Calabrian System
The instant the Calabrian ship passed through the wormhole into Calabrian-Bayman space, several Bayman fighter craft and a royal barge transport surrounded it. Dagan thought it more than just a little coincidental that they knew the exact moment of their return so that they could attack when the Calabrian ship was at its most vulnerable, not having had the chance to restore full power. Lord Duo had no recourse but to allow them to board his vessel because there wasn't enough power for the weapons and shields.
Several Bayman soldiers entered the bridge now, and although Shamara was standing with Dagan's arm protectively around her waist, Taeron drew his sword and stepped in front of her. The soldiers singled Dagan out immediately, and the commander saluted him.
"Your highness! The gods have answered our prayers!"
"What is the meaning of this attack on Princess Shamara's ship?" he asked the man.
"I think we are about to find out," remarked Lord Duo who nodded to the viewing screen of the communicator. Dagan was annoyed to recognize the woman whose face appeared. Lord Duo also recognized her. "Princess Ryana! Always a pleasure to see you."
"My dear Lord Duo, you don't know the pleasure you have been missing. I believe I see my brother aboard your ship."
Dagan nodded to her. "I have yet to hear a reason for this detainment. We were about to set a course for Calabria."
"You will have to change your plans," she said with a slight smile. "Our father is extremely ill, and I fear if you do not return now, you may never see him again."
"I will go with you," Shamara said to him as she slipped her hand in his. He could feel that she was afraid that he would be unable return to her, and she feared for his safety.
"No!" Both Lord Duo and Dagan's sister uttered the word.
Duo gave his reason first. "Your father is surely worried. We must return immediately." Dagan could see that Duo didn't trust his people, and Dagan wondered if he had good reason. Already he considered the man to have good judgment concerning his sister.
"We cannot afford to insult the Teralonians," said Ryana. "She is the betrothed of Prince Avar."
Dagan looked at Shamara and saw that there were tears in her eyes. He could feel the distress in her heart through the touch of his hand. "Do not worry, Shamara. I will come to Calabria after I have seen my father one last time." He framed her face with his hands and tilted it to him. "Nothing will keep me from you."
She sniffed and blinked back her tears. "You had better hurry. If I am forced to wed Avar, I will never forgive you." Shamara puckered her lips for a kiss, but Dagan kissed her forehead. She frowned at him, although she wisely did not berate him before soldiers who might lose respect for him. "At least take Taeron with you."
"No, princess!" Taeron was shocked. "I am pledged to you and you alone."
"I think I saw you leave my side to chase after your silly siblings," she remarked.
"Do not scold your imperial guard," said Dagan. "He is doing as he should, and I will be more at ease if I knew Taeron were protecting you. I have my own men now to keep me safe."
"If you are finished appeasing the Calabrian princess, I would ask you to accompany your captain to board our barge. You shall travel back to Bayman in comfort, not to Calabria in that garbage scow." Ryana's face disappeared from the viewing screen.
Dagan looked at Duo. "I must apologize for my sister's words."
"No need. I already know she is a bitch." Duo placed a hand on Dagan's shoulder and looked him in the eye. "I expect to see you before the feathered prince makes her his wife."
He nodded, then glanced one more time at Shamara to see her bottom lip trembling and tears glistening in her eyes. "Dare I hope that you love me, Shamara?"
She sniffed again. "Why don't you ask the gods?"
He was smiling as he left the ship with his men. They transported him from the Calabrian ship to his family's barge on a fighter. Once he was safely aboard, the fighters made a formation around the ship and the convoy headed toward Bayman. A servant showed Dagan to a luxurious apartment, but he was alone for only a few moments before the door slid open and his sister walked in accompanied by another woman.
"Oxana!" Dagan didn't think he would ever see her again. "But how…?"
"You left me on that horrid planet!" she cried angrily. "How could you do such a thing after all I have done for you?"
"You didn't do anything for me any other whore couldn't have done." Dagan noticed his sister's sly smile. "I suppose you are acquainted with Oxana."
Ryana put her hand on the other woman's shoulder. "I won't bore you with the details, dear brother, but suffice to say, when I asked her to keep you in line, she was more than happy to do so for the enormous fee I was paying her." Suddenly Ryana slapped Oxana so hard that she fell to the floor at Dagan's feet. "Unfortunately, once a whore, always a whore. Apparently you weren't enough for her."
Dagan didn't even look at the whimpering female at his feet. "Is my father truly ill?"
