The Cost of Betrayal (28 page)

He took the ring from her hand.

“I’m sorry,” he said, putting it into his pocket. “I’ll be going now.”

“Wait.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. At first, he was unresponsive, but as his shock faded, his arms circled her waist, holding her close. When the kiss ended, she pressed her forehead against his chest.

“I’ve given so much,” she whispered. “But I’ll give more.”

He hugged her tight at this. “I don’t deserve it.”

“And that doesn’t matter, dummy. You can spend the rest of your life trying to earn it, if you want.”

“That sounds like a plan,” he said.

Aurelia slipped from his arms and smiled at him.

“Good. I’ll be in the rain room. Don’t take forever to decide. I may be an elf, but I still don’t live that long.”

Together they left, only to find Delysia waiting outside their door.

“Lover’s squabble?” she asked.

“Nosy little priestess,” Aurelia said, poking her side. “I should turn you into a gnat.”

“Well, looks like the fights over. If you want to continue kissing and making up, I’ll stay out a little longer.”

Aurelia only winked, abandoning Harruq and his brightly flushed face as she skipped down the stairs.

“No, uh, it’s fine, we don’t need the room,” he said.

Delysia giggled. Having nothing else to say, the half-orc fled up the stairs.

“Those two need to get married,” she laughed to herself.

T
wo weeks later, Harruq awoke to the soft rustle of cloth against floor. His room was dark, and the sun still in hiding. A quick glance around his room showed no visitors, but he knew better. Haern lurked nearby, testing him. He shifted his head, still searching. Nothing. Again, he heard a soft rustle, and he spun, thinking it directly behind him. He found only wall.

He glanced up. Nothing there, either. Slowly, Harruq reached down next to his bed and grabbed his swords. He gripped Salvation by the handle and drew it free. Bare-chested and dressed in an old pair of brown pants, he scanned his room. Through the small window, he could still see faint stars. In the dim light, nothing seemed out of place.

“Maybe he’s not here,” he mumbled to himself. Grumbling, he put a foot down to get his chamber pot. When the cold touch of steel pressed against his calf, his entire body jerked in fright.

“It would be difficult to fight without a foot,” he heard Haern whisper from underneath his bed.

“You scared the piss out of me,” Harruq said to him. “Well, nearly. Care to give me a bit of privacy here? Nature’s calling.”

Haern crawled out and removed his hood.

“You should always look under the bed,” he said, frowning. “Just when I thought you were improving. Oh, and your brother is here.”

“Qurrah?” he asked. “Be right down. Where is he?”

“Enjoying breakfast with the others. It is an early morning for the tower. We can practice once you have talked.”

Haern saluted with a saber before vanishing down the stairs. Harruq did his business, threw on some clothes, and rushed after.

T
he whole gang, even the late-sleeping Brug, was at the table feasting.

“Qurrah!” Harruq shouted, leaping down the last few steps and hugging his brother, who nearly gagged on some toasted bread.

“Good to see you, Harruq,” Qurrah said, coughing throughout the entire sentence.

“Looks like we won’t be rid of them after all,” Tarlak said, grinning at the two visitors. “Turns out they can’t pass up a free meal.”

“Your gracious company will always prove most alluring,” Qurrah said, each word drowned in sarcasm.

“Usually Tar’s gift is sending people running the opposite direction,” Brug said.

“What was that, tough guy?” the wizard asked.

“Nothing.”

“That’s right, nothing. I have a sex-change wand and I know how to use it, so no sassy comments.”

“Not even from me?” Aurelia asked, batting her eyelashes.

“No, not you,” he answered. “Besides, what fun is there in using the wand on you? I don’t cast that way.”

“Could have fooled me,” Harruq said. Tarlak pulled a pink wand out from a pocket and waved it menacingly. The half-orc feigned terror, then sat down next to Aurelia and started wolfing down his food.

After breakfast, the two left the tower, Harruq eager to speak with his brother.

S
o are you going to be staying?” Harruq asked as they walked, the tower a fading image behind them.

“That is what I came to tell you, brother,” Qurrah replied. “We have a home now, far from others. It is peaceful there. More than we deserve.”

