The Castrofax (25 page)

“We are of the thinking that his waking and
Gabriel’s capture are connected.”

“We are no match against a Mage,” Andolyn
added, and Calsifer nodded.

“Yes, but if we succeed, Gabriel will protect
us. He’s really very skilled.”

Calsifer leaned forward. “From a military
standpoint, this is overly dangerous. You are the only heiress
Anatoly has, and if you should be injured or captured, your
bloodline will be forfeit to the Novaculas. Prince Balien has no
children, and you can be certain Nolen will ensure all the Bolts
are wiped out. I suggest you wait here until you come of age to
take the throne. However, you and I know the limits of Kilkiny and
her hidden corridors. We could hope Nolen’s wits are too energized
to think of protecting the passages. It is possible that we spirit
Gabriel into a corridor and try to free him there. How would you do
it?”

“Do it? Try and kill him? I was thinking
suffocation because the breath can be reintroduced quickly.” Robyn
replied, and Calsifer nodded in agreement.

“We have hunters and fighters here and in the
surrounding countryside. We could call for them to join us. How
many men do you need?” Andolyn asked. Tea had been brought in
during the story, and she perched a cup on her knee.

Robyn looked at Calsifer in question. “As few
as possible, but only the best,” he answered. “You do not want to
bring in fifty men when five will do just as nicely.”

“Ginjer has a brother with a good sword arm,”
Talon offered. “Malic here is your bowman.”

“I’m the only bow you need,” Robyn cut
in.

“Still bold, after all these years. Very
well. Rojer’s son here is deft with an ax, but there’s Merian’s
brother—”

Andolyn put a finger up. “Count in your head
or go outside and do it aloud.” She turned back to Robyn. “You wish
to leave as soon as possible I imagine? Give us some time to muster
the men and supplies. Until then, you and I have to catch up.” The
mood instantly changed with the subject. “Is it true what they say
about Class Tens being the best lovers?”

Calsifer flushed red, and Talon snapped
“
Really
, Andolyn?”

Robyn smirked. “I wouldn’t know.”

“Yes you do, you just won’t say it in front
of these men.” Andolyn hauled Robyn up with her. “General, see to
it my brother finds you nice rooms. We will be drinking elsewhere.
Wine, Robyn?”

“Something stronger.”

“Double it for me!” Talon yelled as they
slipped out.

Andolyn pulled Robyn’s arm into her elbow as
she used to when they were young. “Tell me more.”

“I’m not lying with him,” Robyn repeated.
“Not yet at least.”

Andolyn cackled a laugh before falling
serious. “You would have him for your husband, then?”

“If he would have me.”

“I see your true motives now,” her cousin
smiled. “We’ll fetch your pretty Mage back for you in no time. He
is pretty, isn’t he?” Robyn couldn’t hide the wide smile that came
to her face. “Stars above, I need to see this man. I may just steal
him away from you when you’re not looking.”

Lieutenant Lex Shepherd had been waiting for
days as patiently as any well-trained Officer. He was green as far
as Officers were concerned, but he made up for it by a confidant
demeanor. Prince Balien sent for him after Mage Gabriel was taken,
and pleaded with Lex to do anything he could while Lady Aisling
tried to overthrow the Queen’s ruling. Lex now sat in the dungeons
with dressings and water as he waited for Prince Nolen to
emerge.

Lex came from a long line of soldiers, and
each elder instilled a sense of honor and duty in him. He joined
the Air Guard against his father’s advice, wishing to forge his own
destiny out of his father’s shadow. Until the last battle he
enjoyed serving the Prince. Nolen was good to his men, slipping
them casks of ale and buying pillow-maidens now again. The Prince
always gave them adventure and a place to find honor, but after the
bloodbath forever known as the Battle of the Stars, Lex learned how
Nolen truly saw his men. He was nothing more than a sword.

Yet, there lay a man on the cusp of death and
disaster who saw fit to heal the soldier who tried to kill him. Lex
would never forget the burning pain in his face or the sense of
defeat as he lost sight in his right eye, and the man who had
suffered far worse took his pain away. At that moment Nolen had
lost Lex’s loyalty, and the Lieutenant would forever fight for the
Mage. He was sorrowful and angry that his friends died around him,
but Lex was caught in something greater than his emotions. For
someone so powerful brought so low, the Mage needed someone to
watch over him.

