Page 55 of The Lost Child

Her fingers drifted dangerously close to my wings and I twitched, rolling over onto my side and snarling. I couldn’t help the instinct. My wings hurt so badly, though drinking her blood had healed most of the damage. She drew back as if I’d bite her. Again.

“Damnit, Canavar. If you don’t come with me now, I’m leaving without you.”

There it was: an ultimatum.

Nerissa was everything to me. She’d given herself to me, but this was asking too much. Couldn’t she see the curse at work, keeping me here? Didn’t she realize that disobeying would only make everything worse?

She was crying now; tears streamed down her face as she clasped her hands, begging with me to leave. She kept threatening to leave, but her grip never lessened in my hand.

“No,” I grit out, pulling my hands from hers and giving her a shove. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to go with her; I couldn’t!

Nerissa stood, shaking with fury and despair. “I can’t believe you. After everything you’re still just a whipped dog, aren’t you?”

“A dog knows to heed the hand that feeds it. That makes him smarter than you.”

Nerissa whipped around, but too late to avoid the master’s sword, the hilt coming down to crack hard on her skull. She crumpled to the ground, limbs and body lifeless. I made a pathetic moaning sound in distress, but couldn’t even get off the ground. I’d refused to leave with Nerissa and stayed in my cage. I’d obeyed the master. Why wasn’t the sickness abating?

“Good boy. You’ve proved you’re not a total lost case. Come.”

I scrambled on my hands and knees to get to him, and the sickness cleared. I took a deep breath as my vision cleared and the world grew steady again. The master put a hand on my head and patted me.

“All better, you see? Women bring us nothing but trouble.”

I wanted to agree with him, but I didn’t like the way he was looking at Nerissa.

“Be a good dog; carry her to her room and help get her ready to say her vows. Macguire won’t wait much longer, but he wants her presentable.”

I picked Nerissa up easily in my arms, feeling much like my normal self. I thought about carrying her somewhere there was open sky, and flying away.

I fell to my knees in agony, the world tilting crazily around me. I clutched Nerissa tightly to me so I didn’t hurt her.

The master laughed at me, and ordered me to get up.

I obeyed and the sickness went away.

I followed the master up to a place I’d never gone: the main artery of ships in the rocks where all his men ate. It was much brighter here, and the air cleaner.

Nerissa’s room was small and simple, but much better than my cave, if not as clean as the witch’s hut had been. A small cot stood in the corner, which was where the master indicated I should put Nerissa. I laid her down gently, fighting the urge to soothe the bits of frizzy hair away from her face. Instead I backed away and looked around.

“Not much, but better than the cave. You can have it if you want while she’s gone. You’ll have earned it by then.”

The four walls around me seemed a luxury; a wardrobe stood in the corner opposite from the bed, and an old leather chair sat before a small mantle with a collection of half-burned candles. A few books were scattered here and there as well as another pair of boots and a spare sword which were propped up by the wardrobe.

My ears twitched as the ships around us creaked and bent, constantly making sounds as the wind blew through them.

Then again, it was a bit loud.

My cave was absolutely silent. Somewhere above us, heavy footfalls walked a path. A few paces to my left, three men were laughing and talking loudly. I didn’t like the noise. Too much was going on.

Suddenly this didn’t seem so luxurious.

“I told Macguire to send a maid to get her ready. Stay here until the woman comes, then guard them both. If both of ‘em are here by the time I return, you’ll have earned back my trust.”

I gazed at him hopefully. This task was easy and allowed me to stay close to Nerissa. I wasn’t entirely sure what a ‘marriage’ was, but he wasn’t beating either of us currently.

“Oh, and Canavar?”

I raised my head from where I was watching Nerissa.

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