On Death's Honor

Chapter 29: A Nymphtan's Confrontation

Are you happy now? You're finally going to die - and without completing your oath to the Circle.

They won't have me if I die like this.

No, someone much worse will.

Fine by me.

"You must be Mutnya," I replied by way of answering, finding it incredibly difficult to move my tongue. The nymphtan smiled a smile of pointed teeth.

"You are Circle Bound," she stated. "I can feel the magic they forced into your veins. How very curious, indeed."

She began to move her way towards me, tilting her head to the side as if I was a puzzle she wanted to solve.

"I recognize your aura. You were there outside of Canden - we were within arm's reach."

If I'd had the energy, I would have snapped my head back in an instant. Instead, I forced my eyes to focus on her face and not on the markings that covered her otherwise bare body.

"Why didn't you kill me?" I managed, to which she raised her brow.

"Why didn't you?"

I closed my eyes, hating the overwhelming tightness unfurling in my chest.

"I asked first," I mumbled. Oh, you're so pathetic.

A slim, smooth hand cupped my cheek, frustratingly cool against my flushed skin.

"I didn't realize you were an erla," she said simply. "You have visitors from the underworld residing in you."

Something dark and twisted stirred deep within me. I flinched, unable to hide the weak sound that rose to my throat. She chuckled.

"They don't know, do they? Your Reftin Circle has no idea what monsters you harbor beneath your skin."

"They never asked," came my curt, muffled reply.

"Hmm. You seem like a woman who loves very little."

Finding the strength to open my eyes was harder than it should have been, but I managed, knowing that I probably wasn't going to like what was in front of me. Indeed, I found an interest, but it wasn't from the obvious exposed protrusions hanging from her chest.

Never understood that logic, I thought suddenly. Men go so crazy over bits of flabby skin-

Wrenva, focus.

The charm that hung above them was made of a metal that looked as if it was made of moonlight, a picture of . . .

Snow. Freezing rain. A fishing village bracing itself against an oncoming storm-

I gasped, my eyes flying open as a wild, sharp pain pierced my side.

"Oh, fuck," I hissed, eying the single claw Mutnya was digging just beneath my bottom rib.

"Can't have you falling asleep on me, dear," she said sweetly. I grinded my teeth, unable to help the pained groan when she dug it in further. "Do I have your attention, now?"

Panting, I raised my eyes, struggling to fight past the fog clouding my head. With a grin, she yanked her claw free, waving a hand in the air that must have signalled the vines to release me. My body fell with an ungraceful thud!, and I was helpless when she moved to untie my cloak, sword belt, and the sash around my chest, my limbs tingling as the blood rushed to gain back some feeling. And she didn't stop there.

What a humbling experience, to be stripped down to one's own undergarments that consisted of a linen pair of shorts and a shirt, in my case. I had a snaking feeling she would have gone further if she hadn't sensed that the painful tingling in my body was fading enough for me to come close to moving. Once she noticed this, she was quick to bind my hands behind my back.