Yamara - Book 1 - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The younger man leaned against the wall waiting for his boss to close the door behind him. The boss did so and nodded to the guards waiting on either side of the door, who in turn locked the door securely behind him. He then turned and headed off down the hall with the younger man following him.

"What do you think, James?" The younger man queried.

"I'm not sure, Paul," he responded, genuinely uncertain. Via Paul, James had responded quickly to the message from his agent at the Grinning Dragon Inn. The two suspected spies he had watched carefully long enough to determine that they were truly an enigma to him. Enigma enough that he had decided to blow his cover and pull them in after he had spoken with Berk at the Grinning Dragon.

"If they're spies, they must be from the south by their tans. No Gneissian would be so dark," James said, thinking aloud. Paul nodded, following his train of thought.

"Did Dagrazt send them?" He said quietly, wondering it aloud.

"Shh!" James hissed, stopping and turning on him. "You know better then to say that name aloud, it draws his attention!"

Paul mumbled an apology and had the good grace to look humbled. James turned and continued walking, heading up some stairs and back into more populated areas of the palace. They fell into silence, each lost in their own thoughts, scarcely noticing the pages and servants that worked at the late hour. Finally they reached James' office and headed inside, shutting the door behind them. James spent a few moments going over his office, checking to make sure nothing had been disturbed, then sat down and relaxed as much as the opportunity could.

"Has anybody ever seen him?" Paul asked after he had fallen into a chair facing James' desk.

"Who?" James asked, his mind already assembling a list of possible answers to the question.

"The evil one," Paul said, knowing better then to utter the name again.

"I never have," James admitted. "Nor do I know anyone who has."

"Then how do we know he exists?" Paul said, leaning forward anxiously. The subject was something that had troubled him quite a bit, and finally he had a chance to express his thoughts.

No stranger to doubt himself, James grinned at his protégé's line of thought. "I've little use for Gods myself, and I've never seen one," he said. "Does that mean that perhaps the God Ban-Dayid does not exist?"

Paul cocked his head to the side for a moment thoughtfully at James' challenge of the existence of the God of Healing. Finally he cracked a smirk himself. "Point. I can only assume he must exist because his priests have used their powers granted by him to heal me and others I know in the past."

"So if Ban-Dayid exists because his priests have healed you, then perhaps the Dark One exists because his priests have tried to harm you?"

Paul shrugged. "Tried and failed, mostly. But I yield. He has a mighty nation and is served by armies of fey beings, as well as a gathering of worshippers that wield powers clearly granted of a divine origin."

"Not to mention he was said to be old before the great wars plunged the world into chaos," James added, gazing thoughtfully towards the ceiling.

"Bah, that's clearly a rumor," Paul said, sneering. "To think that the tales told of the mighty feats even men without magic could do have any truth to them is a fairy tale at best."

"It was over a thousand years ago, Paul," James said, snapping out of his reverie and returning his mind to the present. "There's no telling what could have happened. From what I've learned, many survivors of the Great Wars cast down their sciences, magic, and knowledge in light of the damage and destruction they had caused, choosing instead to live a simpler life. Thus was found the empire of Gneiss to the west.

"Only those that clung to the destructive knowledge flocked to the Dark Ones banner many leagues to the south and west, carving out their fell kingdom there.

"Others sought a balance between the old and the new ways. Science and technology were cast aside, and our forefathers in Elendar turned to the Gods and the powers of magic to make their way in life."

Paul chuckled, "Spoken as well as any tutor to a bored child. But do you believe it? That the world was once filled with machines that served mankind and allowed him to cheat the very laws of nature that we live by?"

James shrugged the matter aside for the time being. "Sometimes I do. But right now, it's far more important that we bend our mind to figuring out what these two women are doing in Standopolis. Oh, and get in touch with Belwyr and see if any of his scouts have ever heard of a city to the south called Belleville."

