The Seduction Plan Ch. 06

Saymar moved toward me, and I began to scoot away. "This is war, Dor. You're on the wrong side, and for that -- you're going to be punished." He grabbed me by the arm, pulling me up. I struggled against him, hitting him; and horror began sinking into me as I realized my struggles just seemed to excite him --

Then someone else grabbed my other arm.

Seamus.

"I'll take her to her room," he offered, stone-faced.

"I'll handle it," Saymar said.

Seamus' eyes hopped over to Bolthos a moment. They exchanged a look. Seamus straightened. "Are you sure that's a good idea, sir? She does appear to be a handful, and with the plan underway you'll be needed at the peak. You may not have the time to deal with her properly, right now."

"Let me guess," Saymar said. "You do."

"I'm a newbie. They don't want me at the peak, so all I'll be doing otherwise is going back to the bar for one of this kid's mother's putrid ales." He nodded to Dartix lying still on the ground. "Only I'd feel a little awkward about that now, considering. And I won't touch her;" he said, nodding to me, "Not like that, I promise."

Saymar suddenly looked insulted. "What do I care if you touch her? She's just the Master's whore." The arm he held in his steel grip was suddenly released as he flung it back at me, forcing me to fall into Seamus's arms. "Do what you want to her."

Saymar walked back toward Bolthos.

Surprising everyone, I ripped out of Seamus' grip and went to Dartix. "Dartix, Dartix, wake up!" I said, tapping his face with my palm, feeling for his pulse under his jaw. I put an ear to his lips -- he was breathing, thank Somebody.

Seamus pulled me off him. Bolthos picked up Dartix's limp body and put him over a shoulder. "YOU HAVE TO HELP HIM! HE'S JUST A BOY!" I screamed, as Seamus pulled me up the stairs hidden against the wall, and Bolthos, Dartix, and Saymar disappeared into the shadows.

-------------------------->

Seamus pushed me through the door roughly, then put himself between me and the door as I tried to scramble out of it. "Stop it, stop it, you're being like a child," he said, blocking my blows. Pissed, I aimed two fingers at his eye and made pretty good contact -- he hollered and moved his arms to cover his face. I went for the door, but even doubled over in pain he was able to put a leg out and sweep my feet. I hit the floor, and watched as his foot came toward my stomach -- and I cringed because there wasn't time to do much else --

But he didn't kick me.

He just put his foot down between me and the door, holding his eye, and looking down at me.

"It's not the end of the world, Dor. This was the plan all along, right?"

"What are they going to do to Dartix? He's just a boy!" I yelled.

"I know," Seamus said softly. He knelt then, and took my hand. --Which struck me as sort of odd.

"The resistance claims to be the good guys," I said bitterly, looking away and shaking his hand off mine. I got up. "Everyone claims to be the good guys. But no one is. There is no good. There's no good in the world."

He stayed against the door, watching me. I looked around. The room was deep and dark, and it appeared to be lined with twin beds up each of the longest walls. "What is this place?" I asked.

"Old hospital."

"Oh."

I looked at him, then looked away. There was something about his face, something off. Before, when I first saw him, I thought I was just dizzy from hunger. But nothing had changed.

He turned then, decisively, and fooled around with the door a bit. --Locking it.

"You think I can't unlock a door from the side the lock is on?" I demanded.

"Not if I keep you busy," he replied with a smirk in his voice. I didn't like it.

"I hope you mean fighting," I said. "That's all you're going to get."

He smiled at me, calculatingly. His eyes were... I looked away. Something about looking at him made my head hurt. I wasn't sure what the color of his eyes were. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. Long day," I said, rubbing my eyes.

"Maybe I can help you relax," he said, walking toward me.

I stepped away, quickly. "No. No, no, no. You stay over there."

"Come on. You need a massage, and I'm dying to know... more about your talents."

"My talents?"

"You have to have some. I've seen the Master of the Realm turn down handfuls of virgins at a time. Beautiful, young," he began.

"Shut up. Go away," I declared, pointing at him, in a badass manner.

"But you. You're supposedly tasty enough that instead of just replacing you, he'd come to save you. That's quite a seductress, isn't it?"

"I will kick your ass," I said, getting angry.

"You can't blame me for being curious," he said.

"Stay away from me." He was slowly backing me down the room's center into the darkness. The skin on the back of my neck tingled as I realized I wasn't sure what I was backing into. I looked over my shoulder. I couldn't see anything behind me. I swallowed, and tried a different tactic. "Aren't you worried?"

"About?" he asked.

"That the Master of the Realm will find out about this and kill you?"

"By the time he finds you, he'll be caught in that trap. But that's what you wanted, right?"

I didn't answer. I couldn't answer.

It was too hard a question; even for lies.

"Oh, this is interesting," Seamus said, pausing in his step. "You don't know."

"I know."

"Tell me," he said.

"Why should I tell you anything? I don't know you, and even if I did," I realized I was yelling without even meaning to.

