Unleashed Fury (BloodRunes: Book 1) (8 page)

Jonathan flushed at the compliment and
allowed himself a question, one which had been tickling his
curiosity. “If I may,” he started politely, “would you be willing
to share with me just what this connection is? The one that Devon
has with Jezebel I mean.”

Master hesitated, and Jonathan could feel
appraising eyes upon him from beneath the mask. “I will,” he said
finally. “The Lady Jezebel prides herself on her control of her
magic. In reality, it controls her through her negative emotions.
Both she and Devon are fascinated with pain and blood. On a night
where the fine lady imbibed a little too much of the wine she so
enjoys, she let Devon enjoy her. They unknowingly performed a
ritual of binding through this shared fascination. Though neither
would admit to the night having occurred, nor are they themselves
aware of the connection, there is now an unmistakable bond between
them which has revealed itself differently in each person. This is
the information that I can give you. It is up to your capable
intellect to deduce the rest which I am sure you will be able to,
just as you will be able to fulfill my wish of properly inserting
yourself into a position to gain access to the lady.”

Jonathan bowed and removed himself from his
Master's company. He was eager to prove him right, and his
curiosity was dampened at least, if not completely satisfied, by
this new information about Devon and Lady Jezebel. This new aspect
of his project was proving to be very interesting – even if he was
still unsure of Jezebel’s worth to their operation – and Jonathan
was curious to see how it all played out.

CHAPTER 6

Layna completed her morning tasks with no
set-backs, relieved that her mistress's illness was keeping her in
bed and out of Layna's way. Normal circumstances permitted her to
get all the chores done early, especially since she had already
tackled the laborious task of the sitting room. Therefore, she had
a free afternoon ahead of her, and the anticipation of it was a
feeling that she relished.

She had gotten permission to read the books
in the library from Jezebel. The understanding was that she could
sign them out under the condition that she was responsible for
their replacement if they were not returned. Layna loved reading,
and used any stolen moment to immerse herself in a story of
someone's life that was more interesting than her own.
Which
really isn't all that hard
, she thought ruefully. She smiled
despite the thought. After all, they said that leading an
interesting life could be a curse.

She ran her hands reverently over the book
she had borrowed, having finally decided on one about someone named
Merlin in a far distant time and place. She packed this carefully
into her bag along with a meat pie she had smuggled from the
kitchen. She also grabbed a pair of mittens and a hat since, even
though it was a sunny day, it was still somewhat cold outside. She
was making her way out through the gardens to go sit beneath an old
apple tree on the edge of the property when she heard her name
being hailed.

“Layna!” called Gryffon, quickening his pace
to intercept her. “Where are you off to?”

Layna smiled shyly and answered after a quick
curtsy, “I finished my chores early so I was about to steal a
moment and go read in the gardens, sir.” She found that she liked
the man more and more since yesterday, despite Jezebel's reaction
his comment. Besides, Jezebel was in bed on the other side of the
manner, and there was no one else out here to witness this
exchange.

Gryffon smiled back at her, warmth seeming to
spread across his handsome features, and he replied, “I was about
to go for a ride. I just got a new stallion and I'd love to see how
he is. Want to keep me company?”

Layna froze. It was one thing to have a
conversation on the grounds with no one around, but to actually go
somewhere together was a whole other matter. She was reluctant to
spend time with someone so closely connected to Jezebel, even if
she wasn't exactly sure what that connection was. He saw her
hesitation and added, “I promise to take you somewhere to read and
then leave you alone. Look,” he said pulling a bow and arrow off
his back, “I wanted to do some target practice anyway. I'll take
you for a nice scenic ride somewhere you've never been and then
you'll still get to read while I entertain myself with target
practice. Deal?”

Layna still wasn't comfortable with the idea
and her head was telling her to just say ‘no’, but the rest of her
was eager to go. Her good sense lost the battle, however, as
Gryffon had decided to take her silence as consent. He was already
leading her by the elbow towards the stables. His directness threw
her off-guard, and she didn't know how she could gracefully refuse
the invitation. Instead, she obediently followed him inside where
he stopped in front of one of the horse's stalls.
Besides, I’m
supposed to do what the nobles ask me to, aren’t I?
The pesky
voice of good sense grumbled something in the back of her head, but
she ignored it.

