Unguilded (10 page)

She’d spent two horrifying days amongst the drudges, her power being drained away while she sat in a stupor. After the second day, she’d approached a minor Mage and struck a bargain. She would do anything he asked of her—including sharing his bed—if he took her on as his Apprentice.

In the bathroom she slipped out of her gown and into the deep tub, relishing the warmth that enveloped her. Annya had added a drop of vanilla to the water, and Arabella breathed in the scent and closed her eyes searching for the calmness she needed to endure the wait for Valerio.

“Such serenity.”

Startled, Arabella opened her eyes to find Valerio Valendi perched on the edge of her tub. Forcing herself to stay still, she smiled up at him. “I apologize for not greeting you formally.”

His eyes drifted from her face to her submerged body, and he smiled. “No apology necessary.” He reached a hand out, dipped it into the water, and traced a finger along one nipple. “In fact, I can’t recall a more pleasing greeting.”

“You are welcome to join me,” Arabella said. “Or if you prefer me dry, you can hand me a towel.”

“Unfortunately,” Valerio sighed. “I do not have enough time to enjoy the benefits of our agreement tonight. I came to tell you that Primus Rorik has agreed to formally nominate you to a seat on the council tomorrow. I still need to secure two other council members to champion your nomination, which is why I cannot stay.”

“Tomorrow,” Arabella repeated. “What must I do?”

“Speak up for yourself and convince the council that you are both ready and needed,” Valerio said. “You
will
be accepted, but do not disappoint me.”

“I won’t,” Arabella assured him, sitting up in the bath.

“See that you don’t.” Valerio’s gaze lingered on her breasts before he stood. “Perhaps I’ll make an effort and return when my business is completed.”

“Yes,” Arabella replied breathlessly. “I would show you my gratitude.”

Arabella sat in her bath until the water turned cold.
Mage Guild Council
! She hadn’t dared to hope for so much so fast. She reached for a towel and stood, letting the now cool water sluice off her. Mage Guild Council! She clenched her fists as goosebumps dimpled her arms.

She wrapped herself in a robe and padded to her bedchamber. Would Valerio return to her tonight? A child—their child—was less important now that she would be on the council. She would have her own power. Valerio would use that as well—she was certain that it served his purposes more than hers—but being a member of council granted her security beyond Valerio’s patronage.

The position was for life—only death or promotion to a higher office opened up a seat. Idly, she wondered who had died—or more probably, who had been killed—in order to make room for her.

She didn’t care, not really, and it would be better if she didn’t know who she was replacing when her name was announced. There would be speculation about why she was chosen, and she needed to be genuinely unaware. Would they use magic on her? She could not discount it.

She draped her robe across the end of the bed and slid between the bed linens. As she drifted off to sleep, she thought about the arguments she would make to convince them that she was a good choice. It had been a long time since a woman had sat on the council, and even longer since someone not born in Rillidi had. She smiled. Being from that Gyda-cursed villa might actually help her. And then she would forget she had ever set foot there.

EXHAUSTED, KARA ONLY
noticed the lengthening shadows when it was too dark to see the path. She raised her eyes from her feet. Above, the peaks of the mountains were still bathed in sun, glowing pink at the end of the day. At eye level, trees bordered the road allowing no room for them to step off the edge of the mountain in the dark. Although at this point she was so bone-weary that she wasn’t sure she even cared.

She didn’t know how the burro kept going,
why
it kept going, but it had managed to get them down the mountain and across the bridge alive. It had been about five hours since they’d left the bridge, and Zayeera seemed to be heading somewhere.

Kara jerked alert when the cart took a sharp turn and headed down a steep hill. For a moment she was again on that headlong rush down the mountain, trying to control the cart. Then she realized that Zayeera had taken them off the main road.

This track was much narrower, and the pine trees brushed against the sides of the cart as they travelled through the dark. Eventually the road flattened out, and a cool breeze ruffled Kara’s hair. She smelled the damp earth and lush grass before she heard the rush of water.

The burro didn’t head to the river. Instead, it stopped in the middle of a clearing and brayed.

Kara’s legs ached at the sudden inactivity, and she rested her head against the wood of the cart as Zayeera continued to bray, over and over again.

She heard a muffled voice, off to her left, and then a door slammed. The sudden glare of a lamp made her eyes water.

“What in Gyda’s name is going on?” The voice was male and clearly wary. “Mika, is that you? I recognize that degenerate burro you’re so fond of. I wasn’t expecting you until next week.”

The lamp moved towards them.

“Mika?” the voice was more uncertain now. “Where are you? Gyda, what happened to Zayeera? She looks done in.”

“Help,” Kara croaked. The word, scarcely a whisper, barely made it past her cracked lips. “Water.”

“Mika?”

The light nearly blinded Kara, and she blinked, trying to see past the light to the man who held it.

“Gyda, what happened? Who tied you to the wagon like that?”

Kara felt hands on the rope that bound her raw wrists. She sucked in her breath as the ropes were peeled away. Free, finally, she slumped to the ground. She felt a dribble of cold water against her lips. She licked her lips and opened her mouth to let the refreshing liquid run into her parched mouth.

“Not too fast there,” the voice soothed. “Slow and steady. You want to keep it down.”

“Zayeera,” she said. “Make sure she’s looked after.”

“I will, don’t worry.”

A cool cloth was placed on her forehead, and she sighed. “Good,” she mumbled. “Gyda-cursed burro saved my life.”

The last thing she heard before she collapsed was a low rumble of laughter.

KARA AWOKE IN
agony. She sucked in a breath and lifted her wrists off her chest. When the pain finally subsided to an aching throb, she opened her eyes.

The bed she lay in was in a small room with walls of rough-hewn wood. The sun streamed in through a high, square window and pooled on the closed door across from her. Muffled sounds of movement came from beyond the door.

