Fate's Hand (22 page)

“You're helping him?”

Yusar’s mind raced and Val saw the image of the demon army, the construction, and Yusar working with the demon to get feeling in the human hand. Val thought about the feeling in his own.

“How did you do that?” Yusar asked.

“
Acceptance.”

Excitement came across the ring and Yusar quickly blurted out “Help me!” before the connection ended. Val sunk down in his chair and pulled the ring off. He released the tension in his muscles and tried to focus on what he had just learned.

“There was a lot to take in. It was confusing…”

Jerib placed a piece of parchment in front of him.

“Write as much as you can remember, quickly.”

Val grabbed the piece of charcoal and began describing what he saw and heard. After a few more pieces of coal, he finished and looked at the page.

“I think I just gave that demon what it wanted.” He set the paper down. “But I don’t know why he wanted it.”

Yusar walked up the stairs toward Drask’s new room as he rolled his fingers around the ring in his pocket. He debated telling Drask about it and returning the piece of jewelry. He would only be asking for trouble to hide something from the all-knowing demon prince. But he was already using his every spare moment to better his position in the tower. He would get in good with the demon prince after he fixed his ability to use the human hand. And the ring is an out, even if to a potential enemy. It was someone who wasn’t trapped in the tower. He might be able to use that, and eventually escape Drask. He stopped halfway up the stairs and took a deep breath, reflecting on his situation.

“Just put on a good show. Stay patient. Your time will come; it has to,” he whispered to himself. He raised his head and walked up the stairs with a determined step. Yusar knocked on the door and immediately Drask answered, “Come.”

There were maps and papers everywhere except on a trail on the stone he had been pacing across. The prince finished what he was scribbling in a book and placed his pen down.

“I hope you have some new ideas?”

Yusar realized he was still rolling the ring around in his pocket and quickly pulled his hand out of his robe.

“Yes,” he replied. “Reward. We have tried everything else, so I think we should try stimulating the human side of the hand. Humans tend to respond to reward more than punishment, so that should be our next step.”

Drask looked at Yusar as if he was waiting for the ending to a bad joke.

“That’s it? That’s your idea?”

Yusar held his chin up. “Yes. I believe you should start thinking of the hand as a part of your body.”

The demon scoffed.

“
Prince, please just try this. We have exhausted every other avenue. I truly believe pleasure might work. Have one of your cohorts perform hand massages. Apply balms to smooth and treat the skin. And, all the while, you need to close your eyes and just accept the hand.”

As the many hours passed, Yusar had fallen asleep a few times already. The uppermost study of the tower had no windows, so he had no idea what time it was. Drask had tried to abandon the exercise several times, but Yusar had insisted he stick with it. The demon prince was using his spare hand to study the maps he had acquired and to take in notes from one of Sirash’s messengers.

Yusar had thoughts of sneaking out to contact the young man again for more information. The sound of breaking glass snapped him out of his sleep-like state. Yusar looked over to see Drask staring at the human hand, his face one of confusion and surprise.

“
Own it!’ Yusar said with an encouraging voice. “That is your hand to command. Accept and own it!”

Drask looked at Yusar. The wizard smiled and thought about repeating something Drask had said long ago about dumb wide-eyed looks humans give, but held his tongue.

“My hand,” Drask said.

“
Think about everything you want to accomplish with your new hand and the satisfaction you will have once the feeling returns.”

Drask smiled and reached out, roughly grabbing the face of the succubus who was massaging his hand. She squirmed and tried to pull back from his grip. He ran the palm of his hand across her neck and down to her chest.
              “My hand,” Drask softly said. “My surprisingly amazing human general Yusar, thank you for your assistance. Now get out. I have much work to do.”

Yusar’s smile was stripped away as he gathered his things. He closed the door behind him and stood in the hallway with his back to the wall. A moment later, the succubus was rushed out of the room and Drask flashed his familiar smile to Yusar as he closed and locked the door. Yusar could only imagine what Drask planned to do now that he had what he had wanted for so long.

Drask threw everything on the floor to get the book he had been keeping tucked away. As he removed the smooth leather bag from a pile of papers, he smiled with a child-like glee. He could feel the leather; the smooth satin texture rolled across his fingertips and sent chills up his spine. He began to release the straps on top of the bag, but the sound of fast approaching footsteps stopped him. He released the bag and scattered papers to cover it up. The heavy paper was still settling when his door was thrown open. He spun around to see Sirash and Yusar standing outside in the hallway.

