Blood Ties (Noble of Blood Series Book 2) (10 page)

Dartei
n
had always thought that if he were to see his father again, he would feel nothing but anger and resentment towards the man. But as he spied him trotting towards him and Matten he only felt relieved. And a bit hopeful. He had come to like the passionate Matten, and truly did not want to see him perish.

Both his father and Nikka quickly dismounted and leaned down beside him next to the large human cattleman. Before either he or his father could say anything Nikka had her hands out and hovering over the wound Matten had taken in his upper thigh. The goblin's knife had nicked the main artery and despite the tourniquet, he was bleeding out quickly.

Dartein could not help but to notice that the nails on Nikka’s hands were suddenly long and pointed like claws. As he stared the claws receded back into her fingertips and were nothing but normal nails. He almost wondered if maybe he were imagining what he had seen until her hands started to glow a soft white.

“There you go, Nikkola. Just like with the mare.” His father was murmuring to his daughter, encouraging her to continue whatever it was that she was doing. “Calm his heart first.”

Dartein saw that Matten was now breathing normally, if still a bit shallow. The large man was no longer grimacing in pain, but was now relaxed and his eyes were heavy lidded. Nikka moved her hands back down to the wound and gently pressed. Dartein expected Matten to cry out in pain, but his face remained lax.

The intensifying glow from Nikka’s hand drew his attention back to the wound. Her hands now radiated with light and warmth and there was no longer any blood running from the wound. Dartein would have thought him dead if it weren’t for his steady breathing. All at once the light went out and Nikka sat back on her heels, sweat pouring from her brow. The wound was fully sealed and was merely red and puckered like a recent scar.

“He will need rest and replenishment. The wound may be healed but he still lost a lot of blood,” Nikka said, looking up at him.

Dartein continued to stare at her in astonishment, until she leaned against him putting her head on his shoulder. He threw his arm around her and squeezed tight. At that moment Victor and a Noble whom he did not know rode over to them. He squeezed his daughter one more time before letting go and standing up.

“Victor, help me to get Matten here inside the Keep and comfortable,” Dartein said.

“Oh Victor, you should have seen it. I healed his wound!” Nikka jumped up and hugged his old friend, surprising Dartein. And he was surprised further when Victor wrapped his arms around his daughter and kissed her on the top of her head.

“You are amazing, I wish I could have seen it,” Victor said.

Standing up his father said, “I am sure that before this war is over you will have seen more than you want of her healing powers.”

Dartein was lost with everything that was happening around him, but figured first they needed to get Matten inside. He and Victor each grabbed Matten by the shoulders and hauled him upright, placing themselves under each arm and dragging him into the Keep.

The battle over, the fighting human men joined their families in the great hall of the Keep where a large fire was already blazing. Upon seeing Matten being carried in by Dartein and Victor, some of the humans quickly made up a makeshift cot near the fire from blankets and hay. Dartein lowered Matten down gently to the bedding and then relinquished care of him over to his wife and the other women hovering nearby.

Most of the humans were still nervous around the Nobles, but in the aftermath of the battle it was a fading notion. Although several of the fighting men were staring at his Father and the as yet unnamed Noble in something like reverence.

He turned to speak with Victor but his old friend had already moved away from him and over to one of the large tables where his daughter sat, along with his father and the stranger. He stood still for a moment, observing, while Nikka moved over making room for Victor next to her. Then once he settled on the bench she placed her head against his shoulder.

It seems her running off had finally tipped the scales, and Victor must have opened up to his daughter. He watched as the guard put his arm around her waist, pulling her closer against him. Dartein thought that maybe he should be angry with him for not speaking to him first.

But of course Dartein had known what was between them already, even if they had not been forthcoming. No, he was happy for them both. Especially for Victor who had lost once before. At least he had been able to recover his heart. Dartein knew that his would bleed forever.

Finally standing up and walking to the table, he was reminded that he was not the only one who had lost and never recovered. His father sat there stoically, conversing with the strange Noble while the wives of the fighting men brought them in a platter of freshly filleted beef and pitchers of ale.

This was the first time Dartein could recall seeing his father so far away from the Palace. Knowing that he accompanied Nikka back safely to the Keep made him feel pangs of guilt for having kept them all apart for so long. It was probably past time to remedy that situation.

