down. Told her she was being reckless, and… um… distracted her.”
Tina giggled. “She kissed her senseless, and dragged her down to the
bath to get clean. They were in there for an hour.”
Beri sighed. “Yeah. That. Anyway, they talked for a while, and when
you still didn’t come back they decided to do something to find you. Some kind
of ritual. Miss Avilla said it wasn’t too dangerous, but we mustn’t interrupt
them.”
“But the Baron’s men interrupted them,” Tina said.
“They came in through the door up on the wall,” Beri explained.
“Some of Captain Rain’s men were supposed to be guarding it, but they let
them in. That priest was leading them. I was guarding the door, but I couldn’t
stop a whole troop of soldiers. They burst in and caught your apprentices in the
middle of their ritual, and the priest did something that made it go wild on
them. Then the soldiers rushed them.”
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She shook her head. “It all happened so fast. He had them in chains
before any of the men came upstairs. Gronir and a couple of the others wanted
to fight them anyway, but there were too many of them. It would have been
suicide.”
“They took them to the keep,” Tina said. “But you’ll rescue them,
right? You won’t let that evil baron have Miss Avilla?”
Damn it. Not again. Was there anyone in this town I could safely turn
my back on? Avilla being in the Baron’s hands was bad enough, but Holger
already knew Cerise was a witch. If Avilla used magic to defend herself
they’d realize what she was, assuming they hadn’t already figured it out. And
that meant…
“Hell, no,” I said. “Um, book?”
“The one you had on you?” Beri asked. “It didn’t burn, somehow. I
suppose that must be more magic? The cover is a little singed, but that’s all.
I’ve got it right here.”
She paused.
“Um, I’m sorry if this is out of line, milord. But, Miss Avilla and
Miss Cerise, is that really how you bound them?”
I tried shaking my head, and found that I had just enough strength to
manage it. “No. That’s what the priest will do to them.”
“Oh.”
Her tone of voice made it pretty clear that she’d read the last few
chapters. I almost wished I hadn’t.
“How long have they been in the keep?” I asked.
“Maybe half a day? We were just having a late lunch, milord. Shall I
bring you some?”
My stomach growled loudly.
“Yeah,” I said.
It was a somber meal. I could feel my strength returning, but it was a
slow process. Far too slow. I had no idea what was happening to my girls, and
all I could do was lie here and worry.
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But I was already paying the price for rushing in too fast once. I
couldn’t afford to make that mistake again. Getting myself killed in a reckless
rescue attempt wasn’t going to help anyone.
The maids helped me to sit up, and Tina positioned herself behind me
to help keep me propped up while Beri fed me.
“So, why are my eyes bandaged?” I asked as we ate.
“They were burned off,” Tina told me. “I figured we’d best keep them
clean. Was that right?”
Okay then. Apparently Tina had a stronger stomach than I’d thought.
“Can’t hurt. This amulet I’m wearing will heal just about anything, but
I’m not sure it can handle removing debris from a wound.”
Tina hesitated. “Um… debwhat?”
“I mean, if I got something stuck in a wound it might not heal right. So
yeah, bandages are probably a good idea until everything grows back.”
She sighed in relief. “Good. Ma taught me what to do about cuts and
bruises, but I never saw anything like this.”
“You did good, Tina,” I reassured her. “Really, both of you did. I
think my magic was just barely keeping me alive, and if you hadn’t come along
the cold would have finished me off eventually.”
“Thank you, milord,” Beri said.
“Beri, you saved my life. You can call me Daniel if you want. You
too, Tina.”
Tina gasped. “Really? For really real? I’ve never said a lord’s name
before.”
I patted her knee. “Really, Tina. We’re not as formal back where I’m
from.”
“Does this mean I get to stay on, Daniel?” Beri asked cautiously.
“Because I got the feeling Miss Avilla was easing me out.”
“Yes, Beri. You save my life, you get my protection. For what it’s
worth.”
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“It’s worth a lot, sir. You just push too hard, trying to save everyone.
If you’d just picked a spot to fort up nothing would ever break in.”
“I can’t conjure up food out of nothing, so we’d eventually have to
come out. But I think you’re right about one thing. I’ve been working too hard
to save everyone in sight, instead of concentrating on my own people first. I
need to start making sure we’re secure before I go trying to save a whole
town.”
“Maybe you should save a town where the Lord doesn’t want to steal
Miss Avilla?” Tina offered diffidently.
I sighed. “Out of the mouths of babes. Yeah, I probably should. But
first I have to figure out how we’re going to get out of here. Who’s still with
us?”
“The Baron’s men kicked everyone out of the tower,” Beri answered.
“Hrodir and Gronir took most of your people and blended in with one of the
refugee groups, just in case. Oskar has a big mob of people here manning the
barricades, but I’m not sure how many of them would help.”
“Barricades?” I asked.
“Oh, the town is in bad shape, Daniel. The goblin are holding three or
four blocks near the hole in the wall, but that’s not the worst of it. Something
killed the watch on the river gate last night, and smashed the gate to bits.
There’s monsters roaming the streets eating people, and even the Baron’s men
only come out in force.”
“I see. So basically, the only reason the town is still here is that there
are too many people for the monsters to eat in one day?”
“I’m afraid so,” Beri agreed. “I think we’re more or less safe for
now. Oskar’s people have the street barricaded in both directions, and there’s
a hundred men here ready to fight. But not many of them have real weapons,
and we’ll run out of food in a few days.”
“One way or another, it won’t be that long. Do you think he’ll help
us?”
“Yes. He’s worried about his family, and no one has much loyalty for
the Baron after the coward decided to spend the day hiding in his keep instead
of fighting to save the town. If he thinks you can protect his people he’ll fight
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for you.”
“Alright, that’s something. I’m starting to feel vaguely human again, so
let’s get this bandage off and see how my eyes are.”
“Right away, milord Daniel,” Tina said eagerly.
The two of them unwound a length of cloth from around my head, and I
blinked at the sudden light. Everything was a bright blur, but that was better
than nothing. One of them examined my face closely, while the other looked
away.
“How do I look?”
“This is neat!” Tina said. “I can see the burns shrinking. You look kind
of funny with no hair, though.”
“It’s pretty bad,” Beri told me. “Most of your skin is still missing.
Sorry, it’s just… really disturbing.”
“I understand. Alright, I need to get myself fixed before I can do
anything else. Beri, I’ll need to meet with Oskar and whoever else is in charge