Blood of Dragons - The Squire

Amber's mouth slid from Tolas' own as she planted kisses all across his face and down his neck, her tongue lapping at every inch of exposed skin she could find. "Take me," she whispered between kisses. "I want you. I want you inside me. I want you to claim my cunt!"

Tolas pushed with all his might, prying himself from Amber's grasping limbs and throwing her back onto the bed. He quickly backpedalled several steps, bumping against the vanity, and tried to slow his breathing. Amber sat up rigidly, her hair tousled, and her eyes wild.

"Are you refusing me?" she said with husky breaths. She slid off the bed and stalked towards Tolas, staring him down, unblinking. He backed away slowly, hand grasping the hilt of his sword. By the oaths of the knighthood, Tolas would not dare use it against a foe who was unarmed, but the look in Amber's eyes was unnerving, unnatural; every instinct was telling him that she was dangerous.

"Come on, dragon boy," Amber crooned. "Don't you want to claim the sweetest treasure of all?" She reached up and spread the top of her robe wide open, exposing her pert, round breasts, and deep pink nipples. Tolas couldn't help but glance down at them as she drew closer, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of her reflection in the vanity, and any hint of arousal in his veins instead ran cold.

The Amber in the mirror had no eyes; two pools of inky black void swirled inside her head, spilling out and floating like an eldritch halo. Her skin was stretched taut across her skull, her bones threatening to pierce through. As Amber opened her mouth and licked her lips seductively, her reflection extended a long, prehensile tongue that dripped with black ichor.

"Touch me," said Amber, teasing her nipples with her fingers.

Tolas reached down his collar with his free hand and fished out the holy symbol that hung around his neck, a gauntleted fist clutching a pair of scales, the icon of the Arbiter. He held it up to Amber's face.

"Begone from my sight, dweller of darkness!" Tolas intoned a practised prayer that he had spent many hours studying. "From this form, I cast you out! From this plane, I banish you! In the light of the Arbiter, I command you: Be gone!"

The holy symbol glowed in Tolas' hand, and Amber stopped in her tracks. Her neck twitched, and her smile became fixed. In stark contrast, the corrupted reflection twisted back and forth on itself, writhing in discomfort.

"What's wrong? Aren't I pretty?" asked Amber. The scratch in her voice was made all the more disturbing by the fact that her lips and jaw did not move as she spoke.

"Begone from my sight!" Tolas repeated, stepping forward and presenting the holy symbol even closer to Amber. "By the Arbiter's Law, I abjure you!" The reflection flinched hard, folding inwards and snarling even as Amber's body remained stiff.

"You think you are strong enough, boy?" rasped a voice that was not Amber's. "You're just a novice, a neophyte, not even close to -"

"Begone!" shouted Tolas, pressing the holy symbol to Amber's bare chest, right above her heart. Her jaw loosened as the flesh beneath the symbol sizzled and burned, and she let out a mournful scream, inches from Tolas' face. He could see the aberrant monstrosity in the mirror dissipate in a swirl of shadows, leaving only Amber behind. Her legs gave way, and Tolas caught her; he lowered her gently to the ground. Amber looked up, unfocused.

"...I know you, don't I?" she said.

"What?" It was the last question Tolas was expecting, and he wasn't ready for it.

"I do..." murmured Amber. "You're Tolas... that squire with the dragon blood..." She smiled shyly. "I always thought... you were cute..." Amber's eyes fluttered closed, and she drifted off to sleep in Tolas' arms.

Tolas sat stunned, trying to process the last few minutes. Amber had been a vessel for a dark power, something that affected her mind and behaviour. Was it her own doing, or was it because of her mother? What else was it capable of doing? And most importantly, what was it planning to do?

Tolas snapped out of his thoughts as the door of the bedchamber was thrown open, and the two guards from downstairs rushed into the room, no doubt drawn by the shouts and screams. It was at that moment that Tolas realised he was kneeling on the floor with the lady of the house in his arms, her breasts and sex completely exposed by her open robes.

"I can explain..." he began.

*******

"Ten minutes," said Sir Eglamore. "It took you ten minutes of bodyguard duty to get thrown into a cell." The knight pinched the bridge of his nose. "I had just made it back to the courthouse too."

"Sir Eglamore, this is all a giant misunderstanding," said Tolas as the gaoler unlocked the iron gate that stood between him and his master. "Whatever you heard, it isn't true!"

