Author's note: Here's Chapter 3. Thanx for your patience :) like I said before I will try my best to be consistent with my updating. Enjoy! ;) And I'm sorry it's so short :( I just noticed that the chapters are gradually getting shorter. I promise that chapter 4 will be much longer :)
With love,
HM
Chapter 3
Irys trekked out to the stables. The sun was setting and the air was getting chilly. The Fourth Magician heard footsteps behind her as she was saddling her horse. She felt the gentle pressure of her student's magic on the fringes of her mind.
"Irys, where are you going," Yelena asked, when Irys wouldn't let their connection expand.
"The Council is sending me on a mission. The healers in a village need my help to heal a girl's mind," Irys said, keeping her eyes on her horse.
She remembered the awkwardness of her last conversation with her apprentice.
"We healed the Commander's mind together, I can go with you and help."
"No, Yelena, you need to stay here and continue your studies."
"How am I supposed to do that when my mentor isn't even here to teach me?"
"I've already had a chat with Bain. He's agreed to train you in my absence."
"I-I don't want you to go, Irys," Yelena muttered.
Irys turned to look at her student with a raised eyebrow.
"Why is that?"
"I'm worried about you. You haven't been yourself ever since that night when you..." Yelena trailed off, but she had made her point.
Irys frowned and stared at her feet.
"I know Yelena, but I think this is what I need. I just need some fresh air and time to myself."
"Alright, I understand, Irys."
"Yelena," Irys said with a heavy sigh.
"Yes?"
"Please stay out of trouble while I'm gone. Don't go digging into matters that don't concern you."
With that Irys mounted her horse with a sweep of her leg.
"Please be good, Yelena. I'll be back in a couple of days."
Yelena watched her mentor ride away into the night with a frown and anxiety knotted in her gut. Little did she know, Roze Featherstone watched from the shadows of the stable, vowing to herself that if Irys put one foot out of line Yelena would be the one to pay for it.
Roze was straddling Zitora, kissing her deeply and running her hands up and down the younger magician's body, savoring every inch of soft skin. Zitora's hands were on Roze's back, digging her nails in and drawing blood.
After sometime of kissing and touching, Roze rolled onto her back and Zitora lied close to her side, nestling up to her as if for protection. The First Magician wrapped an arm protectively around Zitora's shoulders and pulled her close to her chest. Roze thought that the Third Magician had fallen asleep when her breathing steadied but her idea was proved wrong when the younger magician spoke.
"Roze, why did you react the way you did today when Bain suggested that Irys go," Zitora asked, quietly.
Roze blinked a few times, considering how she wanted to answer the unexpected question.
"With that killer still running free I didn't want any of the Master Magicians gone."
"Then why didn't you say so?"
"I want the girl healed. And Bain made a good point in saying that Irys had the highest chances of healing the girl."
"Alright..."
They lied there in silence again and Roze started falling asleep only to be jolted out of near-slumber by another question from Zitora.
"When can I go on missions like the one Irys went on? I'm sick of simple tasks."
Roze smiled to herself. Zitora had always been ambitious, that was why she was able to pass the Master's test and why Roze had chosen her to be the Third Magician over Irys...
"Don't worry, Zitora, your time will come soon. But right now I like you right here," Roze said, gripping Zitora's chin gently between her thumb and forefinger and stealing a deep, passionate kiss.
Irys sat huddled under a blanket next to a fire. The stars overhead were shining brightly and the full moon cast an eerie glow over the the plains. The Fourth Magician had opted to rest for only a few minutes to give her horse a chance to drink some water and get re-energized. She realized with a start that she was close to the border of the Jewelrose Clan. Irys hurriedly clambered to her feet and quickly put out the fire.
She really didn't want to deal with anyone from her clan right now, she couldn't face the fact that she had gone completely against the Jewelrose customs. After she shoved the blanket into the saddlebag she swung back into the saddle. Just as she was about to kick her horse into a gallop to get away faster, four men stepped out of the bushes each one brandishing a sword.
"You're trespassing on Jewelrose territory," the tallest of the four said.
Irys cursed under her breath, apparently she had misread her location. She was really within the Jewelrose borders, not outside them.
"I'm not trespassing," she replied evenly.
"Get off the horse. You're coming with us to the clan elders," a man from behind her said.
"I'm not going anywhere with you. I don't have to, I'm the Four-"
Her own cry of pain cut her off and she fell from her horse, striking the ground hard, with an arrow protruding from her back. The tip of the arrow must have been doused in Curare, for she felt all control over her muscles cease. She could only lie helplessly as she was slung over the saddle on her horse's back while the tallest man grabbed the reins and tugged the horse along. It didn't take them long to reach the living quarters of the elders of the Jewelrose Clan.
The effects of the Curare began to fade and the pain from the arrow embedded deep in her upper back started to grow.
"Why have you woken us so late in the night, Nicodemus," a deep, guttural male voice asked with clear annoyance.
Irys's eyes widened and her heart beat quickened when she heard the voice. It was so easily recognizable, how couldn't it be when she had grown up around it?
"We caught a trespasser, Elder Ironus," the tallest man, who was clearly the leader of the small group, said with his chest puffed out.
"Have you now?"
The man's tone of voice had changed, in a split second, from annoyed and angered to hungry and interested. Irys still couldn't move, but the pain was becoming overwhelming.