"Of course!" Ryana prodded Oxana with her foot. "Get us something cool to drink." As Oxana hurried to obey, Ryana made herself comfortable on the pillows scattered on the floor. Dagan couldn't imagine why she had arranged her garment to give him a view of a goodly amount of her bosom or almost the entire length of her leg. "My dear brother, come sit with me while I explain what has happened during your considerable absence."
"I prefer to stand." Dagan didn't look at Oxana when she handed him a golden goblet of chilled juice.
"Bring me mine, you stupid slut, and get out!" Ryana glared at Oxana as she did as commanded, and she didn't look at Dagan until the other woman had left the room. "I think we can speak freely now."
Dagan sipped from the drink, then decided to sit.
"You have been gone a long time, brother. In your absence, there have been some changes." Ryana twirled a lock of her dark hair around her fingers, and her predatory glance at him unnerved Dagan.
"You mentioned our father's health," he prompted her.
She sipped her drink then said, "The shock of hearing of your death undid him, I fear." She raised a brow. "Perhaps you can explain why the Calabrians would make such a claim. If it was some trickery on their part to put an end to your betrothal to Princess Shamara…"
"There is no need for you to call upon the legions to go into battle for my honor, sister. Princess Shamara had no wish to marry me, so I thought it best that the Calabrians leave me behind. Father had already told me that I could not return without her." Dagan sighed as he stared into his own drink. "I did not believe it would cause any harm to our father." Dagan didn't think his father cared about him, so he was surprised that news of his death would affect him so detrimentally.
"Father has been so incapacitated by news of your death that I have taken over many of his official duties." Ryana leaned toward Dagan so that her gown gaped open, giving him a view of his sister that he did not want. He quickly looked away. "I have no desire for that to change, dear brother."
He forced himself to look at her. "What are you suggesting?"
"The marriage with Princess Shamara can no longer take place. She has made an oath to Avar of Teralon."
Before she could continue, Dagan interrupted. "She was my bride before she became his betrothed."
Ryana wagged her finger at him. "Shame, shame, Dagan! Did you mate with Avar's woman? Did she please you so well that you would risk taking Bayman to war with Teralon and possibly Calabria when Emperor Trey learns of the dishonor you have brought to his house?"
"Princess Shamara is as pure as the day she left her father's house!" Dagan wanted to slap the disbelieving smile from his sister's face.
"The truth of that statement is between you, Shamara and Avar."
"Avar is not worthy of Shamara, and I intend to go to Calabria to prove that the gods favor me."
Ryana seemed annoyed, and then she laughed and tossed back her hair. "Silly Dagan! He would skewer you before you could find the strength to raise a sword." She slid over the pillows toward him and laid her hand on his chest. "We have our own traditions. The gods would favor a match between us, Dagan, just as they have for generations before us."
Dagan shoved her away and stood. "I would sooner mate a dog than consider you, sister."
Before his eyes, her image blurred and she suddenly transformed into a sleek, long-legged hunting dog. Dagan backed away as he stared at her incredulously and just as smoothly her form changed to her own again.
"I can be whatever or whoever you want," she said with a sly smile.
Dagan continued to stare at her. "What sort of magic…?"
"The same magic that flows from within you." Ryana stood to face him.
"You have never had such power!" Dagan feared that he would be forced to marry his sister just as his mother had been forced to marry her brother.
"Why fight it?" Ryana's hair slowly changed from dark to white and he found himself facing Oxana. "Are you so sure we have not already been together?"
Dagan's knees were weak and he felt sick to his stomach. "Get out! Regardless of your new position, I am still our father's heir, and upon his death I will rule Bayman."
She returned to her own image, and her eyes were narrowed as she glared at him. "You would be wise to accustom yourself to what the elders will expect of you when we return."
"Are you challenging me?" Dagan wasn't sure what her powers were beyond her shape shifting.
Without answering, Ryana tossed back her hair and headed to the door. "If there is anything you desire, Oxana will be happy to serve you."
When she had gone, Dagan began to pace as his thoughts collided in a confused jumble. If Ryana truly possessed powers, the elders might expect him to marry her. Although they had thoroughly examined her when he had come of age and judged unfit to be his bride, the elders might change their minds. Dagan wondered if she had already courted their approval in his absence and if his fight was over before it had begun.
He remembered the fear Shamara felt when they had parted, that she was afraid something would hold them apart. Dagan would rather be consumed by a boreworm than disappoint her. Dagan knew there could be no other woman for him, especially since the moment when their hands had joined on the colony when they faced the beast Magnar had become. Their powers were meant to come together. Dagan knew before that moment that she was his other half, but he had no way of knowing if Shamara felt the same.