"I should hope not, because what I heard is that you abused your position as a squire of the Knighthood by forcing yourself upon Amber Moonward when you were alone together, before being caught by her estate guards!" Sir Eglamore motioned for Tolas to follow as he turned to leave.

"That wasn't how it happened at all!" insisted Tolas, trotting alongside Sir Eglamore to keep up with the knight's impatient strides. "She was the one who tried to force herself upon me!"

"Tolas, do you have any idea how that sounds?" said Sir Eglamore. "The word of a knight may speak only truth, but you are not a knight yet. A squire accusing a noblewoman of such a thing is not going to convince anyone, especially not..." He bit off the rest of his sentence, but Tolas understood what he meant all too well.

"Do you think so little of me, sir?" he asked, trying not to let his anger show. "After all the trouble you have endured, for taking me as a squire despite my heritage, now you believe your trust in me was misplaced?"

"Of course not!" said Sir Eglamore sharply. He sighed. "Tolas, I believe you, I do. You have proven yourself time and time again, and I have never regretted having you as a squire. But you know as well as I do how the prejudices of the nobility run deep; they will find some way to twist this against you, or even the Knighthood itself if they believe it can give them a political advantage. They would do it to any of us if they had a chance; your heritage only paints a larger target on your back."

Tolas shook his head. "What about Amb- Lady Moonward? Is she alright?"

"The guards said she was unconscious when they dragged you off, which does not help your case either," said Sir Eglamore. "Tell me what happened, leave no detail out."

"Um..." Tolas hesitated. "No detail at all?"

Sir Eglamore raised an eyebrow. Tolas gulped. What followed was an incredibly awkward explanation of what happened in the tower, punctuated with many stuttered quotations as the knight and squire made their way back to the Moonward estate. By the time he was done, and they had entered the courtyard, Tolas' bronzed skin was flushed, and his hands were nervously fiddling.

"Well," coughed Sir Eglamore. "I can certainly see how the guards would have... misinterpreted the situation."

"I tried to explain myself, but I suppose raving about an evil entity came across as a desperate lie," said Tolas. "Have you ever heard of anything like this, Sir? Could it have something to do with Donna Moonward's connection to this Dark Star?"

"Anything is possible," mused Sir Eglamore. "Who knows what manner of heresy that woman could have brought upon her house with her ministrations?"

"Sir Eglamore!" called a voice. The two of them turned to see a messenger with the livery of the house running towards them.

"I was just about to come and find you, Sir," he said. "The young Lady Moonward is awake."

"I will see her immediately," said Sir Eglamore.

"No, Sir," said the messenger. "She is asking to see your squire."

*******

"This could be a trick of some kind," said Sir Eglamore. "If there is any danger, call out, and I will come in to aid you."

Tolas nodded and followed the guard once more into the bedroom of Amber Moonward. It was just as he had left it, albeit now with three men-at-arms standing around the chamber, all glaring at him suspiciously as he entered. Amber herself was in bed, her back propped up against the pillows and, thankfully for Tolas, demurely covered by her robe and bedsheets. She looked up as Tolas stepped inside, and her expression changed from contemplative to almost hopeful.

"Tolas," she said. "Thank you for coming. My guards told me what they did to you; please accept my apologies."

Tolas blinked. Amber's mannerisms were a far cry from the uptight, aggressive young woman from before. Her voice even sounded softer, like it belonged to a completely different person.

"No need for apologies, my lady," he said warily. "They were only acting in your best interests."

"Perhaps," Amber said. "But they wrongfully accused you of a misdemeanour, and that reflects poorly upon me." Regret crept across her face. "As does my behaviour." She turned to the other men in the room. "Leave us."

The guards looked to one another, unsure of what to do. "My lady," spoke one of them. "With all due respect, we were told not to -"

"Told by a knight, who is not a member of this household!" said Amber firmly. "Whatever orders he has given you, as the head of House Moonward, my orders supersede them! Leave us now!"

Slowly the guards turned and left the room, one by one. The last turned back and said, "We will be just outside, if there is any trouble," before closing the door behind him.

Amber nodded in satisfaction, then adjusted herself to sit more upright and motioned to a chair near the bed. "Please, Tolas. Sit with me."

Tolas took a few faltering steps forward, but his hesitation was clear, and Amber sighed. "I know that you don't trust me after what I did, but I assure you, my mind is my own."

