Metal mage 5, p.19
Metal Mage 5, page 19
I chuckled and mounted behind her on Bobbie. “I don’t know,” I said with a shrug. “I’m honestly really looking forward to this.”
We drove along the jungle’s edge, and then I brought Bobbie right out and parked her in the clearing.
The elves filed themselves along the edge of the village once more and eyed the contraption curiously, but this time they only clutched the hilts of their swords on their hips as we dismounted.
The leader was joined in the center of the group by a scowling Rhys and his glaring mini counterpart. I nodded to the leader once everyone was ready, but as I was about to address them all, my throat hitched, and my eyes caught on a figure who strolled out from between the huts behind the line of elves.
The Baroness of Rajeen slowly sauntered her way toward the clearing, and the elves parted as she passed and brought herself to Rhys’ right side.
The braided elf nodded to her in silent greeting, and the Baroness returned the gesture with a curl of her lip.
I glanced briefly sidelong at the women beside me, and by the time I’d turned back to the Baroness, I found the eerie black eye zeroed in on my own as her stark white teeth flashed behind her smile.
Chapter 13
It was nearly impossible to focus with the Tenebrae Mage looking straight through me like that. The sinister balance of the all black eye beside the ghostly white one made my skin crawl, and a hundred questions raced through my mind with nearly as many concerns.
Namely, what the fuck was she doing at House Fehryn, and how was it that she walked amongst them like an equal?
I tried to shake these thoughts from my mind as I stood in front of the line of warriors, but it took all of my willpower to pull my focus from the chilling woman’s presence.
I cleared my throat and shifted my weight as I remembered what I was doing there, and then I looked back to the leader.
“So,” I began soberly, “the weapon I’ve made is much like your own, just more deadly. You’ll be able to use your own arrows with these, but you’ll have to make a few modifications. If you--”
“Get on with it,” Rhys growled.
I glanced at the braided elf whose knuckles were now white on the hilt of his dagger, and I cocked a brow.
“If you insist,” I said. Then I turned to my women. “Care to do the honors?”
Aurora’s eyes snapped to mine, and I saw they were wide with worry, but as we turned to retrieve our bows, I sent the half-elf a wink.
She looked like she wanted to smack me, but I could tell she was looking forward to demonstrating her skills at least a little.
Personally, I felt it was about damn time, especially with the new weapon I’d made her.
So, the three women pulled their custom bows from the sidecar and loaded the magazines with ten arrows each. I loaded mine as well, but I faced the crowd rather than join them in the demonstration in case anyone’s daggers happened to slide from their sheaths.
Cayla, Aurora, and Shoshanne turned to the line of trees that flanked the far end of the clearing and leveled their bows at the ready. The trunks were easily a hundred feet from where they stood, and I instructed them to shoot top to bottom.
They glanced sideways at me, and when I nodded, they took their first draw.
From there, the women didn’t stop firing until their magazines were empty, and I counted only seven seconds before thirty arrows had impaled three trunks in perfect lines from the base of the branches to the roots.
There was a moment of silence before every warrior turned to their neighbor and began speaking in low and anxious tones, but three elves were frozen in their places.
Rhys’ face was blank for the first time since I’d met him, and his mini counterpart had dropped his jaw. Without the forced hatred on his young face, the elf actually looked a little older, which I thought was ironic, considering how hard he tried to mirror his brother’s ferocity.
The leader’s face wasn’t blank, though. It shifted from shock to fear to anger in about three seconds, and after he’d run through them all a few more times, he locked his lips into a stern line and stormed into the clearing.
The other elves fell silent as they watched their leader, and he brought himself directly to the line of women. When he stopped, he looked a little like he’d forgotten what he’d come all that way to say and just stared at the bows and the women. Then his serpentine eyes shot to mine.
“Again,” he finally said.
I grinned and nodded to the women, and just as they reached for their quivers, I called out to the half-elf.
