Dark Sculptor: Dark Sculptor Novel 01 Page 3

  The queen was that hot, but that wasn’t at all what had caused the pause in my actions, but Irwin along with the tensed guards seemed to believe what I’d implied, and relaxed.

  I reminded myself it wasn’t up for me to judge worthiness, I’d given my oath. To some doctors that was less important, but I took mine very seriously.

  I sent my magic into the king, and studied his condition. As I’d suspected, his liver was failing. There were a few damaged pairs in his DNA, but that wasn’t an obstacle for my power.

  I rebuilt them, instinctually.

  I also knew instinctively that my magic wouldn’t allow his to work on my body, the king would be no threat to me once I repaired his body and he awoke. Or at least, the king’s magic would be. If they chose to try and kill me in thanks for my work, it would come from another direction. The only reason his magic wasn’t blocking mine, was because he was in some kind of magical stasis courtesy of my friendly mage Irwin. In short, the stasis took the king’s natural magical defenses down.

  No doubt the true reason for that was so I could heal him, not to stave off his impending death as Irwin had told me. In fact, I guessed that the king had at least six weeks of life left in him if I did nothing, based on what my magic was telling me.

  I wondered if I was about to die, as my magic surged into him, read the DNA I’d just repaired for his liver, and rebuilt the organ from scratch. Then I went through his body and removed all the built-up poisons. His new liver would have done that over the next week or two, but I wanted to see if I could do it. I couldn’t heal, I could rebuild the body, but I could also force it to push out what didn’t belong.

  I pulled my magic back, and nodded at Irwin. I’d never regret my oath, and being a physician, but that day and moment is the closest to it I ever came.

  “He should be fine when he wakes up. His color will improve in a day or so.”

  Irwin muttered some indistinguishable words, and the king fell into a natural sleep.

  “Follow me, I’ll take you to your room.”

  I asked, “You’re not sending me home?”

  Irwin smiled widely, “Of course I am James, of course I am. It just seems prudent to wait until the king has fully recovered.”

  Right, I guess that explains why one of the guards hadn’t run me through yet. Outside of my word they had no proof the king was healed, they were just being prudent.

  “Of course, thanks for your hospitality,” I managed to get out.

  The queen gave me a smile that promised many delights, but I knew that was just how she was now, a puppet of the king. She couldn’t not be seductive with her every action.

  I wondered how Irwin could possibly think I’d been fooled, but perhaps that came down to my education. Maybe most… whatever people were called with the kind of magic I had, would just go by feelings as Irwin suggested I would, and not really understand the underlying principles of what was going on. Maybe an ignorant man from another world would have believed he was a healer, and all was right with the world.

  Regardless, I felt very uneasy once we reached my room, and he left me on my own. It was nice enough, it had a queen-sized bed, a wardrobe, a large mirror, and over in the far corner from the bed, there was a privacy screen in front of a tub.

  It may indeed be a hallucination, I wasn’t sure anymore though. The one thing I was sure of, was that I needed to get the hell out of there before the king woke and recovered. Based on what I’d seen, I was sure the king wouldn’t tolerate anyone he saw as competition, and he wouldn’t believe me if I told him I wouldn’t abuse the magic I wielded on this strange world.

  I had no doubt if all my kind were dead in Desal, it was on the king’s order. Thought I had no proof of that.

  I checked the wardrobe, and there were a number of breeches and tunics, as well as a full-sized coat. I walked over to the window, and pushed it open. The air was warm, so I wouldn’t need the coat. I was also about sixty feet up, in a room on the fifth floor of this behemoth of a castle, I wouldn’t be going anywhere through the window.

  The city of Malburn was very large, and its vista was open to me from the window. I could easily make out the different sections, a market, another with nice houses, and another that looked like slums. There were a lot of people on the streets, and I knew if I could get down there I’d have a good chance of eluding the guards, assuming they even chased me.

  The guards I saw out in the city were dressed differently from the castle guards. They didn’t have helms or shields, just swords and leather armor. Something told me even if the guards in the castle were in on bringing me here and the fact I needed to be watched, that the city guard had no idea of my presence here. Surely, I could get lost, and maybe even get out of the city, before word got out of my presence and escape. Maybe I was being overly optimistic, but I wasn’t ready to die either.

  I opened the door and stuck my head out, the two guards looked at me suspiciously. Great, I was being guarded, no doubt for my own safety.

  Right.

  “Hi. How do I get water in the tub?” I asked the first inane question that popped into my head.

  The guard rolled his eyes, “Pull the rope in your room, a servant will come. Same when you get hungry, it’s almost lunchtime.”

  I nodded in acknowledgement, and closed the door. My face fell as I leaned back against the door and I blew a deep breath out. I was in big trouble, and I had no idea how to get out of it.

  Chapter Five

  I practiced for a while, there was a lot of information when I first connected to another’s body with my magic. The stone wall between me and my guards seemed to make no difference, my only limitation seemed to be that I had to be within fifteen feet.

  I had to guide my magic from the body in my mind’s eye that came up with a general health assessment, and dive into the body’s consciousness status, which was about three steps deep in my magical health filing system. Then I had to change the person from awake to asleep, and then presumably channel my magic to make it happen.

