Honor Bound (3 page)

“With their
swords,” she added regaining her composure effortlessly. “So the Blessed One
will know they fought well.”

Chapter 2

“You’re sure?”
Doubt colored her tone.

“Yes, Miki,” her
old noan huffed as he trudged along side her across the rocky hilltop. “The old
tales spoke of how cunning she was.” He braced the long wood staff in the
ground and leaned his weight on it.

Miki paused to
check the lacings of her tanned boots. The move allowed her to give the man
who’d raised her from a youngling, a chance to catch up. Sweat gleamed on his
bald head when he reached her side. His chest rose and fell with each panting
breath beneath his overlong grey tunic. Miki stood and brushed non-existent
dirt from her favorite yellow tunic and tan leggings. Her hand trembled as she
studied the aged map and journal.

She couldn’t
believe she attempted this course of action. Miki considered herself strong
willed. Stubborn some would say but this ill advised trek into the hills
stretched beyond any of her prior rebellions. If only going to the mystic
caverns wasn‘t so important.

“Ashaya may well
be revered for saving us as well if this is truth,” Miki pondered aloud as she
slowed her pace for him. The woman Ashaya Galip held prominence in the history
annuals for her clever maneuvers three years ago. With the aid of an unknown friend,
Ashaya managed to smuggle out the two wagons containing the bodies of the
fifteen Warlords and that of her son the Overlord. The stories claimed she hid
their bodies to rise again later and bring glory to Kaban.

According to the
worn journal Miki possessed, Ashaya discovered the plot to kill her son too
late to warn Vaan Galip but with a servant’s help, she managed to switch the
poison for a drug that caused deep sleep. At the time, the Kabanians believed
Thenl’s lies. Others went along with the judgment for the chance at power
themselves without the Overlord to stand in their way. The attack on Anane
provided the perfect opportunity for betrayal.

Many remembered
the horror of the slaughter. There were children slain in their sleep. Women
and men without fighting skills struck down where they stood. As Ashaya
described it in her journal, the sight would never be erased from her minds
eye.

But things did not
go as planned after the disappearance of the Overlord and his men. Those that
turned against him and believed the lies suffered under the leadership of
Thenl. Warriors faltered under the Councils rule without the strong hand and
guidance of the Overlord and his top Warlords. The tentative truce with Desani
fell through in days and the tide of war shifted in favor of the Desani King.

Now the Kabanians
sought an alliance with Mikayla’s people because their land bordered Kaban and
Desani. The land Overlord Vaan tried to unite now struggled. The Raasa were
fools for believing there was any honor left in the Warlord Thenl. The Council
members strained to maintain control under Thenl and Dakar. Poor rule, betrayal
and lack of honor left the Kaban territory ripe for the picking. The people
suffered under strife and chaos.

Miki double
checked the map and her surroundings. The dirt path she followed veered sharply
to the right. Overgrown brush covered what previously provided a clear trail up
the hill side. Thank the Blessed One Miki traveled during the mid-day. At
night, she’d easily lose her way.

If what she planned
worked, everything in her life was about to change. “Almost there, No-No.” She
reverted to the name she’d used for him as a child. The reminder also acted as
motivation.

His tired smile
rewarded her efforts. “I will rest, little one. You go on.” Eran promptly sat
on the ground and folded his knobby legs beneath him.

Miki paused. Doubt
at her course of action plagued her. “Are you sure we can trust the journal
belonged to Ashaya Galip?”

Pale green eyes
blinked up at her as he lay the walking stick beside him. “I trusted the friend
who left the journal into my keeping. Those are Ashaya‘s words, I assure you.”

Miki accepted his
words. She needed to hurry. Someone would report her absence if she did not
return soon. As the head of her household and a female, she was to be under
guard continually. “You will rest and be here when I return?” Leaving him alone
did not leave her with a feeling of comfort.

Eran spread his
thin arms wide and glanced around the hills and wooded terrain. “Be at ease, my
child. No danger lurks here since we alone dared this journey.” His lips turned
down in a grimace, baring the tips of his fangs as he adjusted his seat.

Miki clicked her
teeth and hesitated further. She wished they had chosen to ride. They were an
hours journey by foot from home, less if one traveled by hapfe. Few animals
equaled the speed of the dun colored bi-pedal creatures.

“I’ll not tarry.
If the caverns are empty, I’ll make haste returning.”

Eran’s wrinkled
faced creased with his smile. His thin chest heaved beneath his worn grey
tunic. Mikayla studied him closer and realization hit her.

“Noan.” His name
broke past her lips on a whisper of sound and Mikayla hurried to his side,
dropping to her knees.

