The Tuskan Prince (The Caine Mercer Series Book 2)

  _____________________

  CHAPTER ONE

  THE KNIGHT WITH THE RED BANNER

  “I know you hate parties. You can at least pretend that you’re enjoying yourself.”

  Aketa straightened my doublet, flattening the creases on my left shoulder.

  “I told you I didn’t want to come. I don’t know half of these people.” I argued, glancing about the party. A good hundred people had gathered in the valley of Port Mercia. Festive lights were draped along the docks, illuminating the men and women who stood there talking. Drunkards filled their mugs from overturned barrels, husbands danced with their wives and children frolicked to the rhythm of the music being played on the stage. The town’s annual Night of the Redmoon had come again, same time as every year.

  “Well, you should do just fine with the other half.” said my wife with a smile and a reassuring slap on my back, “It’s not nearly as bad as you’re making it out to be, Caine. Drink your fill, partake in some meaningless conversations and then, when you’ve fallen face-first into a barrel of wine, I’ll escort you to the nearest bed.”

  “Sounds like you’ve got the night planned already.”

  “One of us has to.”

  With a heavy sigh, I sipped warm ale from my silver tankard and watched everyone dance around us. Women would flock to the banquet tables, become spotted by a nearby acquaintance of theirs, and then have some tedious conversation about nothing while swapping insincere compliments. My wife leaned in and whispered, “You could always ask me to dance, you know? Ah, what am I saying? Gettin’ you out there would take a fiery poker in your arse, maybe two.”

  “I’ve never been much of a dancer and you know that.” I said, slightly embarrassed that we were the only couple not flailing about.

  “We’ll just do what we do every year. Stand here, drinking beer while we watch every vagabond in Mercia make a fool of themselves.” Aketa chortled before swallowing another mouthful of ale, “Besides, this isn’t music lively enough to dance to. We could possibly sway to this, nothing more, nothing less. Those girls look like bumbling idiots out there.”

  I cracked a laugh, recalling our first dance.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “I just remembered the very first time I saw you at Taryn’s wedding.”

  “Speak of the devil, where is that man? I haven’t seen him.” she said, trying to avert the conversation, “He must be here, somewhere. Probably piss drunk in a bush, fast asleep.”

  “...I seem to remember you not dancing that night either. I had to drag you out onto the dance floor by your poofy hair! Now, how can you stand there and give me grief over not dancing when I was the first one to take your hand that night? Hmm? Some quick-witted response? I’m waiting. Aketa?” I said, realizing that my wife had begun staring into the crowd with her mouth agape.

  “What now? What’re you staring at?”

  “When did Bertram mary Alyssa?!”

  “Who?” I asked, confused as usual.

  “Bertram and Alyssa! They’ve only been together for a few months! Four months!”

  “Who? You sound aggravated?”

  “She must be pregnant.” she reported, “No, she has to be. That’s got to be the reason. There’s no way her parents would approve of that man unless she was carrying his child. Alyssa’s always been too picky to settle down with a seadog like Bertram Maley. I think they both could do better, honestly. I just don’t underst-”

  Then, without warning, Alyssa locked eyes with Aketa from across the party. A series of giggling and waving was followed by the two squealing girls coming together. Another friend, Tameria, intercepted Alyssa and Aketa at the halfway point. The three women exchanged smiles and greetings that one would find truly believable. But I knew my wife.

  “Aketa! How have you been? Darling, you look marvelous! Is that silk threading? Wool? You must tell me where you bought it from! Is it linen?” Tameria rambled, closely inspecting my wife’s attire.

  “Tameria! Girl, how have you been? Haven’t seen you in, what, two years? Last time I saw you, gosh, that was ages ago! How’s Dormund?”

  “Took to the seas three nights back.” Tameria answered with a grin, “I won’t be expecting him back for another two weeks. He’s sailing to Skjarla, the poor bastard. It’s hurricane season as well. If a storm doesn’t kill him, the damned Skjarlans will.”

