Have No Mercy (10 page)

I woke from a dreamless sleep
with the bed cold at my back and Flynn was gone. The pit of my gut felt like
something spoiled there. There was so much we didn’t say last night. I wanted
to ask about Luke and what he said Luke hadn’t told me. After everything
yesterday, it didn’t seem like the right time. And now he was gone again. My
future was so uncertain with question that shouldn’t matter in the face of
saving Luke, but they did anyway.

A soft knock that didn’t appear
to be the first one interrupted my fall into hopelessness. Whoever was knocking
must have tried to wake me before, because it came more insistent the next
time.

“Who is it,” I called, needing it
not to be Larrison.

“It’s Molly mam. I’m must get you
dressed for the day.”

Why? I wondered. At least I got
her name. I beckoned her in and allowed her to treat me like a doll. The gown
brought for me to wear was pale blue with ivory detailing. I was tucked in
tight and crushed leaving me hardly enough room to breathe. I had no idea how
the ladies back in that time survived.

Again the dress had an impossible
string of tiny buttons down my back, which meant I would need help in and out
of the thing. The sucky part was I had no mirror, so I had no idea how I looked
in it or the one from yesterday. It was probably for the best; I would only be
self-conscious.

“Queen Mab sent me to make sure
you were up for the day when you missed breakfast. The cooks are working on
lunch. But I can scrounge up something from the kitchen if you like.”

“I’m not hungry but thanks.” She
nodded and gave a little curtsey and limped her way out of the room.

The mention of food reminded me I
should be famished by now. But I pushed it away. I was surprised that I wasn’t
starving and was just grateful not to be. I sat at the edge of the bed and
wondered what to do next like seek out Flynn when another knock sounded.

“Come in,” I said.

Molly was entirely too formal. If
she forgot something, she should have just come back in. Only it wasn’t the
servant girl.

"I know we may not have
gotten off on the right foot, but I want us to be friends."

Morgana strolled in wearing a
ball gown befitting a princess. Regret for not asking who it was churned in me,
but it was too late with her closing the door behind her. I didn't trust her
honest eyes no matter how wide they got. She seemed to sense my dislike.

"Your stay will be easier if
we all just got along." This time her smile matched her tongue and cheek
words.

"What do you want?" I
cut to the chase not wanting to play wordsmith with this girl. The Fey may not
be able to lie, but the Elven Queen had warned me of their manipulations.

"Flynn must have told you of
his agreement with my mother."

I did an awesome job of masking
my shock. Even though annoyance riled my insides at the thought that she knew,
and I didn’t. I would find out as soon as she left.

"Ah, you don't know."
She tapped a finger just to the right of her mouth while she pondered what to
say to me.

"Just say it," I
snapped, and then mumbled, "Whatever it is." Not quite admitting to
my ignorance.

"He is to be with select
ladies of the court and I. And once we are all bearing fruit, I sincerely hope
he will agree to be my consort."

Bearing fruit? Was that what I
thought it meant. Fury boiled within me. Flynn had berated me about whoring
myself for the Elven Queen only to him to do the same. I controlled the burn
not wanting to let her know that I was as ill-informed as she thought me to be.

"How can he be your consort
when he belongs to me?" I challenged.

"True, that's why we should
be friends. We will be sharing the same guy... unless...” She paused and then
switched tactics. “You know my brother isn't bad. And he's taken such a liking
to you."

My mouth gaped. I couldn’t
believe what she just suggested.

"What, you think they are
dolls, and we can swap?” I waited for her to deny my statement, but she just
stood there like it was a normal thing. “Even if I was willing to share or swap
or whatever, and I'm not, by the way, it would be his decision not mine."

"I agree.” She beamed a
fantastic smile. “I wanted this not to be a fight. I've spent time with Flynn,
and I think he likes me."

I wanted her to be a liar. But
she was gorgeous, and any guy would see that. Then again, she was Fey, and her
words would be carefully constructed. "How do you know he likes you?"
I asked softly losing most of my bravado.

She smiled like a kid who had
just been told he had an hour in a toy store to choose whatever he wanted.
"He kisses like a dream. But you know that. I thought I would just melt in
his arms."

Her voice had taken on a dreamy
quality, one that I knew all too well. And it gutted me like I swallowed an
anvil. Almost too late, I realized the sinking sensation I felt was my weak
knees. When I caught her stare, I held firm and didn’t allow myself to fall
apart.

"You do know all about his
kisses, don't you?" Her voice grew claws. It was easy to tell she wanted
to wipe out my existence.

"What Flynn and I have is
none of your business. Just as I don't want to hear any more about..." I
waved my hand about, not giving voice to her claims. "You should go."
There was danger in my tone. I wanted to cleave the girl's head off, but I
didn't think Madeline would take to kindly of me killing her daughter. I needed
space to think before I confronted Flynn and beheaded him instead.

"You right. I should go.
Flynn is waiting for me. I wanted your blessing, and I guess that was probably
too much to hope for."

