Those Who Fear the Darkness (BloodRunes: Book 2) (22 page)

“Nothing,” Aria wrinkled her nose, “Again,
that’s one of those things I try not to get involved in.”

Jezebel smiled, satisfied. “For a long time I
took him into my home and allowed him to work off a rather large
debt he owed me,” she supplied from information that Devon had
finally filled her in on, though why he didn’t tell her when the
two first appeared she didn’t know. “At the time I thought that it
was for his dying mother, which of course I had a soft spot for.
Only now do I realize that it was a ruse for an excuse to get close
to my father, who just like yours, is - was” she let another tear
form and sniffled, “very important and has a lot of very delicate
information.”

Aria did not seem inclined to comment, but
gave her a sympathetic look.

“Anyway, that’s getting a bit into politics,
I’m sorry. My point was that he spoke very highly about a girl he
had had to leave. Thinking upon it now, I believe that girl is you.
He seemed quite attached to her, and indicated that he felt he had
made a mistake leaving her.”

Aria looked thoughtful. “I was under the
impression that his affections now lay with Layna who traveled with
him here.” She shook her head. “Besides, I’ve moved on. It was a
childish romance.”

Jezebel bristled at the girl’s name. “What,
that girl?” she refused to say the name herself, and struggled to
keep her tone even. “She was a maid in my household, and no doubt
she’s smitten with him, but I’ve never heard Gryffon speak of her
with any intention other than as a friend. She’s much too low-born
to have any real hold on a man of Gryffon’s standing. I think,”
Jezebel leaned back in her chair, “that you still have feelings for
this man, and he obviously does for you. Now that he’s back…” she
gave Aria a teasing look.

“I don’t know…even if that were true, Layna
is such a sweetheart…”

Jezebel bit back the nasty comment that
sprang to her lips, blood welling up in her mouth from the force
which was required to do so. “It would do her a favor as well,
allow her to see the uselessness of chasing after something she
can’t have, and she’ll be able to move on with her own life.”

Aria still didn’t look convinced, but Jezebel
could see plain as day that the seed had been planted, and it was
only a matter of time before the woman would act upon it. She let
the subject drop. “Alright, alright enough teasing. Keep it in mind
though. Now, did I hear something about a play being put on
tonight?”

CHAPTER 11

A loud thundering boom caught Katya’s
attention and she paused curiously. She cocked her head to the side
and listened to the now-still forest.

The sound crashed again.

Then again, rhythmically.

She focused with her talent and saw with
surprise that the noise was being caused by huge amounts of power
being released over and over at semi-regular intervals. Not able to
contain her curiosity, she altered her path to intercept the sound
and resumed her running again.

As she approached the source, she saw in the
distance the flickering of a campfire and she slowed to go
unnoticed. She drew nearer and the sound of raised voices broke
through the night - someone was arguing over the crashing. She
crept closer still until she could make out the words.

“He’s going to break out!” a frantic-sounding
voice fairly shrieked. That explained the power - someone must be
trying to break some kind of bond that held him - though a bond
that could withstand that kind of bashing was impressive.

“They said he couldn’t,” disagreed another,
though his voice was quaking, betraying the lack of conviction he
had in his own words.

“They said it was impossible for him to be
here at all and yet there he is,” retorted the first, the statement
dripping with sarcasm.

“Well, what do you want me to do about it
now?” asked the other, anger evident in his tone. “Shall we just
let him go and hope that he spares us out of gratitude for changing
our minds about keeping him? Sorry we locked you up - our mistake,
please don’t kill us? Something tells me he’s not in the mood to
forgive any of us right now.” Another thunderous crash punctuated
his statement as if on cue. The other was silent. “They said they’d
take care of it.”

“And so we shall,” a third voice spoke up,
and a cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows and into the
firelight. The fitful flickering made it difficult to make out his
features, and even more disconcerting to Katya was that she had
been unaware of his presence until he had spoken. There were not
many who could sneak up on her, and as she probed him with her
talent she was realized that to her magic this man was invisible.
She prudently decided not to underestimate this group. The man had
said ‘they’.