The door slid open, and Dagan was about to snap at Oxana to leave him in peace when he saw that his teacher shuffled into the room.
"Master Nazzar!" In the excitement of escaping Mars Colony, he had forgotten his teacher. "How did you get here?"
Master Nazzar frowned. "I'll tell you how I did not get here; my pupil did not see fit to escort his aging mentor to a transport."
Dagan fell to his knees before the old man. "Forgive me, master!"
He chuckled as he laid a hand on his head. "All is well. Would you believe that I hid in Oxana's trunk?"
Dagan snorted with laughter and hurried to pour the old man a drink of juice. "I hope I have at least learned to disbelieve such foolishness."
He took the drink from Dagan and drained the cup before setting it aside and sitting on a bench near the viewing screen where stars seemed to pass by as the transport headed toward Bayman. "You have learned many lessons the gods have intended for you. Some are yet to be learned."
Dagan joined him on the bench. "Did the gods intend for me to fall in love with Shamara of Calabria only to have her taken from me?"
Nazzar raised one of his bushy white brows. "How so? Have you not agreed to go to Calabria after you assure your father that you yet live?"
"What will happen when the elders discover that Ryana has developed her powers?"
"Powers?" Nazzar raised a brow. "She has no power of her own. I was one who examined her, and I assure you that she had no potential to gain any."
"I have witnessed them with my own eyes not more than a few moments ago." Dagan explained to his master what he had seen.
Master Nazzar stroked his chin. "Interesting! She had no such ability before her trip to Mars Colony."
"My sister was on Mars Colony?" Before Nazzar responded, Dagan remembered the familiar voice he had heard speaking to Quatre Winner the night Taeron and Shamara had tried to rescue him.
"She transported her spy to Mars Colony," Nazzar told him. "Oxana had a luxurious trip to the human system, not a cramped ride in my trunk. Besides, my pupil, when have I ever traveled with more than my bag? I do not think you listened to her words because you did not care how she came to you."
"You are right," sighed Dagan. "I was very foolish concerning Oxana. I believed that I loved her."
"Now you know that you were mistaken. But how can you be sure that you love the Calabrian princess?" Nazzar's brows were raised in question.
"I know now what love is."
"What of Shamara?"
Dagan couldn't answer for her. If Shamara did have feelings for him, they were buried under a mountain of duty and obligation. She might not recognize any feelings of her own. To help her sister, she had returned to him although she was still very angry and upset about Oxana. Did Shamara even know what love was, she whose parents' epic love was spoken of in awe across the binary star system? Perhaps Dagan felt it because he had never seen it between his parents, and Shamara was blinded to what she saw every day.
"You do not answer," remarked Nazzar, letting loose a breath he had been holding.
Dagan glanced at him. "I do not know her heart."
Nazzar reached out to touch his hand. "You must earn her love, Dagan." His eyes met Dagan's. "I think you have become sleepy."
"I am very sleepy." From somewhere deep within he wondered where this tiredness had come from, but he moved away from the bench and dropped down on the pillows. He could not keep his eyes open, and as he drifted away, he thought he heard Nazzar chanting.
"A remarkable day for an unremarkable hunt."
His eyes opened and he found himself riding a horse-like animal and beside him on another, he recognized Camrin.
"What say you, Dagmaeus? Shall we return to the hills were we can warm ourselves with the lovely maidens who throw themselves at your feet?" Camrin rubbed his hands together and blew warm air on them. "Have you powers to bring a warm wind my way?"
"My power is not to be used in selfish gain," he heard himself say. "Perhaps you are right. We should return to village before the setting of the second sun."
They turned their horses homeward, but the howl in the distance startled the animals and they had some trouble controlling them as a flock of birds took flight overhead.
"Did you hear that?" asked Camrin. "I vow that was a wolf! The day may yet be salvaged."
"There are few wolves," he said. "I do not wish to hunt one." He would have continued toward home had Camrin not seized the bridle of his horse.
"What has happened to your spirit, Dagmaeus, since your father granted you your powers? I thought we were going to enjoy ourselves!"
He didn't want to disappoint his foster brother. He and Camrin had grown up together after Camrin was found in the forest abandoned. There was talk of an evil spirit within Camrin, but Dagmaeus had never seen it in his dear brother. "Perhaps it would not hurt to hunt the beast to see it."
Camrin slapped him on the back. "Here is the brother I remember."
