A Twitch of Tail (10 page)

They stopped inside the large double doors of the barn and looked around.  Both Tahlon and Melo tensed on either side of Tera, and she looked up at them in surprise.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, worry skating through her.

“The king has changed his mind,” Melo spoke low, and Tera looked where both of them were staring.  One of the rings had a wooden contraption inside it.  Made of thick beams, the wooden square had chains hanging from the top beam as well as wrapped around the bottom of the side beams.  Thick leather cuffs were attached to the chains.

Confusion skated through her.  “I thought you were supposed to fight?”

Across the barn, another set of doors opened.  Men walked into the barn and circled the ring containing the wooden contraption.  The king and queen, and one very tall man, were last to enter the barn.  The male wore black leather pants and military-style boots and no shirt.  His dark brown hair was caught back at his nape in a tail.

The trio stopped in front of them, and Tahlon looked at the male.  Tera noticed a whip attached to his hip, and suddenly everything clicked in her mind.

“No!”  She jerked in her horror, knowing that they meant to use the whip on Tahlon.

Tahlon shushed her, pressing his fingertip to her lips.

The queen sighed loudly.  “Let’s get on with this, please.  It’s stifling in here.”

Regret passed over the king’s face.  “None of the males would fight with you for the
leaving
.  I had no choice but to rend your promise with the whip.  I would not have wished it so.”

“It’s your pleasure to do what you will with the ambush,” Tahlon said with a voice that was so void of emotion that it chilled Tera to the bone.

The king and queen turned and walked to the ring that was surrounded with more than twenty males.  Tahlon looked at the man standing in front of them and said, “Jorah.”

Jorah said, “Without the king’s knowledge, the queen threatened the males able to fight you with expulsion from the ambush if they agreed to go against you.”  He glanced over his shoulder and said resignedly, “She’s got him by the balls, and he’s not got a clue of what she does behind his back.”

Anger surged through Tera, and she snarled, “Why don’t you fucking tell him?”

Jorah chuckled.  “Such a temper, little mouse.  Only a male with a death wish would tell a tale to the king about his beloved mate.”  He narrowed his eyes at Tera appraisingly, and said, “Some day I’ll find a mate who will charge the gates of hell on my behalf, as yours appears willing to do.”

Tahlon held Tera closer.  “She’s worth everything to me.”

“Then let’s get you back into her arms as fast as possible.”

Tahlon nodded, and Jorah walked towards the ring.  Tahlon turned to face Tera, pulling her tightly against him and laying claim to her mouth with a devastating kiss.  He pulled away from her mouth and cupped her face, staring intently at her.  “I love you, Tera.”

“I love you, Tahlon,” she whispered as her voice cracked with emotion.  He pressed his lips to her forehead and stepped away, pulling off his shirt and handing it to her.  She clutched it to her chest as Melo slipped his arms around her, and they watched Tahlon cross the floor and climb between the ropes of the ring where Jorah and the king stood.

The king cleared his throat.  “When a tiger chooses to leave his or her ambush, an oath is broken.  Our laws state that a broken oath requires the shedding of blood.  Tahlon Thorne, you have been a member of this ambush for twenty-nine years, and as such, you will receive one lash for each year.”

Tera clapped her hand over her mouth, but it didn’t stop the sound from escaping.  Twenty-nine lashes with a whip?  What would that do to him?  Melo held her tighter.

“It’ll be okay, sweetheart.  Tahl will heal the wounds when it’s over, and he’ll be fine.  There will be no lasting damage.”

Tears filled her eyes as she watched Jorah shackle Tahlon’s wrists to the top beam and his ankles to the two bottom beams.  His limbs were spread apart so his body made an X.  Jorah said something to Tahlon who nodded, and she saw Jorah pull something thick from his pocket.

“Melo,” Tahlon said a moment before he bit down on the object that Jorah held in front of him.

Tera looked up at Melo, and he moved suddenly, turning them both around so that his back was to the ring and his body blocked her view.

