Amber was an interesting character to write and although I originally only planned for her to show up in book 2 of the Legendary Artifact series, I thought her backstory deserved some attention. Alas her backstory stole the momentum from the first book and she never met the protagonists, so I made the hard decision of resigning her chapters to the parking lot. At some point in time, I may revisit Amber’s story and write a novella explaining her motivations. until then, my loss of time spent thinking and writing about her is your gain. Several chapters go back in time before the main story of Magi’s Curse. An editor told me she was one of the most sympathetic villains she ever read. Maybe this will spur some interest in my story, maybe not. Without further ado, here are Amber’s cut chapters:

Previously Chapter 2 – Era of Marianna, year 619

Amber stared at the wall; twenty-three tick marks, twenty-three sunsets and twenty-four sunrises..  She took the sizable splinter she managed to pry from the bed frame and scratched another mark.  Twenty-four was somehow a less auspicious number.  She had been prisoner for one day for every year of her life up until she put that twenty-fourth mark.  She set the splinter aside and leaned up against the wall, catching the fading glimmer of light outside the barred window.  They would bring dinner soon.  At least then there would be someone to talk to.

The room wasn’t a prison cell, but it might as well have been as far as she was concerned.  Yes, there were changes of clothes and rags and water basins to wash with, but it was devoid of anything entertaining.  The clothes were plain with no color or exciting textures.  The pants all linen and too tight in the hips.  No blouses to speak of, only loose-fitting shirts, once white now dingy with wear.  It seems her captors were under the impression that women only wore dresses.  They also didn’t understand the importance of support and hygiene and the only underclothing she was afforded was those she was wearing when they captured her.

The first couple of nights she tried to turn anything at her disposal into a weapon.  A futile endeavor.  Her captors, they called themselves magi hunters, were all skilled combatants.  Amber learned a little self-defense in her youth, but nothing that could cause a broken table leg to be more capable than a cudgel or sword.  They had always disarmed her with care, which was surprising.

Whenever she mounted an escape attempt, she was punished with a day in bindings.  She spent most of the second week with her wrists tied.  That was when she still thought her husband might come to save her.  The word husband caused a knot to fester in her stomach.  Three weeks and he still hadn’t come to her rescue.  Hope of liberation by him died on the twentieth day.

Amber gained weight during her capture.  They fed her well and there was little else for her to do besides eat.  There were no errands to run, meals to cook or dishes to clean.  She used some of the supplied rags for keeping her environs tidy.  There was little else to do during the day.  They provided her with a deck of cards, some sheets of paper and graphite, for drawing or writing.  Amber hadn’t touched any of them, for a reason.  She wanted her captors to remember she was a prisoner and despite their treatment of her or desire to make it seem otherwise, they were kidnappers.

Still, she couldn’t say she didn’t enjoy the extra weight.  A couple of extra pounds on her hips and buttocks and an ounce or two in her breasts left her pleasantly satisfied, but she did worry how much more weight she would gain if she had to stay any longer.  Only three stones when she was captured, she might be closer to three and a fourth stones by now.  At five foot six, three stones was on the skinnier side. 

She stared in the mirror admiring her face.  That seemed to be spared any of the excess weight.  Her angular jaw hadn’t shown any signs of developing a second chin, her biggest worry.  Her olive-green eyes seemed a little dimmer since she had been held prisoner, but perhaps that had more to do with low lighting.  She was perpetually squinting in this room due to the abysmal window placement and size.  At night it was impossible to see unless one of her captors decided to have a ‘chat’ with her.  Her wavy Auburn hair wasn’t fairing much better in captivity.  They did not have soap for washing and her hair had begun to accumulate too many oils.  She wished they would have allowed her to take some of her beauty products while kidnapping her.

A slight knock at the door warranted Amber’s attention. “Come in,” she said pleasantly.  Amber listened to the sounds of the lock clicking open, the chains withdrawing, the bolt sliding out of place and finally the turning of the handle.  A little much.

“Not going to try and bash my head in tonight?” Huntmaster Altair asked opening the door.  Altair was a large man, over six-feet high and probably weighed at least five stones.  A lot of that girth seemed to be muscle.  His right arm was larger than the left, meaning he most likely was right-handed.  Amber didn’t think he would use a sword, he seemed more likely to use a mace or an axe.  That might have the necessary heft to warrant the extra muscle.

His face was wrinkled and cracked from too much sun exposure.  He had the nasty habit of developing ingrown hairs on his face, which swelled and protruded in red bumps along his neck or chin.  One or two was the count for today.  It was hard to tell on the second.  Amber had yet to see him cleanly shaved over the last three weeks.  Perhaps because of his habit of developing the ingrown hairs.  He seemed to always have three days-worth of stubble, which would be much harder to maintain than a clean shave or a beard.  Amber wondered what was the point?  Was he trying to appear more ‘bandity’ by never having a smooth chin?

He had yet to answer Amber’s questions about his age, but she figured he had to be ten to twenty years her senior.  His hair had greyed around the temples and the hairline seems to have been receding for quite some time.  He had also begun to accumulate the cheeks and jawline of an older man, that dreaded second chin.

“What would be the point?” Amber replied.

“Right, right, you might cause me to spill your dinner,” Altair said.

“And what am I having tonight?”

“Roast pheasant, some vegetables and as an extra surprise, a cup of Taran wine, to remind you of home.”

“How generous,” Amber said sarcastically.  Altair brought the small plate of food to the table and set it down.  He took one of the three chairs, the fourth having been broken during one of Amber’s escape attempts, and moved it away from the table.  He turned the chair around and sat down on it, leaning his chest against the chair’s back.  Altair raised his hand and motioned towards the table.

Amber walked towards the meal, “You’re not going to pull my chair out for me?”

“I think you have me confused for a noble fop,” Altair chuckled in response.  “You seem more than capable of seating yourself.”

Amber sat down at the table and looked at her dinner.  Whomever did the cooking for these brigands was a better cook than she.  The meal smelled exquisite; all the meals did.  Steam was still rising from the cracks in the bird’s roasted flesh.  It smelled of rosemary and thyme.  Amber picked up the cup of wine and inhaled deeply, a rich vibrant red. 

“White is customary when serving fowl,” Amber chided.

“Sorry our wine cellar is rather lacking.”  Altair smiled and turned away in amusement.

“A knife?” Amber asked spying the utensil denied her up until this point.

“Mine’s bigger, don’t get any ideas.”  Fastened to Altair’s hip was the hilt and sheath of a large hunting knife.  Amber examined the dull utensil given to her.  She could try and stab Altair’s eye out, but what would be the point?

“Do you feel like talking?” Altair asked.

“To you?  I’m afraid you’d need much more than one cup to make that a pleasant conversation.”  Amber took a sip.  Not a good wine, but not sour or spoiled as she would think they would be prone to serve her.

 Altair stood and walked to the door and Amber was sure he meant to leave her, but instead he knocked lightly, “Get me a bottle of red and a candle.” Amber swallowed the mouthful of wine and looked up wide-eyed at Altair.  She stood from the table and backed up holding the knife in front of her chest.  Altair turned around when he heard the chair topple and looked at Amber quizzically.

