The Castrofax (22 page)

As the women made for the door, Nolen pulled
a thin strip of leather with a loop on one end and a locking clasp
on the other from his pocket. As the Mage stepped passed him, he
clipped the leash to the back of his neckpiece. The Mage stopped
and turned, trying to jerk the leather from Nolen’s hand, but the
Prince already had it wrapped around his wrist.

“
You
will go silently as well!” Nolen
snapped and pushed him forward. Aisling gave a little gasp when she
saw the leash, and Nolen jerked on it extra hard for good
measure.

He led the party to the throne room,
relishing every look of passing servants and guest as they gaped.
It was unheard of to keep a man on a leash. Halfway down, Nolen
heard the clasp unsnap as the Mage unlocked it. He wasted not a
second, turning and driving his fist into his prisoner’s gut. It
drove him back into the Queen’s guards who caught him from
falling.

In a violent motion Nolen looped the leather
around the Mage’s neck and synched it tightly with both fist. He
held it until the man’s face turned red, and he scrabbled at
Nolen’s coat for breath. Nolen held his windpipe closed a moment
longer and threw the man to the ground where he gasped. Power
drunk, a dark smile touched his lips. Clipping the leash back onto
the neckpiece, Nolen hauled him to his feet like a fallen carthorse
and continued on his way. Miranda offered a comforting word to the
Mage, and Nolen could not help but snicker.

The throne room was prepared for guests at
any hour, and Miranda wasted no time striding to the throne. It was
a beautiful piece set upon a large dais of seven steps, carved of
wood and paneled with gold. It was called the Eagle Throne because
it resembled two massive wings carved to flow up and out from the
seat, to give the illusion the Queen had wings. Every inch of it,
including the seat, was carved of feathers. Miranda put her arms on
the shoulders of the wings—the armrests—and waited for Nolen to
give the next order. In that moment Nolen knew he had won when the
Queen herself looked to him for direction.

As instructed, servants laid a large pillow
beside the throne, and Nolen pulled the Mage up to it. He gestured
to it, and the Mage fixed his blue eyes on it with an unruffled
look.
‘No, you are still hot-headed.’
Nolen grabbed the
man’s shoulders and forced him to his knees with one swift, vicious
movement. The man slashed out with a hand in objection and missed
Nolen’s neck.

Nolen jerked him onto his stomach, and before
the Mage could push himself up, Nolen put a knee on his back.
Snapping to one of the guards, he demanded for the gold cord that
bound his tunic around his waist, and the guard quickly unfurled
it. He grabbed the Mage’s wrists and lashed them behind his back
before rising. The Mage
still
tried to stand. Nolen put a
boot across his neck and held him to his side, one hand still
grasping the leash.

Aisling and Miranda watched in silent horror,
wanting to object but feared what Nolen would do next. Aisling went
to her position standing on Miranda’s right, saying nothing in the
end. Nolen straightened his coat. “Let them in.”

Robyn hated waiting. She and the remaining
men from the hunting party stood outside the massive eagle-carved
doors to the throne room awaiting the Queen’s admittance. They had
been waiting for some time now, and with each passing minute she
grew more anxious. Gabriel was behind those doors somewhere, and
she desperately wanted to see him.

His absence had awakened a deep desire in her
heart, a desire she had been denying herself for some time. Gabriel
was a Mage, and that would not have changed her opinion of him if
he had not been so strong. Classed so high, it was only fair to the
Mages that he marry a Mage and strengthen the population. By
marrying her he would do nothing for his race. She liked the look
of him for some time but shut it all away when he was given his
Class. It could never be. But now that he was no longer hers, she
wanted him. He with his black hair, blue eyes, and pale skin cut in
the most masculine fashion. She wondered how she had the
self-control to not take him long ago.

General Calsifer had given her use of his
quarters to bathe and change, brushing new brown dye through her
hair. Refreshed, she felt ready to take on whatever Nolen could
bring. She was not surprised to find the City and palace had
changed little. The unfinished bridge over the Ellonine River was
still unfinished; the Painted Circuit was still the nicest place to
live; the harbor still smelled like fish, and the carpets in the
east wing were still as plush as the day they were rolled out. The
air here was not as clean as the forest, with the hundreds of
burning hearth fires, but the City hummed in a way she had
forgotten.