Paul nodded, hopping to his feet. He tossed a sloppy salute James' way more as a friendly jest then a proper show of respect. Then he was out the door. James watched the door that he had gone through for a moment longer, pondering the young assistant. He showed much promise, though he had far to go if he was ever to be worthy of replacing James as head of the Elendarian Intelligence Agency. Shaking the thoughts from his head, he glanced at his arm and saw that the bandage on it had finally stopped the bleeding from the dagger the older of the two women had hit him with. He sighed and decided that before he did anything else, he needed to get his wound taken care of by a priest.

---

I woke up from my magically induced slumber and heard the sound of keys jingling in a lock. I fought the urge to stretch and groan at the pain that assaulted me. My body had been frozen from the paralysis spell, causing my joints and muscles to ache. More immediately of concern to me was the fiery pain in my face from my swollen lips and bruised jaw. All of those inconveniences I bore silently, however, for the guard opened the door then and crept in as quietly as a man wearing a chain jerkin can be said to creep.

Peering through narrow slits, I saw Brina lying near me, partially wrapped in only my cloak, as she had been when we were captured. Part of me was glad to see her; another part wished she would have been taken elsewhere so that I would be able to escape more easily on my own. Then the shadow of the guard fell over me, blocking what little light filtered in through the open doorway.

He stopped before us, and based upon the lack of anybody other then the single guard in our cell, I knew that he was up to no good.

"You want the young one?" The guard closest to me called out softly.

"Bah, you're daft man!" The other one called back as quietly, but with a warning tone in his voice. "I'm not for laying a hand on them until Earl James says so, and if you've half a wit about you, neither will you!"

The guard near me snorted in derision. "You're a coward 'tis all. They'll be off for the block after he's done with them, the Earl won't let abide any spies that isn't his own here. Besides, you're the half-wit ta think we'll have another chance at two beauties like this again ere they be swinging from the gibbet!"

I risked a glance to see how things were laid out. The one guard was only a couple of feet between Brina and I, while the other one remained outside of the room at the door, refusing to look into the room so worried was he that they would be discovered. The guard discovered my movement though, and before I could do a thing about it, he had his sword drawn and pointing at me.

"Methinks I'll try this one out, she looks like she could use a man's touch."

I tried to scowl, but it hurt my face too much, so instead I just lay there limply. At least I could open my eyes fully and take in our new surroundings. "Off with your clothes, wench."

Fighting the urge to utter a nasty retort, I reached down and pulled my skimpy top off of my body, letting my average sized breasts be displayed for the guard's perverse pleasure. From the lewd grin of the one near me, I knew that he was taking pleasure indeed.

"And the rest," he said, nodding over the point of his sword at my skimpy loincloth. My belt with my scabbards, weapons, and pouches had already been removed, leaving me effectively naked already. Shrugging at what I would have to endure, I reached down and untied it and let it fall to the course rock floor of the room. I lay there fully revealed before my would-be ravager, expecting the worse.

"Get in here and keep an eye on the other one," he said to the far guard as he sheathed his sword. He began fumbling with his armor then, struggling to undo his hardened leather breeches under his chain shirt so that he could unsheathe his other sword. Grumbling something under his breath, the other guard moved into the room and drew his own blade.

I braced myself when the man kicked my legs apart with his boot and then fell to his knees between my outstretched limbs. I noticed that he had not been smart enough to take his weapons off, and that was where my hope rested. He got closer to me, his hand wrapped around his chubby little soldier to guide it. I braced myself, preparing for his inevitable invasion. My plan was simple, as soon as he was in me and started to lose control of himself at that moment when all men are equals, I would pretend to enjoy it and wrap my legs and arms about him, stealing his dagger and plunging it into his back.

My plan was shattered though. Seconds before the guard could begin his rape of me, the other guard hissed out a warning, "Beren, get up! Baron Paul comes!"

The guard in front of me, Beren, scrambled to his feet. His hands flew to his breeches, stuffing his package back inside and quickly tying the laces. I smirked as he backed up quickly so that he was next to the other guard. While my bid for freedom had disappeared, the haste and disappointment of the guard nearly made it worth it to me.