She turned and strolled out of
the room. I exhaled fire like a dragon and sucked in a hot air balloon’s worth
of oxygen to continue to fuel the flames of my fury. Flynn was going to be a
dead man if he didn't have a good explanation.

Not too long after, thundering
footsteps passed my door. A peek out into the hallway had me racing after the
soldiers. Something didn’t feel right, and I needed to know where they were
headed. I followed with lifted skirt on slippered feet all the way outside
where circle of onlookers surrounded two guys with fisted hands.

"Can't fight like a man? You
need your mommy's help." Flynn taunted.

"Stay back no matter what
happens." Larrison absently waved a hand toward the approaching soldiers.
Directed at Flynn, he sneered, "I don't need mother's help. I could end
you with a thought."

"And if good looks were
power, I would reign supreme." That got a chuckle out of the crowd.
Larrison looked around, and I could tell by the slant of his eyes, he was
slightly embarrassed. "Instead of thinking, why don’t you bring some action?
Let everyone see what you can do with your hands, ice boy."

"All this over a girl. She
isn't even more useful than for a—"

"Don't say it. Don't even
think it. Mercy is mine. And by bargain, she isn't to be harmed."

Larrison appeared amused as they
continue to circle each other. He came to a stop and gathered himself to his
full height which wasn't saying much. His eyes lifted to meet mine a brief
moment before he added, "And does she accept your bargain with mother? Not
that it matters to you. I would think being in the company my sister and the
ladies of the court would be a fair trade-off for one girl."

"Mercy isn't for sale. She
is mine and mine alone. You don't touch her. You don't dream about her. You
don't wish for her. You sure as shit don’t show up at her door for an
invite."

"That isn't part of the
deal. What if I don't follow your request?"

Flynn moved with more speed than
I thought possible as a human. Larrison's head snapped back by the force of the
blow. A sickening snap sounded. If he’d been human, Larrison would have died
from a broken neck. But the Fey wasn't human. Just as fast, his head cracked
back in place. He rolled his neck over his shoulders before he went after
Flynn. A sidestep saved Flynn from Larrison's attack. The easy way Flynn dodged
his blow had the crowd cackling. Larrison's face flushed blue, the same color
of the blood that trickled from his nose.

I saw the moment when Larrison
changed strategies. His eyes narrowed and a wicked grin crossed his face. I
tried to move to intercept Larrison from using Fey magic. What I hadn't
anticipated were the guards who’d flanked either side of me. When did that
happen?

Cold hands with grips like blocks
of ice held me in place. I cried out in what may have cost Flynn. He glanced up
and in that second, and Larrison barreled into him. I dug deep and found some
inner strength. I went limp with dead weight and let gravity do its job. The
two soldiers weren’t expecting it, and they were pulled to crash together like
dominoes. Once I was free, I headed towards the circle in time to catch Flynn
going down. A spike of ice protruded from Larrison's hand like a middle sixth
finger. He aimed straight for Flynn's jugular. I wanted to scream, but I feared
breaking whatever concentration Flynn may have had.

Flynn was no slouch when it came
to fighting. Even without Cambion strength, he possessed major skills. With one
hand wrapped around the spike, his other smashed into Larrison's face. Then he
kicked Larrison in the solar plexus sending him twisting face first into the
ground behind him. Flynn was ready on his feet before Larrison got to his.

Flynn smirked while he held up
Larrison’s spike after somehow removing the unnatural appendage from the guy.
Flynn brandished it like a weapon in his right hand while blood flowed from
various wounds on Larrison. Heckled by the crowd, Larrison made a mistake of
needing to save face. He charged forward with murderous intent. Like a
bullfighter, Flynn moved just in time. However, he grabbed Larrison around the
neck, spun him around and slammed him face first into the ground. That time, it
was Flynn that held the spike at Larrison's jugular.

"Wait." Morgana leaped
forward. "Please! Don’t do it. My mother would never forgive it, and all
will be lost for you. My brother knows of his mistake. Don't you
Larrison?"

Larrison didn't look properly
cowed. Instead, the Fey wiped blood from his face and snarled with murderous
intent. And Fairy was his domain all he had to do was resort to magic and Flynn
might be toast. I stepped into the ring.

"Flynn, please."

He jerked his gaze in my
direction. I gave him my best pleading stare. He clenched his jaw before
getting to his feet and stepping back. Morgana was right there to wrap herself
around Flynn's neck like a scarf.

Flynn pointed a finger at the
beaten Fey. "Remember what I said."

He didn't wait for Larrison's
response. He stomped up the stairs and into the castle with Morgana tow. The
two tin soldiers who’d tried to stop me from interfering helped Larrison to his
feet. Once there, he shrugged them off like he hadn’t needed their help in the
first place. He glared at the crowd, and everyone rushed inside. Larrison spit
a lugy of blue yuck and was the last to head inside. By the time I realized my
mistake, the stairs and door had disappeared. I stumbled having taken that
first step only for it to be gone. Outside and alone, I wondered if my blunder
would cost me my life.

Chapter
Nineteen

Of all the stupid things to
happen,
I
thought. I shook my head as the cold penetrated my dress down to my bones.
Funny how I hadn’t felt it during the fight earlier. Adrenaline was an amazing
thing.

