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I had never seen her look so magnificent. Her long thick hair was braided
with multicolor scarves. The black bodice of her gown gave way to skirts of
the same rainbow hues as in her hair. Her eyes sparkled with anticipation of
the gathering.
The creature inside me raged, trying to escape my body prompted not by
anger, but by lust. Such was the beauty of my wife at that moment.
"Would you share some wine with me?" I asked her, my voice trembling as
I fought to keep it soft.
"Sharven, you sound so strange. Are you all right? If you're ill we can "
"No, not ill, just excited. After all, this is my first feast as head of the estate."
I kept my back to her as I slipped the potion into her goblet, then poured our
wine. I watched her carefully to be certain she drank it all.
By then, the first of our guests had arrived. I went down to join them, Atera
walking joyfully at my side.
As we greeted our guests, the potion began to do its work. Atera's face
flushed, and her voice grew high and sharp. "She's a bit anxious, but I think
the wine did more than relax her," I confided to one of the guests. I heard him
repeat the comment to his wife. Soon the entire room assumed Atera was
already tipsy.
Lord Romul and Lady Laudrel were among the last to enter the hall. As
Atera went to greet them, I hung back. I could not get too close, not with the
beast inside me looking through my eyes at my enemy, demanding to be
released.
Some time later, Atera and I took our places at the table's center. Lord
Romul sat to Atera's right, then Lady Laudrel. After all her planning of the
evening's feast, Atera only picked at the food. Her attention became, as the
potion directed, fixed on Lord Romul. Soon she seemed openly infatuated. I
pretended not to notice, not even when her hand disappeared from the table,
resting no doubt in his lap. A few of the guests near us began to whisper to
one another.
The farce could not continue much longer. I gave the signal and the music
began. I asked Lady Laudrel to dance.
Lord Romul would give too great an insult if he refused to ask Atera. Red-
faced and cautious, he led her onto the floor. As I danced with the stout
Laudrel, I watched Atera and Romul carefully. She pressed close to him,
whispered in his ear. I saw his confusion. No, he had never expected his con-
quest to act so boldly.
With a firm grip on Atera's arm, Romul led her back to the table. She pulled
him beyond it to the tapestry that hung from the wall. In spite of the shadows, I
and a number of others saw her kiss him. I pushed Laudrel aside so roughly
that she would have fallen had someone not caught her.
"What is the meaning of this!" I bellowed.
Laudrel followed my gaze. She saw her husband's embarrassment, heard
Atera's startled cry. "Your wife is ... not well," Romul said.
"Well enough to kiss you. Is this the first time or only the most obvious of
many?"
My guests began muttering. Most sided with me. Others, seeing Romul's
confusion, were not so certain of his guilt. Laudrel began to cry.
"She is gone from the house far too often, and when she rides, she always
heads north," I went on.
"To visit me," Laudrel mumbled. Atera, fighting the effects of the potion,
nodded. No one paid any attention to either woman. Fine people that they
were, my guests were eager for blood to spill.
"I demand satisfaction," I said. "I will defend the honor of my wife!"
I saw his resignation, yet still he attempted to placate me. "Your wife is ill, I
tell you. And your sword arm is weak. Isn't there some other way to settle
this?"
"Honor will make me strong." I heard the murmur of my neighbors. Most
were pleased at my response.
Romul sighed. "Very well. But you must loan me a blade. I brought none."
I surveyed the crowd. There must be no hint of treachery in our duel. "Does
someone have a blade for Lord Romul?"
Five were offered. As I expected in one his age, he picked a light, thin
sword more geared for fencing than battle. One of the other men offered me a
similar weapon; I took it. There would be no accusations of poison when this
was done.
We squared off in the center of the hall, where only moments ago we had
been dancing. As metal met metal, I felt the strength of Raven's minion. I
could win the battle at any time. Instead, I fought down the urge to attack and
moved stiffly, as if the very act of holding the sword pained me.
In his youth, Lord Romul had acquired a deadly reputation with a blade. He
had not lost the skill. Were it not for my terrible inner speed and strength, he
would have bested me easily. However, he continued to maintain the ruse of
reluctant victim, parrying my more deadly thrusts, letting the others reach him.
No doubt he hoped I would shed the first blood and, honor satisfied, call off
the duel.
When I nicked his shoulder, I saw real fear in his eyes. His face was florid
and sweat formed on his brow. Exertion could kill the old as easily as a knife. I
counted on that excuse. I smiled. Yes, you fool. Yes, you perverter of my wife,
coveter of my lands. Yes, old man, as soon as my skin is cut, you will die.
I forced him back to the dining table, then in a move no one could have
expected, I deliberately fell against him. My arm sliced open on the edge of
his blade.
The shell was cracked. The creature inside me departed with the first drop
of my blood, taking all its strength with it. "Have you had enough?" I heard
Lord Romul whisper as I lay at his feet, too exhausted to move, barely able to
breathe.
I looked up. I wanted to whisper that it would never be over, but words
failed me as I saw the thing I had unleashed.
Black and formless as the clouds of a deadly storm, its only clear features
were its huge red eyes, which smoldered with a predatory light. The creature
examined Lord Romul, standing with his sword lowered, looking less like an
enemy than a concerned father who had unwittingly wounded his son during
training.
It looked at Atera, trembling as she stood at the head of the table,
frightened of me, of Romul, of the strange impulses within her brought on by
the potion.
It looked at Raven. I think perhaps Raven lied to me. I think he saw the
spirit; its summoning was his doing, after all.
And finally it turned to me. Its expression became one of interest, of need.
Raven had said it killed with its touch and the power of its gaze. I tried to look
away and found I could not. I tried to move but was paralyzed. "I'm not
responsible!" I screamed. Though I knew I damned myself, I had to say the
words, "You were charged to protect me. Now, kill my enemy."
It obeyed. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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