The Battle Lord Saga 02 - Her Battle Lord's Desire (5 page)

his way out the door with a fifty-pound sack of flour on his shoulders. Throwing his arms up, the

physician gave up trying to make sense of out anything and made his way over to the back table

where Yulen greeted him with an uncustomary hug.

“Liam! Good to see you in one piece. Don’t unpack your bags just yet. We’re heading

out first thing in the morning for Wallis.”

“
Wallis?
” A sick feeling dumped itself into his stomach. “Oh, God, what’s happened to

Atty?”

Yulen gave him a questioning look, then burst out laughing. “No, no! Nothing bad’s

happened. At least, not yet. So get that hangdog look off your face. Liam, do you remember

Fortune Kalich? Atty’s guardian?” He gestured to his left where for the first time MaGrath

noticed the Mutah hunters from Wallis. The man next to Kalich, the one with the horn-like

protrusions on the top of his head, he didn’t recognize.

As if reading his mind, Yulen explained, “The man with him is Bertrand Fairchild.

Bertrand is also a member of the hunters caste. They came seeking aid. Gentlemen, our illustrious

physician, Doctor Liam MaGrath.”

The three men shook hands, and MaGrath gave the other four soldiers within the group a

good once-over. “Voght. Siemens. Tyler. Plath.”

“Doc,” Wade Siemens greeted in return. He looked back at the Battle Lord. “Anything

else, sir?”

“That’s all I can think of at the moment,” Yulen informed them before they dismissed.

“But if you remember something I’ve overlooked, get back with me immediately.”

The four soldiers nodded and dispersed, leaving MaGrath just as confused as when he’d

arrived.

“Will someone tell me what in the Sam Hill is going on?”

“Be with you in a moment,” Yulen promised as he began to lead the two Mutah hunters

outside.

Liam remained standing alone in the middle of the main hall as people bustled around him,

all with a singleness of purpose, and he totally in the dark as to what was going on. But whatever

it was, it appeared it would happen at the crack of dawn. Frustrated, he placed his hands on his

hips and debated whether to go ahead and head home, or to remain where he was and wait for

Yulen to get back. That is,
if
he got back. The man was notorious for getting sidetracked. On the other hand, Madigan may have an inkling as to what was happening. There wasn’t much in

the compound she wasn’t aware of. “I give up,” he muttered, and left for his own abode.

Since his marriage to Madigan, she had moved into his suite of rooms on the backside of

the main lodge, which were adjacent to the small office and clinic where he practiced his medicinal

arts. A single door enabled MaGrath to move from work to home, and from the clinic into the

main lodge. Yulen had promised his mother to have a door cut in the back wall of the main hall

to allow them easier access straight their rooms to the interior dining room, rather than having to

go into the clinic first. In her last letter to him, MaGrath had learned that the Battle Lord had

made good on his promise.

Someone had delivered his saddlebags while he was in the main hall. They rested on the

small bench in front of the door. MaGrath threw them over his shoulder and walked into his

living room, and right into the middle of another hectic scenario. This one, however, left him

speechless.

“Liam! Hi!” Atty chirped from where she stood near the fireplace.

“Liam!” Madigan got to her feet and rushed over to give her husband a warm kiss hello.

MaGrath accepted her offer, and added a hug.

“Will someone please tell this old man what is going on? This place is moving so fast, I’m

starting to get a headache just trying to make sense of it all!” He looked around his living room,

at the bolts of fabric lying on the table and chairs, and glanced back again at Atty standing on the

footstool. “Am I dreaming, or are you wearing a dress, Atrilan?”

“Do you like it?” She held up her arms and slowly turned around for his inspection.

MaGrath swallowed hard. It wasn’t difficult to tell her the truth. “You’re an incredibly

beautiful woman, bluebell. What’s the occasion? Renewing your vows?”

Madigan giggled and slapped him on the arm. “Yulen’s taking her back to Wallis to

present her in a full guard of honor.”