“Cease. You need
not be saddened. I have seen many morning tides and the Blessed One has allowed
a portion of those to be spent caring for my little Mikayla.”

Tears welled in
her eyes but she blinked them away. Her parents joined the Blessed One when she
was too little to recall their faces. Losing her noan would break her heart.

“I don’t wish to
lose the only parent I’ve ever known.” She clasped one of his hands with hers
and felt the fragile bones beneath his skin.

“Today is not my
day. I am but weary and won’t hold you up. This is important.” He used her hold
to bring her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles softly. “I would see you
happy and mated in a True Union with one you love before I go to my eternal
sleep.”

Mikayla’s relief
lightened the grief in her heart. She’d have to trust he spoke truth. “Let’s
hope we find the Overlord and his Warlords. I plan to offer one of them a
chance for an alliance with us through mating.” With one last look to reassure
herself of his comfort, Miki climbed to her feet.

“Do you have the
sakar?” He released her hand and relaxed.

Miki tapped the
leather bag on her hip. “Yes.” Her pouch held Raasa venom carefully harvested
from her oral sac over the last few days. The small round protrusions on the
roof of her mouth housed the poison a Raasa could secret. According to the
journal, Ashaya claimed it would awaken Vaan and his men from the deep sleep.
Miki had sixteen injections to give. One for each male.

“Then go, my
little one. I will rest.”

Miki leaned over,
kissed his forehead and hurried down the path.

Chapter 3

Miki eyed the dark
mouth of the cavern. Vines and bramble hung over the entrance, attesting to its
untouched state. More vegetation growth trailed down the sides with bursts of
yellow and lavender flowers spilling onto the ground. Miki crept closer, trying
not to let the eerie silence unnerve her. The cavern existed exactly where the
map indicated.

A shiver of
foreboding traced down her spine. Miki admired Ashaya’s choice of hiding place
for her son. No one thought to search the neighboring lands of the Raasa for
the bodies of the missing men. Ashaya’s tattered journal spoke of a strange
male helping the woman in her mission. Together, they’d devised a plan to
switch out the poison for a draught that simulated death.

Instead of dying,
according to the notes, the Warlords all succumbed to a deep sleep unbeknownst
to Dakar and Thenl. Ashaya wanted to wake her son immediately after escaping
but matters worsened and Ashaya accepted the stranger’s advice to hide the men
in a long unused cavern on Raasa land with the hope that she’d return to free
them. Miki didn’t know if such would have happened because Ashaya died a few
months later, leaving behind the journal with the strange male who in turn
passed it to his friend Eran of the Raasa.

Miki fingered the
map once more and then slid it into the pocket of her leggings. Shortly, she’d
know if the long ago written words spoke truth. Taking a deep breath, Miki
moved forward. A cold breeze snapped on the air and instantly chilled her skin.
Miki rubbed the pebbled flesh on her arms.

The low curved
ceiling caused her to walk bent over for the first several feet but soon the
rough ground shifted downward, revealing a narrow stairway. Above her head the
space widened. Miki straightened with her arms to her side for guidance and
walked forward. Dampness greeted her hands when she made contact with the cave
walls. Miki flinched in disgust and yanked her hands back. Using only her sense
of touch, she inched carefully down each carved step.

The soles of her
shoes squished with every step. Miki refused to look down. She didn’t want any
details about the things she stepped on. Musty air and putrid rot filled her
nose each time she inhaled. She pursed her lips and blocked out the scent.

Further along when
she reached the bottom, the cave widened and light shown ahead. The map offered
no further details. Miki plunged forward and came to an abrupt halt. She faced
the entrance of a large circular room well lit by glow stones on each wall. At
the center of the room, a large fire burned from a rock covered pit.
Surrounding the flames as if in rest, sixteen large male bodies lay on their
backs stretched out on the stone ground.

Miki’s breath
rasped in her chest. Blessed One, the journal spoke truth.
‘The flame shall
burn as ever does my love for my son. May its healing warmth hold him close as
I can not.’
As Ashaya’s words from her journal came to mind, Miki did a
slow turn, taking in the magnificent sight of the Kabanian warriors

Arms folded over
their bare chest and dressed in black tough skin leathers, they each presented
an imposing figure. Warlords without equal and known as fighters who gave no
mercy in battle. Miki crept forward, careful of her steps. The first warrior
lay closest to her booted foot. His dark hair a sleek fall about his head. Miki
kneeled beside him and reached out to touch his tanned arm. Heat. She pulled
back. His body was hot to the touch.

