The Lord of the Clans (13 page)

Chapter Eighteen

“Dear Creators, what are you doing?”

He grunted as she shouted and rushed to his side. Heart pounding with the force of a blacksmith striking metal, she threw herself at his feet. The knife stuck out of his shoulder, but he kept his grip on it. His knuckles whitened around the hilt as a wince of pain rippled across his features.

“It hurts to make you see the truth.”

“This is ridiculous. You’re being ridiculous.”

“We shall see.”

The shadow of a smile tipped his lips. Then he tightened his grasp and wrenched the blade out of his flesh without a sound. Beads of sweat dampened his forehead as blood spurted out of the wound. When he dropped the long cooking knife, she reached for the pouch at her belt.

“Don’t, Ariana! No herbs, no mud, no whatever you have in mind to use.
Just you.
Now, heal me.”

She started at the harshness of his tone. Obviously convinced she was some kind of witch, he wouldn’t let it go unless she did what he asked.
And why not?
Failing to heal him might make him realise his mistake. With any luck, he’d get off her back after that.

She let loose the strings tying her pouch with a sigh, and showed him her empty hands.

“I can’t heal you without my herbs, and we both know it. You’ll get nothing from your stubborn attitude, but I’m warning you. Don’t turn grumpy on me again when this doesn’t work.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

“Suit yourself, my lord.”

A thick trail of blood stained his muscular chest. Had he been any other man, she might have slowed down her movements to let him suffer a little while longer. He was in great pain, even if he concealed it well, and she didn’t have the heart to act offended or full of resentment.

His eyes shimmered as if he braced himself for victory when she placed her palm over the sticky wound. Although this wasn’t a battle, she got a glimpse of his state of mind whenever he fought enemies.

Sharp-edged and implacable.
Ruthless and relentless.
While she repressed the flush of admiration threatening to shade her brow, his anticipating whisper sent a tingle down her spine.

“Open your eyes and watch this.”

Sure, but she didn’t see anything. No glow, no sensation of heat or cold, not even the tiniest impression of healing him.
Just like it happened every time she treated an injury.
The herbs cured, not her. Still, she left her hand over the wound and gazed at him.

“How long would you like me to do this? The longer you
wait,
the more blood you lose. But by all means, take your time to think about it. Just let me know when you’re satisfied.”

Her sarcastic tone wasn’t lost on him because he cocked his head in a comical way. His reaction startled her, given that she expected to exasperate him, or at the very least rouse a sulky expression on his face. Deep in the throes of pain, what could possibly be funny to him?

“Thank you very much, Ariana. I’m entirely satisfied with your work. You may let go of me now.”

She removed her hand and her stomach lurched. She had never fallen from heights, but she reckoned that the reeling in her belly would feel similar. His flawless shoulder glinted in the moonlight. The unmarred skin seemed to taunt her, to warn her of an unforeseen future. Magic lived inside her.

Guts twisted with dread, she wrenched her gaze away from his perfect limb to look at him. No mockery showed on his features. No hint of boasting triumph. He regarded her with the utmost seriousness while she forced the question out of her mouth.

“How long have you known?”

“Since the first morning.
My medicine man wanted to cut off my leg. You treated me instead, and I woke up without
so
much as a scar.”

“The power of plants doesn’t rank high in your mind, does it? Don’t you have faith in healers?”

“As I said, herbs can do a lot of good but within limits. Although I was already certain you are no ordinary person, the bloody incident at the barn confirmed my convictions.”

The arrow imbedded in his flesh.
The pierced lung inexorably drawing him toward the deep silence of eternity.
She’d pulled him back from the brink of death and into the world of the living. Except that her training and teachings hadn’t saved him. Her magic had.

The aching beat of her pulse disturbed her thoughts. What was she supposed to do with this newfound, frightening knowledge? Why didn’t her shaman warn her? Although he might not be aware of her condition, she felt more and more positive he had kept things from her.

Cameron folded his large hand over hers as if her unanswered interrogations were written on her forehead.

“Do you realise your shaman has a hidden ploy?
At least, regarding your extraordinary abilities.”

“I assure you he’s a good man.”

“He may be. Yet that doesn’t change the fact that he deliberately kept you in the dark, and never mentioned your powers.”

No, her shaman never suggested she might be special, although she’d often had the unclear impression that he treated her somewhat differently than the other girls. Maybe she should have paid more attention at the time.

When she missed a lesson because Kelton asked her to meet down at the river, her absence didn’t seem to matter much to her teacher as long as she healed wounds with efficiency. On the other hand, he’d yell at the other students without restraint for much less than that.

“Ariana, I’m convinced he was fully aware of your potential when he sent you on this quest.”

