Mickey Reichert - The legend of Nightfall

"Will you join me, Ahshir?" Gilleran pressed Ritworth for an answer. "Or do we battle now to the death? Your choice."

Ritworth sighed, obviously torn. "How do I know I can trust you?"

Gilleran smiled. "Watch." He walked to Kelryn. Once there, he addressed her. "Kelryn, pretty girl. We meet again." He held out a hand to assist her to stand.

Kelryn shied away, all her desperate fear returning. “Get away from me, you murderer."

Gilleran flashed a grin at Ritworth. "We’re old friends.” He turned back to Kelryn. "I can kill you as easily on the ground. In fact, more so. If you cooperate, I won’t harm you."

He used a sincere tone that Kelryn had difficulty doubting. Then her mind filled with images of magical slashes that splattered blood and Gilleran’s laughter as he butchered the screaming man pinned beneath him. Tears blurred her vision. Avoiding his hand, she obediently stood. She could escape more easily on her feet.

“This is how I bind my oaths." Gilleran made a broad, arching cut with his hand. Pausing, he mumbled a few guttural syllables. "Kelryn, this spell will hold us both to any promises we make. Here are the terms this time: If you find Prince Ned, you will tell him his loyal chancellor has handled the Iceman and he has nothing more to fear from sorcerers." He winked at Ritworth, as much, Kelryn suspected, to keep his attention on a potential enemy as to share the details of the spell. "You may say nothing negative about me within earshot of Edward, Leyne, or Rikard Nargol." He added with an evil smile.

"But before you leave, you must kiss me like a lover."

Revulsion restored Kelryn’s will to fight. "Beast! Demon! I’d rather eat feces than look at you."

Gilleran retained his cool demeanor. "No need to flatter, Kelryn. I had already planned to give something in return. My promise to you: this time, at least, I’ll let you go unharmed and alive. And I will do what I can to see my companion does you no damage either."

Ritworth raised his brows at this, obviously displeased.

Gilleran finished, “However, should I meet you later under other circumstances, I retain the right to act as I feel prudent. Do you agree to these terms?"

Kelryn hated every part of her situation, but most of all remaining in the presence of two sorcerers. She did not doubt the efficacy of the spell; she knew too little of magic not to believe the claims of those who practiced it. Gilleran had not made her promise anything malevolent. She could not warn Edward of danger, but she could still tell Nightfall everything and let him handle the prince. This time, she swore, she would compel her lover to listen. If she did not agree to Gilleran’s terms, she harbored no doubt the wizards would kill her in the most vile fashion they could devise. A kiss seemed little enough compared to what Gilleran might force upon her if she refused. "All right," she said carefully. “So long as your promise is included, I agree?

Ritworth interrupted. "Is that wise? Letting her go, I mean. She’s a witness."

"A witness?" Gilleran crinkled his brow. "Witness to what?"

"She knows what we are."

“No matter. She knew before. Sometimes the knowledge of others works to a man’s advantage, even when it doesn’t seem so. Trust me."

“She heard your plan."

"I’ve been with the king nearly two decades. He trusts me. No one would believe the tramp, especially when the story she tells varies in the presence of royalty."

"Still…” Ritworth started.

Gilleran shrugged off the argument. "If she gives me reason, I left us plenty of opportunity to kill her." He grinned at Kelryn with a corpse’s warmth. "I believe she’s a smart girl, aren’t you, Kelryn?"

Kelryn kept her mouth closed. She would make no more promises for the sorcerer to seal with his magic.

Gilleran muttered a few more words, accompanied by some finger movements. "Done," he said at length. He nodded at Kelryn. "You’re free now."

Kelryn did not wait for a second invitation. She launched herself from the path to the woods, taking three running steps before pain slammed her low in the belly and she collapsed to the dirt again. Something sparked and crackled, like a fire inside her, driving her back toward the roadway and the sorcerer waiting there. She whimpered, nearly incapacitated by the pain, rolling to find some position that eased the agony tearing through her. By luck or instinct, she wriggled back the way she had come, and the lessening of the magic’s urging sent her crawling to Gilleran’s feet.

"Forgot something, didn’t you?" Gilleran prodded her with a boot toe. Ritworth watched in silence.

Understanding struck Kelryn then. She could not leave until she had administered the promised kiss. "You bastard," she managed, the oath-bond now only a prickle prodding her to her feet and to fulfill the promise. She stood, torn between need and loathing. She took a step toward him. Leaning over, she granted him a quick peck on the cheek that dulled the buzzing only slightly.

"Ah, well, no wonder you’ve lost your lover if that’s the best you do for him." Gilleran reached for Kelryn.

She cringed away, though it cost her a stab of pain.

"Come now. I know you enjoy our company, but we can’t stand here all day. If the Iceman decided to kill you, I’m not certain I could move fast enough to stop him. I only promised I’d try, remember?"

Kelryn chose the lesser of evils. Determined, she planted her lips on Gilleran’s, hating the perfumed smell of him and despising the taste of his lips. Her tongue touched his, and she gagged as much on the thought as the presence of his saliva. His hands explored her with fierce and shameless boldness, and it sickened her. The kiss lasted until the inner pain disappeared, leaving only the nausea. She pulled away, trying to run. But her empty stomach roiled from the experience, and she heaved dry. Dizzy aftereffects dropped her to her knees.

Gilleran laughed at her discomfort. "Do you see how I bind promises?"

"Yes." Ritworth nodded. "I’m convinced. Now we kill her."

Kelryn stiffened.

"No." Gilleran stepped between Ritworth and Kelryn with a quickness that seemed uncharacteristic. “I’m every bit as tied to my oath as she to hers. Killing her would destroy my soul. And I can’t let you do it either."

Ritworth relaxed, apparently satisfied by the answer to his little test. Although Gilleran’s claim proved nothing, his instantaneous loyalty to his oath, even before the partner he was trying to befriend, was convincing enough; and he had knowledge of the manner and workings of magic. “Very well, then," he said grudgingly, clearly still not comfortable about letting Kelryn go free.

Through all the fright and discomfort, a memory surfaced in Kelryn’s mind, words Nightfall had used the same night he had revealed his foul past: "Accident is never reason enough to kill a man. There are better ways to handle mistakes than murdering innocent spectators." Clearly Gilleran had learned this lesson where Ritworth had not. For that, at least, he seemed the lesser evil. Though no longer the focus of attention, she rose cautiously and edged toward the forest. No one tried to stop her.

"What do I have to do?" Ritworth prepared for the process.

"Come here," Gilleran gestured Ritworth to stand in front of him, beneath an oak edging the roadway.

Ritworth moved to the indicated place. Kelryn slipped into the woods, every instinct goading her to run. But, this time, she managed to keep enough presence of mind to remain hidden in the brush. The words the sorcerers exchanged could become vital to the safety of Edward and Nightfall. She peered between branches in time to see Gilleran make the broad, looping cut he had performed just before beginning the spell he had used to bind her. This time, however, he added a guttural phrase.