Chapter 89: Tahr

"Meagan, I'm sorry," the soft whisper wakes me.
"What the hell," I mutter into the semi-dark room as I look around for the person who spoke. I roll over and of course Meagan isn't there. The voice was so real-husky and melodic at the same time. Maybe I'm losing my mind. I laugh and the sound echoes off the walls. It's been a month since my visit to Bastian's lair. I need to go there again. Occasionally, I fly around my territory, but it doesn't relieve the loneliness as much as I would like. Seven months without Meagan and now I'm hearing damned voices.
For some reason, Pepper enters my mind. I've seen no sign of her since I told Henry to keep her away from me. I'm hoping she's been put on laundry duty and too tired to sneak through my chambers. Whatever her punishment, a month is probably long enough for her to suffer. I'm sure she's learned her lesson by now. I hate to admit that I actually miss the scurrying glimpses I caught every so often.
Since the night I banished Pepper from these rooms, my humans have acted unusual. They are not laughing or smiling like they normally do. Their eyes shy away and I find it irritating. No, I don't often have a call to punish anyone or at least they have no memory of such. They don't recall the time before Meagan. She added comfort to their lives and reined in my harsh ways. Not that I was ever horrible, I just seldom thought of them or their comfort. When I wanted something, I shouted. Meagan put a stop to that. She changed me for the better, if not my humans. They are now unruly when I desperately need their smiles.
"Henry, I have need of you," I cast into his mind. It's after midnight and I don't care that I'm waking him up. I have a question.
Henry arrives and for some reason his glassy, hard stare annoys me. I've never thought of him like this before. He's here to serve me and I shouldn't care what he thinks of his duty.
I don't bother leaving my bed. "The girl... or I guess woman, Pepper, where is she?" I ask after lighting a candle on the nightstand so he can see me.
His eyes grow large, but he offers no response. I wait impatiently for him to make some gesture, but he only shrugs his shoulders. That pisses me off. Laundry or kitchen is not that hard to pantomime and at this hour neither is sleeping, if that's where she is.
"Is she in her room?" Henry's eyes grow larger still and I would swear my question scares him. My voice grows louder and reflects my rising anger. "Do you know where she is?" I ask in complete vexation. This question requires only a simple shake or nod of his head.
Henry hesitates before giving me a short precise nod.
For the love of the Goddess. "Take me to her this instant." I have no idea why I have the sudden need to check on the woman. I shouldn't care.
I climb out of bed and follow Henry's retreating back. He walks rapidly down the stairs of my sleeping tower, across the courtyard, and into the human tower. I expect him to go up the winding stairs, but he heads toward a door that leads down to the cellars. I step into the cold and gloomy passage that leads to another set of stairs. I haven't been to the underground level of the castle in many years. I know food supplies are stored here, but other than that, I'm unaware that the dungeons are in use.
Henry lights a torch and begins his descent into the lower bowels. The niggling feeling in my gut expands. Why would she be down here?
After we reach the bottom, Henry walks down a long hallway. The smell of human waste hits my nostrils and my gut twists. He stops at the door at the end of the hall. There's a large piece of wood securing the entry.
"She's in there?" I hiss as I push back the fire rising in my throat.
Henry's head is lowered as he gives a slight nod. I see red and grab his shoulders lifting him from the ground. "I would suggest you stay out of my sight. If she's been down here for a month then you'd better disappear completely." I toss him into the far wall of the hallway. He bounces off and falls to the floor while sucking large gulps of air into his lungs. I grab the wood blocking the door and toss it behind me. Henry manages to duck, so I don't get the satisfaction of the wood striking his head. Too bad for him because I may remove his head with my bare hands.
The smell was bad in the hall, but now that I've entered the cell, it's overwhelming. I peer through the dark and don't see her at first. I'm so intent on finding her that I kick a tin tray, causing it to clang against the cement floor. Mice skitter in every direction. "Fuck," I say loudly into the cold room. Then I see her. She's half covered by straw and curled up into a ball. I should be able to hear her breathing. The absence of the sound scares me the most. I bend down and place my hand to her cheek. She's burning up and suddenly, she pulls a raspy breath into her lungs.
"Fucking hell."
I gently pick her up and notice immediately that she weighs practically nothing. With quick strides, I carry her from the room and the horrid smell. It takes only a moment to realize part of the smell comes with her. Henry is no longer in the hallway. "Henry," I yell into his head. "Have a bath drawn in my bathing chamber and if you have any concern for your life, it will not be you who does it."
I'm so angry that I want nothing more than to breathe fire and burn up a village or two. Pepper begins convulsing and I almost drop her. Rearranging my grip, I pull her closer so she gains heat from my body. She's wearing only a thin, filthy nightdress. I have no doubt she's been in the dungeon cell since I told Henry to keep her away from me.
I run up the human tower instead of going back the way I came. No one is about and thankfully there is no sign of Henry. I burst out of the upper door onto the landing perch. I haven't thought this through or I would have run with her all the way back to my rooms. I'm actually afraid to put her down for fear she'll die.
"Stay with me, Pepper," I whisper against her hot cheek.
I gently rest her on the stones and shift as soon as I'm far enough away from her. My talons scrape as I carefully gather her within my sharp claws and fly to my tower. I'm able to shift to human and hold onto her when I land, but I still fear her death if I put her down when I'm in my bathing chamber. I hold on, impatiently waiting for someone to enter the room and start the damn bath.
I mentally begin kicking my own ass while I wait. Her condition is my fault and I am such a complete fool. The harshest I've ever been with my humans is to yell at them. I'm not a tyrant. Do I not take them to their earth realm every ten years? Most don't even bother returning to their earlier home after the first trip. They love me and take care of my needs because they owe me for their very existence. Polishing all the gold in my treasure room is a fitting punishment for any misdeed. What's been done to Pepper amounts to torture. And though Meagan is no longer here, I feel her disappointment. I caused this mess and if Pepper will only hang on; I will fix it.