“I hardly think healing my aunt can be considered a quest.”

“Neither do
I
.”

The simple touch of his fingers warmed her and helped shake off a confused sensation of duplicity, sadness and loss.

She had always put her trust in her mentor since she was a little girl. Although the idea of him lying and manipulating her would be hard to accept, her faith in the powerful man currently holding her hand prompted her to search deeper. Then the answer came.

“He wants the disc.”

“In all probability, yes.”

She blew out a long breath. She drew comfort and courage from the strength of his calloused palm. The sudden leap from being a simple healer to a woman wielding magic would be enough to terrify anyone, but from the look of it, worse was coming her way.

“He believed I’d be able to find and retrieve the disc. Maybe my aunt isn’t even sick, but he needed an excuse to send me toward the Shrine of Fate. He knows all about the Ancients and their scriptures.”

“I wouldn’t have put it better.”

Tears rose up, but she bit them back and swallowed the knot wedged in her throat. Acting on impulse, she bent sideways to seize the hem of her cloak. She fished the disc from the large pocket, and held it in the centre of her palm. Black as night, the strange object didn’t appear ominous.

“I wonder what it’s for.”

“I’m sure your shaman has a pretty good idea concerning the nature and the proper use of this disk. Given that you can’t ask him, I guess we’ll just have to find out for ourselves.”

The small, magical object suddenly lost its appeal as her throat dried from the power of his words. Whatever mystical forces were at work, she only cared about the term he had just employed.

We
.

He included himself in this bizarre quest, whereas she had feared he’d leave her to fend for herself as soon as they got to Frahern.
Especially if they discovered her aunt active and blooming.

Notwithstanding the fact that she’d get lost on many occasions during her journey back home, she didn’t have the strength to overcome pitfalls. If anything, the encounter with the soldiers at the barn proved it. They’d have raped and killed her if Cameron hadn’t been around.

The time of drawing a veil over her feelings had reached its completion. Like it or not, she couldn’t lie to herself any longer. She enjoyed his
company,
she loved the way he made her feel. Teasing and stubborn as he could be, she wanted him by her side as long as possible.

We’ll find out
.

He’d stay with her. He’d protect her, and the sun would shine forever, even under torrential rains. Although very conscious she shouldn’t nurture unattainable dreams, she felt so warm inside that her mind thrived on happiness. Let tomorrow be another day.

“How far are we from Frahern?”

“It’s a day and a half ride to the border of Agravar. That’s if nothing unexpected comes up.”

“Like what?”

“Soldiers on patrol are my main concern, but with you, anything can happen.
Abandoned temples, inaudible noises, you name it.”

She smiled as she spotted the sparkles in his eyes. He stood up, went to fetch his goatskin, and used water to wash off the blood drying on his shoulder. Avoiding the unsettling image of his glistening chest, she put the disc back into the pocket of her cloak. When she looked up, he was stretching his muscles.

“I think I’ll go get some rest now. As you’re well aware, I haven’t been sparse with my bodily fluids tonight.”

His casual tone belied his true meaning. Try as she might, she didn’t succeed in subduing the hot flow shooting up her cheeks before he chuckled.

“Ah, so easy.”

She dipped her head down. The need to revise her judgment about his teasing being pleasant gnawed at her, but she gathered their belongings instead. He’d never stop provoking her.

Once inside the tent, he spread the blankets and coats over them to erect a barrier between them and the chilly night air. Then he stretched out an arm and she had to repress a sigh of satisfaction. Nestled against him, she slept until he gently shook her awake.

Dawn holed up behind a curtain of rain, so they shared bread and water in a hurry before setting off. They’d been riding almost all morning when a shrilling sound perforated her skull.

The blinding pain hurtled her toward unconsciousness, but not quickly enough that she didn’t hear his sarcastic remark.

“Oh, joy, here comes another disc.”

Chapter Nineteen

The jolly whistling penetrated the fuzziness in her head. She opened her eyes, strained her tense neck, and looked around. Thank the Mighty Gods, she didn’t feel any pain. She sat on lush undergrowth, her back resting against a tree trunk. How long had she been out?

Sitting on her right, he carved a piece of wood with his pocket knife, yet appeared to be waiting for her to come back to the Four Kingdoms. The merry tune he whistled would have been better served in a tavern.

“Good evening, princess.”

A vast plain stretched out before her eyes. No temples or shrines stood out, but a dark line on the horizon suggested the end of the day. It was still late morning when she’d passed out, so how could that be?

“It’s evening?”

“Yes. We’ve already lost time at the Shrine of Fate and now we’ve wasted half a day trampling in the wilderness.”

“What do you mean? What happened?”

“Take a look behind you.”

