Chapter 4

Only the hand he instinctively brought up to hold the blade from his throat kept his head upon his shoulders as the beast moved, desperate to pull him off of the mewling girl and take his place. Balor gasped as the blade bit into his palm, the darkness of its evil trying to pollute his soul. With a backwards butt of his head, he slammed into the beast's groin, mashing its balls to its pubic bone.

The beast squealed and Balor rose, his cock spurting the last of its seed onto Luria's lovely backside, his sword coming to hand as the beast fell backwards. One quick thrust and the beast-soldier was dispatched. He turned in time to see Luria held by another, a knife at her throat.

But Graeme was behind them, with his curved knife in hand, he swiftly dispatched the beast as Luria stumbled forward and into Balor's arms.

"They've found us," she moaned.

"Scouts," Graeme said softly. "They are naught but scouts that stumbled upon us."

"They'll be more," Balor said.

As if in answer, the lion set to guard the encampment let loose a roar of its own, overshadowing the scream of another one of Magnus's foul beasts.

Luria jumped before closing her eyes. Her mouth moved but no words came out. "We need to go, these aren't scouts. They are the lead of a large group that is out searching for us."

"How can you know that?" Balor asked.

"The lion, he showed me. I've told him to do what he could but to flee if he was overpowered in any way. He will follow us."

Above them, a night bird flew, swooping close to eat from the insects that were attracted to the scent of their bodies. Luria lifted her hand, whistling softly. The bird settled upon her finger, tipping its head one way and then the next and staring up at Luria with its beady little eyes.

"Go, see what you will see and then come back and tell me," Luria said softly before lifting her finger to the sky.

Balor didn't wait. He retrieved his horse from where he'd tethered him earlier in the evening. Gathering up their possessions, he quickly tied them to the horse before scooping Luria up and putting her in the saddle. "I will not ask you to come with us," he said to Graeme who'd packed up camp as well. "We will be chased the entire way and I cannot ask you to put yourself in danger like that for two humans that you don't even know."

"It is the way of my people to render help when we can. Your quest is a noble one and I would help you achieve your final goal." Graeme put his hand on Balor's shoulder, a gesture of respect among his kind. "You have my bow and my sword until they are no longer of use to you."

Balor nodded, accepting Graeme's generosity in the manner with which they were offered. "I thank you. Lady Luria is no normal lady and I fear I am falling under her spell the same as the animals who prostrate themselves before her."

Graeme nodded, his eyes staring off into the distance. "Prince Balor, I fear we must hurry. It is not Magnus's beasts alone that walk the forest this night. Magnus himself searches for his bride and for the one who stole her away."

"Then let us be away. I shall not let her fall into his hands, not while there is breath in my body." He hurried to his horse, slinging his leg over its back and settling in behind Luria. Waiting for Graeme, he turned to follow the elf, trusting him with his life and with the life of his lady.

They rode fast at first, fast enough that Luria couldn't really speak. She was holding onto the pommel in front of her, feeling Balor's arms around her. Her legs were spread around the leather saddle and she'd ended up sitting on his cloak, feeling his spunk dripping out of her and onto the fabric, wetting it. As the saddle moved, it rubbed against her, starting that throbbing in her cunny again.

"We must ride fast and hard, Luria," Balor said softly in her ear. "I'll make it as easy as I can on you but it won't be pleasant for any of us."

"I understand, Balor. I'll be fine," she said, raising her chin determinedly.

She wasn't fine by the time they dismounted the horse. Her legs gave out when she slid into Balor's arms from his saddle, her cunny chapped by the movement of the saddle and all the unaccustomed use it had been getting in the past two days. The fire was gone from her belly and she would have felt almost normal if it hadn't been for her sore thighs.

Balor pulled her closer, holding her against him. She was shivering, her beautiful blue eyes were shadowed and shuttered. She needed sleep, food, and to feel safe again. He could feel it. If he had his way, she'd be his bride and Magnus would be dead.

Something big and heavy landed against his foot and he jerked, turning to stare almost eye to eye with the great lion with the black mane.

Luria turned from his arms, smiling at the beast. "You are well?" She smiled wider as the lion answered her through their bond. Pulling from Balor, she hugged the cat, burying her face in his thick fur. When she stood up, she announced: "Magnus has retreated into his cursed castle for today. Rowan here saw him go himself."

"The lion just told you this?" Balor asked.

"Yes, he stayed away from the beasts but circled back around to watch for Magnus. He has left out scouts to try and find us, including Nigel, the one who killed my parents." Her chin went up and Balor could see the anger and the thirst for vengeance in her eyes.

"We shall avenge their death, Lady Luria, if it is at all possible. I shall not let you fall into danger again. We must stay ahead of Magnus's men." He turned, looking at Graeme. "Going to the Seventh Kingdom will be what he will think we are doing. There must be somewhere else we can go that will be safe for us."

"Two days ride from here to the south lays the city of Tindale, one of the cities of my people. They will grant us welcome and give us shelter until we can come upon a better plan." Graeme glanced at the Lady Luria, a gentle smile upon his handsome lips. "Your lady could rest and perhaps a wedding of a kind could be planned."

"Wedding?" Luria asked, glancing askance between the two men. But it was as if she weren't there for all the attention they paid her question.

"Would it be binding?" Balor asked.

"It would suffice," Graeme answered. "Though once you returned to your own home, another ceremony for your people could be planned."

"Who's wedding?" Luria asked again, stomping her foot when they continued to ignore her.

Balor moved to his horse, pulling off the heavy saddle and settling it on the ground. He dug in his pack, pulling out a fresh tunic and leggings. "My lady, there is a stream just beyond those trees if you'd like to refresh yourself." He offered her the clothes, smiling gently down into her eyes.