While he grabbed the tack for the stallion,
Layna wandered to the black horse stabled at the end. “Hello there,
Gorgeous,” she purred to the creature, stroking its mane.

Gryffon looked over at her. “You talking to
me?” he asked jokingly.

Layna blushed furiously; glad her cheeks must
already be rosy from the cold. “The horse on the end here, my lord.
I come visit him sometimes and I nicknamed him Gorgeous, because,
well...he just is.” She smiled and patted the horse's nose. The
horse lipped at her hand, looking for a treat.

“Too bad,” said Gryffon grinning, pulling a
saddle from its stand. “His real name is Fly, short for Firefly.
He's one of my favorites. Would you like to ride him?” He glanced
at her for approval and she gave a nervous nod.

“You realize, of course,” she informed him,
“that I've never ridden a horse before, right?”

Gryffon gave her a mischievous grin. “Nothing
to it, old Fly here handles like a charm.”

The word triggered her memory and she said,
“Thank you for the necklace, by the way. It's beautiful. But I
really don’t think I can…” she reached up to take it off, but he
interrupted her.

“Keep it. I promise I won’t tell.”

He gave her a wink, but said nothing more
about it, so Layna dropped her hands a bit reluctantly and asked
instead, “So what do I need to know about riding?”

Gryffon gave her the rundown of the basics to
horseback riding, patiently explaining when she questioned parts of
it. When she felt as though she at least knew enough to make a go
of it, they led the horses outside, her with Fly and him with his
new horse, Battle Axe.

“I didn't name him,” Gryffon had clarified
before she could comment. “He was already trained to respond to it
when I got him, so other than shortening it to 'Axe' I'm stuck with
it. One hell of a horse though”

Gryffon positioned her next to Fly and made a
step with his hands; hoisting her up onto the horse, and helping
her get her feet in the stirrups. The ease with which he lifted her
up surprised her and she plopped down onto Fly's back with a loud
smack.

“Oof,” she exclaimed.

He chuckled and handed her the reins. In one
fluid motion, he mounted his own horse, and after briefly
demonstrating the commands, they began a slow walk. The motions of
the horse felt jerky underneath her at first, but she soon learned
the patterns of the movement and adjusted her own to match so that
she and the horse were moving together.

As Layna became more comfortable, Gryffon
urged Battle Axe into a trot and then a canter. He showed Layna
each and then helped her to master them as well.

“You're a natural,” Gryffon told her
admiringly.

Layna simply laughed. She wasn't sure that
her legs were going to agree with that statement tomorrow, but she
did feel as though she was doing moderately well. “Why is it that
you know so much about riding?” she asked, lulled into a tentative
feeling of comfort by his winsome demeanor and the distance from
the manor. Just the same, she added a “sir” a moment later, not
quite ready to completely give up formalities just yet.

“I've always loved the animals for one,”
Gryffon answered after a short pause. “I grew up in the country, so
if we wanted to go somewhere, we walked or we learned to ride
horses. Now that I'm a big city man, I take them to get away from
places instead of using them to get places. And, of course, to
hunt.” He grinned. “Hunting is my therapy. No matter what else is
happening, I can always ride out into the woods and then there is
nothing in the world but me and that big buck that I'm after.” He
sighed happily, looking out into space for a moment before focusing
his gaze on her once again. “And how is it that you’ve never ridden
before? Where did you grow up?”

“In Rockham,” she answered and then explained
since his blank expression suggested he hadn’t heard of it. “It’s a
tiny village west and south of here. We had mules that pulled the
cart, but we never rode them. We couldn’t afford horses. Plus, my
parents were very distrustful of people in general. They were happy
to just deal with those in town and we rarely went anywhere
else.”

Gryffon nodded and then let the conversation
lapse. They briefly rode in silence until Gryffon announced, “Ah,
and here's the spot I promised you.”

