Eleanor (71 page)

“You cannot and you might as well untie them and release them, as they are only tolerating their bonds because they wish to be our allies.”
 

Harnlyn stared at Nials and Urerla, then back to Freddie and Eleanor. “If they are such a threat, would it not be safer to kill them?” With a shudder, Eleanor realised it was a serious question. Nials looked a little horrified.
 

“You see that tree?” he asked, pointing to the mess in the middle of the garden. Harnlyn nodded. “She did that,” Nials continued, nodding at Eleanor. “From over here. She did not touch it, she just looked at it; it took no effort. What do you think would happen if she turned that power on you?”
 

Eleanor dropped her head in shame as images of Perry’s body exploding flashed through her mind.
 

Harnlyn’s panicked gaze oscillated between Nials and Eleanor. “Do they all have this power? Or is it just the child? Is there no way we can kill them?”

“We do not need to kill them, as they wish to be our friends. Just let them go,” Urerla said pointedly.
 

Harnlyn controlled his mounting panic enough to flash Urerla a very patronising look. “How gullible you are – they say they can be trusted and you believe them!”

Nials and Harnlyn began to argue over what action should be taken; Eleanor tuned them out, hoping that Nials would win, otherwise she was going to have to kill again.

Are you OK? You look upset… What are they saying?
Freddie asked.

Nials is telling this guy, Harnlyn, what I’m capable of doing. They’ve no idea
, Eleanor replied, sending Freddie her feelings of self-loathing for the monster she knew she was. To her surprise Freddie sent her a memory, the memory of torching the three men who had hurt Amelia. As it played in her head, Freddie sent her all his feelings that went with it. His pain and grief over what had happened to Amelia and his strong desire to make someone pay for it burned brightly. There had been delight at finding the men and letting his power loose on them – how dare they hurt someone he loved?! Yet, as the men had staggered around the camp in burning, tortured agony, Freddie had felt guilt crash down on him. He had no idea why the men had attacked them. Did they have families? Had he mindlessly killed a young child’s father? His previous existence had been about saving people from suffering the kind of death he had just unthinkingly inflicted. Then he had felt Eleanor pull her hand from his, the look of disgust on her face as she walked away from him. Watching the memory, Eleanor found herself playing back her own memory. Had she been disgusted? Yes, she had. Freddie’s feelings of guilt and misery had intensified when he realised that even Eleanor did not believe his actions were justified.
 

You’re not the only monster here
, Freddie whispered as the memory came to an end.

I’m sorry I made you feel so bad; I had no right to judge.
 

Despite the men standing around them and the swords digging uncomfortably into their torsos, Freddie took a step towards her so that his body could touch hers.
 

“Do not move!” Harnlyn squeaked loudly in Freddie’s surprised, uncomprehending face. “Nials and Urerla have vouched for you, but if you do anything I do not like, you will regret it!”

“He does not understand you,” Eleanor said quietly.
 

Harnlyn glared at her warily. “Why not, is he stupid?” he sneered.
 

Eleanor bristled. “No, he just does not speak Dwarfish.”
This man is an idiot.
 

“Harnlyn, my mother asked to see them some time ago. She does not like to be kept waiting,” Urerla said softly.
 

“I would be failing in my duty if I took these… abominations in front of my lady, Laurice,” Harnlyn snapped.

“They are not abominations, they are Avatars,” Urerla said, smiling at Eleanor.

“Same thing!” Harnlyn squeaked.

“Who told you we were abominations?” Eleanor asked, watching a guilty look cross Harnlyn’s face.

Harish
, I know that word. Did he just call us abominations?
Freddie asked in surprise.

Yes he did, which is a little odd, don’t you think?

Very, where did he hear it from?

I’m not sure, I asked him and he just looked guilty.
 

Could Harnlyn be working with Daratus? ‘Abomination’ was a Protector insult. It was a worrying development.

“I like them, Harnlyn, and I think my mother will, too,” Urerla said, looking irritated by the withering look Harnlyn flashed at her.
 