“He what?”

At that moment there was a knock on the front door, and Seth O’Meyers, the compound’s

tailor, let himself inside. “Oh, hi, Doc! Welcome back! Just get in?” Without waiting for an

answer, he hurried over to where Atty was patiently waiting for him to finish pinning the hem on

the gown.

“I think that’ll get it. Take it off easy, Madam. I should have this finished in another

couple of hours.”

Atty nodded and disappeared into the bedroom to change clothes.

Another knock sounded at the door, and this time it was Phillip Van Der Slaw. He was

cradling something wrapped in a black velvet cloth in his hands.

Madigan threw up her hands and ushered the man inside. “Oh, let me see! Did you use

the dark topaz like I requested?”

“Better,” the jeweler smiled. “I happened to have a sapphire that turned out to be perfect

for it. Do you think the Battle Lord will object? It’ll cost him a quite a bit more than the topaz,

but I’m certain he’s going to like it much better.”

He unwrapped the object from its velvet covering, and held it up for Madigan and

MaGrath to see examine. MaGrath immediately recognized the tiara circlet Madigan had worn on

ceremonial occasions when she had been the wife of the slain Battle Lord, Yulen’s father. In the

center of the silver band there used to be a dark purple amethyst. Replacing that stone was a

deep blue sapphire of a hue the same color as Atty’s hair. Madigan gasped at its size and beauty.

“Oh, my, Phillip! I think you’ve outdone yourself. Atty?”

The Mutah woman was coming out of the bedroom to hand over the dress to the tailor

just as Madigan was calling to her. As Seth rushed out the door to finish the last details on the

gown, Madigan held up the circlet for her to see.

Atty stopped in mid-stride, her eyes wide in wonder. “What’s that?”

“It’s yours by right now as the new Battle Lord’s Lady,” Madigan told her.

“Mine?”

“Come here. Let’s see how it fits on you.”

Obediently, Atty stood before her and let the woman slip it over her forehead, where it

rested right above her brow.

“Oh, my, a perfect fit!” Turning the woman around, Madigan gave her a little push in the

direction of the mirror on the wall. Atty walked over and stared at her reflection. Wild deep

blue hair framing an oval face with large, blue-gray eyes gazed back at her, and all were crowned

with a circlet of polished silver inset with a sparkling blue gem the size of a small egg, and the

same color as her mane. In the candlelight she almost looked like someone regal and important.

“Ho-ly crap!”

Her awed exclamation was enough to make them laugh in response. Madigan gave her

shoulders a squeeze. “Yulen is right. It’s time you learned what kind of power a Battle Lord

wields, and what you, as his wife, are entitled to. It’s a big responsibility, Atty. Hold it carefully in your hands, and keep it close to your heart.”

Atty nodded as she continued to stare at herself in the gilded mirror. She didn’t need to

be a mind reader to know the woman wasn’t talking so much about her responsibilities as she was

talking about Yulen himself. Their love was their most precious possession, and she alone had

that power over him.

“Look. I hate to break up this little get-together, but I’m dog tired. Rumor has it we’re

getting to head for Wallis at first light, or am I just delightfully delirious from exhaustion? Atty,

can you give me a few more details, please?”

She turned around to face him. “Two of my fellow caste members from Wallis arrived

today, seeking help. Bloods have besieged my old home, and the compound’s been placed on

starvation watch. Unless we go there and defeat or drive the Bloods away, everyone in Wallis

will die. Yulen and I promised to go and help. We’re taking three wagonloads of provisions with

us as well. Oh! Madigan! I forgot! Here!” Atty took off the circlet and dropped it in the

woman’s hands. “Pack it for me, would you, please?” she called as she rushed out the door. She

was gone before she could get a reply.

MaGrath gave his wife a weary look. “Wallis, huh? Any idea for how long this time?”

Madigan gave her husband a rueful smile. “Sorry. I would hazard to guess until the siege

is over. I’m sorry you haven’t had sufficient rest, but if it’s any consolation, I went ahead and set

out some medicants I thought you might want to pack.”