“Aurora,” I said casually, “why don’t you show the leader how to load the magazine?”
The emerald eyes nearly popped out of her head, but she only pursed her lips and slowly turned to the leader who stood a few feet from her side.
The golden eyes of the leader flashed to the half-elf with pure hatred, but I could tell his curiosity was too strong to resist. He stayed right where he stood as she approached him, and the muscles in his jaw flexed as Aurora tilted the weapon so he could watch her load it. By the time she’d finished, he realized he’d leaned forward, and he quickly took a step back as he straightened up.
Aurora’s lip twitched with amusement as she turned away, and she narrowed her sights at me as she took her place in line once more.
I didn’t bother to hide my smirk.
“Ready ladies?” I asked, and the three women raised their bows.
The leader watched Aurora like a golden-eyed hawk as she drew one arrow after another and sent them sailing across the clearing, but by the time thirty more arrows were loosed, his face was turned to the trees and had finally settled in shock.
The murmuring of the elves filled the clearing immediately, and I glanced to see that several of them had grins on their faces as they spoke excitedly to one another.
Rhys and his younger brother came to join their leader, and to my surprise, the Baroness followed.
“How many have you brought?” Rhys asked as he joined us, and for once, his tone wasn’t a demanding one.
“Twenty,” I told him. “But as I was starting to say earlier, you’ll need to adjust your arrows to use them.”
Rhys nodded and looked to the crossbow in my hand. “How does it work?” he asked, and the young elf beside him stepped forward eagerly but was caught by the shoulder.
The boy forced his face back into a stoic mask, and I had to chuckle.
Then I brought my own crossbow over and held it out as I went over the mechanism.
“This is the loading lever,” I explained. “Lift it and slide your arrows in headfirst. Make sure the lever is tightly secured once it’s filled. Then, you’re good to go.”
“That’s it?” It was the young elf who spoke, and his voice betrayed his awe.
I nodded to him and grinned as I flipped the crossbow to the other side. “This little notch catches on the bowstring,” I told him. “So, every time you draw, it catches the notch, and an arrow strings itself.”
A smile came to the youthful face, and he looked over to Rhys. “Can I have one, father?” he asked eagerly.
I took a double take between Rhys and the young elf as I realized I’d completely misinterpreted their relationship. It hadn’t even occurred to me Rhys might be a dad.
Now, by the look on his face, it was pretty obvious. He sent the youth a wry smile that only a father of a boy like that would have perfected, and he sighed.
“We’ll see,” he said sternly, before he turned back to me. “How many arrows will they hold?”
“Ten, but they need to be fifteen inches long,” I explained. “You can keep the arrow heads as they are, though. I made sure the dimensions would work.”
The leader chuckled, and the sound was so alien to me, I couldn’t help but stare as he shook his head at Rhys, and the lines on his face relaxed into a smile. Then he said something in Elvish, and Rhys returned the smile.
I was so caught off guard by the sudden lack of tension amongst them I actually jumped slightly when the Baroness spoke.
She stood to the left of the leader, and when she spoke, she did so without any airs and a casual smile on her face. “Yes,” she chuckled. “He has a reputation for it.”
I furrowed my brow as I realized the Baroness not only understood Elvish but was talking about me. She turned her unsettling eyes toward me and sent me a small bow.
“It is good to see you and your beautiful women again, Mason Flynt,” she said, and her voice was smooth and friendly.
I tried to make my smile look like a natural one, even though her voice had sent a shiver down my spine. “You as well,” I returned. “I didn’t expect to see a familiar face here in Nalnora.”
The Baroness nodded. “I know you didn’t,” she replied.
Before I could respond to the strange statement, the leader spoke up once more.
“Well, you have more than upheld your promise to House Fehryn,” he told me. “These weapons will serve us very well, though I cannot believe you have created them in only a day.”
“And your promise?” I led.
The leader gave a curt nod, and Rhys echoed it at his side. “You have House Fehryn behind you,” the leader assured me. “When the time comes, we will vote in your favor.”