  It was a process, and it took at least three to four seconds, plus probably another second to make it actually happen with my magic. That meant if I knocked out a guard, the second one would have five seconds or so to sound the alarm, or rush into the room and kill me, before I could knock him out too.

  If I ran into more than two at a time, I wouldn’t have a chance in hell if they rushed me.

  Plus, it only worked out to fifteen feet or so. Anyone could close that distance in two or three seconds, so I’d have to take them by surprise to have long enough to do anything. That might work through the wall of my room, but walking down a hallway I’d be cut down before I got off this floor, much less out of the castle and into the city.

  I wouldn’t even get within fifteen feet, if they had a distance weapon and saw me coming.

  So, I practiced several approaches to it, until I stumbled on a winner.

  I found if I was focused enough on a specific piece of information, the magic wouldn’t start at that general health status, and I could force it to start directly at the place of my choosing. So that meant I’d gotten things down to two seconds a guard, which was much better, but I’d still need to be very cautious.

  For instance, if two guards charged me from farther than fifteen feet away, I’d only have time to knock one out by the time they got in range, before the second arrived and killed me. Still, it was the best I could do. I also verified what Irwin had told me, I couldn’t use my magic on myself. If I was wounded, I was pretty much dead.

  I’ll admit I was scared, terrified even, and I felt sick to my stomach at the idea of all this. I’d led a very sheltered life in hindsight, what was I going to do when I got into the city? I wasn’t sure, but it had to be better than staying here and dying, right?

  I was in pretty good shape, despite the long hours I was on my feet all the time, and worked out when I found the time as well as gone running a few times a week. I also had a good idea which way the exit
into the city was in the castle.

  I connected my magic to guard one, and put him to sleep with a surge of magic. The second guard managed to get my door open, before he too collapsed on the ground.

  I wasn’t proud of it, but I checked their pockets, and took their money which was several pieces of silver and copper, and two gold. I wasn’t a thief, but I doubted things were free out there, and I consoled my conscience by calling it my fee for services rendered. I had cured the king after all, and that kitchen girl.

  Not that I wouldn’t do it for free, but they could afford it, and a guy needed to make a living.

  I slipped out of my room and down the hall to the stairs. I took the stairs down two floors, and then slowed down a lot. I knew there were two guards in the stairwell on the second floor, I’d been paying attention. I wasn’t able to get my magic to connect, until I laid down on the floor.

  Three seconds later, two more guards were snoozing, and when I got down there I was a gold and twelve silver richer. I went down one more floor, and then paused.

  If I continued down a floor, that’s where the kitchens and infirmary were, but I didn’t want to go below ground. Problem was, I had a good idea how to get to the exit, but I’d not seen this part of the castle yet, and had no idea how to avoid the guards or where they were stationed.

  I peeked out into the hallway, and there were two guards about sixty feet away, right by a main corridor I was almost positive was the way out. There was just no way to sneak up to the guards. Instead, I dashed across the hall when they weren’t looking my way, and slipped inside an unlocked room.

  I blew out a breath, and stood still for a minute waiting for my heart to stop beating like a snare drum. It was some kind of sitting or meeting room. There was a couch, sculptures in the corners, and a conference table made of oak surrounded by eight chairs. I rounded the table, and looked out the window.

  The castle had a large wall between it and the city, and I was staring at it just twenty feet away. Thing was, there were guards about sixty feet outside and to my left, at the gate. Going out the window wouldn’t help, and my only chance of escape was to go through the gate and disappear into Malburn.

  I immediately rejected the idea of trying to bluff my way past, I was sure all the palace guards had been briefed on me, and I needed to do something soon, or someone would find the knocked out sleeping guards before I got out of here, and rouse the castle with an alarm. That may even get the guards to lockdown the castle and close the gates.

  I jumped as the door opened, and spun around.

  “Maria?”

  She put a finger on her lips, and glanced back out the doorway.

  “Follow me, show servant way out,” she whispered.

  I frowned, “Why would you help me? How did you find me?” I whispered back, my heart hammering.

  She looked as scared as I was, if not more so.

  “Saw you on the stairs, help you, you help us?”

  I frowned, “How? I’m a doctor, not a...” a what? A rebel? Did she expect me to free them from the king’s influence? Did she know I’d just healed him? What would she think of me then?

  She said, “You’re a kind man. Leave here, go east toward the great forest. Eastguard, right on the border next to the forest, look there and then tell me what you aren’t.”

  “What’s there?”

  She shook her head, “Malburn’s not safe for you. Garlis and Dulcier not safe either. You’re only chance to find a place or safety is Eastguard. Too much talking, you will see, move now.”

  I wasn’t sure what to say back to that. Garlis and Dulcier? More towns, or cities in Desal? I’d been thinking of taking my chances in Gritor, but Sera didn’t sound much better than Hanson as far as leaders went, but could I trust that information given who’d told me about her?

  I supposed she was right about too much talking though, the unconscious guards could be discovered at any moment. We didn’t really have time for twenty questions.

  She dashed across the hall back into the stairwell, and after a glance down the corridor I followed.

