Lukas. I must... warn Lukas
.
Everything was fuzzy and dim. Her eyes couldn't stay open. Her arms weighed a stone each, at least, and her legs refused to acknowledge they were even part of her.
"Grab her," the tall man ordered his men, and rough hands seized her and flung her over stout shoulders. Clara's blood rushed to her head and she knew no more.
** *
Lukas watched Kaman and his lackeys from the shadows. Curses! They'd taken Clara. He could see her limp form draped over Skaret's shoulder. She'd taken off her red cloak for bed, of course, but he'd recognize her anywhere, even from such an odd angle. He might have known Keifen wouldn't be the last man Otto would send in pursuit.
Kasimira was not silent in her desire to end the war, and Otto was not oblivious. If Kasimira had had a brother, or even a more malleable sister, Otto replacing her birthright might have been a concern, but the queen had birthed only one heir. Otto was too proud a man to put anyone of lesser blood onto his throne, so he let her plan her rule while continuing his own as he wished. Lukas suspected Otto planned on winning the war and tying the kingdoms together under his reign long before it ever passed to Kasimira, who would then have no war to end. The princess kept plots secret from all but her closest and most loyal guard, saving for the king only verbal sparring. He'd foiled her plans before, though none had been on quite so grandiose a scale as this.
Kaman was one of Otto's most trusted, bloodthirsty for the gold he believed Lotharis held. He was not without some integrity - he wasn't inclined to slaughter women and children - but the Lotharisian men he took out by scores when he fought the front. He was skilled with a long-knife, a sword, and bare combat. His cronies Lukas didn't recognize, but they would surely be as loyal to Otto and ruthless as Kaman. And now they had Clara.
Creeping silently to avoid detection, Lukas followed the men. He'd been a fool to believe themselves safe from Maharian forces. Once they'd reached Glenville he'd considered only contending with the Lotharisian guards. The little Healer would pay the price for his oversight if he didn't get her away from them, and fast. His odds of single-handedly taking out three armed, trained guards was slim, even if one of them was encumbered by Clara's slack form. Her presence brought up another issue - if they threatened harm to her to hold off his attack, he knew he'd drop his weapons and give up the fight. Mission or no, the thought of them harming one hair on her head...
He shook his head, chastising himself. Those thoughts weren't helping right now. Clara needed him to focus, and form a plan.
How would Kasimira feel, if she could see him now? A free chance to make for the capitol, while his pursuers were distracted, and he squandered it on a Healer. True, she was no ordinary Healer, she was an agent for the same cause, but that hardly seemed a good enough reason. Kaman stopped ahead and turned, as if he could sense Lukas. Lukas tucked himself against a wall, holding his breath. The men looked around, for signs of followers, but the only sound was a drunken chorus of "Hey, Hey, My Bonny Lass," coming from a tavern up the street. After a minute, Kaman motioned the men down an alley, and they disappeared almost before Lukas could cross the square.
Kaman and the two men were making swift progress under the night shadows, and he hurried to keep pace. If he couldn't follow them, she might be lost to him forever. She wasn't crucial to the mission, but somehow she seemed the most important thing. A world without Clara was not a world worth living in. His heart urged him to examine this thought, this feeling further, but his years of training told him to put it aside and focus only on one thing - how to rescue her.
** **
Clara had no idea where she was. Her head swam thickly, vision blurry and unfocused. Her wrists were throbbing - why? The cottony, dry taste in her mouth seemed to gag her - wait, no. It was a gag of some kind. She was bound to a chair, she realized, as the pain in her wrists became more apparent. Trying to kick her leg out, she found they were tied up as well, one to each of the chair's front legs. Her shoulders ached from the strain on her wrists. Was she alone?
At first glance, she seemed to be in a cave of some kind, but as her vision sharpened, she saw that it was a room, a dark, dirty room, dim and musty. There was no sign of her abductors, other than the packs in one corner. An ancient bed sat across from her, sagging in the middle and as dismal in appearance as she felt herself. There was no window, only a flickering candle on the stand next to the bed. What time of day was it? How long had she been here - minutes? Hours? Days?
Lukas, she had to get back to Lukas. She pulled on her bonds to no avail; the Maharians had left her no room to wiggle out. "Mmmph!" she swore in frustration, her words lost behind the gag. Maybe there was someone else outside the room, someone not Maharian, who might help her.
"MMMPPH!" she screamed. "MMMMPPHMMM!" She rocked the chair back and forth, it legs slamming into the ground loudly, adding to her cry for help. Then, with a startled cry, she leaned it too far to the side, and she slammed into the ground as the chair toppled over. Her shoulder and hip lanced with pain from the impact. Perhaps she'd managed to snap one of the chair legs, and freed a leg! Her attempt at a kick proved otherwise, and she swore again, even more helpless now that she was trapped on the ground, on her side.
A sliver of light appeared around the door, then grew larger and framed the silhouette of a man. Maharian? An ally? She couldn't tell. She gave a call through her gag and hoped for the best.
"Someone," said a voice with a lilting accent, "is making a lot of noise in here." Clara's heart thudded. Lukas? "Guess that must mean you're awake, and ready to tell us where our pal Wulff is." Her stomach shrank as she realized the voice belonged to the tall man, to her kidnapper. The man entered the room, bearing an extra candle, and her surroundings lit up a bit more. The light only served to make them look even more squalid. This was not the kind of place that would ask questions of strange men renting rooms, nor was it the type to check in when those rooms were raucous. No one would be coming to save her, Clara thought, unless Lukas could find her.
"Now then," said the man, "We haven't been properly introduced. You can just call me Kaman. Well, you could if I removed that gag, and I will if you're ready to talk." Clara said nothing, and Kaman sighed and grabbed the back of her chair, turning it upright in one movement. He pulled another chair from against the wall, and turned it so the back was facing her. Sitting astride, he leaned in close to her, his arms crossed and resting on the back. "I think you'll find it's in your best interest to cooperate, or you'll find I can be very...persuasive."
Did he mean torture? Clara gulped, her stomach sinking even further.
"I'm going to take off this gag anyway. You can scream if you like, we've paid well enough that no one will come to investigate. I wouldn't if I were you, though. I'm not a patient man, and the screaming of women is not a noise I enjoy listening to."
Clara nodded, her heart thudding so hard it seemed it might burst out of her chest. She'd have to be brave, no matter what came.
"Good," said Kaman, and rather than untie the gag, he drew his long-knife and slipped the blade between her cheek and the fabric, shearing through it easily. Clara knew the move was meant to frighten her, to show the knife and its sharpness, but knowing the purpose wasn't enough to prevent the response. She was frightened.
"I don't want to hurt a Healer, I truly have a great respect for your kind - Lotharisian or no - but I will do what I have to, to get this information." He leaned back and studied her. "I'm going to give you one more chance right now, to tell me where Lukas Wulff is. I promise, if you cooperate, no harm will come to you."
"You'll let me go?" Clara found it hard to believe they would let her wander free, just like that.
"Yes, in a few days. We'll make arrangements for your stay here, and once we've finished what we came to do, you'll be released. Your gift is rare enough without needlessly destroying it."
