Blood Lies (Dark Brothers of the Light #9) Page 19

  "You're too inexperienced, Chinisi. You're not a good judge of character. Let me make those decisions. All that men think of is sex. That is all these scum wish from you. They think with their penises. Therefore we must be more choosy about who we associate with. A man does not want a soiled woman for a wife. If I had given in to your uncle – and believe me he asked – he would never have married me."

  * * * *

  Word had been spread through the manor that a decision had been made regarding Jingen and Stygean. People gathered thickly in the center of the courtyard and fanned out to hear judgment pronounced. Haig, Jun and several Lemyari moved the watchers back to clear space as Isranon walked in with Anksha beside him and mounted the dais from which Jeevys had been judging the snow contests. Chinisi and her uncle followed closely. Isranon's commanders assembled as witnesses.

  Cordwainer and the two other masters watched impassively as everyone assembled. Nans, Zulaika and Travis moved to their sides.

  Grygg and his friends immediately went to Chinisi, and the tall youth took her in his arms. "It will be all right, Little Sister. Don't you worry."

  Lobelia ducked her head, concealing a frown at Grygg's easy familiarity with her niece. Chinisi was associating with the wrong type of people.

  A row was opened. His hands bound behind him and spellcorded, Jingen stumbled along behind Luck, who held the end of the rope tether attached to Jingen's neck in the form of a modified hangmon's noose. Jingen cast his eyes about in desperate sweeps, but found no sympathetic faces. The soldiers, rangers and auxiliaries alike all booed and hissed at him.

  "Hang him!" some of the onlookers shouted.

  "Open his belly and tack him to a tree," cried others.

  Their noises filled the air with confusion.

  "Give him to Anksha!" Jun yelled. "I bet he's the one killed my Nolly."

  The shouting and yelling built up to tremendous cacophony.

  "Shove a pole up his ass!"

  Luck's expression was a grim mask as Jingen dug in his heels, twisting and pulling. Each time he did this, Luck jerked his tether until the boy came stumbling forward.

  Snow began to fall in little flurries drifting over the watchers, who were becoming tightly packed as those in the rear pushed forward to see. Disharyl made her way to the edge by clutching at Amiri and Randilyn. Her face filled with rage and fear as she watched Luck force her boy toward the leaders.

  "I didn't do it! She's lying. I never touched either of them!" Jingen's panicked motions grew more crazed the nearer he got to Isranon.

  "Not my boy!" Disharyl shrieked. "Please, not my child! He didn't do it. He's a good boy."

  She pulled loose from Amiri and Randilyn, plunging into the aisle of onlookers. Disharyl rent her hair and keened, running after Luck. She threw herself down in front of him. "Don't take him."

  "The decision's been made." Luck grimaced at her in distaste. "It's Lord Dawnreturning's."

  Disharyl ran ahead of them and threw herself in front of Isranon at the foot of the dais. She clutched his ankles. "Please, spare my son."

  Isranon's stomach tightened at the sounds of Jingen's shrieking. He watched Disharyl dash toward him, and he remembered his dream from long ago in which Jingen and Stygean killed him. When Disharyl threw herself in front of him and grasped his ankles, he flinched and then stiffened, refusing to look at her. "Take Disharyl aside and make certain she watches."

  Gordain and a wolf named Torin yanked Disharyl to her feet and dragged her to the side near the dais. Gordain could not bear to watch her and lowered his eyes, although he kept a tight hold upon her arm. It was Torin who changed half-way and gripped her chin in his claw to force her head up as she continued to keen and plead.

  Isranon swept the onlookers with a hard eye. "This will be a demonstration, for all who have not seen it before, of how I deal with any sa'necari, child or adult, who transgresses my laws. Jingen stands condemned of kidnapping with intentions to violate both the mind and body of Chinisi Cordwainer and attempted murder – it may yet become murder, as Stygean Loosestrife is not expected to recover."

  Chinisi gave a small sob, and Grygg's arm tightened around her.

  Isranon sucked in a deep breath. "Furthermore, Jingen's essence has been matched to that found inside Nolly. Therefore, it must be assumed that Jingen raped and murdered her. Among the other sa'necari and vampire communities, the deliberate death of a nibari is regarded as no more than the killing of a dog or a cat. However, among those who travel with me, the laws are different; as such, even a nibari's life has value and meaning. Jingen will be treated, in this, as a murderer, not as a violator of someone else's property."