I considered this. “And if the Council hasn’t bothered to deliberate?” I asked pointedly.
The leader grinned. “You need only a majority,” he finally said. “Get that majority, and we will see that the deliberation is made.”
“Good,” I said as I held out my hand.
The leader’s golden eyes narrowed as he looked down, but after a long moment, he raised his own. He gave my hand one firm shake before he quickly pulled away again, and he cleared his throat uncomfortably as he brushed his palm off on his tunic.
I tried not to roll my eyes. Then I motioned toward the sidecar, and the three braided elves made their way over to retrieve their armory, leaving only myself and the three women to stand before the nebulous Baroness.
She kept her peculiar smirk on her face as she looked us all over, and she finally settled her sights on the Aer Mage.
“I don’t believe we have been introduced,” she said.
Shoshanne looked extremely uncomfortable under the gaze of the Baroness, so I casually placed my hand on her lower back. “This is Shoshanne,” I told the Baroness. “She’s a healer from the Order of Pallax, and an Aer Mage.”
“Beautiful,” the Baroness purred, and her eyes trailed slowly across Shoshanne’s lips and hair. “Very beautiful. I am Baroness Batonova. I had the pleasure of hosting your friends in my city not long ago. Though it is a shame you did not join them. I am a mage myself, as I’m sure you could tell.”
Shoshanne blushed slightly under the Baroness’ scrutiny. “Pleasure to meet you,” she replied. “I--I wasn’t aware.”
“Shoshanne grew up outside of the kingdom of Serin,” I explained. “She only studied at the Order for a short time before she came with us.”
The Baroness nodded slowly but kept her disconcerting gaze on the Aer Mage. “I am a Tenebrae Mage,” she informed her in a measured tone. “I like to play in the shadows.”
Shoshanne’s brows furrowed slightly. “Your element is … darkness?”
The woman’s stark teeth flashed as her lips spread into a sinister smile. “Of a sort,” she answered.
The caramel’s beauty’s eyes flickered with confusion, but the Baroness only chuckled lowly to herself and turned her eerie eyes back to me. Then she stepped forward to curl a slender hand across my forearm and pulled herself close enough that her breasts brushed lightly against me.
I swallowed hard.
“You have done well to assist House Fehryn,” she told me. “Their House has been in this forest for two thousand years. It would sadden me to see them fall to the likes of House Natyr, but I believe I can thank you for ensuring their survival in the future. This new weapon of yours will surely secure their status.”
I considered this for a moment while the shadowy woman remained intimately close. “You’ve known House Fehryn for a long time?” I finally asked.
The Baroness’ inky lips curled up slightly at the corner. “No,” was all she said.
Aurora cleared her throat lightly. “What brings you to Nalnora, Baroness Batonova?”
I noticed the Baroness had a bit of a habit of admiring my women, and I studied the aristocratic features of her face as she turned from me slightly to drag her sights down the half-elf’s curves with an approving smile.
“It is a pleasure to see you again, Miss Aurora,” she purred, and she finally slid her hand from my arm.
I hadn’t noticed I’d been leaning closer to her, and I casually straightened up.
The woman brought herself to the half-elf and reached a slender finger out to graze it lightly along Aurora’s cheek. “Please, call me Nulena. We are friends, no?”
Aurora blushed at the Baroness’ words, and I practically gaped as I watched the two of them. I’d only ever seen the brazen half-elf blush for me, but I really couldn’t blame her. There was something incredibly overwhelming about being in the Baroness’ strange sights.
Aurora’s eyes darted to the ground as the Baroness’ finger trailed briefly to her neck, and her voice shook slightly as she muttered, “Nulena.”
The Baroness let out a pleased little moan before she spoke. “I have come to Nalnora for the same reason you have,” she told the half-elf.
My focus had been badly derailed by the exchange between the two women, but the statement quickly hooked my curiosity. “You came to seek information about rune magic?” I clarified.