Finally, the doors to the throne room buckled
inward. She pulled up the gray scarf around her neck to hide her
face. So far she saw no one she knew, but it had been so long and
faces are fleeting in a child’s mind. Calsifer walked to her left
with a hand on her elbow, reassuring her and reminding her to not
lose her head.

The throne room was as she remembered,
brightly lit from long windows in the sides. The Eagle Throne on
the far end sat like a beacon of strength, blending into the
Queen’s dress to truly make her look like a bird that had just
spread its wings. To her right stood Lady Aisling, hardly changed
by the years, dressed in beautiful dark blue. To the left of the
throne stood Nolen with a nasty smirk, and between the throne and
Prince was a man lying on a pillow. Robyn almost stopped when she
saw him, knowing the unmistakable mass of Gabriel’s wavy black
locks. Calsifer gripped her elbow to prevent her from rushing to
him.

The Queen greeted them before they stopped,
babbling some nonsense about how grateful she was for their help,
but Robyn’s eyes and ears were only for Gabriel. She saw he
struggled to rise, but Nolen’s boot on his neck stopped that. He
kicked the throne, and Nolen leaned forward, silencing him. Her
fury raged even higher when she saw the cord around his wrists, and
the leather leash clipped to his neckpiece. She wanted to cry,
scream, and claw Nolen’s face off all at the same time. The
injustice was unpalatable.

Queen Miranda offered a feast for them that
evening, and welcomed them to use part of the guest quarters in the
west wing to freshen. Robyn knew the insult when she heard it since
the west wing was for soldiers and the dungeons. The men thanked
her most respectfully, and some even offered awkward bows before
they filed towards the side doors. Robyn and Calsifer remained
where they were, and Miranda raised a brow realizing there was some
deeper meaning here she did not understand.

Aisling looked at Robyn with a tight throat
and wide eyes, and Robyn knew the Lady had recognized her. She
resisted the urge to pull her cowl up further to hide the momentary
flux of adrenaline. Meeting her eyes, Aisling looked away quickly,
and Robyn knew the Advisor would not give her away. All that
mattered was Nolen did not know her identity. She pulled her scarf
back and looked at Nolen who had his eyes on her the whole time.
She did not give him the satisfaction of looking anything other
than calm.

“You promised me five minutes,” she said to
the Prince.

“So I did,” Nolen nodded. “Come and take
it.”

Robyn wasted no time. Surely Nolen would pull
a trick and say her five minutes began when she walked in the door.
“Your Grace, Lady Mage, would you kindly give us a moment?” she
asked in her most respectful tone. She knew how to command a court
as well as either woman, and her voice held authority and an
entitled tone that said she was used to being obeyed. Miranda stood
a little too quickly and gathered Aisling to the other side of the
dais, whispering quietly. Nolen held out the leash for her, and she
reached for it. He dropped it into her hand, and she pulled it back
letting the leather fall to the ground. Nolen smirked and took his
boot off Gabriel’s neck.

Gabriel sucked in a breath and looked up at
her. His eyes were full of so many emotions she could hardly read
them. Surprise, horror, worry, embarrassment, and something
new—despair perhaps, or something passed the point of
exhaustion?

“What are you
doing
here,” he
whispered and looked across the dais to where Nolen slowly stepped
away. Robyn’s hands went to the cord and untied it.

“Leave that alone,” Nolen called over his
shoulder.

“Shut your stupid mouth,” she yelled back
before she thought better. The women behind her fell silent.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Gabriel whispered.
“You—you—this is the
last
place you should be.”

“I’m coming back for you,” she replied,
loosening the cord enough for him to slip a hand loose. “I’m coming
to save you.” She saw the copper binds around his wrists as he
brought them forward and felt a knot rise in her throat. She hoped
her eyes had tricked her in the battle, but seeing them this close
made her spirit fall.

“You will do no such thing.” He propped
himself on an elbow and adjusted his askew shirt. His hair was
flopped to the wrong side it usually fell, and Robyn gently pushed
it back to fall to the right.

