“Five days ago. You have mainly been asleep. I’ve been feeding you, as much as you will take, and giving you water. We have just been waiting out the storm.”
Five days… Surely the people searching for me would have found out I had escaped from the prison by now. We would be found before long. I needed to tell him that I was being hunted…
“Are you in danger, Zaya?” I looked at him sharply, wondering if he had been reading my mind, in the same way that I seemed to be able to read his thoughts, sometimes, or at least on a whim.
“What makes you ask that?”
“While you were delirious, you often said things that gave me the impression you are frightened of someone, of being found again, and that you are doing your best to run from that person. I need to know if we need to expect to have an angry father, friend, or foe rolling up on this cabin’s doorstep.”
More like legion of soldiers…
“If there was someone looking for me, would you have the ability to hide me? To keep me safe? To get me where I need to go?”
“And where is that?”
“I have friends to the northeast. Astrida, a mining village on the north seas. Rough, but beautiful, country. If I get there, the people chasing me will never be able to find me. And, if they do, they will never succeed in capturing me again. Astrida is ruled by Skarde, the Berserker. He will protect me like part of his family.”
“So, you were taken against your will, originally?”
I looked at him evasively, trying hard to keep my face blank. Was being sold as a bride to a tyrant in order to protect your village’s very existence considered being taken against your will? I would do it again, to protect my family and friends, but I would also run from him again… And again… And again… I would never go back to him. I would never again let myself be held or summoned or commanded by General Blatson.
“Yes, that is so.”
“Ok…” He frowned at my vague answers but shrugged. “I understand your privacy. You don’t know me. I hope you can grow to trust me, Zaya. I can take you to Astrida, if you help me first. I need to go to the north, I have a mission to complete for Farian. But, I promise to keep you safe, to protect you against anyone who might find us, and never to mind control you again.” My fists clenched at just the mention; isn’t that an obvious promise to make?
Cartari held up his hands as he noticed my reaction. “I promise.”
“I want her to trust me… I want to trust her, too…” I was struck again by how loud his thought was in my mind as I thought of his thoughts, and wondered what the connection was, and why I had it. Was it one way? Could he still hear my thoughts? Had he purposely pulled back and was no longer listening to mine, but could if he tried?
“We will both just have to grow to trust each other.”
The charzbos looked startled at my words but he smiled. He leaned forward and put the last large log on the fire. “This is our last bit of wood. I have some drying in the shed, but it will still be too wet to light for awhile. This is a beast of a storm. We need to hope the storm stops enough to luck upon a woodshed when we venture out searching.”
I yawned and licked my fingertips, feeling much better from the food, much clearer as the mental grip from Cartari lifted. I listened to the fierce storm and looked at the charzbos, knowing a new light shone in my eyes. I may still have a lingering feeling of trust and partnership with him that was from his mental control, but I also had a secret now, too: I could read his mind. I needed to keep working on that, refining it, seeing if it was something I could make stronger.
Maybe I would find a way to control him.
As I stood up to take the plate to the cabin’s little sink, I noticed his eyes glide up my body, following the curve of my dresslet and tight, ample breasts and I smiled to myself. Of course, I didn’t need fancy telepathic mind tricks to control him. I had other skills…
Nine
Blaston
“What do you mean she escaped?” I hovered my fingertips over the candlelight until it started to sear the flesh, the heat baking into my skin, sure to leave a red smear. I swung my eyes to the soldier as I extinguished the flame with a quick breath. The dim light in the tent was even further dimmed. I clapped my hands and fluorescents flashed on. I hated their flickering agony and the way they attracted bugs from the outside. I preferred to light my quarters with just candles, giving an eerie glow to the paperwork and prisoners who passed before my desk.
The soldier gulped, visibly trembling, and clutching his pant legs down at his side. “We just had the return report from the men who went into the city, sir. Lady Zaya was being held at the south precinct. Apparently there was a Curan in the cell with her. He took mind control over her and the guard, and they escaped. There is a severe snowstorm in between us and the city at this time, so we are unable to track them, but we have a contingent on the ground ready to follow their route as best they can. We think they are headed toward Astrida.”
My heart skipped a beat and mouth went dry. Skarde. That bloody Berserker. There weren’t many men I feared, but he was admittedly one of them. He was fearless in battle and a leader whose soldiers followed and loved him unconditionally. He was the leader of Astrida’s mining facilities, usually
