On Offer You Can't Refuse

[Katarya Frost]

“Knock, knock.” Raya said, balancing the tray on her arm. She frowned as there was no response, putting her head to the door and hearing the soft sounds of pained moaning coming from within. “Katarya!”

***

“She’ll go to the hospital of House Enlann.”

“But, Quimellë …” Raya said, with some hesitance. “She’s one of us! That is a place for …”

“Humans.” The elder woman spoke, firmly. “And Almá Katarya is human. It is better that she is treated there. Elven medicine might not be the best thing for her. She will be where she needs to be.”

Raya bowed her head, but her eyes displayed her misgivings. “Yes, Quimellë.”

***

Katarya sat in her bed, tapping her fingers on her thigh. She was terribly bored, and was itching to get back to work. She knew of at least half a dozen people who needed her care.

Her days were spent with healers poking and prodding her, making her drink concoctions she would rather have spit on the ground (but since she had made people drink those very same draughts, she could hardly complain).

Her days were soon interrupted by the most surprising of guests.

A small knock on her door and the nurse poked her head in. “You have a visitor.” She said, meekly, before ducking away as fast as she could.

Kat’s brow furrowed and she sat up in her bed.

Two men wearing the uniforms of the watch entered, making Kat’s stomach twist. And then in swooped a man wearing regal clothes, a haughty expression, and looking right down at his nose at her. “Miss Frost.”

Kat could not forget that face, and her eyes narrowed. “Lord Gidious.” She said, behind clenched teeth. This was the man who had ruined her life; the high-born of House Nyshasa. “You are not welcome here.”

The man stroked his beard and smiled. “Oh, you Frost women; so imperious you could put the noble houses to shame! So righteous in your indignation!” He held up his hands. “I come in peace.”

Kat tried to pull herself straighter in the bed, her eyes flicking to the two men who flanked the lord. “Then what are they doing here?”

The lord glanced back, and waved his hand. With a nod, both men turned and left the room. Gidious held out of hands. “Better?”

“Only if you had gone with them. How dare you show your face here after what you have done to me!” Kat felt full of indignant rage. “You burnt down my house! You have …”

“I have done nothing.” The man replied, smoothly. “You give me too much credit. I am merely a watcher; a bystander.”

“Someone burned down my house, and if it …”

The man held up his hands. “I wouldn’t be so crass, nor would I be so disrespectful to the Frost line. Your family and mine have a history, you know.”

Kat felt weary; what was this man saying? Her grandmother would never have aligned herself with such a man. She was a woman of the poor folk, just as Kat had tried to be.

Gidious beat her to the punch. “Lilian Frost was a most singular witch.” He said, words that had been said many times before. “But she was not … amenable … to us. Not unlike those that came before her. They knew it was better to be … ‘on side’ … with my house, than be at odds.” He leant forward in his chair. “Witches have very short lifespans in this city, when not sufficiently protected.”

Kat raised her chin. “I have all the protection I need.” She asserted.

Gidious laughed. “You mean the Elves? That little club of yours? I am a member of one of the principal Houses of Felsguard … I could have that place raised to the ground over my breakfast, if I so pleased.” He shook his head as she opened her mouth. “I won’t! Too much paperwork; better to keep the Elves happy.”

Kat was getting annoyed. “What do you want?” She asked.

Lord Gidious sat back, smoothed down his robed and shrugged. “An alliance, of course.”

Katarya made a disgusted sound and shook her head at him. “What, by Ny’tha, makes you think that I would ever …”

Gidious sat foward in his chair. “Because I could destroy you, my dear. I could destroy you and everyone you love or even have ever spoken to. That is the power of a Noble House of Fellsgard.”

Kat’s eyes narrowed; the air in the room dropped so that her breath was now visible. “You would not -”

The older man laughed, waving his hand and suddenly the temperature was right again. Her spell had failed. He had dismissed it as easy as he had swatted away a fly. “Your life would be short if you tried that on me, Miss Frost. I am offering you the chance to be greater than you are; to no longer be the slum-healer or slave the whims of Elves who care little for you. I have a proposal in mind.”

***

“Thank you, Raya.”

“Just get better.” The young Elf said, as she smiled and left the room.

Katarya laid on her bed, her hands touching the ring she wore. It was a simple band of silver, but the magic coming from it …

Lord Gidious had made her an offer, and she had accepted … not doing so would bring ruin down on too many people she cared about. His full protection for he, and a promise not to ask her to do harm to anyone who didn’t deserve it had sweetened the deal, but first and foremost, she simply didn’t want those she cared about to be put in danger. She had even managed to get from him a promise that the Kelbé would be left in peace; but how much could she trust him? She did not know.

Sighing, she took her tray and rested it on her lap, nibbling away at the food, annoyed that she had been brought no wine, and wondering what her future would bring.

Katarya Frost was an affiliate of the Kelbé, and maybe now even a servant to Lord mage of a Noble House.

What would her life bring, now?