Sure enough, moments later, another figure
emerged and the two invisibles entered the tent farthest from
Katya. With infinite care, she slunk around the makeshift camp
until she was within hearing range of the tent.

“You really have been a bit of a nuisance to
us,” one of them said presumably to their captive, who for the
moment had stopped its wild onslaught of unleashed power. The
captive declined to answer. “Tsk tsk. What are we going to do with
you?” the man continued rhetorically.

“Look at this,” said the other, and Katya
dearly wished she could see inside. A huffed sigh came from the
tent.

“Damn,” the man swore. “Can we remove
it?”

A muffled moan escaped from the captive and
Katya edged sideways to get a better angle to see in through the
tent flap. If only they’d open it a little farther so she could
see.

“No use.” The pained groaning ceased. “Will
the restraints hold against it?”

“We will have to hope so.”

As they pushed aside the flap to leave, Katya
was astonished to recognize the captive.

It was the King!

Katya retreated into the forest with haste.
Just who were these invisible men? Keeping to the deep shadows of
the trees, she kept a close eye on the two until she was sure that
they had really left the campground once again, leaving the two
incompetents in charge - much to their obvious chagrin. They
grumbled to one another for a while before apparently deciding that
they may as well go to sleep.

Katya sent a cautious tendril towards the
tent. As it penetrated its innards, the thrashing which had resumed
upon the invisibles’ exit, immediately stopped. Katya tensed, ready
to bolt should the King try and overcome her through the probe. But
his touch was gentle, almost like a caress, in stark contrast to
the immense anger behind his attempts to escape. The touch felt
strangely familiar, though Katya had never before actually met the
man.

His two guards were snoring loudly and Katya
carefully slipped into the tent, mindful of the fact that the two
invisibles could potentially appear unannounced at any moment.

She was on edge as she perched herself in
front of the King, who was chained like a dog by the collar around
his neck which dangled a long chain tied to a stake in the ground.
Marak felt tense on her arm, and the logical part of her brain
screamed at her,
what are you doing? Get out of here!

Her eyes locked with the King’s and they sat
there in silence for some time. Then a smile spread across his
face, and he visibly relaxed. “Fate,” she thought she heard him
whisper, but it was too faint to be sure.

He was a magnificent creature, even bound as
he was and Katya couldn’t help but feel appreciative of his form.
Though there was something different about him. His eyes looked
more cat-like than she remembered and his skin had a darker tone.
Subtle, but noticeable to her heightened perceptions.

“Why?” she asked him simply, knowing that he
would understand she was asking about his captivity.

“Power,” he answered just as simply, and
strangely unconcerned for one in his position. “I have it, they
want it.”

On impulse, she grabbed the stake in the
ground he was attached to and yanked. She couldn’t stand the sight
of the collar. She grunted and pulled with all her might.

“I appreciate the sentiment, my dear, but I’m
afraid it’s no use. It’s quite solidly magicked there.” He cocked
his head at her. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve been asking myself that same question.
This isn’t my problem.”

The King surprised her by laughing. “No, I
suppose it’s not. But we are intertwined you and I, so perhaps
that’s what has called you here.”

She raised an eyebrow skeptically.

“I see you are hesitant to believe this. We
both bear the mark you see. It is meant to draw us together, so
that we may populate the world with our combined offspring. I can
tell that you are powerful, and you need only open your talent to
see that I am godlike in my strength. Imagine what our children
would be like. It will be as the world was meant to be. Look around
us; weaklings, filth,
unworthy
. The time of the Sleeping
God’s reawakening is near, and when he returns, only those who are
worthy like us will be left. We need to take our rightful place now
and prepare for his coming.”