Tolas was not fully assured, but he sat down, not taking his eyes off Amber. "So, you remember what happened, my lady?"

"Somewhat," said Amber. "A lot of it is still in a haze, but I remember you. You came in while I was..." She blushed. "And I kissed... and I told you to..." Amber covered her reddened face in both hands. "By all the gods, I acted like such... such a..." She inhaled deeply through her nose, lowered her hands, and centred herself. "Whatever that was, it was not me," Amber said, almost more to herself than Tolas. "There was something inside me, twisting my mind and heart." She looked over at him. "And you saved me from it."

Amber reached up for the edge of her robe; Tolas flinched as she drew it aside, but she only revealed the skin at her collarbone, marked by a distinctive red icon.

"Your holy symbol burned its shape into my flesh," she explained. "The very scales of the Arbiter serve as evidence that you drove away whatever chose to hide within me. I cannot thank you enough, Tolas. Whatever you would have as recompense, if House Moonward can grant it, you have but to name it."

Tolas waved his hand gently. "As a knight-aspirant, I can ask for no reward, my lady. Ensuring your safety was, and still is, my duty. And it is also my duty," he added, "difficult as it may be, to ask you what you know of your mother and her... activities."

"Activities?" said Amber. "What do you mean?"

"Lady Moonward, were you aware that the Knighthood arrested your mother last night?"

"Arrested?" gasped Amber. "On what charges?"

"She was holding clandestine meetings in the tunnels, leading a cult in a subversive mission against the gods and the empire," said Tolas. "You were very defensive of her when I asked you before."

Amber frowned. "Under any other circumstance, I would not think of my mother as anything less than a good person. She has always cared for me and has followed the laws of the crown and the church for as long as I can remember.

"But the more I think about it, the more suspicious it seems. My mother has kept many hours to herself recently, talking about how she is "researching" to find better ways to help people. She has disappeared every couple of weeks for "appointments" that she will not explain. And once or twice, I thought I heard her singing in her rooms, but I did not recognise the words or even the language."

Tolas leaned forward in his seat. "My lady, what do you know about something called the "Dark Star?"

Amber gripped her bedsheets, her spine stiffened, and she shuddered in place with a gasp. "That..." she swallowed hard. "I don't know why, but when you said that... I felt... It was like a chill and a flush at the same time, all through me!" She looked at Tolas, wide-eyed. "You have... really... stunning cheekbones..."

Tolas stood with a start. "My lady? What are you saying?"

Amber quivered. "I'm sorry, I don't know what I'm saying..." She shook her head, trying to clear it, then peered at Tolas through her fingers. "Tolas, what are you doing?"

Tolas looked down and saw that he was gripping the hilt of his sword. "Forgive me, my lady," he said, carefully releasing it. "It's just, the last time you spoke like that -"

"- I almost forced myself on you," Amber finished. "I remember now! Just before you came in and, ah, "interrupted" me, I was lying in bed, and I thought I heard a voice. It said something to me about a "Dark Star" and -" Amber gasped again, shuddering harder and doubling over. "Oh gods above, that feels... feels like..." She turned her eyes to Tolas again, and he could see a wicked gleam reflected in them.

"Tolas," Amber whispered in a husky voice, "why are you still wearing clothes? You should take them off." Amber crawled out of the bedsheets on all fours, her robe starting to spill open as she licked her lips hungrily.

"Not again," Tolas muttered. He whipped out his holy symbol and held it aloft. At the sight of the icon, Amber drew back and clutched at her chest with a yelp of pain.

"T-Tolas?" she stammered. "The burn from your symbol, it hurts!" She looked down and saw her open robes. She yelped again and quickly covered herself. "What happened? What was I doing?"

Tolas looked down at the holy symbol. "I think... I think that any mention of the Dark... the object of worship that your mother's cult follows triggers something inside you that makes you, um," he trailed off.

"Act like a harlot?" Amber supplied.

"To put it bluntly, yes," said Tolas. "But my holy symbol seems to be able to keep it at bay, possibly because of how it marked you earlier."

"But why?" asked Amber. "Is this a curse? And why me?"

"I don't know," said Tolas. "But for now, we can at least try to keep it suppressed until we figure it out." He reached up and unlatched the chain that held the icon. "With your permission, my lady?"

Amber nodded and pulled aside her hair, allowing Tolas to fasten the chain around her neck. "That should help hold at bay whatever it is we're dealing with."

