Betrayal's Hands

Makan turned and picked up his robe. He put it about him, wiping himself clean with a linen beside the bed, and turned to the door. He bade a servant to open it and watched as two servants came through the door, one with a pot of water and the other with some cloth to wash the slave with.

Something else caught his eye then, movement in the passage. He glanced up and saw another servant, though this one had a fire in his eyes. Makan gasped, realizing he was no servant, merely someone dressed as one.

Old but still spry, Makan stumbled backwards and took only a shallow cut on his arm from the sword in the man's hand. He backed away and realized that the only way out of the room was through the invader.

Corillius kicked the door shut behind him, glaring at the servants and then at Makan. The servants cowered, hiding as far from him as possible. Corillius advanced slowly upon the older man, sword held in front of him at the ready.

"Untie her!" Corillius demanded of the servants that were huddled near the bed. They looked to each other and the closer one reached up and started furiously working the knots binding her wrists.

The Nordlander waited impatiently. He had seen the way Makan had reacted and he knew the man was a dangerous fighter. He was going to kill him, but first he wanted to make certain Anna was safe. It had taken him very little time to find out which brothel Makan favored, with the help of a few well placed bribes. He still hoped to join up with his warriors before they moved out on the following day.

"Who are you?" Makan asked, trying to prolong things so he would have a chance to turn the situation to his advantage.

Corillius' eyes held a deadly promise for the Baron. "Be silent," was all he said.

"One yell and the guards will rush in here," Makan bluffed.

"I said, be silent!" Corillius again warned him. Then he added, "The sound in these rooms is deadened, there is no escape for you."

"Then I might as well charge you now," Makan said, eyes narrowing as he judged the man.

"Yes, you might as well."

Makan instead stood his ground, waiting to see what might happen next.

"Anna, get up," Corillius said, his voice a little softer.

Anna did not move at first. Then she woodenly got up and, wincing from the torture her body had endured, made her way over to him. She got next to him and stood there numbly. Corillius glanced at her and felt despair. The rag doll standing next to him was not his cousin, just a beaten girl who looked like her.

He turned back to Makan, fresh rage simmering in his eyes. The crafty baron had started to edge towards him but now he backed away again, seeing the big Nordlander's expression. Cor advanced on him, sword held at the ready. Makan held his hands out and low, a submissive gesture but also a stance that would let him spring quickly if he needed to. Blood dripped from Makan's right hand from the earlier graze.

Makan lunged as Cor raised his sword. Then younger man turned easily and drove his fist into the back of the other man's neck while he kicked out with his foot, tripping him. The baron crashed to the floor, grunting and cursing in pain. He turned his head and tried to get up, displaying a broken nose with blood gushing from it. Cor's foot stepped on his back, pushing him back down to the wooden planks of the floor.

"This woman you have tried to destroy once promised you a fate," Corillius said, sheathing his sword and then grabbing on to Makan's neck and picking him up. The Northman threw him down on the bed so that the blood from his nose mingled with the blood already staining the sheets from his most recent and devastatingly brutal rape of Annalyse.

"I'm going to personally see to it that it comes true," he hissed, picking up the whip from the ground. "But first, here's a little taste of what you did to her!"

Cor ripped the robe from the beaten baron's body and struck him repeatedly with the whip, making the man grit his teeth from the pain. Corillius spared no strength, he flailed the man mercilessly, with each lash drawing blood.

Finished and panting from the effort, Corillius reversed the grip on the whip and introduced Makan to the receiving end of a brutal intrusion like that which he had inflicted upon Annalyse. Corillius stepped back, breathing hard and glaring with murderous fury at the man who was reduced to sobbing and groaning in agony on the sheets.

"Bind him!" Corillius demanded of the two servants. Having seen what he had done to a member of nobility, they hurried to obey. In moments Baron Makan was bound fast to the bed.

"Now one of you take off your clothes and help this lady dress in them."

After looking at each other one of them took off the skimpy rags they were forced to wear and tied them on Anna. Corillius then grabbed up Makan's robe and threw it over her shoulders.