"What goes on here? Earl James left orders that the door was not to be opened unless he or I was present!" Paul snapped at the guards.

"Sorry Milord," Beren stammered. "One of them made some noises like she was sick or something, we came in to see what was afoot an there she lays like a whore, trying to win our favor."

Paul raised an eyebrow and looked at me. By now I had drawn my legs back together and had shifted to my side so that I appeared to be trying for some sort of modesty by making my blond curls hidden in a shadow and my breasts partially concealed by my arms which were wrapped in front of them. I cursed myself for not being quicker though, for my pose was lax enough to convey that modesty was not a serious concern of mine. He glanced back at the guards and nodded, though I thought he probably did not believe them, but did not consider the matter worth debating.

"Leave me, and lock the door behind me," He ordered. At once the guards obeyed, stepping out of the cell and shutting and barring the door from without.

"Well, well, looks like I get my wish after all," Paul mused, stepping close to me but keeping far enough away that I could not launch any sort of attack at him. I tried to scowl again, and again winced at the pain. Abandoning all modesty, I let my arms fall to my sides and I slowly rose from the floor, stretching as best I could to loosen up the kinks in my muscles.

Paul's eyes moved over my body hungrily, devouring what he saw. While far from aroused, the belowground prison was cool enough that my nipples were quite firmly erect, fueling whatever fantasies he might have had.

"Both of you naked and unable to resist me, how poetic."

I heard Brina's sharp intake of breath and knew that she had been only pretending to sleep. From the way that Paul's eyes darted to her, I knew that he had heard it as well.

"Why don't you try to find out just how much resistance we have left?" I said defiantly. I was angry with myself for getting captured so easily, and though I had checked and was missing no teeth, my jaw hurt like hell. All in all, it was not the beginning of a good day for me.

"Perhaps later," he said with a lecherous grin. "But first, we need to figure out what to do with you two. You see, Earl James and I think you are spies for the dark one. Our priests and wizards can find no magic about you, though some of your equipment possessed some minor dweomers. Nonetheless, you are surely not as innocent as you would have poor Berk believe."

The fingers on his right hand tapped absently on the hilt of a shortsword at his side. A shortsword that I recognized instantly. My anger grew. Not only had they taken us hostage without warrant, but now they had stolen from us as well.

"What's the matter, see something familiar?" He taunted me. I fought back the urge to lunge at him, but my headache and general low tolerance level was beginning to tell on me.

"I bet you'd like it back, wouldn't you?" He asked, tapping the pommel of my sword.

He was goading me and he knew it, but I do not think he was ready for me to act on it so quickly. "You talk to much," I growled at him as I lunged. His reflexes were good, I had to give him that. He jumped to the side away from and had my - now his - sword drawn quickly. What he had forgotten about was Brina.

Using more of the strange unarmed fighting style that I had seen her and Sandala use, she exploded into action as soon as he came within range. She pivoted quickly on the ground, her legs sweeping out and catching Paul in the back of the knees. He fell forward, surprised by her attack but having the presence of mind to try and throw himself away from her.

I was on him then, stepping on the back of his hand where it was wrapped around the hilt of the sword. He tried to throw me off but before he could do so my fist came down, connecting high on the side of his face, ensuring a black eye and a throbbing headache. It also ensured that I would have a sore hand and bruised knuckles too, but that was a concern for later.

He rolled away from me then, using the force of my blow to aid his momentum. I was off balance from the punch, allowing him to pull his hand holding the sword out from under my bare foot. He lurched back to his feet and stood on the defensive, sword leveled at Brina before she could finish her charge she was about to begin.

Distraction reared its ugly head then, as the door was opened and Earl James along with both guards entered the cell. Paul glanced over at them, his position requiring him to turn his head slightly to see them. That was all that we needed. I feinted in towards him, drawing his attention back to me. Brina also lunged in. Paul was fast, as I said, and he reacted accordingly, drawing the light weight shortsword back across in a swing aimed at her neck.