"How can you be sure?" said Amber. "We should test it." Before Tolas could stop her, she uttered: "Dark Star!"

The holy symbol glowed from its position at Amber's bosom, and she hissed. "Ah! That was... less than pleasant!"

"Are you alright?" asked Tolas.

"Yes, but I think for the sake of not torturing me, we should still refrain from referring to you-know-what," said Amber through gritted teeth. "That stings!"

"It will have to do for now," said Tolas. "Our next step is to determine what is causing this."

"I have an idea where to start," said Amber. "All that time that my mother was researching, she was always calling for more parchment and ink. She must have been taking extensive notes; there might be something in there that could help?"

"Absolutely," Tolas agreed. "If I may, my lady, I have a friend who specialises in studying the mystic arts. Would you object if I asked her to aid you in this?"

"If you trust her, then by all means," said Amber. "But what about you?"

"I'm going straight to the source," said Tolas. "I'm going to talk to your mother."

*******

"You do understand how many feet I have had to tread on to allow this, Tolas?"

"I know that it is irregular, Sir Eglamore, but I truly believe this will be in Amber Moonward's best interests, and she thanks you for it too."

The knight grunted and followed his squire through the corridors of the prison beneath the Grand Courthouse. As far as prisons were concerned, the cells were relatively comfortable and well-kept; although not exactly a luxury inn, the prison was kept clean and dry, with little to no vermin scurrying about the floor.

Such it was that when Tolas and Sir Eglamore entered Lady Donna Moonward's cell, the noblewoman sat poised upon her bench and managed to project some sense of dignity. Even in the simple, rough-spun attire of a prisoner, she maintained a look of superiority and disdain for her visitors.

"Sir Eglamore, a pleasure to see you," said Lady Moonward, not bothering to conceal in her tone just how little of a pleasure it was. "And of course your... mongrel as well." Her eyes were flinty with hatred as she cast them over Tolas; he bit his tongue to prevent an angry retort from slipping out.

"Take care how you speak," said Sir Eglamore. "My squire would have words with you regarding your daughter; you will tell him what he wishes to know."

"I have nothing to say to the half-blood," sniffed Lady Moonward, pointedly avoiding eye contact. "And my daughter is no concern of his."

"She is when I have to guard her," said Tolas.

Lady Moonward's face flickered with irritation. "You would put Amber in the care of a mutt, Eglamore? I would have thought that the Knighthood would show more courtesy to my only daughter and at least assigned a real knight to protect her."

"You lead a cult that preaches equality in all things," said Tolas. "Where is your so-called "tolerance?"

Lady Moonward scoffed. "Naïve boy, I do not lead the cult! I only formed the chapter here in the city for my purposes."

"What? What are you saying?" asked Tolas.

Lady Moonward turned up her nose and looked away. Sir Eglamore stepped forward.

"Answer his questions, prisoner," he said. "There is no point in hiding the truth; your crimes will be revealed to the city in the light of the Arbiter come tomorrow. Any attempt to withhold information now is simply petty and beneath you."

Lady Moonward sniffed again. "Fine. It is quite simple. All across the empire, the wretched and the impure are flocking to the Dark Star; I merely saw it as a way to gather them all in one place.

"By installing myself as a chapter leader of the cult, I assembled all the subversive lower-classes and half-breeds I could find. They think they are anonymous, but by the time they left their first meeting, I would know who they were. It would then be a simple matter to hunt them down."

"Hunt them down?" said Tolas, and realisation struck him. "The disappearances, they weren't just because people were running away to join the cult. You were having them killed, and using the cult as a means to find targets!"

"You should be thanking me," said Lady Moonward. "I was weeding out those who would upset the balance of society. Every one of those mongrels I had put down was one less rebel joining the cause of the real cult."

"They were only joining because of the lies you helped spread!" shouted Tolas. "You tricked them into following a path against the law, and then killed them for trusting you!"

"If it had not been me, it would have been a real cult leader," said Lady Moonward calmly. "Their numbers are growing by the day. If you think the meagre congregation I put together was bad, you have no concept of how deep the actual conspiracy runs."

"How do you know all this if you aren't a part of the cult?"

"I had to make sure that the wretches would believe me," the noblewoman explained. "I performed extensive research on the Dark Star and its followers, practising prayers and rituals, ensuring that my façade would be perfect. If I had not, anyone with ties to the real cult might have exposed me."