Altair chuckled, “don’t flatter yourself princess.  You’re much too young for me even if I did enjoy the company of women.”  Amber lowered the knife caught off guard by the admission.

“Why?” Amber asked.

“It’s time that we both had a real talk for once.”  Altair remained at the door and Amber slowly made her way back to the table.  She pulled the chair back up clutching the knife in her hand.  When the guard returned with the bottle and candle Altair sat the bottle down on the table but kept the candle in his hand.  He returned to his chair several feet away.

“Your husband…” Altair started.  Amber groaned.  “Is not coming.  He’s had three weeks, two since we sent him the bloody wedding band.” Amber nodded, even she couldn’t disagree with him anymore on that point.  “We returned to your house, the safe was opened and empty.  No pry marks and the locking mechanism was intact.  On top of that it was a floor safe, so it was unlikely anyone other than you or him knew its location.”

“No, we were the only ones that knew where it was, but surely if he were also kidnapped, they could have pried the information from him,” Amber reasoned.

“So that’s the new tale we’re telling ourselves?  That he’s been kidnapped as well.”

“It’s possible.”

“Your husband is a magus, if it were easy to kidnap one, we wouldn’t have taken you.”

“My husband isn’t…” and then Amber stopped.  So much of what they said about him was true.  He sometimes cast magic without giving prayer and she had seen him do it once without even making runes.  He always denied it, told her she had too much to drink, or had been sleepy, but now it worried her.

“Do you still love him, even though he abandoned you to die?”

“Yes…” Amber knew it was pathetic.

“I’ve been thinking about that.  There are few practitioners of Chivas alive anymore, since Corinth obliterated Seketh, bless their souls, but a magus wouldn’t have any trouble learning any of that if they had the books.  A charm spell has little use outside of getting a one-time favor, unless of course the target had no idea they were being charmed.  Kind of hard with all the praying and runes, unless of course you were a magus and didn’t even need them.”

“I would know if I was being played,” Amber sneered.

“Maybe, maybe not.  This guy could be hundreds of years old.  You’ve already admitted you saw him cast without the words.  It takes a magus at least fifty years to get strong enough to do that.  He could have perfected magic over hundreds of years and hundreds of women.  How could any mortal, even one as wily and smart as you, be able to combat that?”

“I would know…” Amber repeated a little less sure.

“If that were the case, you’d be incapable of acting against him.  That is of course, until he passes, but he’d probably outlive you.”

Amber sighed.  “So, let’s say he is a magus, and I am charmed, so I’ll never help you.  He’s not coming to get me because he doesn’t care and I’m just another notch on the bedpost.  What are you going to do then?  Kill me?”  Amber looked down at the cup of wine she had finished and then at the bottle.  That’s how she’d do it, poison in a strong red.  “You know who my father is.  He’ll pay if you return me.”

Altair chuckled seeing the way Amber stared dead-eyed at the bottle of wine.  “No, we’re not the monsters, they are.  We’ve done nothing to harm you.”

“You branded my fucking arm,” Amber said losing the calm demeanor she fostered.

“True, but we all had to do that.  It’s just a symbol to let others know you’ve been in contact with a magus.  We could have cut your finger off and left it with the ring, but we didn’t.  We didn’t even cut you, using pig’s blood instead of yours.”

“Yes, you’ve been the nicest kidnappers I’ve had to deal with.  Congratulations.”

“But there does have to be an end to this.  We can’t keep you here indefinitely.”

“Just get it over with then.”

“How many times do I have to tell ya.  We’re not going to kill you, and we’re not going to ransom you off to daddy.  We’re the good guys here.  The only reason you’re still in this room is because you don’t believe nor want to help us.  Not that we could trust you even if you said you did.”

“And?  You have to make a decision eventually.  I’ll go mad if you keep me in this room forever.”

“I have,” Altair said quieting Amber.  “We’re going to keep looking for your husband for another month, if we can’t find him, we’re gonna let you go.”

“Just like that?”

“Well, not just like that.  We can’t exactly let you go right here; he’d be able to find you too easy.  He may try and hurt you to find out where we are, or you’d be back underneath his charm.”

“He’s my husband,” Amber reiterated.

“We’re gonna send ya away a bit.  But we’ll let you choose.  Have you ever been to Selunia?  Or maybe Emestria?  We’re going to have to keep an eye on you of course, in case he does try and get you again.”

“So, a bigger cage is your solution?”  Amber waited for an answer and we she got none she replied, “Well if it has to be a bigger cage then Selunia.  I’d prefer a tropical paradise over a frozen wasteland with inbred chauvinists any day of the week.  Does anyone ever choose Emestria?”

Altair smiled, “Only the Emestrians.  We could of course send you back to live with your father.  Tell him your husband is a magus, explain what that is, he’ll prevent him from coming to get ya, keep you safe.”

“I prefer Selunia.”  Altair nodded and stood taking the candle with him.  He turned seeming like he was going to add something else but shook his head and walked up to the door.  He opened it and stepped outside.  Amber heard the bolt slide into place, the chain drawn over the door and the lock click closed.

The sun slowly faded from view as Amber had another two cups of wine.  She was starting to feel a little light-headed.  It had been a while since she was last drunk, but she was pretty sure that was what it was, not poison.  The room was almost pitch black and she made her way to the door with the bottle still in hand.  She leaned her back against the wall and slunk down to the ground.  She lightly rapped the door and heard the guard sit just outside on the other side of the wooden walls.

“You don’t think he’d poison me, do you?” Amber asked.

“No, he didn’t poison you.  Man, you are paranoid.” Gerund replied.  Gerund guarded her during the evenings.  He was young and hadn’t been a hunter for long, or at all.  He worked with them, but he had never been on a hunt yet.  How can you call yourself a magi hunter if you’ve never actually hunted one? 

“Another month, I don’t know if I can wait that long.”

“Yeah, but what else can you do?”

“I could always break the bottle and cut my wrists.”  The comment caused Gerund to laugh.

“We both know you’re not going to do that.  You think too highly of yourself to let your story end that way.”

“I think too highly of myself?  Mr. I’m going to be Huntmaster one day.”

“Nothing wrong with having a goal.  Don’t you have one.”

“Yeah, to live happily ever after with my husband and have a family of little rugrats.”

“Magi can’t procreate.  They have no soul.”

Another brick in the house of evidence they were building against her husband.  “Is it true that everyone here at one point or another knew a magus?”

“Most of us.  I spent time in the same exact room you did, just not as long.”

“Who was it?”  Amber asked.  Gerund waited a long time before replying.

“My brother.”

“Oh.” Amber thought about her sisters.  Would she be able to give up one of her sisters easier than her husband?  “Did you help hunt him?”  Amber heard some people actually helped the hunters and willingly took their brands and ‘paid their price’.

“No, but I didn’t help him either.”

“Why, didn’t you love him?”

“Not as much as I loved my mom and dad.  He killed them.”

“I’m sorry.  Did you ever find out why?”

“There is no why Amber.  They’re monsters.  They sell their very soul for power and the chance at immortality.  Something is broken in them.  I don’t know whether it’s broken before they make the pact or afterwards, but they’re broken.” Gerund stammered a bit, looking for another explanation.

