grieves and bracers of Kingdom design.

He looked about, nodding to a few nearby warriors, then set off, walking to the edge of the Nordlamar camp and then beyond. He spoke with the sentries when he reached them, warning them of his presence, then moved on into the disputed lands between the Kingdom and Nordlamar.

Cor's mission was simple. He was to avenge Anna and teach the Aradmathians that such inhumane treatment of prisoners was unacceptable. He refused to consider Anna's own treatment of a prisoner, for it would only make him grind his teeth in frustration. Cor was a soldier, first and foremost, and he had made a vow on top of that. His mission was merciless and he would have the blood of innocents upon his hands when he was done, but the fate of his soul was not as important as the fate of his nation.

Chapter 9

Teri was cold. Her feet were ragged, bloody and numb. Krev had run for what seemed like hours before stopping to set her down.

"You'll run, girl. Like your life depends on it." Krev grinned, "It does."

She had stared at him dumbly until he had reached out to push her onto the twisted trail. She had stumbled and started to run, haltingly with Krev behind her every step. They had pushed through bush too dense for armored men on horseback, hoping to delay pursuit. To throw off the pursuer's hounds, Krev had made Teri run through an icy stream for what seemed like an eternity. She had emerged dripping and shivering to be pushed on again by her captor.

"Please..." Teri whimpered, shaking, "I can't run any more."

Looking at her, Krev noticed the bluish tinge to her skin, much of it revealed by Sven's attack on her. She wouldn't last long unless he got her warmed up. Nodding brusquely, to her intense relief, Krev pulled her off of the path into the bush. He found a sheltered spot in the lee of a fallen tree and pointed to it.

"We'll sleep there tonight. Take off your clothes."

Teri stared at him, uncomprehendingly. "What?" she whispered weakly.

"Get them off!" he snapped at her, having very little patience left. "You don't want me to have to do it."

Tears formed in her eyes as Teri slipped the shoulder of her tattered dress off and dropped the remaining fabric to the ground, crossing her arms over her small breasts.

"You're not my type." Krev growled at her fear, although he could feel himself hardening at the sight of her smooth pale flesh revealed. Tossing his short cape into the log, he gestured to Teri. "Get in there. I can't have you freezing to death."

He watched as she scrambled onto the cloak, laying down to fit into the tight space. Sighing, he picked up the remnants of the dress, throwing them over a branch to dry. He moved to her side, watching her tense and shiver with his nearness. Opening his leather vest, he lay beside her, wrapping her in his arms against his chest, sharing his body heat with her fragile form.

The exhaustion of the day soon overpowered her discomfort with his nearness. In moments she drifted off into a black sleep.

*****

"The brute got away it seems," Darleth said from his horse. Makan grunted, his mount stamping its foot impatiently in response to its owner's mood.

They stood upon the shore of the stream, with scouts scouring up and down the length of it looking for tracks. There were none to be found, however.

"Let us be off for the cave the bandit mentioned," Makan said, turning to him. "We can make it there before they do."

Darleth nodded, "Yes, but that bandit is unconscious and the priest said he'd be so for a day or more, and we've no idea where it is."

"Wake him!" Makan snapped. "I don't care if he lives or dies, damn you, I just want it found!"

Darleth's eyes narrowed at Makan's tone and words, but he kept his tongue in check. "Aye, My Lord Baron, let us see what we can do."

They turned their horses and headed back towards the makeshift camp that had been set up. Darleth intent upon making sure the bandit lived, he had uses for the ruffian, while Makan cared nothing for his well being so long as he gave him the information he needed.

*****

Nearly a week had elapsed and Teri was getting used to the life of an outlaw. She wore some badly sized peasant rags that Krev had stolen for her. They were rags to her, but Krev had assured her that they had once belonged to a woman who might have spent a months worth of wages on them, or the equivalent in barter or labor. It was a lesson in humility for her, but she kept her head high and marched on with him in spite of it.

Her feet were beginning to heal as well, though they were still cracked and sore. He had not acquired any shoes for her, and after complaining at first and finally drawing a slap from him to shut her up, she had not mentioned it again. His slap, while slow and soft in his opinion, was powerful enough to send her stumbling. She shivered every time she remembered it and remembered the strength he possessed.

Krev returned to their cold camp, returning from a scouting mission. He untied her from the tree he had bound her too, as he always did when he went out on his own, and sat down with a chuckle.

"They made one of my boys talk, it seems," Krev said, digging into a pouch and pulling out some salted meat. "They've set up an ambush at our old hideout. Fools!"

Krev spat and used his large teeth to tear off some of the meat. He chewed on it and thought for a moment. "I've other holes to winter in, don't you worry. And I'd not go to that one for a while anyhow. I thought my boys knew better than that though."

Teri looked up at him and said, softly, "Sven."

Krev looked at her and then chuckled. He handed her a piece of meat, which she greedily took and shoved into her mouth, drawing another chuckle from him. "He's dead, snapped upon a tree. I heard the bones crack and break, no man can survive that."

"So where are we going then? It's getting really cold," Teri said, hoping he would not slap her again for whining.

