The Sorcerer's Bride

Entraitenne's face held a look somewhere between disgust and indignation as he stared at Augustine's broken and bloody body. It was beginning to bloat and a dark cloud of flies hung around it, attracted by the smell of decaying flesh. In a few more days the flies would be replaced by maggots feeding on the former Emperor's corrupted flesh. Augustine's wasn't the only body that had been trapped in the rubble when the imperial palace collapsed. Ruined bodies lay everywhere in the rubble, the destruction almost apocalyptic in its scale. Most of the dead were the Emperor's sycophants but no few of those killed were powerful nobles. The Black Prince had effectively ended the Marchet Empire with this single act.

But the end of an empire wasn't what concerned Entraitenne, he craved far grander things that mere mortal power. The link he'd had with Marchet's Emperor had broken upon his death. With the loss of that link came the loss of the spell he'd woven into it. Entraitenne could no longer feed off of Augustine's life essence to bolster his own and it was a crippling blow to him. Only a few days had passed since the collapse of the palace and already the warlock could feel his newly acquired youth slipping away, taking his superior abilities with it. The Beatha spell required a continual link with another person in order to work. Now Entraitenne would have to find new prey on which to perform the difficult incantation.

Entraitenne needed Adoneal's Pearl, a source of unlimited power created by the Goddess herself. If he ever intended to possess the Pearl though, the Black Prince would have to be destroyed. An idea began to form in the back of his mind as he stood staring over the remains of the palace. If Entraitenne could find some way to trap the ancient sorcerer long enough to perform the life spell, it would eliminate his only rival while at the same time giving him back the magic he so desperately needed. A cruel smile parted the warlock's thin lips exposing his sharp yellowing teeth as he thought of the perfect bait for his enemy. Had any living being been present to see that smile they would have fled in terror.

Samis sighed as she watched her daughter sleep peacefully in her ornately carved crib. Terregan had crafted it himself out of a fallen tree in the forest a few weeks before. The young woman couldn't help but admire the beauty of her only child. Sara's ivory skin practically glowed in the shaft of sunlight streaming through the window. Samis couldn't help thinking it was almost fey the way the small girl child seemed lit from within and smiled at the irony. There was a very good chance Sara was fey considering who her father was.

Samis heard the father in question coming up the path to the small cottage they shared as she trailed a hand gently down her daughter's smooth cheek. His rumbling voice carried in the still forest and Samis could always tell when he was near. She turned away from the crib to greet her husband as he opened the door and strode into the single large room of their home. Samis smiled at Terregan then held her arms open for him.

"She sleeps?"

Terregan grimaced as his words echoed loudly through the room. He always had a hard time keeping his voice low enough not to disturb the babe. Samis winked at him playfully and gathered her into his arms for a quick embrace. Terregan forgot about the troublesome activities his forest sentinels had been observing as she pressed her body close to his. When Samis pointed to the door then slipped out of his arms he followed without question.

Once outside Samis caught her husband's face in her hands and offered him a deep kiss of welcome, letting him know she'd missed him while he'd been gone. Terregan had just returned from the other end of the immense Blackweld forest, a journey of several days, and Samis was happy to have him home again. She still found it strange sometimes that not only was married to this powerful mancer, but that she had born him a child only months before. His big arms tightened around her as her mind wandered, reassuring in their strength.

Terregan loved the feel of his wife's womanly body next to his. Samis had been curvy and supple before the pregnancy but now that the babe was here her curves were full and sensual. He desired her more now than ever before. She had more of a presence now than she'd ever had before, as if lit from within by some wondrous illumination. The more time Terregan spent watching her, the harder it was to pull his eyes away. He reached out and caressed her silky cheek with the back of his hand, his heart swelling at the bright smile his touch elicited.

"I have missed you wife," Terregan murmured, his eyes wandering over her body as he thought of how much he needed to hold her warm bare flesh next to his own. Samis blushed a rosy pink, reminding him of the strange changes giving birth had wrought in her.

"You read my mind."

