Skarde gripped my thighs tightly, his fingertips digging into my leather pants. His gaze was so intense… Even though his eyes were frosted over with the mental hold. It was a bizarre sensation, being in his mind… Next, I was supposed to make him walk around the room.
“Skarde, trust me… When I guide you--”
“Ask him what weapon Truloy is making in her southern mines.” Kajo’s words didn’t interfere with my intense hold of Will on Skarde, but it did rattle me a moment. I kept my gaze steady on the Duke’s mentally controlled, frosted eyes, but my heart beat more quickly at my King’s command. I grit my teeth. This was not what we were supposed to be doing… We were supposed to be protecting Skarde. Gaining his trust. If we gained his trust, he would just eventually tell us these truths, right? But, first and foremost, my loyalty had to be to Kajo’s crown. Just as Skarde’s loyalty would surely be to his General’s… “Ask him if the Vailstorans are truly building quasar seekers? Where did they get those engineering plans? Is that what Truloy really wants our frajili for?”
I hesitated and then pulsed another intention into Skarde’s mind, the deep desire and trust in me, to tell me all of Truloy’s plans, to tell me what she was seeking the frajili for, to tell me what weapons they were building. Skarde’s eyes wavered, a bit of clarity suddenly, and his grip tightened on my thighs. His own inhibitions fought against my Will, his own cognisance tried to regain control as he realized what I was asking.
Tears were pricking my throat and my heart was heavy in my chest, my breathing coming shallow as I overwhelmed Skarde with the sensation of trust in me: “Tell me your truth… What is the frajili for? Are you using quasar seekers? What blasters are you building? Where did you find those engineering plans? You can trust me, Skarde… Trust me… Tell me the truth…”
Skarde squirmed in his seat, his muscles visibly jerking beneath his shirt as he fought against my Will invading his mind. His eyes still had that dazed, frosted look, but the firelight glinting in their shine seemed to capture something new and suddenly I felt slapped backward and I literally lost my breath as he shoved the Will I was pushing forward out of his head.
“I will… not… betray… my General…”
The words were wrenched from deep within him and they sounded animal, visceral, painful to exclaim.
Kajo stood up behind us and walked toward me. Suddenly, his Will was pushing in our minds. His Will joined mine and flooded Skarde with that same trust I had been pushing through: “Trust us… Tell us the truth, Skarde… Are you building quasar seekers with the frajili… Trust us… Tell us the truth… You feel this is the most important thing… Tell us…”
Skarde’s eyes fully frosted again and any claim he had had on his own mind relaxed. “The southern mining fields have been retrofitted. We are building quasar seekers. We are seeking war with the planet Jarolu. Truloy has big plans. We are building more spaceships. We are training more warriors. We are looking to Farian for leadership for warrior training.”
Skarde’s voice was a robotic, monotone. Kajo leaned forward, a smile stretching the scar through his eyebrow, the firelight shining his dark eyes a success that sent shivers down my spine. He laid a hand on Skarde and the spell broke.
In that moment, Skarde’s mind broke free from my Will, but seemed to possess new power, grabbing onto my Will and the King’s, and he reached out with a new hold on tele arts and burst forth, reaching for the fire. He grabbed the logs where they flamed on the hearth, and pulled them out, leveling them over our heads and crashing them against the far wall, ribboning sparks up the newly hung tapestries, setting them ablaze. The logs crashed to the floor, embers rolling across the cobblestones.
Kajo jumped back and flung the logs back into the fireplace. I lunged up and tried to grab onto Skarde as he roared and howled, flailing his arms around, as he tore apart the room with newfound telekinesis, tearing down the tapestries, flinging chairs and goblets and books about the room, crashing glass and wood and leather-bound tomes to the floor.
Fire was flickering up the walls and Kajo fought to quell it as I chased after Skarde as he roared around the room, alternately bowing over to clasp his dizzied head and baring his chest to roar and destroy the room.
My head was ringing with the cries of pain from within Skarde’s head as he fought for control of the power within his body that raged and I tried to calm it, tried to refortify my own mental blocks, but I was somehow connected to what he was feeling, and my entire body was tingling, my stomach roiled with nausea, and I was having trouble stepping straight as I stumbled toward him. The King, too, seemed affected as he dashed the flames and logs to bits.
Skarde was swinging his arms wildly around and I couldn’t get close enough for fear of getting struck and there was no rope around to bind him with, I had no idea what to do, when Kajo came barrelling toward us, and smashed Skarde in the head with a heavy fist.
The Berserker dropped to the ground, stunned, at least for a moment. He looked up at us, head in his hands, calmed for a moment, confused, trying to get his wits about him again.
A hit from the Beast King was no joking matter.
“Get him back to his quarters, Bravo. Try again. I deem you two a good match. See what else he will say that will help our kingdom. Just watch yourself.” Kajo said, moving to the door, rubbing his fist. Then, he paused.