Dartein seated himself next to Victor and was promptly handed a mug of ale from one of the women rushing around the hall. Not usually one for the human drink, he sat and sipped it quietly and contemplated all that had transpired over the last several days. In such a short amount of time everything had changed, turned upside down from how he had structured their lives nineteen years ago.

The talking at the table quieted for a moment.

“I never thought to see you out of the Palace, father.”

Mortul swung his head around to take in his son.

“I never truly have had much reason to leave it. Of course now things are quite different, and I have several reasons to be away.” He smile and looked over at Nikka. Looking back to Dartein, he continued. “Fortunately, I have a small handful of Nobles who can run things well in my absence for the time being.”

“Then things truly have changed. I don't seem to remember you trusting very many with such important details before.”

“Indeed. But things with the goblins are coming to a head, and are undoubtedly much worse than we previously thought. I've filled the Palace, our home, with the muscle needed to defend it. I've also cultivated a few of the more intelligent Nobles for roles to help in the front lines of the coming battle. I do not intend to be unprepared this time.”

Mortul's magically enhanced youthful features took on a deep somber tone, making him look much older. It was quite obvious he was thinking of the past, of the Ancient War he had fought so long ago that had almost wiped out human life altogether.

Mortul spoke up again, “My son, this individual here was there with me in the Ancient War, and will be invaluable to us and the war efforts here and now.”

“You are Yosan, then? I had read the accounts written about the War, and had wondered what had become of you and Hudreia.” Dartein said to the other Warlock.

“Yes, that would be me. Hudreia and I have wandered the continent for so long that much of it is a blur now. I intend to raise my Chamber from its resting place, so we can take up volunteers of humans to be turned. I believe you visited the site of the Chambers vault before?” Yosan replied.

“Ah, yes. Yes I did. It feels like yesterday, yet it feels like forever ago. I was able to open the vault, but unable to move the Chamber.” Thinking of his failed attempt at recovering the only thing that would save his Josaleene made him feel the despair anew.

“My condolences on the loss of your lady love. I lost my wife after the war was over, and I grieve for her still to this day,” Yosan said softly.

“Twenty years, and it still feels like yesterday.” Dartein whispered.

“'Tis but a fraction of the time that you will need to heal. Even after a thousand years, your heart will still break every time you think of her. I do not say that to cause despair, but to warn you. Make her loss your strength. Especially in the war to come.”

Th
e
rest of the people seated around the table had taken in the discussion thus far quietly. But the talk of the grief over her mother's death was more than she could bear, and she could stay seated at the table no longer. Squeezing Victor's hand she spoke up in the brief silence that had ensued after Yosan's advice.

“I would like to check on Matten, and see if there is anything I can do to help speed his recovery.” She swung her legs around over the bench, rose and quickly walked away.

She was kneeling down by the man who seemed to have befriended her father in a very small amount of time, when she felt Victor kneel down beside her. Nikka was glad to have him there, he gave her strength and helped to calm her thoughts.

“Are you alright?” He asked her.

“I am. It is difficult hearing other's speak of my mother's death with such grief, when I never knew her to mourn her. I don't know any different from being here in the Keep with Father and you.”

Victor put a large hand on her shoulder. His touch still made her heart race as it did the first time. The fleeting thought of their first embrace, their first kiss, flashed through her mind. Pushing it firmly away as a distraction, she looked down on her patient.

Matten was breathing deeply, which was a good sign. Placing her hand upon his chest she could feel his heart beating faster than normal, trying to pump around what little blood he had left. It was definitely enough to keep him alive, but he would have a long recovery of it. The idea came to her then, of how she had healed his wound and how she may be able to use the same strategy to rebuild his blood supply.

Nikka placed her other hand on his chest, over his heart, and concentrated on the process happening inside. She could feel the blood flowing weakly through the chambers of the heart. Concentrating even further, she envisioned being able to see down to each blood cell and mentally challenged them to reproduce themselves.

After several moments the trick in her mind started to work under her hands. She could both see and feel the blood reproducing itself, and the heartbeat slowed to a more normal rhythm. Looking up at Matten's face she could see color coming back to his cheeks and lips. She was so excited by this that she lost her concentration.

“My dear granddaughter, it seems you have quite the raw talent as a healer.” Her grandfather's voice behind her startled her, as she hadn't heard him walk up.

