A War Dawning Ch. 05

Almost at once the air thickened as they descended the stairs, becoming a cloying thing. It was pleasant given the cold of the time of year, but they knew that that wasn't going to last long. The two made their way to the back of the room and the man standing between two lamps on the wall. Given the nature of the man and the meeting Deres had a mental vision of a voice buried in the shadows unwilling to come to the light. Instead, Dennet stood before them, his long red coat over the back of the chair next to him. His black silk shirt woven with some other material that made it shimmer in the light. He didn't look like a black market purveyor so much as carnival showman.

Bryana supposed that he used the wardrobe to bring some attention to himself as, otherwise, there wasn't anything remarkable about the man, not tall or short, and of average build. His hair was slicked back and his hazel eyes appraised the two. Put him in peasant's clothes and he wasn't someone people would look once at.

He smiled broadly and extended his hand to Deres. "Honored to meet you. It's always a thrilling experience to meet a new client." He shook the hand enthusiastically, but with no urge to dominate the meeting. "You get to learn about them, what they need and what they like. I enjoy it almost as much as fulfilling those needs and desires. Governor Waylan speaks very highly of you."

His eyes met and held Bryana's, seemingly captivated by the blue of them and the blonde of her hair. He lifted her hand to his and kissed the back gently. "I am so charmed, Miss Lia."

She smiled and kept her tone friendly as she slipped her hand from him naturally. "A pleasure, though it will be more of one if this trip isn't for nothing."

"Oh, I shall endeavor to make it a fruitful one. Can't have much of a relationship with a client if you can't meet their needs. To that end, please accept my apologies for the additional delay in meeting you. It would have been much sooner, but, with first clients I always make a point of doing research to see to it that I might actually be of help to them."

Deres was firm. "We'll see. First, I have to ask how familiar you are with the assassin's guilds."

He looked suddenly pained, "Oh, that dreadful business with Queen Evaline. It's most fortunate that she survived. To see someone so loved by the world taken from it would be appalling."

"Do you know who the would-be assassin is and where to find them?"

His mouth gaped slightly, "Are you asking if I was involved?"

Bryana chose not to play."Were you?"

"Certainly not." He stepped back from them as though struck. "I am a purveyor of a great many things, but I don't deal in violence."

"You just know people who do," Bryana finished.

"In my line of work one meets all kinds of people, such as prominent members of prominent Houses of Erette."

Deres folded his arms, unmoved by the dig, "If you've researched us so that you come here having a damn good idea of what we need, do you have her name and where to find her or not?"

Dennet stretched out his arms, "I am no good to new clients if I don't have things that they need. Such things are generally kept in confidence, but since I don't deal in violence, those confidences aren't mine." He seemed troubled for their sake. "The information is expensive though."

"Price isn't an issue." To punctuate that he produced a small case from the deep pocket within his cloak. Opening it, he revealed rows of gold coin nestled within the violet felt.

He clapped his hands and smiled, "Wonderful. That's just wonderful."

Deres moved on to the next and more important matter. He explained the matter of the poison and their need to find the alchemist responsible. "We've searched on our own, but it's so far been fruitless." his frustration showed now. "No one in the guilds seems forthcoming or they simply don't know."

Dennet looked pleased with himself and his tone celebratory. "It's at points like this where you need someone like me, someone who is already a bit outside the lines, so to speak. The guilds don't know because not everyone who plies a trade does so for a guild. Some dabble in forbidden magics, some in alchemy. It's a hobby for some. They might be quite skilled, but in cases of magic or the type of alchemist you seek they don't want to out their skills to the wider world. Surely you and Miss Lia can understand that?"

She glanced to Deres before returning her attention to Dennet. "You make those little cuts with the skill of a master swordsman."

The hurt look returned. "I apologize for offending. I simply like to take opportunities to to remind clients of my skill."

"Prove your skill by telling us who and where this person is." The humidity of the room was now beginning to add to her irritability.

"Rest assured that I know a great deal about the man you seek." Dennet was quick to prove his worth and earn his fee. "But convincing him to aid you will be difficult. I doubt he is willing to do so and he's a mage of some skill. His home is fortified against intrusion and he may have defenses you aren't prepared for. I'd hate to see you be hurt."

Deres was certain he could slip through anything this play mage could conjure."What do you know of his defenses?"

He sighed. "Not much, I'm afraid. I can tell you more than you could want to know about the man personally, but he keeps details such as his manor secret from everyone." His concern seemed almost genuine I would hate to see new friends of mine injured."

Bryana's interest was piqued. "Tell us of the man. Everything."

Deres' eyes narrowed a bit at Bryana, "And you believe he will tell us the truth. Or that this is not some set up?"

"He wants his money, Deres, and he knows enough of the two of us to know how very fucking difficult his life could be made if he games us, even if the man in question ended us. The mage guilds would see him as a threat and if House Jaye were to convince the queen that this region needed a more...direct and firm hand in control, it would be very hard to continue to be Dennet."

Dennet grinned. "You have a keen eye for the situation. And, may I say, I usually find it crass when women use obscenities, but that rolled off your tongue in the most attractive fashion."