It wasn't a question and Samis knew it. Since Sara's birth, her small gift of truth sense had grown into something altogether different and she had started to develop frightening abilities. Hearing the thoughts of others was only a trifling example of the powers she'd discovered in the last few months. Samis looked into Terregan's deep blue eyes and nodded hesitantly. She hated these changes in herself. They frightened her beyond anything she'd known before. Samis didn't fear magic; her truth sense had been a part of her as long as she could remember. No, what terrified Samis more than anything was the pleasure she felt when she used the new powers. She was afraid of herself, of becoming something others feared.

Seeing the troubled look in his wife's eyes Terregan's heart fell. He knew she did not trust her growing abilities, though in truth Terregan had known it was coming. He had known for centuries. He'd tried so many times to tell his love of the things he had learned in the stars so long ago but each time the words just would not come. Terregan was terrified to reveal the truth to her and at the same time he was terrified not too. Deep inside he knew she would find out eventually but he just couldn't bring himself to risk the bond they had forged.

Samis stiffened in his arms and Terregan realized with growing horror what he had done. Samis could sense the thoughts of others now and in his carelessness he had let his mind stray to the one thing he did not want her to know. Before he could speak she wrenched herself out of his grasp, whirled away from him, and dashed into the forest.

"Samis wait!"

He started after her, calling for her to listen, to give him a chance to explain. He hadn't gone more than a few yards when he took a vicious blow to the head. As darkness flooded his vision Terregan's last thoughts centered on his small daughter, who he had just left alone in the cottage.

"Where is the woman?" Entraitenne asked, his eyes shifting back and forth to watch for any movement in the darkness around him as he took the small bundle Targo held out. The grime covered ruffian's beard parted in an idiot's grin, revealing a mouthful of black broken teeth, and he shrugged. The ripe stench of unwashed body drifted over Entraitenne and he lifted a swatch of perfumed cloth to his nose to ward off the evil smell.

"No woman," Targo slurred, waving his arms wildly to emphasize his garbled pidgin.

Entraitenne scowled at the troll-like man. He'd hired the ruffian to get both the child and Samis, but growing tired of the smell wafting off the man he pulled out the leather purse of coins and counted out exactly half of the amount they'd agreed on. Targo squinted up at the warlock, as if weighing his chances of being able to take the whole amount then apparently deciding it wasn't worth the struggle, lifted his gnarled shoulders in another shrug and left.

The small bundle in assassin's arms shifted suddenly, issuing a short piercing cry. Entraitenne cringed, expecting the brat to begin wailing ceaselessly, but the infant stilled with only a token protest. He had hoped to have its mother in his possession as well but the infant would do for what he had in mind. All that Entraitenne had to do now was take the babe to the place he had prepared and wait, he had no doubt the Black Prince would find him. The assassin let out a low chuckle as he turned to his horse and climbed into the saddle. It was difficult with the child in his arms and he managed to jostle the infant before gaining his seat, eliciting a plaintive howl from the babe. The cries startled Entraitenne's high strung stallion and it shied nervously as he attempted to guide it out of the small clearing. As he fought the protesting animal the assassin failed to notice a shadowy silhouette that slid out of the trees and followed.

Terregan groaned and lifted a hand to his throbbing head. It came away sticky with blood and he wondered for a moment how he had managed to injure himself in his own forest. Then he remembered being struck from behind and that his infant daughter Sara was alone. With a curse he lurched to his feet and turned back toward the cottage, swaying drunkenly as his vision blurred.

"Samis? Are you inside?" Terregan called, his voice ringing in his ears like a clap of thunder, causing him to wince in pain. There was no answer from the cottage. His unease growing, Terregan reached out to pull the latch on the door and found it already open. The unease he felt blossomed into fear as he stepped into the empty house where there was no sign of Samis or his daughter Sara. Then he saw a small scrap of paper pinned with a knife to the top of the table in the center of the room. Terregan prized the knife, one he had gifted to Samis on their wedding night, free of the table and read the note. His blood ran cold as he read the lines penned there in his wife's hand.

Sara is missing. I believe I can find her.

I know I can. I can FEEL her. I would have

waited for you but there was no time and I

didn't know where you were. Follow

as soon as you can. I have left a trail.

Samis

A myriad of emotions flitted across Terregan's face as he scanned the note again, his mind flashing over memories centuries old. In a flash of terror and joy Terregan realized he'd misunderstood the prophesy the stars had given him and his hands dropped limply to his sides, the note forgotten as it drifted gently to the floor of the cottage.

