Picking up a sausage, he chewed it slowly, considering.
I froze, unable to eat as I waited for him to decide. His name must hold more weight than I realized, yet I’d given him mine without a thought.
“After all, why not,” he said to himself. “You are my wife.”
As if I could forget our midnight wedding, the bats that terrorized the palace, and my uncle calling his sorcerers as we fled.
“My name is Oren.”
“Oren,” I repeated. It fit him and sounded much less threatening than the ominous, vague title of “the Piper.”
Allowing myself a minor victory in winning his name, I bit into the pastry and cinnamon danced across my tongue.
We ate in silence for a few moments, and I chased away thoughts of the future while I ate pastries and sausage, a sharp cheese, tiny green grapes, and a juicy red fruit that looked like blood as it dripped down my chin. Once full, I felt armed for my conversation with Oren.
Guessing my thoughts, he smirked as he poured another steaming cup of tea. “Tanith, are you ready to hear my proposal?”
Patting my mouth with a napkin, I straightened up. “Yes.”
He bared his teeth, the sunlight highlighting the razor sharpness. Despite my intent to be on my best behavior, I grumbled, “You’ve already forced me to marry you, you don’t have to intimidate me too.”
A sly smile gathered at the corners of his mouth. “Are you intimidated? You don’t act like it.”
My attitude soured, and I glared at him. “I’m more curious about the proposal which will annul our marriage.”
He wagged a finger. “Yes, but only if you meet my demands. I’ve been sleeping for years, but not much has changed in Dowler. You’ve lived in the fortress of secrets, the palace ruled by your aunt and uncle. I need information, and you’re going to provide it. You’ll be my spy and find out what I need to know. If you succeed and I get what I want from your uncle, then the vows of our marriage will break, and you can go your own way in peace. However, if you fail, then you and I will be bound together until death rips us apart. So there’s your incentive to help me. Tell me, Tanith, what do you think?”
“I’ll do it,” I agreed quickly, partly because I didn’t have another choice and partly because serving as his informant would give me an opportunity to undermine him. My aunt had asked me to destroy him, and with the notes from the journal, I hoped to discover his weakness and use it to undo his magic. Because if he were gone, I’d be free from his heinous plan.
Oren frowned. “You agreed rather quickly. I thought someone like you might think it over or at least try to bargain.”
“What is there to think over? You want the magic-thralls and I want to be free of you and Dowler. This plan of yours is mutually beneficial.”
He narrowed his eyes and his voice dropped to a purr. “You have a secret, don’t you, Tanith? I’m going to find out and then I’ll ruin you. They don’t call me the Devil of Dowler for nothing.”
My heart thumped in my throat, and suddenly the blade tied to my thigh seemed insufficient, considering his threat. Recalling the fable, I dropped my head, sure the fear in my eyes would betray me. When I could breathe evenly again, I lifted my chin. “You don’t know me at all, Oren. Just because I agreed to your proposal doesn’t mean I have a hidden agenda.”
“I know a lie when I hear it,” he leaned over the table. “Enjoy your breakfast, Tanith. I’ll find you when I have questions.”
With those words, he swept away, leaving me to try and calm my racing pulse.
8Oren
Tanith. What a curious creature. Even though she was human, I liked my new wife. She made herself mine by waking me up, a trick I was still trying to decipher. She had taken the pyramid from my coffin and her blood—I assumed—covered it, but that should not have been enough to wake me. Not unless she held magic. But when I’d kissed her, I hadn’t tasted magic. Although I didn’t need to marry her, it was easier to protect her with my magic if we had a sacred vow between us. I doubted she meant the words she’d spoken in the palace, but the trick had worked all the same.
Humans could be so flippant with promises and oaths, believing everything could be undone should they change their minds on some random whim. Guided by emotions, they rarely considered the consequences of their actions. In fact, I doubted Tanith was sorry for stealing from me, only remorseful that she’d gotten caught. Instead of dissolving into tears and begging, she was feisty, sharp-tongued, and beautiful—wild curls, dark eyes, full lips. I wanted to hear her gasp when I kissed her, her throaty moans of arousal and the catch in her voice when she begged for more. As she would, in time. I’d suspected her attraction, and when I’d kissed her, the heat between us had ignited.
I tapped a rhythm on my leg as I recalled her attitude at breakfast. Again, no tears, only a determined streak. She presented a challenge, and while I hoped our deal would work, I was under no false pretense. She’d seek escape as soon as possible and appointing her a gargoyle as a guard wouldn’t change that. Nor would frightening her into submission.
Eventually, I’d explain more about our situation and the magic-thralls. For now, I did not trust her as far as tomorrow, no matter the budding attraction I held for her. Outside, I strode to the adjoining building and paused before the structure that had once been a barn. I lifted my flute to my lips, closed my eyes, and played.
I had missed this—the smell of sweet grass, the warmth of the sun on my skin, and most of all, my music. A song welled up within me and melodies swirled like stars, colliding and crashing in a beautiful symphony of song. When I played, everything else floated away, my desires morphing into actions as I sent out my summons.
Last night, I’d awakened the gargoyles, and soon the beasts would come. I was grateful my horse hadn’t strayed far, but in the past, he’d always come with a whistle. The others were bold and would have explored far and wide. They might return in days or weeks, depending on how far they’d gone.
I played until the breeze carried my song. Leaves rustled like chimes and the mocking birds picked out the notes, sharing it from one to the other, calling, calling. I stopped to listen and the echoes of my song carried. Enough for today.
My castle perched on a hilltop, the area surrounded by woods and thickets, but down a path, a river warbled. It just so happened the river flowed down to Dowler and surrounded the town. In the past, it had been the source of life, where the inhabitants went to fish and collect water for their daily use. Water. The source of life.