Amber waited for Gerund to add anything else and when he didn’t, she thought of her husband.  “Thomas was always kind to me, he never hit, never raised his voice.  In the five years together, he’s never said an unkind word.”

“Except maybe he charmed you from the very beginning and you don’t actually love him at all.  You could be an unwitting thrall.  Isn’t that just as bad as murder or any of the other horrible things they’ve done?  His slave.”

“Do you really believe that?  That I am some love-sick puppet?”

“I don’t know Amber.  But ask yourself, in the beginning how did you feel about him?  Was there something different about him?  What about the relationship?  Did any of it feel unreal or make you uneasy?  Did you fall in love too suddenly?  For Leavin’s sake, you were a princess of Tara and gave that up to run away with a no-name noble from Corinth.  Doesn’t that make you at least think the Huntmaster may have a point?”

“Being a princess of Tara isn’t exactly a picnic.” Amber felt this urgency to steer the conversation away from her husband.

“I bet any commoner would trade you lives in a heartbeat.”

“They probably would.  I’m not saying I had it worse than anyone, but there are some things people don’t consider.  My father marries us off to who he sees fit.  It doesn’t matter if they’ll make a good husband, find their wives attractive or hit them.  All that matters to him is solidifying his empire.”

“I guess no one has it easy.” Gerund trailed off.  “I’m sorry.”

“I am too.  Can you stay down here and talk to me, until I finish the wine, or get sleepy?”              

“Yeah.”

Previously Chapter 4 – Era of Marianna, year 619

Amber turned at the sound of the door being unlocked, unchained and unbolted.  Altair hadn’t been in to visit her lately and dinner had already been served.  It was only a couple more weeks before she would be released, if Altair kept to his promise.  The hallway was faintly lit by a single candle.  As the figure stepped through the doorframe, Amber realized it was Gerund and not Altair entering her chamber.  Her breath hitched as she wondered why he would dare open the door.

This was the first time that Amber had actually seen Gerund.  Over a month talking almost nightly for hours with an oaken door in between them, and this was the first time she laid eyes on him.  Of course she couldn’t be sure it was him, but the voice matched the body so well.  He was young, barely an adult. 

Gerund had medium-length black hair that was shiny with whatever oils he used to style it.  The sides and back of his hair was shorn short, but the top was allowed to grow long and wisps of hair obscured the view of his eyes.  Almond-shaped brown eyes that had a certain twinkle to them in the candlelight.  He was clean-shaven.  When they first talked Gerund mentioned having a goatee and mustache.  Amber teased him about it, that he was too young to grow proper facial hair and he should embrace youth while he could and stay clean-shaven.  He told her weeks later he shaved and liked it better.

He was taller than her, but not so much taller that she would have to strain her neck to… Amber shook her head, reminding herself of her husband.

“Are you so anxious to be Huntmaster that you would enter to have a chat?” Amber teased, hiding her worry. 

“Put this on,” Gerund tossed a brown cloak to Amber.  She caught it but stared at the soft leather curiously.

“It’s raining.  Grab anything you want to take.”  Gerund put the candle on the table and turned to exit the room. 

Amber swallowed and went about gathering the clothes she had on when first brought here.  She washed them earlier today and hung them to dry.  The ground was still wet, and the clothes were a little damp.  Too damp to wear, but they might dry out in a couple of hours.  Did she have a couple of hours?

Gerund seemed bothered.  What did it mean?  The Huntmaster’s absence and now Gerund handing her a coat during the evening.

Her first thoughts were of Thomas.  The hunters may have finally caught up to him.  She still loved him, so either that wasn’t the case, or they lied about him all along.  He wasn’t a magus, and she wasn’t entranced. 

There was nothing else to take and Amber picked up the candle and hesitantly walked to the door.  Was this some trick?  Was she really being allowed free?

Gerund waited in the hallway, having donned a similar cloak himself.  He had a bag with him and a sword.  He now held a lantern and walked ahead without saying a word.

“Did I earn early release because of my good behavior?” Amber joked trying to jostle Gerund into conversation.  He didn’t reply, worrying Amber further.  She followed along hesitantly, looking in every alcove or room they passed for another person.

“Or perhaps this is a prison break?  You’re hoping that giving me my freedom will endear my soul to you.  I hate to disappoint Gerund, but I’m still a married woman and you are a little young for me.” Amber thought this comment at the very least would warrant some type of response, but Gerund continued along wordlessly.

When they descended the stairs and reached the door, Amber stopped.  “Gerund, you’re scaring me.  Will you tell me what is happening?  If this is the end, could I write a note, to my sisters?  You can read it.  I just would want to say goodbye.”  Amber stared at the floor.  She missed her sisters and couldn’t believe she wouldn’t be able to see them again.  Emma was only six when she left. 

Gerund whipped around.  “Why do you keep saying such things? We’ve told you we’re not the enemies.  We’re trying to protect people.  I’ve been nothing but kind to you.  I listened when you went on and on about your affection for your husband,” Gerund said the word ‘husband’ with disdain, “even though I had no desire to.”

Amber wanted to object, to argue but looking at Gerund’s face now, she realized his silence had nothing to do with her.

“Gerund,” Amber said quietly, almost whispering.

“Just ride with me for a while.” And he turned back around without another word.

Amber didn’t know why, but she followed.  Perhaps they developed a friendship through those four inches of wood, or maybe her curiosity just wanted to see what the end of this situation looked like.  She couldn’t explain it, but she did trust Gerund a little.  Altair was gruff and always trying to convince Amber of Thomas’ guilt, but Gerund listened. 

Gerund walked out to the hitching post and undid the reins of the only remaining horse.  Amber had listened to the animals at length during the day, at one point there sounded like there were a lot of horses, but over the last couple of weeks, she hadn’t heard them as much.  That tracked with the domicile being empty.  The other hunters left, gone somewhere else.  Only Gerund and possibly the day guard remained.  He or she never talked back when Amber tried.

Perhaps this really was a prison break.  But Gerund had bought into the magi hunter’s propaganda, hook, line and sinker. Perhaps this truly was about attraction.  Amber knew Gerund had some fondness towards her, but he had never seen her unless he entered her room while she was sleeping.  Her voice may have been melodic but not enough to seduce a man that never laid eyes on her.  They had a friendly repertoire; he was young and never mentioned any other women.  Amber worried about letting the young man down.  If he was giving up his dream of becoming Huntmaster for her, how would he take rejection?

Amber steadied her breathing and stepped outside after Gerund.  She trusted him more than she trusted Altair or any of the other faceless brigands that kidnapped her.  Her best chance at survival might be following Gerund.  He mounted and offered a hand.  Amber took it and he helped her atop the horse.  Wordlessly, Gerund snapped the reins and the horse lurched, its hooves sloshing on the wet road as it trudged forward.

The rain was heavy, and the hood of the cloak was too short.  The downpour forced Amber to lean forward to keep the water out of her eyes.  Riding behind Gerund, she had to lean into him to do so.  Without asking she hitched her arms underneath his cloak and around his waist.  He was an experienced traveler, surely he would know it wasn’t a display of affection, but instead the best way for two to travel through a rainstorm.  They journeyed through the night and Amber tried to talk to him several more times, but the pitter-patter of rain drowned out her voice.  She eventually gave up.