  Jun let out a howl of rage and lunged toward the dais. "He killed my Nolly."

  Haig and Garin grabbed Jun and held him back until he calmed.

  "Not my son! She was just a nibari."

  "Silence her." Isranon gestured at the lycans holding Disharyl.

  Gordain stuffed a gag in her mouth and bound it behind her head.

  Luck reached the dais holding Jingen by one arm while the boy jerked and twisted in his hands. The boy's eyes bulged in panic.

  It hurt Isranon to see the terror in Jingen's eyes. He could taste Jingen's fear, and it soured in his gut. The only time Isranon had attempted to discuss Jingen with Disharyl, she had tried to seduce him. He never tried again. Perhaps if he had, he would have caught the clues to what was really going on with Jingen. Isranon remained uncertain of what he could have done to bring Jingen around, even if he had known. He had taken Jingen's pretense at face value. Isranon could barely get his next words out and had to force his voice to be steady. "He is yours, Anksha."

  A collective gasp of anticipation went up as Anksha crept down the steps, her tail lashing back and forth, and descended to within a foot of Jingen. Luck released Jingen's tether, kicked the boy onto his face, and retreated to get clear of the area of effect before Anksha struck.

  Jingen pushed himself up to flee, but he was not fast enough. Anksha's pheromones swept over him and he stilled, his expression glazed. The front of his pants tented with an erection.

  "Do you want me, Jingen?" she purred deep in her throat, rolling the words from her lips.

  "Yes, Anksha." He blinked dazedly, tilting his head to the side to offer her his neck.

  Anksha smiled, flashing her fangs and ran her hands over his face. "Will you let me bite you?"

  Jingen panted, his heart hammered, and he gazed at her with longing. "Bite me."

  "Can I drain you into death if I wish?" Anksha's tone turned sensual. She threw Disharyl a look of venomous contempt.

  Jingen trembled, his lips parted and he quoted an old poem. "Drain me into death. Still my heart with your kiss."

  Anksha pounced upon the boy, carrying him to the ground, tearing his shirt with her claws as she straddled him. He cried out when her fangs ripped into him and her power swept through taking him mind, body and soul. Jingen screamed on and on, writhing beneath her in torment. She snapped the Dominance Link into place and savaged his mind so that he would remember the lesson. The watchers looked sickened.

  Lobelia paled, offended by the sensual display in a pregnant female, and the violence that followed it. Lord Dawnreturning's mate truly was a beast. She suspected that he was also. And he was only a self-declared 'lord', he had not been born to the title he had taken. Cordwainer was a fool to follow him. Lobelia had wanted to remain comfortably behind in Ildyrsetts, but her husband would have none of it. Her discovery of Disharyl had mollified her a bit, reducing her disdain for the entire endeavor to a manageable level.

  She hoped that Stygean would die. Chinisi was in love with him in a totally inappropriate manner. Lobelia had been ready to introduce her into society; Chinisi was the daughter she had never borne, having birthed two sons instead. Stygean had endangered that, and now Cordwainer was talking about marrying Chinisi off to the boy to save face and better their alliance to Lord Dawnreturning. "I cannot handle this," she said to h
er husband and walked away with him in tow.

  Jun roared with fierce joy at Jingen's screams. "Break him, Anksha! He killed my Nolly."

  Amiri pushed through the crowd to stand beside him, her expression dispassionate and clinical. "I compared tissue samples, Jun. He did, indeed, kill Nolly as Isranon just said."

  Luck moved back among the others watching, spied Darianna and joined her near the dais. "Where's Travis?"

  "Somewhere behind the barns losing his dinner. Seeing Anksha take myn has that effect on him."

  Jingen collapsed in the snow, convulsing. Anksha released him to stand grinning with blood smeared across her face. A guardsmon heaved the boy across his shoulder and followed Anksha into the manor.

  Luck turned, gesturing for Darianna to follow. "Show's over. Let's find Travis and see if he needs some help."

  The crowd began to break up in near silence. It would take them all time to assess what they had witnessed.