"I will follow you Samis," Terregan's voice broke with emotion, "May the Gods forgive me if I am too late."

Samis watched as Entraitenne carried her infant daughter with him into the cave. Terror and fury warred within her when she heard Sara scream again. The babe was hungry, but she knew the foul assassin would care nothing about the needs of a babe. Samis longed to hold her daughter in her arms, feel Sara's tiny fingers curl around her own. Entraitenne would scream for mercy before she was done with him, beg for death.

Samis had been following the assassin for what seemed like hours, using her new abilities to cloak herself within the night's shadows until he'd finally stopped less than a league from the Blackweld Forest. Trust the loathsome snake to make sure he was just outside the reach of Terregan's lands, she thought. Samis was deeply frightened for her child, dreading what Entraitenne intended to do. The fear caused her chest to tighten painfully, her stomach to roil. In the back of her mind she screamed for her husband to help her, wondered if he yet knew what had happened.

Samis had made an effort to sooth her daughter's terror, to push aside her fear and put a serene calm in its place, but the hours of tension were taking their toll and Samis' capacity to calm her daughter was slipping away. If she didn't get to Sara soon, she would lose their link, leaving her blind to what was happening. Samis waited a few more minutes, making sure she had not been seen then crawled from behind the large stone where she'd been hiding and scuttled toward the mouth of the cave. She was careful not to dislodge any loose rock as she made her way inside the dank cavern, knowing any sound would alert the assassin to an intruder.

Samis could see a flickering glow further back into the fissure, the flickering of a torch. She ignored the sting of her hands scraping across the sharp rock, focused instead on the dim light ahead. Exhaustion pushed at the edge of her awareness. Her mind swam with questions which she did her best to ignore, though they still floated unyielding through the stormy sea of her thoughts. Why here? Why this place? Why did he want her child? What was he going to do? Samis had an idea what the answers were but pushed them aside, too terrified to face them. She knew she wouldn't have the luxury of distraction, not with Entraitenne.

Samis let her anger wash over her, build until her hands shook from fury. She wanted the fury so she could do what was needed when the time came. Samis had never raised her hand in violence to anyone before and knew she would need every ounce of strength she possessed to get Sara back. She wished Terregan were there with her, could save their daughter. Her husband would know exactly what to do, Samis had no doubt.

Terregan didn't know what to do. Samis' trail had petered off into nothing as he'd left the boundary of the forest. He was wary of using his magic to find her, wary of traps Entraitenne might have left. Without realizing it, Terregan came close to panic as he searched for any sign of his wife. His heart thudded wildly and his hands shook slightly. He only vaguely noticed that he'd begun to perspire when it began to sting his eyes. Absently he lifted a hand to wipe the moisture from his brow. There had to be something, anything to tell him which direction his wife had gone. He couldn't have gotten this far only to loose her and any chance of helping her. Terregan wouldn't accept that, not when his child's life dependant on him.

He took a deep breath, forcing his body into a calm stance, his mind to settle. His eyes scanned the ground again looking for the tell tail signs of passage. Terregan was beginning to grow impatient with himself when he finally noticed a divot of grass to his right that he'd nearly missed in his haste. He knelt, running his fingers along the shallow cavity in the earth. A horse and a large one from what Terregan could see from the depth of the mark. He could find no sign of Samis, the trail of broken twigs she'd left for him gone now that he was out of the forest, but this single print in the ground told him what he needed to know. When he found another print it told him the direction that the animal had gone, and with his face set in a grim scowl, he followed.

Samis watched as Entraitenne placed her small daughter on a flattened stalagmite and pulled back the blanket in which she'd been wrapped. Samis could here Sara's loud protest at his touch echoing in her mind and cringed knowing the thin sleeping gown the infant wore would be no protection against the chill air of the cave. Even though the small shelf of rock which she hid behind barely concealed Samis' crouching form she couldn't bare to let her daughter out of her sight now. Whatever Entraitenne intended to do, it was obvious that he wouldn't wait much longer. He had arranged a cluster of small clay jars on the floor of the cave near where Sara lay and was now busy lighting a brazier filled with something pungent smelling.