Loosening the
pouch at her waist, Miki’s eyes greedily sucked in his appearance. Over six
feet in height and thick all over, they were nothing like the small lean
figures of the men she lived with. ‘Of course not,’ she chided herself. They
were Kabanian warriors, not Raasa males. Unable to resist, she stroked a finger
over his bare chest. Again, warm flesh to her touch.

Her mind puzzled
that fact. Where was the hard plated armor they reportedly wore? Had the coccar
insects that protected them, died during their forced years of sleep? Had the
sleeping mixture damaged them?

She shook her
head. Too many questions to answer when she needed to hurry. Miki looked over
all of the men. She wanted to bargain with Vaan Galip. Overlord Vaan’s
reputation claimed him the fiercest warrior ever to walk the land. His honor
reputed to be equal to his strength and intensity.

Miki needed a
fierce warrior at her side. Warlord Thenl vowed to return soon with a
contingent of warriors to force her to join with him. She’d refused his initial
request a week ago, having no desire to create a True Union with a man whose
actions spoke of a lack of concern for those who stood in his way. The fact
that Kaban suffered during his leadership supported her decision. The last
three years showed a decline in the people. All of it Thenl’s fault, she
believed. Miki did not want that for Raasa and definitely not for the people of
her house.

Miki reached into
her pouch and pulled out the first injector. The yellow liquid looked ordinary
but the thickness of the fluid assured Miki that the venom she’d added had not
lost its potency. She hoped Eran’s explanation spoke the truth.

One dose of this
should bring the Kaban warrior from his deep sleep. She placed the small square
on his muscled forearm and pressed down. A small click and the fluid drained
out until the injector emptied. Miki licked her lips and leaned back on her
heels.

The warrior’s eyelids
flickered. “Blessed One,” she gasped. The muscles in his arms twitched.
Suddenly, he jolted and sat upright. Miki tried to scramble backward but the
hand closest to her reached out and clamped around her throat.

“What are you
doing?”

He growled the words
in the standard tongue. Miki choked out her response in the same language.
“Helping. I’m helping.”

He released her as
suddenly as he’d grabbed her and she fell on her backside. Miki massaged her
sore throat, her heart pounding in her chest. The warrior looked around at the
prone figures of his brethren. Miki rubbed her hands on her leggings to distill
the dampness.

“What goes on
here?” He pinned her with eyes as dark as the coals used to heat the house
fires.

“I am Mikayla,”
she started.

“You are Raasa,”
he growled, as if her race were an insult.

Nerves tangled in
a ball in her belly. “Yes.”

“We were poisoned.
Are you a part of Thenl’s treachery?”

Miki blinked at
the mention of the Warlord who would not accept her refusal to be with him. “I
had no hand in harming you and your men.” This must be Vaan. The look he aimed
her way boiled with fury.

Miki climbed to
her feet. The warrior copied her actions. Moving to a crouch and then rising to
his full height. He was indeed large. Larger than Thenl and the band of
warriors he’d brought with him to her home. The warrior’s broad shoulders
stretched as his head swiveled this way and that.

“You will explain
your actions and why I am up but my fellow warriors remain in death’s embrace.”
His hands curled into fists at his side while his dark head lowered to gaze at
her.

Miki backed up a
step and stumbled over a warrior behind her. She cried out and fell to her
hands and knees. The warrior did nothing to assist her, and Miki decided then
and there she would not present her offer to him. She’d choose another. One of
the other Warlords who would prove to be as fearless as the Overlord glaring at
her would work fine.

“You were not
poisoned. Your mother managed to switch the drink with a sleeping draught.”

“What?” Surprise
flashed across his stern features.

“Ashaya kept a
journal. In it, she detailed Thenl’s plot and how Dakar helped him to betray
you and your top Warlords.”

A longer stare
pinned her to the spot. Miki dared not move.

“How did you…” he
waved a hand at his form. “Awaken me from this sleep?”

She showed him her
leather pouch with the injectors. “She used a small dose of sakar to create the
deep sleep.”

He glared but she
stood her ground. “You will revive the others.”

Miki swallowed. “I
planned to.”

Under his watchful
stare, she went to the next man and knelt beside him. The heat of the warriors
stare burned a hole in her shoulders as she posted the injection. This time,
she leaped back when the warrior jerked upright. He stood slowly and looked as
if he contemplated Miki’s demise.

The first warrior
said something to him. Miki frowned. They spoke Kaban. After the exchange, the
one she identified as Vaan pointed at her. “Continue. Do not stop until they
all rise.”

