Skarde extended his hand and took the scroll from me, his eyes deadlocked on mine. He unwound it and read it in the firelight. He coughed when he had finished and re-rolled it, tapping it in his palm. He handed the scroll to the other men and women at the table to read. He stepped away from the table, pacing near the fire.
I looked at Kala and Modifi as we waited for his response. They shrugged and we continued to wait in the silence. As his advisors read, they muttered whispered remarks to each other, looking up at Skarde, seemingly half in fear, half in confusion.
Skarde had not ceased to stare into the fire without speaking. I shifted a bit and flexed my fists at my sides. I was well-warmed by the fire now, but just because I was no longer cold, it didn’t mean I wasn’t still antsy to get off this planet.
“I believe--”
Skarde held up his hand, commanding me to stop talking. I obeyed but sighed a very audible huff of disapproval of his rebuke. I was not his to command.
One of the men held up the scroll to Skarde’s out-held hand. The Berserker took it, unfurled it, read it, then paced back to the raging fire.
With a guttural, unnatural, nearly wolflike cry of fury, Skarde hurled the scroll into the fire. He did not cease howling, but instead, picked up a nearby chair, held it over his head, then slammed it down on the ground. He picked up pieces and flung it, still raging, still roaring, piece by piece into the fire. He sprang up to the table that had the wine and foods arrayed on it and grabbed two bottles of wine and threw them with a mighty hurl into the fire. They shattered against the back of the fireplace and the liquor ripped a raging roar of flame up from the fire, forcing us all to turn our heads and take steps away from the angry inferno.
Then, there was silence.
Just the flickering, crackling, whispering of the flames in the fireplace.
Skarde turned from staring into the fire, seemingly untouched by the lashing of the flames, his hair fully out of the bun, messy around his face, his figure huge, daunting, beastlike, and he stood before me.
“I will obey my General’s command but…” Skarde grabbed my chin with a harsh motion. Modifi and Kala had knives out in an instant, palmed into their hand and aimed at his solar plexus. A quick flick of his eyes to the side showed his notice and approval of their motion. I waved my gloved hand to tell them it was okay, to calm, but I knew my eyes were blazing with anger, with full-on pissed-off, how-dare-you-touch-me, and I hoped that this Berserker could read my every emotion. I held his gaze steady. He leaned in close to my face and repeated, “I will obey my General’s commands and I will go with you, Bravo Ilisa from Farian. But I will not like it.” With a swift jerk, he let go of my chin, leaving an impression on my skin, then he stalked away. “I will be ready in two hours. Enjoy the food and wine. I will meet you here.”
Then he vanished through a side door, most of his contingent of advisors following him just as quickly.
I sank down into one of the chairs and nodded to my Farian warriors. “Might as well eat.”
“I’ll grab you a plate,” Kala said.
I stared into the fire as it finished licking up every drop of alcohol. Great. This was going to be a fantastic week-long voyage back to Farian with Lord Skarde, the Berserker. I wondered why in the world General Truloy had chosen him, of all people, to be a diplomatic envoy. If that fury was ever present, just a tiny push away from the surface, he was going to have a hard time fitting in on Farian. We weren’t so fond of off-worlders, either…
Two
Skarde
The castle on the northern shores where the Farians were installing me was formidable, easily defensible. It was just north of the Bristola empire, a land called Harthen. It had been overseen by a Duke named Fenvitz. I had not heard if he had gone willingly, but it would stand to reason he had been displeased about losing his empire. I certainly was upset at being forced to leave Astrida…
At the same time, King Kajo seemed to be a trusted leader, someone whose word was followed without question, whose legions would die for him. There had been rumors that reached even Vailstor of the battles over the last few years, and indeed of his Earthling queen, a non-telepath that he had taken as his destiny, his legendary soul-mate to be fated and forever, the beautiful Queen Daphne.
I turned in the throne room, arms crossed, glancing from one smiling face to another. They were trying their best to look welcoming, but it just seemed too forced to me. I could not get over the idea that they might all be reading my mind… Which was infuriating. Violating… This was a trade agreement, nothing more. I would stay as long as I was needed by Truloy, then I would find my way back to my own lands, installing some other puppet here for this foreign master.
This Beast King master who would soon find that I was not to be tamed, either.
I locked eyes with King Kajo
