'Uh-huh,' he said, looking off over the tub.
Giselle grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her. She was frowning. 'What's wrong?'
Ryder shook his head.
Giselle shook hers as well. 'No. I mean it. What's wrong?'
Ryder took a deep breath and let it out. He was nervous about how she would react to the truth, but if he didn't tell her… well, he didn't know what would happen, but he was sure it wouldn't be good.
'I… I don't know what to say,' he said. He sat silently for a moment, trying to build up the courage to say what he needed to say. Finally he blurted, 'Giselle, I'm a married man.'
'Well,' she said, leaning back a bit but not getting off his chest, 'that doesn't seem like you don't know what to say.'
Ryder looked up at her. Instead of being angry, as he had expected she would be, she smiled and touched the edge of his face.
'You're feeling guilty,' she said, not a question, just a matter-of-fact statement.
Ryder swallowed. 'Yes.'
'That's understandable.' She paused. 'Thank you.'
'For what?'
'For your honesty,' she said. Then she leaned down and kissed him. 'And for not turning me down.'
Ryder blushed. He'd never been in this situation before, but he felt tremendous relief. Much of his guilt was simply concern over what this attractive woman would think of him when she found out the truth.
'Listen, this life is very short,' she said. 'I learned a long time ago that every moment I waste regretting something I did or didn't do is another moment I don't spend actually living my life.'
'Spoken like a true farmer,' said Ryder.
'What is that supposed to mean?' Giselle frowned.
'Just that before you can truly move forward, you have to be willing to live with the consequences.'
Giselle looked puzzled. 'And what does that mean?'
'It's something an old farmer in Furrowsrich used to say. To him it was a bit of wisdom about how and where to plow a piece of land into a new field. I've always thought it had a larger meaning.'
'All right, philosopher. How?'
Ryder lifted himself up onto his elbows. 'Living your life is a scary proposition. The more you gain, the more you have to lose. The more you have to lose, the harder it becomes to live with the consequences. But that shouldn't stop you from living the life you think you should live.' He looked into Giselle's beautiful brown eyes. Then he touched her face. 'You and I aren't that different.'
Giselle leaned into his touch. 'No?'
Ryder shook his head. 'No.'
There was a long silence with both of them just gazing at each other.
After a long while, Giselle broke the silence. 'So, this wife of yours must be the reason you've been so eager to leave Fairhaven.'
A sudden chill ran down Ryder's spine. 'You're not going to have me locked up again, are you?' He didn't struggle or try to get away. Whatever she wanted to do to him, he was going to let it happen.
Giselle laughed. 'Oh,' she said, 'what a good idea. I could keep you here as my personal love slave.' She smiled then lay down on him, pressing her breasts against his chest. 'Then you couldn't feel guilty. It wouldn't be your choice.'
'Would I have to live in that dirty, rusted cage? I don't think I would like that very much.'
Giselle shook her head. 'No. You could stay up here. Of course, I'd have to make you work for your keep.'
'I have one question.' He sat up and, in one fluid motion, turned to his side, lifting Giselle off the ground and into the air as he got to his feet. Holding her in his arms, he stepped forward until her back was pressed against the stone wall. 'Would this work-' He interrupted himself by kissing Giselle- 'require any heavy lifting?'
Giselle's face was flushed. Ryder could feel her heart pounding through her chest as he pressed his skin against hers. 'I think it might,' she said.
Ryder nodded, kissing her neck. 'Just checking.'
Inside the closed, private room, Samira helped Liam unbuckle his armor, placing it piece by piece back on the rack in the corner. Underneath, his long woven shirt was stained in places with blotches of blood and sweat.
'Oh, Liam,' said Samira, taking off his ruined undershirt to reveal several recently scabbed wounds and a pair of massive bruises on his shoulder and chest. She cringed as she ran the tips of her fingers over the blackened skin. 'Do they hurt?'
All Liam could feel was the soft caress of her fingers. He shook his head. 'No.'
Going to the chest of drawers, Samira retrieved a wet cloth from the washbasin. 'Lie down on the bed,' she said.
Liam did as he was told. As he lay down on the soft linen, he realized how exhausted he was.
Samira stood with her back to him now, dipping the cloth in the washbasin. The back of her gown came down low, exposing everything from her shoulder blades to the small of her back.
She wrung out the cloth and came back, smiling when she saw that his eyes were open. Sitting down beside him, she ran the cool cloth over his wounds. Liam closed his eyes and followed her motions over his body.
'So what are you going to do about Purdun's offer?' asked Samira after a short silence.
Liam shrugged. 'I just can't help thinking that Purdun might be right.'
'Right about what?' asked Samira.
Liam sat up a little. 'When I talked to him the first time, he told me that the Crimson Awl were being manipulated by an outside source. He said that we were being used to a greater end.'
'Used? By whom?'
A bolt of realization struck Liam. 'By a vampire.'
'A vampire?' Samira laughed, running the cloth down his arm. 'The vampires haven't been seen in Erlkazar for years. The Crusaders dealt with them during the revolution.'
'We fought vampires today.'
Samira dropped the cloth, gripping Liam's hand.
'There's something else too, something that has been bothering me.'
She gave his hand a squeeze. 'What?'
'Do you remember when Montauk and his thugs came by the field to take me to talk to the Council?'
'Yes,' she said. 'I was so worried about you.'
'They took me to the old druid's circle. But when I got there, there was a group of strangers there. Most of them were wearing cloaks. I couldn't see their faces, but I'm pretty sure I had never seen them before.'
Samira frowned. 'But I thought you knew everyone in the Awl.'
Liam nodded. 'Me too. I mean, I do. And that's what bothers me.' He shook his head, remembering back to that day. 'When Purdun's troops arrived, things got pretty crazy. Still, I could see the strangers leaving the druid's circle.' His eyes met Samira's. 'As they walked away, I could have sworn several of them transformed into wolves.'
'Wolves?'
Liam nodded. 'I know it sounds strange, but… I saw it. With my own eyes.'
Samira ran her hand along his arm. 'But what does it mean?'
Liam took a deep breath. 'I think it means Purdun was right. Someone has infiltrated the Awl and is manipulating the Council.'
'What are you going to do?'
'I don't know,' said Liam. He turned away from her for a moment, then turned back. 'What do you think?'
Samira smiled at him. 'Well, I don't think you need to solve all of Ahlarkham's problems tonight.' She reached up and pulled out the sticks holding her hair in a pile atop her head, letting it fall down over her shoulders. Several
