CHAPTER 20 – THE MORNING AFTER
Titus awoke late to the sweet smell of honey porridge. His eyes studied Athene’s slender and naked form with admiration as she stirred the large cooking pot and put another log on the fire, he wondered how she had hid her well-proportioned figure so well on their journey. She spoilt Titus’s view by grabbing a large fur skin and wrapped it about herself for warmth. He couldn’t explain what had come over him the night before, but as he continued to watch Athene’s perfect form a new hunger came over him, he wanted more.
‘Leave the porridge my love and come back to bed.’ She dropped the fur-skin, fixing his gaze once again as she returned back to the bed. She needed no magic sword today.
Their lovemaking this time was filled with intimate passion rather than the animal like rutting of the night before. Later they both sat cuddled up in the bed eating burnt porridge.
‘You know Athene, since your very first touch back outside the shrine I could tell that there was something special about you. Since I have been with you I feel in some way different.’
‘How so,’ asked Athene cuddling up to his chest.
‘I think that you have made me feel alive again,’ he replied smelling her hair.
‘Well my love,’ she kissed his chest ‘I have enjoyed your feelings several times now, I have never experienced a man of such stamina, perhaps we should just enjoy each other for the rest of this day. She started to move deeper down into the furs but his hand stopped her.
‘I admire your appetite and impeccable choice in lovers, but I’m afraid not. We are already late and we need to get going now, if I am to deliver you on time.’ Athene’s heart missed a beat, her head spun struggling to fight down the anger that now threatened to engulf her, she buried her head deep into the furs and let her tears flow.
She had prostituted herself to this pig for nothing, she felt ashamed of her actions but even more ashamed by the fact that she had also immensely enjoyed herself in the process – sadly to the point that she had pushed her original intensions from her mind and totally gone with the moment. Now she burned with the feeling of betrayal and cursed herself for being such a fool. Titus quickly dressed and after strapping on his armour and the multitude of weapons that he carried, he turned and gave Athene a playful smack on her still exposed rump in an attempt to establish some form of contact with her, even if it turned out to be a negative response.
‘Come on, get that fine arse of yours into your garments or else I will deliver you naked if I have to.’ A few seconds passed and after some deep breaths a teary-eyed Athene moved up from the bed after gaining a momentary command of her temper, she knew that he meant what he said. Suddenly like a child in a tantrum she smashed at anything that got in her way as she violently slung her clothes on in between shouts and smashes. The pony backed away from her as she cursed and kicked her way through the room. During the scene Athene avoided all eye-contact with the impatiently waiting warrior who instead chose to pass his time clearing the doorway of the snowdrift that had gathered against it. During the night a blizzard had covered the hillside with a thick blanket of snow, he led the horse out first and Athene finally followed in silence, the cold morning air seemed to help douse her temper a little.
‘It was a strangely uplifting scene,’ thought Titus, ‘The blue sky against the magnificent jagged mountains, a beautiful lady by his side and the birds singing their morning song. Was he now enchanted or had he indeed been living in a dream these past years? Why had he not noticed such small pleasures before in life, such as a bird’s song? They truly could have just been two lovers going out for a morning ride, like the words of his mock role-play the day before and he knew he held that power of choice in his hands now. Remembering his personal agenda he knew that they all must pay, above all else they must pay. Athene’s sobs brought his mind back to the present reality.
‘Come on my dear, it’s time to mount up and be on our way.’
He intercepted the slap that headed towards his face and unceremoniously shoved Athene up into the saddle. ‘If that’s the gratitude that I get for calling you ‘Dear’ instead of ‘lady’ I may at last hold my lose tongue,’ he snorted half to himself before mounting the pony and settling in comfortably behind her, he pulled her in close to into him.
‘Please just let me go Titus or come with me, I would pledge myself to you, if you just say yes.’ She begged one final time, her voice now gentle and calm. With a shake of his head he replied,
‘I’m afraid my dear I can’t do that, you know that, so please don’t shame yourself any further.’ Her tearful eyes turned to defiant anger,
‘Then in that case I have nothing further to say to you apart from this.’ she said her words angrily and with the final word she let out a loud fart onto Titus as her final display of disgust at the man sat closely behind - a trick Corvus had shown her several days before. Titus’s laughter at her anger and futile action echoed around the mountains as they rode off through the thick snow.