"Lock her up for now, I'll go wake my wife and then we can see who exactly you've captured."
The man named Nicodemus grabbed her around the waist and carried her off to the prison. At this point Irys was so angry that if she could have she would have thrown the Ethics Code out the window and beat the living shit out of the man carrying her.
Wait... What the hell is happening to me? First, I stray from my clan's traditions and now I'm even considering going against the Ethics Code? Roze really fucked me up, in more ways than one, Irys thought darkly.
The Fourth Magician was thrown into the cell roughly and left there. Nicodemus hadn't even taken the arrow out. After a few minutes she was able to move again, but her strength was sapped from the injury. She sat up, careful to not bump the arrow. Then, reaching back she broke the shaft so that there was only about two and a half to three inches jutting from her back now.
Irys rested her forehead against the cold stone wall, her eyes slowly shutting, only to shoot back open when the cell door slammed open. Nicodemus entered with the two clan elders. The male elder was tall with short black hair that was graying in some spots. He had a clean shaven face and searching emerald eyes. The woman had black hair and green eyes as well, but none of her features even hinted at old age, whereas the man had to at least be in his late fifties to early sixties.
Irys started shaking involuntarily,completely forgetting her rank as Fourth Magician; she wanted to be anywhere in the world but here... Hell, she would even be begging to get fucked by the First Magician, rather than have to face these two.
"What have you come here for? Are you here to steal from us, to spy on us," the man demanded, grabbing a handful of the front of Irys's shirt and holding her a few feet off the ground.
Irys could only stare, at a complete loss for words. When she looked over at the woman she saw recognition pass over the cold stare.
"Wait, Ironus! Look closely at her," the woman said, almost breathlessly, as she grabbed her husband by his shoulder.
He glanced at his wife in confusion then stared harder at Irys, causing her to shrink under his gaze.
"What in the blazes are you trying to tell me woman?!" Ironus boomed.
"Irys... Irys is it really you," the woman asked silently, a pleading look in her now soft emerald gaze.
Yelena tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She was too worried about Irys. The young magician knew what came of being distracted and having your thoughts on something else when you should be focusing on the task at hand. She sat up with a sigh. Morning light seeped through the windows, signaling the start of the day. Yelena stood up and got dressed.
After thinking long and hard about what she wanted to do, she made the decision to ask Bain for permission to go after Irys.
"Come in," she heard the Second Magician say from inside his office.
When she walked in she nearly tripped over a book.
"Ah, Yelena, here for your lesson," Bain asked with a smile, as he tried to stack a heavy history book on top of a pile that was already two inches taller than him.
"Well, actually I wanted to ask you-"
"If you could go after Irys?"
"Um... Yeah..."
"I'm fine with it, but it's not my decision. That's something you have to go to Roze for."
Dread filled Yelena's soul. The last thing she wanted to do was ask Roze Featherstone for permission to do anything, but she knew Bain was right. With a sigh she left his office and headed for Roze's. Her stomach was churning at just the thought of having to sit across from the woman for more than a couple seconds.
"Enter," she heard Roze say.
Slowly she walked in and wasn't surprised to find Roze at her desk going over documents. The First Magician only glanced at her for a second then went back to work on the papers in front of her.
"What the hell do you want," Roze asked, the annoyance and hatred, obvious in her tone.
"I want your permission to catch up with Master Jewelrose," Yelena said, sounding braver than she felt.
Roze jerked her head up at this.
"What the hell for?"
"She's my mentor and I'm worried about her! She hasn't been normal since I heard her have an-" Yelena cut herself off by clamping her hands over her mouth, realizing too late that she had said to much.
Roze raised an eyebrow, her interest piqued.
"Since you heard her what," The First Magician pressed.
"Nothing. Never mind. It doesn't concern you."
Roze smirked.
"You heard her have an orgasm, trust me brat, you weren't the only one to hear it. I wouldn't be surprised if the whole damn Keep heard it."
Yelena stared in confusion.
"Your request is denied. Now get out."
Yelena felt a stab of fear that she knew wasn't her own. She felt Irys at the edge of her mind, fear radiating from her mentor's mind, but in a split second the connection was severed, even when Yelena reached out to it.
"Master Featherstone," Yelena said quietly.
"What?! I thought I told you to get out?"
"I think Irys is in trouble..."
Roze looked at her curiously for a few moments. Then she replied with a heavy, annoyed sigh.
"Fine, brat, if Master Jewelrose doesn't return in four days like she is scheduled too then you can go look for her."
"Thank you!"
"But."
"But?"
"Zitora and I will be accompanying you."
"What?!"
"That's the only way you can go. You either go with the two of us or not at all."
"Fine," Yelena said crossly, turning on her heel to storm out.
Please be okay Irys...
Author's note: I really hope you all are enjoying reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it :) I'm loving the reviews and suggestions I've been getting :D keep em coming and I'll keep chapters coming ;) Oh and if anyone wants to be a SUPER big help, if you have anyone that you know on deviantart (or another site) try and get them to draw a picture or two for this if you would... I can't draw :/ otherwise I would do it myself and I think it'd be awesome to see some of the scenes from this book and Pleasurable Punishment come alive ;) If not, it's no big deal! And thank you tons, Whisked for your feedback, suggestions and helpful critiques!
Love,
HM