  She led me downstairs, below ground, and into a side corridor that was much smaller. A servant’s corridor? Regardless, after a few twists and turns, she led me to a different gate. Much smaller, and probably used by the kitchen servants to go down to the market for foodstuffs. There were two guards there too, but the way she’d brought me got me a lot closer than sixty feet away while keeping us hidden from the guards’ view.

  She nodded at me, patted my back, mouthed good luck, and headed away. Presumably back to the kitchen. It was probably pathetic of me, but I felt rather abandoned for a moment, instead of properly grateful for her help.

  I peeked around the corridor, it had to be at least twenty feet.

  I put a confused smile on my face, and walked around the corner like the clueless idiot I was. I figured it was best to go with my strengths, my bedside manner.

  “Thank god, I am so lost, can you help me…”

  I trailed off as the first wary guard toppled to the ground. My act had worked up until then, they looked wary but hadn’t attacked. The other immediately charged me, and fell on his face and slid several feet. I had to jump out of the way or he’d have bowled me over. After shamelessly picking up even more spending money, I opened the small metal gate, and sighed in relief when I didn’t see a guard in sight.

  It was a short tunnel that opened up into the city’s market district.

  “Stop in the name of the king!” I heard someone yell behind me.

  Shit. I ran into the crowded streets, and took the first turn I could. The people were dressed drably, but seemed just like people everywhere that were oppressed by a psychotic king. It actually wasn’t that bad, the city did stink, but I heard lots of conversation around me, and street vendors loudly hawking their wares as I raced past.

  I ran until I was out of breath, and hopelessly lost in the warren of twisting streets. I looked across the street and two doors down, and saw what looked like an inn. I headed that way, maybe I could find a meal there, and directions out of the city. Or other important things, like which way was east? I also had a lot of questions about this world I wanted answered, but wondered how much commoners in the streets would know. There was no CNN, FOX, or MSNBC on this world, would they really know the truth about Gritor, another kingdom? Would they even know the truth about other cities in Desal, or the great forest? Which made me wonder exactly how useful Maria’s advice had been, and where she’d gotten her information from.

  To my relief, no one gave me a second look as I slipped into the inn, and then I froze in shock as I took in the large common room.

  Chapter Six

  This wasn’t just an inn. My first clue was all the beautiful young women wearing little more than lingerie, and lounging around the room. Half of them were giving me hopeful come fuck me looks. My second clue were noises from upstairs that told me there were men and women up there having a very good time.

  “Can I help you?” asked an attractive but slightly older woman behind a lectern. She had stunning green eyes, long curly red hair, and was quite curvy. She was quite a beautiful woman actually, voluptuous and lush in all the right places, with a thin waist, long delicate neck, and cute innocent face with a hint of mischievousness to it.

  And by older, I mean not in her teens. She was still younger than me by a year or two, maybe twenty-three? All the women in there for rent were quite young, the oldest maybe eighteen, the youngest I didn’t even want to talk about, though at least they were all post pubescent. Different world, different morals and age standards, but that didn’t mean my stomach didn’t turn a little at the thought of fourteen and fifteen-year-old girls selling their bodies. What kind of world was this?

  I asked, “A meal, and information?”

  She smiled, “Name’s Regina love, and I think we can rustle something up. Sure nothing else appeals to you?”

  I smiled, “Name’s James. They’re a little young f
or me, but if you’re on the menu we could talk about that, perhaps over lunch?”

  In truth, even the eighteen year olds were a little young for my taste, very attractive physically, I won’t lie, but I preferred them a little more mature than that callow age. Maybe it was stupid, I wasn’t looking for a girlfriend or date, but there it was.

  I also wondered if I’d taken leave of my senses, I needed to get out of the city, not stop for some fun. Honestly, it was all the female flesh and curves in the room, I wasn’t one to ever pay for it, but I think the stress of this new world was getting to me. The adrenaline crash of the run, and the joy of still being alive. Simple strings free sex sounded like a wonderful idea. I felt a little shame when I thought about Cynthia, but she’d walked out on me, walked out on us, and I was in a new world now. That, or crazy. Either way why the hell not?

  Plus, I wasn’t paying for it, my friends the sleeping guards were.

  I also wasn’t worried about disease or pregnancy, not with my magic anyway. I already knew she was clean that way, maybe this world didn’t even have venereal disease. I sampled a few other ladies with my magic, and all of them were perfectly clean and healthy.

  To my surprise though, she bit her lip and turned away from me with a grimace.

  “Did I offend you with my offer? I’m kind of new to the city, and need to be moving on soon. I was serious about needing that information.”

  Regina smiled at me, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

  “I’d be happy to join you for a meal, you didn’t offend me,” she turned, “Carrie, take the door.”

  A sexy young blonde got up and took over for Regina, while she led me to a room in the back. It was a cozy little booth walled off for privacy.

  “Take a seat, I’ll be right back. Oh, that’ll be a silver, in advance.”

  I pulled one out and plopped it on the table, I had a feeling in a regular inn I could get a meal for a couple copper, but I wasn’t going to argue, or go wandering around the city. Better if I could get some information here and get out of the city. Hell, did they ride horses?