As they rode on through the morning, she wondered at just how big a mistake she had made the night before. Nothing had changed between them, she still sat on this pony being taken to her possible doom, yet now she felt ashamed of her actions and it was strangely her that felt used although she knew it should be otherwise. As the time passed she replayed the night again and again. Each time she found herself hating herself even more, not because of the events of the night, but because of the emotional ties that she had developed towards this brute although she tried to hide and deny it deep within herself. It was crazy, she never though of herself as one of those stupid bar maidens that would be swept from their feet by a handsome passing stranger. Her mother had often joked about her future love, telling her that it was like an unstoppable force when it hits. ‘Love turns the most astute minds into fools,’ she would say. If only she had warned her about passing Su-Katii knights, it must be a family trait, for as she recalled from one of her mother’s numerous stories, years ago she had once joked to her about loving a Su-Katii knight when she was younger, she had not understood the word before. Straining through her memories she could remember her saying that her relationship would never grow to fruition as he was sent to conquer distant lands where he subsequently died. This couldn’t be the one for her, she reassured herself, she had only spent one night with him and he was a pig-headed animal, but she knew deep down that it shouldn’t work between them, but even now the tingling in her belly told her otherwise, she felt different about this one. This feeling couldn’t be the stupid emotion of love, surely? What she did know was, had he asked anything else of her that morning apart from to be handed over and torn away from his side, she would have done it, so why couldn’t he just do the same for her. How could he ignore her so? These feelings just swirled around repetitively in her head as the horse carried her closer to her destiny. This only infuriated her further. Perhaps the magic of the sabre had in some way also affected her? She sunk her head into the pony’s neck and wiped away her tears in its thick fur. She was comforted by the strong smell of horse.
Titus attempted some small talk as they rode, but her single response of ‘Traitor,‘ left him in no doubt as to her feelings and the remainder of the journey passed in a deathly silence.
At last, after winding their way through the mountains and several narrow passes with some heart-stopping drops, the ruins of a temple appeared on a slope below, similar in design to that of the sunken shrine that they had encountered days before. This shrine however, had been totally destroyed by what looked like a landslide. Instead of a protective dome surrounding its parameter smashed masonry littered the ground.
Titus patted Athene’s leg. ‘Your journey is almost over; you will soon be rid of me.’
He felt the need to break their long silence that had haunted him by explaining the history of the shrines as they slowly plodded forwards, even if it was to be a one-way conversation.
‘In the years of my youth, just after I had been ordained as a fully fledged Su-Katii knight, the first crystals were just being discovered, pulled from the mountain streams. At first people just though them pretty stones but it wasn’t long before they revealed special properties and soon word spread of their magical powers, but it was not until later years that new variants and colours of crystals were also discovered deeper in the ground. The biggest of these washed-up rocks were then first discovered by a fisherman called Dedus, who, after accidentally going over the edge of a waterfall, reported seeing the amazing crystals in the bottom of the pool, as he dragged himself back up to safety. Other legends say he died in the pool and the crystals brought him back to life. Either way the Cult of Dedus was born, they were the first to command the power of the crystal.’ Athene listened acutely to the tale.
Titus chuckled to himself. ‘In those days you only had to fart and a sect or cult would spring up.’ He tried, without much success, to inject a touch of humour into his one-way conversation.
‘I guess you would have had several cults following you if you had been around then,’ he said patting Athene’s rump.
The glint of a metallic shield stopped Titus’s chatter short. Athene’s despair was apparent as she twitched nervously in the saddle, guessing that this was the end of the road. Across the ruins stood a group of armed men, their armour as dark as their mood and expressions on their faces. No snow covered the circle around the ground on which they stood. The bright green circle of moss under their feet created a vivid contrast against the white backdrop. They stood directly above the ruined and buried shrine for good reason. Several days earlier when the wizard had revealed the location of Athene to Titus, he had also explained that he would need to deliver her to a crystal shrine for transport back to his lair. With the crystal of the first shrine destroyed, this place was the next obvious choice, although he did think it strange that the wizard did not mystically contact him again since he had acquired his prize.
What appeared to be the leader of the rough-looking group, stepped forward and shouted out at the approaching riders.
‘These are private lands that you are riding into, your name and business, sir?’ The man’s grasp instinctively went to his sword.
‘Titus, formally of the Su-Katii and I am here to deliver this girl to the wizard.’
The leader barked back, ‘Good, I thought as much, my name is Marcus, Captain-at-Arms to the Brotherhood of Keth. You are in the right place for your delivery. Now we can at last get out of this freezing cesspit and be on our way back home. They dismounted and Titus made to pass Athene over to the group, but she clung to his arm like a child.
‘Did last night not mean any thing to you? I… I love you.’