She got to her feet first. Muscles stiff but otherwise in good order, she stretched her arms and legs before spinning round. A solid, living wall blocked her view from right to left.

Massive trees, dense shrub thickets entwined with woody lianas formed an impenetrable edge to the jungle lying behind. Combined with high, coarse-stemmed grasses, the luxuriant vegetation seemed to be repelling intruders.

“What is this place?”

“It’s called the Forest of the Dead.”

“Uncanny name.”

“But fitting.
Whoever enters never comes out.”

She swivelled her head toward him as he dropped the piece of wood he'd been carving and stood up. A dreary awareness seeping through her bones, she stared at him with attention.

“I thought you said we travelled through this jungle.”

“We did. And as you can see, we’re still alive.”

By entering the inviolable forest, they had defied a mighty force of nature. Although he might feel like whistling because he had overcome an impossible ordeal, she didn’t like the idea of flouting the natural order of things. If a place was forbidden, nobody should try to enter it.

“How?”

“Well, I thought we were back to the Shrine of Fate when you replayed the same scene. You went all transfixed,
then
you threw yourself right into this cursed place. I merely hacked your way in.”

“That doesn’t explain how we got out alive.”

“Magic.
What else? These woods must be sentient. It sounds peculiar, but I think the woods recognized you.”

She opened big eyes at him, her brows seeming to reach for her hairline. In light of her recent acknowledgment of magic, his guess sounded plausible.
Maybe a little on the far-fetched side, but conceivable.
Somehow the Forest of the Dead had welcomed and protected her, but why?

“Did we find anything?”

“Another temple called the Shrine of Destiny.
Silent and deserted like the Shrine of Fate, and very similar.
It seems to me the Ancients didn’t have much imagination in the way of building their dwellings.”

“You shouldn’t speak lightly of the Ancients.”

His soft chortle roused the fine hair on the back of her neck. Fists on his hips, gaze sparkling, he leant in to whisper in her ear.

“Why not?
Do you think they’re listening?”

He laughed when she punched him in the shoulder. She may never get used to his sometimes insolent manners, but she would keep on opposing him every time he crossed the line. The Ancients belonged to the sacred race. Anything related to them should be treated with reverence.

“I don’t want to hear any more of your jibes. Show some respect, would you, and tell me what was in the temple.”

“Check your pocket.”

When she opened her palm, a black square glimmered next to the disk. Same size, same colour, only the shape distinguished them. In possession of two enigmatic items, she wondered anew about their use.

“The Ancients had the capacity to foresee the future. There must be a reason they led me to these objects, and I wish I knew it.”

“You won’t solve this mystery now. Come on, Ariana, night is coming, and we shouldn’t spend it so close to the Forest of the Dead.”

“Where are we going?”

“There’s a settlement a few leagues from here. Our fellow tribesmen will be happy to provide shelter for us. Besides, the leader is an old friend of mine. We’ll get the chance to catch up.”

Receiving the Lord of the Clans was a rare honour for every tribe. Yet as she got on her horse, she couldn’t get rid of a nagging thought. The clan would offer them a cavern for the night. Once more, they’d be alone in a secluded place, free to act on their mutual cravings.

If he touched her, she’d yield to his desire. The attraction was too strong to be denied. She knew that now.

She didn’t possess the strength of will to push him away when he could lick her pussy the way he did, and turn her into a writhing mass of pleasure. She couldn’t say no to the powerful strokes of his large cock. But what of her pledge to Kelton? Was she an evildoer?

The short ride didn’t appease the turmoil of her mind. As much as she needed to tell him, the words wouldn’t rise up. The landscape became hilly past the vast plain as they rode on toward the nearest hills.

Soon the cloudy sky plunged them into twilight. The coming night seeming to bear down on her, she soundlessly sighed with relief when he called a halt halfway across a beaten path. He reached into his pocket with careful fingers and brought out a silver ring.

“The settlement lies right behind this hill. Show this ring to the tribesman on watch duty, and ask for Alban.”

“Why? Aren’t you coming with me?”

“I’d rather keep my presence secret. If I show myself, we’re in for a long evening of festivities. I can’t bear the idea.”

Suspicious of his true motives, she took the ring from his hand. Did he really want to skip a social gathering out of tiredness, or was he manoeuvring to get them alone and lure her into his pallet? She cast him a sideways glance, but his impassive face didn’t enlighten her.

“What’s this ring?”

“The warriors’ symbol.
They’re made by my blacksmith, and all clan leaders have one. Go now, and for the love of the Creators, try not to get lost between here and the other side of the hill.”

“Ha, ha.
Very funny.”

He winked at her begrudging expression. Ignoring his amusement, she pressed her heels against the flanks of her horse and trotted away. She followed the path until the settlement came into view.