“I will. I have family to the east, and we
will return for you and free you.”

He put a warm hand on her arm. “You can’t,”
he whispered. “You know what these binds are.” His voice caught a
little, and he looked away. Something inside him fought to regain
his calm, and she knew he did it for her. “You know the only way I
will be free of them.”

“There has to be a way,” she retorted. “Bring
you to the edge of death and pull you back. If there is a way I
will find it.”

“There isn’t.”

“Then I won’t stop looking until I’ve found
one.” She put a hand on his waist, knowing it might be the last
time she would touch him for a while. “No one will take
you
from me.”

He sighed, and for a moment she saw inside
his mind through his eyes. He was fighting but splintering. She
knew it was only a matter of time before he lost his grip on what
strength he had left. “I’m not your Gabriel anymore,” he said, and
the extra light-spot came to his eyes that betrayed the tears he
held back.

“I will stop at nothing to free you,” she
whispered. She took up his left hand and pulled something from a
pocket. “I will return before the next moon.” Slowly she worked the
object onto his middle finger, feeling it give as it molded to him.
“I have never taken you for granted, I have always respected you, I
have forever considered you my best friend.” Her voice caught in
her throat, and she swallowed to get the last line out she
practiced for four days. She finished slipping the band onto his
finger. “And I have always loved you.”

She quickly bent forward taking a handful of
his hair and put a kiss on his forehead. She breathed in the earthy
smell of his raven locks and rose before he could say anything, but
she saw the shock on his face. The tears spilled down her cheeks as
she strode away and General Calsifer standing off by the doors gave
her a sympathetic smile. Quickly she rushed down the steps, sparing
a summoning glance for Aisling, and walked out of the room.

Aisling was quick to follow, slipping through
the doors before they closed. Robyn awaited the tirade. Instead,
Aisling gingerly took up her hands and squeezed them.

“I am sorry,” she said, but it pushed Robyn
passed her threshold of emotions, and she broke down, weeping into
Aisling’s shoulder. Calsifer warily turned to the window.

Robyn regained her emotions quickly and dried
her cheeks. Aisling dabbed at her own eyes. “I have been waiting
for you.”

“So the General told me,” Robyn replied. “I
am sorry I did not send you a letter, but we feared…. It seems
silly now. We would have been safer here than out there.”

“Do not be so certain. Nolen has been digging
his claws in for years.”

“I am riding to Jetova to stay with the
Estrins. Calsifer will be accompanying me.”

“I would rather have you ride to Castle
Jaden. There is evil loose on the world. Mage Ryker Slade has
awoken and escaped.”

Robyn closed her eyes. Her mind worked
quickly, putting together the pieces. She knew the name well having
lived with two Mages. “I knew Nolen’s sudden interest in Gabriel
was suspicious.”

“I fear it is more than coincidence.”

“I will return by my twentieth birth
anniversary for my throne and my Gabriel. If Ryker is still loose,
we will handle it together.”

“I will do all I can to hold it for you, but
Nolen will try to take the throne. He has been vying for it for
years.”

“Shame he was born with male parts,” Robyn
sneered. “The Anatolians will not stand for a ruling King. What
does he have planned for Gabriel?”

When Aisling hesitated, Calsifer turned to
look at her.

“He’s going to hurt him,” Robyn
whispered.

Calsifer nodded. “The Prince will try to
break him, yes.”

“When?” Robyn breathed. Aisling shook her
head. “Can you get him some boswellia herbs for the pain?”

“Your bother has a stash of poppy and white
willow bark. We will see Gabriel receives some,” she squeezed
Robyn’s hands. “Gabriel is not alone here.”

“What is the Head Mage going to do about
this?”

Aisling thinned her lips. “I do not know, but
I imagine it will be harsh.”

“Let us hope so,” Calsifer sighed.

“Please send word to the Estrins if something
happens.” She paused and looked at the fine gray marble floor. “I—I
don’t want to know what Nolen does to him. Don’t write me of it.”
Robyn said and broke away. “Come on, General.” Calsifer stepped in
line without hesitation, giving Aisling a polite nod. They agreed
to stay one night in the City but only long enough to rest on
something softer than dirt. By morning they would be away with the
sun.