Lady Carliss and the Waters of Moorue (17 page)

Carliss leaned forward. “Really? And what of those who become so
enthralled with your dream world that they walk across the bridge into the swamp to their deaths? And what of the Followers you’ve taken from the haven? Are they being well treated or tortured like Ganoaf?” Carliss’s fury rose higher. “What I see here is the propagation of evil and deception!”

“Lady Carliss, don’t be so dramatic.” The Shadow Warrior spoke with airy condescension. “I wager that if you were to try the full effect of my esca powder, you would see things quite differently. What do you say?”

“I do not wager with evil,” Carliss spat back. “I rebuke it in the name of the Prince!”

Malco grimaced, then lifted his chin to regain his composure. He stared at Carliss as he finished chewing his last bite, then lifted a napkin to his lips and wiped them without taking his gaze from her. He stood and walked the length of the table, his steely eyes fixed on Carliss all the while. To Carliss he seemed larger than before. His display of charm slowly vanished as he neared. He grasped the arms of Carliss’s chair and abruptly turned it to face him directly. He leaned down close to her face. The smell of garlic and other spices was on his breath.

“I have been ordered to attempt to sway you over to our cause, you Knights of the Prince… and you in particular.” Malco’s voice now fully revealed the darkened state of the soul within him. “But quite frankly, you disgust me.” Malco leaned closer to Carliss. She tried to turn away, but he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him.

“Actually, you all disgust me. Even the Vinceros disgust me. I hate you all. This kingdom is full of half-witted fools, and I would like nothing more than to kill all of you miserable Arrethtraens.”

Without warning, Malco grabbed Carliss’s neck and began to squeeze. She grabbed his hand with both of hers and pulled, but his grip tightened. He pressed his thumb and his forefinger into the base of her jawbone until the pain was unbearable. She couldn’t help opening her mouth to relieve the pressure, and as she did, Malco poured the entire contents of a small vial of crystals beneath her tongue. She tried to spit, but Malco slammed her jaw upward, pushing her head against the back of the high chair.

“Now you will live in my world and never return, fool!” Malco said with a loathsome voice. He laughed as Carliss continued to fight against him, but his powerful muscles would not yield.

She closed her eyes in an attempt to fight against the power of the esca crystals. Malco’s laughter echoed in her mind as the horror of the moment faded away into dreamscape. For one brief moment she wished she were anywhere but here, fighting against the darkness of Lucius and his wicked Shadow Warriors. She thought of the carefree days of her youth when she was just a child on her father’s farm, catching snowflakes.

Carliss opened her eyes to see the old country where she once had played. The delightful sprinkle of white flakes drifted slowly about her, landing softly on her cheek. Just to her left was the cozy farmhouse, nestled in the valley with a swirl of smoke rising from the chimney.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” she heard a familiar voice say.

“Koen!” she exclaimed. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

Carliss’s brother smiled broadly. “Dalton will be out later. Shall we all take a ride together?”

Carliss smiled, but something tugged at the corner of her mind.

“Dalton?” she asked.

Koen continued to smile, but Carliss looked away to the horizon. Something wasn’t right. She put her hands to her head.

“No!” she screamed in her mind. She turned back to face Koen, and he just continued to smile. “I will not stay here!” she said.

She closed her eyes, and her mind became a battlefield of reason and temptation, logic and delight, reality and fantasy. Carliss forced herself to deny the tremendous pull on her mind and emotions. She fell to the ground, still clutching her head, and cried out to the Prince. She opened her eyes, willing it all to vanish, but it would not. Instead, the fields began to warp, and her farmhouse melted into the sky.

She tried to stand, but the grass wrapped itself around her legs and waist, pulling her downward, refusing to let her go. She screamed out her defiance to the dream world, and it dissolved away, finally releasing its grip on her mind. The black canvas that remained slowly began to reveal obscure shapes that were unpleasant and yet familiar.

“Impossible!” a dark voice resonated in her mind.

The light of Malco’s dining room broke away the remaining shadows of her mind, and Carliss saw Malco standing just a few feet before her, a look of shock on his face.

“By the power of the Prince,” Carliss said defiantly, “I will not succumb to your evil, Malco!”

Malco screamed, lifted her from the chair, and threw her against the door. She slammed into the carved wood with a
thud
and collapsed to the floor. Two warriors immediately entered the hall with drawn swords.

“I’m too weary to bother myself further with her tonight. Take her to a cell. Tomorrow we will feed her and Ganoaf to the esca lizards.”

WOUNDED WARRIOR

Carliss was taken to a section of the castle she had not toured and was cast into a dimly lit cell. Before long the doors opened, and two warriors cast in another prisoner who was so badly beaten that Carliss hardly recognized him.

“Ganoaf!” Carliss exclaimed. He groaned as she rolled him onto his back and began to dab his bleeding wounds with portions of her tunic. Without bandages or water, there was little else she could do for him.