"You'll know when we get there. It's in the Darkwood, that much I'll tell you now."

Teri's eyes widened. The Darkwood was a dark and frightening forest. Its northern borders touched the Fens that separated the Kingdom from the savage lands to the north. The Kingdom claimed it, but they did not log it nor have anyone who lived within it. It was said that dark creatures lived within it, and many who entered its edges did not return, or were mad if they did.

Krev chuckled again, seeing her expression. "Look at me, pretty, where do you think I come from? Not one of your civilized towns! Ha! My mother was raped by an ogre from a raiding party from there. She nearly died giving birth to me, and hated me for what I reminded her of until she did die five years later."

He stared off into the distance. "The villagers took care of me because I was strong and they needed me to tend their forge and do their work for them, but always they ridiculed me and beat me. Never gave me a chance to be... Bah!"

Krev stood up, glaring at her. "Mind your own business, wench," he spat out, forgetting that nothing she had said had caused him to recall his youth. He tied her back to the tree and muttered something about scouting, then loped off into the darkening twilight.

As darkness fell, Teri grew more and more frightened. Krev had not yet returned, and she felt at that moment that even his ugly face would be welcome. She tugged again on the rope tying her to the tree, accomplishing little but pain in her raw wrists. An owl hooted quite near her position and she cried out in terror. Tears flowed down her face unheeded.

"Lady, if you let me survive this..." she moaned.

Huddled there against the tree, she heard what sounded like footsteps approaching. "Krev?" she whispered, her voice hoarse with panic. "Please..."

The footsteps came closer, followed by a harsh chuckle.

"Glad to see me pretty?" Teri nearly fainted with relief at the big man's voice. He reached out and untied her wrists from the tree. "So far we've eluded pursuit, we start in the morning for my wintering hole."

"Don't think I'm stupid, Pretty." Krev warned, "You know who's chasing us, and I will find out why you would rather be my slave than return to them."

Teri gasped, for he chose that moment to haul her to her feet. Her mind raced with the words he had just uttered. His slave? What did that mean for her? What would he want from her?

Krev chuckled again, "It will be a very comfortable winter for me." He emphasized the word me.

And so it was that Krev led a weary and terrified Teri into the depths of the Darkwood. The very air seemed heavy and filled with dark and foreboding things to her. Animals larger than any she had ever seen flitted about in the forest at the edges of her vision, teasing and taunting her. Krev showed no concern for them, but instead led her a day's walk within the wood to a run down cabin.

Teri could not believe her eyes. It was a simple and true cabin. A house, in a remote and frightening location, but the mundane nature of it buoyed her spirits. Krev led her into it, holding her behind him as he stalked in and looked around. Several small creatures, no taller than her thigh, squeaked at their entrance and tried to escape. Krev showed them no mercy, swinging a wooden branch as a club and crushing as many as he could. A few escaped out the door or the unshuttered windows.

"Lousy tree elves," Krev muttered, looking at the mess of the place. "Thieves and scoundrels, the lot of them!"

"Those weren't elves!" Teri protested. "I've seen elves, they're much taller and more noble!"

Krev glared at her. "Them was tree elves, slave," he said brusquely. "Not the high and mighty kind, true. Those were the savage cousins your elves don't like to admit to being related to."

Teri blanched at his tone and his labeling her a slave. Still, she held her ground as she faced him. "Who are you to vilify them for being thieves?"

Krev glared at her and then chuckled. "That's fair. I suppose you'd like to take them clothes off so I can return them?"

Teri blushed and looked down, realizing she was as much a thief as he, and therefore the tree elves. She shook her head, looking back up at last. Krev had turned and was already setting things right in the cottage. She sighed softly and moved to help clean things up, not knowing what else to do.

Teri spent the winter with Krev. She learned to cook and to clean and to do his laundry. It was hard work, but she learned not to protest it. On rare occasions they had visitors. Some which Krev spoke with in a strange tongue she did not understand, and at other times they were creatures that the half-ogre fought off with his great strength and amazing speed.

Teri truly was in a world that frightened her. Over time her understanding of her captor led to a strange companionship. She could get him talking at times about things, things that no creature as cruel and as savage as he sometimes was had any right to know about. He would catch himself before too long and stop talking, behaving even more gruffly towards her for days afterwards.

Snow fell outside the cabin, piling up against the walls and sifting in through the cracks. Sitting next to the fire, Teri shivered. Krev had gone out this morning hunting, and Teri sat quietly, mending. Lately she had begun to feel strangely, missing him when he went out for the day, yet dreading his return. Her cheek was still tender from where he had struck her two days ago, she could hardly remember what had provoked him. Setting down her mending, she moved to the fire, stirring the stew in the cauldron. One thing she could always predict was his appetite. Soon he would return, and she hoped that his hunt had been successful. He was far more likely to be decent company after a successful hunt and a ready meal.

As she stirred the stew, the door banged open and Krev stomped through, slamming it closed behind him. The fresh blood on his jerkin answered her questions about the successfulness of his hunt. Brushing snow from his shoulders, he clumped over to the fire, sitting in the only chair.