“Melo,” she growled, trying to move around him, but he tightened his hold.

“No, sweetheart.  He doesn’t want you to see this.”

She tipped her head so she could look into Melo’s eyes and saw the worry and anguish in the blue depths.  The whip cracked suddenly, and Tera’s heart broke right along with it, as tears clouded her vision.  Melo held her closer, protecting her from the sight of Tahlon’s whipping, as crack after crack of the whip echoed in the barn.

Tera closed her eyes and thought of a spell she could cast that would give him peace.  She began to whisper the words and only said a few when Melo’s hand clapped over her mouth.  “Don’t dishonor his sacrifice by interfering, love.  He would love you for what you want to do, but it wouldn’t be honorable.”

Tears spilled from her eyes as she nodded her head.  Melo lifted his hand and drew her back against his body while the whip continued to crack.  Her knees weakened, and she clutched at Melo, wondering how much more Tahlon could take.

It felt like an eternity passed.  But it could have been hours or even mere minutes.  She didn’t know because time had lost all meaning to her.

“It’s done, sweetheart,” Melo said gently, turning them both.

She gasped in horror at the sight before them.  Tahlon’s body was limp, hanging from the shackles.  Blood pooled on the ground underneath him.  The king and queen and the rest of the ambush filed out silently, but not before the queen met Tera’s gaze and smiled wickedly.

“We need to help him,” Melo said, and they rushed forward.  Tera could hardly see through the tears as she stumbled after Melo.  Melo and Jorah released Tahlon’s bonds, and Melo caught him as he fell forward.

“The king said he’s not to shift for two hours to complete the
leaving
.  You can stay in here, or I can help you transport him to your home.”

“Let’s get him home,” Melo said.

Tera followed behind as the two men carried Tahlon between them.  His back was a raw, bloody mess, and the sight of it made her want to throw up in terror and scream in rage, but she did neither.  Squaring her shoulders, she wiped at the remaining tears on her cheeks and settled her wild emotions.  Tahlon had shown an incredible inner strength to go through the whipping without showing fear.  Even before it had started, his mind had been on her and her well-being, not on his own.  Melo had said it was honorable to suffer through this.  She could honor Tahlon by being supportive instead of a weepy mess.  By the time she moved ahead of them to open the front door, she’d brought her emotions under control.  Racing into the house, she pulled the comforter from the bed in Tahlon’s room and stretched it out on the floor.  It would get bloody, but better the comforter that could be thrown away than the mattress.

They laid Tahlon on his stomach on the floor, and he groaned.  Tera knelt next to his head and lifted his hand, gently kissing each finger.  She leaned down and kissed his temple.

“I love you so much, Tahl.  You’re the strongest man I know.”

His eyes cracked open a fraction, and he whispered with a hoarse voice, “Love you.”

She asked Melo to bring her a bowl of cold water and a cloth.  He set it beside her, and she touched the water, finding it lukewarm and not cold.

“Do we have any ice?  His forehead is burning up.”  She looked up at Melo where he stood with Jorah, looking down at Tahlon.

“No, sweetheart, sorry.”

She hummed in her throat and called upon her power, hovering her hand over the bowl and willing the temperature of the water to cool.  It only took a small amount of power, but the electric feel of her water power coursing through her rejuvenated her spirits.

She dipped the cloth into the bowl that was now ice cold and wrung it out.  Melo knelt down next to her and put his finger into the water and exclaimed, “Shit, that’s cold.  How did you do that?”

Laying the folded cloth over Tahlon’s forehead, she smiled at Melo.  “My power is over the element of water.  Changing temperature is a small thing.  I just willed the water to chill, and it did.  The older I get, the more control I’ll have over water.”

Melo said, “Our kitta is one special woman.”

She smiled at him, re-wetting the cloth and pressing it to Tahlon’s forehead.

“I’ll stand watch outside, Melo, until the two hours have passed and he can shift,”  Jorah said after clearing his throat.