The Prince stepped out of Mage Gabriel’s
prison cell a few times. But he never made it into the main foyer,
taking naps in vacant cells. An older healer Mage had come and gone
twice, and a young woman dragged down, but no others came or
went.

Lex slept little, taking hour-long naps here
and there, but his training taught him how to be strong. He
had
to be strong if he was to help the man who saved him
from a lifetime of disfigurement. His hair had already begun to
grow back, but he had the other side trimmed so the patches would
not be so obvious.

Finally, his waiting paid off. Prince Nolen
came striding up one of the dark halls carrying a sputtering torch.
Lex swallowed back his gasp; the man’s white shirt was red all up
the front. The Prince looked angry as he marched, and slowly Lex
stood and gathered what he would need. He dressed in common
clothing, so the Prince would not recognize him.

“You, boy,” Nolen stated. “Take my prisoner a
little water and keep him awake. I will return in a few hours.” He
rubbed his eyes with one bloodied hand.

“Yes, m’lord,” Lex bowed. He quickly grabbed
the water pail and scurried down the hall as Nolen left the
dungeons. Lex did not need to know which door was the correct one.
He could tell from the drag-mark of blood outside the door at the
far end. He steeled himself, grabbed a lantern, and unlocked the
wooden door.

The smell of iron, sweat, and burned flesh
accosted him as blood filled his senses. He stepped in and let the
light bathe the room, reflecting off blood puddles on the floor and
spattered drips on the walls.

He heard a rasping sound and quickly stepped
further in, closing the door behind him with a foot. A wooden table
stood further off in the door, and he rushed up. A man lay on it,
wrists and ankles tied down, but the man was so bloodied Lex could
hardly tell his identity. His eyes were black, his nose broken, his
lips bludgeoned, while his hair matted with sweat and blood. His
lips were parted and gave little shutters with each breath,
seemingly asleep. As the man’s chest rose and fell, several ribs
shifted. There were a dozen burns he could see, and hundreds of
little cuts that crept around his sides, as well as a broken collar
bone.

Lex did not know how to wake him in fear of
hurting him, so he put two fingers against the inside of his elbow
where the skin was too thin to risk tearing. “Mage Gabriel?” he
whispered. “Mage Gabriel.”

The man’s eyes flashed open, and Lex knew by
the deep blue of them that it was truly Gabriel. He gasped
sharply.

“I have relief,” Lex said and held up a skin
flask. “Can you swallow?”

Gabriel cracked his lips a little wider.
“Water,” he whispered, and Lex snapped to his duty. He reached into
the pail with a deep spoon and carefully dripped it into the Mage’s
mouth. After a few spoonful’s he uncorked Balien’s flask and
upended it slowly, making sure Gabriel took every drop.

“Nolen has left for a few hours. I’ll watch
over you while you rest,” he said as he went back to spooning water
down his throat. “I’m Lex, if you don’t remember.”

“I remember,” Gabriel whispered. His eyes
smiled a little where his mouth could not. Prince Balien had also
provided a cream-colored salve to deter the swelling. Lex unwrapped
it from its oiled canvas and dabbed it on Gabriel’s facial
wounds.

“Lady Aisling is trying to get the Queen to
overturn her ruling and put a stop to this. She’s been down here
trying to free you, but without a signed decree, she has no power
even as Councilwoman. She’s written the Head Mage to ask him to
sign a plea since he’s the only one who can overturn the Queen, but
birds are slow.” Lex dabbed at Gabriel’s broken lips with his
sleeve. “Sleep while you can.”

Gabriel closed his eyes and was asleep in
moments.

“This is
lunacy
!” Aisling shouted. “I
have been your advisor for nine years, and I have never steered you
wrong. Why is it
now
you choose not to listen to me?”

Aisling stood in the Queen’s solar before
Miranda’s desk. The Queen looked uncomfortable, but she kept her
back straight and unwavering. This was the sixth time Aisling had
come to the Queen and beg for Gabriel’s release. The Queen either
ignored her or gave a paltry excuse.

Aisling pointed down. “That boy is an
innocent civilian who has just been dealt a fate worse than death,
and you allow your son to
torture
him. He has been down
there so long I do not know if there will be anything left for me
to mend. I may not even have the strength to manage it all.
Miranda, I am pleading with you, please overthrow this decree and
let Gabriel go free.”

