not intimidate them, since they knew he would not want to harm them, and he did not doubt the advisor's threat. Deciding that the risk was too great, he relaxed, his eyes flicking to the King and Prince. He recognised the boy he had saved from the brink of death, and wondered why he was now summoned here in this hostile fashion.
Garsh smiled. 'So, Mujar, we meet again. A neat trick, hey? We have you trapped.'
Chanter inclined his head, puzzled. 'You do, it would seem.'
'Now you will pay for the insult you offered me. Did you think you would escape punishment for your acts?'
'I offered no insult. I saved your son.'
Garsh's hard smile vanished, replaced by a scowl of pure hatred. 'You put the price of a common soldier's freedom as sufficient to pay for my son's life! Then you spurn my offer of comforts as though my roof is not good enough for you to sup under.' Foam flecked the King's lips. 'What do you think you are? Better than me? Better than a king? You condescended to heal my son only because you wanted something, or else you would have let him die. Your insults will not go unpunished, Mujar scum! You forced me to obey you or lose my only son!'
Chanter glanced at Talsy, who stood rigid, the green-eyed man’s hand clamped over her mouth, then turned to the King. 'I did not force you to do anything. Without my aid, your son would be dead now. What does it matter why I saved him? My request was a small favour for you to grant, and I was forced to leave because my clan was in danger.'
'I don't care why you left! You could have demanded a mountain of jewels for my son's life, and I'd have paid it. That, I would have understood and respected, but you damned Mujar bastards revel in your power, don't you?'
Garsh almost frothed at the mouth, his face reddening as he worked himself into a fury. 'You treat us like fools and incompetents, taking every opportunity to make us feel inferior, beholden, granting wishes like you're some sort of god. I am a king, and I will not allow the likes of you to best me. I will have retribution! You will surrender, or she dies!'
'Let her go,' Chanter murmured.
'When I have you, not before.'
The Mujar glanced at Talsy again, his heart filled with sorrow. The situation was unprecedented and confusing. Garsh was blackmailing him, yet there was no way out of the predicament. If he refused, Talsy would die and he would have failed her Wish of protection. By doing that, he would be guilty of her death, which he could not allow. If not for her Wish, he could have allowed her to die, since clan bond did not include protection. Strangely, it all hinged on the words Talsy had spoken months ago, which were burnt into his memory. Once again, he regretted that he had not allowed her Wish to be fulfilled on a prior occasion, and wondered why he had not. The ways of Mujar were complicated and little understood by Truemen, but, in this instance, he must allow Garsh to blackmail him in order to save Talsy's life. This was a singular event, one that would never be repeated.
Chanter met Talsy's eyes and intoned the ritual words that released him from his obligation and made her useless to the King for future demands. 'Wish fulfilled.'
Talsy jerked free of her tormentor’s hand. 'No! Fly! Don't -'
The man slapped her, then grabbed her again, and the blade sliced into her neck. She writhed in the guards' grip as the torturer's hold on her face muffled her scream.
The Mujar stepped towards her. 'Don't harm her.'
Garsh laughed. 'How touching! As if a Mujar could care for a Trueman. Now you're mine, so don't try to resist!'
Chanter bowed his head as Yusan approached, pulling his hands from the pockets of his robe. In each, he held a golden bracelet, and Chanter took an instinctive backward step at the sight of the dreaded metal.
'You'll wear them, Mujar,' the King snarled, 'or she dies.'
Talsy shared Chanter’s fear of the bracelets, hating the way in which the Wish she had made so long ago had trapped him. They would bind him with gold and throw him in a Pit, and she would never see him again. He would suffer a living death in the bowels of the earth, trapped by the overwhelming power of Dolana. The thought of his impending doom filled her with a terrible anguish and a desperate need to save him at any cost. She could not let him suffer because of her stupidity and ignorance, nor could she allow him to sacrifice himself to save her.
Ignoring the pain, she gave a mighty heave and freed her mouth from Darron's hand. 'Chanter, I release you! I don't want the Wish fulfilled! Go!'
Yusan laughed, and Chanter shook his head. 'You cannot. I granted it, and I must fulfil it.'
His soft, resigned words tore her heart, and tears of anguish spilt down her cheeks. Her last hope of saving him died with those words. His fate was sealed because he would not abandon her. Darron chuckled in her ear, his sour breath fanning her cheek. He only kept the dagger pressed to her neck, since nothing she said would change the situation now.
Yusan stepped closer to the Mujar. 'Hold out your hands.'
'No, Chanter!' Talsy wailed. 'Don't let them take you to a Pit! Fly free! I would rather die!'
He stared at her. 'You would die for me?'
Talsy nodded, sobs choking her. 'Yes.'
'Stupid bitch,' Darron snarled, his face twisted with contempt. 'Mujar lover.'
'Hold out your hands!' Yusan barked.
Chanter raised his hands, looking puzzled, as if something important had just occurred to him, but he was not sure what it was. Talsy met his eyes with a pleading look, silently begging him not to give up his freedom for her sake, her throat too clogged to speak. Yusan snapped a golden bracelet around Chanter's wrist, and he shivered, looking away.
The sight of the gold locked around his wrist jerked Talsy from her anguish and filled her with a frantic need to find another way to free him. She turned to the King. 'No! Don't do it! You doom your people!'
Yusan snapped on the second bracelet, and Chanter's head drooped as if he was deathly tired. The advisor smiled. 'My theory works, Sire. Put gold around their necks, and they become complete zombies, but around the wrist they merely lose their Powers.'
The King rose and approached the Mujar to gaze down at the slender unman's bowed head. 'How ironic. He gives up his precious freedom for the sake of a Trueman slut, just because of some silly Wish he granted. Yet he would have let my son die had he not wanted that boy released to fulfil the Wish of some other Trueman. He could have earned riches and respect, if only he had not insisted on turning the tables and making me the one who had to obey his orders to earn his favour.'
'They're stupid, Majesty,' Yusan asserted.
'You bastards,' Talsy snarled. 'You'll burn in Hell for this! In Hell! The Hashon Jahar will wipe you out! You'll regret this day, I swear it!'
Darron slapped her again, making her eyes water. 'Shut up, or I'll slice you good!'
The King looked at her and nodded. 'Don't let his sacrifice be for nothing, girl. I'll let you live if you don't make trouble.'
Talsy bit her lip, blinking away her tears. Chanter raised his head and gazed at her with an expression of profound forgiveness, gentle affection and resignation. His gaze flicked to Garsh, and the gentleness in his expression drained away, leaving his eyes cold and empty.
'Don't harm her,' he begged.
Garsh laughed. 'It's not her I want to harm, scum. She's just a silly girl you led astray. I want to hurt you!'
The King drove his fist into Chanter's gut, making the Mujar double over with a groan. Garsh punched him again, harder. Chanter sank to his knees, clasping his belly, and Garsh kicked him in the face, sending him sprawling.
'Get up!' the King shouted. 'Show some spine, damn you!'
Chanter gasped, grimacing. Blood oozed from his nose. Talsy sobbed, longing to scream abuse at the King, but mindful of his threat. She had promised Chanter that she would save him from the Pit. Garsh kicked Chanter again, grunting with annoyance when the Mujar only flinched.
“ Hold him up!” the King ordered the guards, who dragged Chanter upright. Garsh punched him again and again, crushed his nose and split his lips and brows. Blood ran down his face and dripped onto his chest. The King gripped Chanter's hair and lifted his head to batter his face further, laughing.