“Take them to the audience chamber,” Harnlyn snapped, not looking overly happy about his decision. Eleanor was dragged forward and towards a door on the other side of the garden. Freddie was dragged similarly behind her.

Should we be putting up a fight?
Freddie asked.

No, not yet, we’re going to see Laurice. Let’s find out what she has to say before we burn our bridges totally.
 

Eleanor tried to pay attention to where they were being taken, but the building was like a rabbit warren and was even harder to navigate than the Dwarves’ mountain. The hands gripping her arms were digging in painfully and it was distracting. Furthermore, the man holding her was doing so at a height that was comfortable for him, which meant Eleanor was forced to walk on tiptoe or risk getting pulled off her feet. After quite a few twists and turns, they entered a large, light, airy room. Still only a single storey high, Eleanor looked up to see that the ceiling was missing; she could see the cloudy sky through it. However, the room did not look like it ever got wet.
A retractable roof? Clever.
The small frame of remaining ceiling had been decorated to match the walls and floor with different sized squares of bright, bold colours. Red, green, blue, yellow; it should have looked gaudy, but for some reason it actually looked very sophisticated and regal. In the middle of the room was the only furniture – a simple wooden chair on a raised wooden platform – and in front of it Eleanor could see Will, Amelia, Conlan and Merl standing calmly within a circle of armed, mean-looking guards. Men and women stood around in small groups, talking in low voices, and every so often their black eyes would stray to the middle of the room as the result of either interest or suspicion. Eleanor and Freddie were dragged over to their friends. The circle of guards parted and they were shoved forward. Eleanor struggled to keep her feet. Falling forward, a body stepped in front of her, stopping her headlong dive for the floor as she fell against it. Standing up again, she raised her eyes to find Merl looking at her, a friendly smile on his face.
 

“Thank you,” she said, returning his smile.
 

He nodded. “You are most welcome.”

“Did you have fun with Urerla?” Will asked Freddie, a mischievous smirk on his face. Eleanor turned and saw Freddie’s face flush with embarrassment.
 

“Did she do that to you, too?” he asked Conlan, ignoring Will.

Conlan chuckled. “She tried.”

“What did he say?” Merl asked, watching the conversation. Conlan translated for him, which prompted Merl to ask what Urerla had tried to do. As quickly as she could, Eleanor told Merl, Conlan and Will what had happened to her and Freddie, also explaining about Osser and the memory that had returned. She had just got to the bit where Nials had dragged her backwards through the door, when Harnlyn marched towards them from the back of the room. The guards parted as he approached and he grabbed Eleanor by the collar.

“You will not speak,” he ordered in a harsh tone that was ruined by his high-pitched, squeaky voice.

Eleanor giggled. “You want to bet?” she countered, using a low growl through some of the Dwarfish to add a hint of a just how absurd she found the man.
 

“We are trying to make them our allies, remember?” The snarl Conlan gave to the word ‘remember’ made it a harsh rebuke.
 

“This man is an idiot,” Eleanor said, turning her head to look at Conlan and trying to convey with her eyes that he could be working with Daratus, the subtext to her comment implying he was far worse than an idiot. Conlan’s eyes became fractionally wider and he lifted his gaze to scrutinise Harnlyn’s livid, speechless fury. Eleanor heard sniggers and whispers from their immediate vicinity; she was not the only one who thought Harnlyn was a moron.
Daratus should choose his accomplices better, unless Harnlyn had been chosen for the very fact that he was an idiot who would get caught, thus moving suspicion away from another, more devious enemy
. Eleanor was so involved in her churning thoughts that she did not notice Conlan had moved to stand next to her until he spoke.

“I regret not teaching my Avatar more respect. She will apologise,” he said quietly.
 

Harnlyn finally found his voice. “She insulted me and I will not let that pass. She will be punished,” he spluttered, but despite the words and the implications, his ridiculous voice still made Eleanor want to laugh.
 

Conlan sighed. “I cannot allow you to do that.”

“Then you insult me, too!” Harnlyn’s indignant squeak was made even more laughable after Conlan’s beautiful, deep voice.
 