The stark white teeth flashed again as the Baroness smiled at me. “I came on an errand for another,” she replied smoothly. “Just as King Temin sends you. I was sorry to know the Council did not heed your warning.”
I furrowed my brow skeptically. “And who sends you?” I asked as the hair on the back of my neck began to stand on end.
The ghostly pale eye burned through me for a long moment, and I wasn’t very surprised that the obscure Baroness didn’t answer the question directly.
Her two-toned eyes drifted away from us as if something caught her eye on the breeze, and she settled them on the elves who distributed the new bows amongst their warriors. “A dear friend of mine … ” she said lightly.
Then her entire demeanor shifted suddenly, and her face snapped to mine.
“You must go west,” she told me in a low voice.
I blinked and tried to recover from the unexpected change in the woman. “What?”
The Baroness lightly jerked her head to the side, and then she led us further into the clearing and away from the group of elves.
I exchanged a few uncomfortable glances with the women as we slowly turned to follow her, and Aurora sent me a stern glance of warning.
Baroness Batonova moved slowly, but deliberately, as she walked, and I eyed the inky limbs and the long silky hair that swayed and brushed her backside as she went. Her bare arms blended seamlessly with the flowing folds of her dress, and I was so caught up in the wash of darkness that seemed to submerge her entire form, her pale eye shocked me as she stopped unexpectedly and turned around to face us.
I caught a flicker of an appraising glance from the shadowy woman as she sized me up, but it was replaced with the same unreadable mask a moment later.
The two-toned eyes studied me for a long moment in silence, and she didn’t smile when she spoke this time. “They cannot hear,” she said in a low voice, and I furrowed my brow.
“They’re elves … ” I pointed out. “They hear everyth--”
“They cannot hear while I stand beside you,” she interrupted, and she spoke in a hushed but hurried tone. “Twenty leagues west and to the south by two. Find the crystal bridge and follow it to House Quyn.”
Cayla and I exchanged a glance, and the princess’ eyes were sharp as ice as she turned them on the Baroness. “Why?” she demanded.
The Baroness licked her lips lightly as her sights softened on the princess. “Those eyes,” she purred, and her demeanor was suddenly returned to its sultry guise. “You could cut glass with them, you know.”
Cayla didn’t blush under the Baroness’ gaze, though. “Why should we go to House Quyn?” she asked evenly.
The inky lips curled lightly. “You seek alliance with the Houses, no?” she asked.
I nodded.
“Then find the crystal bridge. Go to House Quyn.”
With that, the Baroness brushed past us, and as she went she trailed a slender finger along my arm before she slowly strolled back to join the elves of House Fehryn. We turned and watched the erratic woman as she went, and when she approached the group of elves, the leader looked to her casually and fell into easy conversation as if she had never taken us aside.
She let out a low and pleasurable laugh, and I shook my head as I considered the chill I just could not seem to shake from the back of my neck.
“What the fuck?” I muttered.
Aurora snorted. “So … we’re not taking that woman’s advice, right?” she asked after a moment.
Just as the words left her lips, Baroness Batonova looked over her shoulder, and the pale eye fell on us like a magnet. Then she curled her lips into another chilling smile and turned away.
My eyebrows shot up, and the half-elf and I looked at each other but said nothing else about it.
The elves had finished emptying the sidecar, and I cleared my throat and kneaded my hands uncomfortably. “Well, I think we’re done here,” I decided.
“The arrows,” Shoshanne muttered blankly.
I waved my arm over my shoulder to remove the sixty arrows from the trees behind us, but none of us moved a muscle as they filed themselves into our quivers.
There was so much that could be said, but none of us dared to breathe a word of it as we eyed the Baroness across the clearing.
Finally, Cayla nudged me, and I blindly put one foot in front of the other as I led the way back to Bobbie.
Rhys and his leader stepped aside while we silently mounted Bobbie, and they only nodded to us as a farewell.
