I watched the wild dance in fire and smoke and howls for a few moments, then tried to access Skarde’s thoughts. They were scrambled, hasty, fleeting, perhaps too heated by the battle? Focused on the fight, for sure. Maybe I was too far away to grasp them quickly. Maybe they were made too flighty from the herb.
A cloud cast a shadow over the small moonlight and the dancing fighters stopped, howling again.
“It’s the tradition of the Berzerker.” I jumped, my hand going to my knife, as Zaya spoke from behind me. She held up her hands slightly and smiled. “I’m sorry to startle you.” She nodded toward the Vailstorans below us. “It’s an old way, the herb and the dance fighting. It’s one of the things that makes Skarde so fierce in battle, so strong and sure. He may be wild, unpredictable, and difficult, but… He is unbeatable. The soldiers he brought with him are lucky to share in this tradition of his tonight. It means he is preparing for battle.”
“Why the howling?”
“Because he is connecting to nature. The truth of us all.”
I looked at Zaya carefully and tapped my temple. “We believe that connecting to our mental skills is the truth of us all. Will Skarde let me help him see that?”
“I think so. I will talk to him one more time before we leave in the morning.”
“Thank you. That will be helpful.”
Zaya came close to me and I tried hard not to step back. Her dark eyes were mysterious, calm, but taunting. There was something familiar in them, something so similar to Skarde’s… It was as if, if she smiled at me, it would be the best gift I could receive…
She touched my arm and then brushed my cheek slightly. “Be careful, Bravo Ilisa. Skarde has broken many bones, but I am afraid that if he chooses a heart to break, it will never heal.”
Then she turned and walked away, leaving me wanting to ask if she knew how I might protect that heart that I also, at the same time, wanted so desperately to risk breaking…
Ten
Ilisa
Skarde was late. Kajo was getting impatient. The Beast King was not used to people keeping him waiting. He was not used to people thwarting him in any way. I wondered if Skarde was doing it on purpose. Kajo sent Modifi off to get him from his quarters after an hour had passed. Cartari, Zaya, Axis, Ceritha, and the other Bristolans had already left. It was Kajo and I alone in the command room, waiting for Skarde the Berserker to show for his first true lesson in telepathic control.
All of my protests had been dismissed for the final time and I had accepted that this was the only way to truly protect Skarde mentally. We could not have a round-the-clock mental guard on his mind; he needed to have the skills himself. And, hopefully, through me mentally controlling him, I would imbue him with the skills that Queen Daphne, Vania, and Zaya had all been seen to develop just by being connected to and controlled by their telepaths. It didn’t stop me from feeling a bit sick to the stomach at the thought of mentally controlling someone else… Would I really know how to do this? Would I really be able to impose my Will on another being?
In the back of my mind, I wondered if it was the Destin connection that made a difference… And a secret flame in my heart stirred, wondering if Skarde really was my match in that way… The way his fingertips burned into my skin when he touched me certainly said something else was stirring there… But, that couldn’t be true. And, that certainly couldn’t be a concern for me: a soldier in his employ.
Right now, it just mattered that I help protect his brain from Fenvitz.
Kajo paced in front of the sparking morning fire and twisted the flames into interesting geometric patterns with his telekinetic command as we waited. I didn’t dare speak to him. His dark eyes were starting to take on the gloom of an angry storm I didn’t wait to trespass.
The door to our left wipped open and we both turned. Modifi and Skarde walked in. Modifi’s cheek was split open and Skarde’s right eye had a red swelling that would soon turn to a ripe bruise.
“What happened?” I lunged up from my lounging position in one of the chairs at the table.
Modifi waved away my demand. “Duke Skarde welcomes your mental command, Bravo Ilisa. I am certain he just forgot the timing of the lesson this morning.”
Skarde grit his teeth, hands clasped behind his back, likely in fists. He avoided my eyes and stared steadily at the King.
“I didn’t realize you would be here as well, King Kajo.”
“I’m just here to observe. I want to make sure that you and Bravo Ilisa are the proper match.”
Skarde stared hard at the King, then took a deep breath and looked to me. “She is the one I have Chosen. We match well. I will accept her control of my mind, so that I can avoid the control of those who would seek to harm this kingdom and the greater plan that my General Truloy has for the treaty of Vailstor with Farian.”
Kajo nodded. “Fine. Let’s proceed, then.”
I forced a calming smile and reached a hand out to Skarde. “Please, Duke Skarde, come sit next to me. It will be better if we are seated in a relaxed position.”
Skarde hesitated again. He rubbed his fist-bashed eye a moment and looked at Modifi. Modifi saluted the King, then backed out the door and left. Kajo sat down in one of the far chairs, his face in darkness, truly an observer, but I could feel tendrils of inquisition
