Daryk Warrior (8 page)

“Emrond.” The dark-haired one spoke. “Brother of Kemrond.
Here to do battle with those who won’t support our cause.”

Finny snorted. She stood taller now, though she clung to
Mia’s arm. “Cause? To make war on Magonian women and your own people?”

“Magonian women must populate us,” Emrond said. “And I
intend to fuck as many as possible to accomplish that.”

Rape.

Despite everything Magonian culture tried to make women
believe, most learned the difference between a mutual coming together of two
people in respect or desire and the brutal coupling women suffered at the hands
of sick men. Most understood the difference but many Magonian men believed
their wives should give in to a husband’s demands. Charging a man with rape in
Magonia was almost impossible. Many of those husbands raped wives without
consequence.

She burned with hatred, a furious emotion that shivered
through her body and sharpened her awareness. She couldn’t recall the last time
she’d felt this angry. When the twins had died? Perhaps.

Cold chills darted through her body. Mia was suddenly glad
her clothes no longer identified her as different. Would these men somehow
detect her nationality? She didn’t appear different from Dragonian women so far
as she could tell. Her readings on Dragonian women had told her many had long
hair and took great pride in it. Magonian women often wore their hair long but
frequently braided it or put it in buns for modesty. Would anything else give
her away?

Emrond walked toward her and Finny. Mia put her arm around
Finny’s narrow shoulders.

“I don’t have any money. A little food. You can take that
and get out,” Mia said.

Emrod laughed. “I don’t think so. We have time to play and
we’re taking advantage of it.”

Play? Mia quivered again, unable to shake the fear that
gathered in her bones, in her skin like a sickness. She glanced at Finny, who
still clung to Mia’s arm. Something else wasn’t right. Finny looked pale, as if
she might fall to the floor any minute.

Finny’s hand loosened its grip on Mia’s arm and down the
woman went. Mia gasped as she grabbed Finny before she could hit her head. They
sank to the floor.

“Finny!” Mia cradled the woman’s head in her lap. “Wake up.”

“What the fuck is wrong with her?” Kemrond prowled the room
looking for valuables, his attention only half drawn to the commotion.

“Stupid bitch fainted, looks like.” Emrond smirked and
crouched next to them.

Finny’s breathing seemed sparse and too quick. Mia’s
instinct told her whatever had happened to the woman had nothing to do with
mere fainting. “No. This is much worse.”

Emrond grunted and stood. “Let her die.”

“No.” Fierce anger outstripped her ability to keep her mouth
shut. “I can fix her.”

Emrond scowled. “Fix her?”

Though as far as she knew most Dragonians had nothing
against healers, she couldn’t be sure about these men. Old fears rose within.
She struggled to force words out. “I’m a healer.”

Kemrond snorted this time. “That’s shite.”

“It is not.” Mia closed her eyes and tried to squelch her
trepidation. She sensed a disturbance, a deep illness inside Finny that had
festered for months. Finny hadn’t sought treatment, Mia doubted the woman knew
she needed it. Now, on this horrible day, the body she’d depended on for so
many years refused to cooperate a moment longer.

“What’s she doin’?” Kemrond asked.

“Beats me,” his brother said. “Let her do it if she thinks
she can resurrect the dead. I’d like to see that.”

Glad the men didn’t try to stop her, Mia allowed her mind to
drift to that place again. The place where quiet and darkness held power and
she could gather the light within and around her to harness its healing. Mia
placed her right palm over the woman’s sternum. Concentrating, she imagined the
strength of internal fire radiating outward from her center. Gathering
strength, the healing warmed her shoulder and formed in a large tingle that
flowed down her biceps and forearm and into her hand. She opened her eyes,
hoping to see healing in action.

Light glowed from the point where she touched Finny. Finny’s
eyes opened.

“Easy.” Mia kept her in place. “Don’t move. I’m healing
you.”

Finny closed her eyes again and Mia did also, sending the
flowing, warm heat to wherever Finny might need it.

For long moments Mia kept her hands on the woman’s body. She
would cure her. Would assure she’d live to see another day. Then something
happened that Mia didn’t expect. The heat and energy pulsing from her hands
slowed. Wavered. Began to weaken.

No. Magon, no
.