The rain continued well into the late morning and Amber wondered how much longer they needed to travel.  When she started to see more and more carts and wagons pass by, her mood picked up.  When the town appeared over the horizon, she got excited for the first time all night.  This had to be an escape attempt.  Gerund hadn’t slept either, perhaps they might get a room. She debated saying something but was tired of unanswered questions.

The horse continued its depressing trudge through the rain all the way up to the inn and the young boy standing under a makeshift stall.  Gerund guided the horse alongside the stall and dismounted, holding his hand out for Amber to do the same.  Amber took it and was surprised when as she dismounted Gerund brought his other hand up her side to steady her.  Her boots sunk a couple of inches into the wet mud and as the stable boy guided the horse away dirt splashed along the hem of her dress.  It was one of the dresses the hunters provided, so she didn’t worry about dirtying it too much.

Gerund grabbed his pack and Amber’s clothes off the horse and approached the stable boy.

The small child held out his hand, “Fifty copper to keep her till tomorrow if you plan to stay till then.  Twenty-five till tonight.”  Gerund looked back at Amber.

“Fifty it is,” Gerund handed four large copper pieces along with ten small pieces.  The stable boy’s hand didn’t retreat, and Gerund took five of the smalls and added another large.  The boy nodded and led the horse away.

Gerund turned to Amber and offered her a hand, which Amber politely declined, and headed up the steps towards the tavern.  Still being late morning, the tavern was empty.  The boarders having left, and breakfast already being served.  Amber followed Gerund without uttering a word, tired from the trip and of trying to get him to talk.  Amber had never seen him happy, but she was sure this wasn’t the face of a happy person.  Even the chronically morose wouldn’t look like Gerund did now.

“How much to stay the night?” Gerund asked the portly man behind the desk.

“One silver an evening, so two for the night,” he replied without looking up from the book he seemed to be intently studying.

“If you have no guest in a room, what trouble is it for you to just give me two rooms, one silver each,” Gerund argued, his voice more frustrated than Amber had ever heard before.

“This isn’t a charity.  You’re more than welcome to wait in the rain,” The keep replied with no emotion in his voice.  Gerund grumbled and dumped his coin purse into his hand and pushed the thin metal circles about.  Amber looked over his shoulder seeing the ten silver and miscellaneous copper. 

“How long till check-in for the night?” Amber asked stepping out from behind Gerund.

“Four hours,” the keep replied.

“We’ll wait in the dining.  Please bring wine and food.” This caused the keep to grumble like Amber had found the loophole in the system.  “We’ll only need one room, but two beds,” Amber added.  She took Gerund’s arm and led him down the short set of stairs and over to a table in the corner.  His body was stiff, and he moved slowly.  Amber was sure it was more than just the late-night ride that caused that.

She waited until they brought the food, a bowl of what Amber guessed was boiled mashed grains, and Gerund had finished a beer before she decided to ask about what was going on.  “Have you finished your food?” Amber asked.

Gerund grumbled and nodded.

Amber took what remained of the bowl and began eating.  The food was bland, and the texture was sub-par. But she could mostly just swallow the slurry and wanted something in her belly.  In the next four hours, she expected a lot of drinking to be done.

“Do you still love your husband?” Gerund asked after taking a sip from the second beer.

Amber nodded, so this was an escape attempt.

“Good,” Gerund replied to Amber’s surprise.  He took another healthy quaff of his drink and Amber was about to ask a question, but he started speaking again.  His tone was low, and he looked around the room frequently as he talked. “Altair heard that he might be in Lynnfield.  He took the hunters there to investigate.  Thought he might be using the war to disappear and subsume a new identity.  Something happened…” Gerund trailed off and guzzled the rest of his beer.

“What?” Amber asked as he set the mug down.

“It’s gone.  Lynnfield is gone,” Gerund said, his face white.

“What do you mean it’s gone?  Did Emestria win?”

“No, I mean it is gone.  It was destroyed.  Everyone is dead.”

Amber shook her head unwilling to believe it.  “How?”

“I don’t know.  It might be a magus, maybe your husband, but even at the end of a curse, there’s never been this kind of devastation.  An entire town….” Gerund raised his hand catching the barmaid’s attention.

“No.”

“But maybe it wasn’t your husband, since you say you still love him, which means Altair could be all right, maybe they never made it to Lynnfield, or left tracking him to another town,” Gerund babbled.

“Lynnfield?” Amber asked unable to wrap her mind around what Gerund said.

“It’s gone,” Gerund repeated looking Amber intently in the eyes.

“A city just doesn’t disappear.”

“People, buildings, animals, everything in the city destroyed.  It’s gone.”

“No.” Amber wasn’t sure what trick this was.  Was Gerund supposed to take her out here, make her think she was free then reveal some secret hideout her husband had?  But Gerund wasn’t asking about her husband. “My father?”

“I’m not sure, but people are saying he was in the Stone’s Court when it happened, but…” The barmaid brought Gerund another beer and he waited until she left, and he took a drink to finish.  “No one knows where your uncle is.”

Amber looked down at her own mug shamefully.  Her uncle was a good man. 

“I’m going to take you back to Stone’s Court, so you can be with your sisters and father to mourn, then I’m going to Lynnfield myself, to see what happened.”

“No.”

“What do you mean no?”

“I’m not going to Stone’s Court.  I’ll go to Lynnfield with you, or I’ll stay here, but I’m not going back.”

“When you thought I was taking you to meet your end, you asked me if you could write a letter to your sisters.  You care about them.  Don’t you want to be with them now?”

“I do, and I miss them.  If I go back home now…”  Amber sighed.  “Dia’s husband hits her.  There was no secret about his temper.  But father married her off to him knowing that, more concerned with his political capital than her well-being.  She’s the eldest, her children will inherit the empire.  What kind of monster would I be promised to?  I’m not going back.”

Gerund nodded.  “Tell me about your sisters,” he asked changing the subject.

They talked at length about each of Amber’s sisters.  What they liked or disliked.  What their personalities were and what Amber’s fondest memories of each were.  Amber was too afraid to ask about Gerund’s family, so instead she asked about the magi hunters.  They seemed to be his new family.  He talked at length about them for six more beers.  It was long past check-in for the evening when they decided to head upstairs.

Amber watched as Gerund stripped off his traveling attire and laid down in bed.  Amber waited for him to turn over and look towards her before she started to undress.

“I’m sorry,” Gerund apologized before turning away.

“It’s okay, you can watch,” Amber said softly before removing her dress and then her undergarments.  Gerund’s face reddened as she turned to him, her nudity on display.  She walked to his bed and slipped under the covers.

“I don’t want to take advantage, you’ve been drinking,” Gerund said, blushing.

“I’ve had a couple beers,” Amber replied moving her hand over the wisps of chest hair.

“I’ve…” Gerund swallowed hard.  Amber leaned over and kissed him.

“This is my first,” Gerund admitted as Amber kissed him again.  She smiled hiding her surprise and leaned back in.

