Then he slowly advanced upon the komeesa, who backed before him, stuttering, “B-but you-you said-Hari said- not kill me!”
“I ain’t gon’ kill you, you bitch,” Ehrik grated, swinging his length of chain from his huge right hand. “But whataO your folks done to my Mairee’s pore feet that calls for suf-ferin’ price.”
Lady Hehrah hastily stripped all the rings from her shaking hands, cupped them in one palm, extended them before her. “There! There’s enough to buy you half of Morguhnpolis. Take them! But don’t touch me … please don’t … I … I cannot stand pain!”
Ehrik never halted his slow advance. His open left hand slapped her quivering white one, sending a vahrohnos’ ransom flying in all directions, the faceted gems scintillating in the lamplight.
Whimpering, nursing her hand, Lady Hehrah dropped to her fat knees, and Ehrik, after knotting the chain about her wrists as if it had been twine, dragged her over to an iron wall sconce, effortlessly lifted her heavy body and suspended it by those pinioned wrists. Lady Hehrah began to scream even before he started to unbuckle his rawhide belt, as all her weight drew upon that chain and its links bit into her pampered flesh, bringing bright spurts of blood to trickle down her depilated arms.
Mairee wanted to bid Ehrik desist, wanted to close her eyes to what she could see coming, but she sat mute, staring in horrified fascination. At the first swish and solid whack of the swordbelt, the lady emitted a piercing shriek, and the left eye-the only one Mairee could see-seemed about to spring from its socket. Ehrik exacted his suffering price thoroughly, methodically. When he had done and stood panting, the thick belt trailing on the floor tiles, the lady’s back was one red-purple weal, from nape to knees, and the blood from innumerable cuts and splits in her soft skin trickled down to drop from her toes.
Ehrik rebuckled his blood-smeared belt, snapped on the weapons, wrapped a rich coverlet about his wife, then gathered her up and stalked out of Horse Hall.
As Ehrik descended the broad steps and paced resolutely toward the gate, no one who saw what lay within his eyes even asked him his destination, much less moved to block his way-not even the old komees.
Geros Lahvoheetos, since he was one of the few who had ever been in Horse County, had been sent by young Thoheeks Bili as one of Lieutenant Hohguhn’s score of Freefighters. He had but just ridden into the familiar courtyard and stiffly dismounted from his mare when he observed the press of men parting, making way for that big, black-bearded farmer who had led first that frightening ambush back in the forest, then the raiding party which had cleared the way and opened the gate to the rest He saw in the smoky red glare of the torches that the fanner bore in his arms a willow slip of a pretty girl. She was wrapped about with a splendid dark-red coverlet of woven silk and her slender arms were clasped about the big man’s bull neck, while her head lay pillowed on his chest.
The circumstances which had, almost overnight, transformed Geros into a respected warrior had failed to rob him of his gentle, polite demeanor or helpful nature. He had, of course, heard the shocking tale of what had befallen this man and his lovely young wife, and he surmised that, having freed her of that odious bondage, Ehrik was now bearing her home to the village, which was a long walk to Geros’ mind.
Still leading his mare, he stepped out into the farmer’s path. The blackboard halted abruptly an arm’s length away, stood glowering for a long moment, then snarled, “Out of my way, damn you! I be done in this place!”
He might have added more, but was disconcerted by Geros’ obviously sincere smile. The dirty, dog-tired sometime valet-musician said softly, “Sir, your wounds are still almost fresh, nor are you as young as the men you led here this night; it is a long walk to your village and you must be near to exhaustion now at its beginning. My mare,” he proffered the reins, “is strong enough to carry two for that distance and more. Will not you and your lady wife accept the loan of my sweet Ahnah?”