"...Even if you did, there's no good in the world. -No one to turn to. Not the resistance, certainly; they just hurt a little innocent boy. Not your Master, he... um..."

When I realized what this stranger was asking, it chilled me. It couldn't, couldn't, couldn't...

He stalked toward me, and now I didn't move back.

I shouldn't have said anything, either way -- stranger or...

But, Dartix might be dead. And he might have been dead because of me. And suddenly it didn't matter. It didn't matter what the result was, I just had to say it.

"He killed them! He killed them all. Everyone," I said, and my face hurt like hell because it was coming out in tears, and I was trying so hard to make myself into a dam, but I was bursting. "And he acts like he hasn't done anything. All these years, he'll show remorse for the smallest of things, but not for them. And he pretends! The damn liar! He pretends to be this wonderful man, this beautiful magical boy who reads and paints and learns lovely things and takes me interesting places, but he's a killer! He's a murderer, and they're gone and I can't have them back, and now I'm alone. And I won't even have him now. Or me. I'm gone. I gave him everything and when he's gone, I will be too!"

Seamus grabbed me then. He held me and I felt the change, but I already knew. "Who do you think I've killed, Dor?" Eric asked, whispering into my hair.

"Everyone," I said.

He pulled away to look me in the face. His disguise was melting away slowly. There was still the strange image of Seamus hovering around him like spilled sludge. But Eric was there, beneath it. "Why didn't you," he began to say, but now that it was out I had to say goodbye.

I kissed him. He seemed reluctant at first, but then his hands were in my hair and my heart, relieved of its burden, let me enjoy it.

Then I realized his hands were moving elsewhere. I pulled away before it could get too far. "That's why, Eric. That's why I didn't tell you anything. Now you better leave."

"What are you talking about?"

"You still have a chance to trick them. They don't know that you know about me. If you leave now, you can still win."

"No. Saymar means to," he began.

"What does it matter? I'm your betrayer, dummy. I tricked you. I wanted you dead, and I almost succeeded." I shrugged at him. "That's what you get for underestimating a badass."

"This isn't funny, Dor."

"I know."

"They might kill you."

"I sure hope so."

"I'm not leaving you here. You're supposed to marry me." His hands felt so big on my arms as he shook me. Oh man, I hadn't appreciated what I had when I had it. Why hadn't I just stayed that two weeks? What was two weeks? What had been so important I couldn't have just stayed?

"Haven't you heard anything I've said?" I asked. Damn, he still looked like he wanted me.

"Yes, but I still don't know what I," he began, only to be interrupted this time, by a knock at the door. "Who is it?" he yelled, the disguise crawling back up his skin like ants on a hill.

"Bolthos, damn it. And you better get this door open," he threatened, loudly.

Eric gave me a look, I'm not sure what he meant by it, and went to the door. His disguise finished crawling, and he undid the locks. Bolthos burst inside.

He took one look at me, and grabbed Eric, er, Seamus, by the throat. "What did you do to her?" he demanded.

I put up a hand, suddenly realizing how drained I felt. "It's okay. Nothing happened!"

Bolthos shook him once, then let go. "You okay, Dor?" he asked.

"What do you care?"

Bolthos looked tired all of a sudden. He looked at Seamus, and pointed a thumb to the exit. "Out of here, now," he said to Seamus. Seamus nodded, leaving, and suddenly everything in me wanted to cry out for him not to leave me there. But, that was what I wanted, right? He was supposed to leave me there. He had to leave me there. I wanted to kiss him again. But he was gone, without a glance back.

I guess he figured out what I had said.

I guess he knew I had betrayed him.

Bolthos shut the door.

"I thought Dartix told you; we're onto Saymar."

Wait, what?

"He's the Hand, Dor. We had to treat you this way, and I'm sorry. But we need everything in place to catch them both, the Master and the Hand."

"Well, wait. If that's true, how did he know that's what you told Dartix?"

Bolthos sighed, rubbing his head. "It's complicated, and Dartix is a terrible actor. Saymar's been suspicious of him feeling too much for you all along and when he showed up talking shit about you being a traitor, I knew Dartix wouldn't even be able to pretend to believe it. So I told Saymar that we should feed Dartix a story and use him to capture you."

I sat down. Wow. Bolthos was as big a liar as I was.

He walked over the bed across from me and sat as well.

"So, everything's still going according to plan," I said. "Tell me Dartix is alright."

"Dartix is alright," he said.

My eyes began to water again. Today sucked.

"He's hurt, but he'll live."

I nodded, thankful.

We sat in silence a few moments. Then I said, "When is the trap... set to... trap?"

He didn't answer at first.

He played with his hands.

"Dor. I have a problem."

I looked up at him.

"It's a big problem. And you're the only person I know who might be able to... shed some light."

"What do you mean?"

"I know Saymar is the Hand. I know that for certain. But in gathering evidence, well..."

"What?"

"Now I'm not sure who the Master is."

...

...

What?