“
We have a problem,” said Arihem’s voice.

Lar joined the group on top of the tower and looked at the humans down below.

“I’m not surprised they slipped by our scouts, but they are right on time.?” Drask asked with a hint of arrogance in his voice.

“
The scouts are unaccounted for. They do have at least two wizards in the group.”

A hard look at the interlopers made it clear no one was without battle experience. The small band of humans were all on horseback, just beyond the wood clearing. They coolly regarded the mass of demon and gnoll workers. Most of the gnolls retreated , but the demons held their ground. A large man on an armored horse gave a hand signal and an arrow with a white flag landed a few strides away from the main gate. Demon, gnoll, and orc alike growled and issued taunts to the group.

“Arihem, get down there and keep them at bay.”

Arihem spread his wings and dove off the balcony, stirring the air and rustling the robes of his companions.

“Sirash, have your underlings keep our forces out of sight. The less they know of our numbers, the better.” Sirash nodded and moved off quickly.

“
Lar,” Drask said, turning to regard the massive armored gnoll.

He smiled and patted him on his pauldron. “Follow me, and stay calm, no matter what.”

Yusar squinted in recognition. “Temo is down there.”

“
I can see that. I want you to be invisible, come down, and get close enough to where you can recognize faces.”

Yusar nodded and followed Lar and Drask off the balcony.

Nearly all the workers had vanished from sight by the time Drask and Lar exited the tower, thanks to Arihem. Drask had taken a moment to don his best armor and dressed it up with a fitted cloak, crown, and staff. He wore no weapons openly, but they were there. He regarded Lar with displeasure. The gnoll didn’t worry about his appearance in the least and carried his weapon in hand, but the result was intimidating. The two walked out, through the construction site and on to the open ground.

The battle mage Temo was in front of the group with two others. The large man who gave the order for the white flag guided his horse a few steps ahead of the group. Drask kept a calm demeanor, but his smile could not help but show when he caught the eyes of a female sorceress in the group. He took his time and made eye contact with each member of the group, ending with the leader. The two stood in silence, studying each other’s eyes.

“You are the master here?” the large man asked.

Drask gave a slight bow. “I am, indeed. Would you and your party like to come inside and have some rest? We have room to accommodate all of you.”

Temo rode beside the other man.

“
Oh, Temo, is that you? Well, he should have been able to tell you, sir…” He let the words linger in the air before the man answered.

“
General Arctus Emanu.”

“
General Arctus Emanu, my friend Temo knows I am the master here. He sold me the tower. Isn’t that right?”

Temo kept a straight face and stared at Drask, ignoring the baited question.

“I have told you my name, devil. Now tell me yours,” Arctus said.

“
Hmm. That didn’t sound like you were asking, General. What is in a name? You can be General and you can call me King.” Arctus’s second-in-command rode up to the other side of him, his hands on his two swords.

“
And what is your name, beast?” the man called out. “Or did your bitch mother even bother to give a mutt like you a name?”

“
My mother loved me and named me just as yours did, human. I am Lar. And I would ask you show more respect when addressing me.”

The man reeled in his saddle, discomforted and surprised. He looked at Drask and then Lar, not knowing what to say.

“I already have a king, demon. Your name does not matter. Your intentions, on the other hand, are very important. What are you doing here?”

Drask lost his smile and looked at the group with cold eyes. “Here? You come to my land and ask me what I’m doing here? Did I miss something? This land was unclaimed. It is in the middle of a place you label uninhabitable I like this place just fine, so I set my tower here and invited some friends to come stay with me. A courtesy your kind has never showed them. My intentions are to live here, in peace. Are we done here?”

Arctus kept a calm face as he looked at Temo then back to Drask and asked, “Was the captivity of Temo and the murder of the mercenary named Jora part of your peaceful living?”

Drask shrugged. “Defense. They came and attacked me. Temo looks fine now. Jora was insane and could not be persuaded to leave.”

Temo’s grip crinkled the leather straps of his reigns. “Lies,” he said quietly. “I think you should come back with us. We can talk about the rights to this land, your tower, Jora, and a few other interesting things.”

Several of the men began to dismount when Drask had a burst of laughter that stopped them.

“Please, gentlemen. Do not get off your horses. I welcomed you into my home and you rejected my hospitality. It is apparent that my intentions are not the problem here. You are not welcome here if you do not come in peace. And I would gladly come with you, but I do not believe my friends would like it if I left.”