She finally had cause to smile, "Just fucking tell us what we want to know."

He now seemed slightly uneasy."I would require assurances first, you understand. He is a faithful customer and it's not in my interests to see him come to harm. If that's your intent..."

"We suspect he has information we need," Deres explained coolly. "It does us no good to harm him. All we're looking for from you is general information about the man." He began to pace before Dennet, a bit of his own amusement showing, "Also things perhaps not so general. You know, the type of things that the Court of Idros would whisper about on their fainting couches, but nothing that would really endanger him...certainly nothing that would lead back to you in negative fashion."

Dennet clapped his hands together again, "Wonderful. Then I would be more than pleased to assist you."

***

The three of them sat around a small round table in their guest quarters and hashed out all they had been told. "No." Bryana said firmly. "I don't care how skilled you are. If you don't know what you will face, it is too big a risk."

"The risk to me doesn't matter. The queen cannot live her life on the edge like she is today. "It's not as if the people responsible will stop unless they are stopped."

"The risk to you does matter. It matters to us here, it matters to Neral, and it certainly matters to your daughter, even if she doesn't know where you are now or what you're doing. If you go in there can you guarantee that you will get in, get to him, and get what you want to know?"

He was silent. He wanted to say that it was assured, but he'd be lying, and she would not play with him in that.

Bryana's tone was more loving and less defensive, "I will go with you if you insist on this course, but please think. Yes, if anyone can pass any wards or defenses he may have it is you. But if you get in there and to him, who knows what will happen. We don't even know with complete certainty that he knows what we need to know. If he senses our magic he could destroy what he knows or himself, or we might be forced to destroy him to save ourselves. There are too many variables."

"There has yet to be a definitive link between the assassination attempt and anyone just yet." Elan's words were well-measured. "The Draleth seem likely given everything, but the only response would be war, so rock solid certainty is required.

He was slightly incredulous towards her in return. "They did it. We know it."

"It is very likely, but we don't know yet, unless General Jaye has informed you of something new."

Deres leaned back but remained silent.

"You do not want to fail the queen, Deres. She would be honored that you so want to validate her trust in you, but do not let the poor boy from the southern quarter that you were push you into doing something rash."

He stood up and paced the room, "You're right, both of you. Then what to do?"

"Use his lusts," the white-haired archer said simply, "the two of you are good at that."

"That's another of our problems," Bryana said, letting her own annoyance through now that she was fairly certain she wasn't going to have to put her body between him and the door. "If he is a mage with any skill he would sense us and it could go badly. It just sets up the same issues that prevent us from charging in."

An idea blossomed in the shadows of his mind and he stared at the loveliness that was Bryana. "I didn't think the guild would sense you after you were changed and they didn't."

Bryana thought back to that night in Neral's bed chamber on a mission of corruption for the mage mercenary that she once was. She thought of her capture at his hands and her change into someone new and the events that followed as she went from mercenary mage to instrument of vengeance against the very people that had hired her. "No. When mixed with a science complex enough the magic is muddied."

He looked to Elan. "Bait his lusts and muddy the waters to sludge and we just might be fine."

Bryana looked back and forth to them both, "I'm a mage to start with and Elan and I have had our minds marked. What do you propose we do so that he does not see?"

His gaze never left Elan, "A little science, magic, and chemistry of our own. And if it all works as planned," he began, letting himself feel some satisfaction, "we can have Dennet set up that meeting after all."

***

Work proceeded throughout the day and into the night with Bryana and Deres locked away in one of the rooms while Elan busied herself maintaining her physique and her marksmanship by engaging in some blade and arrow practice with other soldiers while they regaled one another with tales of their exploits that ranged from the mundane to tall tales that could only be described as epic. She fell into that camaraderie easily having lived her life within it, despite some initial shyness.

What was a bit more difficult for her to deal with was the sense of celebrity that the other soldiers seemed to imbue her with. She rode regularly with General Jaye and was considered one of the elite even though she didn't see herself that way, which was meant with some playful incredulity by one of the men. "So just any soldier can just come live in her house?"

"Damn sight nicer than here, I'll bet," another chimed in.

"That's a long story."

"Care to tell it? We don't get a lot of new gossip. By the time it makes it here it's pretty well worn."

"A woman gets to keep her secrets," she said smoothly as she pulled the string back on the bow and sighted the center of the wooden target, "but I have gossip aplenty. One of the advantages to being so close to Court."

She was aware that they laughed on a peripheral level, but she had tuned it out in those last heartbeats before letting the arrow go. It hit dead center and the excitement of that she did hear.

Upon returning to their quarters she found Deres and Bryana discussing things among themselves. On the small table before them was a wine flute filled nearly full with a yellow liquid that reminded her of sunshine. As she looked closer it was almost as if it were generating its own light. It didn't seem to extend beyond the flute itself, but it was there all the same. Next to it was a crystal twice as long as her middle finger and only slightly thicker. To Elan it looked like a piece of shaped quartz.