Titus smiled a wide grin at Marcus as his head tilted towards him, a large frown appeared on his already creased face. He allowed the men, unmoving to drag her from his arm, leaving several finger nail marks across his hand in the process.
‘Women always seem to love me,’ he shrugged at the rough looking group.
‘Last night was a real unexpected treat my lady and you certainly did not disappoint. Had you not manipulated the power of the sword, I would have had to consider forcing my pleasures upon you, but I must give you my thanks, as you saved me the effort. I may even reduce my fee to the wizard for such an unforeseen pleasure. What is the going rate for a whore these days?’
She managed to free one arm from the burly guardsman and Titus allowed her blow to land.
‘Looks like you’ve had a lively package to contend with these last few days, Eh?’ smiled Marcus understandingly and already sizing up Athene’s well-proportioned figure in anticipation of the enjoyment he to might feel, should his masters finish with her. Athene looked into Marcus’s face and shuddered, the dark shadows of his eyes were soulless pits. His dark stubble and upturned mouth seemed to give the man the appearance of having a huge square jaw line.
‘My master will be pleased Titus. You have done well to retrieve this one from the nest of the enemy,’ he reached past his black chain mail vest to fumble around in a belt pouch.
‘Well I would have been here sooner had your master managed to contact me and control his pets better,’ fired back Titus, showing a flicker of anger in his words. ‘I’ll just take my fee and be on my way if it’s all the same to you?
‘Marcus smirked. ‘My master has ordered me to escort you both back to his residence, I have no payment for you with me, he wishes to reward you personally so let’s be off.’
Pulling free a large square-cut diamond from his pouch, Marcus whispered a dark prayer into it then threw it onto the ground and the crackling tempest that formed about the diamond expanded into a large transportation portal, beyond which lay a dark room within the Wyvern’s Nest. The crystal buried deep below the ground in the shrine boosting the diamond’s power and providing the extra range needed. The men quickly filed through, but as Athene was roughly shoved through, the portal collapsed – Titus’s sword was instantly in his hand and turned aggressively to face the remaining men, suspecting that the wizards had closed the portal before he could follow, but to his surprise it reopened again. The remaining guards frowned at each other, then with a breath of relief followed through. Titus gave his own sigh of relief at the sight of the reopened portal, at first thinking that he had been duped by the magicians. Quickly removing his important possessions and the sabre from his horse, he removed the saddle and picked up his helmet, finally he whispered a last goodbye then he set the horse free.
Marcus was waiting for Athene on the far side of the portal. He helped pull her up from the ground as she fell to the cold slabs of the floor on her arrival, he extending his arm and smiled, revealing his yellow teeth.
‘Welcome to the Wyvern’s Nest,’ he said, pulling her in close to him whilst at the same time feeling the fullness of her breasts, not the largest he thought - but firm enough to bite on. She scratched at his face, forcing his groping hands to stop their journey downwards.
‘Ah, another wildcat. Well you know what they say, like mother, like daughter, I will find out for sure once Bellack has finished with you.’ His wicked grin left her no doubt that he meant his words. ‘What? My mother is here? Take me to her now,’ she demanded.
‘I forget which grave I put her in after she began to smell and could no longer fulfil my needs,’ said Marcus. His rasping laugh echoed through the damp room.
‘You lying bastard,’ she screeched, frantically clawing at his face. ‘You lying bastard.’
‘It was your mother that did the lying,’ he goaded, seeming to instantly feed from her anger.
He pulled free a short rope from his belt and after a quick backhand slap to adjust her attitude, he secured her flailing hands. Unable to control himself, with such sweet meat so close by he gave a long slimy lick across Athene’s cheek and she retched at his breath. At that moment Titus appeared through the portal and not liking what he saw, he gave Marcus a great kick up the backside sending the already off-balanced man sprawling into the wall.
‘Get your filthy hands off my cargo; she was to be delivered unharmed and your breath could well kill her. I could smell it the other side of the portal for Kraken’s sake.’ Titus shouted loudly. ‘Besides, she has not yet been paid for, so until you cough up she is mine to do with as I please.’ Marcus’s hand had instinctively gone to his sword-hilt as did the other men’s. He had always been quick to anger yet his quick devious mind tended to intercept his fists before his brawn landed him in to deep.
‘Judge your next actions well,’ Titus spoke with an icy tone. ‘For I am not in the habit of repeating myself to incompetents.’
In a vain attempt to ease the tension Marcus simply brushed himself down and replied. ‘Indeed Su-Katii Lord, this way,’ he led the way up out of the dank cellar towards the plusher quarters and the masters of the Wyvern’s Nest lodge.
