Demon Child Ch. 13

Aylanna giggled, "I am not looking for, I am looking at. I am looking at you."

Smiling up at her, his white teeth gleaming against his black skin, "And what are you seeing?"

Her eyes sparkled and she moved to straddle him, her long slender white legs on either side of his chest, looking down at his face. "I see a warrior, my warrior, my Khan." She leaned down grasping his wrists holding them up trapped in her white hands. "You will always be my warrior." Her eyes turned solemn, "You will always be my Khan, won't you?"

Jhardron's smile faded and vanished. His spirit was filled with the echoes of doubt and uncertainty and then again she sensed him close the door. He lifted his arms, ignoring her attempt to hold him down, lifting them up until he could touch her face, "Little demon, I cannot predict the future. I do not know my own; I cannot guess at yours. All we have is now. Do not try to look ahead; it will pull you under just as surely as your fear pulled you down in the water."

Still gripping his wrists, Aylanna looked down at him, for just an instant hating his control, his wisdom, wanting nothing more than lies. She looked down at him fiercely, her nails digging into his flesh, "I will not let you go!" Then she turned her head quickly and caught his hand in her teeth, biting down and holding. Her eyes blazed with challenge.

Jhardron flinched and then laughed, "Oh ho, my little demon has grown fangs." Then with a casual twist and push she was the one on the bottom before she had even realized he was moving. Now it was her turn to be pinned, her hands trapped in his, his knees on either side of her.

Aylanna strained against his restraint, struggling to escape. She grinned and panted as she fought him, playfully snapping her teeth and growling at him. He looked down at her, his eyes hot. Slowly he bent down to her, his eyes barely a hand's span from hers, his breath warm in her face. His voice was low, compelling, "All we have is now. Be here with me now." And then as she stilled and lay staring up at him, mesmerized by his eyes, he pressed his cheek to hers, pressing his lips and teeth against that sweet corner of her neck and shoulder, tasting her flesh, savoring the way her breath caught in her throat and a soft moan rose up in her chest at the heat of his mouth. He did not release her or relent in his lover's bite until his jhambar was deep within her, her long white legs wrapped around his hips, and even then he kept returning to that one place, almost feeding upon her as he rode her endlessly, listening to her calls to the goddess. As he tensed and shuddered, spilling his seed deep within her, his passion tearing away the last shreds of his reserve, he could taste her blood in his mouth.

The sun had dropped below the horizon when he lifted her to her feet and led her back to the pool to wash. She was silent, watching him with thoughtful eyes. Her fingers returned over and over to tenderly touch the bruised and bitten flesh on her neck. Jhardron pulled her head to one side and stared down at the marks his teeth had left in her flesh. His voice was soft and amused, "The courtesans call that the 'stallions bite' or the 'stallions mark'. If you watch a stallion take a mare, he will frequently hold her with his teeth.

Aylanna nodded, "Yes, I know. I have felt it before, in a dream."

This time as they rode back to the camp, she rode behind him, her arms around his waist. Aylanna felt somehow relieved to be able to hide her face against his warm skin. "My Khan, this ha'akh is sorry if she asked for too much. This ha'akh is grateful for what you have given her. It was wrong for her to press you with foolish questions."

She could feel Jhardron tense and sensed his inner turmoil. She could tell he was fighting something in his heart, but she was not sure if it was hope or resignation. "Little demon, there is nothing I want more than to ride like this, as Khan of the Twisted Dagger, with you close by my side, forever. But I have other duties and my duty pulls me back to the city and the court of the Aga Khan. Once there the water is not still and deep like the pool we just visited. There the waters are turbulent and hide terrible dangers. Once there I will not always be there to keep you from drowning. You must learn to swim in such waters."

Her voice shook, "What will happen to me there?"