She'd assumed those tribe people lived in tunnels and caves like Cameron’s clan, but she was surprised to discover fair-sized, wooden houses built in the shape of a circle. A thick, straw fence surrounded the hamlet. An outpost guarded the entrance right in front of her. With barely enough light to make out her way, she rode toward the watchman.

He straightened up at her approach. Although she didn’t discern any raised weapon, he looked on guard. Then his body seemed to loosen up as soon as she displayed the ring.

“I’d like to speak to Alban.”

“Would you mind waiting here? I’ll get him.”

He dashed inside the settlement, and she lost sight of him when he rounded a house. Her horse shook its mane. She leant forward to run her fingers through the coarse hair while whispering appeasing sounds. Pretty soon, a stranger passed through the entrance and came up to her.

“Good evening, I am Alban. May I be of help?”

“Lord Cameron requests your presence.”

The name brought a large smile to his lips. Even if the Lord of the Clans hadn’t mentioned their friendship, she’d have guessed these two were more than vague acquaintances.

“Where is he?”

“Back there.”

She pointed behind her. Glancing past her, the stranger peered into the night,
then
held up one of his hands.

“It’s really dark now. We need a torch. Let me get my horse, and I’ll be back before you know it.”

She liked him. As he hurried back to the hamlet, she wondered how the two men had become friends. A slight gust of wind brushed her hair, so she pulled the lapels of her cloak closer to her chest. The winter had been harsh, yet she still smelled spring in the chilly air.

He came back astride a brown horse. The flame of his torch lighting the path, they rode abreast to the place where she’d left her lord. Cameron pushed his mount toward them. As soon as they were levelled, the two men grinned and slapped each other’s shoulders.

“Cameron! It’s good to see you.”

“Good to see you too, my friend. How have you been?”

“I can’t complain. Since the war came to a standstill, life has been easier. Repelling attacks from Agravar and Borgom’s soldiers took a toll on our people. Now we just wish to be left in peace.
But what about you?
I certainly didn’t expect you to pay us a visit before summer.”

“I have business in the area. I thought we could spend a night here if it isn’t too much trouble.”

“Are you joking? Your presence is always an honour. The whole clan will be happy to welcome you and your mate.”

She swung her head round. Seeing nothing of the obscured landscape, she prayed the stranger wouldn’t raise his torch, wouldn’t notice the colour of her cheeks. Whether he did or not, she tensed as Cameron’s diverted tone played with the shy streak of her senses.

“Ariana is my healer. Thank you for the offer, Alban. We’ll gladly take any shelter you can provide. If you don’t mind, I will ask you to keep my visit to yourself. My business here is best left in the shadows for the time being. But don’t worry. I’ll officially come back next summer.”

“I understand. Let’s get you two inside now.”

They rode to the settlement in companionable silence. Alban made them circle the straw fence all the way to the back before dismounting. They secured the horses for the night and grabbed their saddlebags.

With a few hard shoves and tugs, Alban created a gap large enough to let them pass through the bales. They went one after the other. On the other side of the fence, he opened the door of a small house.

“Come on in.”

When he lit some candles, she discovered an interior very similar to her own hut.
Austere, but practical.
She dropped her saddlebags on the table, and avoided glancing at the large pallet in the corner of the room. With an entreating look on his face, Alban came up to her.

“If it isn’t too much to ask, would you mind checking over our sick and wounded? We don’t see healers very often around here. I’m sure they could use your help, especially the children.”

“Of course I will.”

“Thank you, Ariana. I’ll inform them that you’re a distant cousin travelling alone, on your way to the Longrocks Mountains.”

“I’m at your disposal.”

He nodded with a relieved grin on his face and walked outside. She was about to follow him when Cameron took hold of her shoulders to press his chest against her back. Desire inflamed her at the simple touch. Stomach tight, nipples hard, she stalled as he nuzzled her neck.

“Be a good little witch now.”

He released her as quickly as he had made contact with her. She didn’t dare turn round and see lust in his eyes. Legs wobbly, she joined Alban outside. Only then did she breathe freely.

He led her to the centre of the hamlet, inside what looked like the largest house. A woman welcomed them with a warm smile. She walked to him, and he took her into his arms.

“This is Doireann, my wife. She’ll round up our wounded for you. Come, Ariana, sit by the fire.”

He indicated the fireplace. While she sat down on a chair, the couple moved toward the front door and talked in such low tones that she didn’t catch a single word. They might have been conspirators, yet the way they stared into each other’s eyes told of love and trust.

Watching them, she rubbed her palms along her thighs to quench a pang of envy. Would she ever know the bond they shared? Her heart skittered at the idea of sharing this feeling with the Lord of the Clans.