He released the eagle tethered to his wrist and watched it take flight in search of the animal. Both he and Camrin waited until the eagle began to circle before they spurred their horses into the direction indicated by the bird and soon came upon the clearing where they spotted the wolf. He had never seen such a beautiful animal. With a coat of long, silver fur, its eyes were a startling blue color. When they approached, it bared its teeth, then sprang away into the forest. Camrin instantly surged after it although Dagmaeus had said they would only see it. He knew only killing the beast would satisfy Camrin, so he charged after his foster brother.
The wolf eluded them throughout the day, and when Dagmaeus would have returned to the palace, Camrin insisted they stay in the frigid wild. He should have insisted, but he could not refuse Camrin. The eagle brought them back a rabbit to eat and perched throughout the night near Dagmaeus. He would much prefer the comfort of his own bed. Closing his eyes, he decided that in the morning they would return to his father's palace.
"Your highness, we have arrived."
Dagan's eyes snapped open, and he found Oxana hovering over him. He felt disoriented at first and looked around the luxurious cabin. His dream had felt so real that his body even ached from the hard ground although he slept in a mound of pillows. Master Nazzar was still sitting by the viewing screen, but instead of space, Dagan could see the green of his home planet. He had slept through the trip through space and the landing of the royal barge.
Still groggy, he forced himself to his feet and followed Oxana from the cabin. Ryana was waiting for him outside the ship, and while the guards saluted him, she had apparently won them to her cause because the openly viewed him with contempt. Dagan wondered if she had slept with them all.
"Father is in his room and has already been informed of your return," she told him as they entered the palace. Dagan was afraid she would lead him through the receiving room where he would come face to face with the jaded courtiers who must have spent the time during his absence to toady to Ryana. She must have basked in their attention. But Ryana led him straight to the private apartments of the royal family and to the king's chamber.
At first Dagan didn't see his father, then he realized the wizened old man lying on his bed was actually Seighen. His servants were plumping his pillows and helping him to sit up in the bed. The older man could not even move without their help.
Ryana hurried forward and leaned down to whisper in Seighen's ear, and then he opened his eyes and sought out Dagan. Dagan moved toward the bed, his gaze held by his father's, and when he reached the bedside, Seighen pushed Ryana's hands away from him.
"Get out of my sight! I will speak to Dagan alone."
"Father, I am only trying to help you. I think I should stay."
The sound of his slap across her cheek echoed in the room. Ryana put her hand to her face and backed away, then turned to run from the king's chamber. Seighen started to laugh, but he fell into a coughing fit, and Dagan didn't know if he should try to help him. The servants scurried from the room after Ryana, so they obviously no longer served his father.
When the coughing subsided, Seighen beckoned him forward and Dagan obeyed, reaching his bedside and pouring him a cup of water from a pitcher by the bed. His father slapped the golden cup away and it clattered across the floor.
"It is poisoned! Everything in this damn palace is poisoned!"
Dagan wondered if his father had gone insane.
Seighen grunted. "So you are alive, and still as dim-witted as when you left."
If he ever had any doubt about his father's contempt, it was cleared now. "I am sorry to disappoint you. I was told you fell into decline hearing of my death, but I see that was a lie."
"Your very clever sister's lie. She poisons the food I eat, what I drink, and the air I breathe, all in anticipation that she will succeed me. Unfortunately for her, you are yet alive."
"Unfortunately for you, too, it would appear."
Seighen snorted. "You didn't bring the Calabrian princess back with you as I ordered. You have managed to bungle that agreement, and now it is over. I have heard the servants whispering that you intend to challenge Avar of Teralon. What worm is eating a hole through your brain? You cannot hope to win a duel against him!"
"I must try," stated Dagan. "I love Shamara, and I will have her for my wife."
"Love! Ha! I think you loved that whore Ryana put in your bed. Yes, the whole court knew about that lunacy and laughed behind your back. You will have no respect from them!"
Dagan was even more ashamed now than when he discovered that Master Nazzar had known about Oxana. Perhaps he wasn't fit to rule Bayman or even to earn Shamara's love.
His father sighed deeply and Dagan could hear rattling in his chest. "There is nothing left but for you to go to Calabria. I cannot say I understand what you feel for that young woman, but I do know that it was destined to happen." His eyes met Dagan's, and he saw great sadness in them. "I resented you, Dagan, from the moment of your birth. My father was always distant from me, and in rebellion to his lack of affection, I tried to find solace with the woman who gave me Ryana. He was angry that I would flout our traditions and hurt your mother, my sister, by openly keeping Ryana's mother – I don't even remember her name – in my apartments. Your mother wanted nothing to do with me and I wanted even less to do with her, but my father forced us to do our duty. Upon your birth, my father passed his powers. I have always suspected that there was more, but I was never able to discover what because Nazzar appeared to take you and your mother away. I didn't care. I was glad my father was dead, and equally glad that I didn't have to see your mother again."