What happened next made me revise my opinion of Brina again, for it was a maneuver that nearly took my breath away. She dropped under the swing of the blade and launched a strike straight up with the palm of her fist leading the way. She hit the sword hilt as it crossed her head, striking it with enough force to knock it out of Paul's hand.

He was more stunned by it then I was, which allowed me to charge at him again with little threat of any lethal defense. He took a quick step back and turned to face me, throwing a haymaker at my face, which I easily avoided. Brina slipped behind him quickly and had her arms around his neck in a hold guaranteed to require his submission.

I glanced at James and saw him open his mouth, but the word, "Enough!" came to slow, for by the time the first syllable was uttered, there was a loud pop in the room that indicated Brina had finished Paul off with a forceful twist of his head. I forgot how strong she was, in spite of her size.

Both guards looked on in shock as Paul's limp body collapsed to the ground. James had a stunned look on his face too, but it quickly changed to disbelief at the thought of two unarmed and naked girls defeating his protégé. From there it turned to anger, and from anger to rage. He drew his own longsword and advanced on us, deadly intent in his eyes.

I scooped up my fallen shortsword and settled into a defensive position, wishing I had a dagger in my left hand. Brina slipped into a relaxed crouch as well with Paul's body at her feet. I realized yet again what a strange and dangerous young woman she was. James came on, and now the guards advanced behind him, their own longswords drawn.

"Even after killing the three of you, we can't escape," I said, multiple courses of action flashing through my mind in a heartbeat. I glanced at Brina and directed my eyes to the dirk on Paul's belt. In a quick and fluid motion, Brina reached down and pulled it free then tossed it to me. I caught it easily and turned my attention back just in time to deflect Beren's clumsy lunge at me.

With his sword out of the way, I took my newly acquired dagger and plunged it hilt deep into the side of his neck, twisting it when it hit bottom. He fell to the ground, trying to scoot away from me, one hand clutching at the gaping holes in his throat from which his lifeblood gurgled out.

My real concern was for Brina. James advanced on her and his movements matched every stance or shift in balance she adopted. Finally he lunged in at her, causing her to dodge to the side. He kept his distance and his balance, preventing her from launching any counter attacks.

The other guard advanced on me then. He had been waiting near the door to prevent us from making a break for it, but with his partner down, he had no choice but to come at me. He approached more carefully, having seen what I did to Beren. My concern for Brina was growing, so I threw caution to the wind and took the offensive against the guard.

Brina used my cloak to good effect then, whipping it around on her arm to foul up James' sword, slowing it enough so that she could land a solid kick to his stomach. He grunted and had his balance shifted back so that he had to take a half step back. He recovered quickly, yanking his sword free of the cloak and scoring a shallow cut along the outside of her left arm.

I tossed my dagger at the guard from an underhanded position, making him dodge to the side to avoid it. While distracted, I launched an overhand swing at him, drawing his longsword up high to keep his head from being split in two. Left with only my knee for a weapon, I drove it up and into his crotch, knocking the wind out of him in a small squeal. He doubled over briefly, the danger of his situation already overriding the impulse to curl into a fetal position. However, briefly was long enough, since my shortsword was no longer tangled up in his longsword. The point descended rapidly, sinking into his back just below his neck as he tried to stand back up. He shuddered and fell to his knees after a paralyzing moment of agony. I withdrew my blade and turned away from him to let him collapse to the ground and die.

I saw Brina try another foot sweep, but James deftly avoided it by jumping over her feet. Before he could launch a counter-attack she continued her sweep into another revolution, her leg aimed higher and driving out at the point of impact this time. He stumbled back and fell to one knee as her heel impacted directly with the front of his knee.

