Mage and Consort Pt. 02

Leo didn't respond. There was a sense of unreality to it all. His Lady's warm skin under his, the touches he tried to keep tender as he first held up her buttocks and then leaned her half upright. He knew how to carry a man, knew he could tolerate Lady Anya's weight for some time, but he didn't know what would injure her least.

"I will tie her onto you," Lady Karlov said as she rummaged through the bureau, stuffing his Lady's clothing alongside her own. "You need to be able to move fast, when we go. First, you must give me any Seed you have left. I have precious few reserves after your poor performance this afternoon, and then having to dig my way through to you. Now is not the time to hold back, or save some for Anya."

She gestured at his unconscious Lady, as though her point weren't obvious enough.

He shook his head. "She drained me more deeply than I have ever felt. She took everything, Lady."

Lady Karlov frowned. "I suspected as much, given the feat she performed. Not to mention the quantity of emission left behind. Then we're wasting time. And you will tell me the moment you're able, because now all our fates rest upon my wits and my talent. Am I clear, Leo? I don't care if it will be a mere dribble. I don't care about your pride. I will use it, and then again, and again. Because that is your duty."

#

Leo moved fast as he could, following Lady Karlov's slim form as she zigzagged around fallen stone. On one occasion he had to squeeze through a still-smoking hole in a jumble of heavy bracing timbers. The Lady had not lied about using her talents to get through.

The sling she had crafted was quite clever, distributing some of his Lady's weight onto his back while allowing him to cradle her and protect her tightly-wrapped arms. The bruising extended above her wrists, mottled red and purple. Lady Karlov told him her wrist was indeed broken, and both shoulders torn somehow. Leo still couldn't understand how exactly she'd been hurt.

There were distant cries, but the stonestorm seemed to be abating.

Lady Karlov gestured him to a halt before a turn.

"Most are still in the cellars," she whispered, breath warm in his ear. "But the risk of meeting someone ahead is high. Stay silent, wait for my signals, and let me handle anyone."

She peeked around the corner, waved him onward, and he hurried diagonally across the open hall. Just as he reached the opposite entryway, a woman appeared in the corridor in front of them.

It was Lady Charlotte. He relaxed, seeing her kind face, now smudged with dust. She drew up, taking in the three of them, and her eyes narrowed.

"Melina," she said. "And Leo. Is Anya in need of assistance?"

Surely Lady Charlotte knew more of medicine than Lady Karlov, and he trusted her. Leo opened his mouth, but Lady Karlov barged in first.

"Yes, of course, Lady Charlotte. She was injured, and I was leading her and her Consort to the medics in the cellar."

"What a good deed," Lady Charlotte said. But her tone was brittle, unfamiliar to Leo. She was staring at Lady Karlov and the bag she carried. Whatever else, Lady Charlotte was very, very sharp.

"You know, I was just about to return there myself," Lady Charlotte continued. "Perhaps I can be of help. I have some --"

Lady Karlov leaped forward suddenly, and there was a sharp crackling sound. Lady Charlotte crumpled to the floor.

"Hah," the Lady said. She looked almost exultant at what she'd done. "Now we're really on the run."

Leo stared in horror at Lady Charlotte's body. "You monster," he hissed. His whole body shook, so much he worried he'd lose hold of Lady Tur.

"You sentimental fool. I didn't hurt her badly, and I don't know how long she'll be unconscious. She would have brought everyone down on us."

Leo choked back a sob. He could see the signs now, the slight rise and fall of the Lady's chest.

He imagined waiting here stubbornly, until Lady Karlov gave up and ran off alone. Apologizing to Lady Charlotte when she woke, telling her everything. And she would show him her kind face, the one she'd always given him. Not the face she'd shown Lady Karlov. He wanted the comfort a teacher gave to a pathetic apprentice Consort, one who had no real power and no one else to pity him.

His Lady's weight rested heavily in his arms. Lady Karlov watched him, uncharacteristically silent.

When she turned and hurried down the corridor, Leo followed.