It was a testament to the surprise she felt
that her carefully controlled expression turned unwillingly into
one of disbelief. She said very slowly, “You’re crazy.”

“Maybe so,” he agreed amicably, unruffled by
her unflattering statement. “But if that’s the case, being crazy
has gotten me the throne, and soon I will have even more.”

“Your prospects aren’t looking very bright to
me,” Katya commented, glancing around the barren tent. He waved a
hand in the air, still unfazed.

“Minor setback. They cannot control a god for
long.”

“You keep referring to yourself as a
god.”

He smiled again, showing pointed canines. “So
I do. Think about it, by joining me you could take revenge on any
who wronged you. Divine justice. I see how you reacted to this
collar, you know what it is.” There was a hint of a question in his
tone.

“I know what it is, and I also know what
you’re doing with it. I’ve seen your armies, I know you are using
the bracers to control them.”

“You are canny. I have only recently become
aware of this fact myself. How did you know?” He paused a moment
and looked her over, as if deciding if he was going to tell her
more. He seemed to make up his mind and he continued, “Does it have
to do with the couple you recently visited?”

“How do you know about that?” Katya’s eyes
narrowed to slits. “What are you, following me?”

She turned to leave, but he reached out and
grabbed her arm to detain her.

“Wait.” As his hand closed over her skin, it
felt as though it lit up at his touch and the fire spread through
her blood to her heartbeat. As the fire retreated, it left behind a
pleasant warm sensation and she turned back to him slowly, confused
by the emotions roiling within her.

The King’s breath was coming in short gasps
from the contact. “You see? Our blood recognizes its own. You
cannot deny it.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The mark on your neck, here,” he brushed
aside her hair, followed by a sharp intake of breath. “There’s a
scar…”

“From where I removed my own collar,” Katya
spat at him, “that’s my only mark. A reminder of what I never want
to be again.”

“Your own collar,” he repeated softly. Then,
as if suddenly something clicked into place in his mind, “Of
course.” Katya didn’t bother asking what it was, and he continued,
“I see I can’t use the mark to persuade you, I don’t suppose you
saw it before you removed the wretched thing?” Katya’s face must
have told him what he needed to know. “Perhaps having saved your
life will convince you then?”

Katya snorted.

“The assassin that killed the couple and was
trying to re-collar you, did he not have a dagger in his back? A
dagger bearing this symbol?” He pulled up his sleeve to reveal a
tattoo of a symbol identical to the one on the dagger. “The mark of
my elite guardsmen, my family crest.”

“That only proves that you did have someone
following me,” she pointed out.

“I could not resist once I tasted your aura,”
he smiled winningly at her and she felt her icy feelings towards
him melting.

“Do you know who sent the assassin?”

The King shook his head negatively.

“And the army, you truly didn’t know of its
use on the men?”

He held his hands out as though laying bare
his soul. “Truly I did not. Had I known about that particular
project I surely would have made certain that it could not be used
against me.”

Katya paused a moment longer. She couldn’t
control the draw she felt to him. Finally, she spoke again, “I
cannot get you out of here. You are stronger than I, and you can’t
break out.”

“Yes, but from the inside it is more
difficult. And do not let them tell you how strong you are. Just
because their bondage stunted your true potential does not mean
that it is not still there and you can’t still access it. The God’s
blood runs through your veins too. You have only to let him
out.”

“Perhaps together we could break it,” she
surprised herself by offering. She knew that she should turn on her
heel and just leave, but he knew about the assassin and obviously
had been watching her. He might yet have some answers.

His smile radiated approval, and her face
flushed with pleasure which she quickly dismissed. He was useful,
that was all. Katya looked down quickly.

“There is a special spell for the process,”
he explained it to her in detail, “which will help dissolve the
safeguards so we can break through. I’ve been trying to use it, but
as I mentioned, it is more difficult from within.”

Katya withdrew suspiciously. “I thought you
didn’t know about its use, how did you come by this spell to escape
it?”