I slipped up behind him and laid my shortsword on his shoulder, the razor edge of it resting lightly against his neck. Brina sprung back to her feet and grinned triumphantly. I saw she had another minor wound on the inside of her right thigh as well, but she did not appear inconvenienced by it in spite of the trickle of blood that ran down the inside of her leg.

James, sensing defeat, dropped his sword and glared at Brina with undisguised hatred. "Everyone's life will last much longer if you don't make me kill you," I said, reaching down and grabbing the back of his tunic to indicate I wanted him to stand up. He did so slowly and raised his hands away from him. Brina moved closer and searched him carefully, removing a few throwing daggers and a dirk from his person, in addition to the longsword on the ground.

"Who are you?" He asked, his voice hard with anger.

"You're hardly in a position to ask questions," I responded, pressing lightly against his neck with my sword. "But since you asked so nicely, I'll tell you anyhow. I'm Yamara and she is Brina, and most recently, we're from Acathia."

"Where is that, somewhere in the Dark One's land?" He spat out.

"Don't know any Dark Ones, do you, Brina?" I said, enjoying the twist of fate.

"Could he mean a priest or a city-state King?" She asked.

"You know who I mean, don't taunt me!" He seethed. "The Dark One is far greater then any petty tyrant ruling any of the city-states to the south!"

"I don't think that's what he meant," I said rhetorically. "Acathia is, I believe, another world. Two suns there and only one here, you know. Before that I came from a world known as Halador. I tend to get myself involved with magical events that go awry."

"Yamara, what are we going to do now?" Brina asked me after a moment of thoughtful silence. I glanced at her, briefly surprised at how lost and small and almost innocent she looked in spite of the guard with the broken neck she had killed only a few minutes earlier.

"Yes, what are you going to do now?" James asked, trying to conceal the venom in his voice. "Everybody knows me well here, you'll not be able to escape."

I chafed at his words and his tone. We were in the position we were in entirely because of him. Left to our own devices, we would have moved on as best we could and not bothered him or his city. I was reminded of my desire to kill him then, and very nearly acted on it. I stayed my hand though, certain of a better way to do things. If only I could figure out what that way was. Perhaps my greatest mistake I ever made was in not acting on my instincts then and there.

"Tell us of this place," I said after a moment of thought, uncertain of what we would do, but knowing that we needed more information before we could do much of anything.

"Tell you of what place? This dungeon? The palace? Elendar? Malatoria?" His tone mocked me.

"We'll need to learn about this hole in the ground, but we can start with Malatoria."

James spoke of Malatoria then, haltingly and grudgingly at first, but gathering speed as he was questioned and prodded on. In what seemed a short order, Brina and I learned of the warlike and monotheistic Gneissian Empire to the west first. Gneiss was led by a man known as the Speaker of Symbos, the ageless high priest of the Gneissian God, Symbos. The preachings of Symbos were such that all citizens of the mighty empire were taught to believe only in what they were told. All creatures and things of magic not of a divine origin was false, in their eyes. That included any non-human race. No elves, dwarves, halflings, orcs, lizardfolk, gnomes, creatures of fairy (fey or benign in nature) were allowed within the great wall surrounding the empire. Soldiers serving along the wall or even further out, in border patrols or special missions, were reeducated before being allowed to return to the general public to maintain the falsehood of their existence.

I was fascinated that a con of such a magnitude could work successfully. James looked at me wearily, his long winded lesson broken up. Briefly, I saw a calculating look come into his eyes. He glanced around briefly, and then began to tell us more.

Gneissians could not completely disbelieve in magic, for whenever a war arose with Elendar or any of the other smaller nations of Malatoria, or something happened within the empire that could not be explained away in a normal way, magic was blamed. Magic was the tool of lesser, evil Gods. Not even Gods, according to the teachings of Symbos, but demons really.

"Sounds like Gneiss is ruled by a Sorcerer-King," Brina commented dryly, clearly not impressed.