  “Well, he’s survived worse, hasn’t he? Alyssa! Ah, it’s so great to see you!” Aketa diverted her attention to the other friend, who was already flashing her wedding ring. My wife released a fit of surprised smiles and screams, pretending that she had not already seen the ring nearly a minute ago.

  “Bertram bought me this after I dropped his first one in a river. It’s not as expensive as the other, it’s not even pure silver, but he says the gem brings out the blue in my eyes! Fetched it off of some dwarf miners in Rotera. Had to take out a loan from the Zilabard Bank to buy it. Oh, and it’s good to see you’ve finally dragged Caine into the light! Here I was, beginning to think you two had transformed into hermits in that swamp!” Alyssa said, grinning from ear-to-ear.

  My wife and I both remembered Alyssa.

  “Great to see you.” I said with a forced smile, “Last time I was dragged into the light was Lorian’s son’s wedding. Remember sitting by the fire with me? Of course you don’t. You passed out drunk trying to shove your tongue down my throat...as I recall...Bertram was there too, wasn’t he? I seem to remember him courting a certain woman at that time. Palmetta! Wasn’t that her name, dear?”

  Aketa shot me a distasteful glare and interjected, “Well, the two of us were about to refill on ale. Would you two like anything? Wine, perhaps? Okay, two glasses. Perfect! We’ll be right back, girls.”

  As she shuffled me away from Tameria and Alyssa, my wife hissed over my shoulder, “What were you thinking, bringing up that night? The only night that could’ve made that conversation sour! You’re incorrigible sometimes, Caine, you truly are. Anti-social, check. Incorrigible, check.”

  “I don’t know how you do it, Aketa.”

  “Do what?” she snapped, agitated.

  “Wear that fake smile with them. You can’t stand girls who behave like that.”

  “That’s the way of the world, Caine. The sooner you learn to pretend, the better.” she explained as we filled our tankards from a near-empty barrel. A young girl had doubled over, vomiting into the underbrush as her husband gently held her hair.

  “Better for who? For me or for them.” I said, sipping my ale as I glanced about the party, “Pretending is just exhausting, in my opinion. Better to treat the world as it is, not as others want it to be.”

  “Spoken like a true poet, dear. That doesn’t even make a bit of sense. Here’s your glass. Drown out those poetic thoughts and enjoy yourself for once, damnit. You haven’t danced since that night I almost died. Is that what it has to take? My death?” she then raised her glass to mine, clinked them together and said, “To dancing.”

  “To great parties.” I muttered before sipping.

  Then, I heard a recognizable voice among the roaring festivities. I cocked my head sideways, making sure that I had heard correctly. Aketa leaned into my ear and said, “Now, I’m going back over there with those two. Do us both a favor and try to stay out of trouble. Stand there and drink until you fall out. I’ll come find you in a little while.”

  Before I could respond, my wife was already clearing a path towards her friends. I turned my head towards the strange, almost haunting voice as it spoke over the crowd. Behind the stage was a tall white tent, which held a lone table with lit candles and men playing ca
rds. Sitting with his legs crossed on the other side of the table was a bald man with a black goatee and soulless, black eyes. A circle of young lads had gathered in front of him, listening intently.

  “...and then, the werewolf sprang from the forest! The Mercian had nowhere to run or hide, so he circled the beast, ignoring his feeble pleas to halt his mission.” the djinn said, building tension as he retold that fateful night on North Mountain, “The Scarlet Aven sat in its glass case, protected by a forcefield of magic. The werewolf, he was fuming with rage, saliva dripping onto the snow as he bared his razor-sharp fangs!”

  “Ewww!” two girls shrieked in the corner.

  “What did the Mercian do?! Did he use his sword?” a boy asked, his eyes bulging.

  “No, the Mercian had no blade! He had naught but his sharp wit.” the djinn replied, avoiding looking at me behind them, “The werewolf lunges for the Mercian, leaping with all of his brute strength! The Mercian rolls backwards, using the beast’s momentum to propel him over the mountain’s ledge! Then, POOF!”