  * * * *

  Three days had passed since they brought Stygean and Chinisi back to the manor. Isranon tried using donors to strengthen Stygean. The boy's three friends all wanted to contribute once they learned what Isranon intended to do with the spell of Shared Life. He refused Iyan because the boy was too young, but he allowed him to sit watch over Stygean. Grygg and Dahnig both gave of their blood and life force in the spell. Several nibari came forward as well, including Farris and Randilyn. Even lycans volunteered and that surprised Isranon.

  In spite of that, Stygean did not waken and continued to fade.

  Nevin and Isranon sat alone by the bedside after three days of struggling for the boy's life.

  "He doesn't want to live, Nevin. That's all that it can be. Have I been that harsh with him?"

  "Only Chinisi's faith in him has never wavered, my brother."

  Isranon's eyes went distant. "Then she's the only one who can give him a reason to live. But how do I get her to? What do I tell her to do?"

  "Tell her the truth and let her find her own way."

  * * * *

  Chinisi crept into the room and quietly moved a chair to sit close by while Isranon worked on Stygean. Stygean looked so pale it worried Chinisi. She glanced up at Isranon as the mage finished with the boy.

  "Is he going to be all right?"

  "No." Isranon walked a delicate line between saving Stygean and damaging himself in his efforts. He could not force Stygean to live if the boy did not wish to. "I have done all that I can. I believe he has simply given up and decided to die."

  Isranon turned to Chinisi, his eyes sad and his manner strained. "Stygean's parents tried to trap and destroy me. But in a battle, innocents are harmed as well as the guilty. Stygean lost his parents, his home, everything that meant something to him, because his father fought a battle he could not win. Someday I will tell you all of it. But for now, simply understand this: Stygean has nothing left to live for."

  Chinisi struggled to maintain her composure. "Can I sit with him?"

  Isranon squeezed her shoulder. "Yes. I'll come back later."

  Chinisi watched him leave. The door closed softly behind him. Immediately, Chinisi moved to sit on the edge of the bed as close to Stygean as she could get.

  "Stygean, please don't leave me." She waited and then kissed his lips, which brought no response. She saw his blades hanging from the edge of the cot and drew one. They were very sharp. She knew the basic forms a spell could take and decided on instinct to create one to reach him.

  Chinisi cut her wrist and dribbled the blood into his mouth, saying over and over again, "This is the blood of my love which is true, the blood that speaks from my heart, the blood of my being to merge with your being, to make us one and call you back to me. Before the eyes of my god, Kalirion, may he hear my prayer, my spell, my calling and let you awaken."

  Stygean's eyes fluttered open. "Chinisi…."

  "Stygean, you're my hero. Don't leave me."

  She grabbed him and planted a hard kiss on his lips before he could say anything more. Stygean flushed. He struggled weakly for a moment as she continued to kiss him all over his face.

  The door cracked open, and Stygean managed to glance from the corner of his eyes in time to catch a flash of Isranon's tired but satisfied face before his mentor disappeared.

  * * * *

  Anksha isolated Jingen in a dungeon of the manor. Straw lay deep over the floor. There was a bucket of water with a dipper and another for Jingen to relieve himself sitting in the corners. Each morning, if Jingen wished to drink, he had to break the thin ice that skimmed the surface of the water in the bucket. He huddled in the straw, struggling to keep warm. He wore a heavy woolen robe and pants, such as Anksha made her blood-slaves wear. The robe could be opened by a tug of the sash holding it closed, so that she could get at his flesh easily.

  Jingen wept with the Presence Pain roaring through his nerves, veins and muscles. His neck had become a mass of ridged scars in only two days from Anksha's terrible feedings – she came for him again and again throughout the days. Each time, she twisted the blade of the dominance-link through his psyche, his mage and neural nets, all the fibers of his being. She forced him to kneel, locking his muscles with her power, while she beat him with sticks and tore his arms, back and chest with her claws.

  The door opened and Anksha stood framed by the lamp light. She carried a birch switch this time.

  Jingen whimpered and cringed.

  "Open your robe and take your pants down."

  "Please, no more."

  "Yes, more, young murderer," Anksha growled.

  Jingen pulled the sash and let his robe slip from his shoulders. Anksha knelt and examined his sides, beneath his arms and across his chest. "What are you looking for?"

