The Cost of Betrayal (18 page)

B
rug greeted them at the door, his face sullen.

“Good to see you three alive,” he said, his normally boisterous voice subdued.

“How is Aurry,” Harruq asked, one hand still clutching his face.

“We’ll get that fixed up, and then you can go and see the elf,” Brug replied. Harruq nodded, stepped past him, and then collapsed. Brug caught his chest and held him steady.

“I’ll be alright,” Harruq mumbled. “I just need to…” His words trailed off as his body went limp.

“Just follow me,” Brug said. “Bedtime for you. You can say hi to your girl tomorrow.” He nodded to Tarlak and Haern before helping the half-orc up the stairs.

“Any wounds on yourself?” Tarlak asked, glancing over the assassin.

“None that will not heal in a few days. But I could greatly use a drink.”

Tarlak beamed.

“That, my friend, is something I can help you with.”

9

H
arruq awoke sprawled on his chest, still dressed. He tossed his blanket aside. Sweat drenched his body. His entire head throbbed, his nose especially. It felt as if someone had rammed a tree branch up one nostril and down the other.

Gradually, the previous night came back to him, and he lurched to his feet. Fighting off an initial wave of nausea, he staggered downstairs, placing both feet firmly on a step before lowering to the next one.

“Morning, sunshine,” greeted Tarlak, who sat at the table on the bottom floor. “Although morning is hardly appropriate, considering I just finished lunch.”

“Slept too long,” Harruq muttered. “Where’s Qurrah?”

“Beats me.” The wizard shrugged. “I could spy on him to find out, but that’s not what I do.”

The half-orc nodded, rubbing his eyes with one hand. The huge fingers paused, though, when he spotted a large sausage link uneaten on Tarlak’s plate.

“Take it,” Tarlak said. “I’m stuffed to the brim.”

Harruq wolfed it down, even though the chewing ignited pain in his nose.

“How’s Aurry?” he asked, suddenly remembering her grievous wound. His heart shuddered at the look Tarlak gave him.

“Follow me, Harruq. I’ll explain on the way.”

The two climbed the stairs to the second floor, Tarlak talking as they walked.

“She’s been unconscious for hours. Her breath and heart are weak. Our hope is that she holds on long enough for Delysia to heal her.”

“Can’t you find another healer?” Harruq asked. The wizard opened the girls’ door, shaking his head as he did.

“That’s another thing we need to discuss. Your little elf has managed to attract some considerable attention.” He did not elaborate, instead beckoning inside. Both Delysia and Aurelia lay in their beds, tucked underneath several blankets. Delysia seemed to be only sleeping. Aurelia, however, appeared much worse. Her skin was pale, and her hair was dull and lifeless. Her breath was slow, the rise and fall of her chest almost invisible.

“Your brother said Delysia should awake in a couple more hours. As for Aurelia, well…”

Tarlak shrugged his shoulders. “Del managed to get a tiny bit of healing magic into her before she collapsed. Perhaps it was enough to combat the poison.”

“Yeah,” Harruq said. His eyes lingered on Aurelia, and in his breast stirred fears he had never felt before. He pondered thoughts of her death, each one tearing his heart to pieces. He walked over, slowly, as if not to wake her, and then knelt beside her bed.

“You wake up soon, alright?” he whispered into her ear. He stroked her hair with one hand, unaware he was doing so. “Don’t do anything dumb like dying on me.” A surge of fear shook his chest, and he wiped away tears, hoping Tarlak did not see. A glance behind revealed him long gone. Harruq smiled. Despite his oddities, the wizard could read people brilliantly.

Harruq turned back to Aurelia and stroked her face. He felt almost criminal. Never before had he touched her, and now, while she lay helpless, he felt the gentle curve of her chin, the gradual slope of her nose, and the soft brush of her eyelashes. Finally, he pulled his hand away, unable to bear the guilt. He pressed his forehead against her arm.

“Not yet,” he said. “I haven’t told you yet. You can’t die without me telling you.” He looked back up, overtaken by the beauty of her face. He leaned forward without thinking and gently kissed her lips. Despite the paleness of her skin, a trickle of warmth remained, and he relished its feel. The half-orc backed away, his throat constricted.