Turning her head upward to see him made her vision blur, and her head spin. Victor firmed up his grip around her shoulders, seeing her begin to fall aside. Nikka put her hands on her knees, closed her eyes, and willed the room to stop spinning.

“Are you alright?” Victor's voice dripped with concern.

“I am dizzy, but I think I am fine.” Nikka whispered.

“She has a lot of power, and trying to learn to focus it can be incredibly draining. She should rest a while.” Nikka felt her grandfather's hand brush the back of her hair before he moved away.

Victor stood up then and hauled her to her feet, holding onto her shoulders to steady her. He peered down at her intently, waiting for her to give a sign that she was okay. When she didn't say anything, he scooped her up and settled her against his strong, broad chest.

“I have you, no worries. We'll get you lying down and resting now.” Victor's voice sounded far away, and she realized her vision was going dark as she felt him begin to move.

Nikka woke just a short time later, in her own bed, with Victor next to her. His head was propped on his hand, and was staring intently at her.

“How long have you been staring at me?”

Victor smiled at her voice. “Only a few moments, really. You were asleep just a short time.”

“I already feel much better. Maybe I just tried too much for being so new to magic.”

“Well, you should continue to rest a bit. Just in case.”

Nikka felt herself flush a bit underneath his stare. Victor was always intense, in everything he did. Fighting, hunting, speaking. And that wasn't all. The time they had shared in the Palace began playing through her mind. He was a different kind of intense then. Yet, he hadn't pushed her to do it again. Of course, they hadn't had much privacy since then, either.

Nikka reached out and placed her hand on his chest, running her fingers lightly and slowly downward. Once she reached his waist she paused, and looked at him with one eyebrow raised as if in question.

Victor's eyes widened just a bit at the questioning look on her face, then he smiled and reached over with his free hand, gathering her up against him. Nikka stretched her body along his, wanting to touch as much of him as possible at once. Just his hands had made their way from her shoulders to her hips, a knock sounded at her door.

Exasperated, she fell backwards onto the bed behind her.

“Yes?” She called.

“Just checking in on you.” Came her father's voice through the door.

Victor swiftly sat up and scooted to the end of the bed, then ran his hands through his hair to smooth it down.

“Come on in.” Nikka called, smiling at Victor's nervous reaction.

Dartein slowly opened the door, as if he was waiting until the last possible second to spot what may be going on in his daughter's room.

“I'm glad you are awake,” her father said as he finally opened the door fully. “Your grandfather told me what happened.”

“Yeah” Nikka said as she sat up. “I guess I just tried too hard too soon, without knowing my limits.”

“I am definitely not surprised that you have magic, but I have to admit to feeling properly guilty for not exposing you to your grandfather before, so that you may have had a better chance to develop those talents sooner than now.”

“Now is better than never. And I am truly sorry for running off and worrying you. But I will not lie and say that I am sorry I did it. So many things have come about because of it.” Nikka glanced at Victor, smiling.

Her father didn't miss her action. He heaved a huge sigh before speaking again.

“I will have you both know that I am glad you two finally gave your feelings a chance. You may think that I am bothered by it, but I am truly not. Of course I will always be your over-protective father. But I could not think of anyone better to help take on that role of protector than my old guard and greatest friend.”

Nikka rose from the bed and rushed over to hug her father.

“Thank you. I will take good care of him, too.”

Pulling away she walked back over to the bed and sat next to Victor. He pulled her up against him and she lay her head on his shoulder.

“We've settled a few things on our next moves, and I wanted to inform you of them,” Dartein said. “Yosan will be riding north to excavate his Chamber, and our rangers will be escorting him. He insisted we not waste our time, but I've seen the hordes in the Lothnau Forest before, and would not want to miss the chance to take some of them out. Also, I know where the entrance to one of their underground dens is located.”

“Are you sure that making a first strike against the Enemy is a good idea?” Victor spoke up.

“I think it is better than waiting for them to finally rally and come at us in swarms. If we hit them hard with two warlocks in our ranks, we may just wipe out that colony and none of the others would find out for some time.”

“That is a pretty large if, my friend,” Victor said.

“I realize that, as does my father and Yosan. I honestly think they are itching for a good scrap. Seems tonight's small battle only whetted their appetite. I think we are in for a real surprise about my father, Victor. I think we are about to see the real things that were created all those years ago, and what they are truly capable of.”