James looked at her blankly, uncertain of what she was saying. "Where we are from, Acathia, the world is hot and lifeless. Where life does prosper is around oasises and fertile ground. Cities spring up there, and they are generally led by a powerful man or woman wielding a unique type of magic to lead great armies of men. They then title themselves as Sorcerer-Kings, and do whatever they can to run as corrupt a government as possible to break the backs of the slaves and freemen forced to eek out a living within their realm."

James looked thoughtfully at Brina, nodding as he compared the similarities before he caught himself and scowled slightly. "I have been to Gneiss many times, it is a beautiful land and the citizens are treated fairly. Poverty is all but unknown, but it's citizens are prisoners of their own realm, for it is forbidden for them to leave the borders... for their own safety, of course."

"How have you been there, if there are as xenophobic as they sound?" I asked, thinking I had found a hole in James' explanation.

"I do a great many things I'm not supposed to do," he said, giving me a cold smile.

I shivered then, as the damp and the cold of our cell suddenly set into me. I looked down at my body and realized that I was still naked and chilled. Glancing around our cell, I saw the bodies of the three dead men. I walked over to Paul's corpse since his clothing was in the best condition, and proceeded to strip him. Brina kept an eye on James while I quickly slipped into his breeches and shirt. They were large on me, but given the alternative, I made do using his belt. The belt was also handy for it allowed me to secure the James' throwing daggers in it, as well as the dirk I had taken from Paul. My sword remained in my hand.

I took over watching James while Brina eyed the two remaining clothed corpses. In a manner of minutes, she had slipped the best of their clothing on as well, which consisted of a tunic tied about her waist and a pair of tough leather pants. She took James' long sword as her own, though she preferred a short sword like me. Seeing that he had no use for it, she liberated the scabbard from James as well. She finished off her arsenal with a dagger from each of the guards corpses tucked into her belt.

With both of us paying attention to James again, I motioned for him to continue our education. I had to hand it to him though, he did not show any disappointment at the two of us clothing ourselves. Then again, it could have been due to his apparent - and deserved - hatred of us. Nonetheless, he continued.

Next we learned of the lands to the north, which were wild and untamed and home to fierce creatures. A large clan of giants lived in mountains to the north, but they kept to themselves mostly, especially since a rather notorious merchant by the name of Marius had managed to negotiate some trading with them. They raised sheep the size of horses, with wool that was far finer and tougher then anything to be found elsewhere.

Further north was a frozen land inhabited by occasional barbarian tribes, as well as other creatures accustomed to such environments. All in all, it was avoided by nearly any sane person, though every few years barbarian nomads might wander far enough south to cause some mischief along Elendar's northern borders.

South were a great many free cities, as well as The Great Forest, which housed the greatest concentration of elves in Malatoria. South of Gneiss was a small dwarven kingdom led by King Mordrim. Another barony of humans existed between the elves and dwarves, by the name of the Barony of Tyusk, under the rule of Baron Tyusk himself.

Further south of the elves were the free cities, largest and closest of them was Peltarch. Peltarch was a large shipping port as well, for many mines were found in the southern reaches of Elendar and Peltarch sat along the eastern shores of the Dragon Waters, a great ocean to which no end had been found that lay to the east of Elendar.

Beyond Peltarch and other free cities were more occasional settlements of people and demi-humans, and other, less savory humanoids. As well as many ruins of ancient civilizations. And to the south and east in a dark and evil land lay the realm of the Dark One. We could not get James to tell us the name of the Dark One, he vehemently insisted that doing so would draw it's attention, and that it had the powers of a God. Having seen similar fears and powers among my years on Halador, I did not push him. That and I was convinced that the more we tried to get him to tell us, the more convinced he would become that we were agents of the Dark One trying to draw it's attention and power.

By the time James had finished telling us several hours had passed. Neither Brina nor I had noticed, for we were fascinated by the world of Malatoria. But now that I had become aware of it, I realized that we had fallen into James' ploy. He had went along with us so readily because he was trying to lull us into wasting the hours away until a change of guards arrived. Time was against us, but we were not lost yet.