"Why are you telling me this?" demanded Dagan. "Is it because you haven't destroyed enough of my self-confidence?"
Seighen sighed. "I knew my duty, son. I did what I had to. There was no love between your mother and I. When I called her back to court to produce the female child, your mate, she refused at first. Then when she came, Ryana became infuriated and poisoned her. In attempting to thwart a true succession, your foolish sister has forced the final confrontation."
"What are you talking about?" Dagan was sure the poison Ryana was allegedly feeding him had harmed his father's mental capacity. Hearing his father's story and knowing it to be true, Dagan thought the old man way dying of gall.
"The legend of Dagmaeus, you fool!" He grabbed Dagan's arm and dragged him close so that he could whisper. " I have discovered your secret. You carry the spirit of the god himself within you, Dagan. You wield the powers of Dagmaeus, and soon you will fight the final battle. But you can succeed only if the sacred shield finds you more worthy than Camridaeus."
"You are insane!" Dagan shoved him away and stumbled back from the bed. "I have Guerani powers and naught else."
His father reared up from the pillows and his eyes were burning. "You young fool! You will be no match for the mignons of Camridaeus! Dagmaeus took the dark powers with him when he left, leaving behind only the white powers for the ancestors who were the guardians of the sacred shield."
"And what of Camridaeus? What became of him?" scoffed Dagan.
"No one knows what became of him, but his followers are legion. Your sister is a priestess of a sect of which Oxana is also a member. There are many at court that worship the dark lord each night in the bowels of this palace. I have heard that they can summon the beasts of Camridaeus' domain." His father was becoming frighteningly terrified by what he was saying. "If Princess Shamara is the sacred shield, you must take her away from Avar even if it means killing him."
"And since I am so incompetent, how do you propose I do that?" Dagan decided to humor the old man.
Seighen fell weakly back against the pillows and closed his eyes. "I do not know. If the fate of our worlds rests in your hands, we are doomed."
Gritting his teeth, Dagan turned on his heel and left his father's chamber, pausing at the door to warn the servant that his sister was not allowed in Seighen's presence. Then he went in search of his sister's chambers which were not far from his own, and while the servants hurried to open the doors to his chamber, he walked past and barged into Ryana's. She was in her bathing pool while a male servant applied soap to her back.
"Get out!" he ordered the young man who scurried out with still soapy hands. Dagan turned his back on Ryana who immediately stepped from the pool.
"You have interrupted my bath. Dare I hope you will join me?"
"Not likely."
"How about now?" She reached out to turn him around, and he found himself looking at Shamara.
Dagan grabbed her around her throat. "Stop this now, or I will break your neck!"
She clawed at his hands, and when he refused to release her, she finally transformed back to her own image. Dagan took his hands away and she fell to the floor at his feet gasping for breath.
"If you ever do that again, sister, I will kill you."
She tossed back her hair and stood, still rubbing her neck. Bruises were already beginning to form. "So the eagle has claws."
"I am here to tell you to stay away from our father. As I yet live and intend to do so to a ripe old age, you have no reason to kill him. He is a senile old man and quite harmless to your diversions." He turned and headed to the door.
Ryana followed him. "What did he tell you?"
"What we discussed is none of your business. Remember my warning." He left her behind and crossed the hall to his own room. There were several servants waiting along with Master Nazzar. There was a table covered with various foods and drink, but Dagan eyed it suspiciously until Nazzar informed him that the food had already been tested and found fit for consumption. As Dagan filled his considerably empty stomach, the servants rushed to spoon food onto his plate and keep his cup filled. Nazzar didn't speak as he ate also, and it wasn't until Dagan was settled in his warm bath that he brought up what his father had told him.
"I think he has lost all reason," finished Dagan. He was leaning forward as a pretty young serving girl scrubbed his back. She was obviously expecting to spend the night, so she was going to be disappointed when he sent her back to her own bed.
Nazzar nodded. "Perhaps. You say he told you that Ryana is a priestess?"
"Of a bunch of bored courtiers who probably go into the dungeons to have an orgy." He stopped the girl from sliding her hands down his body under the waterline. "You may go."
She pouted as she dried her hands. "Are you sure, your highness? I can keep you very warm."
"So can a thick blanket."
Nazzar chuckled when she had gone. "Perhaps you have learned your lesson about females."