"I am not some weak-willed lady to allow myself to be pushed and pulled around and forced to do things for my own good," she growled at him, taking the clothing as well as the cloth and soap he offered. "There will be no wedding for my own good, do you understand?" she growled. The lion, which had lain down around her feet like a well-heeled hound, lifted his mighty head and growled with her.

"My lady, it isn't just for your own good. It's for the good of all the people of the seven kingdoms. Do you not know the prophesy?"

"Prophesy ... bah ... that prophesy isn't me," she snapped. "A marked lady who has great powers to wed the evil Magnus so that he might take over the world, it is ridiculous. I have no great powers."

"That lion at your feet says otherwise," Balor said gently. He lifted his cut hand, pulling the binding he'd wrapped around it away from the wound. What he saw worried him. The beast's sword must have been dipped into poison, the kind that begat the beast in the first place. Once they'd been men but the poison mixed the bloods, turning the one infected into one of those horrid beasts. He was infected.

"Let me see that," Graeme said, grabbing Balor's hand before he could pull the binding back over it. "This must be cleansed and then the poison burnt out of it. We can start the cleansing here but you will be very sick by the time we reach Tindale."

"What is it?" Luria cried, coming over to take Balor's big hand in her two small ones. She saw the wound and the poison that polluted it. It was in the way his skin was turning black and mottled around the wound, hair sprouting from the infected places.

"Do what needs done," Balor said. "I must be able to protect Luria, sick or not." He looked up as a bird came and sat upon her shoulder seeming to whisper in her ear.

"You guard our camp," she said quietly, sending the bird up and soaring. "No one will get close enough without us knowing," she said. "I will go to the river and gather water as well as roots of the lily plant. It will numb your hand and make the cleansing less painful."

"Thank you, my lady." He stopped her as she sought to leave, waiting until Graeme excused himself to start a fire to heat his blade. "Would it be so bad to be my bride? You would be queen of the Seventh Kingdom and rule by my side. You'd share my bed and have my children. Is that really all that loathsome to you?"

"No, no not at all," she said quickly. "I but wish to be asked, not told. My opinion matters. Just because I am a woman does not mean I do not know my own mind." She leaned down and gently kissed his lips. "I must go get the water and the plants. I will take Rowan with me. He will protect me, so do not worry."

"And you say you have no powers." Balor grinned. "You just do not wish to see them."

Luria hurried through the tall brush, startling a family of partridges who had nested there. They burst out in front of her with a crash and a roar, sending Rowan roaring off after them until she called him back.

Lifting the skirt that Sabina had dressed her in, she waded to the center of the slow moving stream, bending to feel for the root of the lily plant that bobbed in the center of the water.

"Come on," she growled, her fingers skittering over wet stones and tangling in the roots.

She yanked first one and then another out of the stream, tossing them up on the bank while she waded out. When she returned to the bank, she made slices in some of the roots with her knife and added them to a bucket of water that would be used to clean Balor's wound.

When she had completed her work, she untied her cloak and slipped it, and the ripped chemise she had been wearing, off onto the grass. Picking up the soap and cloth Balor had given her, she stepped back into the stream to bathe. She paid special attention to the abraded skin between her legs and thighs, cleansing it thoroughly before using the ripped top to dry herself off with. She felt much better dressed in the too-big leggings and tunic. She tied the cloak over them and picked up the blue outfit.

Returning to camp, she gave the bucket of water and the roots to Graeme before going over to Balor, who was lying against his saddle with his eyes closed. Sinking down next to him, she laid her cool palm against his forehead, gasping as she felt the heat of his skin.

"The poison moves quickly. This should have been done immediately after you were injured, my prince."

"There was no time," he said, sighing as her hand moved over his face, cooling his skin. "You were in danger, we all were."

His eyes opened, staring up at her. "You were right, Luria. We were being high-handed in deciding your fate for you. I guess I thought that what happened between us meant more than it did." He snagged her hand in his uninjured one, holding it to his lips. "It was mind blowing, my lady, more than this poor man could possibly believe could truly happen."

"Oh don't you go playing those games," Luria smirked. She pulled her hand away and took her skirt over to Graeme, ripping a length from the bottom to use to cool his forehead and dipped it into the bucket before he could heat it. Wringing it out, she saw the juices from the roots in the water and picked up a small cup. "Drinking will make his whole body less likely to feel the pain," she whispered, waiting for Graeme's nod. She filled the cup, holding it in her hand and stirring it with one finger.

"Drink, my prince," she said as she sank back down next to him. "This will help you feel better." She wrapped her slender arm behind his back, helping to lift him for small sips of the water having him finish more than half before she let him lay back. Then she wiped his face with the bit of cloth and water while she waited for Graeme to finish his preparations.

"If I change, Luria..."

"No, we shan't talk of things like that. You won't change. You won't," she repeated when he looked at her stubbornly.

"If I do," he pulled a short sword from inside his tunic, holding it out to her, hilt first. "Do you know how to use this?"

"I-I w-won't use it against you, Balor. I won't have to. Graeme will make you better. Elves are known for their healing ways and once we get you to Tindale, you'll be hale and hearty again."

"Take the sword, Luria," Balor ordered. "If I hurt you ... well, make sure I don't."

She nodded, sliding the blade through the belt he'd given her with the tunic. "I'll be giving this back to you in two days."

His eyes closed and he smiled, nodding. He shivered and Luria took the cloak off her shoulders and wrapped it around him. He snuggled into its warmth, sighing heavily.