"You will be presented to the Khan as part of the trophies and treasure of our campaign. After that, I cannot say for sure. Most ha'aks find a place in a warrior's home for the winter, working as servant, but I am sure you will create quite a stir at court with your demon looks. I suspect the Aga Khan may want to keep you. But listen carefully, pretty demon, be very, very careful who you reveal your magic to. The court is riddled with falsity and many of the worst deceivers will not welcome one such as you, one who will see into their heart of their tangled plots and know them for the liars that they are. And many others would seek to exploit you, use you for their own purposes, just like I do."

Aylanna tightened her arms around his waist, "Keep me? What would that mean? Will you be there?"

Jhardron did not answer for a while and then when he spoke his words did little to reassure her. "If the gods will it."

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As they rode into camp, Kwal'kek pulled Aylanna down off the back of the grey. "Ha'akh, attend your sister, she has come to me and said she is too sick to fulfill her duties. When I questioned her she would not say why. She sits in your tent, weeping." His voice was gruff but his spirit vibrated with concern.

With a sinking heart Aylanna hurried to the tent and when she touched the huddled weeping woman, Tollarra choked out, "I am sorry. Oh, sister, I am sorry."

Aylanna pulled her to face her, "What has happened?"

Tollarra spoke with a stricken voice, "There is blood, from my venya." The older ha'akh wailed, "I killed it, didn't I? I shouldn't have lain with the warriors."

Closing her eyes briefly and taking a deep breath to push back the wave a worry, Aylanna spoke in a firm voice. "Show me."

Aylanna stared critically at the small amount of blood that stained the rags of Tollarra's loincloth. Then she pressed the woman back and felt her belly, tracing the outlines of the growing womb and, to her relief, sensing the pulse of life growing within. She was so relieved to find the baby yet living that she let her awareness expand, reaching out to touch the spirit under her hands and was rewarded with the tiniest of responses, a flicker, an awareness that trembled under the touch of her mind, like the shimmer of a light reflected on rippling water. When she pulled away, she was very sure of one thing, Tollarra carried a girl child in her womb.

"Your daughter lives yet. Her life force is strong. It is not unheard of for a woman to bleed a few drops in the first moons of her pregnancy. It is not a good sign but do not give up hope. You were wise to avoid sharing blessings. You must stay down, off your feet as much as possible."

As she exited the tent to brew some more tea she caught Kwal'kek staring at her, his face full of questions. Aylanna felt her eyes fill with tears and she shook her head. "She has not lost the baby but the pregnancy is not progressing well. She will not be able to perform her duties until after the child is born."

Kwal'kek looked disturbed and began to speak and then turned away. Aylanna sensed something, something frightening, in his heart. She looked up sharply at the old quartermaster, her eyes filled with questions. He stared back at her his old tired eyes meeting hers, sad and resolved. His words stabbed her to the heart, "A warrior regiment keeps no horses in its herd that cannot be ridden."

Aylanna felt a blinding flash of rage. Her voice was shrill, raging, "What do you mean? Are you saying that you will go in and cut her throat like you do the mount with a broken leg? And will you harvest her flesh to make soup, like you did with the fallen stallions at the battle? Is that all she is? Something to ride in the night and then to be put out of her misery once she is no longer fit for your jhambar!"

Kwal'kek seemed to stagger back, his hands on his head, his eyes bulging in confusion as he fell to the ground. Then Jhardron's hands were on her, spinning her around, shaking her, his face in hers, his lips moving but she could not hear his words. He slapped her once hard across the face and she went limp in his hands. Finally she could hear his words, "You will not use magic in this camp!" He turned her to face the form of the old man, lying on the dirt like one dead. "Demon, did you kill him?"

Twisting from his grasp, Aylanna rushed to Kwal'kek, sobbing in horror. Kneeling next to him she took hold of his shoulders and shook him, calling his name in hysterical panic. Kwal'kek opened his eyes suddenly, and sat up, looking around at the sight of a dozen warriors looking down at him and the sobbing ha'akh calling his name. He had no memory of how he came to be lying on the ground. He pushed the girl back, "Get off me, girl." He pulled himself up to his feet and glared at the warriors, speaking gruffly, as he brushed the dirt off his hands, "What are you staring at? I must have tripped or something."