***

Amber sighed happily and nestled her head against Gerund’s chest, listening to his heavy breathing slowly subside.  She traced her fingers over his chest hair.  It was so soft compared to Thomas’. 

“I’m sorry,” Gerund tried to apologize again.

“It was fine, the second time was good for me,” Amber reassured him, and the knot in her stomach tightened.  This was the second man she had been with, the first being Thomas.  She had never shied away from sexuality and Dia had obtained some romance books and shared them with Amber.  When she made love to Thomas for the first time, it was like out of those romance books.  The way he touched her, the confidence he had with her, the way he made her feel.  He claimed it was his first time as well.  But every time after the first, Thomas displayed the same skill, the same expertise.

Sex with Gerund was pleasant, but he was awkward and nervous.  He fumbled with her anatomy and had to be reassured constantly.  He asked her frequently about where to touch her, and how to make her feel good.  It was sweet, he was so concentrated on her.  Thomas had never been that concentrated.  It was like he knew exactly what would feel good and what wouldn’t.  There was no way Thomas was as inexperienced as Gerund.  Either he only lied to add some measure of specialness to their first time, or what the hunters had told her all along was the truth.  She was just another conquest for him, maybe his greatest, convincing a princess of the most powerful nation in Primerra to abandon her birthright for him.

“Why did you take me with you?” Amber asked anxious to free herself of the negative thoughts and emotions.

“Since they hadn’t heard from Altair, they were sending another clan to be in charge of headquarters.  It was as price clan.” Gerund spoke bringing Amber’s hand to his lips and softly kissing it.

“A price clan?” Amber asked.

“The Magi Hunters are composed of different clans.  Altair was part of an honor clan; they fight Magi head-on and rarely take hostages.  They’re experienced and have been working as hunters for years.  Usually, they target older magi, ones that are more confident in their abilities.  Price clans hunt younger magi.  Those magi are more reckless, emotional, and can be more dangerous.  But they’re also more attached to their mortal lives, taking lovers or still having living children.  Price clans exploit those weaknesses to force the Magi into a curse and slay them.  Price clan’s methods can be cruel and sometimes they attract the wrong type of hunters.  They wouldn’t have kept to Altair’s promise of releasing you in a couple of weeks.”

Amber nodded.  “So, you were saving me?  Aren’t you going to get in some trouble for that?”

“No.  I can just say I was told by Altair to release you if something happened, and I left to investigate his whereabouts.”

Amber nodded and kissed Gerund’s chest lightly.  “I’m glad I’m not getting you into trouble.”

“I’m glad you came,” Gerund admitted and the tension in the room mounted.  “I know you’re a married woman, and this… this wasn’t supposed to happen.”  Gerund waited for Amber to disagree.  “I’ll take you where you want to go, you can come to Lynnfield with me if you want.  If things change.  If your feelings about your husband change, or if you just want to see me again, show your mark to others and eventually a hunter will find you.”

“Okay,” Amber said.  She was thankful for tonight, but she wouldn’t come seeking the hunters again.  She wasn’t sure she would go seeking her husband either.  She could travel to Selunia, or wherever.  There was a benefit to being a commoner, you could just start over.  You didn’t have to worry about familial ties or responsibilities. Amber waited for Gerund to fall deep into a post-coital alcohol-induced slumber and dressed in the moonlight.  She lit a candle long enough to write a goodbye note and fished a single silver piece out of his coin purse.  She would have preferred more than that but didn’t want to deprive Gerund of his livelihood.  Amber met a wagoner on the road willing to travel through the night and left.

Previously Chapter 8 – Era of Marianna, year 624

Amber debated removing the ropes and blindfold.  She could.  She had held her wrists apart when they tied them, to give a false sense of resistance.  Now the cotton rope was loose, and she kept her hands folded behind her back so it wouldn’t be noticed.  She was unsure where she now was.  They traveled for several days with her blindfolded the entire time, except at night.  She wasn’t always bound and sat up with the hunters at night until bed.  The bindings only served the purpose of preventing her from removing the blindfold and seeing where they were going.

She arrived and they took her up a set of stairs and something felt familiar.  She couldn’t explain it, but she recognized a smell.  Maybe some nearby trees or flowers?  She sat in a chair, trying to determine what it was.  Did dirt have a smell to it?  She could have sworn it was dirt she was smelling.  But not in a bad way necessarily, not like mud that has festered rot, but like the ground after the first rain in the renewal season.

She heard a very familiar sound, a lock clicking, a chain being withdrawn, a bolt sliding open, and the turning of a handle, and smiled.

“Do you only have one hideout, or am I back here for nostalgic reasons?” Amber asked.

“You returned to the town we last saw each other, this was the closest.” His voice was a little deeper, but Amber still remembered the smooth notes that had kept her company that month and a half in what seemed like another life.  He carefully tugged at her blindfold and pulled it from around her eyes.

“Gerund,” she grinned happy to see him once again.  He still wore his hair the same way, shining with whatever oils he used.  He wasn’t as clean-shaven anymore, he had an incredibly short beard, and she could still see the skin underneath.  His eyes still glimmered even in candlelight.  But he had filled out more, his chest was broader and his shoulder and forearms were thicker.  He had grown into a handsome young man.

“Oh, you remember me,” Gerund said, and Amber blushed.  “I guess you must have since you came back to the same place you left me.”

“I know.  Not the nicest way to leave someone on their first night, but I needed to figure some things out and I thought it would be the kindest way to end our… acquaintance?” Amber relaxed her wrists and slipped off the bindings.  Gerund raised an eyebrow as he placed a bottle of wine and two cups on the table.

“I’m not the same woman you once knew,” Amber said as an explanation of her undoing her ropes so easily. “More swill?”

“No, this is one of the better wines.  The wine you had before was for prisoners, this one is for guests.”

“You admit I was a prisoner before.”

“I never denied it.  I just said we meant you no harm and weren’t the enemy.” Gerund poured out two cups of wine in silence and they awkwardly sipped waiting for the other to say something.

“He’s dead, isn’t he?” Amber finally asked.

“Yes.  Could you tell?”

“A couple of weeks ago?” Gerund nodded his head confirming the timeline.  Amber averted her eyes staring into her lap.  “I didn’t want to believe it.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Fuck that magus son of a bitch.” Gerund sat in quiet surprise.  “I was just a girl.  A stupid, stupid girl who wanted to believe in romance and true love.  He used that to separate me from my family, my life, myself.”  Amber shuddered and tried to maneuver her head so that the falling tears would be obscured by her hair.

“I want to know how it happened.  Tell me how he died.  Did he cause Lynnfield?” Amber asked.

Gerund shook his head.  “No, we believe another magus did that.  The one you knew,” Amber was grateful Gerund didn’t use his name, or call him her husband, “we finally caught up to him in Southern Rouke.  He wasn’t hard to track once our network recovered from the lack of communication in Lynnfield.  He left a trail of young magi hoping one of them would kill us or they would keep us off his track.  He died as he lived, a coward.”

“Young magi?”

“Yes, he sought out mages and taught them how to become magi.  We’re still trying to track them all down.”

“I want to help.”

“What are you saying?”

“I want to be a hunter.  I want to stop them from doing what they did to me to someone else.  Sign me up for your little club.”