"I meant what I said," Corillius said to the two servants. "And I came here all the way from the north. I found her, and I found her warriors. They are all free now. If you untie him I will find out and I will return to treat you to a worse fate than what is in store for him and his family!"

The two servants nodded, terrified of the large Northman, and cowered once again as far from him as they could. Corillius opened the door and, after looking out it, he led the still docile and uncaring Anna out into the passage.

In the early hours before dawn, escaping both the brothel and the city proved easier than he would have imagined. His return trip, once Anna was safe, would be equally simple he suspected.

*****

Despite Makan's ranting and raving, the two servants fled the room after Corillius and Annalyse left. They did not even stop by their beds in the servants' quarters, but instead fled out of the brothel and into the city. They had no idea where to go, but they were terrified of Corillius and had no desire to incur his wrath after what they had seen.

Thus it was that, of all people, Baron Darleth was the one to come and find Baron Makan in his predicament. He had hoped to call upon the man that next day to discuss some political shuffling he had been considering, and discovered that he had not returned home. So, naturally, he figured the Baron was still being entertained by his slave. With a new servant to show him his way, Darleth's surprise was considerable to see the man positioned as he was.

A chuckle broke from Darleth's humorless lips. Makan's body tensed, and he renewed his struggles against his bonds.

"Who's there?" he queried nervously. His only relief came from the fact that the handle of the whip had fallen free of him many hours ago.

"I see that your slave found a way to escape you and turn the tables, my Lord." Darleth's voice was full of humor.

"Darleth? Is that you? Release me!" Makan's voice gained strength as he realized that it was not the return of the northlander. He flapped his arms and tried to turn his head to glare at the younger man who seemed to be taking his time in working the ropes.

Darleth grinned then, a frightening thing with little of humor in it. He quickly realized that this was most likely the best thing that had ever happened and would ever happen to him in his lifetime. Not only would he possess Makan's daughter, he would hold this over Makan's head for the rest of his life. He moved to release the older man's wrists and ankles from the ropes and wrap him in a loose sheet from the bed.

"How long have you been like this?" he asked, once Makan was upright and feeling a bit more in control.

"Moments, hours, I don't know. It was full dark when the northman attacked me to save the whore, what is the hour now?"

Darleth turned his head to the side so that Makan would not be able to see the smile that tried to move his lips. "It's late afternoon, after four bells." He replied.

Makan groaned. "They'll be long gone from the city by now." He didn't mention to Darleth the repetition of the threat to his family. The only power he had now was in keeping information to himself.

"They're northern savages, lucky, apparently, but no match for our forces," Darleth assured him. "Come, let us away and have our private guard immediately set after them. I have some excellent trackers amongst my men that have been denied the ability to hunt anything other than wild game for too long."

Makan nodded enthusiastically. "Yes!" he hissed, hastening to the door.

"A moment, My Lord Baron," Darleth said, turning to the serving girl who had, through a miraculous effort of will, kept her face neutral throughout the exchange. Darleth motioned her closer to him and smiled at her.

"You will not speak of this... to anyone," he stated as well as asked. She shook her head emphatically. Of course she would have to tell some of the other slaves, news of this nature would have to be shared, but the nobles must not know of it.

Darleth nodded and grabbed her by the neck, pulling her to him before she could yelp in surprise or protest. He buried his dagger in her belly, point facing upwards to pierce her lung and heart. She struggled in his grasp for a few moments then slumped, dead.

"Of course you won't," he said, smiling softly at her. He turned to Makan, his eerie smile still in place.

"We must keep this little incident to ourselves," he offered by way of explanation. "Imagine what could happen if news of it were to get out."

Makan shuddered and nodded. He thought Darleth to be on his side, but he also wondered if perhaps the younger baron had just made a veiled threat as well.

The two men hurried out of the brothel, stopping only so that Makan could change back into his clothes. They gathered up their horses and rode off in separate directions, each gathering their private guards and meeting at the northern gate by the toll of the fifth bell.

At the older baron's house he hasted to ready his men, ignoring the pleas of the Baroness to talk to her. She seemed addled, but he was otherwise occupied. Finally she stepped in front of him and slapped him, gaining his direct attention.

Enraged, Makan backhanded her and sent her stumbling to the ground. "You foolish wench, I'm on important business! Whatever you want can wait!"