As Samis watched in horrified fascination Entraitenne began to pull of his long loose robes, and she noticed he looked closer to his real age now. Samis wondered if he'd cast a glamour over himself at the palace, but it was a fleeting thought. Soon he stood clad in only a thin loin cloth, exposed to the cool moist air of the cavern. The flickering light of the torch cast his emaciated body in harsh shadow, highlighting his protruding ribs starkly. Samis could no longer see the man who had once inhabited the warlock's body; she could only see a nightmarish demon consumed by greed and hate. Entraitenne had rotted from the inside and only now was the disintegration underneath his human husk obvious.

Samis knew she had to do something now, time had run out. The anger and hatred that she'd been building, gathering into her self, fought for release now. Samis felt her body tense in readiness, her muscles coil tightly as she prepared to move. With a deep breath she let her fury go, let it burn through her veins leaving a trail of fire under her skin. Just as she started to stand, a big rough hand closed over her mouth and she was held fast in an iron grip.

Terregan could see the tension building in Samis, knew without a doubt she was preparing to act. He couldn't let her face Entraitenne alone, couldn't permit harm to come to his wife. With a swiftness that surprised even him, he rushed forward just as she started to move and grasped her tightly. Terregan felt her body stiffen for a split second, then she began to struggle. Samis was a wildcat in his arms and it took all his control to keep from hurting her. He knew she didn't realize who held her and took a deadly chance. He spoke.

"Samis," he hissed into her ear, "It is Terregan. Stop struggling."

Instantly she stilled, her ragged breaths warming the hand he held to her mouth. Terregan feared they had been heard, that his actions had given away their presence. He held them both immobile, hoping against hope that Entraitenne was to preoccupied with preparing his ritual to notice them. But the warlock had begun to paint runes on his body and his concentration was focused on his work. Terregan let out the breath he'd been holding in a rush, his muscles aching from tension.

As silently as he could he drew Samis back out of the cave with him. Terregan knew what Entraitenne planned and how he hoped to accomplish it. He had a plan of his own, but first he needed to talk with Samis. His blind need for the child the stars had promised had nearly caused him to blunder into a deadly trap. All this time he'd thought the babe was the key to Adoneal's Pearl. All this time he'd made the mistake of thinking of the Pearl as a thing to be found. All this time he'd been wrong. Samis was Adoneal's Pearl.

Entraitenne dipped his finger one last time into the small jar of blood he'd collected so long ago. All this time it had waited for his use. He still remembered the dying screams of the elemental spirit who'd shed it. The corners of Entraitenne's lips twitched. Soon he would hear more such screams from his most hated enemy the Black Prince. Again and again the mancer had thwarted his plans. Again and again he'd been humiliated. Now his time had come and his revenge would be sweet indeed.

The warlock grasped another jar, containing something equally as precious as his elemental blood. This one held the powdered remains of a unicorn's horn. It had been the most elusive prize Entraitenne had ever sought, the most difficult to capture. The pain and suffering he'd endured in taking it would soon be repaid ten fold. Then, then Adoneal's Pearl would be his and he would bring the world to its knees.

Entraitenne removed the jar's wax seal cautiously. If he made a single mistake in its use he would pay dearly for it, perhaps with his life. Oh so carefully he formed a circle around the babe with the powder, knowing a single stray grain would ruin the spell. When he was done Entraitenne moved to stand behind the pillar of rock where the infant lay, positioning him self just outside the sphere. The Black Prince would be here soon, he could feel it, feel the delicious ache of hate filling his bones.

There was a scuffling noise at the entrance to the cavern and Entraitenne knew he had come at last. His ancient foe did not disappoint him. As Entraitenne watched, his beady eyes shining with conquest, The Black Prince stepped into the torch light. The warlock nearly crowed his victory out loud, but at the last minute his joy faltered. Something was not right, some small nuance was just the tiniest bit skewed. Entraitenne frowned in confusion. Then he saw the Prince's tears and forgot his caution. The great Black Prince was brought to his knees at last. One small infant, a miniscule human life had become the Prince's Achilles heel. Entraitenne did gloat then, unable to hold back his triumph.