Jhardron gripped Aylanna's arm in an iron hard fist and dragged her from the camp, almost lifting her from the ground as he rushed her along. Finally far from the light of the fires he turned her to face him, holding both her arms, lifting her up onto her toes. His face was stormy, his words a hiss, "Demon, what did you do?"

Aylanna felt battered by the seething rage in his heart, her voice vibrated with fear. "I don't know. I don't know. All I know is that he said that he was going to kill the other ha'akh and then I was yelling at him. Then he fell down."

Jhardron looked down her, frowning in confusion. "What? He said what?"

Aylanna took a deep shaky breath, "Um... um... when I said that the other ha'akh's pregnancy was progressing poorly and she must not share blessings until after the baby was born. He said... he said that a warrior regiment does not keep horses that cannot be ridden."

Jhardron's face twitched, then became granite again, "And you thought that meant he was going to kill her?"

"Isn't that what you do with lame horses? If they cannot get well, you cut their throats and eat their flesh." Aylanna's voice began to take on notes of hysteria again.

Jhardron shook her sharply, his voice a sharp growl, "A warrior is in control of his body, heart and mind! You will calm yourself and answer."

Aylanna froze and choked out, "Are you going to kill her?"

Jhardron's answer took her by surprise, "Is she suffering in endless agony, like a horse with a shattered leg?"

Aylanna froze as she fully realized her mistake, "Oh no, oh no."

Jhardron spoke sharply, his fingers digging deep into the flesh of her arms, crushing her flesh to the bone, "I ask you again, ha'akh, what did you do to Kwal'kek?"

Aylanna went limp in his grasp, "I don't know. All I remember was that I was so worried about her, and then when he said that thing, I just flew into a rage. I just remember thinking I was not going to let him hurt her." She looked up at him with beseeching eyes, "I wasn't trying to hurt him. I would never hurt him. I love him."

Jhardron took a deep shuddering breath, "The fact that he is uninjured is the only thing that keeps me from cutting your throat this instant, ha'akh." His grip still punishing, he lifted her up and stared into her eyes, "Demon, you must know that my love for you will never stand in the way of my duty. If you cannot control your magic, if you harm a single warrior in my regiment, I will cut your heart out."

Aylanna looked at him in shock, his words reverberating in her heart. Softly she spoke it aloud, "Love?"

Again Jhardron's stony expression twitched and he narrowed his eyes. "There is no room for love in a warrior's life, only duty. Heed my words, demon, your life hangs by a thread." But the grip on her arms eased and she could sense his rage slowly draining from his heart, in its place grim, agonizing resolve.

Aylanna took several deep breaths, literally taking hold of her emotions and swallowing them down, her voice quivered with the effort to hold herself in check. "My Khan, this demon is ha'akh Bak Tai Twisted Dagger. She understands her duty. If she ever does such a thing again, she would wish that you would give her your own blade so that she may cut her own throat."

His voice was just as calm as hers, "Let us pray that is a thing you will never have to do, little demon. Let us return to the camp, you should check on your sister and perhaps Kwal'kek as well. When he fell, it was like someone had cut the strings of a puppet." Jhardron looked at her strangely, speculatively, "Demon, you have powers that you are only beginning to realize. Your magic is a fearsome thing, but if you learn to control it, you will go far."

A prickle of premonition or perhaps horror ran up Aylanna's spine. "It scares me so. I wish I didn't have it. I wish I could just be a simple ha'akh."

Jhardron's voice was musing, "And I wish I was just a simple warrior, but it was not our destiny, demon. It is a fool's game to wish for what cannot be. Come along, ha'akh, we must remember our duty."

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Thank you for taking the time to read my story.

For those of you new to this story, I have included many words of the Bak language. The meanings of most are easy to determine from context. A ha'akh is the lowest rank of servant to a warrior regiment.

Please do me the kindness of leaving me feedback and comments.

Special thanks to Dani for her wonderful editing help.

Enjoy, xantu