The bed coverings were faded blue cotton, threadbare in places, but the tight weave felt soft against the skin of her arms. Her wrists were wrapped in clean, white bindings.

A small table was wedged between the bed and the wall—a clear glass of water perched on it. She eased herself up, leaned against the wall, and carefully gripped the glass between both hands. She remembered the admonishment of last night and sipped slowly, taking a break in between each sip to savour the clear water. Finished, she gently placed the glass back on the table and closed her eyes.

“You’re awake,” a voice said.

Kara’s eyes flew open. A man stood in the open doorway. In mid-life, with a little extra flesh on him, his head almost reached the top of the door frame. Short salt-and-pepper hair capped his head, and his gray beard was neatly trimmed.

“Yes,” Kara said. “Thank you.” She looked around the room. “For everything.”

“I’m Allon,” he said. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the door frame. “And you are?”

“Kara.”

“All right.” Allon took one step into the room. “Kara. What happened to Mika, and why were you tied to his wagon?”

His eyes narrowed, and Kara swallowed. He had saved her, given her water and tended to her wounds, but at the moment he did not look like a friend. At least not hers.

Kara took a deep breath. She had no idea what had happened to Mika, no idea if she would ever see the traveler again. But Mika’s friend Allon had helped her.

“I met Mika a few days ago.” She paused and looked down at her hands with her bandaged wrists and scarred finger. Less than a week from home and her hands would never be the same. She met his gaze. “I’d just run away from my guild, and I wasn’t prepared for the road. Mika helped me.”

“Why?” Allon asked sharply. “What do you have to trade? Mika wouldn’t take a risk like that unless he felt it was worth it.”

“He would help me get to Rillidi, and I would give him some simple healing remedies.”

“Healing remedies,” Allon repeated. He uncrossed his arms and took a step into the room. “A few remedies wouldn’t be enough for Mika to take such risks. What else?”

“I also offered to teach him to read and write,” Kara said.

Allon’s shoulders sagged, and he seemed to deflate. “Mika couldn’t walk away from that trade, no matter how dangerous.” He eyed her, his eyes half-closed. “Mage Guild.” It was an accusation.

“Yes,” Kara agreed.

“They found you,” Allon said. He raked a hand through his hair. “How long ago? Mika won’t be able to keep secrets from Mage Guild, but we might have time to get away.”

“No,” Kara said and shook her head. “No, it wasn’t Mage Guild. It was the Masons. Yesterday, just before we got to the bridge.”

“Thank Gyda,” Allon said. He exhaled one long breath and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he nodded. “I might be able to get Mika back. Just yesterday?”

“Yes. There were two Masons.” Kara looked out the window.

The sun shone brightly, and she could see the top of a willow tree swaying in a gentle breeze. It was only yesterday. The day had been so tortuously long it seemed like it happened days ago.

“There’s only one now, though.” She turned back to Allon. “One Mason tied me behind the cart, and he took Zayeera’s lead in front. The other Mason, the little one, he walked behind with Mika. Halfway to the bridge there was a noise—a rock falling into the gorge, maybe—and Zayeera bolted. She bumped into the Mason. He . . .” She paused and shuddered. She could still see him, arms flailing as he lost his balance. “He went over the edge.”

“Let’s hope he died quick,” Allon said, a grim look on his face.

Kara nodded before she continued. “The cart just kept going. Zayeera mostly kept it on the road, but when it started to swing out over the edge, I was able to pull it back.” She laid one arm over her eyes, trying to forget those heart-stopping moments when she didn’t think she’d be able to keep them from tumbling into the gorge. “We were part way across the bridge before we stopped.”

“Gyda. I know that road well. It’s lucky you didn’t go over.”

“Lucky,” Kara repeated. She dropped her arm onto the bed.

“Aye.” Allon rubbed his beard. “And determined. I know that burro is, and I’ve seen your wrists. The ropes bit deep. How far from the Mason’s cabin were you when Zayeera bolted?”

“We’d been on the road for about an hour,” she replied. “Maybe less.”

“You think Mika is all right?”

“Yes,” Kara said. “Before Zayeera decided to drag me here, I was hoping they would catch up with me on this side of the bridge. The Mason who is with Mika, he said he expected a wind towards evening, one that would make crossing the bridge dangerous.”

“Good,” Allon said. “I’ve got time.”

“For what?”

“To get Mika. They won’t have crossed the bridge until this morning. It’s six hours from the bridge to the trail that turns down here—I have time to meet them.”

“The Masons were taking us to Villa Grana to hand me over to the guild.”

“Yes,” Allon nodded. “To hand
you
over. The Mason who’s left, that’s Gilson. He won’t find the cart, so he’ll assume you’ve gone over the edge. He still needs to go to Grana to report the deaths of you and his fellow Mason, but the only charge against Mika would be helping a runaway, and Gilson’s going to assume you’re dead.” Allon smiled. “Gilson doesn’t much like people, even his fellow Masons up in Grana. The less he has to explain to them, the better he’ll like it, so I think he’ll let Mika go.” He turned to leave, then looked at her. “I’ve bread and cheese in the cupboard by the pump, and I’ll bank the fire. Make tea if you want. I should be back by dusk.”

“With Mika,” Kara said.

“Gyda willing,” he agreed. Then he was gone.

WHEN KARA WOKE
again, she was warm from the sun that streamed in through the window.

She stretched, enjoying the feel of the soft bed under her. After yesterday, she couldn’t even find the energy to be worried, although she knew she should be.

She was warm and safe—at least until Allon returned.

If her bladder hadn’t been painfully full, she would have gone straight back to sleep, but some things were required no matter how tired and battered a person was.