  The children gasped as the djinn clapped his hands, loudly.

  “The Mercian smashed open the Scarlet Aven’s case, lifting the curse and sealing away the werewolf’s destiny forever! The wicked man living in the beast’s body couldn’t do harm to anyone again!” he concluded before receiving a cheerful applause from his audience.

  “Another story! Another one!” said the same boy, “Tell us more about the Mercian!”

  “Your father is probably looking for you, young man.” the djinn said, ushering the boy along with a gentle nudge, “Best not keep him waiting. I’ll have more stories next time.”

  When the children had all dispersed from the tent, he could then acknowledge my standing there with a stupefied expression on my face. His black eyes met mine and he said, “Come now, Caine, stop gawking at me. You look like a beached trout with your mouth hung open like that. You knew that mirror wasn’t enough to contain me. That was merely a show.”

  “Why then? Why not kill me that night on the tower?” I asked, stumbling as I struggled to sit down across from him at the table.

  “What would’ve been the point? All of my debts had been collected. There was no more reason for me to stay there than you or your wife. You were being difficult, standing between me and the baron, so I had to do something. But I confess, I did linger around for a while to watch them knight you. Congratulations on becoming the first Mercian to be legally knighted, by the way. In the span of a week, you shattered all of Mercia’s records.” the djinn said with a cold smile, “An incredible feat, to say the least.”

  “I...I watched you die?”

  “Die? Humans die Caine. Their bodies wither away, same as their minds and souls over time, but my kind lives forever. In one form or another, we are reborn, cursed to wander the earth for all eternity. Deciding whether this is heaven or hell, that truly depends on your perspective. And you are lacking perspective, indeed, my dear boy.”

  I exhaled deeply. “What’re you doing here, djinn? You’ve come to torment me?”

  “Torment you? Hah, if I meant to torment you, you would know. Is it so asinine to believe I came to Port Mercia on its Night of the Redmoon, just to enjoy a few bottles of wine and to mingle amongst the common folk?”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Then, you do know me.” he said with a hearty chuckle, pushing his tankard in circles on the wooden table, “You humans are so strange, hosting these extravagant parties to satisfy a goddess who cares little for which Mercian can drink the most ale or catch a runaway pig.”

  I turned my head, listening to the annual Chase of the Boar as it unfolded behind us. Alyssa shouted from the fence as her beloved dove headfirst after a squealing pig, coating him and his wife in mud. I muttered, “Wouldn’t call this an extravagant party, djinn.”

  The djinn averted my attention back to him with the snap of his fingers and said, “What you’ve done is more than just saving the life of your precious Aketa or that nitwit baron. You’ve broken the bonds that held me to this world, freed me from my earthly shackles. You were the last in my line of proxies, Caine Mercer. The prestige in my vanishing act. I would say that I’m indebted to you, but that would be in poor taste.”

  “Why are you here? Really.” I repeated myself, watching as the djinn narrowed his black eyes and scoffed.

  “I’m free now, Caine. Free to go wherever I please. Should I choose to stop by from time to time to visit my favorite proxy, then by the gods, I just might! Every man I’ve ever struck an accord with has either drank himself to death, gambled himself to the bottom of a lake or is repaying his debt in my own form of purgatory, through lifetimes.” he said, spinning the tankard in his hands, “You’re the one who got away, my lovely. And I’m glad to see Aketa’s in good health, too. Plagues come and go like the seasons, these days. Surviving past thirty years would be an achievement itself.”

  “Don’t talk about Aketa.” I snapped, coldly.

  “Ooh, dug a little too deep under the skin there, didn’t I? Tends to happen when talking with you sensitive humans. Ah, well, sympathy is an emotion foreign to my kind.”

  “Sarcasm?”

  “That was learned, purely for the joy of a spiteful conversation.” the djinn responded, calmly as he set the silver cup down onto the table, “If you really must know, I haven’t come for the beer or for the terrible music that these minstrels have convinced themselves is art.”

  “Shocking.” I said, folding my arms.

