David Dalglish - The Cost of Betrayal

“Many thanks,” Lathaar said. The two stood and embraced. As they headed for bed, Qurrah dashed upstairs having heard every word.

M orning came. Tessanna refused to join everyone as they broke their fast. Qurrah said nothing of it, and no one asked. A few jokes were exchanged, mouths were stuffed, and Lathaar told a tale from his travels. Halfway through the meal, Aullienna’s crying cascaded down the stairs.

“You gonna get that, hun?” Harruq asked, his mouth full of food. Her look was icy.

“She’s just throwing a fit because she wants downstairs,” Aurelia said. “And why is it I should go?”

Tarlak and Haern exchanged knowing glances.

“How it works. You’re better at shutting her up.”

Again the icy glare. Brug let out a choked chuckle.

“I’m not finished eating,” she said, gesturing to her plate. Harruq shrugged, and gestured to his plate as well.

“Perhaps it is wrong for me to intrude,” Haern said, jabbing Harruq in his side. “But you should go and get your blades, anyway. We shall be sparring soon.”

The half-orc glanced to his friend, his face full of betrayal. “I can go get them later.”

“You can go get them now,” the assassin whispered, wondering how the half-orc could be so dense. When Harruq continued eating, Aurelia rolled her eyes and gave up.

“I’ll get the swords while I’m up there,” she said, rising from her seat. “But that will be the only thing gotten in there for the next few nights.”

Brug roared with laughter, and Tarlak joined in. Harruq glanced about, looking like a surprised deer.

“What?” he blurted. “What…hey, shut up, all of you!”

Aurelia kissed him on the cheek and glided up the stairs. She rolled her eyes as she reached halfway, for her daughter’s crying had ceased. She certainly did not miss the multiple feedings and the starvation of sleep, but she was starting to understand why so many told her it was the second year to fear. Not to make the trip pointless, she continued on, figuring she could get her thickheaded husband’s swords.

Her skin chilled when she reached the top. Their door was wide open. Sitting on her knees with her back to the door was Tessanna.

“Run kitty-kitty,” said the girl in a sing-song voice. “I see a big dog, yes I do. Climb, kitty-kitty, big dog’s coming and he comes for you!”

Peals of laughter erupted from Aullienna’s mouth as Tessanna tickled her, making funny growling sounds as she did.

“More!” the little elf girl cried.

“I see a kitty-kitty, yes I do. Black and brown and a bit of blue. Meow, kitty-kitty, hungry little lass. Chase the mice, chase the mice, aren’t they fast!”

Aullienna smiled, mimicking gestures Tessanna made with her hands. Her tiny fingers fumbled the movements, but Tessanna would reach out and mold them correctly. She pretended her hand was a cat, and before Aullienna pulled away, the cat pounced.

“Nooo!” she shouted, her eyes wide as her smile. As she leaned forward, giggling, she saw her mother. “Mama, we’re playing!”

Tessanna lurched to her feet and retreated away with downcast eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “She was crying, and I thought she was lonely. I’ll go.”

“No,” Aurelia said, stopping her. “You may stay, if Aullienna wishes. Just promise me you won’t…hurt her.”

The sincerity in her black eyes was impossible to deny. “Never would I hurt a child,” she said. “Never.”

“Do you want Tessanna to stay with you a little while longer?” Aurelia asked her daughter. The girl bounced her head up and down.

“She’s plays. She’s a kitty! Kitty-kitty and a mouse.”

“The mouse didn’t do a good job running away,” Tessanna said, sitting next to her on the illusionary grass. “She needs to learn. Mice are sneaky.” She acted as if Aurelia were not even there. Her hand crouched and jerked about, accompanied by twitching noises.

Aurelia watched them play, torn. In the end, she did what felt right. She let them be.

Y ou wanted to see me, Tar?” Harruq asked, poking his head into the wizard’s room. It had been three days since Lathaar moved in, and with Qurrah and Tessanna also staying in the tower, things had been chaotic. The half-orc frowned when he saw his wife standing next to him, a dark expression on her face. Tarlak looked equally serious.

“Can you read?” he asked.

“Long as the letters are big and the words are small,” he said, flicking his eyes back and forth. Neither found this amusing. Aurelia handed him a small piece of parchment. He read it, struggling only occasionally to make out the words.

Tarlak Eschaton, leader of the Eschaton Mercenaries,

The formal bounty is already announced, but due to the increasing brutality of the murders, I, Antonil Copernus, Guard Captain of Veldaren and servant to our great King Vaelor, offer an additional seven hundred gold pieces above the current eight hundred if you bring me the culprit known as the Veldaren Reaper. This increase is only if he is alive. He has taken twelve children, cut their throats, and done atrocities improper to list in complete detail. This bounty shall diminish a hundred gold for every body henceforth found in such a manner. I am confident you may stop the loss of life, given the fine skill of your mercenaries.

Loyal servant of Neldar,

By the time he finished his hands were shaking and the final words were a blur.

“You think it’s Qurrah,” he said. It was no question. It was an accusation.

“The night they returned, that very same night, these murders began,” Tarlak said. “And I have spoken with your wife. You and your brother were the Forest Butchers of Woodhaven. The details of the murders, as well as the targets…”

“Qurrah is killing children once more,” Aurelia interrupted. “Without you, but he is.”

Blood surged to Harruq’s face, and a thousand thoughts jumbled his mind. He tried to say something, but nothing seemed right.

“It is without you, isn’t it?” Aurelia asked, quieter.

“I made a promise,” he said, pieces coming together in his mind. “And I haven’t broken that promise. But Qurrah’s made no such promise, to me or you. I’ll talk with him.” He tossed the paper to the wizard.

“We need more than talk,” Tarlak said, rising from his chair as the paper fluttered to his desk. “We need guarantees. Perhaps it isn’t him. We’ll be patrolling the streets tonight, just in case. Do what you can. I do not take the death of children lightly, Harruq. I’ve seen what you are now, and any worshipper of Ashhur should know that a man can change. But some don’t.”

Harruq nodded, his eyes distant. Deep down, he felt a bitter sting. He had changed. He knew he had, and welcomed it as much as he feared it. But he was not his brother. He turned and marched out the door. Aurelia watched him go, sadness in her eyes.

“Can he stop him?” the wizard asked. When she said nothing, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her much as a father might hold a child. “Things will turn out right in the end. But I will not harbor a man who commits such acts.”

“He loves Qurrah so much,” she said. “I don’t want him hurt.”

“Qurrah will hurt him, Aurry. We both know it. All that matters is when, and what becomes of the two afterward.”

They both glared at the letter as if it were an intruder in their home, bringing only poison and pain. Aurelia flicked her fingers and burned it to ash.

“We will catch whoever is doing these things,” she said. “And I pray to Celestia we catch a stranger.”

T essanna and Aullienna danced together in the grass, playing like neither held a care in the world. Qurrah quietly watched, feeling a tugging on his heart he was yet to decipher. It always hit hardest when Tessanna would scoop the little girl into her arms and share in her laughter.