After several more flights of stairs the decoration of the corridors became more lavish, golden door handles and fine jewels decorated the walls. This place reminded Athene of the King’s palaces that her mother used to tell her about in her story tales. Was her mother really here, or was she indeed dead? How could they have captured her? She wondered, her mother lived hundreds of leagues away in Tanaria? She suddenly became depressed as she realised the incredible lengths that they had gone to secure her capture. These people were without doubt, serious and resourceful. The strain of the last few days now caught up with her, she could no longer hold it together and she fell against a door sobbing hysterically as she fell to her knees. Marcus stopped, delighted at the sound, swinging around, and apparently entertained by Athene’s actions, he cocked his head slightly to one side and began to mimic her crying, his mock tears eventually giving way to deep laughter.
‘I must insist that you hurry your package along Lord Titus. This pathetic girl is still your problem.’ Marcus smirked back at the Su-Katii as he enjoyed the moment. With one hand Titus pulled the deflated Athene back up to her feet.
‘For God’s sake woman, stop making a scene,’ he said as he hurried her along the corridor. ‘Move it woman. I don’t wish to stay here any longer than I need to. I have better things to be doing now.’
Her irritating sobbing continued, so Titus pulled her along with him even harder. Athene stumbled as she was dragged along by her bound hands and let out a yelp as her arm was almost wrenched from its socket.
‘Get up.’ commanded Titus.
She continued up the corridor like a reluctant teenager, cursing and muttering under her breath till at last they arrived at a large iron rimmed door. Marcus knocked first, announcing his presence from outside and then entered.
‘At last we have the pleasure of your acquaintance, Athene Torsden,’ Bellack addressed her with a large pussycat grin on his face. The powerful magician lay slumped back in a comfortable reclining chair enjoying the moment.
‘Welcome to the Wyvern’s Nest,’ added Saznack pacing around behind him. ‘I trust you won’t get bored here,’ he grinned.
‘We will soon see if you were worth all the fuss that you have caused us,’ sneered Bellack, almost making his words sound like he was finishing Saznack’s sentence.
‘No-one will be doing a goddamn thing until my payment is met. Rank, money and land, as agreed,’ interjected Titus.
‘Oh, you are expensive, Titus,’ observed Saznack.
‘But worth every single coin of it.’ Bellack finished off Saznack’s sentence seeing Titus begin to bristle with agitation at Saznack’s flippant comment.
‘I like your no-nonsense approach, it’s quite refreshing. Marcus, stop slouching around and go and see to Titus’s arrangements. We don’t want to keep our most valuable asset waiting.’ Saznack ordered the Captain of the guard away. Bellack struggled to pull himself up out of the comfortable chair and instantly, one of the two slaves in the room was at his side assisting him.
Bellack walked around inspecting Athene, almost sniffing the air about her, then motioned to a nearby slave to fetch some water and fruit.
As the slave moved towards Bellack bearing the refreshments, he shouted.
‘Not for me you half-witted fool. Offer it to the lady. All this magic and might and you still can’t get decent slaves,’ he muttered to himself.
The room was lavishly furnished and Bellack motioned to the two newcomers to sit. They did so and the leather seats seemed to envelop them, Bellack slumped back into his comfortable seat.
Athene was not about to turn down fresh fruit in her anger, her stomach was already rumbling in hunger – so she struggled with her bound hands to move the fruit to her mouth.
‘Well,’ Bellack began. ‘You probably have a lot of questions at the moment and so do we. If you answer all of ours, then we may answer some of yours, but for now, all you need to know is that we have a bit of a situation with an imprisoned sorceress that we serve. She is our God. All we seek to do is free her. You see she is the love of our lives, as a woman you should understand that. Yes we have been a little greedy along the way, but then who isn’t these days. You are probably asking yourself how you fit in to all of this so I will briefly explain. Although you are not aware, your current predicament came about because you were conceived in the wrong place. Your life was started in a prison similar to that which holds our mistress and as a result of the magic of your surroundings you appear to have developed a natural resistance to its magic or perhaps all magic – the same magic that holds my Queen.’
‘We will need to put this to the test,’ added Saznack.
‘Our aim is to try to nullify the force that holds her - using you.’ He turned from his pacing and his gaze fell upon Athene.
‘Now that I am armed with the knowledge of the method in which we can bring about this resilience to magic, I am not about to test it by pushing one of my slaves into the rift to be impregnated and waiting another nine months to find out if my theory’s are correct. There could be any other amount of variables in this equation, so that is why I need you my dear.