  “I haven’t presented myself to the good drunkards of Port Mercia because I’ve missed them dearly, or their odorous stench of manure and piss. I’m not here to ramble on with tales for little snot-nosed boys and girls, babysitting until their drunk parents decide to stop snogging with other spouses and go looking for them.”

  “Could’ve fooled me. Then why are you here, djinn?”

  “Isn’t it obvious? I’m here for you, Caine.” he answered before clapping his pale hands together.

  The bards suddenly ceased their lively music behind me. One by one, each patron began bursting into flame, as if wildfires had sprouted from the soles of their shoes. I raised my hand to shield myself from the searing hotness of the raging fire. The stage became engulfed in seconds; the lute-players abandoned their attempts to toss buckets of water on the flames, instead chose to dive into the thrashing waters of Hallobar behind them. A black storm cloud rolled overhead, striking bolts of white lightning into the terrified crowd. I watched in horror as they trampled one another as they fled towards the embankment.

  “Your time is up, Caine. You failed in your third task.” the djinn crooned behind me, smiling as his face began to darken. I cried out in panic as a bolt of lightning lashed down from the clouds, striking me with one blast. Everything faded into a blur as the demon lunged towards me.

  ***

  _______

  “Caine...honey, wake up!” Aketa whispered as she lightly patted the side of my face. I awoke to find that the two of us were still on the bow of our canoe, drifting just beyond our peninsula. Our cabin rested atop the hill with sea gulls and ospreys soaring high above. I rubbed my eyes, adjusting to the brightness of the glaring sun.

  “You’re sweating. More bad dreams?”

  “Same one.” I answered, squinting to see her clearly, “Night of the Redmoon. The djinn was there. I saw him again, clear as I’m seeing you now. This time, everything was on fire. It’s like he’s still in my head...”

  “You went through a lot.” my wife replied as she returned to the front of the canoe, “It’s not surprising you still have some left over. Oooh, look at this one. Oh, lord he’s huge! Look at the way he dives!”

  A black whale gracefully swam beneath us in its path through the deep, clear water. I could feel the effects as it sent our small boat into quakes and churns in the thrashing waves, nearly throwing us overboard. Aketa laughed joyously, having never seen one so close before. I could read the excitement on her face as her smile str
etched from ear to ear.

  “I can’t believe this!” she exclaimed, “It could swallow us like shrimp if it wanted to! Have you ever see them behave like this?”

  “A few times, with my father, and we could only see them from the shore. They always pass by Mercia this time of year and I wanted you to see them for yourself.”

  “Romantic.” Aketa laughed as she watched the black whale disappear into the depths, “You know, it’s always frightened me, somewhat, to be among such powerful creatures. They’re more afraid of us, I’ve heard.”

  I smiled at my wife and examined her delicate features as she lay there, leaning over the edge of our canoe. Her blonde, braided hair dipped into the water occasionally, tossing cold drops onto my feet when she whipped it around to look at me. She smiled and I remembered why I fell madly in love with her so many years ago. I could tell that something was deeply upsetting her; even through her forced smile, she gave me every sign that indicated a troubled mind.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “It’s been almost a year since...everything…” Aketa said as she stared into the abyss beneath us, “I love you, Caine, I really do, but when I tell you this, I need you to understand where I’m coming from, okay? I have to be honest.”

  “Tell me.”

  “I’ve been watching you for a while now. I know that you can’t sleep, that you wake up in the middle of the night. I’ve followed you to the rocks and watched you sit for hours. You hardly eat anymore. You’ve built four canoes that haven’t ever touched water. They just sit on the shore filling up with rain. Something’s festering inside of you and it needs to be healed. The nightmares, the silence...I’m worried.” she stated. I sat for a moment, understanding what she meant. I could see the finished canoes in the distance, overturned and loaded to the brim with murky rainwater.

  “Maybe I’m just getting old.” I said with a heavy sigh, “Hunting hasn’t felt the same since last year. I don’t know, Aketa. Believe me when I say I’m trying.”

  “You miss it, don’t you?”