“That was not my intention,” Conlan said softly, a thin layer of civility over a deep layer of menace.
 

What’s going on?
Freddie suddenly piped up in Eleanor’s head, making her jump. Harnlyn eyed her suspiciously.

Long story. Basically, I just insulted Harnlyn and he wants to punish me
,
Eleanor replied, doing her best to retain her calm.
 

Harnlyn shook her again. “An insult of this nature demands ten cuts,” he insisted, his voice moving to an even higher pitch as a result of his anger and obvious anxious stress.

Conlan’s not going to agree, is he?
Freddie said as his concern hit her.

I’ve got no idea… I don’t know if the current situation is going to give him the option to stop it.
 

Not wanting to ruin Conlan’s chances of an alliance just to protect her, Eleanor forced herself to cower, shake slightly and beg.
 

“Please, please do not hurt me. I am sorry – really, really sorry.”
 

Running the memories of Conlan rejecting her through her head again, she felt tears building and lifted her watery eyes to Harnlyn, giving him a moment to see her terror before she spoke again.
 

“I was wrong to insult you. I was just frightened and stupid and said the first thing that came into my head. Why would you want to hurt someone as insignificant and small as me? Surely you have better things to do than punish a rude child?” she sniffled as the tears fell, wondering if she had taken it too far. Would Harnlyn see through her rather crass manipulation?
 

“She hardly seems worth it,” said one of the guards behind them.

“Yeah, let her go, Harnlyn, she is just a child and you have frightened her enough,” agreed another. Harnlyn looked at the faces around him and then back to Eleanor, dull hatred in his eyes. He let go of her collar. She staggered back and was caught by one of the guards behind her, who then pushed her back to her feet.

Did you just beg for mercy?
Freddie asked.

Eleanor sighed.
Yes I did, was it convincing?

Definitely
–
and I didn’t understand a word of it.

Wonderful
, she said flatly.
 

Harnlyn continued to stare malignantly at Eleanor before storming off out of the room. Conlan gave Eleanor a hard, disapproving look.
 

“He may be idiot enough to believe your act, but I’m not. This isn’t over, Eleanor, we’ll be discussing it further,” he murmured in English.
 

“He called us abominations, Conlan, a Protector insult. He’s not just an idiot, he’s not to be trusted,” Eleanor said. Conlan nodded, but he did not speak further. They lapsed into silence, waiting. Freddie even stopped talking in her head, although he did not remove his energy string.

The cloud cover above them had begun to dissipate and the afternoon light faded into evening before Laurice finally made her entrance. Eleanor’s shoulders and arms were beginning to throb unpleasantly from being tied behind her back most of the day; it made her feel crabby and miserable. Blood had soaked the cuffs of her shirt and jacket from her failed attempts to loosen the ropes and relieve the strain. She regretted taking her leather cuff off, as at least one of her wrists would have been protected. Nobody else was complaining though, and Eleanor knew that Freddie was in a more damaged state than she was. A door at the back of the room was slammed open, and through some unseen signal the idle chatter that had filled the room ceased immediately.
 

Finally! I was beginning to think the stupid woman would never get here
, Freddie said loudly in her head, making Eleanor jump. Next to her, Conlan saw the movement, or perhaps felt her surprise, and turned to look at her. Eleanor shrugged and Conlan gave her an irritated, disapproving glare before looking back at the woman who was walking towards them. Urerla was a stunning woman, but in comparison to her mother she was an imperfect copy. Laurice was tall, lithe and muscular, her black skin somehow luminous. She wore tight trousers and a rough shirt over long, toned legs and a large bust. There was a heavy gold link belt around her curvaceous hips; it was similar to Urerla’s, but her belt held considerably more charms and precious stones, meaning it made more of a noise as she walked. Eleanor realised this was what had caused the silence to spread through the room – they had heard her coming. Laurice’s perfectly proportioned body moved with a delicate grace that belied its strength, and her hips swayed in the same way Urerla’s did.
 

Is that how women are meant to walk?
Eleanor asked, noticing that Freddie, Conlan, Will and Merl all had their attention on Laurice, their eyes following her every movement.