  "The withering."

  "It's – it's only been two days."

  Anksha gave a snarling laugh. "I'm quickening it."

  Jingen swallowed. "No, please…. Please, I saw how the others died."

  "Pants off. Pants off and on your knees."

  "I'll be good, just please, no."

  "You'll be good, because you'll be dead."

  Jingen gave way to sobbing, dropped his pants, and got to his knees.

  "Bend over."

  At first, he could not think what she intended, and then his sphincters tightened. "No. Noooo!"

  Anksha switched his buttocks until they bled and then slashed all the fibers of his being through the dominance-link. Jingen shrieked and went to his hands and knees.

  "I'm sorry." Jingen sobbed. "I'm so very sorry."

  "Not sorry enough." Anksha beat him repeatedly across the back. Jingen collapsed in the straw. Anksha dropped the switch and flipped him over. She straddled him and sank her fangs into his neck.

  Jingen began to writhe beneath her, convulsing. She was taking him down and he knew it. He screamed. Anksha sucked harder, drawing his blood, his magic, and all the bio-alchemical essences from his body. Jingen's despair worsened with his agony. He felt his mage centers and nets collapse, their potentials blackened like baked bone as they turned to ash and blew away. His mage-sight faded as he went mage-blind. Pain shot through his sides and across his chest. His heart struggled and his pulse fluttered. Anksha released him, licked the wound closed, and sat back looking like a satisfied cat.

  She stroked his sides, examining them again. "There," she purred. "It's done."

  The touch of her finger hurt. Jingen raised himself up weakly and glanced. A long streak of red splotches showed on his skin. "Noooooooo!"

  "Yessssss." Anksha's grin spread. "You're mage-dead and withering."

  On the third day, she ordered Jingen thrown in with the youngest group of male blood-slaves to share their cell. All four of them were at least six years older than Jingen. Anksha's power still burned through his body, his mage and neutral nets. He balled up, whimpering. Between the pain and the roaring awareness of her in every fiber of his being, he lay in torment. Anksha had forbidden the nibari to give him anything to ease it.

/>   The four blood-slaves came and stood over him, eyeing him hungrily.

  "Fresh young meat," said Hertsanin with chill dispassion.

  "And a virgin ass no doubt," said Kaligulus. His voice was hard and callous.

  "Anksha has favored us," said Cautilya, licking his fangs. His mother had been a captured Fae, and he had the ears to prove it as well as a Fae name. "Pity it will wither swiftly, unlike ourselves. The very young ones always do."

  "Then we had best take advantage of it while we may," said Tamyrlaenus as if he were speaking of the weather.

  Jingen looked up in fright at the four dark-skinned faces regarding him as if he were a commodity. He wanted to scream, but his throat was constricted and hoarse from his trauma.

  Kaligulus caught hold of Jingen's sash and the neck of his tunic, using them to toss him onto some blankets. He flipped Jingen over and untied the boy's sash, then jerked his pants down. Jingen squirmed, clutching at his pants and trying to pull them back up as they were torn from his grasp. Kaligulus laughed and turned him on his stomach as he tossed Jingen's pants aside.

  Tamyrlaenus squatted by Jingen's head and pinned the boy's shoulders to the blankets with his knees. "A live one." He grinned at his companions.

  Unable to move his shoulders, Jingen twisted the lower half of his body, trying to keep them from entering him. His knees pushed at the blanket-covered ground futilely. His nudity sent feelings of vulnerability rushing through him, stained with terror.

  "But already withering," Hertsanin observed. "We had best enjoy him while we can."

  Cautilya unfastened his pants, shrugged out of them, and knelt to shove a bit of cloth into the boy's mouth. He rocked back on his heels to play with himself while he watched Hertsanin knead Jingen's soft buttocks before rimming him with a large thumb.

  Jingen writhed and tried to scream through the muffling cloth as Hertsanin shoved his large, thick member into Jingen's small, tight ass. They laughed at his struggles and passed him around like a party favor. Tears rolled down Jingen's face as his flesh tore beneath their thrusts. Blood oozed from his buttocks. Finally they each sank their fangs into one of his limbs and began to feed. Jingen passed out.