"I don't have enough experience with females to be able to consider it lessons." He wrapped a towel around his waist and headed to the huge bed. "I hope there are guards outside my door." He snickered as he laid his head on his pillow. "They will need to keep the legions of Camridaeus' monsters from interrupting my sleep."
Nazzar laughed. "More than likely they will need to keep the legions of women who want to be the prince's next plaything."
Dagan closed his eyes and tried to conjure Shamara, but he could not reach her. Was she too far away to hear his call? Perhaps she was too busy listening to Avar's flattery to answer him. His eyes drifted shut, and he thought he heard Nazzar's voice, but he was too sleepy to repeat what he had said.
"We have the damned beast trapped now!"
"Stop!" ordered Dagmaeus, but Camrin did not listen as he charged after the wolf, chasing it into a canyon from which there was only one way to escape. They had been hunting the beast for days now, Camrin refusing to quit and Dagmaeus following after him to be assured his brother would not be killed in his reckless pursuit.
As Camrin suspected, the exhausted wolf had to stop at the end of the canyon where there stood a huge tree with wide, spreading branches. His eagle circled above, but Dagmaeus' horse whinnied, and Camrin's steed pranced back away from the tree.
"There is magic in this canyon," said Dagmaeus in awe as a mist began to descend upon them. "We should go."
"I have no intention of going now!" Camrin leapt from the back of his unruly animal, and seizing a dagger, stalked cautiously toward the wolf now lying at the foot of the tree, its tongue hanging out as it panted probably its last breaths. "I am going to keep myself warm with the coat of this wolf."
The mist swirled as the wolf whined, but Camrin continued. Dagmaeus dismounted and followed him, regretting his inability to deny his friend and foster brother anything, even the life of this magnificent and brave animal.
But just as Camrin came upon the wolf, a movement in the branches above alerted him and he jumped back just as some bizarre woodland beast dropped onto the ground between him and the wolf. The creature was filthy and long haired, and stood waving what appeared to be a makeshift spear with a sharpened stone on the end. Camrin would have attacked it, had Dagmaeus not grabbed his arm and thrust him back.
"Fool! Can you not see this is the protector of the wolf?"
"I want that pelt and no protector is going to stand in my way."
"You cannot take the life of another!" Dagmaeus shoved him aside and approached the creature. He easily grabbed the spear from its hand and tossed it aside, then he seized its arm to still its movements.
"Let me go!" The voice was definitely female, and looking beyond the dirt, Dagmaeus could see the feminine shape almost hidden by the masses of long, ratted hair of indeterminate color.
"I am not going to hurt you," he said gently.
"I will," volunteered Camrin. "Get the slut out of the way so I might take my prize."
She looked frantically from him to Dagmaeus. "Please, lord, do not let him kill the wolf. She is very old."
"Who are you?" he asked her.
"I have no name. I have lived in these woods most of my life with an old Guerani woman. One day I found this wolf injured and I have cared for her since."
"You were very brave to approach a wolf." Dagmaeus found her blue eyes disconcerting.
"Are you done flirting with the hag?" asked Camrin impatiently. "I am cold and the fur will keep me quite warm."
She looked at him with deep, imploring eyes. "My lord, if a life must be taken, then take mine, but let my dear wolf go."
"He will take you, all right, but not your life," snorted Camrin.
Dagmaeus looked at his friend. "Put your dagger away. The wolf fought valiantly and led us on a merry chase. If you are disappointed, then it is your own fault when I clearly told you we would not kill the animal."
Camrin hesitated, then shoved his dagger in his belt. "Then let me have the woman. I was hoping to have the fur wrapped around me, but I will settle for her."
She moved closer to Dagmaeus.
"She is not an object to be handed back and forth. We will take her back to the old woman's hut…"
"She is long dead," admitted the young woman. "I have lived alone for many moons except for the wolf."
"Then no one will miss you," commented Camrin, his tone ominous.
Dagmaeus drew off his fur-lined cloak and put it around the shivering girl who was dressed in little better than tattered rags. "You will come back with us. I am sure you can find work in my father's palace."
Before he could lead her away, she hurried back to the wolf, and after a moment of caressing the animal, she returned to him, but there were tears in her eyes. "She understands that I must leave."
Dagmaeus looked to the sky where the eagle was still circling. "My eagle will protect her until she has recovered."
Her gaze followed his, then she sighed and nodded.
Dagmaeus mounted his horse, then pulled her up before him. Camrin was sneering at them. "Better you than me," he remarked. "Her stench would make my horse unmanageable."
