Lady Thornbear and one of the duke’s guards preceded me into the cell. The man imprisoned there was bound and his eyes were covered with a blindfold. He moaned quietly as we entered. A soft bed had been placed in the cell and I looked at Dorian’s mother questioningly.
“I didn’t want him dying before you returned,” she said. “If we had left him on the floor he might have developed sores and died of infection.”
I nodded, “Is he awake?”
“He should be close to conscious but it hardly matters. After a week of this his mind is muddled, it will be hours after he wakes before he regains his senses completely,” she replied.
I was learning to see Lady Elise in a new light. As a child she had simply been Dorian’s mother, strict, but kind and loving as well. Now I was forced to face the fact that she was also a skilled herbalist and poisoner. Somehow the two pictures refused to come together for me.
“You’ve done this before haven’t you?” I said without thinking.
There was a gleam in her eye as she answered, “Never a wizard… that made it much more difficult. When you find out who sent him let me know, I’ll make something special for you to give them.”
A shiver went down my spine as she said it and I remembered, this was a woman that had just lost her son. She probably wants revenge just as badly as I do.
“I’m going to move him to Castle Cameron,” I told her, and then I nodded toward the guard. “I’ll need your help moving him since he’s not quite sensible yet.”
She looked at me questioningly, “Are you sure that’s wise? You have no dungeon in your keep.”
“The dungeon isn’t what kept him here milady, you were, or rather it was the use of your arts that held him. I will keep a close watch upon him using other means,” as I finished the statement I leaned over and carefully clasped a delicate silver necklace around the prisoner’s neck. I kept my movements casual but I was very careful as I did so.
“What is that?” Elise Thornbear asked.
“Something I devised,” I said smugly. “It will keep him contained until I can decide his fate.”
“Is it dangerous?”
“Very,” I answered.
She smiled, “You were always a good boy Mordecai. My son thought the world of you.”
“I was never as good as Dorian, but I hold him as an inspiration for what people could be,” I replied with complete sincerity.
Lady Thornbear leaned over then and surprised me with a kiss on the cheek. It was sudden and gentle, but I imagined I felt a trace of her tears there as well. “Thank you for that Mordecai. Here take this.” She thrust a small glass phial into my hands.
I didn’t question her but my look said the words for me, with one eyebrow slightly raised.
“It tastes sweet, like honey liquor. Flavor a drink with it, or use it as a sweet garnish for a dessert and the recipient will fall into a deep slumber, never to awaken again,” she said quietly.
“Why me?”
“If anyone is going to find those responsible for this it will be you. I doubt you’ll need it when you find them, but sometimes subtlety is the only way, even for a wizard,” she answered.
“How long does it take to work?”
Her eyes twinkled in the dim light, “Good question… a day at least, sometimes two if they don’t get a large dose.”
“A day before they fall asleep or a day before they stop breathing?” I said to be sure.
“A day before they sleep, death follows hours after that.”
I frowned, “That seems terribly slow.”
“You have much to learn. Speed is not usually the poisoner’s friend. Slow and certain is better, and it gives you more time and distance to allay suspicion. People tend to blame the last meal eaten rather than the one from the day before.”
The more I learned of Lady Thornbear’s secret profession the more she frightened me. How could a creature so well versed in subtlety and lethal deception have been the same woman who raised my friend Dorian?
My confusion must have shown on my face for she patted my cheek reassuringly, “Don’t fret about it Mordecai, we all must take on various roles in our lives. Some people confuse their identity with what they do. Don’t mistake a ‘role’ for your ‘self’. I have done many things, but I am none of them, I am Lady Elise Thornbear. I have been a healer, a wife, a mother, and sometimes when necessary, a poisoner.”
Her words struck a chord within me, resonating with some inner truth. I knew I would remember them for a long time to come. “Thank you Elise,” I said, using her given name for the first time in my life. “You were always kind to us as children, except when strictness was called for. I never doubted you, no matter what hidden talents you possess.”
I turned to the guard, “Help me get him up. I want him back in Castle Cameron and in a soft bed before he comes to his senses.”
Chapter 28
The man I had brought back was still lying in the bed where I had had him placed, but he hadn’t shown many signs of consciousness yet. Occasionally he would open his eyes and stare about the room, but his pupils were dilated and his gaze seemed unfocused. After a week in a drug induced slumber I imagined he was very confused. Instinctively I worried that the treatment he had endured might have permanently damaged his mental faculties. Then I caught myself, Why the hell would I care if he’s damaged?
A knock came at the door, but I already knew that it was Lisette. “Come in,” I yelled in the direction of the door. She came in followed by several other maids bearing a large copper tub and towels. “Just set the tub over there,” I directed, pointing to one side of the room.
Harold entered a moment later, his eyes following Lisette as she bustled about the room. I didn’t say anything, not wanting to embarrass either of them, especially since he didn’t realize I knew about their relationship already. After a moment he pulled his gaze from her and addressed me, “I still don’t understand why you have him in this room, your Lordship.”
I sighed, “I don’t have a dungeon and even if I did he’d probably sicken if I kept him there. From what I can see he lost a lot of blood before he stopped his leg from bleeding. James says he was pinned under the portcullis for a short time.”
“You only need him conscious and awake for as much time as it takes to find out what he knows,” he replied implying that I would have the wizard executed shortly after that.
“I don’t intend to execute him,” I said simply. Harold looked shocked and given my behavior the day previous I couldn’t blame him. I had been close to doing much worse than mere execution. The memory made me shudder for a second, and I had to struggle to suppress the visions of fire and torment that still seemed somewhat attractive to me.
Harold stood, agitated, and after a moment he spoke. I was quite certain he had thrown out the first several sentences that came to mind. I had to admire his self-control. “I assume you have some particular reason for putting him up in a soft bed and nursing him back to health.”
“I do. I intend to put him to work on my behalf. I believe he may be more valuable to me alive than dead, though only time will tell.”
Harold’s eye twitched. “What about Lord Dorian? What about your wife?”
My temper snapped and I stood up to face the young man Dorian had left behind to serve me. With two strides I came face to face with him, our noses nearly touching. Harold was a tall man, for his eyes were nearly level with my own, and his shoulders were much broader. “Don’t test me Harold and be damned sure you don’t suggest that my feelings for my wife or my friend are insincere or lacking in some fashion.”
He held my gaze for a second before looking down and away. “Pardon me my Lord. It was not my place to address you so.”