"Brina!" I hissed, getting her attention. She looked at me, snapping out of her near trance listening to James had caused. "We have to get going, more guards will arrive soon."

Her eyes opened as she realized what had nearly happened. She looked back at James accusingly, and saw his eyes harden. I knew that under his breath and in his mind, he was cursing at me for realizing it.

"How do we get out?" Brina asked, worry creeping into her voice.

I thought for a moment before responding, "The sewers!"

"What are those?" She asked me, puzzled at what was, to her, a strange word.

"Any city of size usually has them," I said, pausing to look at James until he reluctantly nodded. "They're for removing the cities waste, they run under the city, like caves or mines, but with water running through them. It's not pleasant, but we should be able to get out."

"So how do we get to them?" Brina asked me, hugging her cloak about her body more closely. I looked at James expectantly. He met my stare challengingly for a long moment before he finally nodded.

"I know how to get to them, but you'll never make it from here. You'd have to leave the palace and there are far to many guards along the way."

Brina looked at me, worry clear on her face. Gone was the crafty and calculating girl I had met on Acathia, in her place was the young and innocent girl that Brina should have been. I smiled at her quickly to reassure her then turned and glared at James.

"No, I don't think so," I stated. "I know your type, even if I just met you. You have an secret entrance hidden somewhere nearby, or I'm a man."

Brina laughed softly at my statement. If nothing else, she had firsthand knowledge that I was no man!

"So you'll take us there, or end up dying right here and now," I finished, stepping closer to him and gesturing with the point of my sword.

He laughed sharply. "Instead I help you escape so I can die later?"

I hated to admit it but he had a point there. We really had no choice but to kill him at some point or he would be after us, either personally or by sending countless soldiers. Fortunately, Brina came to my rescue the second she realized I had no witty response.

She moved over to him, letting her cloak fall away from where she had it gathered in front of her. Her tunic covered her from the front, but it was open on the sides to show her darkly tanned sides and the barely hidden swell of her young breasts under the tunic. She slipped around behind him, her fingers lightly tracing up James' arm as she did so.

Speaking softly, her lips nearly touching his ear, she said, "The longer you live, the better the chance you have to escape from us and bring about our capture. Two women alone on a strange world, how far and how long can we really go?"

Watching carefully, I hid my smirk at the girls ploy. Here was the Brina I was used to. She was definitely a dangerous creature, but fortunately, she was my creature. I liked to think that made me even more dangerous.

James did his best to ignore the intimacy with which she delivered her statement. Regardless, he was a man, and Brina was a beautiful young woman able to inspire fantasies in the most devout of priests. Still, I think James performed admirably. What got to him was what she said. No doubt he had been thinking it already, of this I was sure, but to be reminded of it in such a way hardened his resolve - or weakened it, depending upon how one looked at it.

"Very well, I will lead you out. But be on your toes, for every step of the way you'll have to be worried that I might be leading you into a trap or a trick of some sort that will allow the tables to be turned," He said, trying to recapture some momentum. He was speaking to me more then Brina, for he had identified me as the leader of our partnership.

"We wouldn't have it any other way," Brina breathed into his ear before I could respond. She even went so far as to reach out with her tongue and gently lick the inside rim of his ear. Then she was away, back at my side in only a moment. I glanced at her with a touch of pride, some of it even displayed on my face. Then again, maybe James was right, maybe we were agents of darkness. I could definitely see Brina making a very successful succubus!

I grabbed up a key ring from one of the guards and led the way out of the cell. James was next, and Brina came last. Following James' directions, I led the way through the poorly lit dungeon corridors.

"Haven't been to busy lately, have you?" I asked James in reference to all the empty cells.

"This is a special part of the dungeon," he confided, seeing nothing to be gained by not answering me. He did not volunteer any more information though about it though.

Luck was with us, for the hidden entrance to the sewers was hidden in the back of the furthest cell along the passage. Rather clever, I thought, to hide an escape route in what is traditionally considered a place that escape is impossible.

