Marcellus was drawn and repulsed at the same. The memories melded together, making her as enticing as she was vile.
She seemed to see him as if no door separated them. "How long do you think you can hide behind such a flimsy shield? You do realize that we could burn the building down around your heads, don't you? But my mistress wants your lady friend alive. She has something that the High Lady values."
Marcellus turned to Nyori, who clutched Eymunder to her chest with wide eyes.
"For that reason alone you live. Hide or flee; it doesn't matter. We have your scent now. There is nowhere you can go where we can't track you down. Huddle behind your Banestone shelter. Thralls are plentiful, and Banestone will not bar their way. You are already dead, Marcellus Admorran, and your Shama belongs to the High Lady."
She turned and strode toward the manor. The wind rustled against her silk shift and billowed her hair. Other akhkharu joined her, crossing the fields and entering the doorway like living shadows.
Dradyn joined Marcellus. "Dawn approaches. They dare not remain in the sunlight, or they will be robbed of their powers and easily slain. We are fortunate. This gives us the edge that we need. Perhaps we can get to them before they send for reinforcements."
Marcellus gave Dradyn a sidelong glance. "How is it that you know so much about them?"
Dradyn hesitated before answering. "From…my days as a soldier, milord. I was on border patrol at the foothills of the Dragonspine opposite Komura. Out of nowhere, we were attacked. Most of my battalion was slaughtered before we found out our assailants were not human. Fortunately, one soldier knew how to kill them. He taught us what he knew, and we managed to get back alive. No one truly believed our story, but I've had nightmares ever since. I never thought I'd come against them again, especially not here. Not in Leodia."
"You should have told me they had taken my family, Dradyn. You should have said something!"
Dradyn dropped his head. "I honestly didn't know, milord. I had just noticed some of the servants acting strangely. Some disappeared altogether. We thought they'd run away. It wasn't until I saw one feeding behind the stables that I knew. I never thought they had already taken your wife and child, milord. I tried to warn the others, but they laughed, said I was losing my mind. I was not permitted to see Lady Admorran. I could not get word to warn her. Forgive me, Lord Admorran."
Nyori placed a hand on his shoulder. "He told me of what he knew. It confirmed what I suspected, though I did not know it was your family who threatened you. I only knew to act when Eymunder led me to where you were. I'm sorry, Marcellus."
Marcellus was silent for a moment. "There's nothing to forgive. You both acted to save my life. You have my thanks."
"An honor, Lord Admorran."
"I am a lord no longer, Dradyn. You must call me by my name from now on. It is Marcellus."
"Milord Marcellus."
Marcellus sighed. "You must tell me all that that has occurred since I've left. I must know everything."
Dradyn placed a hesitant hand on Marcellus' shoulder. "Milord. You just lost your wife and child. You must take the time to accept your grief. For now, you must rest. You've already been through much, and tomorrow you must be strong. I will stay awake."
Marcellus looked up sharply. "Are you insane? Who can rest at a time like this? Who can—?"
His voice cut short as a ragged sob escaped him. The faces of his wife and daughter appeared in the darkness the way he remembered them, faces soft and seraphic with twin smiles. He wrapped his hands over his head and wept bitterly for losses so great they punctured from the inside out, tore open fissures the cold and unforgiving wind whistled through as it passed. He didn't realize he clutched Nyori in his grief until he sobbed into her bosom as she held him in silent comfort. Dradyn said nothing, a silent sentinel in the dark.
Memories were his only solace. His mind clutched them like a lifeline. His family was gone. They only existed in his mind…
"THIS IS A FINE STALLION, milady." He handed Evelina the bridle. "Though not yet completely tamed."
"Indeed, Sir Knight." Evelina held the reins firm as the stallion tried to toss his head furiously. "He is a Barbar, raised in the Sea of Sand. He is well spirited, like the man who was meant to own him."
"And who might this fortunate man be?"
Her head dropped a moment, her eyes downcast. "My father. He fell sick, and died swiftly."
Marcellus was silent for a moment as he looked at the young woman, aglow even in her sadness. "I am sorry for your loss, milady. I too lost a father, when the Gaelion pirates raided the coast. I know how it feels."
Her eyes met his, blue as the sky and just as lovely. "I have heard about you, Marcellus of Kaerleon. You are the one who drove the pirates into the sea; no matter what glory they give to Lucretius. They say death awaits the enemy who looks into your eyes. I look in them now, Sir Admorran. Am I to be afraid?"
He smiled. "They say what they will about me. It is of little concern. I thought I could find some satisfaction, some redemption by slaying those men. But in the end, when my enemy lay under my sword, I felt only emptiness. Now, I desire peace."
Sunbeams danced in her hair as her eyes widened. "Are you saying you will no longer be a knight, Sir Admorran?"
He slowly shook his head, knowing the answer. "No. No, I suppose I will always be a knight of Kaerleon. I do not know how to be anything else."
She gazed at him as if reading something he could not. "It fits you, you know. Being a knight fits you like the armor you wear. The people love you. They say Deis is with the battles you fight. They say you cannot be defeated."
"What do you believe?"
Her smile dimpled her cheeks. "That you are a man."
The wind scattered apple blossoms from the orchard. The pink and white petals flirted around them, some landing in Evelina's hair as if happy to adorn it.
Marcellus took her hand and bowed over it. "Forgive my rudeness, milady. I am Marcellus Admorran. It is an honor to meet your acquaintance."
She laughed delightedly, then curtsied formally. "I am Evelina Corinn. Thank you for bringing my horse back to me."
He patted the stallion's muzzle. "He is a fine animal."
Evelina paused, smiling as she stroked the stallion's luxurious mane. "He is yours if you want him."
Marcellus hesitated, looking at the powerful chestnut stallion longingly before shaking his head. "This is a lord's steed. I could not take such a gift from a lady without compensation. You could make a handsome profit were you to sell him."
She handed him the bridle. "I am in no need of profit, and he is too fierce for my liking. I don't want just anyone to have him. I want him to belong to someone who deserves him. You will insult me if you do not accept my offer, Sir Admorran."
Marcellus stroked the stallion's thick shimmering mane. "What do you call him?"
"Shadowdancer."
"SHADOWDANCER…"
Marcellus sat upright with a jolt. Daylight streamed in from the gaps in the doorway, and the dank odor of the abbey filled his nostrils. Nyori laid a few paces away, asleep under a heavy blanket. Her glassy staff lay beside her. Her face was peaceful, almost childlike in her slumber. He realized she must have been at the end of her strength after the long trek and the terrors of the previous night.
He felt ashamed for breaking down in front of her like that. Strange to think that despite her small frame she would prove to be stronger than I.
He looked around, but Dradyn was nowhere in sight. The brightness of the morning sun made him wince when he opened the heavy door. The snow-covered grounds magnified the light almost blindingly. For a moment, he wondered if the nightmarish events of the previous night happened; if his memory of the ordeal was a reality or the conjuring of his fractured mind.