Legs quivering,
Miki hurried to each man and gave him the sakar. After each injection, she
observed and tried to discern which warrior would be fierce enough to battle
Thenl.

All of them could
crush her with their massive frames but only the toughest would suit her needs.
She knelt beside the last man, ignoring the babble of the others as they talked
amongst themselves in Kaban. She knew they discussed her but could not focus on
that yet. Her heart hammered in her throat as she shook uncontrollably. Her
plan must succeed.

Miki reached into
her pouch and her fingers came away sticky. “No.” She opened the leather bag
further only to pull out the smashed pieces of the last injector. Her stomach
dropped. Broken glass and wasted venom.

“Why do you stop?”

Miki held up her
hand and showed him. “It’s broken. I have no more.” She moistened her lips and
kept her gaze focused. Terror welled up inside.

The Warlords
surrounded her and the man still to be awakened. Blessed One. Miki thought
fast. Fifteen strong males that could hurt her if they wanted. “I can make
more. It should work.” She could produce more venom from the sac beneath her
upper gum line but she had no injector. Raasa venom was poisonous in
concentrated amounts. The injector minimized this risk by directing it to the
blood stream.

“You will make it
work,” the first warrior decreed.

Miki shoved the
broken pieces in her pouch, her movements jerky. “This is your fault. If you
hadn’t grabbed me, I wouldn’t have fallen and broken the last one. I can use my
venom but…”

“You will make it
work,” he repeated.

The other Warlords
eyed her with suspicion. One went so far as to unsheathe his sword from his
chest harness. His dark shoulder length hair was a match to his brethren. Miki
knew the Kabanians typically sported dark hair and eyes although their skin
seemed to change with the climate. Hotter months darkened them enough to be
similar to the gold tint of a Raasa.

Miki took a deep
shuddering breath. “I am going to try but now would be a good time to bargain.”

“Bargain.” His
expression darkened. “I will kill you where you stand, Raasa.”

“Fine, Overlord.
Then this warrior won’t awaken.”

More grumbles as
they talked. An argument broke out among them. They gestured in her direction
and then the prone warrior. Their discussion became heated before the Overlord
made a slashing motion with his hand.

“What is your
bargain?” He stood over Miki, his hands on his narrow waist.

Miki sucked her
tongue and pushed on her gum to stimulate her sac. Glancing down at this final
warrior, she thought long and hard. His build mirrored the others. Tall, she
judged by the length of his legs in the black leather. A dagger rested strapped
to his right thigh. Muscled, as well, with his chest bare of any adornment save
the harness criss-crossing his shoulders and abdomen. The hilt of his sword gleamed
visible over his shoulder.

Again, she noted
the smoothness of tanned flesh. No scars marred his upper body. The coccar
served them well. None of the men had scarring on their body. She reached up
and smoothed back the long black hair from his face. The length probably longer
than her own falling to his broad shoulders. Miki was fascinated by the
texture. Raasa males lost the hair on their heads as soon as they matured.

“Woman speak!”

Miki jumped and
pulled her hand back. “I wish a True Union. I…” Could she put her plan in
action? “I need a warrior for my mate. The fiercest Warlord possible.”

His dark eyes
stared at her. The men around stayed as silent. Not by a twitch of their
unusual eyebrows did they betray confusion at her request.

“No,” he
responded.

Miki gasped. “You
can’t deny me.”

He waved his hand
at the last remaining warrior. “He would rather be dead than bonded for life to
a Raasa.” They all sneered in agreement at his announcement.

Miki gripped her
leather pouch tightly. “Then he would be a fool and so are you. The Kabanians
of the past no longer exist. They war among themselves and Kaban is a shell of
what you made it.” She thumped a fist on her thigh. “I offer a chance. An
alliance with my house in exchange for a True Union with this one.”

She pointed her
finger down. “Is his sacrifice too great? One you can afford to pass up? You
are not the Overlord I had come to believe who conquered the Kaban lands if
this is your thought.”

He seemed to only
hear one part of her rant. “Explain yourself. Kaban has thrived under the
leadership of the Overlord and his Warlords.”

She ran a shaky
hand through her hair and wondered if all of them could sense her frustration
and fear. Her dreams and plans would be for naught if the Overlord was correct
and this remaining warrior denied a bonding with her.

She had planned to
offer an alliance but none of them seemed interested remotely in the idea. The
looks on their faces spoke volumes. Her heart sank and a twisting feeling
started in her gut. When the Kabanian Warlord Thenl came back in a month, he’d
want an answer to his proposed joining. If she refused, he’d force her hand
unless she procured a strong defense. A worthy, fearsome male who would put the
cocky Thenl in his place.