“Amber, you know it’s not that easy.”

“Right, I have to pay a price.  How did you pay.”

“Toes,” Gerund said quietly.

“Fine, I’ll pay the same.”

“Amber, I don’t know how skilled you are in combat, you probably won’t make it on an honor clan.  That means you’ll have to work in a price clan.  Their methods are…”

“Not pleasant.  If that is what I have to do to hunt them, that’s what I’ll do.  They can’t be allowed to do this.  They can’t just ruin lives because they ruined their own.”

“What happened to kids?  This life doesn’t lead to happily ever after with a family.”

“I think he did something to me, to my body.  I haven’t been able to carry a child past third month.  You said they can’t procreate, but could it be possible for them to infect someone else?” Amber looked up, not caring about hiding her tears anymore.

“I don’t know.  Have you seen a healer?”

“Yes.  I want to make them pay.” Gerund nodded seeing the determination in Amber’s eyes.

They drank through the night, Amber asking about Gerund’s time in the last five years.  He had yet to be on an actual hunt but was going on a big one soon, with an honor clan no less.  Gerund didn’t ask about the life Amber lived for the past five years.  Amber was glad he didn’t.  She didn’t want to burden him with her sob stories. 

At the end of the night, Amber requested to pay her price now.  She was drunk already and that would help with the pain.  Gerund argued at first but eventually agreed.  They removed the pinky toes on both her feet.  They treated the severed appendages with anti-septic and wrapped her feet.  Gerund carried her to bed.

“The first time was after we were together,” Amber said weary from the alcohol and pain.

“What?” Gerund asked.

“The first miscarriage was ours.” Amber turned over in the bed and closed her eyes.

Previously Chapter 10 – Era of Marianna, year 625

Amber gathered the sheets around her naked body and caressed the wound on Gerund’s chest.  He winced.

 “It will make a nice scar.  And a good story.”

 “People died Amber, a lot of people.”

 “Magi are dangerous, a lot of people die all the time.”

 “But a whole honor clan, in seconds.  I never realized how powerful the Ywaigwai were.  I mean the Maidens of Mercy fight them, how bad could they be?”

 Amber laid her head next to Gerund, “What happened?” She heard the rumors; it was all the hunters could talk about.  There was an official story, but she wondered if there was more that only Gerund knew.

 “I was on watch.  Huntmaster Erios woke and came to keep me company.  Then everything got quiet.  Erios launched an arrow into the darkness.  He sensed something that I missed.  I don’t know whether it meant to attack us all along or the fact Erios hit it with an arrow enraged it, but it charged the camp.  Erios saved me once, pushing me out of the way and put a smoldering stick into one of its eyes, but that was the last I saw of anyone doing any real damage to it.

It tore through camp in a matter of seconds.  Even the hunters who managed to grab their weapons were mowed down quickly.  Erios saved me and told me to run.  I thought he meant for us to regroup.  I didn’t realize his intent was for someone to escape, to bring word back to the hunters.  I told the informant that as long as that Ywaigwai guarded the magus there was no way we were coming back.  He lives in isolation in Northern Emestria anyway.  There is nothing for him to hurt out there.”

 “What about Lynnfield?” Amber asked scowling.

 “I know, your uncle.” Gerund looked away unwilling to meet Amber’s gaze.  “We sent word to the Maidens.  They’re picky about their targets, but I think they can’t ignore a Ywaigwai that actively guards his magus.  Even more, I think a magus that destroyed an entire city, they have to agree he needs to be killed.”

 “If it was a magus.”

 “What else could it have been?  Why do you have such trouble believing one responsible for Lynnfield?”

 “They just aren’t that strong.  Especially if it’s this one, the advisor said he was young, and became a magus shortly before Lynnfield.”

 “But how does he know?  He could have been a magus forever, just jumping between places, never staying long enough for anyone to figure it out,” Gerund argued.

 “Okay but even if that were true.  They can’t outlive the curse.  How would one wield enough power outside of its curse to cause that much devastation and survive?”

 “No one really understands them completely.  This one could be ancient from before the cataclysm.  Heck maybe it caused the cataclysm.”

 “We can’t just say, I don’t know, maybe he’s old to every question.  What if it was something different, like a legendary artifact, or maybe an artifact that worked in congress with a magus’ abilities.  If we ever want to be able to eliminate them completely, we can’t just kill them, we have to understand them and know what they are incapable of doing.”

 “We’re not keeping Magi to experiment on.”

 “They’re less than animals.  Keeping one to study is no worse than slaughtering a pig for meat.”

 Gerund turned to Amber, “Do you think my disagreement with you on this issue is born from humanitarian concerns?  It’s too dangerous to keep one.  No one has used a bola on one for more than five minutes, and no one wants to try using one for longer.  You don’t want to be the person that discovers the bola only binds their power for five minutes when they break free.”

 “How will we know until we try?”

 “We already lose enough hunters, no reason to risk more.  Let the magus hide in Emestria.  Maybe the Maidens will choose to slay his Ywaigwai.  A magus without a Ywaigwai meets the same fate as one we hunt.  Amber I’m tired, it’s been a journey.  Can we agree to rehash this argument another night?”

 “Fine.” Amber laid back down in bed resting her head on Gerand’s shoulder.  “I’ve been assigned a clan.  It’s a price clan.”

 “It’s one of the better ones.  The captain is a friend of mine.  The same men have been with him for a while.  They’re reliable and trustworthy.”

 “Oh, I just happened to end up in your friend’s clan.”

 “I used a lot of my capital over the years to make sure you were placed in a… suitable clan.”

 “But not an honor clan.”

 “After a couple of years, you’ll be ready to move up.  Most of his men could have been promoted a long time ago, but they prefer to stay together.  Who knows maybe you’ll enjoy it so much you’ll want to stay there.”

 “Or maybe you could come into the price clan with me?”

“Amber, I’ve worked hard to be in an honor clan and I’m never going to be Huntsmaster unless I’m in one.”              

“Then bring me into a clan with you.  A dozen positions just opened up.” Amber saw the look on Gerund’s face and knew she overstepped.  She sighed and went back to tracing her fingers through his chest hair.

Previously Chapter 12 – Era of Marianna, year 629

Amber laid in bed in the fetal position.  She chose to come back to this room, luckily there were no current residents.  This is the room it all started in.  The room where the hunters had first brought her and the room where she made the decision to join them. 

 She had been here for days, wallowing in her own misery and damning herself for the choices she made.  She asked for the door to be locked, there was a certain comfort with being back in this same room, in the same conditions she once found herself.  In a way that was the last time her world made any semblance of sense.  Sure, she was a prisoner, but she still believed she was a loving wife, with a loving husband that would come and rescue her.

Then she had to learn about magi and hunters and Ywaigwai.  She once thought the hunters foolish for hoarding this information, but now she realized the importance of it.  Regular humans weren’t supposed to know about these things.  They lacked the will power to do anything about it.  She once thought herself a hunter, but now she proved herself to be nothing more than a regular human.

The lock at the oaken door opened, the chain was removed, the bold slid out of place and the handle turned.  Amber wondered what her punishment would be.  A faint sliver of light shone on the wall along with the silhouette of a man.