She burrowed into the cloak Dagmaeus had given her, and he could hear her muffled sobs as they left behind the wolf. It howled once as they left the canyon, and Camrin glanced over his shoulder with his eyes narrowed. Dagmaeus feared that his foster brother did not have a reverence for any life.
Not long after they left the canyon, the second sun began to set, so they made a camp. He suspected Camrin would try to take the girl, but he kept his distance. The effort of the arduous pursuit of the wolf seemed to have taken its toll on Camrin because he didn't even speak before rolling up in his furs near the fire Dagmaeus had created. Dagmaeus had given his own furs to the girl, but she seemed reluctant to use them.
"I have no need of them," he told her. The cold no longer affected him, since he had been given the power of fire.
"I couldn't." She seemed to become self-conscious. "I…I have not bathed in so very long. The water is too cold and to keep warm I slept with the wolf."
Dagmaeus knew that Camrin's remark had disturbed her. "We can remedy that." He took her arm and they quietly left the camp where Camrin was sleeping and walked without speaking until they came to a small stream that was almost completely frozen. "You may bathe here."
"You will have to chop the ice first," she commented almost sarcastically.
Dagmaeus smiled, then held out his hands. Within seconds the ice melted and steam began to rise from the water. "Take your time." Although she didn't seem to understand the concept of modesty and began to pull off her ragged clothing, Dagmaeus turned his back. When he heard her splashing in the water, he picked up the garments and carried them away. She was enjoying her hot bath so much she did not even notice. Returning to the camp, he tossed them in the fire and dug into his bag to find a cleaner tunic and belt that would serve her well enough until they reached the village. Camrin was still sleeping and did not move.
When he went back to the stream, he kept his eyes averted and tossed her a bar of soap he had gotten from his bag with the tunic. "When you have finished, return to the camp. I have brought you clean clothing."
She did not respond, but he heard her humming before she called out, "This soap smells much better than the soap the hag bathed in."
He chuckled, then left her to her bath. Camrin still did not rise, and Dagmaeus was glad because he was annoyed with his friend. He sat before the fire in the camp and stared into the flames, hoping to see a glimpse of the future, but he saw nothing. What was to become of him now that he had his power and the poor, ignorant people of the hills regarded him as a god? He was just a man with an unusual talent. He could bleed and die like they could, but they would never know because they threw themselves onto the ground in worship when he passed.
"Thank you, my lord." The soap dropped beside him, and he looked up to see the woman running her fingers through her long, wet hair.
"Will you take my furs now?" he asked, not taking his eyes from her face. Although he could not see it well in the light of one moon as the other was hidden in clouds, he thought the shape was quite lovely. Dagmaeus predicted he would have to protect her from Camrin.
She took the furs and wrapped herself tightly. "What trick is it that you can make fire?"
"Simply a talent of mine."
"It is a talent that is very useful in these mountains." She lay on the ground and burrowed into the furs. "Good night, kind lord."
Waking the following morning, Dagan was surprised to find his bed surrounded by several old men. They stared down at him as if he were a fish in a pond, and Dagan quickly covered himself and looked around the room for Master Nazzar. He had been standing at the window, but moved to the bed when he noticed Dagan had awakened.
"You slept for a very long time," observed his teacher.
Dagan glanced at the other old men who did not even blink as they stared at him. "Who are these people?"
"The elders," responded Nazzar. "They have not seen you since you were a child, and when they arrived this morning after traveling the night to see you, I could not turn them away."
Dagan couldn't imagine what they found so interesting about him, but they seemed pleased by the sight of him. One leaned over to whisper to another who nodded in response. "Are they planning to stay all morning?"
"It is late afternoon." Nazzar chuckled. "You slept again for a very long time. Was your dream so engrossing?"
Although it hardly seemed possible, the last two of Dagan's dreams had seemed to happen in real time. Were they dreams, or was it another type of trance? Had the gods drawn him into their world?
"Does he have complete control of his powers?" asked another of the men.
"Has he used his powers for just purposes?"
Dagan frowned at the men. "You can speak to me. I have the power of speech."
Nazzar snickered. "Men, Prince Dagan has other duties. I will answer all your questions in due time."