Stunned, with tears running down her cheeks, the Baroness stared at him for a long minute. He turned to storm out of the room before she found her voice.

"T'leren is missing, My Lord."

Makan stopped as soon as the words registered. His mouth dropped and he gasped imperceptibly. "What do you mean, missing?"

"Your daughter is gone, no one knows where. None of the guards or servants saw her leave, but she's not here," she said, her voice gaining strength and anger.

Makan closed his eyes and felt hopelessness sap his strength. Already the Northlander's oath was coming true.

"What of D'lariana?" He asked, turning to face her and feeling shame for his treatment of her.

"She is in her rooms, protected by your guards, My Lord," the Baroness said, clipping each word curtly.

Makan walked over to her and helped her up. "We should not have struck one another," he said softly, by way of apology. "I must tend to these affairs, I suspect it might bring T'leren's disappearance to light. I will return as quickly as I am able. We will talk more then."

She nodded, a part of her overjoyed to hear his words and hoping that perhaps things might come back around for them. "Be safe, husband," she whispered as he turned to leave. He paused, nodded, and then hurried out to his horse and his awaiting troops.

Chapter 5

Corillius looked over at Anna. She was slumped over the saddle on the horse he had stolen for her. He weighed the options, deciding quickly that Anna's health was worth the added risk of stopping early for the night. She had not spoken a word since he had removed her from Makan's brothel, and he was becoming increasingly worried that her spirit had been truly and irrevocably broken.

He reached out and touched her knee. She looked up and jerked her leg away from him.

"Anna, honey, we're going to stop for the night." Cor said softly, trying his best not to feel hurt that she rejected his touch. She merely looked blankly at him and then turned her head away.

He led the horse into the woods by the side of the road, going in far enough so that their fire would not be seen by patrols who might be looking for them. He found a tiny clearing that backed into a huge evergreen tree which would provide them with natural shelter.

Cor reached up to pull Anna from the saddle. She whimpered and pulled away from him violently as soon as her feet hit the ground. She stumbled into the hip of her horse, gripping the back of the saddle for stability. Cor sighed and backed away, allowing her space.

He moved off to begin building the fire and gathering wood to keep it going through the night. Brushing up the leaves and supplementing them with pine boughs, he built a nest for their bed, spreading it with his cloak and the blanket he had stolen with the horse.

Anna leaned against the horse, fighting for control. Somewhere, deep inside her mind, she realized that Cor wasn't going to hurt her, that he would never consider doing the things that Makan and his friends had done to her. It did not matter. Her reactions to him were uncontrollable.

"Come and sit over here Anna, I've made a place for you." Cor motioned to the bed he had prepared, relieved when she took his direction and moved over there. She lay down on the softness, rolling herself up in the blanket. "I'll watch your sleep," he said softly, knowing that for her, the night would likely be filled with nightmares. He moved over to the fireside and wished that he knew what to do for her.

'I hope that the People's healers will be able to help her.' He thought to himself as he sat staring into the flames.

Several hours later he heard her whimper in her sleep. He longed to go to her and comfort her, as they had once done for each other as children. Simply to hold her and assure her that everything would be okay. He almost got up and did it, but then realized that it could go so terribly, horribly wrong.

Cor stood up instead and moved off into the night, telling himself that he was keeping a proactive watch against pursuit, but in reality he needed to put distance between himself and her fearful cries that he could not help.

"You will suffer for this, Makan," Corillius vowed quietly as he leaned against a tree. "I will avenge Anna and deliver more unto you for the pain you have caused my nation with your inhumanity!"

*****

Night was falling quickly as T'leren walked barefoot down the road to Halburg. The nighttime noises were frightening to the girl who had never spent a night outside of her own bed, never mind outside in the wild. As she followed the road, she began to hear horse's hoof beats coming up the road behind her. She listened as they approached, and she realized that there were a number of horses approaching, and the jingling she heard indicated that they were armored war-beasts. Panicked that her father had found out where she had gone and come after her, she turned and ran blindly into the woods.