“It’s nearly eleven. Any chance the other half of the compound will be coming through

the door tonight?” he groused good-naturedly.

Madigan shrugged. She picked up the length of velvet and began to polish the circlet

before wrapping it back up. “Once Seth finishes the presentation gown, he’ll be taking it directly

to their rooms. I need to drop this up there, as well. As far as I know, my job’s done. Why do

you ask?”

Kicking the door closed behind them, MaGrath took his wife in his arms and pulled her

tightly against him. “Good, because it’s been two long months since I’ve felt your softness, and

I’ll be damned if Yulen is going to drag me off to Wallis before I’ve had the chance to taste you

again,” he told her in a low, throaty voice a second before his mouth found the silken length of

her neck.

Madigan giggled softly and surrendered to his kisses. They had at least a few hours to

themselves before he would have to leave, and neither of them was willing to waste a moment.

Despite his dire prediction, Yulen managed to catch a couple hours of sleep before they

had to start out for Wallis. Trudging upstairs, he’d found Atty already in such sound slumber she

never moved when he climbed under the quilts to join her. He barely remembered drawing an arm

around her waist before he, too, succumbed.

It was Berta knocking on their bedroom door that woke them. Quickly they dressed to go

downstairs and join their men in a hearty breakfast. Conversation was nonexistent, to be saved

for the monotony of the journey on the road. Once he was certain everyone was accounted for,

Yulen called for the caravan to form in the courtyard for one last check. The moment he made

the announcement, he knew who was missing. “Liam, did you see which way Atty went?”

The physician glanced up from where he’d been saying goodbye to his wife. “I thought

she went upstairs.”

Nodding his thanks, Yulen hurried to the bedroom to find her digging through the drawers

of the bureau. Frowning, he watched her riffling through their clothes before finally asking, “Did

you forget something?”

“I can’t find my little green bag.”

“What little green bag?”

“You know the one,” she told him without looking up from her search. Finding no

success in the bureau, she turned and bent down to check under the bed. “It has the little brown

button on the front. The one you told me looks like a bear.”

“Oh, yeah,” he nodded. “No, I haven’t seen it. Why? Is it important?”

She paused to give him a guarded look. “It has my herbs in it I use for cooking,” she

admitted, but for some reason Yulen suddenly felt he was getting only half the truth.

“Why can’t you just use herbs you find out in the forest?”

“Because these are out of season. They’re not available this time of year.” Atty let out a

frustrated sigh, pounding her hands on the side of the bed before getting to her feet. “Damn.”

“When did you last see this bag?”

“Yesterday,” she said, rather vaguely.

“Look, Atty, we don’t have time for you to be looking for an herb bag. There’s over two

hundred soldiers waiting for my command to head out, and the sun’s already beginning to top the

trees. We need to get moving
now.
”

Taking one last look around, she gave an irritated stomp of her foot and left the bedroom

with Yulen right behind her.

They mounted their horses, and Yulen gave the signal to advance. Once they were well

away from the main gate, he gave a second signal, and the caravan upped its pace, determined to

make the normally five-day journey in four. Time wasn’t a luxury any longer. It was a

commodity.

“We’re bypassing Foster City,” he told the small group riding in front with him. “By not

stopping there this evening, we can make at least another ten miles before darkness forces us to

stop.”

Fortune Kalich nodded. Despite the knowledge that he and Bertrand were safe within the

Battle Lord’s ring of protection, he was leery about approaching another Normal compound even

with the man’s reassurances. He glanced back behind where Bertrand rode behind him. They’d

been given their own horses, their wagon being drawn in line with two other wagons nearer the

middle of the caravan. All three conveyances were heavily loaded with food supplies. A fourth

wagon a little further back held other supplies and armament intended to be used on the trip.

Bertrand saw his look of disbelief and nodded. It was still so sudden, finding themselves