“Amber.”  Why did it have to be Gerund?  Amber wiped the tears from her cheek and turned to face Huntmaster Gerund.

“I’m sorry,” Amber said tears welling up in her eyes again.  Gerund grabbed a nearby chair and turned it around, sitting with this chest against the back.  If Amber wasn’t devastated, she would have laughed.  Did all Huntmasters sit the wrong way?

“Tell me what happened.” Gerund’s voice was calm but authoritative.  This wasn’t a lover’s reunion.  This was official business.

“It was just a child or appeared to be a child.  We tracked it to a village on the coast of Corinth.  There a woman approached us and told us that the magus was her kid.  We took her statement, and everything was going according to plan, but I felt uneasy about something.  He was only ten Gerund.”

“For the purposes of this interrogation you will address me as Huntmaster or Huntmaster Gerund, nothing else.” Amber nodded more tears coming to her eyes.

“I thought that he could have been our… the child I could have had if the magus I knew hadn’t poisoned my body.” Gerund nodded understanding what she was trying to say. If this was an official interrogation, any mention of their first tryst was improper. “I thought he’s just a boy, and he hadn’t done anything wrong really.  I argued that we should show him leniency, that he was a child.  They disagreed, but I convinced them the decision was one for the Huntmaster to make.”

“That decision was for your captain to make, not the Huntmaster.” Gerund frowned.  Amber knew she shouldn’t have exploited her relationship with Gerund.  She enjoyed a certain amount of leeway due to their romantic interludes.  It wasn’t the first time she got her way claiming it was a decision for the Huntmaster to make.

“We agreed to return and seek input from the Huntmaster.” Amber spoke quietly.  “The boy wasn’t the only magus; the mother was as well.  They could cast without prayer or rune circles and ambushed us on our way home.  We realized we were outnumbered.  We only had one bola, it would have been impossible to fight two magi.  We split up, hoping that they would as well, that way the one with the bola would have a chance.  They might be able to take out one magus then the other if they were lucky.” Amber paused before asking the question she dreaded, “Did anyone else make it?”

Gerund shook his head, “Who took the bola?”

“The captain.”

“Good.  At least he did that right.  Do you have anything else to add before your judgment is decided?”

“No.” Amber sighed and turned away in the bed.  She listened to Gerund get up and close the door.  Then the bolt, chain and locks were secured.  She was a prisoner again.

Gerund returned two days later.

“Has anyone else come back?” Amber asked the minute he entered.  He shook his head.  Amber sank back down.

“A decision has been made.”

“What is my punishment?”

“Although your behavior was grossly inappropriate, ultimately the fault doesn’t lie with you.  Our intelligence was wrong.  A price clan had no business going after a magus old enough to cast without runes, let alone two.  They should have been pursued by a senior honor clan or multiple clans at the very least.  The fact that you had one bola to fight two magi means that even without your interference the result would have been the same.  I expect you in my chambers tonight, eat and join me there.” Gerund walked from the room without another word and Amber was left stupefied.

Dinner was brought to her shortly after, some mush and water.  Ever since Gerund started going on hunts the quality of meals declined significantly.  Gerund was an excellent cook and the one that prepared the meals during her first visit to this particular hide-out.  It was strange that the two pleasant things, the company and the food, were both the product of Gerund.  And she had no idea about the second until much later.

Amber ate quietly, doing little chewing and swallowing the food without fanfare.  She had some inkling that this was part of her punishment, being served this.  Almost as a reminder of what could have happened if the Huntmaster ruled otherwise.  She only finished half the meal.  Her appetite had been lacking since the last hunt.  Amber sighed and put the spoon down and started for the Huntmaster’s room.

There were two ways there.  The first was the most straight forward.  However, it went through the main hall, where most would be drinking and dining.  She wished to avoid the stares tonight.  She opted for the second path, that went around the building through vacant hallways.  In the past she usually used the shortest way, but from time to time when she felt that others were becoming jealous of her access to the Huntmaster she would opt for the more clandestine route.  She would probably be opting for that route for a while.

Amber arrived at the Huntmaster’s room to see the door slightly ajar.  Usually if she went to this room by herself, Gerund wasn’t already waiting.  When she entered, she was surprised to see him in bed shirtless.  Shyly she closed the door behind herself.  Why was she embarrassed?

“Take off your clothes and get into bed,” Gerund said.  His eyes didn’t glimmer.  They were cold and dull.

Amber turned and unlaced her corsette.  Once unlaced she let it drop to the floor.  She started to unbutton her blouse, but as she got to the second button, she gripped the blouse closed and turned to Gerund, “No.”

“What?  You are going to deny your Huntmaster?”

“Why are you being like this,” Amber said more tears forming in her eyes.  She had actually been looking forward to this in a way.  To convince her everything would be the same.

“I thought this is what you wanted.  You give me sexual favors and in turn you get to use my name to get what you want.”

“That’s not what… I wasn’t doing that… That’s not what this is.”  Amber clenched her teeth and willed the tears back in her eyes.  “This isn’t some transaction.”

“Then why do you keep trying to make it transactional?  You need to decide Amber if you’re my lover or an aspiring hunter using her body to get her way.”

“How dare you,” Amber seethed.

“How dare you, Amber.  Men are dead.  They may still have died if you hadn’t tried to get your way by using my name, but one day you may cost people their lives.  Then their deaths will be on me, not just you.”  Amber stared down at the floor.

“Is this part of my punishment?  To be dressed down while I’m half-dressed?”

“No.”

Amber waited for Gerund to say something more.  She looked about the room, anywhere besides at him.  Why was he doing this to her?  She felt bad enough already without being embarrassed like this.  Being made to feel like everything between them was just about her aspiration.  That she was using him.

“There is a robe in the washroom, why don’t you put that on and come to bed.”

“I’m not going to sleep with you.”

“We’re not going to have sex.  You have to sleep somewhere and like hell I’m going to let you sleep in that cell.  Get into something more comfortable and come here and tell me what happened.”

“I already told you.”

“You told me what happened, but you didn’t tell me how you’re feeling.  Can we both agree that I’m not the Huntmaster in this room?”  Amber nodded hesitantly, “Then come over here, get comfortable and talk to me.”  Gerund’s voice wavered.

Amber wished she could have readily accepted his offer.  To get in his bed with him and talk like lovers.  She wanted to be able to trust him, to be able to fall for him.  She wanted him to hold her and ask her how she’s feeling and fall asleep and wake up and not live this life anymore.  But she couldn’t.  That’s not her life now.  She wasn’t that person anymore.  But she let him, because in her mind this was part of her punishment.  And so, she told him how she blamed herself and despite what he said she would never feel like it wasn’t her fault.  She told him how she hates who she is now.  How the only thing she wanted in life was stolen from her.  How life isn’t fair.  How she can’t stand that there were people out there that would take something so important from someone.  And then she cried over all the children she never had.  She cried the tears she had been holding onto for so long.  She cried until she fell asleep.

When she woke in the middle of the night, her vulnerability disgusted her.  She turned away from Gerund and folded her arms.  This room was the warmest in the building, so it made little sense to leave his bed.  The cell might be locked.  She didn’t want to go around looking for the key or a spare bed.  She stayed, inhaling the slightly sweet oil he used to style his ridiculous hair.  She shrugged his arm off the first time he put it on her shoulder but relented the second time he gripped it. 