Finny’s body shivered and a long moan parted her lips. Her
eyelids fluttered open and the haze of illness lifted from her gaze. Mia let
out a gasp as her remaining energy sapped low. She sank next to Finny, boneless
and so tired she couldn’t move.

She reached for Finny’s hand and held on, willing to give
her whatever strength the woman needed to recover. Finny’s grip tightened but
she didn’t speak. Both men laughed and the sounds were cruel. Mocking. Renewed
energy suddenly sparked, pulled her up from the depths of weakness into amazing
power.

This was just like the last encounter, when she healed Eryk.
The strange power she’d never experienced before reaching Dragonia.

Before she could do more than pull herself into a sitting
position, Emrond hauled her off the floor with a growl. His strength shot pain
through her biceps. She flinched and instinctively pulled against his assault.
She couldn’t let him take her out of this room. Finny needed her and Magon only
knew what these men would do if they took her away from here.

“Stop it!” She struggled but the bruiser kept his hold.

“Bitch, if you don’t stop squirming, I’ll do more than fuck
you when we get out of here.”

His threat slowed her by a hair but she renewed her
resistance. He shoved her roughly against a nearby stone wall and she cried out
with pain. He pressed his huge body into hers and the force of his thick
erection pressing against her stomach made nausea pour into her throat. She
shoved against his chest, full-blown panic threatening to swallow her alive. He
grabbed her throat. Her breath seized. Panic threatened but she was determined she
wouldn’t die this way. Not when she’d come so far, worked so hard to reach
Dragonia and freedom. But perhaps Dragonia wasn’t a land of freedom at all.
Spots dotted her vision as pain racked her throat. She tried to suck in air.
Tried. Fierce energy returned, moving through her limbs, strengthening her
resistance. With a growl she directed that energy outward toward Emrond.

His eyes widened as he flew backward and landed on his ass.
Triumph gave her strength even as the short burst of energy crackled and hummed
within her.

The door blew open and Emrond scrambled to his feet. Knees
wobbly, she stayed pressed against the wall and tried to remain upright.
Kemrond, eyes wide, held his sword up and backed away a few steps.

Eryk and a very ugly companion barged into the room. Both
men held their swords at the ready, their faces murderous. Although it couldn’t
have been long, the seconds stretched. Eryk took in the situation and his mouth
twisted into an angry scowl. His fiery gaze clashed with hers, almost as if he
was angry with her. He turned his rage on the other men in the room and his
brutal-looking partner faced Kemrond. Finny remained on the floor, barely
moving.

“Get away from her,” Eryk practically growled.

“Your woman is tasty.” The bastard who’d tried to strangle
her smiled as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “She was interested in
letting me taste her cunny. I would have if you hadn’t interrupted.”

Eryk’s eyes burned with red, glowing like an angry fire.
“I’ll give you one chance to run and never come back.”

“Or what?” Emrond asked.

“Or I’ll kill you.”

Kemrond shifted on his feet and Mia took in the man’s
expression. Fear crossed Kemrond’s face. “We better leave. He’s a Daryk One.
And she just knocked you on your ass with some sort of power.”

Emrond shrugged. “So?”

“He’ll kill us.”

The bruiser who’d come to the rescue with Eryk said, “I’ll
help him kill you.”

The brothers slowly lowered their swords.

“Get out.” Eryk’s eyes gleamed with leashed violence.

Emrond moved, a flash of metal gleamed as he lunged toward
Eryk with sword at the ready. Mia couldn’t scream, her terror choked off in her
tight throat. Another slash of metal and Eryk’s warrior growl filled the room.
Emrond dropped to his knees, eyes shocked, and the man fell on his face. Blood
poured from under the body. The other man, facing Kemrond, made a motion with
his sword and Kemrond fell to the side, as dead as his brother.

Shaking with elation, Mia forced strength into her legs.
Eryk moved swiftly and before she could take a step he stood in front of her.
Eyes narrowed, he touched the side of her neck.

“By all that’s holy. Draconus! That bastard hurt you,” Eryk
said.

She shook her head. “I’ll be fine.” She moved out from under
his touch. “I need to help Finny. She’s very ill.”

Eryk followed her to the fallen woman. The brute of a man
who’d accompanied him stood over Finny’s prone body.