He left without saying another word.

G
reetings, Tessanna,” Qurrah said as he climbed into the dilapidated building.

The girl glanced up from her drawing and smiled.

“Hello, Qurrah. Care to play a game?” The half-orc eyed the strange lines and circles she had drawn in the dirt.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Find and Seek. It is a scrying game, that’s all.”

“Another time,” Qurrah said, sitting opposite of her. “I come to ask a question.”

“Sure.” She sent a hand dancing back and forth, ruining the symbols. Qurrah spotted a fresh set of markings on her arm, but said nothing about them.

“Can you heal someone?” Qurrah asked. Tessanna gave him a funny look.

“I kill people, Qurrah, not heal them.”

“But can you?” he asked, more forcefully. “I have learned my spells from my masters, and from my experiments, yet you control power without ever having had a teacher. You are special, and we both know it. Now answer me. Can you heal someone?”

Tessanna crossed her arms and looked away.

“I don’t feel like answering.”

“You will,” Qurrah said. “I have no time for games. A loved one of my brother is dying.”

“Why do I care?”

Qurrah stood, and the whip uncoiled, its tip slapping the ground. Tessanna stared at him, showing no hint of fear.

“He is my brother,” Qurrah said. “If she suffers, then he suffers, and I will do whatever I can to stop it. Now answer me!”

Tessanna stood, anger swirling behind her eyes. She drew closer, ignoring his threatening glare. Her arms lunged out, grabbing each of his wrists. She shoved him against a wall and forced her lips to his. For one agonizing second, they shared the same breath, and all time became a frozen river. Then the thaw as she pulled back her lips and giggled.

“I think I can, Qurrah. Do you want me to? Because I will. I’ll do what you want.”

Qurrah nodded, holding in a gasp for air. His heart thundered in his chest, and he wished it to stop.

“Come with me to the Eschaton tower. Help me, and I might find you a home.”

“I don’t want a home,” she said, letting her hair fall before her eyes as she batted them shyly.

“What is it you want?” he asked.

“You.”

She laughed. Qurrah felt a stirring throughout his body. He did his best to ignore it. He offered his hand, and she accepted it with a smile.

“Follow me,” he said.

Y
ou weren’t at practice this morning,” Haern said when he found Harruq hunched over on a couch.

“It’d be dumb of me to practice without a healer ready,” the half-orc countered. “Besides, my nose is already broken. Nothing left for you to do until it gets fixed.”

The assassin took a seat opposite him, handing him a mug of ale.

“There’s plenty more for me to break. I will make up for it tomorrow. Here, this will help with the pain.”

Harruq took a few gulps, set the cup on his lap, and stared into the liquid.

“She’s dying, isn’t she?” he asked. Haern drank from his own cup, thought for a moment, and then nodded.

“Yes. Delysia delayed the poison, but did not cure it. I know much of poisons, and Aurelia seems unable to combat the one destroying her. She will waste away before our eyes.”

Harruq nodded. He took another drink. “I hope you’re wrong, more than I have ever hoped for anything in my life.”

Haern patted the half-orc’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Tarlak won’t let her die. We know people who can help her, but someone else has complicated matters.”

The door cracked open, and both glanced to the entrance. Their reactions were of confusion as Qurrah walked in, a young woman at his side. She looked at them with her deep black eyes, the sight of her raising the hairs on their necks.

“We must see Aurelia,” Qurrah said. “Now.”

“Who’s the girl?” Haern asked, rising from the table. “I will let no stranger near Delysia or Aurelia in their states.”

“I’m Tessanna,” she said, her voice so quiet that both struggled to hear. “I want to help.”

Harruq stood, raising an eyebrow. Qurrah nodded back, and his look was all the convincing Harruq needed.

“Let them go. We’ll follow. If she’s dying, we have nothing to lose.”

Haern let his cloaks fall forward, and his hands rest on the hilts of his blades. “Very well. Tessanna, follow me.”

He led them up the stairs and to Aurelia.

T
arlak was kneeling by his sister’s bed when they arrived. He glanced up, his face hiding any surprise upon seeing Tessanna.

“A visitor to our tower?” he asked, standing. “I was not informed. I would have swept first.”