"Where's my meal, slave?" He groused, as Teri hurried to fill his bowl and place it in his open hands. Sitting on the floor by his feet, Teri ate her own meal. When he was finished, Krev tossed his bowl to Teri and sat back, relaxed for the moment. He began telling her a story about his childhood, very rare for him.

The story lasted for nearly an hour, in which Teri sat, enraptured. She relaxed, resting her head against his knee and closing her eyes. She missed the look he gave her and was nearly drowsing until his big hand touched her hair.

"I think I should teach you some things, my little slave. You've learned well to please me in domestic matters, but I believe you can still use a little education." She looked up, startled by his tone. She watched in growing horror as Krev's other hand loosened the ties on his pants. The hand on her head tightened in her hair, pulling her towards him.

When he was finished, Teri coughed and wiped the remnants of his seed from her chin. She dashed the tears from her face with the back of her hand and hurried to their sleeping pallet, where she lay down and pulled the pelts up to her chin.

Chapter 10

Leagues away, Cor slipped unnoticed over the terrain, heading again for Duth Darek. By the time he reached the city again Teri and Krev were in the half-ogre's cottage and Makan and Darleth were breaking camp to return home.

Cor knew where to go this time. He wasted no time in scouting out Makan's estates, only to learn that the Baroness and her youngest daughter had left the week before for their home, the capital of Makan's barony, Kahltop. He also learned that Makan was out hunting him and his escaped slaves still. This amused him, and gave him a moment of levity from his otherwise dark mission.

Then Cor was on his way again, heading to the east, to Kahltop. It took him two more weeks of travel, since he had no horse and had to play the part of a wandering mercenary. He arrived to find it strangely quiet. With the baron gone the residents seemed relaxed and the guards were lazy. He kept his disapproval to himself, but studied everything carefully. Corillius felt confident that with a dozen men he could capture the castle.

He spent three days studying the manor house itself. He noted the guards, their shifts and rotations, and the comings and goings of the baroness and, less often, her daughter. The soldier within him studied with a keen eye, noting opportunities and weaknesses. The man that he was despaired at the deed he must commit. He hated himself for it, and he knew that he would never be able to sleep a night through once his mission was complete.

He had his chance early on his fifth day. D'lariana, with a pair of guards nearby, was in the garden taking her breakfast. Cor's subtle questions had found out that she was 11 years of age, and promised to be quite a beauty when she grew up. She had given her mother and her nannies a handful of trouble while younger, and was still known for impropriety unbefitting a noble lady. This earned many of the commoners an unusual warmth in their hearts for the cute and winsome girl.

D'lariana was chatting with one of the guards, drawing both their attention away from the innocuous flowers, stone statues, and burbling fountain. Cor slipped over the chest high mortared rock wall and slipped in behind a hedge before the guards noticed him. He crept silently along the hedge until it ran no more, then hefted up some pebbles from the ground and tossed them in a high arc to the other side of the garden.

He waited a few seconds, then slipped out from behind the hedge and lightly ran the short distance to a column, stopping abruptly and peering around it. The guards were looking, with curious expressions on their face, away from him. He slipped back a little so he was out of site and closed his eyes, breathing deeply. He was all business now, but inside of him that part that despaired beat on the bars of the cage he had put it in.

Cor burst from around the pillar, throwing a hand axe and catching the farther guard in the front of the left shoulder with it. He grunted and fell back into the wall, stumbling and going down. The closer guard turned to see his partner fall, then turned back. The hilt of Cor's sword crashed into his face, breaking his nose and knocking him unconscious.

Cor had D'lariana then. He slung the surprised girl over his shoulder and ran back to the wall. The guard he had hit with his axe lifted himself up and cried out, making Cor curse. He threw the girl over the wall and vaulted up himself. He landed beside her and picked her up, hearing her breathing fast and seeing a brief glimpse of her eyes wide with fear and shock.

Tucking her over his shoulder like a sack of grain, he ran from the palace and ducked through a street and into an alley he had scouted out earlier. The girl started to scream then, her fists beating on his back futilely. He kicked in a door to a nearby building and lunged through it.

He pulled D'lariana from his shoulder, his face a mask of rage. He had built up his walls within himself to do what needed to be done, and now was the time. He had to be quick, before the people outside told the guards where he had gone.

Cor held her with one hand and drew his Kingdom sword with his other. He looked at her and drew the sword back. He realized he had meant to spill her blood in the garden, but for some reason he had brought her there instead.

She stared at him, meeting his eyes, her mouth open in realization and horror of what was to happen. A tear leaked from her eye and then she did something that he could not have possibly been prepared for. She straightened up, nodded, and closed her eyes.

The rage drained out of him. He stood there and lowered his sword. He stared at her face, marveling at the innocence and maturity impossible for an 11 year old girl.

"What are you doing? Aren't you afraid?" Cor whispered, unable to strike.

She opened her eyes and looked at him, spearing him with their green gaze. "Yes, I'm afraid. But there's nothing I can do about it... my father's upset someone, no doubt, and my death is to teach him a lesson. If it makes him a better man to my mother and sister, than maybe it will be worth it."