The Azimar Archives Book One- The Book of Death

Dars

"I ain't your damned errand boy," Dars muttered, already knowing it was pointless.

"Please, Dars?" Ajax's eye was puffy and swollen, and blood still leaked from his nose. Silvana had set him on her own bed, and was gently examining the various wounds he'd taken. "You know that if I go to him, one of Ferrand's men will intervene." Ajax winced as Silvana prodded a flowering bruise in his side.

Dars sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Alright, fine, I'll give Hasani your message." Dars stepped back to look Ajax over better. "What's wrong with him, Silvana?"

Silvana straightened, hands going to her belly. "I can't be completely sure if there's serious damage to his insides, but it's obvious that he has some cracked ribs. I thought perhaps his nose was broken as well, but it seems to be fine. Lots of bruising to his jaw and cheekbones, but they'll fade."

"I'll be fine," Ajax grumbled, tugging his tunic back over his head with a grimace.

"You will be, in time. I wouldn't try swinging anything heavier than a butter knife around, though." Silvana's mouth turned down into a pouty frown. "It would have been mostly alright if you'd been wearing your armor..."

"If I was still allowed to wear my old armor, we wouldn't be in this mess." Ajax snapped, pulling his tunic down to cover the dark coloring on his ribs.

"What the hell were you thinking, going down there like that?" Dars asked.

Ajax sighed, his glance darting to his sister before he answered. "When you told me what happened to Silvana, I just..." Ajax's voice trailed, and his shrugged, wincing with the motion.

"So you thought it'd be a good idea to go find him, provoke him some more?"

"I did nothing to provoke him."

"Just you being there is enough to provoke him, Ajax!" Dars sighed, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Ferrand ain't like other men, Ajax. He's a beast, and he's had his eye on you." Dars dropped his arms to his hips, looking from Silvana's worried face to Ajax's angry one. "He'll do anything to break you, you realize that? He started with taking your title, but you resisted. So now he's moving to those you care about." He stabbed a finger in Silvana's direction, spitting his words at Ajax. "Your sister. Your brother, in time. Me, and my family, if they were still here. The Matriarch, if he knew where to find her—"

"He knows where to find her" Ajax growled. "It was Ferrand that took her there."

"You can't know that," Silvana said softly.

"I found her. She showed me everything that happened." Ajax's gaze swiveled between Silvana and Dars, and Dars could sense his mounting anger and anxiety. "It was Ferrand that led her down into the dark, and left her powerless."

Silvana was quiet again, hands moving nervously over her stomach. She couldn't meet her brother's eye, and gave Dars only a passing worried glance.

"Where was she?"

"In the dungeons, as you suggested. There was an... an illusion, Layle called it, blocking the way. I couldn't get through it before."

Dars pressed his questions harder, angry with Ajax for being so stupid and selfish. "And she showed you what, exactly? How?" Dars was nearly shouting now, leaning over the injured Ajax. "Did she tell you that you were going to get your ass handed to you if you went after Ferrand?"

Ajax stood, one hand pressed to his injured ribs. He stood several inches taller than Dars, and glared down at him. "Why are you so angry with me, when Ferrand is the one destroying everything we care about?"

"Stop it, both of you." Silvana's voice was thin and watery. Dars turned and caught her eye, realizing in an instant that she was fighting back tears. "We shouldn't be fighting amongst ourselves. We're all that we have left."

Dars took a step back from Ajax, the tension that had been building in his shoulders fading immediately. "I'm sorry, Silvana."

Ajax dropped to the edge of the bed once more, holding his hand out for Silvana to take, giving hers a gentle squeeze. Dars eyed the way Silvana's thin hang clung to her brother's, suddenly missing his family very much.

"I think she gave me her Gift. For a moment, anyway. Though I could only see things that had already happened." Ajax's voice was faint and his gaze distant, as though he were trying to remember. "I saw her being led from their cottage, being pulled down into the dungeons. I saw her speaking with Mothlenor, and he was asking her for help. And she showed me things that I had already seen, but in a way that made everything make sense." Ajax shook his head, looking up at Dars, his look almost pleading. "I know it sounds crazy, but I found her. And she told me what Mothlenor wanted, and how we can move to stop him."

Dars frowned, arms once more crossing over his chest. "Your father made me promise to watch over your stupid ass, Ajax. And I loved that old bastard, as much as I love the two of you." Dars sighed, muttering curses under his breath. "Great Ones damn it all, I'll help you in whatever way I can. Just tell me what you want from me."

Ajax smirked, hand still wrapped around Silvana's. "Be my damned errand boy."

"Ajax..." Dars growled.

"You can get around better than any of us can," Ajax continued. "You're not being watched as closely as I am, or kept as close to Mothlenor as Hasani is. You can help us." Ajax paused, looking up at Dars with a faint smile. "Please?"

Dars considered for a moment, glaring at Ajax. "Fine, but you have to promise me something in return. I don't want you going anywhere near Ferrand until this mess is all over with." He gestured to Silvana, sitting close enough to her brother that their knees touched. "If not for my sake, at least for the sake of your sister, and her child."

Ajax squeezed Silvana's hand again, looking between them. "I swear it."