Chapter 18
My feet touched the ground first just as a bird folded to its wings and landed with a spine-jarring jolt that I felt in my bones and it set up an immediate throbbing in my neck and back. I was stiff and he dismounted by pulling me off the saddle. What I saw amazed me, I was in a vast courtyard of white stone with marble columns, arched pediments and buildings that were classical in design. There was a mix of humans and Elassai but strangely, no half-bloods. The people here wore robes of flowing lightweight material that was cool in the sultry heat.
Fountains were everywhere and garden plots of flowers and shade trees brought a bright splash of color to the whiteness. There were armed men standing guard duty in front of the two largest buildings.
Someone came out of the first building and approached Conn. He was Elassai, younger and leaner than the Elder and took the reins of the weary bird. “Greetings, Elder Connacher.” His eyes flickered to me and he bared his teeth. “What have you found? A recalcitrant half-blood from cousin Agenor’s farm?”
He tugged me forward and we entered the building by the long staircase of marble treads. The sun on all that white was blinding and my feet dragged. I had a headache and was nauseous, I tried to stop so I could vomit but he pulled me along with a curse. We went deeper into the building and down the broad avenue passing open-doored rooms that were sumptuous. Most had guards stationed outside the doors, they saluted as Conn hurried past. He stopped finally, when we reached an office besides another set of stairs. These were iron and spiraled up towards the domed roof. Before I could say or do anything, he threw me over his shoulder and carried me as if I weighed no more than a small package.
At the top, after a dizzying climb, he stopped off in another corridor that opened into the dome itself. This room was a wizard’s workshop. It contained all sorts of magics, potions, herbs and things that I wasn’t sure was healthy to look at, let alone know about. He placed me in a sturdy chair and flipped the back over which pinned me in it as if I were in the stocks.
The other man arrived only a minute behind him and was full of questions. He wasn’t even out of breath from the long climb after carrying me.
“Elder Connacher, what’s the urgency? Why have you brought this…half-blood slave here and why is he bound by dayied cuffs and the silver slave collar? Was not one sufficient? Did this…boy kill an Elassai?”
“Methyl, be quiet. Your incessant prattling makes my head ache and my ears ring. Sit down after you lock the door.” The younger man obeyed and found a chair, bringing it to the forefront so he could study me at his leisure. He saw the scars on my back, the new one on my neck and the raw burn on my wrist. He could smell the odor of burned flesh and it made him swallow convulsively. That was all it took for me, I leaned forward and heaved. I thought my stomach would come up in chunks it was infinitely worse as I continued to retch and nothing was left to come up.
“Methyl, some wine please,” he ordered and the younger man went to a desk, picked up the flask and sniffed. He took a sip and handed Conn the container. The wizard added a few drops of something from a blue bottle, a pinch of another from a terra-cotta jug and stirred. He came over to me and forced it down my throat. I swallowed because I had no choice; even to move required an effort equal to damning the ocean.
Warmth flooded my stomach and everything retreated from my senses. I sagged in the chair, and my head fell onto my chest. I couldn’t keep my eyelids up yet I could hear plainly.
“What is he, Conn? Who is he? He has noble blood in his veins if he can wear both the cuffs and collar,” Methyl said softly.
“He is Yfed Gwaed, Cousin Methyl. I took him from Agenor’s farm. He thought to make a slave of him but could not control him. He nearly killed the overseer and it took more power than either Agenor or his son together to stop him, even chained and drugged. I remembered the old legends of these creatures–how to weaken one with silver and drain their blood. It took nearly all of his to quiet him where I could force him under the spell.”
“What do you plan to do with him?”
“Just think, Methyl. With him as a weapon, we could take down Averon with impunity. Even he could not stand against an Yfed Gwaed. We could breach the Wall and go after the Imperials, take down the Emperor and his army once and for all. We all know the Border Wall is weakening. Soon, it will no longer protect us and their Army will march across without hindrance.”
“And who do you plan on setting on the throne? Yourself, of course?”
“No, Methyl. I don’t want the throne. It is Lyr Averon’s throne because he murdered all those that tried to wrest it from him. Let someone else worry about a knife in the back. I just want him gone and an open government.”
“If you remember the old history, Cousin Conn,” Methyl said grimly. “You must remember how such events turned out. Make sure you are on the winning side. Now, where do you plan on keeping him?”
Conn opened the door. Inside was a small room with a large cage hanging from the ceiling. He unlocked me, stood me up and dragged me over to the cage. With one solid push, he lifted me in, shut the gate and locked it. I had room to sit and stretch out my legs, nothing more. Not even to stand. They studied me.
“Sleep,” he ordered and my body obeyed him.