"Other duties?" Dagan knew nothing of the court and his actual duties. He didn't really want to leave his chamber, but once the elders had gone without addressing him directly, Nazzar hurried him into his clothing and pushed Dagan out the door of his chamber. The guards escorted him to his father's office where the king usually received visitors and conducted his business. Almost immediately several men and women he vaguely remembered as advisors rushed at him, all talking at once. Dagan wished Shamara were with him to throw up one of her shields. By late evening when the last dissatisfied man left grumbling about his inexperience, Dagan knew he would rather be fighting seven headed dragons than face those people again. The desk was piled with petitions, and notes he had taken were scattered amongst them. He was sure he would never get their names straight let alone understand the complexities of ruling Bayman. Why had his father let him waste his time in the hills with Master Nazzar when there were important things for him to learn at the palace?
He was so exhausted when he returned to his room, that he didn't eat. Master Nazzar must have been entertaining the elders elsewhere because he was not in his room, nor did he reappear in the following days as Dagan struggled to control his father's kingdom. Dagan visited Seighen each day, but the experience left him feeling like a useless idiot when his father disagreed with any decisions he made. Dagan was usually left with the humiliating responsibility of calling back his advisors to rescind his previous orders.
Almost a week went by before he found the courage to eat his evening meal in the banquet hall with the courtiers and high nobility. The first time he entered the hall, a hush swept through the room and in complete silence he approached the high table where his sister sat with her admirers.
"I believe you are sitting in my chair," he said.
The half-naked young man draped over her moved away and Ryana stared at him in disgust. "You have earned this only by your gender."
Dagan pointed to her goblet and the liquid began to bubble and froth over the edge before bursting into flames. Ryana scrambled away from the chair and Dagan calmly sat down, picked up the goblet, and after blowing cool air over it so that a frost developed, he raised it to toast his sister. "I believe I have other qualifications that give me the right to this chair."
Ryana turned, and with a toss of her head, she walked out. Half the men and women gathered also left the table. Those who remained cast each other questioning glances, and Dagan knew they were unsure of whom to fear. He guessed those who sided with Ryana habitually attended her sideshow in the dungeon.
Because he was at Ryana's place at the table and she had already begun her meal, Dagan didn't have to fear poison. Another handful of men drifted away from the table before finishing their meals. Or the scrape of a utensil against the china broke the silence.
Finally a man sitting near Dagan who was dressed conservatively compared with the bright and gaudy clothing of the others spoke to him. "Your highness, is it true that you intend to challenge Avar of Teralon in physical combat?"
Dagan looked at him. "I am sorry, but I do not know your name."
He bowed his head in deference. "I am Vanig, a palace guard."
"I must do so to claim my bride," he told Vanig. He suspected the lowly guard had caught Ryana's eye. Men of his station usually took their meals in the soldiers' barracks.
Vanig sighed deeply and shook his head. "I have seen him fight in practice. Forgive my impertinence, your highness, but I think your chances are very dismal against him."
"I have been told so repeatedly," said Dagan wryly.
"You may wish to train, although I doubt unless you have several years that you can adequately prepare yourself for him. I have heard that he is as skilled as an imperial guard of Calabria, although I have never seen the fighting skill of one."
Dagan thought of Taeron. "Believe me, you don't want to fight an imperial guard. I cannot believe Avar is their equal in comparison."
"I would be willing to train you, your highness."
The entire galaxy would be shocked when he defeated Avar. Dagan was glad Shamara had already arranged with Avar to lose the duel. "I regret that I do not have the time…"
"I would be honored!" Vanig exclaimed. "I beg you to reconsider. There is always time to learn the skills to defend yourself."
Apparently Vanig had been too busy eating to see how he had chased Ryana from the room. "I suppose I could get up a little earlier in the morning."
Vanig grinned and Dagan thought he would explode with delight. Dagan hoped he wasn't making a mistake. The following morning he was sure that he had made a mistake as Vanig continued to swing his sword although Dagan was on his knees all but cowering under his own. Each time the metal struck, sparks flew and Dagan's muscles shuddered and his teeth rattled. Finally Vanig slipped his sword in its sheath, then slapped Dagan on back so hard that he fell forward, flat on his face.
"Very good, your highness!"
Dagan groaned as he tried to lift his head from the cool flagstones beneath his cheek.
"I will see you tomorrow at the same time." Vanig walked away whistling.
Instead of going about his duties, Dagan dragged himself back to his chambers where he found Master Nazzar waiting. He raised his bushy brows in amusement when he saw the shape Vanig had left him in.
"Are you sure he is not one of your sister's disciples?"
Dagan had considered the possibility, but Vanig seemed too open and innocent. He was a beefy, brainless fool that would be putty in Ryana's hands but not bright enough to do her dirty work.
"You should rest," suggested Nazzar.
"I believe I shall." Dagan's head hit the pillow and he could hear Nazzar mumbling before he drifted into sleep.