She ran, crashing through the underbrush, running into branches that tore at her skin and her clothes. Her panic caused her to run blindly, stopping only when she fell to her knees after tripping on a large root. With tears of pain in her eyes, she looked up only to see a fire in the near distance. Her instincts warred with her fear of the forest at night, and making a decision, she approached the fire quietly, glancing around for anyone who might belong to it.

"Well what have we here?"

T'lerin gasped, turning around and trying to see where the gruff voice had come from. Something heavy dropped to the ground behind her, making her spin again. She stepped into a thorny bush and yelped in pain. Trying to back away from it only landed her on the ground.

The man leaned over her, his features hidden by the forest green cloak he wore and the growing darkness of the night. She did see the cruel looking dagger he held in his hand, however.

"On your feet, dearie," he barked, gesturing at her menacingly.

T'lerin stood up slowly, cringing both in pain and in fear. All sorts of horrible possibilities raced through her mind.

"That's a good girl," the man said. "Now where's your guards? Who rides with you... er, well, where's your horse or carriage?"

"I'm alone," she said, terrified by the man and also terrified that he might find out who she really was.

He laughed. "If that's true, then you're a fool, girl!"

"Now walk towards the fire, I'll be right behind you so don't you think of trying nothing!"

T'lerin nodded and moved past him, limping heavily from the abuse her feet had taken. In one of her falls she had lost her shoes as well, promising her no reprieve. In a matter of moments she walked, captive, into a small clearing where several men were lounging around a campfire. Some were drinking, others were eating venison from a small deer that was roasting on a spit over the fire. Others still were working on their equipment or playing dice. They all were rough, shoddily dressed, in varying levels of personal hygiene, and all suddenly very interested in her appearance.

"Who's this?"

"What'd you find, Sven?"

"Entertainment!"

A few other, less savory things were called out upon her entrance, but Sven, the man that had her at knife point, just grinned at them all for a long minute. "She just ran into the camp like something was after her, says she's all alone, she does!"

There were some bawdy cheers and a few suggestions as to what to do with her. A few of the men stood up and moved closer, making T'lerin shrink back. She backed into Sven, and felt the point of his knife against her back.

"Careful there lass, there's no need for you to be getting yourself hurt," he said, chuckling.

"What can you do for us?" A man with a scar running across his cheek and chin asked. The skin around it gave his expression a permanently leering affect.

"Aye, what skills have ye?" Said another man who was missing some teeth and had breath that a dog would find upsetting.

"Who cares!" Another man said, earning some laughter from a few of the others. He had a nose that had been broken a few times too many. "She's got all I want hidden under that fancy dress of hers!"

"And she'll learn right quick the skills to use 'em too!" Another man hopped to his feet beside the broken-nosed man.

"I found her, I get her first!" Sven said behind her, putting his knife away excitedly.

T'lerin's eyes were wide and she was gasping for breath. She was terrified. It was as if every bad thing she could have imagined had come true at one time, in one place. She swooned and fell to the ground, passing out from her fright.

"Well where's the fun in that," broken-nose said.

"She's still breathin', that's enough for me!" Sven said, kneeling down beside her and putting his hand on her leg to tear her dress.

"Stop!"

The bellowing voice caused them all to turn and clear a path. A giant of a man walked through the aisle, looking down at the woman and frowning.

"She's a noble, you fools!" He snapped, turning to look at them all. Sven, the closest backed away quickly.

"Boss, she said she was alone and she walked into our camp," he said, hoping to get his prize back.

"Then she is a fool," he said, repeating Sven's earlier words. "But that does not mean we will harm her."

"Boss, what else are we going to do with her?" Sven said, nearly whining now.

"Wake her up... gently," he ordered.

T'lerin was repositioned on the ground and lightly slapped across the face, bringing her around. She looked up at all the staring faces and realized her nightmare had been the truth, she truly was doomed.

Then she saw the largest and perhaps the ugliest face she had ever seen. He towered over the tallest of the other bandits by at least a foot. His eyes were sharp but he had teeth that were yellow stained, large, and in the case of his canine teeth, pointed and reminiscent of tusks. The firelight flickered in his eyes, reflecting their pale yellow color. T'lerin whimpered in fright and nearly passed out again.