***

“Amber.” Gerund lightly shook Amber’s shoulder.

“I’m tired.” Amber replied, her eyes swollen from the crying.

“I have to go soon, but I need to talk about your next assignment.”

“Next assignment?” Amber asked incredulously.

“I didn’t want to tell you last night, but there have been some decisions made about your deployment.”

“What decisions?” Amber turned over, a catch in her voice.

“You’re going to be reassigned to Eastern Rouke.”

“Oh,” Amber sighed, “away from you, so I won’t cause you anymore trouble.”

“No, it wasn’t my choice.  Even the Huntmaster has to answer to others.” This was the first time Gerund mentioned anyone above the Huntmaster.  Amber wasn’t sure she could trust what he said.  “You’re going to be allowed to run your own clan.”

Amber turned to Gerund in surprise.  He continued, “you can recruit who you want, but you have to take on one hunter in particular.  There are concerns about following the code since this last incident.  This particular hunter will never depart from the code.”

“There’s something else,” Amber said.

“The individual clans are sent after specific targets,” Gerund explained.  “Jeremiah’s addition onto your team means your assignments are going to be different than the last price clan.”

“Jeremiah?”

“The hunter you will be required to take on.  The jobs are going to be harder; you’ll have to make tougher choices.  The magi will be young, but their crimes will be more heinous.  Something like what happened with this magus can’t happen again.”

“This is my punishment?”

“This is your test.  Show that you can run your own clan, that you can keep your men inline and be effective in eliminating threats.  If you can do this, it will be a lot easier to convince others you deserve to be promoted to an honor clan, to my clan.”

“How long?”

“How ever long it takes for you to prove yourself.  You’re allowed to pick your own team, but I would like you to take one of my men with you.  His name is Timbo, he’s loyal, he’ll protect you.”

“Protect me?  What does he need to protect me from?”

“If you can keep your men in line, then nothing.”

“Who is this Jeremiah?”

“He’s a good hunter.  He does what needs to be done.  You can rely on him to do the parts of the job you may shy away from.”

“You’re scaring me Gerund.”

“Look you can do this.  I know you can.  This is the way you can prove to others you deserve to be on my team.  Run this team well and you and I will be in the same clan in no time.  That’s still what you want right?  To be part of an honor clan?  Part of mine?”  Amber nodded and Gerund got out of bed to dress.  Amber turned back over in bed.  She didn’t have anywhere to be, no reason she had to get up right now.

Previously Chapter 16 – Era of Marianna, Year of 631

The door slammed open, and Amber jumped a little.  She looked up to see Gerund.  He closed the door quietly, but she could tell he was angry.

“What in the gods’ graces am I hearing about you keeping a magus under the bola for one week?” Gerund said.

“I tried to keep her longer, but without a healer even a magus can’t survive that long under duress.  Did you know they heal faster than us?  That is if they are allowed access to their magic.” Amber grinned.

“We talked about this.”

Amber rose from her chair and stood tall in front of Gerund.  “No, you told me what you wanted.  I never agreed to anything.”

“Amber,” Gerund grumbled.

“We’ve been hunting them for generations, and I probably found out more about them in one week than the entire organization did in hundreds of years.”

Gerund’s eyes flared with anger.

“I’m writing everything down in a book.  I’ll be sending a copy to you once I’ve compiled everything.  We’ll probably want to make copies for every clan.”

“Don’t think this means you aren’t going to face repercussions for disobeying orders.”

“I’m the captain, I make calls in the field.  If you remember correctly, I was already disciplined once for making the mistake that field calls should be left up to the Huntmaster.”

“She wasn’t your target,” Gerund said between clenched teeth.

“I was tracking a target, that’s where it led me.”

“Don’t give me that bullshit.  She was an honor clan mark, and you know it.”

“Clans are given targets based upon their skills.  This one deserved to be hunted by a price clan.  She lost control the second she saw the cellar door broken.”

“You could have got yourself killed.  You had no guarantee you were going to be able to exploit this target into a curse, you had no idea how long you could keep one under control.”

“Now you’re worried about me?  That’s laughable.  Where was that worry when I came to you months ago begging to be promoted to an honor clan, or just begging you to take Jeremiah out of my clan?”

“I had no choice.”

“Yes, it’s the end justifies the means when the sicko is tormenting me or some other helpless victim, but the minute I take his talents and turn them to something more fitting you reprimand me.  You care more for some magus than you do for me.”

“This isn’t about the magus.  You’re not supposed to be encouraging Jeremiah.  By Laevin, what you did with the body.” Gerund averted his gaze.

“People will be talking about the magi hunters.  Mages will think twice about making their pacts if they know that’s what awaits them.”

“We’ve tried this in the past.  It just makes the magi go further underground.  We don’t want them looking for us.  We don’t need them knowing we exist.”

“But they do Gerund!”

“Some, but we’re rumors.  If you’re giving them concrete proof, they’ll come looking for us.  They’ll come after us.  We have the upper hand because it’s not a fair fight.  Don’t try and make it one.”

Gerund took several heavy breathes calming himself.  “You’re being redeployed to Selunia for a while.”

“Trying to get me further away.”

“Amber I want you in my clan.  I want to be with you, every night, every damn day.  I have to answer to others.  I can’t just do everything I want.  As long as you keep making things harder, they’ll keep pushing us apart.  Just toe the line, keep out of trouble.”

“Yes, your mysterious masters.  It’s funny how whenever you want me to do something I don’t want to do it’s out of your control, because of some nebulous master minds that no one besides you is allowed to know exist.”

“Why must it be like this with you Amber?  I love you.  You know that.”

“Thank you for your concern, Huntmaster.  Be sure to pass a copy of my results up the chain of command.  I’m sure the ones that hold your leash will be intrigued by the information I uncovered.”

Gerund turned to leave, shook his head and turned back around.  “I bought you something.” He took a small gift wrapped in leather and laid it upon the table.  He rolled the leather open revealing two daggers with serrated blades and curved hilts.  The metal seemed to have some type of oil or polish on it.  It made it appear as purplish black smoke undulated around the blades.

“They’re shadow daggers.  Once you pick them up, they’ll be bound to you.  Whenever you want them to be, they’ll be in your hands.  Because when you told me about Jeremiah, I wanted to protect you.”

Amber sighed.  “What did you want me to do?  She was a kid.  The target was low priority.  No one was considering how long the child would live under the abuse.  I made it a priority to save her.  She wasn’t the only one in that basement.”

“I know.”  Gerund paused taking several more measured breaths.  “Sorry, I was worried.  I let my emotions get the better of me.  But it was reckless.  Weren’t you afraid?”

“No, if I died, Jeremiah and Frank would have died with me.  That would be one small consolation.  Look, I did find out a lot of information.  Maybe enough so we can stop them for good.  We can’t let them keep doing this to people Gerund.  How can they do this to others?  They used to be people.”

“Maybe they never were.  They were broken all along.”

“That’s the thing Gerund, I found out they weren’t.  They weren’t always broken.”