Only by shutting the door to the cell with which we found ourselves in and then prying a loose rock from a wall out and setting it on a pressure sensitive area of the floor near the door where we able to release the catch to the concealed doorway. Pushing the well oiled and counterbalanced section of the floor away from where it seamlessly blended into the rest of the floor revealed a seemingly endless drop into darkness.

"We need a light," I said, thinking where I could find a torch. There were sconces in the walls of the passage we had come down, but most of them were unlit and those that were not were secured far to well for us to try and take.

"There is a lantern, flint, and steel hidden below," James said, a trace of a smile on his face.

I scowled at him, knowing how much he was enjoying this. "We drop together," I told him. "How far is it?"

"Six feet down, then a ledge heading away from here for a few feet more, then it drops another two feet. A niche on the right is where the lantern is," He responded casually.

I nodded and repeated, "We drop together. You hold on to my shirt, both hands. If, at any time, I feel one of your hands not on me, you die."

"Wait," Brina said, stopping me. "Let me do it, you drop down first and secure the area, I'll drop with James." I thought about it quickly and nodded, she had a good point.

I slipped to the edge of the pit and peered into the inky blackness. Taking a deep breath, I let myself slip into it. Sure enough, after a few feet my feet hit the ground. In spite of the darkness, I landed gracefully. I moved off carefully, searching for the edge. Finding it, I slipped down to the next landing and called back softly to Brina to let her know I was out of the way.

"Turn and face me," Brina said, standing close to James. She held a dagger in her hand a few inches from his midsection. He glanced down and smiled at her.

"Careful with that, I'm cooperating rather nicely and I'd hate for us to slip and fall and have an accident."

Brina smiled right back at him, "Then I guess we'd better hope we don't slip." From where I could hear them, I smirked in the dark. Then I remembered the lantern and started searching about blindly for the niche that James said it was hidden in.

"Two hands on me, like Yamara said," Brina ordered him. He placed his hands on her sides directly on her skin, just above her hips. "Now on three, we jump."

Brina counted to three while I continued to search for the lantern. As she reached three, they both stepped into the pit. James' hands slid up as they descended, sliding under her tunic and halter top so that they rested gently over Brina's breasts. Her sudden intake of breath was not from the fall alone, though they landed safely.

"Keep your hands on her until I get the lantern lit," I ordered, unaware of their specific placement. Unknown in the dark, James grinned. His grin turned to a grimace when Brina's dagger pushed against his belly, cutting through the cloth with the point and just barely breaking the skin. In spite of the promise of pain, he kept his hands where they were, knowing that she was trying to get him to remove them so she could finish the thrust.

A few moments later, I found the lantern hidden cleverly in a niche, just as he had described. Reaching around inside of it, I pulled out the flint and steel as well. All the while the dagger pushed a little harder, but not enough to cause any serious damage.

A few more moments and I had the lantern lit. I shuttered it mostly and glanced back at James and Brina and saw him standing there with his hands dutifully on her sides again. I pride myself on my perception, and because of that I noticed that her cheeks looked redder then they had before, as though she was angry or embarrassed or otherwise flushed. I shrugged it away though, not knowing the real reason for it. I also noticed the faint red stain on James' shirt and the small hole the tip of Brina's dagger had caused.

"He give you any trouble?" I asked her, more concerned about it then I liked to admit.

She glared at him for a brief moment. "No, when we landed it was awkward and my arm went forward a little bit to balance myself." She looked back at him, a portion of the glare returning, "Take your hands off me now."

I raised my eyebrow curiously. I knew Brina was every bit as graceful as I was, and based upon the glare she sent him I suspected something else might have been at play too, but I figured Brina could take care of herself. Hell, I had seen her do some amazing things, I knew she could take of herself!

Turning about, we looked at the new tunnel we found ourselves in and headed down it, the pungent smell of the cities sewers growing rapidly stronger with each step.

Continued in Chapter 9

---