A small brook bubbled past an outcropping of
rocks, and Layna gasped at the beauty of the landscape beyond it.
Gryffon dismounted and helped Layna down, his huge hands encircling
her waist and giving her a thrill down her spine. After a moment of
appreciation for the view, she settled herself amongst a cluster of
rocks that was covered in soft moss and rummaged in her bag for her
book.

A frosty breeze down her back made her shiver
involuntarily.

“Cold?” Gryffon asked.

She nodded, but shrugged it off saying, “I'm
always cold, I'm convinced I am cold-blooded.”

“Well, we can’t have that,” Gryffon exclaimed
with mock indignation. He reached down to pick up a stone about the
size of his fist, hefting it in his hand for a moment as if
measuring its weight. Then he set it at her feet, and she watched
with growing interest as he laid his hand over it. He whispered
something inaudible and stood back. The rock began to glow red hot
and soon it started to give off a radiant heat.

Layna gasped in delight. “How wonderful!” As
the heat seeped through her clothes to warm her skin, before she
realized what she was doing she crooned dreamily, “I think I'm in
love.”

She punctuated the last while batting her
eyes dramatically at him and he laughed out loud. “Well, if that's
all it takes, I'll heat up rocks for you every day.”

Layna giggled, far more at ease with Gryffon
than she had thought would be possible. “Where did you learn to use
magic?”

Gryffon looked startled, but answered without
hesitation. “At the temple of Ashwald, my father thought I had more
potential than simply serving the gods through the Priesthood,
making fireworks at services to impress the commoners.” Gryffon
grimaced, and looked quickly at her. “No offense.” Layna made a
gesture of acceptance. “My father was never a big supporter of the
Priesthood. He said that they had wandered too far from their real
mission. That they should be training those that went into their
service as healers or something else that was useful to the people
rather than trying to win over people's faith with cheap tricks.”
Gryffon shrugged. “Anyway, he scraped together enough money and
sent me to the training instead.”

“He sounds like a good man.” Layna commented,
touched by the affection in Gryffon’s voice as he described his
father.

“He was.”

Gryffon walked to the edge of the brook and
stood staring down into the water, deep in his own thoughts. Layna
cracked open her book and was soon enthralled by the adventures of
the great magician, Merlin.

In the back of her consciousness she was
aware of Gryffon setting up a target and every now and then the
quiet din of the forest would be interrupted by a twang, followed
by the dull thunk of an arrow colliding with his target.

After a while, curiosity overcame her, and
she stole a glance at the target. His arrows clustered together
where he had made a large black dot in the center, and she
commented appreciatively, “Nice aim.”

“I give all the credit to the bow,” he
answered humbly. “The best damn bow I've ever seen made and the
most eccentric man I've ever met who made it.”

Layna gave a short laugh. “Oh?”

“Oh, indeed,” he answered. “He is.”

Their time was cut short by the setting of
the sun, and the two of them made their way back to the manor.
Gryffon asked her if she would join him again the next day and
Layna surprised herself by accepting. She was light-headed for the
rest of the evening. She knew she should stop now, that she was
lucky she hadn’t gotten in trouble for the time she spent with him
already, and for the familiarity with which she had treated him.
But it was thrilling. Both the thought of him, and - though she
hated to admit it - also the excitement of something so
forbidden.

The next morning she caught herself taking
extra care in brushing her hair until it shone and putting on her
nicer tunic after rushing through her chores. She chided herself
for her girlishness, but smiled despite herself.
Fly isn't the
only gorgeous creature I'm meeting in the stables.

When she arrived, Gryffon was already there
waiting for her. They rode through the woods where he showed her
how to spot deer sign; from the scrapes on the ground to the
rubbings on the trees from their antlers. They talked about magic -
Layna had been unable to stop thinking about Gryffon's use of it
the day before. They both lamented how unfortunate it was that it
had become so limited and that the law mandated that only
expensively trained individuals could practice it outside the
confines of the Priesthood. The number of people with any notable
amount of talent was fairly small to begin with, and any who had it
were carefully regulated by the priests.