Eventually, someone would open
the doors? I almost sat, prepared to wait it out. I also considered walking
through the maze of hedges to ward off the chill by continuing to move. But
would Flynn come looking for me? An image of Morgana no doubt keeping him
company made that doubtful. 

A sound sliced the eerie
quietness. I peered out into the stillness of white and green waiting to hear
it again. When it came, I determined it wasn’t a sound as much as it was a
disturbance to silence. And it came from my left.

I got to my feet and headed like
the main character in a horror movie towards the noise. It could be stupid, but
then again, I had nothing left to loose. I rounded the corner to another side
of the fortress to find Tristrom practicing battle moves with a sword.

Besides my utter relief at
finding I wasn’t alone, I was transfixed by his combative dance. It was fluid
with a grace ballet dancers would envy. Yet, his strikes and parries were very
much deadly. Enough battles and training had taught me to envy such practiced
refinement.

Needing to do something to work
the chill out of my bones and connect with Tristrom in any way, I picked up a
short sword left in a pile of weapons off to the side. I wasn’t very good at
wielding a sword, but Luke had done his best to give me pointers during our few
training session in case the situation would ever arise. Images of prom night
tried to force their way back to the surface, but I pushed it away. Instead, I
jumped into the fray as Tristrom spun.

With his back to me, he must have
been in his own world, clueless that I’d walked over because his eyes became
saucers when my sword connected with his as he spun in my direction. The clash
of metal reverberated up my arm, but I held on. Tristrom actually grinned with
approval as he lifted his sword and went in for another strike. I wouldn’t be
able to beat him with the weapon I held. He was taller, had a longer reach and
a longer sword. So I did what I did best. Smaller and faster, I dodged his
blows. I only used the sword when his slashes almost connected and I had no
other choice. We went at it for a while as it became fun when I continued to
survive his punishing attack. Still, I wore a dress, and it was only a matter
of time before it became a problem. When I went down, Tristrom leveled the
point of the sword at my neck.

Our eyes locked. His expression
telegraphed battle ready. Gone was the smile that graced his face earlier. I
was sweating and breathing hard waiting for him to end it. Then he grinned and
pulled back. He held out a hand, and I took it. Standing again, he bowed. I
might have bowed too, but my chest would have been put on display. So I
curtseyed.

Lots of airtime went unused,
until I said, “You’re really good.”

He nodded. And I thought that
would be the end of it. But after an awkward pause, he said, “You too.”

After a beat of pause, he moved
towards the stack of swords. I caught up with him not wanting things to end
there.

I had to walk backward to get
into his line of vision. “Not anywhere near as awesome as you. Maybe if you
have time, you can show me some moves.”

He straightened. Not wanting to
give him a chance to say no, I continued. “It’s just, I’m pretty bored here. I
don’t have anything to do. And to be honest, knowing how to fight off an attack
is important for any girl.”

Something I said worked, because
gradually he nodded. Then, he pointed and spoke as if it pained him. “Not the
right sword for you.”

He held out his hand, and I gave
over the weapon. He bent, laid the one I had down and sorted through the half a
dozen other swords on the ground. He picked up an unlikely choice. It was
slightly longer and slimmer than the one I’d chosen.

I took it as he held it to me
hilt first. I couldn’t explain it, but it felt right in my hands, not too light
or too heavy. He moved behind me and adjusted my grip. Once he was satisfied,
he began to show me how to wield it by guiding my hand as if it were an
extension of his own. Then he wordlessly taught me the first movement in his
battle dance. And although he was behind me for most of it, I never felt like
he was coming onto me or taking advantage of his proximity. His training was
pure in teacher-student roles.

We were at the part where I was
testing out my newly learned moves in his pretend attack when Larrison showed
up. I removed my sword from its position at near a vulnerable spot at
Tristrom’s thigh where he would bleed out quickly if I’d chosen to cut him.

“I should have known.” Larrison
stared pointedly at me. “You would choose to get to know him properly but not
me. I should be offended because he’s a bastard, and I’m the heir.”

 I’d reached my limit or maybe I
was running on a high after feeling like a warrior from Tristrom’s patient and
silent but effective teaching. Add to that, I was sweaty and annoyed that
Larrison had come to storm on my parade.

“You’re a pompous obstinate jerk,
who’s too full of himself that no wants to know him better.”

Larrison arched a brow, and his
smile became broader. He put his hands together and clapped. “You are an
interesting human. Most of your ilk wouldn’t know a curse unless it had four
letters. But you… you are a most interesting creature. Beautiful and
intelligent, with a mouth worthy of kissing as well as listening to.”

  I hadn’t expected that and just
stood there frowning.

“And, the lady can fight I see. I
wonder what you would do with a real opponent.”

There wasn’t a good reason to
fight Larrison other than to see him on his ass. But embarrassing him further
after what happened with Flynn didn’t sound like a good idea.

He reached down without ever
taking his eyes off me and maybe Tristrom’s too. He selected a sword and said,
“Now let’s see what you’ve got.”