Medieval 02 - Forbidden

Dominic said finally.
    “Nay,” Erik said, his voice hoarse.
    “If you die, your father will be stirred from his clan rivalries. There will be war between the Glendruid Wolf and the clans of the north.”
    “And the Learned will be first to fight,” Cassandra vowed. “I will lead them myself!”
    No one who heard the Learned woman’s voice doubted her.
    “You will lose,” Dominic said. “King Henry won’t let his northern borders go to Saxons and Scots.”
    “Perhaps he won’t have a choice,” Erik said.
    “Perhaps. But Henry has held every bit of land he has fought for.”
    Erik said nothing.
    “If Ariane is jilted,” Dominic continued, “there will be war as well. Baron Deguerre is a proud noble. King Henry is most pleased with the match.”
    Ariane stiffened subtly but said not one word.
    “Aye,” Erik said fiercely. “But if you have allies in the north, you might win that war against Henry and Deguerre.”
    Dominic nodded slightly and waited, not easing the pressure of the sword point at Erik’s throat.
    “If you have no allies, you will lose,” Erik pointed out, “for you will be caught between two enemies—me on the northern border and Baron Deguerre’s allies on the south.”
    “Do you relish the thought of war?” Dominic asked curiously.
    “No. Neither do I relish seeing my sister turned into Duncan’s whore.”
    Dominic’s eyes narrowed. “The witch was not without a part in Duncan’s betrayal.”
    “Losing Duncan is a greater punishment for Amber than you can imagine,” Erik said.
    “And you? How will you be punished for arranging things so that Duncan would be forsworn?”
    “Watching what comes to Amber will be my punishment. It will be suitable in ways only the Learned can comprehend.”
    Dominic flicked at glance at Cassandra. She nodded once, but it was the pain bracketing her mouth that told Dominic what he needed to know. He turned back to Erik.
    “And Duncan’s punishment?” Dominic asked softly. “For you wish to punish him, too, I suspect.”
    A falcon called wildly from beyond the walls, triumph and fury at once.
    Erik’s smile was as cruel as the falcon’s cry.
    “Erik!” Amber cried. “No! Duncan doesn’t understand! You can’t scourge him for that!”
    “Duncan will be the first to know his punishment,” Erik said gently, never looking away from the Glendruid Wolf. “And he will know it too late to do anything but rage at himself for the fool that he was.”
    Silence filled the hall while Dominic measured Erik with eyes like quicksilver.
    “Will Duncan survive this ‘punishment’?” Dominic asked.
    “I don’t know.”
    “ Can he survive?”
    “I don’t know.”
    Delicately Dominic allowed a bit more of the broadsword’s weight to rest on Erik’s flesh.
    “What do you know, proud lord?” Dominic asked softly.
    “That Duncan and Amber are joined in ways that defy measure. In denying her, he denies himself. In humiliating her, he humiliates himself. In hurting her—”
    “He hurts himself,” Dominic interrupted curtly. “A man can survive hurt. A man can’t survive in the Disputed Lands with no money to buy knights.”
    “Amber is in Duncan’s very blood,” Erik said flatly. “Tell me, Glendruid Wolf, how long can a man live without blood? How long would he want to live ?”
    Dominic looked at Duncan. The Scots Hammer’s back was turned. Quite plainly he had no further interest in what passed between Dominic and Erik.
    The Glendruid Wolf looked at Amber. The paleness of her face and the stark fear in her eyes told him more than he wanted to know. Dominic sheathed the sword with a smooth, powerful stroke.
    “You owe me your life,” Dominic said. “Use it to help Duncan. I must have him alive and in power at Stone Ring Keep. It is the only way war can be avoided.”
    Erik said nothing.
    “I am merciful only once with the same man,” Dominic said coolly. “If war comes, you will die. You have my word on it.”
    Motionless on the floor, sword still in his hand, Erik took the measure of the Glendruid Wolf. Erik knew he could attack Dominic, possibly kill him—and surely die himself—or he could accept the terms as offered.
    “If Learning can help Duncan,” Erik said, “he will be helped.”
    Cassandra’s soft laughter shocked everyone.
    “Indeed, lord, you are fit to wear the Glendruid Wolf,” she said coolly.
    Dominic lifted a black eyebrow and said only, “You have seven days to find a solution to Duncan’s