“What’s going on?” Harruq said, crossing his arms. “What is with this girl? You barely know her, yet you’re going to live with her in the middle of nowhere?”

Qurrah shrugged. “Yes, that is our plan. Does this bother you?”

“Of course it does! I’ve spoken to her, what, three times? I don’t even know her!”

“I do,” Qurrah said, a cold look entering his eyes. “And your opinion doesn’t matter. I will be with her, regardless of what you say.”

Taken aback, Harruq could not keep the hurt out of his voice.

“What’s happened to you?” he asked. “Your opinion was all that ever mattered to me.”

Qurrah felt guilt creeping in his heart, strange and unwelcome.

“You have found a new home, one I cannot be a part of. I dare not say I love Tessanna, but I will be with her until the day of her death. Please, try to understand.”

“I’m going to marry Aurelia,” Harruq blurted, immediately regretting it. He stood there, waiting like a man with his neck on the chopping block. When the axe fell, it was soft as a feather.

“Do as your heart wishes,” Qurrah said. “As will I. She is a fine woman, elf or not.”

The warrior bobbed his head up and down, wishing he didn’t blush so easily.

“At least you’ll come visit us here in the tower, right?”

“Yes, I will. This is not abandonment, only a mere separation. Our paths broke and split with the death of Velixar. We both know that.”

Harruq gestured to the black cloth his brother wore. “Is that the path you took up?”

A bit of sadness flickered in Qurrah’s eyes, like the glow of a firefly.

“I chose the only path before my feet,” he said. “Goodbye, Harruq. Live well, and be happy. Nothing more could we ever have asked for.”

He turned to leave, stopping only when Harruq called his name.

“Yes?” he asked.

“If you need anything, I’ll be here for you,” he said. “Anything at all.”

“I know,” Qurrah said. Pulling his hood up to guard against the increasingly cold wind, he returned to the tower. Harruq stared a long while after as he vanished behind one of many rolling hills.

T
essanna was waiting for Qurrah when he returned, sitting beside the front doors of the tower with a guilty expression on her face.

“I got in trouble,” she said in response to his questioning look.

“Then all the wiser to return home,” he said, offering her his hand. She took it and stood. Before he could leave, the door cracked open. Tarlak emerged, beckoning the necromancer with his hand.

“A moment, if you would, before you go,” he said. Qurrah shrugged and stepped inside. Tarlak slammed the door shut after him, his face deathly serious. All the others were gone, except for Delysia, who sat at the table and stared at her hands.

“What is it, wizard?” Qurrah asked.

“I know I owe her for saving my sister,” he began, “but I am begging you, reconsider what you are doing. She is not well!”

“I know better than you what has been wrought upon her,” the half-orc said, his tone vile. “Do not dare tell me what to do.”

“Right now you are in my tower, so I’ll do as I damn well please,” Tarlak said. “And you best listen. She hurt my sister, half-orc, and I don’t take kindly to that type of thing.”

“Hurt her? Why?”

“She knew,” Delysia said, her voice shaking. “Somehow, she knew. She asked for my hand, and I gave it to her. She cut my palm and…”

She could not finish.

“Wanted to taste such aged purity,” Tarlak finished, his voice a whisper. “It’s like wine, she said. I don’t care what you say has been done to her. Her mind is not right!”

“I know that,” Qurrah shouted. “That is exactly what I wish to heal. She saved Delysia’s life, so consider the debt repaid. She has suffered beyond what you can imagine, so before you impose your limited view, know that I have been inside the chaos that is her mind. I will fix it. I will put it right, and not a soul is going to stop me.”

“Her mind cannot be fixed,” Tarlak shouted back. “Even Calan and all the priests of Ashhur are not strong enough to heal her.”

“Then I will become stronger than Ashhur!” Qurrah screamed before doubling over in a violent coughing fit. All was silent in the room except for his labored breathing.

“Leave my tower,” Tarlak said, his voice eerily calm. “You are free to return, but Tessanna is not allowed within my walls until you pull off this miracle you delude yourself into searching for.”

Tessanna leapt to her feet as Qurrah stormed out of the tower.

“What is it?” she asked.

“We’re leaving,” he said. “Let’s go home.”