“Thanks.”  Melo nodded, straightening.

Jorah looked at Tera for a quiet moment and then said, “I know you don’t believe me, but Tahlon is my friend.  I bore the whip because I knew I could do it without permanently marking or injuring him.”

She watched him walk towards the door.  “Jorah?”

He looked over his shoulder at her, stopping with his hand on the door.

“Thank you.”

He nodded and disappeared out the door, shutting it softly.

For two hours, Tera tended to Tahlon as best she could.  She didn’t offer to heal him, because she knew that it would be against the rules of the ambush and she didn’t want Tahlon to think she would always take the easy way out.  He slipped in and out of consciousness.

Jorah knocked on the door twice but didn’t open it, and Melo cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders as he stood from where he’d sat next to Tera for the duration.  With deft movements, he pulled Tahlon’s shoes and pants off, and then said, “Tahl?  You can shift now, brother.  Your
leaving
is complete.”

Tahlon’s eyes fluttered open, and he breathed out a sigh of relief and began to shift.  Tera had never seen a person shift into their animal form before and was mesmerized by it.  Tahlon’s human form morphed quickly, bones cracked and reformed, fur sprouted, the wounds on his back closed, and his human features bled away until an enormous white tiger with black stripes stood before her.

Tahlon stretched, his tail lashing back and forth as his claws dug into the carpet with loud tearing sounds.  Seeing him healed brought tears of relief to her eyes, and she blinked them away, laughing as he swung his big head towards her and purred.  His pale green eyes swept over her body and he yowled softly.

He moved forward slowly, bracing his paws on either side of her body, forcing her to lie down on her back as he stood above her.  Lowering his head, he ran his nose down the side of her neck, making her skin prickle.  His scratchy tongue lashed at her skin.  She raised her hands and rubbed them along his chest and up his neck as he sniffed and licked her, nuzzling her shirt up and licking across her stomach with a throaty growl.

Melo gave him a shove on the shoulder with a laugh.  “Alright, lover boy.  Let’s go outside so you can stretch your legs.”

Tahlon made a sound like a growled sigh and licked Tera’s cheek before moving off her, his tail twitching in annoyance.  She stood with Melo’s help, and Melo opened the back door, and they stepped out onto a small brick patio.  Tahlon moved off the patio and into the yard, lifting his head to sniff at the air.  He padded around the house in a large circle as they stood watching.

“Oh, he’s making me dizzy,” Tera laughed, sitting on a plastic chair.  Tahlon had circled the home several times.

“When we shift, our bodies are filled with energy that demands to be used.  He’s pacing around the house so he can use up the energy that he would normally spend going for a hunt.  In a couple hours, he’ll be able to shift back into his human form.”

Melo left a short time later to get dinner and bring it home for them.  Tahlon moved up onto the patio and sat on his haunches in front of her.

“You’re pretty gorgeous, you know that?” she asked him.

He purred again and laid his head in her lap.  She stroked her fingers over the soft fur on the top of his head and said, “And I’m pretty damn lucky to have you in my life.”

Chapter 8

Tahlon wasn’t happy to get a phone call early Sunday morning from one of the house servants of the king and queen, announcing that they were going to stop by at eight a.m.  It was bad enough that the queen had tried to humiliate Tera and influenced the
leaving
, but to also delay their departure home was just too much.

Tera looked much more relaxed than she had since they arrived on Friday.  After she tended to him when he was in and out of consciousness following the whipping, she had played with him in the backyard while Melo was gone, chasing after him and grabbing his tail.  He loved the sound of her laughter.  He hadn’t been sure that she would be able to look at him without remembering the whipping, but she was proving to be resilient and strong.  Even so, Tahlon was glad as hell they were going to be leaving this place far behind.

When there was a knock at the door promptly at eight, Melo opened it and let in Jorah, followed by the king and queen and two house servants, carrying covered trays.