“Why?” Miranda asked haughtily. “So you can
have a pretty to yourself?”

Aisling slammed her palms down on the desk,
making Miranda jump. “Do not
ever
say that again.” She
straightened herself and smoothed her hands down her dress. “You
and I both know I run this kingdom. How would you like to run it
alone? The Head Mage has asked that I return to Castle Jaden for my
safety, but I remain here for yours. I will return in an hour for
your answer.” She turned to leave and made it to the door before
turning back.
‘It has come to blackmail. So be it.’

Nolen’s bootsteps on the hallway announced
his arrival moments before he opened the door. Lex shook Gabriel
awake. The pain in Gabriel’s eyes was not as prominent as it had
been, and Lex could see a little of the swelling around his eyes
had gone down. Whatever Prince Balien mixed together did the
trick.

“Get him up,” Nolen stated as he walked in.
He washed the blood from his skin and changed his clothes, looking
refreshed. Lex carefully untied the binds and helped Gabriel sit
up. Gabriel let out a sharp scream as his back came off the table,
and Lex saw it was torn to shreds. Only a small strip up the lower
back where his muscle rose around the spine was undamaged.

Nolen did not waste time and quickly grabbed
a fistful of Gabriel’s hair, jerking him to the center of the room
and attaching his wristlets to hooks hanging from the ceiling.
“Watch or leave,” Nolen stated to the soldier. Against his better
judgment, Lex stayed, telling himself he needed to be here to
better help Lady Aisling heal him in the end. He already had an
inventory of the wounds that needed tending first, and he knew more
would accumulate.

Gabriel could hardly stand. Using the chain
supporting him to stay on his feet, he leaned on the right arm to
avoid the break in his collar. Nolen pulled the chain and grabbed a
long bullwhip. He pushed Gabriel roughly to face him, his back to
Lex, and unfurled the whip.

“Do you yield?”

“Still no,” Gabriel replied, his voice a
little stronger.

Nolen furrowed his brow and drew the whip
across Gabriel’s stomach with a loud
snap
. Gabriel grunted,
the drugs undoubtedly masking some of the pain, and braced for
another that quickly came. Lex lost count, but with each strike
Gabriel’s knees gave a little more, and his grunts deepened until
cries broke through his clenched teeth.

Nolen paused to rest his shoulder. Gabriel
reached a hand around the chain and hauled himself back up on his
feet to Nolen’s astonishment. Lex had realigned the bones in
Gabriel’s hands that had only broken at the joints. They would
still need healing, but at least he could bend them a little. He
leaned his head on an arm and gasped for breath, shaking through
the pain.

When Nolen regained his arm, the whipping
continued. Gabriel stood admirably for a while before slowly
sinking as low as the chain hung him. Nolen tossed the whip aside
and took up a new wooden item with a winch on it, fitting it over
Gabriel’s left forearm. He wrapped a rope around both ends and
tightened the wooden pieces with his Air Element slowly. The bone’s
crack soon filled the room coupled with Gabriel’s cry of agony.

Nolen unwound it, and promptly put it on the
other forearm. Nolen broke the forearm more slowly, giving the
bones time to crack before each one gave. Gabriel stood there
gasping “
Oh, stars… oh, stars,
” in a world of pain.

Nolen drew on a pair of red leather gloves
with points of metal sticking from the knuckles. He stood before
Gabriel and waited, meeting the man’s eyes.

“Still no,” Gabriel snapped, pain giving his
voice anger.

Nolen struck him hard in the ribs, taking the
breath from him. Lex closed his eyes, listening to the brutal
concussions and Gabriel’s cries. No matter what happened, Lex would
be his ally.

He continued for some time before Gabriel let
out an angry scream, and Lex’s eyes popped open to see him losing
the ability to stand. His hands clenched the chain above his head,
and he tried to pull himself up but his forearms would not allow
it. Nolen focused his blows to the right thigh. It was only a
matter of time before the bone was compromised. Bones were
powerfully strong, but everything broke in time.

Nolen straightened as Gabriel did his best to
keep his balance staring him square in the eye. “There is no Spirit
Mage here to heal you. You will hang there until you break.”