‘You could have just asked.’ She murmured to herself.
‘Now that should be enough information to answer most of your immediate questions,’ finished Bellack.
‘No,’ Athene replied, her anger clearly showing on her face. ‘Is my mother alive, where is she? I won’t help you until I know.’
‘I don’t know,’ lied Bellack, ‘But we will try and find out for you. Now if you were to try and work with us it would be the best thing all round.’
‘Marcus said she was in a grave here, you lying bastards,’ she screamed.
Bellack seethed at her words, his men should not idly waggle their tongues to his possessions. ‘Your mother is alive, now there you have it, we will achieve our aim, either with or without your co-operation, dead or alive – so don’t cross us or try to be a heroine, just work with us and I guarantee you will be richly rewarded. We will make you a princess or give you whatever you desire. The other path would not be good for your health. Look deep into my eyes girl – you know what I am saying is true.’
‘I desire the truth about my mother.’ Athene demanded.
Marcus returned with an iron-bound chest, which he placed on the armrest next to Titus. Bellack’s burning eyes followed him back into the room; he would punish him later for flapping his gums about Athene’s mother …when something suitable sprang to mind.
‘You are in no position to make demands – It is as I have already said, she still lives and is in our care; should you not cooperate we will kill her.’
‘I want to see her first.’ she demanded.
‘Marcus cut the tongue from her head, her demands tire me.’
‘Yes Lord.’ Marcus’s eyes lit up and he drew his dagger advancing on her and with one hand gripped her jaw and begun to squeeze open her mouth.
‘Err, I presume that my payment is inside that chest?’ questioned Titus after clearing his throat.
‘Indeed it is,’ replied Saznack.
‘Will I need to count it all before I allow you to continue your surgery? I like to be sure every thing is in order before our transaction is complete.’
Athene screamed in terror as dirty fingers gripped her tongue, the dagger moved up towards her mouth, she shouted words just about recognisable as ‘OK, OK.’
‘Marcus, stop.’ commanded Bellack.
‘Do you understand what you are dealing with now girl? Next time the knife won’t stop.’ She nodded timidly and fell back into the chair.
Marcus tapped the iron-bound chest with his dagger before returning it to its scabbard, inviting Titus to explore its contents. Titus pulled himself forward, thinking as he did so that with so little sleep he could easily fall asleep in such a chair.
‘Would you be so kind as to open it for me Marcus?’ he asked. Marcus gave back an offended glance towards Titus and Saznack’s face lit up as he noticed the expression.
‘I do believe you have a healthy lack of trust in us Titus.’
Titus gave a slight courteous nod. ‘I have not lived for so long merely by my ability to swing a sword, magician.’
‘Good. I like a bit of healthy mistrust, it keeps a man on his toes.’ Saznack’s voice softened to an almost sincere tone. ‘However you are among friends now and we pay our bills, we also never forget those who have done us great service. In the days soon to come, trust me that will be more important than gold. Besides I think your new position in the army will be of huge advantage to us.’ Saznack turned back towards Marcus. ‘Go ahead then, open it for him.’
Marcus went ahead and opened the latch on the chest and placed its contents on the chair, one item at a time. A large purse full of gold coins for immediate wealth, a merchant’s draft for long-term wealth and there were also two paper scrolls. Titus unrolled them, revealing a land deed and a commission proclaiming him Supreme Commander of Army Group East. He then sat and counted the coins and smiled inwardly. ‘Excellent, everything is exactly as agreed,’ he said and managed a rare smile then stopped in thought.
‘No doubt my new appointment will ensure that the current Su-Katii commanders don’t become too over-confident of their dominance of their Aristrian commands.’ Titus chuckled.
‘They are not going to enjoy having to deal with me.’
Bellack smiled. ‘We’ll have to watch this one Saznack, he is far too quick-witted for a warrior.’
‘I have one further request before I release Athene to you and depart,’ asked Titus, Athene’s bleary red eyes watched in unusual silence, the usual fire replaced now with just hollow despair. ‘I will also need a new horse to take me to my command, or preferably magic up my old one.’
Again Bellack gave a loud roar of laughter.
‘My dear Titus, you cannot simply ride out of the Wyvern’s Nest. We are several thousand feet up in impassable mountains so you will require the use of magic to come and go here, but we will arrange a portal for your departure, we should be able to get you within walking distance of your new command.
Saznack spoke up. ‘Come gentlemen; let us get out the finest wine for a celebration. It has been a pleasure doing business with you.’