Ganoaf coughed and winced in pain.

“How can I help you?” Carliss wiped blood from the corner of his mouth. For many days she had felt responsible for the childlike man she had known as Ganoaf. And even now, though it was clear he was so much more than he appeared, she could not help feeling responsible for the torture he had just endured.

Ganoaf closed his eyes and tried to take a slow, deep breath.

“There is nothing you can do,” he said with difficulty. “Time… time will help me.”

Carliss didn’t understand. In her experience, someone this badly beaten could easily die without proper care.

“I am one of the…King’s Silent Warriors,” he gasped. “The Life Spice within me will heal me… in time.”

He winced again and tried to relax. Carliss stayed silent and let this mysterious warrior concentrate on mastering his pain. She stayed close to him for a long while until his breathing became shallow and steady. As he slept, Carliss reconsidered the past few days. She stood and went to look out the bars of the cell, trying to transform her perspective on the large, simple man to that of the mighty Silent Warrior of the King.

What was his purpose in the ploy he played?
she wondered.
Was it solely to get close to Malco to assassinate him?

Carliss’s mind filled with questions, but she had no choice but to wait for the answers. While she waited, her mind turned to Dalton. Today was the sixth day since his tremors had ended, and reaching him would involve, at the very least, a hard three days’ ride. If he was to live, she had but one more day to escape Malco’s prison, find the swamp lily, and leave Moorue. It simply seemed impossible.

My Prince, one of your mighty servants will die if I fail
, she pleaded.
Please help me
. The plea came from the heart of one who had sworn never to abandon a fellow knight in battle or in peril. But though she refused her mind the indulgence it craved, her plea also came from the heart of one who had been beset by the power of love.

Finally, her thoughts turned to Si Kon, his family, and the other Followers who had been taken captive. She wondered where they were being held and if they were all right. She sat motionless in silent contemplation for a long while, unable this time to find the respite of sleep.

“Carliss,” Ganoaf whispered. The flame of a lamp just outside their cell flickered, and Carliss could just see Ganoaf open his eyes. “Did they hurt you?”

Carliss came to Ganoaf and knelt beside him. She marveled that he could be so close to death and yet be concerned for her.

“No, my friend,” she answered. “I am unharmed.”

Ganoaf took a deep breath and seemed more at peace.

“I’m afraid we have failed in our missions,” Carliss said, “I in mine and you in yours.”

Ganoaf turned his head to look at her. He held up his hand, and she took hold of it.

“Neither of us has failed… not yet.”

He pulled on her hand, and she helped him rise to a sitting position. It took great effort on both of their parts, for he was twice her weight and very weak. Still, she was amazed to see how much better he was doing already. He pointed to the wall, and she helped him lean against it.

Ganoaf closed his eyes and once again seemed to focus on subduing the pain in his body.

“But how can you possibly succeed in killing Malco now?” Carliss asked.

Ganoaf sat in silence, and Carliss wondered if he had fallen unconscious.

“It was never my mission to kill Malco,” he finally said, then opened his eyes and looked at her. “My mission was and is solely to protect you. I have never lost a charge, and I will not lose you.”

Carliss stared at Ganoaf in stunned disbelief. All the while she had thought she was protecting him, and only now did she realize the foolishness of the notion. He must have known that Salina was a Vincero Knight and had protected Carliss from her throughout the journey. She thought back and realized that Ganoaf had probably saved her life countless times without her even realizing it.

“But why?” she asked.

“Because you are special in the eyes of the Prince, Carliss. He has watched you from your youth, and your pure heart has won His favor… and the favor of others.”

Carliss lowered her head, humbled by words she could hardly believe were spoken for her.

“You played the fool these past days,” she said quietly. “And now it is I who play the fool, realizing who you really are. Please forgive me.”

With great effort, Ganoaf lifted a burly arm and placed his hand on her shoulder.

“You… are no fool, Lady Carliss. You are a courageous and merciful Knight of the Prince… the key to winning a great battle that has yet to unfold fully. I have seen our great Lord in the power of your sword and in the kindness of your heart. Lift your head and be strong.”

Carliss looked at the mighty warrior and received strength from his words.

Ganoaf winced as he tried to prop himself straighter. Carliss tried to support him as best she could.

“They will come for us,” he said, “and we must be ready.”

“But Ganoaf, we are prisoners in Malco’s castle in the middle of the swamp. How and for what can we possibly be ready?”

“No matter how dark the darkness, the Prince never abandons his faithful servants,” Ganoaf said without opening his eyes.

Carliss smiled in the shadows and was grateful for the words he spoke—words that reminded her of the One she served and of His great power. She was also grateful for the companionship of her friend and protector in this dark place.

“What do you suggest?” Carliss asked.

“I believe there is a way of escape, but it will be treacherous… and…” Ganoaf hesitated. He opened his eyes and looked at Carliss.