“Too late,” the man said. “She’s gone.”

Tears filled Mia’s eyes as she crouched next to Finny and
tested for a pulse. The woman wasn’t dead, but close. “No. She’s not. I need to
get her to a bed and work on her.”

“Work on her?” the man asked.

She remembered that Eryk had cautioned her against telling
people about her healer abilities. She decided to ignore that warning. “I’m a
healer.”

Eryk threw her an exasperated look but he lifted Finny into
his arms and settled the woman on the bed. Eryk’s eyes were skeptical and she
wanted to punch him in the nose for his disbelief. Aching from head to toe, her
throat sore, she glared at him. “I healed you, didn’t I?”

He glared at her, his gaze hard and not the least
understanding. He didn’t say anything and Mia sat on the bed. She ignored his
negativity and quickly placed one hand on the woman’s upper chest. Weakness
threatened to drain the burst of energy she’d received earlier but she
concentrated on Finny with everything she had. She’d never lost a person yet
and she wouldn’t lose one now. Eryk and his compatriot took the bodies out of
the room and she heard them talking but not the words. Finally the door closed
and noises faded. She expected battle sounds but the eerie quiet was almost as
worrisome.

She sensed Finny improving inch by inch. Finny sighed deeply
and Mia smiled with satisfaction. Finny was healed completely but she’d need
significant rest to restore her energy. Mia didn’t try to stand. She didn’t
think she could. A few moments later the door opened behind her and she turned.
Eryk stood there, alone. His expression had altered from annoyance to wonder,
as if he’d been hit over the head and still didn’t understand what had
happened. At some point he’d sheathed his sword. Muscled and big, he commanded
attention. Even as tired as she was, her body responded to him in a feral way
she couldn’t ignore. She stared, unable to utter a word.

“Is she all right?” he asked.

“She’s completely well. Healed. She needs rest now. Sleep.”

His frown deepened as he walked toward her. “Are you all
right?”

“Just tired. I’ll be fine in a few hours.”

“A few hours?”

“Yes. I’m…you’ve seen how it drains me.” Sarcasm rose in her
throat. “Oh wait. You don’t believe in healers.”

He drew a deep breath and walked toward her. He kneeled at
her side, one knee on the floor. His big, warm presence gave her some strength.

He ignored her slight surliness. “Is she permanently
healed?”

“Yes. Whatever was wrong has disappeared.”

After contemplating Finny for some time, Eryk stood. He
reached out slowly and brushed a tendril of hair from her face. “You haven’t
recovered from the shipwreck and now this.”

She shrugged off his concern even as it soothed her a little.
“Is there a battle going on out there? It’s gone quiet.”

“We’ve killed the ones who snuck into the castle. It was a
small group of rogues like the two who broke in here.”

Mia shivered and the trembling wouldn’t cease. Eryk touched
her shoulder and then he was lifting her in his arms.

“Put me down.” The heat of his arms was delicious, filling
her with a sudden comfort and solace that made no sense.

“No.” He carried her to a chair in the corner and sat down.
“Rest.”

That one word sank into her like a balm and before she could
struggle against it she fell into a semi-sleep. A state where her mind wanted
to ignore the hard, sturdy body cradling her like a babe and where her body
soaked up his male attention. He caressed her hair with one big palm. For a big,
agile man, he stroked her with awkwardness. As if he expected her to run away
or break into a thousand pieces. It amused her the way nothing had in a long
time.

“Who was that man with you?” Mia asked.

“Boltga.”

A movement on the bed across the room made Mia open her
eyes. Finny sat up, blinking and looking bewildered.

“What happened?” Finny asked as she swung her feet off the
bed.

“Mia healed you.” His voice rumbled, a little hard and edged
with disapproval.

Finny smiled but immediately it disappeared. “Is she hurt?”

“I’m fine.” Mia sat up straighter, half tempted to move out
of his arms but still too weak to do so. “You collapsed.”

Finny nodded and stood. “I remember that. Just not the
healing. What was wrong with me? I feel completely fine now.”

Mia smiled, deeply gratified. “That’s wonderful. You were so
ill I wasn’t sure I could save you.”

Finny’s expression held two parts wonder and a part sadness.
“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.”