"Apologies for leaving you to your own devices today," Bryana told her sincerely.

"It couldn't be helped," Elan told her in a tone that suggested that that was the end of it. "It seems that your own efforts to wile away the day were productive."

"They were. Have a seat."

Still in her boots and leathers from the day, she did as Deres asked and crossed her legs before the table now between them, "What is this that you've made?"

Bryana was thoughtful. "Our way to take him. The best way to do that is to have him lead us in, his guard down, then what needs to happen can."

Deres picked up the thread. "But his guard won't be down, not with either of you. You both have the marks of magic upon your minds, and that's not touching the fact that Bryana is a mage herself. The only real option is to take that from your minds so that he cannot see."

"The solution to that would work for both of you, but Bryana's mage marks might put him on the defensive."

"What is this solution?"

"To put most of your mind elsewhere." He gestured to the crystal and she picked it up, feeling the weight of it in her palm as he spoke. "After the people who would become the first citizens of Adar fled to the wastes, survival was nearly impossible. It took walls of mages casting constantly just to protect them from the worst of the elements. There was no time for record keeping and no time to impart knowledge in the usual ways."

"So as the most knowledgeable Adaran's passed, their intellects were imbued into crystals like this one. The crystals could be accessed...their knowledge examined and built upon. And on and on. Now? For those that wish it? Death can be avoided on a fundamental level."

"You would put all that is me inside this?"

He nodded. It would take only the smallest magics to tie you to the body enough to control the shell because your body is your body. It's how you were born to traverse the universe. It wants to be controlled by you. You will be the puppetmaster of your own shell and what tiny a mark there would be would likely be covered by his own connection to magic in his proximity to you."

Deres came from the couch to sit next to her and she turned her body to his. He stroked her hair and caressed her cheek. She was exotically beautiful and everything under that lovely surface only made her more compelling. She was extraordinary, as all the women in his life were. "Are you willing?"

There was nothing to consider. "Of course. How is this different than asking me if I were willing to take an arrow to my heart for my queen? If I would do that, why wouldn't I do this thing that will not hurt me?"

He was anxious to assure her, "It won't. I will be able to return you to your body with no difficulty through those same tethers of magic, and I will do so as soon as we have what we need. You will be fine."

"My life is yours," she whispered. That settled, she couldn't help but give in a little to the warmth between her legs as she entertained the mechanics of it. "You will be the one to take care of this? Of me?"

"I will, Vessen." He smiled as he leaned into her ear, "Does that appeal?" She shivered as the heat of his words hit her both on her flesh and in her soul. "Imprisoned by my magic?"

She bit her lip and whimpered, "Just as I was chained to you that fist time, back in the dirt, heels in the air in that cave as you chained me to you. You fucking me, commanding me to...become."

"To save you, love."

Her lips found his. "Does it matter? Still chained to you," the 's' sound stretching as she caressed it, "...sssslaved to you."

"You will be in the crystal now just to make sure all is well and as it should be. The drink will be for you just before the meeting."

"As you wish it."

"Look into the crystal, Vessen. Look into it deeply. Make it the world."

She looked down at it, focusing on the smoothness of it. She calmed her breath as much as she could, but her now dripping pussy made it difficult.

He seemed to know what was on her mind. "It's all right. I will guide it. Just let it happen."

"I will not resist, Deres." The sound of those words on her tongue were perfection. She stared into it and began to notice that on the inside it wasn't as clear as it first appeared. There seemed to be cracks deep inside, from point to point. As she looked, she followed the crack below the surface and she noticed that it split as a fork in the road.

"Your body will be a shell."

The heat of that rubbed her clit and she felt as though she was scared, though, already she wasn't entirely certain that her body jumped, but it nudged her to pick a direction and follow it until she saw that fork, too.

"You. Everything that is you will literally be in the palm of my hand."

She followed the path, seeing now how the paths forked to infinity, like an endless canopy of autumn trees or spider webs, one layered to the next. Elan tried to pick one, but they appeared so quickly now and those splits occurring so quickly and in such an infinite progression that she could not pick one of her own will. Instead, she realized that she was selecting every path..or that they were being chosen for her.

She was rushing into the crystal and there was no fear, only curiosity. And the arousal followed her, too.

Elan heard his voice at both a great distance and as though he were right there with her. "I will carry you in my cloaks as I would any other tool that belongs to me."

At this point, she didn't know how much she was pushing herself downward or how much she was being pulled. I will not resist. To think it pleased her.

I belong to you, too, Elan. The responsibility that I bear for you...I am chained to you as well. And I'm proud of that; to be so bound to one such as you.

She didn't know exactly when it happened. There was no specific moment of final transition. One moment she was in transition, and the next, all that was Vessen Elan was afloat in a lavender mist that had currents and eddies. She was still herself, every memory and every thought intact. She was whole, safe, and content.

I adore you, Vessen.

And I you.

She realized at that moment that she may still be in her own hands.

Or on the floor like some discarded thing as he decided what to do with her, if anything at all.

Or in his hand, like any other trinket he owned.

Elan rode the bliss.

To Be Continued...